With Us

Can I hear a big sigh of relief from every Mom out there who celebrates Christmas?  This is the craziest time of year for anyone who has a child under the age of "I still believe."  (Whatever age that might be for your kid/s.)  Even after your kids "get it," the fact remains that there are still gifts to buy, wrap and put under the tree ... Preparations.  Parties.  Baking.  Cooking.  Shopping.  Work.  Don't even want to look at the credit card bills.  Sigh.

Our Christmas tree.  It's a little lopsided at the top, but I think it's super pretty this year.

This song seriously wraps up how I feel in a little more than three minutes:

Just Breathe by Johnny Diaz

Third cup of joe just to get me through the day.

I want to make the most of time, but I feel it slip away...

♬ ♪ ♩ ♫

My son's birthday is December 13, which added a whole new level of crazy to the month.  Even though my kids are still home, they are grown / growing up.  We don't have to attend 15 different Christmas parties anymore.  And...I don't have to go with them everywhere.  It's a huge sigh of relief. 

Love the lipstick...and the Snapchat filters.
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I used to say that December 26 was my favorite day of the year because FINALLY it was all over.  I seriously hated the stress.  How I kept it together, I don't know.  I do know what I do now and it has made all the difference for me in making the Christmas season truly joyful.

This is me today, as I write this blog.  No makeup.  Messy hair.  Listening to Youtube while my son has his friends over.
How Can It Be by Lauren Daigle is currently playing.  I so enjoy this time after Christmas to find myself again.

Christmas music all day every day.  Yes, from Thanksgiving until Christmas, it's nothing but Carols all day.  Our local radio station plays nothing but Christmas music during that time, so I'm tuned in all the time.  At work, I play a variety of Christmas tunes on YouTube.  I'm a little slow to the uptake, but I found that YouTube has a mix of different songs that are comparable to what you chose and it plays pretty much all day.  Go ahead and give it a try.  Search for your favorite song on YouTube and on the right side bar, there are other suggestions.  Towards the top, it says, "50 videos +" and "Mix -" with the name of your song.  Click on that and you can listen all day.

It's been so relaxing for me while I've been working.  I heard this song last week:

Light of the World by Lauren Daigle

The world waits for a miracle

The heart longs for a little bit of hope

O come O come Emmanuel

O Come O Come Emmanuel is probably my absolute favorite Christmas song.  I love the depth of it, the broad spectrum of the notes.  It touches me more than any other song.  So when I heard this one, with the "O come O come Emmanuel" as the refrain and "Glory to the light of the world."  I was moved.

Why do we even sing, "Emmanuel"?  What's the big deal?  In the Bible, Isaiah prophesied:

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign:  

The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Isaiah 7:14

In the New Testament, Matthew repeats this prophesy and explains that Immanuel means, "God with us."  (Matthew 1:23)

God with us.  

Jesus was born to be God in flesh, to be with us and live here with us.

But that was over 2,000 years ago.  Jesus died.  Really?  God with us?  

Yes.  He is with us.  Even today.  In the hecticness of life.  In our pain.  In our joy.  In our sorrow.  He is with us.  God is with us.

O come, O come, Emmanuel.  

We sing this familiar Christmas carol, calling, "Come, be with us."  He is not just with us at Christmas.   He never wants us to live a rat race life, let alone spin ourselves into such a craze to celebrate His birth.  I guarantee that.  In fact, with all the secularism of Christmas, the exorbitant shopping and lack of peace we experience during this holiday season, one might say we actually remove ourselves from Him for the sake of celebrating His coming, His birth, His return.  

As you wind down into the New Year, think about this.  God is with us.  He is with you.  Sometimes it's hard to feel it.  To know He is here, by our side.  But in the stillness and quiet, he is as close as you allow him to be.  Close your eyes.  Listen.  

God with us.

Questions for you...(Answer in the comment section below.)
If you celebrate it, do you love Christmas?  What's the best part?   Are you still listening to Christmas carols like me?

Are you up to speed on my series on wellness?  Check it out!

Radio Silence

The Empty Fridge Syndrome

Put a Little Love in Your Step

On Friendship

Breakfast 101

Not a Runner

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Blessings

Blessings come in all shapes, sizes and different kinds of surprises.

From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.
John 1:16

Yesterday promised to be particularly difficult. I wasn't feeling well in the morning. (I think my coffee didn't sit right.) Anyway, I worked out at the gym and saw Dmitriy there shortly before I was leaving. We talked for a couple minutes, but I had to leave because I had a wake to attend. One of my former students died the week before Christmas unexpectedly. She was just shy of her 22nd birthday. I was so sad.

Went to the wake. It was as I expected. Extremely sad. There is no logical reason for her death, so trying to rationalize it only proves to frustrate. I left and was so down. I texted Dmitriy, "That was horrible." Turns out he knew her and trained her. What a small world. I wanted to cry.

I was invited to a Christmas party last night. Some friends I met at the gym. Lovely people. Truly. Their daughter is my student and I have a soft spot for her.  I wasn't sure I could go. I wanted to open a bottle of wine, drink the entire thing and cry myself to sleep. (This is particularly NOT smart for me!)  Told Dmitriy that and he was like, "Go. Have fun. Go." Somehow I saw his logic and I went.  I'm really glad I did.

So...the party was amazing. Lots of delicious Puerto Rican foods, plenty of beer and Coqui for everyone, and the most amazing band playing Spanish music. I didn't know any of the songs, so it was an great opportunity for me to sit back and feel the music.

Feel the music

I think the instrument he is playing is called "el guiro."  It's a percussion style instrument.

Even the children were playing one.

 One of the things I love about Puerto Rican people is they know how to party! I mean, there were so many people in their house and everyone was having the most amazing time, dancing, singing along and clapping.  While my heart was still heavy, my spirit lifted and I felt joy.

¡Wepa!* They just kept playing one song after another.  It was an amazing night!

So, you know the movie, "White Men Can't Jump"?  Well, this white girl can't dance.  I wish I could because I'm so jealous of those who have rhythm.  Look at these ladies dance it up!  "¡Wepa!*

I had the most amazing time and am pleased to count the Davilas among my new friends. They are beautiful people.

Vicky & Nelson Davila
My new friends ... a true blessing to me

Take time to appreciate your blessings. Sometimes they come in unexpected form.

People from the gym that were at the Davilas.  New friends in the making.

*Wepa is a Spanish term of excitement.  It loosely means, "All right!  Cool! Yeah!"

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."
Numbers 6:24-26

Question for you: 

(Answer in the comment section below.)

What fun things did you do this weekend?

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My Favorite Day of the Year

So, it's true, December 26 is my favorite day of the year.  As hard as I tried this year to REALLY enjoy the holidays, to take time to find the Christmas spirit, to enjoy the gatherings and time with family . . . I am so glad it's over.

Today is my annual recovery day.  I tried to sleep in, but that didn't work.  So, by 8:00 a.m., I was at the gym and doing legs.  I hurt my back about three weeks ago (A Step Back) and recovery has been SLOW.  I haven't been able to do much of anything and I lost a lot of my strength.  Not sure how much that's due to eating crap for the past month too.  Anyway, today I did squats and was able to get close to my personal record (145 lbs.).  I worked my way up to two sets at 135# and was super excited too!

After the gym, I visited a friend, came home, had a snack and took a two hour nap.  Got up from my nap, made two pots of chili.  One is typical beef chili, the other is a white turkey chili.  I'm headed out hiking in a minute or two if I can upload this blog entry in time.

I need to get some kale to put in my white chili, but I'm so looking forward to this for dinner tonight!  With some home made cornbread..

Thought I'd tell you about our holidays via photo blog, so here it is...

The day of Christmas Eve was spent cleaning and I got to the gym for a quick foam rolling and cardio workout.  My back was really bothering me, I think from sitting on the floor wrapping presents for two nights in a row.

My friend Erica texted me at like 10 a.m. to ask me if I was at the gym.  I was like, "Umm, no, I'm cleaning.  Here's the evidence."  Apparently she thought she saw my car, but it was in the garage and I was busy dusting and vacuuming.

My way of cleaning up is to put everything in a pile and then stuff it all in a bag. I did ask my husband to help with this pile.

Got to the gym at 2 in time for foam rolling and 30 minutes on the elliptical.  Foam rolling has saved me the past three weeks while I recover from my back injury.
Quote from Dmitriy, "Foam rolling is life."  I agree.

We went to church on Christmas Eve and then to my sister-in-law's.  She puts on an amazing feast.  She is a wonderful hostess.

This is a before dress that I had taken in.  Dmitriy's mother did it for me.  Isn't her work absolutely amazing?  She's really really sweet too.  I told him that she's my new favorite person.  I don't have room for one more, so he's out and she's in.  He laughed.  I do really like her.  She is a beautiful person inside and out.  And I absolutely LOVE my dress.

Look at her Christmas tree.  It's breathtaking.

My niece and nephew are the cutest little kids I've ever laid eyes on.

Brian and his partner, Karen.  Karen is like a sister to me.  She's part of the family.

My niece Jill and Joey

Joey helping Josh with his toys.  This is an annual tradition.

My niece Kara

I am an early riser, so on Christmas morning, I took Koby for a walk.  I think I was overly excited about the warm weather because I left with just a sweatshirt on, took a loop around the block and came back to put a jacket on and my mittens.  Got in 3 miles.  It was awesome.

Breakfast and opening presents

French Toast Casserole.  

I had two servings.  It was soooo good.

Danish from Costco.  This is an annual tradition.  I had half a piece this morning.  

Joey plays Santa.  He gets all the gifts from under the tree and hands them out one at a time to everyone.

Brian and I don't exchange gifts because it's too stressful for me.  We get each other gifts throughout the year, but I can't deal with it at Christmas.  So we each get a little gift.  I got him this Ride to Remember polo.  He likes it.

One of the hazards of losing weight is your clothes don't fit.  My winter coat from last year is so big on me that it looks like a tent on me and the cold air goes up into the jacket.  So, I bought myself a North Face.  I can't wait 'til it's cold enough to wear.

So at about age 10 or 11, Mitch stopped wearing a winter coat or jacket.  Now that he's a grown up and it's COLD in New England, he actually needs a jacket and will wear one.  I got him this.  It's white, so I'm hoping it doesn't get too dirty.

Me and Mitch 

My mother-in-law has dementia and is in a nursing home.  We went to visit her on Christmas morning.  She liked her presents.

 Christmas dinner 

Dad & Joey

My BFF Stacy and her mom, Shirley

My godson, Sam, my Great-Aunt Gloria and my cousin, Whitney

Christmas night we went to see the new Star Wars movie.  I loved it!

After the movie, we saw this crazy VW Bug in the parking lot.  How in the world does this thing even drive?  Does it even have tires?  Or is it driving on the rims?  Crazy things you see on Christmas, that's for sure.

 Merry Christmas!!!!  

Happy December 26th, my favorite day of the year!!

Feliz Navidad by Jose Feliciano

Brian's favorite Christmas carol

Questions for you: 

(Answer in the comment section below.)

Was Santa good to you?

Now:  Subscribe to new posts!  When a new post is added, you will receive an email notice so you can check it out.  I promise:  no SPAM and I won't share your email address with anyone.  Look at the top right side of the page to subscribe.  

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