Monday, December 20, 2010

Storybook Christmas Tree

I don't know how any of you are with Christmas Trees but I am nuts about mine.  There will never be another tree quite like my families, and ours really tells a great story. Ever since I can remember my mom made an extremely joyous task of trimming the tree.  I remember when I was little, my parents would go to the nearest YMCA and pick out the cheapest pine tree they could find.  No matter how little they spent on it, the tree was beautiful.  And when my mom got done stringing the lights her arms would be all poked up from the needles on the tree. 

During this time we didn't have as many ornaments so our tree would be pushed in a corner and the front would be decorated so that it looked extremely plush and full of ornaments, unfortunately one year it wasn't having any of the lopsidedness and toppled over (quite a few ornaments were shattered).  Since then we have accumulated hundreds of ornaments that we put on our massive (usually hovering around 8 ft) Frasier fur tree. I have come to be so attached to some of our ornaments, because they tell a story.  Each and every ornament has a meaning behind why it was purchased and why it is being hung on the tree.




I want to share some of my Christmas Story with you.

One of the ornaments on our tree was handmade by my grandma when she was young (about 25) and she had 3 little kids to care for, she was newly divorced and didn't have money to purchase ornaments so she made a whole bunch.  The one that she gave my mother was a little house she made out of cardboard, cotton balls and felt.

We have a ton of well known characters on our tree as well.  My favorites are the 7 Dwarfs.  I found this set at the Disney Store like 6 years ago and bought them just because they were adorable.  What made them different was that they were hand painted glass, since usually those type of ornaments are plastic.



We have a cake that clips on, a teapot that looks like it's pouring into a cup hanging a little lower, barbies and a bottle of wine with the year 2000 written on it, to remember the Millenium (I guess in part to celebrate that the world didn't blow up either) :-p


That is a good visual of some of our tree ornaments.  We have begun putting the ones that are specifically mine into their own bin so that when I move out I can just take them with me (I would not want any of my ornaments to be left behind), the tradition has to carry on :-). 

How about you, my lovely blog readers?! What is the best part about your tree, or you decorations in general?? 

Thursday, December 16, 2010

It's Thursday

I know great job at stating the obvious.  Anyhow I've noticed that a lot of blogs take on this "Thankful Thursday" posting.  So I thought I would give it a try (I know original right) but, before you knock me I'm going to do a small twist on it.  I'm going to list the things I'm thankful for, but then add a new section..."Things I am most definitely not Thankful for".  So lets get started:

Today, I am thankful for:
  •  My mom's homemade Chicken Dumpling Soup: although I take all the chicken out since I am a veggie
  •  My fluffy scarf: It is cold in Cleveland
  •  The power of my words: Being friendly and saying the right things makes the day pleasant
  •  Phoenix Coffee: I love warm teas and the awesome service, plus there is an adorable barista guy ;-)
Crazy Latte Art, delicious results
  •  My best friend, she's amazing, even though she is 8 hours away.
  •  Boots: In this crazy Cleveland weather, it makes it so much easier to get around
  •  Christmas Music: I know that most people don't like it all the time, but I have continually had 106.5 on my radio since Thanksgiving
  • My Christmas Tree: Which will have its own blog post, probably tomorrow
  • Snow 
  • 4-Wheel Drive: for dealing with the snow
  • My twitter:  I am a social media freak, make fun of me if you will
Trust me, I have so many things to be thankful for in my life.  But, the list would go on and on and on, not to mention I'm sure certain aspect of my life will find their way into my blog posts soon enough.  Now, lets get onto what I am NOT thankful for.
  • Crazy Cleveland Drivers (just because it snowed doesn't mean you should disobey traffic laws and forget how to drive)
Yeah, I was in that...for 3 hours, normally takes me 25 mins to get home
  • The cost of parking: anytime you go somewhere Downtown it costs you a gajillion dollars to park...love cities but never have loved this aspect
  • Ignorance: every time I read an article about hate and anger, all I can think of is how ignorant these things sound...and how much more I am disappointed in some humanity.
  • Forgetting breakfast = rumbly tummy
  • People that I see everyday not recognizing my face: seriously we have a conversation every day.
And that my friends, are a few things that I can honestly say bug me, however not the long list (not even the most intense).  I will say this though, generally I am a happy person so there are many things that don't actually bug me.   Well, I hope that you enjoyed (at least a little) some of my thankfuls and not so thankfuls. <3

    Sunday, December 5, 2010

    Shiny Chirstmas Lights


    Tis the season...and you will probably see me talk quite a bit about Christmas festivities for the next couple blog posts. For today I want to share with you the gorgeousness that is my house.

    See I'm one of those people who is very excited when things sparkle, shine or generally glitter...that's one of the reasons I love Crocker Park...who doesn't love a little glitter in the cement?  Anyhow this weekend I decided I was going to put up our Christmas lights.  See it is something I have always loved....to me your house cannot get any brighter.  I want my house to look like a lit up gingerbread house.  Imagine something Buddy the Elf might do if he got his hands on our boxes of lights.

    Anyhow I digress...I decided to bypass waiting for my dad and harassing my brother and just do it myself.  So I found the ladder and scaled my house (slightly nerve wracking since I did this at night) and got to work.  3 frozen hours later (I should mention 30 degree windy weather is not the best idea) I finished my beautiful house.

    2010 Christmas Lights


    Now I only wish that all houses who celebrate Christmas put up lights outside, I can only imagine how beautiful a street full of lit up houses would be.  As for me I'm going to keep hoping for snow and stare at all my sparkle. Happy start of the season.

    Thursday, December 2, 2010

    The Fallen King

    I am not a huge sports fan by any means...anyone I know will tell you that I couldn't decipher between many of the plays in specific sports, or tell you the entirety of a team.  However, I am a Cleveland sports fan, a Cleveland believer and I was one of thousands who were crushed when LeBron left the way he did.

    Sherwin-Williams banner being taken down, we were all the witnesses of prime backstabbing


    This gets to be brought up today because it is, what I think maybe, one of the most crucial moments in our city's history this year.  Cavaliers vs. Heat tonight and in that I only need to say...crap.  I wholeheartedly believe that the Cavs can kick the butts of the celebrity team "the chosen ones" or whatever it is they choose to call themselves these days.  I like to say that revenge is the best motivation to get someone back, and from what I have paid attention to the Cavs have been doing pretty well for themselves thus far.  Even beating the Celtics after the Heat had lost to them.  Safe to say with some simple logic the Cavs>Celtics>Heat we already sorta beat them once.

    So here is what I have to say.  As much as I want to plea to Cleveland to be respectful, to not get rowdy, to keep their bottles in their hands...generally as much as I want to tell them don't give the rest of the country more reason to bad mouth my favorite city (they're gonna do it anyway)...I can't.  Cleveland is known for their rowdiness, we are known for our fans who will pummel you if you look at them wrong and we are known for our dedication.  And that is why the LeBron knife cut so deeply.  Cleveland believed in it's strongest player, the one who made promises of staying in town until he could prevail, the one who said he cared.

    I cannot blame him for wanting to win, to chase the team that might give him that quick possibility.  But what I can blame him for is his execution:
    • Hiding out in another town
    • Announcing the decision like it was a circus show
    • Not trying to beat the best...rather join them (not how MJ did it)
    • Acting rude over people being upset over his decision (summer tweets about keeping notes on haters) instead of realizing he pissed off a sports crazy town.

    Rumor has told me he basically ordered his fiance to stay in Akron (I have a friend who works at the salon she gets her hair done at) and he gets to party it up in Miami.  What are you teaching your kids Bron Bron?  So twitter is raging, blogs are raging...the entire city of Cleveland is raging.  The Q is taking as many precautions as possible:
    • Confiscating t-shirts that might be rude (i.e. Quitness, ruined LeBron jerseys etc.)
    • Body Scanning
    • Having a Bomb Squad ready
    • Pouring drinks in cups...no bottles (lol)
    • Kicking you out if you get too unruly
    Don't wear it...you'll loose it. I have a feeling you'll want to wear it at another time.

      Cleveland...be rowdy but don't be dumb.  I suggest this great campaign on twitter @laughatlebron where the whole goal is just to laugh (he won't know what to do). As for me I'm going to watch the game from the comfort of my own home with my Quitness tee. Have fun Clevelanders.

      Wednesday, December 1, 2010

      Hello December

      Today was an especially difficult day to drag myself out of bed because I was so warm and comfortable (my bed is like lying in a pile of fluff and happiness).  However, upon wiping the sleep outta my eyes, tripping over my dog, and almost falling down the stairs, I realized that it was December.   The month of December means SNOW, SNOW, SNOW and even more snow.  And in the fancy city of Cleveland, snow to most people is a curse.  It means crazier drivers, bigger potholes, longer commute times, lots of salt and of course blustery cold temperatures.  But to this insane chick over here snow in Cleveland means this:
      Snowball Fight circa 2006 at BWC with my bestie <3
       It's true, I relish in the moments when there is enough snow to stick on the ground and so that I have the possibility of making a snow ball.  But here is why snow is wonderful:
      • It's sparkley
      • It's cold (my general disposition is better in the cold)
      • It's pretty
      • It makes everything look clean
      • Nothing compares to a snowy Christmas morning
      • My dog loves to jump through the snow (he's got little legs and a long body) and it's adorable
      • It tastes good when catching snowflakes on the tongue (so maybe I act like I'm 5)
      • Snowball Fights
      • Igloos
      • Snowmen
      • Sledding
      Those are the big reasons I can come up with right now but I am a firm advocate of winter fun and have been ever since I can remember.  I will always be happier in the months of December-March where it is acceptable to wear colorful scarves, winter coats and cardigans.  My main memo of this blog as I heard the moans and groans of many people during the extremely gentle flurry this morning...buck up Cleveland the wintertime is beautiful and you know that there will be a time during the winter when we experience 60+ degree weather...so chin up and come join me for a snowball fight and igloo buildings session!