Ringing in the new year

The past year has definitely been one of change and transition. Between us losing some very close friends and family to Corey's new job, we've had some time to reflect and realize how lucky we are. The multiple holiday gatherings really hit that message home, too. New Year's Eve was spent in good company; during the day we went bowling with the Wallaces and CB; I had my usual performance of several strikes followed by several gutter balls. Maybe I should do some research on double-jointedness and bowling. That night we had dinner a new, very hip restaurant in town that I've been meaning to try since its October opening. The restaurant and adjoining theater is supported by a local foundation that supports and develops arts and culture. Corey had a bison burger and I had the tofu curry rice bowl--so yummy. Later we met up with Justin, Niki, Kenny and Rikki and had drinks at the Blackwater. I had this delicious minty martini that was served with a candy cane. That day was a step up from our recent ritual of a 12:15 am bedtime on New Year's.

Blessings on christmas

Apparently everyone and their mother (truly) takes pictures at our family functions, so I really don't have any pictures to show for from our Christmases with the fams, beginning on the 21st and ending the following weekend. This included several dinners, some games, and a spectacular light show. I should have taken pictures of our deck and how much progress one makes after 3 hours of shoveling, but pretty much anyone in the Midwest had the same visual image outside their door Christmas Day. Thankfully, it was a safe trip back to our house that afternoon, where we spent the evening in dry clothes, with the fire on, opening a few small, sentimental gifts and playing board games. To being grateful for the abundance the holidays remind us of...

Happy birthday, coach

Last night Colleen had a birthday party for Coach. She wanted to host an event where friends and family would come together to share memories with Maddux and Josie. She had a journal that people could write down their stories, and then someone was videotaping as people around the room would recollect a touching or a funny story. There were lots of kids there and the most important impression I got in the room last night was how important his family was to him. Happy birthday, coach; you're missed very much.

Working for the weekends

...which could almost apply to any time of the year, however, it seems like lately we've been jamming in lots of good busyiness on the weekends. This Friday I took my mom to our annual Christmas concert since I decided not to splurge on the Nuctracker tickets. Saturday our friends Nick & Anne were up to go skiing and we tried Sala Thai, which I'd never been to. It was excellent--esp. this dish we tried that had squash and potatoes in the curry sauce (I can't remember the name). We did a little Christmas shopping with my in-laws yesterday as they very generously brought us a fresh tree they had cut down that morning; the house smells amazing. I spent the rest of the day pulling out Christmas decorations and listening to Christmas music while doing it, which is a tradition from my family. I'm really looking forward to all that's coming up--lots of separate family Christmases, due to peoples' traveling schedules, a few holiday parties, more cookie baking (I made these gems last week with my cookie ladies), and hopefully light tours.

Thankful

It becomes easy to worry, and even to whine about the daily stressors of life. However, I have so much to be thankful for, especially the people--near and far--that surround me, including those we can't see anymore. And as I write this, I am thinking about the better ways for my family and me to spend this holiday season.

Try to: bake cookies; play Christmas music; spend time with friends & family; and make small, personal, homemade little treasures; go ice skating; tour neighborhoods with Christmas lights; donate to a family in need; maybe visit a nursing home; make a photo collage of childhood Christmas pictures; watch all of the cheesy Christmas cartoon movies.

Try not to: Stress about silly things that don't matter, like shopping for lots of gifts; skip holiday gatherings just because it's a busy time of the year; skip on all of the wine; forget the things that really matter.

I hope each of you are with your families today--Happy Thanksgiving!

Busyiness

I had to retype that post title because the spelling always seems incorrect...this weekend was filled with fun things from start to finish. First off, I couldn't RUN from my office fast enough on Friday afternoon. This is such a crazy time of the year in that respect, and it seems like Friday comes along and I am still annoyed, frantic, bewildered lady all day. There were some innocent people in the parking lot that could have been goners with the way I whipped out of there. Despite the looming pandemonium of the new vampire movie, that night Corey and I decided to go see "The Blind Side" and I highly recommend it to pretty much anyone. There are so many elements to it that people may relate to in one way or another. By the last few scenes the tears were everywhere. PS Tim McGraw is in about 50% of the movie and Corey claimed he never saw him...Saturday we got up early and headed north; Carlie and I went with Corey's mom to a local crafts/fundraiser thingy and to Irma's Finland shop where I bought some candles for my iitala candlesticks that were Grandma Kemp's. They are one of my most treasured items and they are really gorgeous enough to be out all year. That night, we met up with the other coaches and their wives to go to dinner for a new tasting menu. The restaurant was chaotic but it was great to be with everyone and it was my one naughty meal of the week, so it was well worth it. Sunday was another early day as I headed to the cities with a friend for some serious shopping. We hit IKEA, and I had printed out my list from their website, which helped keep me on track. The cart was FULL but it was so much cheaper than I had anticipated. We went to Crave at the MOA, a new place we had tried this past summer, and it the sushi was as good as I remember. Good old MAC set me up with some new, sparkly pink and brown eyeshadows for my increasingly pale winter skin. We finished up at Trader Joe's and were home by 5:30. Not bad for one day.

Some cake & candles

Since my anti-birthday husband wanted to keep the day low-key, I made stew and we had Kim, Tom, Max & Vivi over for dinner and cake (go GF Betty Crocker). Of course I put all 31 candles on the cake, so Max gladly assisted.