For several years, Andraé and I have tried to spread Christmas out as much as possible,
so we never make plans for more than one or two things per day.
After spending Monday morning scoring deals at the Mall, we spent a relaxing afternoon
and evening with his parents and sister.
Do you have any traditions that help make the holidays last longer?
We celebrated Christmas Day with my husband’s family
at their Grandmother’s house.
No matter the time of day, “Mammaw” is always dressed in a suit, scarf,
pin and high heels. She NEVER leaves the house without gloves…
Yours Truly.
My Mr.
Sausage balls. They are interesting.
Apres food, le sleepiness.
Orange Spice Cake
Gorgeous. That’s all.
And I’m so thankful to have married
into a family of brunettes. We keep real.
Perfection.
Our Christmas Tree didn’t make it up this year…but this works.
***We laid Baby Cayden on a pillow amongst the presents, and sadly the pictures are completely gone off my camera. It’s really strange, because pictures before and after were saved…
So, imagine a cute little bundle of cuteness snuggled up for Christmas.
We spent Christmas Eve gathered with family at my Grandparent’s.
Mouqui (Mookie) will kill me, but I couldn’t resist posting.
What are your Christmas Eve Traditions?
12 Days of Shakespeare
Before you watch this, you should know some background.
These are the amazing actors at the Blackfriars Playhouse located in Staunton, VA.
Despite the 3-hour drive, I have made the trip several times just
to sit in their presence for a couple hours.
Uh-mazing.
I’ve never been to a theatre quite like it.
They use several unique methods that
are pretty much unheard of anymore, including universal lighting
and a stage setup called Theater in the Round.
I’ll shut up now. It’s cool.
Oh. And I forgive you if you find this video a little dopey.
It is. But it gives you an idea of what their acting is like.
Totally personal, totally there, totally in the moment.
I know, it’s confusing.
The Adoration of the Magi, by Albrecht Durer
[Source]
For Christmas, I wanted to do a post for each day of the Twelve Days of Christmas.
You might have noticed the trend over the past few days.
You also might have noticed a number of other things:
I can explain some of it.
a. January 6, the 12th day of Christmas, the Feast of Epiphany, etc…… is better known as
my anniversary. And this year’s anniversary is the epic number 5. So, I needed
plenty of non-Christmasy blog space around that. Hence beginning my X-mas posting early.
b. There are no 16 days of Christmas. But I think there should be.
c. I can’t describe the other weird things that you might have noticed.
Hope you had a fantastic Christmas.
First, let me wish you a
Merry Christmas!
And let me hope that you aren’t spending
your Christmas reading blogs.
But if you are, read on.
Christmas music is very anti-climactic for me this year. In fact, I would go so far as to say that
I can’t wait until Dec 26 so that I don’t feel obligated to turn on the radio.
But this is my cycle. Last year I absolutely adored everything about Christmas.
This year I am the scrooge x 10.
During one of my “bored” years, I was sulking in my bed when I discovered the video of the
Christmas lights choreographed to the Wizards of Winter song by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
See the video here
That pretty much grabbed my Grinch-attitude, smacked it across the face and kicked it out the front door.
No such thing had gripped my attention thus far in 2011 and I was really beginning to wonder if
I could handle hearing Mariah Carey, Shania “Twang”, Amy Grant, Alicia Keyes, The Little Drummer Boy,
Hey Santa, Santa Baby, or Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer again…
But then I watched two peeps on the Today Show, and now I present:
The Sugar Plum Fairy, by Robert Tiso
There are two options here:
A. I am easily amused. B. It is totally awesome.
I’m going with the It’s totally awesome because I have actually tried my hand at Glass Harp,
and it sure ain’t easy.
So there. Maybe I will be able to bear another Mariah Carey with a smile this time.
Are there any other non-Catholics out there who watch the Midnight Mass at the Vatican?
This was my third year watching the Christmas Mass, and I have to admit that I absolutely love it.
It’s funny, because in my own spiritual life, I am very anti-establishment. I believe that traditions
hinder rather than help.
However, from a historical and academic point of view, I absolutely love religion. I find it fascinating in
an Adolf Hitler kind of way.
Before I continue, let me say that I am not trying to compare the Catholic Church to the Nazis,
but we have to admit most great religions have participated in the slaughter of human beings
at one time or another. Part of my fascination with Catholicism is to be able to stand
back and look at the church in its entirety. It will go down as one of the greatest
and most powerful entities in human history.
I can’t entirely blame my interest in Catholicism on history though, I love the music.
You’ve always heard that saying, “The grass is greener on the other side”, well I think that might
apply to me here. I grew up around the antithesis of Gregorian Chant: Black Gospel. Yup, black gospel,
southern gospel, new gospel, white gospel, plain gospel, gospel with a side of fries.
And I love gospel.
But the sounds that rise from the ashes of Catholic history beckon me like a siren’s call.
Gregorian Chanting literally sends chills up and down my spine. In the same moment I can feel exhausted, yet renewed. My mind and spirit soar higher with each and every note.
So yes, this whole video makes me happy. And peaceful.
So yes. I watch the mass every year.
Basically to dream about how amazing it would be to have an great Cathedral choir
anywhere within 500 miles of myself.
And to imagine what it must have been like to live in Europe 500 years ago.
And to imagine what it must be like to be Catholic in a modern world.
Some screen shots from earlier this evening.
Going to Midnight Mass at the Vatican has been on my bucket list for a very, very long time.
And to this, I say Merry Christmas.
When I was little, Dad always woke us up on Christmas morning with pancakes and sausage…
So this year I talked him into doing it again. Smiles.
Does this explain things?
We share a mutual love for weirdness.
My poor brother was sick and voiceless…
Everything about this picture is hilarious.
I love the look on Dad’s face.
Mom isn’t too keen on pictures with her brace, but I had to
show off her Christmas spirit.
(Forgive me Mum.)
This is me. Opening a present. With a homemade necklace and reindeer antlers.
A lovely scarf from my lil’ sis.
And that’s Mom’s head behind me. Trust me, I didn’t grow a funky pigtail.
Rachael’s socks are hysterical.
The two masters ply their skills:
This is Rachael’s “I finally found someone who can beat me” face.
The kid has unrivalled strategy skills, but Andraé was ruthless.
The boy has skills and a competitive spirit.
Have a very happy & joyous Christmas Eve!!!
Merry Christmas!
