This year we celebrated Christmas a week early. The Friday before Kevin left for Hawaii, we invited his mom and my brother over for a lamb dinner. Jen and Steve came out, too, and spent the night before their early-morning flight out of Dulles.
Kevin prepared an excellent lamb dinner with roasted potatoes and a delicious loaf of bread. His mom contributed a green bean casserole. We ate and drank wine and talked, and I was grateful that Kevin had been able to do all of the shopping and cooking.
Before dinner, we exchanged gifts with Kevin's mom. It was a little more rushed and chaotic than most years, which has become a bit of a theme for this year's holiday. After dinner we exchanged gifts with Jen and Steve. Then we we finished off the bourbon I bought for Kevin last year and played a game.
We couldn't stay up too late, because everyone had planes to catch the next morning. But it was nice to get a chance to visit and eat some good food. As weird as it is to celebrate Christmas so early, I'm glad we fit the celebration in before Kevin left.
Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Searching for the Holiday Spirit
December is always a busy month. With the holidays come many more social commitments. Work holiday parties, work deadlines, time spent with friends before everyone leaves town for a week or two, plus all the gift shopping and wrapping and decorating on top of it. I always know this is coming, and despite my introvert tendencies, I'm usually excited about it. December also brings with it a jolt of energy.
At least it usually does. The long nights and cold air always seem to bring me to life. When the sun has set before I even leave the office, I'm left with a nice, long evening that always feels longer than it is. Cooler temperatures invigorate me. And the twinkling lights and good cheer keep my spirits up. Not to mention that the first (and second and third and maybe all of them) snow fall often has me almost literally skipping around my office.
This year I'm not feeling it. My social calendar has been as busy as ever. But instead of my usual excitement and energy I've been feeling lethargic. I'm going to blame a lot of it on the weather. Winter is simply refusing to show up. A week ago we actually turned the heat off and opened our windows because it was so warm outside. We've barely had a frost. And while it's been very wet, that's mostly just translated to a warm, muggy feel. Like summer, but dark.
The other reason I'm not feeling it is Kevin's work schedule, which has him in Hawaii for three weeks over Christmas and New Year's. I really shouldn't complain too much. He loves his job, and he'd been wanting to travel more. In the scheme of things this is only one Christmas. We'll have many more together in the future. And once this project is through his travel schedule should die down some, or at least become more reasonable and predictable.
But it does mean that I'm going to have a very small Christmas this year. We didn't get a tree or do any decorating, because I was worried about my ability to take it down by myself. Instead of a big home-cooked meal, I'll be going to a nice restaurant with my brother and Kevin's mom. Again, I shouldn't complain. I have family in the area, dinner will be nice, a few traditions are still in tact. But for someone who enjoys and has grown accustomed to huge, whirlwind Christmases full of family, food, and alcohol, it's hard not to feel at least a little let down this year.
I'm trying my best to look forward to the little things, like my four-day weekend coming up (also, thanks to the cruise, I can't take any extra time off for Christmas this year). The holiday is almost over, Kevin will be back home before I know it, and maybe winter will decide to show up at some point. Plus, I have all sorts of writing to catch up on. In the meantime, I'll muddle through as well as I can.
At least it usually does. The long nights and cold air always seem to bring me to life. When the sun has set before I even leave the office, I'm left with a nice, long evening that always feels longer than it is. Cooler temperatures invigorate me. And the twinkling lights and good cheer keep my spirits up. Not to mention that the first (and second and third and maybe all of them) snow fall often has me almost literally skipping around my office.
This year I'm not feeling it. My social calendar has been as busy as ever. But instead of my usual excitement and energy I've been feeling lethargic. I'm going to blame a lot of it on the weather. Winter is simply refusing to show up. A week ago we actually turned the heat off and opened our windows because it was so warm outside. We've barely had a frost. And while it's been very wet, that's mostly just translated to a warm, muggy feel. Like summer, but dark.
The other reason I'm not feeling it is Kevin's work schedule, which has him in Hawaii for three weeks over Christmas and New Year's. I really shouldn't complain too much. He loves his job, and he'd been wanting to travel more. In the scheme of things this is only one Christmas. We'll have many more together in the future. And once this project is through his travel schedule should die down some, or at least become more reasonable and predictable.
But it does mean that I'm going to have a very small Christmas this year. We didn't get a tree or do any decorating, because I was worried about my ability to take it down by myself. Instead of a big home-cooked meal, I'll be going to a nice restaurant with my brother and Kevin's mom. Again, I shouldn't complain. I have family in the area, dinner will be nice, a few traditions are still in tact. But for someone who enjoys and has grown accustomed to huge, whirlwind Christmases full of family, food, and alcohol, it's hard not to feel at least a little let down this year.
I'm trying my best to look forward to the little things, like my four-day weekend coming up (also, thanks to the cruise, I can't take any extra time off for Christmas this year). The holiday is almost over, Kevin will be back home before I know it, and maybe winter will decide to show up at some point. Plus, I have all sorts of writing to catch up on. In the meantime, I'll muddle through as well as I can.
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Thanksgiving
We had a bit of a travel snafu over Thanksgiving this year, but everything ultimately worked out. More or less.
Kevin and I are planners. Which means that we bought our tickets to go to Colorado for Thanksgiving back in June. Then Kevin started a new job and his first business trip kept getting re-scheduled and pushed back until it became apparent that he would be spending Thanksgiving in Hawaii. So he went out there and canceled his ticket to Colorado. No sooner had he done that then his trip got cut short. He ended up in Virginia, hanging out with friends for the holiday while Connor and I went back home to see family.
Other than that, the trip was a lot of fun. We got in Wednesday evening, and by a travel-related miracle made it from plane to baggage claim to dad's car in about half an hour. Which also included meeting up with my aunt and cousins who'd flown in from California on a different flight. The whole thing went down with amazing smoothness and we were able to spend a lot of time visiting that evening.
On Thanksgiving Day itself I sat in the kitchen and drank wine and kept everyone's glasses full while they all cooked. It was nice to not be hosting this year. I had fantastic conversation with my aunt and my dad's step-brother's wife (step-aunt? I'm almost more inclined to refer to her by the catch-all "cousin"). We ate delicious food. And between the wine, the jet lag, and my four hours of sleep the previous night, I was passed out on the couch sometime around 8. I completely missed pinochle.
The next day aunt and cousin came over with my cousin's daughter who is just about 18 months old. It was a lot of fun to see them and my baby cousin who I live entirely too far away from. Then my mom came to pick us up and we went back to her place for sausages and television.
On Saturday we met up with my other aunt and cousin for lunch and Settlers of Catan (the Star Trek edition, naturally). Then mom took my brother and I out for a delicious dinner. I had scallops and bacon in a cream sauce and my mom got these delicious pear-cheese ravioli things.
The trip was, as always, a bit of a whirlwind and jam-packed with family. I'm going to need to do a non-holiday week-long trip back to Colorado at some point so I can catch up with everyone in a slightly more relaxed setting. Not to mention that it'd be nice to go in the summer when my aunt's cabin is open for the season. In the meantime, I'm glad that I at least got to see everyone.
Kevin and I are planners. Which means that we bought our tickets to go to Colorado for Thanksgiving back in June. Then Kevin started a new job and his first business trip kept getting re-scheduled and pushed back until it became apparent that he would be spending Thanksgiving in Hawaii. So he went out there and canceled his ticket to Colorado. No sooner had he done that then his trip got cut short. He ended up in Virginia, hanging out with friends for the holiday while Connor and I went back home to see family.
Other than that, the trip was a lot of fun. We got in Wednesday evening, and by a travel-related miracle made it from plane to baggage claim to dad's car in about half an hour. Which also included meeting up with my aunt and cousins who'd flown in from California on a different flight. The whole thing went down with amazing smoothness and we were able to spend a lot of time visiting that evening.
On Thanksgiving Day itself I sat in the kitchen and drank wine and kept everyone's glasses full while they all cooked. It was nice to not be hosting this year. I had fantastic conversation with my aunt and my dad's step-brother's wife (step-aunt? I'm almost more inclined to refer to her by the catch-all "cousin"). We ate delicious food. And between the wine, the jet lag, and my four hours of sleep the previous night, I was passed out on the couch sometime around 8. I completely missed pinochle.
The next day aunt and cousin came over with my cousin's daughter who is just about 18 months old. It was a lot of fun to see them and my baby cousin who I live entirely too far away from. Then my mom came to pick us up and we went back to her place for sausages and television.
On Saturday we met up with my other aunt and cousin for lunch and Settlers of Catan (the Star Trek edition, naturally). Then mom took my brother and I out for a delicious dinner. I had scallops and bacon in a cream sauce and my mom got these delicious pear-cheese ravioli things.
The trip was, as always, a bit of a whirlwind and jam-packed with family. I'm going to need to do a non-holiday week-long trip back to Colorado at some point so I can catch up with everyone in a slightly more relaxed setting. Not to mention that it'd be nice to go in the summer when my aunt's cabin is open for the season. In the meantime, I'm glad that I at least got to see everyone.
Friday, December 5, 2014
Endless Celebration
Thanksgiving week was intense this year. Kevin and I hosted for the second year in a row, and we had a busier week than I've had in a long time.
Dad and his girlfriend arrived on Tuesday, and Connor came over for dinner and pinochle. We didn't quite finish the game before it was time for bed, but we played some.
On Wednesday my cousins arrived, as did Danielle and Eric. We ended up having more people over for dinner on Wednesday evening than we did for Thanksgiving. The meal was a lot simpler though, since it just involved chopping things up and setting them out on the buffet so everyone could make their own tacos.
Thursday was the Thanksgiving whirlwind. We cooked. We ate. We drank. I fell asleep before the football game ended, but other people were up until almost 2.
Since no one had to be anywhere, we spent Friday drinking mimosas and beer and playing games. Once again I fell asleep before the rest of the party. I just can't get by on as little sleep as I used to.
Everyone left fairly early on Saturday morning (well Connor stuck around for a while because we couldn't find his keys and then we watched The Lego Movie instead of looking for them because sitting was better than standing). We did some picking up, but mostly Kevin and I lounged around building up strength for his high school reunion that night.
The reunion was fun, even if I was starting to feel a bit burnt out. It was interesting to meet a bunch of the TJ crowd, and it was nice that there was no pressure on me to know anyone or make small talk. For example, after I met a bronie, I was able to exit the conversation and avoid him for the rest of the evening with very little effort.
Sunday was a day of rest and laundry and leftovers. I tried to go to bed early, but ended up reading until my normal bedtime. Oops.
Monday was my company party, which meant that our branch of the office was full and noisy and then we all had to troop downtown for the fancy dinner. I cannot for the life of me understand why this party is on a Monday instead of a Friday, but there it is. The servers kept our wine glasses full throughout dinner (so much for everyone gets one glass of wine, though I suppose that if you never finish it it all counts as the same glass). We left early, and I still barely made it home awake.
On top of the Monday night party, my company scheduled a mandatory meeting for Tuesday morning. I made it, but it was rough. When I got home, I basically just went to sleep. I spent the entire night dreaming that I was wandering around a library inside of a castle, which helped to refresh me. I woke up Wednesday morning feeling almost human.
The house still isn't quite back in order following the festivities of the past week, but it's getting closer. Two more loads of laundry ought to get us there. We're finally almost down with the leftovers. I'm even starting to get excited to cook again. But this week took a lot more out of me than I was expecting it to. We may need to scale back the Thanksgiving celebration in future years (or at least not follow it immediately with back to back parties).
Dad and his girlfriend arrived on Tuesday, and Connor came over for dinner and pinochle. We didn't quite finish the game before it was time for bed, but we played some.
On Wednesday my cousins arrived, as did Danielle and Eric. We ended up having more people over for dinner on Wednesday evening than we did for Thanksgiving. The meal was a lot simpler though, since it just involved chopping things up and setting them out on the buffet so everyone could make their own tacos.
Thursday was the Thanksgiving whirlwind. We cooked. We ate. We drank. I fell asleep before the football game ended, but other people were up until almost 2.
Since no one had to be anywhere, we spent Friday drinking mimosas and beer and playing games. Once again I fell asleep before the rest of the party. I just can't get by on as little sleep as I used to.
Everyone left fairly early on Saturday morning (well Connor stuck around for a while because we couldn't find his keys and then we watched The Lego Movie instead of looking for them because sitting was better than standing). We did some picking up, but mostly Kevin and I lounged around building up strength for his high school reunion that night.
The reunion was fun, even if I was starting to feel a bit burnt out. It was interesting to meet a bunch of the TJ crowd, and it was nice that there was no pressure on me to know anyone or make small talk. For example, after I met a bronie, I was able to exit the conversation and avoid him for the rest of the evening with very little effort.
Sunday was a day of rest and laundry and leftovers. I tried to go to bed early, but ended up reading until my normal bedtime. Oops.
Monday was my company party, which meant that our branch of the office was full and noisy and then we all had to troop downtown for the fancy dinner. I cannot for the life of me understand why this party is on a Monday instead of a Friday, but there it is. The servers kept our wine glasses full throughout dinner (so much for everyone gets one glass of wine, though I suppose that if you never finish it it all counts as the same glass). We left early, and I still barely made it home awake.
On top of the Monday night party, my company scheduled a mandatory meeting for Tuesday morning. I made it, but it was rough. When I got home, I basically just went to sleep. I spent the entire night dreaming that I was wandering around a library inside of a castle, which helped to refresh me. I woke up Wednesday morning feeling almost human.
The house still isn't quite back in order following the festivities of the past week, but it's getting closer. Two more loads of laundry ought to get us there. We're finally almost down with the leftovers. I'm even starting to get excited to cook again. But this week took a lot more out of me than I was expecting it to. We may need to scale back the Thanksgiving celebration in future years (or at least not follow it immediately with back to back parties).
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