New Year, New Resolutions

I think everyone has high hopes when it comes to a new year.  We make these crazy resolutions and keep them for all of a day then it's on to the usual again for another 364 days.  I'm guilty of this as well.  For 2015, I resolve to not let that happen...I hope...

~ Stop biting my nails!  For a few glorious months in 2014 I had finger nails then I freaked out about something, or I broke one and they were all gone.  I'd really like them back...

~ Make room in my life and save money in my pocket for travel.  There are 3 trips planned this year already.  My goal is to at least try one new place (could be out of the state, could be in Maryland) or one new thing every month.  January's already planned for me - off to see Jeff Daniels at Rams Head (never seen him or seen a show at Rams Head).  Now what to do for the next 11 months...Can't wait to decide!

~ Use my sewing machine to make something.  I'm not saying by 2016 I'll have graduated to Quilter Kristen, but hopefully a pot holder or coaster would be nice.

~ Cook, Photograph and Craft more.  Make time for it each week and actually focus on making them better. 

~ Lastly, be less me.  I'm more than ok with being quiet and reserved.  I like that about myself and I've come to terms with never being the life of the party.  But I'd like to change the way I react to things.  I want to be more positive, and less grumpy.  I want to say yes more and not overthink every decision.

Here's to 2015 and Here's to not breaking these on January 2....Happy New Year!

One Small Word

Ali Edwards is a bit of a god in scrapbooking circles.  She's managed to make an entire career circled around scrapbooking and photography; 2 things that she loves.  If I could do that, I'd be a happy girl.  But that's beside the point.  What I really want to talk about is Ali Edwards' theory on One Small Word.  The deal is that you choose one small word for the year.  It's whatever word you choose, but you choose to live your life according to that word for the next 365 days.   So, needing to spice up my life a bit, I decided to try it out for 2015.  

Explore

That's the goal for this year.  I want to explore new places - places that require planes, trains and automobiles and places that are just a hop skip and a jump away.  I want to explore new forms of creativity from scrapbooking to sewing.  I want to explore the new sewing machine I've bought and really make it work for me.  I want to try crochet again and see if I can make it happen.  I want to really explore photography and taking good photos as opposed to just taking pictures. I want to explore new restaurants and new foods, trying everything I can to expand my horizons.  I want to explore new writers and new types of writing  And I want to explore new relationships; new friends and new acquaintances, and maybe new prince charmings - try to be not shy me for a change to see if that helps.  

2015 will be the year of exploration for me.  Hopefully, exploring will open new doors and open new opportunities, that will excite and surprise.  That's the goal anyway...Here's to the year of exploring!

Technical Difficulties

So I suppose sometimes old computers are better than new ones...

Playoff Bound!

I have to say, this was a surprise.  Call me a fair weather fan all you want, but have you seen them play this year?  They let terrible teams run all over them. And at home, no less!  Who does that?  And going into today, they weren't even in charge of their own destiny. They had to rely on a sub-par team to win against a really good team. But somehow, the stars aligned and the Chiefs managed to beat the Chargers.  And after a few quarters of ugly play, the Ravens managed to pull out a win against the Browns.  It wasn't pretty but it was a win.  Now we may or may not have to play the Steelers in the first round of the playoffs - Ugh!  I don't really think things will continue to go our way - we're just not that lucky.  But for now I suppose - Go Ravens!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to the most important man in my life.  I love him with all my heart and I'm not quite sure what I'd do without him.  He's loving, caring and very, very funny. And he's the reason I love food so much and pretty much the reason I'm so picky - why go elsewhere when I have such yummy food at home?  Love you bunches bud!  

Friday Five

1. I'm currently writing this on my brand new laptop  - woohoo!  Love that it's not heavy, it's working correctly and the keyboard clicks (weird criteria I know, but I like knowing that I've typed a key ; )  Yay for new technology - now if I could just figure out Windows 8, I'd be a much happier camper.

2. Christmas with family and friends.  I love the holidays!  I know I spent the entire month of December stressing out over presents, crafts and snacks but when all is said and done, it was so worth it!  It was so fun to see everyone open their gifts and I got spoiled as usual.  It was a wonderful Christmas spent with all the people I love!

3. Shake Shack - I'm a little obsessed with Shake Shack.  I've been to Shake Shack exactly 3 times.  Once in DC, Once in NYC and Once today in Tyson's Corner.  And oh my goodness, is it delicious! I'm in love with the Shake Sauce, the cheesy fries, and of course the shakes. Delicious!  I'm so going to be in trouble when it opens in Baltimore in the Spring...

4. 5 day weekends.  Can I just say that the world would be a happier place if all work weeks were 2 days and weekends were 5 days?  Gotta love Christmas vacation!

5. Christmas dinner - Homemade pasta with homemade meat sauce, Chiapperelli's salad and garlic bread.  OMG - Yum!  Major food coma. Then dessert too - Delish!!

Merry Christmas!

...Merry Christmas to all,

And to all a good night!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Twas the night before Christmas 

And all through the house,

Not a creature was stirring,

Not even a mouse...

Bestie Christmas

I have the best bestie ever!  Somehow she managed to make me the coolest present in the history of presents for Christmas.  I love having crafty friends!  I've shared my passion for snowheads before but if you didn't already know, I have a thing for snowman heads.  In fact the whole Christmas tree is all snowheads - I promise you it sounds creepier than it is.  The bestie thinks this fascination is weird and judges me slightly for it, but that doesn't stop her from contributing to it.  Two years ago, she made me Neal Caffrey Snowhead - complete with a fedora and blue eyes:

Last year, it was the Doctor with brainy specs, spiky hair and his own Tardis!:

But this year, on top of an already cool melted snow head, beaded snow head and the unrelated tickets to see Jeff Daniels live, she made me Sherlock the Snowhead - curly haired, scarfed and all.  How cute is he?!  Thanks Bestie!  You rock!

Christmas Mingling

So the upside and downside of Christmas is that there are parties to attend.  If you're a social butterfly, these parties are a blast full of drinks and dancing and loads of laughs.  If you're not, then they can be slightly socially awkward and quiet.  Usually that's the case in my case. But I chose to go to the office Christmas party anyway; knowing full well about all these things.

However, I have to admit, it wasn't so bad.  It was a bit socially awkward, but I think it was that way for everyone.  It's weird mingling with bosses and giving people free reign to alcohol, is probably not the best idea when there's very little food.  But I had my little group of friends and we were able to tuck away int he corner quietly.  No door prizes were won though and seeing as there were no desserts served, it could have been a lot worse.  

Yay for not being a grinch for a change! 

Old Town Alexandria

Even though I live very close to VA, I'm hardly ever down there.  There are loads of fun places to go I've learned, but I never think to go to them.  Until today, I'm not sure I'd ever actually been to Alexandria.  But I'm sure it won't be my last.  It's such a cute little city.  It really reminded me of Boston, with the old town feel and main street shops.  Of course, stores and streetlights decorated in Christmas garland and ornaments, can make any city gorgeous.  But in Alexandria's case, I'm pretty sure it's adorable in the spring, summer and fall as well.

 My attempt at creativity went awry...

 Heehee, see what they did there?

 Best cupcake ever!

 Think Misha Collins owns this place?

 Uppy Shot!

Things I Learn Every Christmas

~ I will always buy more gifts than I need or even remember purchasing.  Those gifts will always be discovered when attempting to wrap said presents.  

~ I will always need to go shopping for last minute gifts (usually because I don't remember that I don't actually need to purchase any...) the weekend before Christmas.  Anywhere I choose will always be insanely packed with last minute shoppers and crazy people overwhelmed by Christmas-ness.

~ My craftiness will always overwhelm me.  I will never actually get all the crafts done that I plan to and this will annoy me greatly.

~ I will always stress about making every last detail of Christmas perfect.  And no matter how I try, I will always forget something.

~ Everything will always get done.  Stress and craziness will dominate the month of December, but Christmas will never not be awesome.  While it may not be perfect, it's always fantastic!

Friday Five

In an effort to seem just a bit less grinchy, here are my top 5 favorite things about the Christmas season.

1. Presents!  I think everyone enjoys getting presents.  But I love giving them as well.  I get super excited when I know I've found the perfect gift for someone.  Etsy helps a lot with this. I'm always able to find something unique and perfect for people.  Crafting also really helps. This year, I've been a bit more frazzled and bit more overwhelmed than in years past, but I hope the people I love know that I've really tried to spoil them, just as much as they've spoiled me over the years.

2. Christmas Television:  Every Christmas episode of every television show ever made, is fantastic.  There's just something that makes them sparkle a bit more than usual.  My most favorite will always be Noel - The West Wing.  It's beautiful and there will never be a better Christmas message than the people you love are here for you no matter what you're going through.  Not to mention, Yo Yo Ma scoring one of the crucial scenes, has got to be one of the most beautiful and heartbreaking scenes ever shot.  
                
                                   
3. Christmas tunes: Pretty much a re-tread of last week's post, but how can one not get a little excited about the holidays when you turn on the radio and hear all sorts of Christmas songs from classics to new age pop?  Sure they tend to play the same ones over and over, but aren't they grand?!

4. Christmas Cookies: Really?  Did you really think this wouldn't be on the list?  Afterall once December hits, cookies become one of the 4 food groups.

5. Togetherness: Hokie yes.  But totally true.  Everyone just seems a bit nicer, a bit kinder and a bit more loving at Christmas time.  You see friends and family you haven't seen in a while and you get to share good times together.  What other holiday gives you songs, food, presents, entertainment and family times?  It's pretty much the best holiday ever!

Spoiler Alert

As a rule, I avoid series finales.  I've said this before and it's no surprise.  They are ultimately very sad and I am ultimately very against crying.  I've managed to skip finales of some of my favorite shows - The West Wing, Will & Grace, Burn Notice and I'm sure there are more.  I still have no idea what happened at the end.  And I'm ok with that.  

But over the course of the last week, I decided to man up because 2 of my favorite (1 most favorite) shows were going off and I thought I could handle it.  And surprise to end all surprises, I did.  I happened to love the Newsroom finale.  I know there were many others that thought it was hokey and ridiculous.  But I thought it was just hokey enough.  It had heart and it was a fitting ending.  Also, I've had that "How I Got to Memphis" playing on an unending loop in my brain since Monday.  I thought I'd managed to get rid of it, but for some reason it appeared back when I woke up this morning.  But that's not the point.  The point is, the show was good, and I didn't cry.

Then tonight came White Collar's last bow; a show I've been in love with since the pilot. What Matt Bomer, Tim Dekay and Willie Garson have together should be bottled.  Their chemistry is perfect!  Everything about that show is wonderful and spot on and I'm still not sure how Royal Pains has managed to stay on USA Network while White Collar was cancelled. Also beside the point.  

Halfway through, I literally texted the bestie "this is why I avoid finales" (I won't spoil it for anyone that hasn't seen it) but I foresaw lots of crying in my future.  The bestie and I were plotting the writer's demise at this point.  But after the next 20 minutes, I'm willing to saint Jeff Eastin for his writing of a perfect finale.  It was sweet, funny, and it brought back loads from the last 5 seasons.  It also included everyone of the supporting characters while still letting those 3 fantastic actors shine.  If there's a Hollywood God, I'd like him to give these guys another project together one day - even if it's just reading the phone book.  I'm sure they'd make it interesting and funny and all together adorable.

So I think I've conquered the beast.  Of course, these finales weren't billing themselves as sob-fests.  The next time a finale comes along, I may be ready or I may also avoid it like the plague because the trailer told me to.  Honestly, I blame the previews.  It's entirely their fault : )

Tradition

Today was the day that the Hobbit, the last of the JRR Tolkien movies directed by Peter Jackson, was released.  And just as tradition states, my dad and I were there to see it.  And just as tradition states, it was wonderful!  I have to say, it wasn't really like the book in the least.  But it was a good movie.  The 3D effects were awesome!  Some people aren't a fan of the high speed 3d motion, but I happen to think it's really cool!

But the best part was getting the chance to have a father daughter evening.  Love him!  Any chance Peter Jackson is directing any other movies anytime soon?

Assembly Line

So once again, Pinterest proves to be quite helpful in the Christmas preparations, as well as the dinner preparation.  How did I live without Pinterest for so long?  Of course, if I didn't have Pinterest, I wouldn't have all these ideas to stress me out about...So I'm not sure where I fall on the Pinterest issue : )

Tonight was the seasoning ('Tis the season, afterall... : ) ornaments for the people at work.  I used the Sweet and Spicy rub from the Yankee Kitchen Ninja and then filled glass Christmas balls with it.  I may have used Christmas balls that were slightly too large - to fill 5 I needed to multiply the recipe by 16...But they turned out quite cute.  Hopefully the spice mix is just as yummy as the ornaments are cute.

Then came the corniest but cutest gift that's actually a repeat from last year: I Whisk you a Merry Kiss-mas. Yes, totally corny, but honestly, who doesn't love Chocolate kisses?

Then there was dinner, which was the Penne Ala Vodka that I always forget just how much I love until I make it.  Such an easy recipe and it's about the best thing ever!

Shy Girls Rule

I'm the first to admit that BuzzFeed can be a fairly ridiculous website focused on odd lists and hot people doing strange things.  However, once in a while, these crazy lists can be quite helpful. Today's 40 bits of advice for shy people was one of those lists.  If nothing else, it proves that I'm not the only one in the world that has these thoughts...on a daily basis. 

People like to think that saying "stop being shy" is actually helpful in the long run.  That it's one of those things that can just be turned on or off.  But it's not.  When you think about it, there are worse things one can be, than shy like depressed or anxious but at the time, when you're feeling shy, you can't think like that.  You can only focus on the fact you've said something ridiculous, or completely blanked or are literally just staring at a person because you're willing them to fill in the gap in the conversation.  

That's why tips like these are useful.  I'm not sure what to do in social situations - as Pinterest says, "social awkwardness is my super power."  Having some things in my back pocket to bring up in conversation is a saving grace.  I'm not saying actually saying these things is going to happen, but if push comes to shove, I can.  

My favorite though is number one on the list.  When meeting people, they have no expectation of your shyness.  Basically I can be who I want to be rather than who I am.   It'd be nice to focus on that rather than the fear I'll say something stupid or embarrassing.  Why have I not thought of this before? It seems fairly simple but apparently, I've been missing this simple fact for forever : )

Finally...

It took some time, but I'm finally feeling in the Christmas spirit, rather than completely overwhelmed.  I've gotten some shopping complete this weekend.  I've finished up some gifts.  I even wrapped.  It's been a fairly productive weekend.  For that I'm grateful.  Mostly because I've been freaking out over Christmas for the last month.  I'm far from finished, and I'm pretty sure I'll  still freak out until December 24.  But I'm finally feeling the little bit of Christmas sparkle that goes with the holiday season, and I'm very happy it's finally there : )

A Little Something New

I've been dreaming of chopping it all off for months.  Contrary to these terrible pictures, it's actually quite cute.  Can't wait until Monday for work, when it won't actually take 20 minutes to blow dry my mass of hair.  Love it!

Friday Five: Christmas Ditty Edition

1.  "Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas" Jason Manns and Friends - The below 'video' doesn't do it justice.  But I can't find the full song on YouTube, so trust me and purchase the album on iTunes.  Of 12 fabulous songs, this is just the most fabulous.  I'm pretty much crazy for the rest as well.  
              

2. "Christmas Wrapping" The Waitresses: I always forget about this song, until I hear it on the radio then I have it in my head for days.  Up until this moment, I didn't even know who sang the darn song. It's so darn catchy!
                            
3. "Carol of the Bells" Manheim Steamroller: They were my favorite Christmas band until Trans-Siberian Orchestra came along.  I don't listen to them as much as I once did, but their music is still pretty good.  Except for this song - it's out of this world!  Of all the versions of this song, this will always be my favorite!
                           
4. "A Wonderful Christmastime" Paul McCartney: As I understand it, there are two schools of thought on this classic - you either despise it with every fiber of your being, or you adore it.  Care to guess which school I fall into?
                            \
5. "Christmas Eve Sarajevo" Trans-Siberian Orchestra: Like I said, I own every one of their albums and pretty much binge them the entire month of December.  I know all the songs by heart and adore them all.  So picking a favorite is quite difficult.  I'm not sure this one is even my favorite - I'm pretty partial to "Old City Bar."  However, this is the one they play most on the radio.  And it's the one that's most fun to dance to in the car.  It's so very, very good!
                             

Puzzling

I may be behind on everything else related to the holiday season, but I've somehow managed to complete one of my most favorite projects, ever!  The block puzzle is finally complete.  It took forever - probably a lot longer than if I'd just done it all in one day (I was really dragging my feet on this one.) But now that it's done, I'm in love with it!  It turned out way cuter than I thought it would and I cannot wait to give it as a gift.  If the darn thing didn't take so long to make, I'd make them for everyone I know!

Editor's Note:  All pictures have been redacted for maximum baby privacy : )

Positive Thoughts

There's a lot of negative vibes happening in the news right now.  There are lots of scary stories and sad stories.  But what's not being focused on is all the happy stories or at least stories having to do with people that are choosing to focus on the good rather than the bad.   With protests, wars, and terrible tragedies happening, it's very hard to concentrate on the true meaning of Christmas.  But those that are trying are doing a really good job promoting peace and Christmas spirit.  

I like those people.

~ I like the protesters that are participating in non-violent, peaceful protests.  It worked in Selma in the 60s.  Let's hope it can work today.  Because something needs to change.

~ I like the feminists out there that are truly feminists but don't need to say the word "feminist" every minute to prove it.  These women are strong and speak their mind and show what feminism is about without having to prove it to people.  

~ I like all the outpouring of support and kindnesses that have been offered to victims of violence and tragedy.  Random acts of kindness are what makes the world go around.

~ I like the fact that Malala Youfsazi was able to accept a Nobel Peace Prize today showing the world what she's accomplished.

So let's focus on these.  These people make it much easier to get into the spirit and celebrate what's right instead of what's wrong...

The Snowheads are Here!

I'm not sure when the obsession with snowheads started, but I have to admit that I might have a problem.  Some people use heirloom ornaments, while others buy different ones each year.  Me?  I decorate with snowheads. I see them everywhere and I must buy them.  You'd be surprised just how many snowheads there are at Christmas time.  It doesn't sound like they'd be popular, but they're super cute and they're everywhere.  At this point, I even have too many for my tree.  Some are handmade, while others are purchased.  Some are from travels and others are from Etsy.  All of them are adorable, and they each have a story.

Now it feels like Christmas!

From Where I Sit

After a few hours and some serious over-drive, I finally got a start on the Christmas decorating.  That's not to say I've finished shopping, started card making, even thought about wrapping or decided what to bake yet.  That's not even to say I've put actual decorations on the tree - but it's up and purchased.  At this point, that's all that matters.  I'm not sure what my issue is this year, but it's all sort of snuck up on me.  I can't believe in a little more than 3 weeks, it will be here.  I feel like NOTHING is done. Mostly because it isn't.  Today was the first day I've felt like it may actually get accomplished.  

If I can keep up the momentum, I may actually get there - I hope.