What a fabulous new year it has been – I have spent the last two weeks relaxing with my honey-bear, and now, it’s back to work and back to reality.  Its a foggy gloomy cold January day, and I am LOVING it!  I’ve holed up in my office with my heater blasting, and for once am very happy to be here instead of outside.

Cheers to a happy new year – full of fresh experiences, new memories, and lots of love.

xo

Winter is officially here – today marks the shortest day of the year, which in my mind is an exiciting thing.  That means that from here on out, the days will be getting longer again.  The seasonal beginnings have always been a cool thing for celebration in my family as we have always made a point to celebrate non-holidays. When my sister and I were growing up, my mom would plan something special and fun to mark the change of the seasons.

For the spring equinox, we’d have our own version of a may day, and my mom would make us flower crowns for our hair – we got to wear them to school – which was quite a big deal in elementary school.  For the summer solstice, we’d always bbq – in my mind, the universal sign for summertime is a bbq – even just the smell still triggers that feeling of warm weather and playing outside until late (even if its foggy and we are shivering on a friend’s SF porch).

The fall equinox always happens right after my mom’s birthday at the end of September.  My parents live on a really pretty tree lined street, and the sycamores start to drop their leaves right as the weather starts to cool at night.  To welcome Autumn, we’d go and rake up all the leaves we could find, make a pile as big as we could, and jump in it.  Oh the simple pleasures of childhood…

Winter comes to the bay area before the winter solstice – the month of December is by far the coldest of all the months in the year, and at night, it frequently gets down to the 30’s.  To welcome winter, we stay inside, wear our pajamas all day, and bake trays upon trays of Christmas cookies.  I REALLY wish I were there right now, holed up in my mom’s warm kitchen, baking cookies, and laughing over a cup of coffee.  Unfortunately, I am at work, so in the spirit of the winter solstice, I will eat cookies for breakfast, and let out a quiet cheer to myself that after today, the days will get longer, and another spring is just around the corner!

Its cold, and we are spending the day snuggled on the couch – hot cocoa, cookies, and Christmas movies….. having lazy days like this always feel so luxurious… mmmmmmmmmm

Every year since I was a child, my family would go and cut our Christmas tree down.  We’d all bundle up, drive up to the mountains and chop down the PERFECT tree.  Rain or shine.  One year, there was a terrible storm, and the rain was coming down in buckets.  We ate our little picnic in the car, chose a tree right off the side of the road, and were in and out in 5 minutes.

I happen to love this tradition – picking up a tree from the home depot just doesn’t have the same appeal.  And you can’t beat the smell of a freshly cut tree – amazing.  I still go with my parents, and their traditions have become mine.  My mom sent me this note today:

“Daddy and I have been cutting down our tree from the first year we were engaged and will probably continue to until we’re sitting in a convalescent home with drool bibs! Even then, we might try to sneak out with a saw or small hatchet..ha ha!”

Is that not the cutest thing in the world?  While Kris and I aren’t engaged, I hope we are the same way, and have our own yearly rituals that we continue with our kids, and even after our kids are grown.

Painting courtesy of Laura Tasheiko

One of my favorite holidays is just around the corner.  I happen to LOVE Thanksgiving becuase unlike Christmas, there isn’t the added stress of buying people presents.  It’s just about spending time with the people you love, and eating and drinking to your hearts content.

This year, we are heading to Kris’ half sister’s house earlier in the day, and then doubling back to my parents. I find splitting the holidays to be stressful, and sad.  I never really feel like we are spending quality time because one eye is always on the clock.  I also feel like no one is ever happy that we have to run half-way through the day, but luckily I have the best parents in the world.  My mom just wants me to be happy, and really doesn’t put pressure on me to stay at their house.

This year has brought a lot to be thankful for – I have gotten promoted, Kris and I have moved in to a new home together, my family is in good health, my sister just got married.  I am at a very happy, peaceful time in my life, where the puzzle pieces seem to be fitting together, and for once, there are very few things I could honestly say I’d want to change.

To all the people struggling right now, may the rest of the year bring peace, and may we stop to be thankful for one thing every day.