Merry Christmas!

It seems like we had a strange Christmas season this year. It didn't feel very festive, even for me, up until last night. The snow and spending time with family and friends helped.

It was a nice Christmas for me and mine. I hope everyone else had an enjoyable holiday!

Last weekend, some of my family and their friends had a Hanukkah party. It was really nice to see everyone and eat delicious latkes! Mine never turn out that good... I can't figure out the secret!

But here are pictures of Raina at the party:

Here she is looking at my Auntie Francie

Raina smiling and laughing at Auntie Kema!

And on Christmas eve, we had a little family dinner at my mom's house. Again, here are some Raina-centered pictures because she tried baby food for the first time:

First taste!

Thinking the sweet potatoes might be alright! She liked them.

All tuckered out.

We got to spend time with Isaac's family, too, which is always nice. We had a brief get together with my brother, his (now!) fiance, and Raina and I had Christmas dinner with an old friend and her family.

I hope that I will get to see my sister this weekend and there is a great gathering of friends for our little Christmas! Still so much to do and enjoy! I am one lucky girl.

Why I Love December

December is my month. Yes, my month. Despite the nasty, cold, snowy weather, I am happy in December.

Even working at Starbucks was awesome at this time of the year. The holidays were my favorite time to work in coffee shops.

Several of my friends have birthdays in December (Happy Birthday, all!) which means hangouts, gatherings, and general fun. Hanukkah is (usually) in December, as is Christmas. That means Christmas and Hanukkah parties. Isaac and I get to go to two Christmas parties, one for each of our work places, and I am already excited. Dressing up, going out, and having dinner! We don't get to do that very often. And we already have disgustingly coordinated outfits planned for his work party.

We were invited to the annual Hanukkah party that my dad's side of the family and their friends have. Get to hang out with family and friends and eat latkes. And who doesn't like that?

Once December is here, I allow myself to listen to Christmas music, watch Christmas movies, read Christmas and Hanukkah books, and enjoy the lights. Lit menorahs and Christmas lights make me smile.

Plus, it is my birthday. And I love my birthday! That often turns into a week-long celebration.

I suppose it boils down to December being FULL of fun events which allow me to spend a ton of time having fun with my friends and family. And that is pretty exciting.

A Winter-y Welcome

Hello! And welcome to winter and the holiday season! Of course, if you live in Colorado like me, it is off to a very dry, un-snowfilled start. "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas..." If we are lucky! It would definitely make the holiday season feel like the holiday season.

Beautiful, right? It is called "Where Snowflakes Are Born" by vladstudio. Here is where I found it: Where Snowflakes Are Born

 For those of you who don't know, I celebrate a little Christmas and a little Hanukkah. My dad's side of the family is Jewish, but I wasn't exposed too much to the Jewish holidays. Hanukkah is one of the few I am familiar with. In honor of meshing these two, I usually keep my decor blue and silver. It works out quite nicely. So when you see posts for both holidays here in the future, you won't be confused. I also like to celebrate the solstice. Have to acknowledge that mildly pagan side of me as well. And if you see any references to Midwinter, it is a reference from the Tortall series of Tamora Pierce books, which I highly recommend. My friend Becca and I, in our mildly obsessive nerdiness celebrate this instead of Christmas. I probably just added to the confusion...

Hanukkah starts very soon; at sundown on December 8th. And I am excited because the last night of Hanukkah is on my birthday (eventful month!). I am not sure why that makes me happy, but it does. Aside from my birthday, which should be a good time lasting about a week, as birthdays should, we have some other birthdays, some shows, and a holiday party or two. I am very excited for this month.

Anyway, happy holidays everyone! Whichever one(s) you celebrate! I hope they are wonderful! Welcome to winter! (Unless you are in Colorado, where we don't know it's winter yet. I'm sure the weather will catch up.)