Into '09

I don't think it will come as a surprise that I'm ever so happy to welcome an officially New Year. I'm excited to see what Mark and I will create in the year ahead. What our home will look like, the decisions we make about what's important in our lives, and the experiences we choose this year will little by little create a memory of '09 that is unknowable right now, and that's very fun to think about. Then there's the looking back. I feel drawn to do a lot of that lately, and I'm working on a list of Good things that happened in '08. Because while I am kinda glad to close the door on that year, fantastic things did happen, and I don't want to remember it as a giant black spot. So that's to come.

For now I have a few holiday highlights to share.
I didn't get very crazy with the wrapping or decor this year. In fact, in a lot of ways our holidays were about keeping things simple. So we enjoyed a couple of seasonal changes in our home, but mainly we upped usage of the warm and cozy things that are always here. We played more music, spent more time sharing blankets, and lit a lot more candles.

Hanukkah was great this year. We took a look at our presents all lined up the night before and Mark said, "You know, all our lives we've had this night before things start, and we stare at the presents and get all amped up, trying not to peek. Do you want to just go for it?" And I said "Yes." Then we celebrated the real eight nights which fell across Christmas and my birthday.

Christmas was wacky. At my parents house, as usual. But we celebrated a lot on Christmas eve, which, growing up, was strictly reserved for wrapping presents until midnight and freaking out about trinkets that we hid too well. Hey, everyone has their family traditions. Once I convinced myself that I wasn't doing the verboten by opening presents early, it was quite lovely. My mom lost no gifties (we think) ate a fantastic meal, and were ready for bed in normal diurnal fashion. Dad even helped with dinner and made some of the best ever biscuits. Beer biscuits, of course.

Christmas day was the usual with more family and the absolutely essential breakfast sandwich. We pumped that up this year with free range bacon and raw Oregon cheddar from Homegrown Meats. A big new favorite around here.

A quiet few days ensued, and then it was my birthday. We went to dinner, took a lovely drive, had a smooch,


and went to one of my favorite places in San Diego the next day for a small hike.

The 30th, we took in the Holiday Bowl, which is always great football. We got wonderful seats and managed to stay warm with some very careful layering.

Surprisingly, New Year's Eve exceeded our expectations. We had dinner with the lovely Kelley and Steve within walking distance of their place, and worked in games, bubbly, and a few fireworks by midnight. Which struck, and amen!

So that's it. Now I'm tasked with getting in a little bit of exercise so that I don't get too too chastised when I go back to pt next week. Let's hope for a very productive week?