The Holiday Season in Full Swing

Okay, so yes...I've been beyond lax in keeping up with my blog (and yes, I realize I've started posts this way in the past!) but when things get busy this blog is the last thing on my mind.  I hope that everyone reading this is having a great holiday season thus far though!  Sure, Christmas music has been on the radio since before Thanksgiving, but it's only once we're into December that it really feels appropriate to get into the Christmas spirit.

So far I've been (and dragged my boyfriend along) to a masquerade Christmas party and a work holiday party--if there was a contest between the two, the masquerade party would have won hands down.  It's not that the work party was terrible, the company we were with was great, it's just that the party committee tried to implement a group game that was a total bust and completely killed the mood.  Plus, only giving everyone two drink tickets (regardless of if you were bringing a guest or not) was a buzz kill...no thank you to the $6 domestic bottles!

This year is also the first year I've had a Christmas tree at my house.  My family has always been an artificial tree family, but my boyfriend's family has always been a real tree family.  In the debate-that-wasn't-really-a-debate, it was decided that we would get a real tree this year.  (I'm still holding out hope that we'll do artificial next year, but I'm not too optimistic)  I dubbed the tree "Steve" (much to the chagrin of my boyfriend) and we proceeded to make him beautiful:

As you can see, we didn't start off small with my first household Christmas tree.  Nope.  Steve comes in at about 8' or so and is quite full.  He did turn out very pretty though and I'm kind of in love.  :)  I'm definitely looking forward to exchanging gifts and sharing quality time with family, friends, & loved ones in just a couple weeks.  I'd love to know what you and your loved ones are doing to make this holiday season special so please feel free to share in the comments.

In the meantime, Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Why growing up isn't always a bad thing

When I was younger, I could have definitely been described as a "tomboy" most of the time...I played sports, I wasn't into "girly" things like dolls or fashion, and I wound up with plenty of skinned knees and multiple bruises.  Sure, it probably didn't help that I was a major klutz, but not all of my injuries were due to my inability to stay on my feet.  I suppose I should consider myself lucky in that my worst injuries were sprained ankles, a dislocated knee and a few trips to the doctor for stitches.

Fortunately, as I've grown up, I've gotten much more coordinated...and while I'm still a kid at heart (e.g., my weekly kickball league), I'm a bit more feminine too.  You wouldn't have known that yesterday though.  No.  Yesterday, I attended a 4th of July bash in Neptune Beach.  It was a pretty nice day - not too hot, plenty of drinks, tasty food, etc.  Later in the afternoon, a little storm rolled through...and this is where my day went downhill...fast.

A large group of us were gathered under a tent in the driveway when I decided to make a dash for the stairs and get inside and out of the rain.  Unfortunately, at the same time I was making that choice in my head, the girl next to me decided to squash over to give her friend room on the other side.  Disaster!  As I was making my dash, I tripped over her foot and went down in an unladylike heap of embarrassment and shame.  As if falling weren't enough, I also successfully removed the top couple layers of skin on my right knee, scraped the side of my left knee, gashed my right elbow, scraped my left hand, and somehow semi-demolished the big toe on my left foot.  Oh yea...and then I skidded back into one of the bbq grills...fortunately it didn't rain embers down on me (clearly the only plus side to this whole thing).

Awesome, right?  Then, while everyone stood staring at me, only ONE person made a move to help me up and ask if I was okay.  Clearly I was not.  I then became the spectacle to behold in one of the upstairs bedrooms...some sweet girl I barely knew trying to clean up my gashes, my good Samaritan gathering up the bloody towels, while many others stood gawking at me from the doorway.  (As an aside, whoever created alcohol wipes is an asshole...those things HURT!!!)  I made my exit soon thereafter...partly so I could get properly cleaned up at home and partly so everyone else could be free to make fun of "that girl" without me being there to witness it.

Not exactly a fabulous 4th...and definitely a clear illustration of why growing up and skipping the skinned knees is a good thing!