Christmas Recap

Two posts in one day? I know, I know, it's nuts! But I thought I'd do a Christmas recap post while I was at home and had some pictures readily available. (What I don't have is an updated snow picture because it's too dark now and they just come out as blurs, but trust me when I say we're well on our way to those 14-20 inches).

Christmas was different this year because my mom and my sister had to work. Last year I was the one missing from the family festivities because I was with the in-laws, but this year my mom stayed in VT and my sister missed the mid-day fun at my dad's. As we grow up there have to be these kind of adjustments, but it's definitely weird to no longer being doing our normal traditions.

We did pretty well on our own though. On Christmas Eve the hubs cooked some roast beast for us, and we played a ruckus game of Spoons well into the night.

my sister enjoying the roast beast

It's tradition in our family to have mini hot dogs and Christmas-shaped pasta for dinner on Christmas Eve, but this year we opted out of that. We did have some "beanie weenies", as my mom calls them, for an appetizer, but I have to say, the top roast was MUCH more appealing :)

We turned in fairly early, because we knew Christmas morning was an early one. My sister had to work at 10am (darn hospitals being open on Christmas), so we had to get in our stockings, breakfast and gifts before then! We don't have a fireplace, but we do have a mantle (don't ask...old apartments in Boston are weird), so we had a good place to hang the stockings. To make it feel like an actual fireplace, we used the Comcast "Yule Log" to create a more cosy ambiance. I think it worked like a charm!

stockings are hung by the fire with care

It was a fun morning, and I was sad to see my sister off to work, but we had other places to be. It was into the car and off to my dad's for more family fun. My dad's wife's family was there as well and it was quite a house full. We had a nice time visiting, but I do wish I'd gotten to spend more time with my Dad (he was busy playing host). I did get to see him when he opened his gift from my Gram, my sister, the hubs and me, and his reaction was priceless. We booked a private dinner for he and his wife while they're on vacation in Jamaica next week. It's on the beach and they'll have white glove service. It's something much fancier than they'd do themselves, so they were super excited. Here's the proof:

they love it :)

After that (yes, the day kept going) it was back up to Boston to meet back up with my sister and have Christmas dinner with my uncles. We had a fun day, but it was nice to be back in the city. Dinner was amazing (the norm when my uncle's cook), and we had fun with a pack of fake mustaches my sister's boyfriend brought.

do I fit in with the boys?

it's only a little creepy...

 The highlight of the day was definitely the fun family time. I have a great family, which is awesome when you have to spend that many hours straight together. We had some good laughs, and the gifts were extremely thoughtful. My favorite gift was one my uncle made for the whole family. He took the time to put together a photo book of our wedding pictures, and it's so gorgeous. We were so touch that he made us one, let alone everyone else too (including the in-laws!). It's a perfect Christmas gift, and I'm pretty much obsessed with it now :)

THE book :)

Now it's bed time. The hubs is enthralled with his new XBox, and already knows he has a snow day tomorrow, so I'm just leaving him to stay up as late as he wants. I'm REALLY hoping not to have to venture out into the blizzard tomorrow to get to work, but there has been no word about it thus far, so I've still got to plan on going. Let's keep our fingers cross that the next blizzard picture I post shows LOTS of snow!

Let it Snow!

Although we didn't have a white Christmas, a white Boxing Day works just fine for me too. We're bracing ourselves to get slammed with 14-20 inches of snow and I'm so excited! I don't have anywhere to travel to, so bring it on! (And I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a snow day!)

About an hour ago, this was the view out my window:

just starting to build up

And now it looks like this:

a fair bit snowier

I love seeing it accumulate so quickly! I can't wait to wake up to a full on winter wonderland tomorrow.

Gearing Up

It's about that time. The time of year when I run around like crazy because there is always something I forgot. The time when there are nine places to be at once, all nine of which would be great to go to. The time when I have to prepare myself for several days in a row of family time, and be thankful that I actually like my family.

Although I had a few super fun holiday parties two weekends ago, and spend a great couple days in DC last weekend, the real fun starts today. Today is the holiday party at work. I enjoy getting to see everyone outside the discomfort of our cubes and enjoying toasts on the company's dime. The yankee swap always proves amusing, and hopefully my hot chocolate and alcoholic whipped cream gift  proves to be a winner.

Tomorrow the fun will continue with a half day of work and the arrival of my little brother.This is probably the best part of my week. I love having my brother in Boston, and I know he's looking forward to the break from school. I found him to be a huge pain for the majority of my childhood, but now he's pretty great to have around. :)

my little brother, looking super cool at the wedding

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are a mass coordination of working around people's schedules to see everyone and eat too much. I'm in charge of making cupcakes for my Dad's party...I need to not forget that. I am really looking forward to Christmas morning though. Even though neither of my parents will be present for the first time ever, my siblings and I (along with the hubs) are going to make the most of it...complete with fake fireplace compliments of Comcast OnDemand and egg sandwiches. Who wouldn't be excited for this time of year?

Love/Hate

This morning was one of those days that crawling back into bed and starting again seems like the best option. It was the kind of morning where I hate the city that I live in and really love so much. And it's a Monday. It's a lose-lose-lose kind of morning.

It started with my alarm being too quiet. I guess in the madness of waking up at 4am yesterday to take the hubs to the airport, the alarm was turned down (who knows how), so this morning it went off for a good 1/2 hour before I woke up. I had ear plugs in (Mass Ave is SO incredibly loud when it's rainy, so I often bust out the plugs), so the quiet alarm was just not cutting it. It was the jack hammering outside my window that was loud enough to wake me. WHY Boston, must you constantly find awful times to jack hammer on the already too loud street I live on? Not the most pleasant wake-up call at all, and not even an on time one. I set the alarm intentionally early because I love to snooze, but at this point I'm running 20 minutes late.

Rushing to get ready, I come to the realization that we have no hot water. Awesome. Some times when too many of the apartments are showering at the same time the water is just a little too cool, so I figured I'd wait, get lunch ready and try again. No success. There is just no hot water. Well it's 7:30am...can I call the landlord this early? He doesn't ever call me back anyway...he LOVES the hubs and so I stay out of the landlord-tenant convos at all costs, but today I have no choice. I decide 8am is a decent time to call, heat up some water on the stove to wash my face and clean up a little with, and go on getting ready. I try the water again, still nothing. I call the landlord, no answer. Oh well. It's off to work with yesterday hair.

Out the door and first thing I do is spill coffee down the front of my jacket.What a day to not have a husband to laugh at you/make things better.

I'm hoping that it doesn't turn into one of those "days" and just stays "one of those mornings." So far work has been fairly uneventful, so I'm hoping for the best...

My Grown-up Christmas Wish

Dear Santa, I have been good all year, I promise. I would be really grateful if you'd bring me a few things....

1. A new couch. The one we have was free and has served us well (it's even still in great condition and will most definitely have a good home after ours), but it's not super comfortable and I'd like something squishier (that's still a sleeper! We have lots of guests in Boston!)

2. A Garmin Forerunner 205. I'm just getting into running more, and I would love one of these babies to keep me on track. It would definitely help me reach some running goals I've set for myself, and that's always a bonus.

3. Some nice new fluffy slippers. I love my slippers. I wear them around the apartment whenever I'm home...even in the summer! But the ones I have are a little worn down and I'd love some newer fluffier ones...likes these amazing ones from Brookstone (teddy bear not required).

4. And if you're feeling REALLY generous, I'd love a new camera. The one the hubs got me for a wedding present is wonderful and I love it. It's perfectly pocket sized and takes great pictures, but not the pictures that a DSLR could take. I love the Nikon D60s. Maybe with a strap too?

Thanks a million.

Love, Maddie



 



Images from here, here, here, and here.

Maine is Cold

We had a holiday fun filled weekend. We picked out and cut down a tree, saw Santa on a lobster boat, and did a little shopping. It was a really good time, but it was cold. Turns out it's pretty chilly in Maine in December.

the view is just as good in the winter as it was on our honeymoon

 our tree is so little the hubs could haul her off with one hand

Santa arrives in Maine style...on a lobster boat

back in Boston, all dressed up!

One of the nicest things about this weekend was being right back where we had our honeymoon. It is such a relaxing place, and we have such wonderful memories from the summer that it just made the weekend that much better. It's nice knowing that we'll be able to visit the spots where we got married and where we honeymooned as frequently as we'd like. I didn't realize how much of a bonus that is :)

December to Remember

This month I will try my best to remember to blog. A lot of fun stuff goes on during the holidays, and hopefully I'll have something exciting to mention here.

I am excited that it is officially December. I do not feel badly listening to Christmas music in December or hanging up our lights (which we did Monday, oh well!) I'm so excited to get a tree and dive head first into the holiday season. I love Christmas...and not just because of the presents. The parties, the decorations, the family, and the lights! How can you not love it?

This December will be a little different, as the hubs is going to New Mexico solo. We both went last year for Christmas, so this year we're spending the real day with my family. But he couldn't NOT see his family some time near Christmas, so he'll be gone for a week. I couldn't go this time because I am fresh out of vacation days thanks to the multiple trips we took in 2010, and New Mexico is a little far to go for a weekend. He hasn't gone to NM without me in a few years, but I think he'll survive :) Me? I'll be just fine. Although many of my dinners may come from the microwave, I am looking forward to complete reign over the remote control. And I'll be making my own mini-vacation to Washington DC to visit my non-Welsh friend from Wales. I'm pretty psyched.

Until then I'll be surviving work days to make it home to Christmas fun...like making snow flakes!