chew & savor, but most importantly...swallow

I'm all about savoring the moment.
Sometimes this feeling, however, can be greatly inhibiting. Last night as i lay in bed watching the lights on my christmas tree dance back and forth, i realized that it would be the last christmas eve i would spend as a "child". Next year will be my first Christmas as a married woman.

A huge part of me was excited at the thought of sharing such a hallowed holiday with the love of my life, but at the same time the idea that this Christmas was the end of something, caused an immediate rush of pressure to enjoy.

I lay there almost in a panic, thinking of how important it was that e-v-e-r-y m-o-m-e-n-t of this Christmas eve and Christmas MUST be enjoyed to it's FULLEST extent...but...how?

I tried at first to think of every Christmas from my childhood and play it back in my head like a movie montage or series finale but all i could think about was whether or not the lights on my Christmas tree were bothering my sister who was sleeping beside me. then i moved to forcing profound thoughts into my head while attempting to form this great life lesson that could mark my passage into adulthood but then i started wondering if my Christmas tree lights were bothering my sister who was sleeping beside me.

this was a beautiful Christmas. although the gifts weren't as exciting this year and i even have to take a few back i realized something in trying so hard to make it the "perfect" Christmas...
i learned that when i try so hard to savor the moment i often ruin the moment entirely. it's like chewing on a piece of meat for too long-it tastes good at first but eventually it gets soggy and limp and altogether gross (graphic, i know but it works).

that's what i started doing with Christmas. i was forcing the enjoyment and fun and importance of this particular one in my head so much that i got stressed out over it being the perfect memory. i didn't even know what i needed to make it perfect, just something magical like birds singing carols outside my window or every gift being made of gold...i don't know...i just wanted to enjoy it so badly that i chewed it over and over and over again squeezing every last flavor of the season out until it was limp and altogether gross. but that's no way to enjoy the holiday. i'm incredibly blessed and even though this Christmas didn't contain a chorus of heavenly hosts belting the benediction to my childhood, it was a beautiful time of enjoying family and friends.

so this Christmas i learned to let go, to savor then swallow and as i do, let the sweet aftertaste of my blessed childhood remain in my mind for years to come.

Nog: defined

Merry Christmas!
Among the many things that fill my head this time of year (i.e.-presents, family, love, peace, joy, yada, yada, yada...) eggnog, is defnitely high on the list.
I'm amazed at how i've never questioned this creamy, delicious drink before but this year i stopped to think about the name.

Eggnog?
What is that? nog? egg? an egg's nog? if an egg had a nog it's not something i'd curl up on the couch and sip.

so i decided to do some research...
turns out the british word for beer (what eggnog was originally made with) was "nog" or "noggin". another possible explaination is the fact that colonists in America referred to thick drinks as "grog"-thus eggnog: egg+grog.
you can choose which origin you'd like to throw out at parties, i'm just satisfied in knowing a nog isn't something that falls off an egg and is thrown in a drink at Christmas time.

speaking of parties...if you find your self at one with everyone's glasses of eggnog held high in the air, recite this quote and you'll have pleasure to spare :-)
"Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love." H.W.Mabie
(say it in an english accent and you'll have the whole room wrapped around your little finger)

Thanks for reading and Merry Christmas!

(all the facts about eggnog were found on about.com...although making something up and passing it off as facts did cross my mind)

verbal h'orderves

usually i go into posts with a plan, a writing blueprint if you will, but this one is off the cuff...

well it seems that i've had so many post ideas since i started writing this that i'm going to have to refine them and come back.
so consider this little "ditty" (haha funny word, say it out loud-go on say it, you'll laugh) just something to wet your proverbial appetite :-)

later!

Finally Finals

It's finals time, which means it's truly beginning to look a lot like Christmas! (at least that's what Johnny Mathis is currently crooning)

I do love this time of year. Not at all because it involves endlessly pouring over books and straining your brain to remember every minut detail the teacher has stressed over the past four months, but because you automatically have the pity of everyone who knows how stressful finals time can be!

I do play the "i've got finals" card more then i should and it's simply because i love the pity look i get in return when i do.

haha evil, i know.
i will really miss it when i graduate...until then, i've got to study!!