my journey, destination unknown
I was planning to go, really I was. But then I spent the day dealing with all.the.things and lost my momentum. Lately, this seems to happen far too often. I have good intentions, but maybe I just expect too much of myself? I have high hopes of what I can do and then end up…
Usually by this time, the stocking are hung, the tree is lit, and the house is festive. This year, I’ve managed to get up a few of the basics, but am struggling to get the job done. Is it becuase the kids no longer are at home? Because I am just always exhausted from work…
I’ve never been a huge fan of Thanksgiving, and since moving up to the site of the “First Encounter” even less of a fan. I don’t like much of the traditional food (turkey, stuffing, gravy), and the prep work leads to unmanageable levels of stress. So this year, with it being just me and Rob…
I suppose I’ve written about it a few times before…. What Season? Hello my name is Gwyneth and I like holiday cards Holiday cards done But I’ll re-iterate. I love receiving and sending holiday cards. Please keep them coming! I managed to get them sent out before Christmas this year, but the postal service has…
The first week of July is full of family celebrations. On the 4th, Phelix and Gazoo celebrate their birthdays. Of course, they have no idea of what a birthday is, and we really have no idea what their actual birthdays are. And on the 8th, Rob and I celebrate our anniversary. 22 years this week….
It’s Christmas Eve. The first day of the winter (what winter?) break where both girls are home for the day. As they’ve gotten older and busier, it has gotten more difficult to have a family day at home with them. In the past we’ve had a week of jigsaw puzzles, cooking, movies, and more. Now…
It was a simple party for the new teenager. A few friends (not many are in town right now). Time to swim and play games. Ice cream cake and snacks (some healthy, some not). A few gifts (not necessary, but grateful in any case).
One of our traditions as of late has been to go on a hike, even if a short one, on New Year’s Day. With the girls both sick and my not having had enough hours of sleep, I wasn’t in the mood to head out, but my mom pushed me out the door. Phelix had…
It was a quiet Christmas. Almost too quiet for my liking. I’ve worked hard to have enough downtime, but now I need to start adding in some more fun things as well. I wish we had made a nice breakfast, taken a walk, gone to the movies. As I consider my goals for next year,…
Someone asked me the other day if the Christmas panic had reached me yet. For the first time in a decade or longer, the answer was “No. I’m on top of it.” And I plan to keep it that way. What has made this holiday season the least stressful one that I’ve had in recent…
After a day of running out to Target (in Chattanooga) to buy a new FitBit, we had our cabin Christmas, opening gifts by the fire. While waiting for the clock to tick down to midnight, we watched “New Year’s Eve”. Finally, it was midnight! Time to explode the crackers (Phelix was not happy about those),…
I woke up early (as usual) and picked up around the apartment, then made coffee. I read for a while, then eventually, Chloe got up and worked on getting Camille and Rob up. We had a fun time opening our gifts, then had a nice, leisurely breakfast at home… While this was a nice Christmas,…
As our tree stands in the corner undecorated other than lights, the girls got busy decorating sugar cones to look like Christmas trees. Cones, melted chocolate, coconut flakes and candy made for a fun time and some pretty trees!
Despite my desire to celebrate each and every day, I’m terrible at celebrating events like my own birthday and Mother’s Day and even Christmas. When the celebration gets *personal* and I’m expected to give meaningful gifts or send personal messages or cards, I fall apart. Take the crafts and recipes for “National Blonde Brownie Day”…
I wasn’t sure that we were going to get them done in time, but we did …. Easter eggs dyed with beets, cabbage and turmeric.
Mostly, this Christmas Day was another day for me. Not much celebrating or enjoying, but another day to clean and take care of everyone else… Phelix and I got up around 7 and went for a leisurely stroll around downtown Decatur. When we returned, Chloe was awake and desperately trying to get Rob up. I…
Year after year. I dread Christmas. I am the world’s WORST gift giver. This inadequacy of mine stresses me to the point where I want to curl up in a ball and not come out until next year. Today I realized that this really, really should not surprise me. I hate shopping of any kind…
As with last winter here in Atlanta, I fear the only snow that we are going to see this year is the fake kind. Maybe the weather will actually turn chillier at some point, but for now the girls and I have to accept this weird fake stuff. (Though Chloe, heading to Massachusetts for a…
As I wrote a week or two ago, this year, I’m not writing the letter. I’ve done it for a number of years now. I do it because I so love reading letters from other families. More interesting than a store bought card or a photo card, at least for me. But this year I’m…
Thanksgiving dinner at the cabin will be on the table any minute now!!