Merry Christmas and Happy 2015

I am sick for the holidays this year, like really sick. Started last Friday with a mean case of laryngitis and evolved into a really terrible cold on Monday. Yesterday I tried to work, I really did, but I ended up working remotely with a hot compress over my eyes, barely accomplishing anything. Today, Christmas Eve, I am writing from my work desk, which isn't much of a joyful place either because there are basically two people in the office and everything is in shambles because we are moving - this is actually kind of exciting, the moving part, I mean.

This is the first Christmas Eve that I have ever spent away from my family...that I've ever worked! It's strange, it's a very strange and adult-ish thing to do and I'm unsure how I feel about it. All I know is that Christmas spirit is hard to come by when you've been running a fever on and off for the last 6 days.

Whatever, I ordered Thai food for lunch...so there are simple pleasures.

I am happy it's Christmastime, don't get me wrong. It's my favorite time of year, but after losing my Nana this June the family has collectively lost some of the magic that comes with the season. More than anything, I am most excited for 2015. I would be lying if I said that I didn't love 2014...I did. The end of 2013 and start of 2014 were both trying seasons, but they were beautiful. Beautiful and wonderful things happened and I can honestly say 2014 was one of my favorite years so far, but it's also been one of the hardest, especially the last 6 months. Yet, hard as it's been, it's been sprinkled with simple joys, good friends, nights I will never forget, and moments with my family that I'll cherish forever. 2015 just feels good. It sounds good. I have this instinctual feeling that big things are about to happen and so I am welcoming the new year with big, open arms...like one of those slow, beach scenes where two people are running towards each other with dramatic music.

Just like last year, I thought that I'd take some time and share what my goals/resolutions are for the new year....so here goes nothing!

This Year...

A bad habit I am going to break....Overeating
A new skill I'd like to learn....Spanish, paddle boarding and to refine my skiing skills!
A person I hope to be more like...Mother Teresa
A good deed I am going to do...Sponsor a child
A place I'd like to visit....Seattle or Costa Rica
A book I'd like to read....The Bible (in full)
A new food I'd like to try and make....Pupusas
I'm going to do better at...Being consistent (especially on this little blog) and controlling my anxiety

What are you going to do in 2015?

Photo courtesy of Thyme is Honey...read this blog, it's lovely!

On that note, I'll see everyone in the New Year. I hope the holiday brings an abundance of blessings to you and your families.

A few Christmas favorites...

A few Christmas favorites 

For my family, Christmas has never been about the presents.  Christmas is more about love, family and Jesus.  As far as gifts go though, I'm notoriously hard to surprise.  Throughout the year I tend to save my money to a ridiculous extent and rarely buy myself things...so around the holidays and my birthday, I sort of have a wish list.  This year I did my best to let me family & friends surprise me and I could hardly contain my excitement Christmas morning.  My parents surprised me with new sunglasses, a J.Crew necklace, a new watch & wallet from Fossil and my little brother bought me those gorgeous earrings!  Brought such a smile to my face on Christmas morning and I totally felt lame when all I had bought my little brother was the football he asked me to buy him!!!  My favorite gifts to watch people open were for my parents.  My little brother and I went ahead and planned a whole date night for them and paid for it.  Watching them open that was really sweet.  My dad also bought my mom a new ring which was just lovely.  

What were your favorite gifts to open or watch others open this year?

What does Christmas mean to you?

It's hard to sum up what Christmas means to me.  It's of course about Jesus and faith but it's also about family and love.  There is so much magic this time of year and I can hardly contain my excitement!  Here are a few of my favorite quotes about Christmas:

"I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." - Charles Dickens

"My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others.  Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?" - Bob Hope

"Christmas, children, is not a date.  It is a state of mind." - Mary Ellen Chase

 "Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful." - Norman Vincent Peale

"And when we give each other Christmas gifts in His name, let us remember that He has given us the sun and the moon and the stars, and the earth with its forest and mountains and oceans--and all that live and move upon them.  He has given us all green things and everything that blossoms and bears fruit and all that we quarrel about and all that we have misused--and to save us from our foolishness, from all our sins, He came down to earth and gave us Himself." - Sigrid Undset

How gorgeous is this little Nativity set up?  We have a beautiful Nativity set that my mother had saved and bought my great grandmother when she was 18.  I'd like to save and do the same for my momma next year!

What does Christmas mean to you?  

Just a note: I'll be back after Christmas!  I hope you all have a blessed holiday and I look forward to continuing this lovely relationship with all of you in the New Year!  Thank you all so so much for reading From Scratch.  It means the world to me :)

A perfectly trimmed tree

Each year my mom works tirelessly to put up our tree and each year I look forward to coming home to it. What do your trees look like?  I'd love to see them!