Feelin' Irish

Belated Christmas greetings

Merry Christmas from me and mine. :)

My buddy

Today, among many other things, I am thankful for a well-behaved, happy dog.

Where God's chillin'

There are lots of Christmas lyrics that make me wince, but this one (taken from "Santa Claus is Coming to Town") actually manages to find me with my mouth wide open in disbelief almost every time I hear it. I'm not actually sure who wrote this disturbing addition to an already sub-par song, but Bing Crosby sings it with such cool confidence that I can scarcely believe my ears.

Santa knows that where God's chillin'
That makes everything right

My challenge this week: to post Christmas lyrics each day. That should give you poor readers something new to ponder . . . several of you say you've been "reading my blog," and I can only assume that means you're reading and rereading old posts. Unsure of whether or not my writing can actually sustain that many readings, I think it would just be best if I write something new.

Jump in bed, cover up your head
'Cause Santa Claus comes tonight, tonight
Santa Claus is coming tonight

The best thing about Halloween

Is that when you're riding the bus and the subway, and walking around town, you get to try to figure out if people are wearing a costume, or if that's their normal look.

Feliz Navidad

The birthday girls . . . on ice

I'm 24 today. And Laura's 25.

And so we celebrated.

Celebration isn't something I feel I'm naturally good at. I have this Anabaptist work ethic that tends to keep me from celebratory actions--after all, there's always something "better" to do.

But is there? I don't know about that.

To mark our mid-twenties, the three of us went out for a lovely Italian meal (which I now have the task of bleaching out of my white shirt!) followed by some particularly graceful laps around the local ice rink. It was Mr. Incredible's first time on skates (which the rental guy assured him were razor-sharp!) and he did wonderfully, even making friends with another first-timer, who was about 7 years old, and kept him updated on her spectacular wipe-outs. Laura and I did our best to recall the mad skating skills we'd learned years before, in the process bruising our feet in places that we don't even know what they're called. (Is there such a thing as an ankula?)

We topped off the evening with fribbleccinos, and sundaes at Friendly's, and drove home, rocking out to Van Morrison in the Element. Good times.

It's been a weird year . . . so many changes. I guess I'm a grownup now--a career woman, too--and I'm not always sure what I think about that. But I am thankful for another year spent on this earth, learning more about God and the world around me in my bumbling way. Here's to more learning--and less bumbling--in the year to come.

Enjoying my birthday gift!

Meta-thanksgiving

The annual question: what are you thankful for?

And my answer this year is weird. I mean, I could say that I'm thankful for my husband, my friends, my church, my family, my dog . . . it's all true. I am thankful for all those things. But this year, as everyone around me seemed to be thankful for the things I would usually mention, I was just thankful for Thanksgiving itself.

I am thankful for the break--for the time when pretty much everyone in the country decided to take it easy, hang out at home, or spend good times with friends and family. I have a hard time resting when I know people are working and trying to be productive without me . . . so as I continue to live this grown-up life in which I go to work five days a week, I'm beginning to appreciate holidays so much more. This holiday, for me, was Sabbath. I was freed up to rest--or at least, to not work--and I am so thankful. Heck, I'm thankful that I live a life that I can be grateful for.