A Cup of Good Cheer

Oh, my dear blog friends, can you believe it's already the week before Christmas. I've been having so much trouble getting into the Christmas spirit this year, for some reason. Slowly, though it's welling up.

This Saturday some girlfriends and I headed over to another city, New York,  for some fun shopping, festive lights, and just general fun! I always love going to NYC during the holiday season. There's nothing like a 50 foot tree to make you feel a little like Christmas. Not to mention, whilst floating around Saks balking over the fact that a pair of socks can cost upwards of $100, I also thoroughly enjoyed some truly beautiful Christmas decorations. As much as I love my baby of a tree, can you imagine coming home to this stunner every night? Hello!

And if that wasn't enough to get me in the Holiday mood, today it FINALLY snowed in Boston. I was beginning to wonder what a girl's gotta do around here to get some Christmas cheer?!?  Everything looked so much softer and prettier as I walked from work to the train station, glorying in all the fluffy, white stuff! 

(on a side note, I was wearing a pair of cute wedge boots that I quickly learned are not meant for trekking around in the snow. At one point I almost face planted into the brick walkway while dozens of other unconcerned commuters huffed past, irritated at me for slowing them down!)

Despite the dangers of wading through snow in slippery boots, my spirits are no less dampened. In fact, I'm happy to be home. As snow falls outside my windows, I'm getting ready to bake some cookies for a Christmas party here tomorrow. 

Oh, hey Christmas. I think I'm almost ready for you!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Tiny, fake fir trees and snow flakes that glisten

     Christmas shaped cookies , and warm woolen mittens

          Wrapping my presents while Old Blue Eyes sings,

               These are a few of my favorite things. 

This evening has driven me to writing songs! Sorry, Maria, I mean no disrespect to your version. Frankly, though, I don't really like cats all that much and I like my package wrapping to be just a tad more flashy. . .

Seriously, though, one of my favorite parts of the holiday season is evenings like this. I get to snuggle up at home, wrap gifts, and belt out some of my favorite Christmas tunes. Seriously, how amazing is it, that Christmas is basically the only holiday that has an entire repertoire of songs that only come out once a year, and never get old no matter how many times you've hear them? So classic. 

Not to mention, I actually love wrapping presents. I love getting square corners just so, and fussing with slippery bows until they are perfect. I love arranging tissue paper and choosing what paper fits each persons personality. Basically, what I'm saying is, if you ever get too overwhelmed with all the holiday hubbub, I'd be happy to wrap your gifts for you. . .for a fee. Come on, a girls gotta make some Christmas cash somehow!

In honor of this most glorious time of year, and my recent "caroling" I've compiled a list of my top 5 Christmas carols for you all. In case your jonesing for some Christmas cheer and need some help!

1. O Come, O Come Emmanuel. (Definitely, the best song of the season from the arrangement to the lyrics.)

2. Carol of the Bells (Celtic Women, espesh)

3. Santa Baby (Eartha Kitt's version is far superior to anything else out there!)

4. Christmas Waltz

5. Do You Hear What I Hear?

This is such a short list. More realistically I'd have to give you like my top 20. I mean what about Mariah Carey, because all I want for Christmas really is you. . .

Alas, I'll stop here because I could just go on gushing forever. I exhort you to action, however. Go listen to some classic Christmas tunes. Brush up on your 12 reindeer, show Frosty some love, or just settle in for a Silent Night. Whatever it is, get to Pandora now and get you some Christmas!

Chapstick, and Chapped Lips, and Things Like Chemistry

I'm a chapstick addict.

 As you read that statement, I'm sure you chuckle to yourself.

"Oh, Katy" you thinking, "you're so dramatic is laughable." 

Well, first off, you'd be right. Even I won't pretend that I'm not an incredibly dramatic person. Second, however, it's become pretty clear to me over the last few years that me minus chapstick is a bad scene.

Rare is the week that goes by without someone making a comment on my extensive chapstick application, by near panic attacks upon realizing I've forgotten my chapstick, and or my whining when I head somewhere for a few minutes and forget to throw a chapstick in my pocket.   

If you don't suffer from this addiction. Let me try to explain. I don't just use chapstick in the dry winter, or on cold, windy days. Oh no, I'm a die hard, year round chapstick user, and a mere stick transferred around just won't do. I have a chapstick for each of my purses, chapstick for my car, spare chapstick at work, and of course, several chapsticks in my bedside table.

If by some horrific oversight, I go somewhere and find that I don't have chapstick on hand, panic sets in. My hand get clammy, i get irrationally angry at myself, and my lips begin to burn, tingle, and in some extreme cases swell. Constantly, I find my mind wandering toward applying some chapstick. While everyone sits, enthralled with Harry Potter, or a future bride opening her wedding gifts, or a cute baby cooing on his mother's lap. . .I'm somewhere else. Squirmy, distracted, and feeling a little faint, I'm wondering where I can sneak off to to get some chapstick. Sometimes, I'll compromise and use some lotion to moisten my lips, but it's never enough. 

And if you're wondering. NO. I NEVER use another person's chapstick. That's disgusting. Unless we've kissed, in which case, I can make an exception. Otherwise, I don't want my lips on something your lips have touched. bleck.  

 What prompted this particular post? Well, I'll tell you! This weekend, I left for a day and a half of traveling and forgot my chapstick. Then, somehow, terribly, my car chapstick was missing. The horror! After an agonizing 18 hours or so, I eventually found a chapstick in my coat pocket. My lips are still recovering. . .

This prompted me to do some research in chapstick addiction, as I've read that it's a legitimate problem before. I learned tonight that while it's not an addiction like alcohol, say, our lips are easily psychologically affected.  As soon as we think about our lips the saliva on then dries, and we have the urge to moisturize them.

If we don't moisturize them, they can easily dry, crack or peel, because we continue to think about it and they continue to dry out. Jeez! It's clearly a lose-lose situation. This isn't a problem that affects everyone, but it apparently plagues many people all over the world.

I just happen to be one of the many. 

Really, I'm writing to advocate for addicts like me who are constantly being made fun of by our friends and coworkers for our ridiculous addiction. We are not crazy, we have a real problem. Be nice to us.

. . .And if you're wondering, yes my lips are incredibly dry and starting to burn as I write this. I think I'll go put on some chapstick. . .

Godiva Dive

Sometimes, I take really ridiculous pictures throughout the day because I think to myself. I'm going to blog about this tonight! But then, I get home, and something ridiculous has happened that I want to share. Or, as is the case more recently, I don't end up blogging because  I'm busy, tired, blah blah blah (I could give you a hundred lame excuses but I'll refrain. I know you don't care!) 

What ends up happening, though, is I'll be looking through pictures on my phone for something and I'm like, "what is this?"

"Why do I have a picture of a man's shoe with gum on it?"

"more importantly, do I even know that man?"

 You know, usual stuff like that. So today, I thought I'd share a few of these candids and explain a little about them, despite their initial failure to make the cut for my blog.

1. This is an escalator at one of the Cambridge T stops in Boston. Basically, it is a vertical escalator, and you ride on it for probably about 3 minutes if you chose to not walk down and just stand still holding on for dear life, hoping you don't plummet to your death (like, say,ahemmeahem). Additionally, if you are going further outbound, you actually have to go on another escalator after this. Do you realize this is an indication of just exactly how far underground you are when riding this T line. Eek!

ps: just so you have the full picture: I wasn't even all the way down the escalator at this point, I still had about another 20 feet.

2. This is the common area in my office. Filled with Godiva chocolate. The Christmas season is definitely upon us. As such, various big wigs from other companies send expensive gift baskets to various big wigs in our company. After the latter big wigs select what they want, we get to feast on the rest. Have you ever had Godiva chocolate covered pretzels, or their coconut truffles. Well, I have and let me tell you. . .they are divine (although, don't over indulge or you'll be feeling sick for hours. Not that this happened to me or anything. I mean, I'm just saying. . .).

Isn't my life simply thrilling? After eating my weight in chocolate, I then hop on a completely vertical escalator, hoping that in my fear, I don't puke up that fancy chocolate all over innocent (and just as frightened) fellow escalator riders. Believe me, everyday is not this glamorous.

It's Tradition!

Yesterday, at work, I was having a conversation with a coworker about traditions that different families create surrounding Christmas. I love that everyone has their own special moments and activities that mean Christmas for them.

Do you have special events or things that you and/or your family do as part of this wonderful season?

One of the traditions I've loved that my mother started was this: each year she would buy each of us kids a new ornament that fit our personalities or hobbies or whatever was special to us at the time.  Now when we decorate our trees we already have a box full of meaningful ornaments that bring back so many fun memories.

I hope if I'm blessed with little ones that I'll remember this wonderful tradition and make it happen for my kids. 

Another of my favorite things that we've always done at Christmas is stockings! Even now that I'm 23 years old, I still get so excited for my stocking on Christmas morning. Presents are great, but my mother always made a point of buying complete surprise gifts for our stockings. Fun cosmetic products, candy, and any number of fun little items. And of course their was the CD or DVD we inevitably were coveting that season or year. 

I still love that stocking tradition and it's another I want to carry on for my children. 

What is it that is so satisfying about traditions that we create? I'm sure I don't know but I want to keep them coming, that's certain!

solitude

This weekend, in preparation for a crazy, hectic month of holiday I took a day entirely for myself. It was glorious. I never wanted it to end. 

Saturday morning after seeing my sister and her boyfriend off (they spend the night Friday) I headed back into the house took a shower. . .and then decided I was going to spend the day completely alone. 

What did my day of solitude look like, you ask? Well, it was mostly spent snuggled up in front of the TV watching Christmas movies, playing spider solitaire on the computer (I'm addicted), reading, listening to music, and baking (I may have pretended to be on my own cooking show whilst partaking of this last activity).

I budgeted and belted out Christmas tunes, and even broke out my guitar for half a second. I also  forwent any real food in favor of subsisting on mint chocolate M&M's, Arnold Palmer Half Lemonade Half Ice Tea, and batter from my baking.

It was supremely refreshing and I now feel ready to face this crazy December with renewed strength and vigor! 

Then, my  weekend was topped off by getting a free orchestra seat to see the Rockettes perform at the Wang Theater in Boston!  Bring in on Christmas. I'm totally ready for you now!


If spending an entire day alone and not speaking to anyone (but yourself. . .) sounds like a great idea to you. do it. You won't regret it one bit.

Hump Day

I've come to notice a correlation between the oh-so-famous hump day (Wednesday, in case your a tad out of the loop) and my general appearance. 

I never really made the connection before.. I mean, sure hump day is accompanied by a 2 o'clock slump in which I try to simultaneously nap and type at the same time and a general sense of despair that sleeping in Saturday morning seems for far away. Today, though I also noticed that Wednesday also usually means that no matter what outfit I wear is completely bedraggled and ill fitting. My hair is a mess, even if I do the exact same thing as I do every day, my normally comfortable shoes give me blisters and I feel ill.

It's as if every fiber of my being is struggling to get over this hill of a day. Thankfully, I sail into Thursday somehow every week and manage to get my hair back under control (ha ha) and find something productive to do in the office.

Seriously, what is it about Wednesday? It's like ingrained in our genetics that it be a sluggish, near insurmountable day.

Although, blessedly today is December 1st. December, the month of Christmas. How glorious!