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!

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?

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.

Another Holiday Photo

I got a pumpkin from my boss at Halloween, and I've now made it into a Sant-o-lantern. I just couldn't throw away the perfectly good pumpkin just because the pumpkin "season" has passed, so I just upgraded him a little.

Why waste the pumpkin when it clearly makes a wonderful holiday decoration?

December Spirit

It's December and that means I can listen to Christmas music. And I have been for the last two days. I love Christmas music (for the few weeks a year that it's relevant), but I won't do it until it's December. I like to respect the bird and wait for the whole month to finish before I tune into the holiday stations.

I love December and I love Christmas. There's nothing better to me than the smell of Christmas trees and peppermint hot chocolate. I love decorating and watching horribly cheesy movies. Last year I had my very first tree. I took so much pride in the ornaments and all the decorations for my apartment. I'd never had my own place for the holidays before. This year we won't be home for the holidays, and so we're going tree-less. I'm a little disappointed, because I had so much fun last year, but it doesn't make sense to get one, so oh well. I'm definitely going to get a wreath though, because I need that awesome smell to fill my little apartment. I'm also going to decorate with paper snowflakes and a red and green paper chain (think back to elementary school and linking the paper together...yeah, that's my favorite). 

This weekend I plan on watching Christmas movies and, hopefully, finishing our Save-the-Dates. Who knew they would be such a pain? We want to send them out with our Christmas cards to kill two birds with one stone, but I'm a little behind on both things, so we'll see how it goes!

I just can't believe how quickly this year went and how soon Christmas is!

Christmas plans?

I am all for respecting the pumpkin and the turkey, but yes, our Christmas plans are made. Granted, we have to travel and buying plane tickets ahead of time is a must, I can't believe I'm thinking about Christmas already!

I've been looking at tickets to New Mexico for a while. We decided that for the first time I'd spend Christmas away from my family. The hubs-to-be has a little sister, and with little ones Christmas day is still a really big deal, so my family will celebrate here on the East Coast the week before and be just fine with it. It's hard to believe that I'm old enough to have to choose where I'll be spending my holidays (it's not fun when the families are on opposites sides of the country) but here I am making that choice. It was hard, for sure. But I'm engaged now and definitely don't want to be without him on Christmas. We've never actually spent the holiday together, since our families are all over the map, so this one is a big deal for us. I'm excited, and definitely looking forward to some nicer December weather that what Boston will provide.

The best part is, we got a good deal! Ticket prices were SO high and we weren't sure we were going to be able to make it happen, but today, out of nowhere the ticket prices went WAY down, and now we're booked! :)

But that's so far away! For now I'll focus on my Halloween costume, then my Thanksgiving travels!