Christmastime!

Ahhh, can’t believe it is already Thursday. This week has been a mix of slow motion (I think due to the fact that I’ve been getting to work at 7am, and so am tiiiired…funny how much changes in just a couple of years…I used to get up at 3:45am for work…oh Starbucks…I don’t miss that EVER), but the week has also somehow just FLOWN by…I guess because it has been busy.

I really feel like we have been enjoying the holidays to the max this year, which makes me really happy. We still need to go to ZooLights in Tacoma, ice skating, take a drive through some neighborhood known for its lights, bake Christmas cookies (that doesn’t come until later anyway though)…and then of course, the snow. It must snow. But I have no control over that one.

So far:
Decorating- Nothing compared to my mom’s house…but it takes time to get a collection like that…We have the Christmas tree (Doug), who is still just as handsome as ever. We haven’t put any ornaments on him…just the big, outdoor lights. Then of course, I got crafty and made the felt tree skirt…I can’t think of anything more holiday-y than crafting a tree skirt. Brian was able to snag a nice live wreath from work, complete with pine cones and a big red bow. She was immediately named A-wreath-a…and she will only be complete once she gets a motion sensor attached to play a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T every time a person walks by. I wanted to use some of Doug’s trimmed branches for décor, but have gotten lazy with that.

Gingerbread House- oh yes, Olga and I spent an evening decorating gingerbread houses. She picked up a couple of kits from Costco, made a yummy light dinner, and we spent some time catching up, while sneaking tastes of frosting and gummy candy. I really need to start carrying my camera so I can add photos of these delights I speak of. Maybe a photo blog soon.

We went to our first Christmas party of the season last weekend…which was just about as charming as a Christmas party could possibly be (without cute kids for singing carols anyway)…there were fun and fancy beverages, yummy appetizers, a little gift exchange (Brian was VERY excited for the gift he brought…the nerf guns were on sale at Fred Meyer…he even bought me one of my own…what a guy), popper favors that included tissue paper crowns and a joke, an AMAAAAZING chocolate cake, warm festive comfortable home, and of course…the great company of friends.

The Round had their annual Holiday show at the Triple Door (if you haven’t read the dozens of times I’ve written about the Triple Door…it’s my very favorite place for a show). This year there were two different sets of musicians, that did 3 ‘rounds’ of music each. I really look forward to the Holiday round each year…I love going to the Round anyway…local musicians playing together, poetry, painting, etc…but having a bunch of local musicians sitting around playing Christmas songs is great, because as somber and sad and pretty as they play those songs, they are still Christmas songs, which makes them joyful. Anyway…I was a little bit disappointed with this show…the musicians just didn’t play very many Christmas songs…they did winter-y songs, many original…but only a few traditional songs. Bummer. Still good, just not what I was hoping for.

Speaking of music…I have created myself a nice Christmas playlist on Spotify that I listen to while I process paperwork at work…I have quite a mix of musicians on the list…from Bing Crosby to Elvis to Mariah Carey, to Biebs to She & Him, etc…but my favorites are definitely the Sufjan Stevens songs….jeez, they are so pretty. Listening to them at this very moment and feeling very Merry.

I am more ahead of my Christmas gifts than I usually am…though I still have a ways to go…I have taken a few different shopping trips, getting a few things each time. I took a couple of days off work right before Christmas, so I won’t have to worry about being super stressed out at the last minute. Yay!

Side note…I wish the Elf on a Shelf elves were cuter. I think they are kind of scary looking actually…but I think it is such a cute idea.

In other news…
-Went and saw Hugo, the new Martin Scorsese movie…it was different than I expected, but I really enjoyed it. It’s a 3-D movie, which I don’t generally like, but it was shot in 3-D (however that technology works), so really immerses you in the movie, not just a few things here and there. And no headache, which I usually get in 3-d movies.

-My basketball season is winding down…this is the second to last week. I really have had so much fun…I don’t know how much of a ‘coach’ I was…with the little kids, and not having any practices once games get going…but they have definitely improved dramatically from our first few practices…so that’s something. I went to a coaches meeting last night for next season- 4th/5th grade girls. Amazing the difference. This sounds like real basketball…10 ft hoop, 3-pointers, foul shots, over and back, etc. And I was talking to the other coaches (all dads and me), and I guess they have lost some girls on their teams because they have gone to year round soccer. WHAT? Year round, single sport exclusivity…in 4th/5th grade?! That is crazy. And sad to me. Sad because not only are the girls missing out on other really fun experiences and opportunities, they are also going to have a crazy amount of pressure on them! I mean, even when I was playing basketball year round, I still played other sports. Also sad to me…the 4th/5th grade boys have had a waiting list to get on a team for over a month- there are so many kids that want to play…but the girls…we don’t even have enough for 5 teams. C’mon gals…though I guess when I played at the Boys & Girls Club, there weren’t girls teams…I just played on the boys team.

All for now…have a great weekend!