Christmas Tidings

I have been shopping, wrapping, baking and working up until now (I'm off tomorrow though - yay) and so while I have certainly felt the "madness" of Christmas, I haven't really felt the peace of it just yet. However, today I am starting to really feel the holiday cheer, as it's my last day before the long weekend, the snow is falling outside, my eggnog latte is in tow, the Christmas station is tuned in from now until the day after Christmas and I have just a few loose ends to tie up before officially relaxing.

We are headed to our neighbor's annual eggnog party tonight...I may be on eggnog overload before the day is over, but let me tell you how AMAZING their eggnog is. It has rum and spices and whipped cream on top - holy cow, dangerous. Last year, my neighbor Megan was right in the middle of chemo therapy and so they only delivered the eggnog; it has been such a long journey and amazing year for them as she has come full circle, healthy and recovered. Needless to say, there's a lot to celebrate.

Tomorrow after Chris gets off of work, we'll head to my mom and dad's, go to Christmas eve mass, out to dinner to the Briarwood (new tradition) and then spend the night at their house to open gifts and eat breakfast on Christmas morning. Then, it's off to Chris's family's for the remainder of the day and Christmas dinner. It tends to work out pretty well dividing the time like this. It's nice that they both live so close; vacation days are not an issue when you don't have to travel far!

We don't have New Years plans yet, but we are currently throwing around the idea of meeting friends in Breckenridge and renting a house for the night. New Years plans seem to be on a whim most years, and generally they work out quite well. Except for that year, when I had a hundred too many glasses of champagne and Chris had me back home before the clock struck 10:00....hmm, we still don't really talk about that year. It was a classy move, let me tell you.

Moving on, last but not least, Chris's birthday is around the corner on January 2nd. It really sneaks up on me every year, and while I HATE to make it an afterthought, the reality is that we are generally so exhausted with shin-dings, that we usually welcome his birthday as a low key affair. One of these days, when he least expects it, I will just have to throw an all out party for him.

Merry Christmas to you and yours!!