Maybe it's the postpartum hormones talking. They've been saying enough lately - Eat all the chocolate. Cry at pet food and life insurance commercials. You will never sleep again - but this Christmas has found me in a sentimental and thoughtful mood. As an adult I've never been much of a "Christmas person". I've never felt an urge to play It's a Wonderful Life on a loop or decorate every inch of my house in a pumpkin pie and Starbucks gingerbread latte fueled flurry the day after Thanksgiving. However, becoming a new parent - I'd even flatter myself to say becoming a new parent at Christmas time - has made me pause. When I look down at my tiny baby in the middle of the night and feel the overwhelming flood of emotion and love a mother has for her child, I feel that by grace I have the tiniest bit of insight into that most cliched theme - the "real meaning of Christmas". The Father's love for his Son. A Creator's love for his creation. A Savior's love for his people.
Merry Christmas.
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Back
We got back to Madison last night. Christmas break 2011/2012 is officially over. Luckily I was able to take today off and get things like grocery shopping and unpacking out of the way so I wasn't stressed about having no food or a suitcase death trap in the living room. Soon enough I'll have to think about returning to real life. For now, a little vacation recap.
First, I got a new pet.
Yep... he's swimming in the bathtub right now. He's a hungry little guy... good thing we picked up an extra box of Kentucky Fried Poodle.
Anyway...
We started off with a trip to Bok Gardens, which is a... well... garden with a large tower with a carillon. Actually it was very pretty, and the weather was an amazing 70 degrees (which it remained for nearly the entire time we were in FL). I hadn't seen the sun for the past month, and it felt really good to stroll around and listen to Sleigh Ride clanking on the bells in the tower.
Fun bonus fact: Bok Gardens is located on the highest point and near the lamest tourist attraction in peninsular Florida.
It kind of works... kind of.
After Christmas, my in-laws came down and we drove down to visit the Ringling Mansion and Museum in Sarasota and the Edison and Ford Winter Estates in Ft. Myers.
The Ringling Mansion was a lesson in how the other half lives... or how they lived in the early part of the last century. Although I admit I felt a twinge of jealousy when I saw the annunciator that could be used to call for an emergency late-night back massage or ice cream fix and the two story tall fat chick paintings, I felt good knowing we have one thing that they didn't that makes life in Florida 10000 times better- air conditioning. And probably better pesticides, too.
The coolest thing at the Ringling was the giant detailed model circus. And I mean giant. And detailed. Like there was a model "men's room" complete with a white sheet that said "face this way". I guess everybody needs a hobby.
The Edison and Ford homes were nice and modern enough thatno chamber pots were necessary I could imagine myself living there. There were huge banyan trees, which are awesome giant trees with aerial roots, growing out front of the visitor's center.
That is all one tree... crazy, right?
Although there were a couple antique cars laying around, Edison was definitely the star of the show. He invented pretty much everything including... no joking... the panini press.
You'd think that would be enough but no... there was MORE waiting for us when we got back to Central Florida.
We went to the Stetson Mansion, which was awesome and beautiful and currently without a personal photo to accompany the description because my camera battery died and my dad needs to send me copies of the pictures (ahem).
Anyway, the story behind the house is that it was built by Stetson- the hat guy- but had fallen into disrepair over the years. Then these two other guys bought it to live in it. Realizing how much they'd spend and how much more they needed to spend to make the house livable, they got a bunch of sponsors to cover the fix-up costs and opened it as a model home. It was a strange cross between a historic house and a Southern Living feature. You'd never know someone actually lived there until you went into Stetson's bedroom closet and there were all of the owner's clothes. Crazy stuff. I can't imagine having to do EVERYTHING (go to the bathroom, make some toast, etc.) with the knowledge that 50-100 people were going to be coming through my house later that day.
We also went to see the new and improved fountain in Lake Eola on New Years Eve. You'd think this was the lamest new years of my life, but once I spent New Year's Eve throwing up Chili's and waiting to watch some guy do a motorcycle stunt on TV at midnight.
Pretty nice. There were actually a ton of swans walking around, including some black ones, but my photography skillz are such that this was the best image I could get.
That is a black swan at night. You can kind of see the eye.
Last but certainly not least, we went to Weeki Watchee to see the mermaid show. This is some seriously old-school kitch.
We sat in a half-submerged amphitheater and watched 20-somethings (I'm just doing this to put myself through school at USF...) do back flips and be accosted by turtles in a lovely blue spring.
That turtle was all upon that mermaid. Actually, it's kind of impressive when you think about how tough it would be to train yourself to breathe from what is basically the thing you use to inflate your car's tires, keep your eyes open and lip sync underwater, and hold your breath for a really really really long time.
I of course had to get my picture taken with a real mermaid.
I'm sure she was totally not creeped out by that.
Whew. Um... I did some family stuff too, and went to Gainesville twice. This is getting long, so that'll give me a little more material for another day.
What's the weirdest/funniest/lamest tourist attraction you've ever been to?
First, I got a new pet.
Yep... he's swimming in the bathtub right now. He's a hungry little guy... good thing we picked up an extra box of Kentucky Fried Poodle.
Anyway...
We started off with a trip to Bok Gardens, which is a... well... garden with a large tower with a carillon. Actually it was very pretty, and the weather was an amazing 70 degrees (which it remained for nearly the entire time we were in FL). I hadn't seen the sun for the past month, and it felt really good to stroll around and listen to Sleigh Ride clanking on the bells in the tower.
Fun bonus fact: Bok Gardens is located on the highest point and near the lamest tourist attraction in peninsular Florida.
It kind of works... kind of.
After Christmas, my in-laws came down and we drove down to visit the Ringling Mansion and Museum in Sarasota and the Edison and Ford Winter Estates in Ft. Myers.
The Ringling Mansion was a lesson in how the other half lives... or how they lived in the early part of the last century. Although I admit I felt a twinge of jealousy when I saw the annunciator that could be used to call for an emergency late-night back massage or ice cream fix and the two story tall fat chick paintings, I felt good knowing we have one thing that they didn't that makes life in Florida 10000 times better- air conditioning. And probably better pesticides, too.
The coolest thing at the Ringling was the giant detailed model circus. And I mean giant. And detailed. Like there was a model "men's room" complete with a white sheet that said "face this way". I guess everybody needs a hobby.
The Edison and Ford homes were nice and modern enough that
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Although there were a couple antique cars laying around, Edison was definitely the star of the show. He invented pretty much everything including... no joking... the panini press.
You'd think that would be enough but no... there was MORE waiting for us when we got back to Central Florida.
We went to the Stetson Mansion, which was awesome and beautiful and currently without a personal photo to accompany the description because my camera battery died and my dad needs to send me copies of the pictures (ahem).
Anyway, the story behind the house is that it was built by Stetson- the hat guy- but had fallen into disrepair over the years. Then these two other guys bought it to live in it. Realizing how much they'd spend and how much more they needed to spend to make the house livable, they got a bunch of sponsors to cover the fix-up costs and opened it as a model home. It was a strange cross between a historic house and a Southern Living feature. You'd never know someone actually lived there until you went into Stetson's bedroom closet and there were all of the owner's clothes. Crazy stuff. I can't imagine having to do EVERYTHING (go to the bathroom, make some toast, etc.) with the knowledge that 50-100 people were going to be coming through my house later that day.
We also went to see the new and improved fountain in Lake Eola on New Years Eve. You'd think this was the lamest new years of my life, but once I spent New Year's Eve throwing up Chili's and waiting to watch some guy do a motorcycle stunt on TV at midnight.
Pretty nice. There were actually a ton of swans walking around, including some black ones, but my photography skillz are such that this was the best image I could get.
That is a black swan at night. You can kind of see the eye.
Last but certainly not least, we went to Weeki Watchee to see the mermaid show. This is some seriously old-school kitch.
We sat in a half-submerged amphitheater and watched 20-somethings (I'm just doing this to put myself through school at USF...) do back flips and be accosted by turtles in a lovely blue spring.
That turtle was all upon that mermaid. Actually, it's kind of impressive when you think about how tough it would be to train yourself to breathe from what is basically the thing you use to inflate your car's tires, keep your eyes open and lip sync underwater, and hold your breath for a really really really long time.
I of course had to get my picture taken with a real mermaid.
I'm sure she was totally not creeped out by that.
Whew. Um... I did some family stuff too, and went to Gainesville twice. This is getting long, so that'll give me a little more material for another day.
What's the weirdest/funniest/lamest tourist attraction you've ever been to?
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Greetings! Glad tidings from a land way up north
I hope this note finds you in comfort and warmth
The nights they grow longer; they days they grow dim
But still I am heartened. It’s Christmas again!
This year has been one of a political sort
But our jobs should be safe, we delight to report
There are protests and petitions and recalls, Oh Dear!
We can only hope it will be calmer next year
Now Daniel has finished the last of his classes
He does research and prepares lessons with each day that passes
This summer he worked with Google’s Madison bunch
No slide in the office, but they got catered lunch!
Chelsea is still analyzing ocular diseases
And will be running outside until everything freezes
In the church band, Daniel plays the guitar
And at open mic night he’s become quite the star
We are happy and healthy with the New Year in view
And would love to know what’s been going on with you
So if you’re so kind, please do drop us a line
And remember, dear friends, all good poems should rhyme.
Merry Christmas!
I hope this note finds you in comfort and warmth
The nights they grow longer; they days they grow dim
But still I am heartened. It’s Christmas again!
This year has been one of a political sort
But our jobs should be safe, we delight to report
There are protests and petitions and recalls, Oh Dear!
We can only hope it will be calmer next year
Now Daniel has finished the last of his classes
He does research and prepares lessons with each day that passes
This summer he worked with Google’s Madison bunch
No slide in the office, but they got catered lunch!
Chelsea is still analyzing ocular diseases
And will be running outside until everything freezes
In the church band, Daniel plays the guitar
And at open mic night he’s become quite the star
We are happy and healthy with the New Year in view
And would love to know what’s been going on with you
So if you’re so kind, please do drop us a line
And remember, dear friends, all good poems should rhyme.
Merry Christmas!
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Seven things Saturday
1. It snowed! The weather channel says no significant accumulation but the street in front of our apartment begs to differ. I'm headed out for a little Winterland excursion as soon as I finish this post and find my grippers. Hopefully the plow comes by soon so I can get to the grocery store and yoga this morning.
2. I picked up a few end of 2011/ start of 2012 items in the last couple days. A new planner and calendar and some Christmas cards for the final few names on my list. I actually like these cards way more than the ones I originally bought. If I have leftovers, I may have to send some people a second card...
3. This is who I want to be when I grow up. Too bad I'm already short one PhD from Harvard.
4. If you get one song stuck in your head this weekend, let it be this one:
5. Last week we had a huge flock(?) of swans hanging out in Lake Mendota. And they were real this time!
6. Dinner from a few weeks ago: Chicken. Waffle. Sandwiches (Hat tip, Cooking Light). Very strange, but quite tasty.
7. Tonight starts Christmas party season. We have our church small group party tonight, our singing party tomorrow afternoon, and my work party is on Wednesday. We aren't making anything special because we'll be going out of town so soon, but we're planning to bring along a crudites platter and (ssshhhh) some random things from the fridge that need to be finished up.
What's going on in your world?
2. I picked up a few end of 2011/ start of 2012 items in the last couple days. A new planner and calendar and some Christmas cards for the final few names on my list. I actually like these cards way more than the ones I originally bought. If I have leftovers, I may have to send some people a second card...
3. This is who I want to be when I grow up. Too bad I'm already short one PhD from Harvard.
4. If you get one song stuck in your head this weekend, let it be this one:
5. Last week we had a huge flock(?) of swans hanging out in Lake Mendota. And they were real this time!
6. Dinner from a few weeks ago: Chicken. Waffle. Sandwiches (Hat tip, Cooking Light). Very strange, but quite tasty.
7. Tonight starts Christmas party season. We have our church small group party tonight, our singing party tomorrow afternoon, and my work party is on Wednesday. We aren't making anything special because we'll be going out of town so soon, but we're planning to bring along a crudites platter and (ssshhhh) some random things from the fridge that need to be finished up.
What's going on in your world?
Monday, December 12, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
Do not want
Two things I definitely do not want to for Christmas:
1. Jukusui-kun, the giant bear pillow that tickles your face at night if you snore.
2. Any craft book that involves my own pet's fur
I guess you could make the argument that a dog and a sheep are not really that different, but... ew.
Seen/heard of any crazy Christmas gifts this year?
1. Jukusui-kun, the giant bear pillow that tickles your face at night if you snore.
2. Any craft book that involves my own pet's fur
I guess you could make the argument that a dog and a sheep are not really that different, but... ew.
Seen/heard of any crazy Christmas gifts this year?
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Christmas Creep
Not this guy
Although if the shoe fits...
I've been able to turn a blind eye to the inflatable reindeer that have been on display at the hardware store since August and ignore the gobs of Christmas candy the Target elves magically brought out the day after Halloween. But yesterday I heard my first Christmas-themed radio commercial, trying to convince me to buy a new or used Ford F-150 to the tune- literally- of Jingle Bell Rock.
Maybe the fact that we had our first snow/ sleet storm of the fall yesterday put me in a crummy mood, but it is TOO EARLY for Christmas ads. I'm not a big Christmas person to begin with, but it makes me like it less, not more, when it's stretched out for 6 weeks. If I had my way, I'd say no decorations, candy, etc. etc. until at least after Thanksgiving. I'd actually prefer to keep it to the two weeks before the actual holiday, although you can get thrown in Guantanamo Bay for saying things like that.
So what do you think? How early is too early to start "celebrating" Christmas? After Halloween? Thanksgiving? Dec 1? Or is this not a big deal and I'm just being a Grinch?
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I've been able to turn a blind eye to the inflatable reindeer that have been on display at the hardware store since August and ignore the gobs of Christmas candy the Target elves magically brought out the day after Halloween. But yesterday I heard my first Christmas-themed radio commercial, trying to convince me to buy a new or used Ford F-150 to the tune- literally- of Jingle Bell Rock.
Maybe the fact that we had our first snow/ sleet storm of the fall yesterday put me in a crummy mood, but it is TOO EARLY for Christmas ads. I'm not a big Christmas person to begin with, but it makes me like it less, not more, when it's stretched out for 6 weeks. If I had my way, I'd say no decorations, candy, etc. etc. until at least after Thanksgiving. I'd actually prefer to keep it to the two weeks before the actual holiday, although you can get thrown in Guantanamo Bay for saying things like that.
So what do you think? How early is too early to start "celebrating" Christmas? After Halloween? Thanksgiving? Dec 1? Or is this not a big deal and I'm just being a Grinch?
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