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Sunday, December 29, 2019

A Semi-Successful Blogmas + Shenanigans in Cabin #90

Hello friends! I last left you on Blogmas day 12 and you'll notice that's where Blogmas has seemingly ended. T'is true. I let the ball drop after 12 days. See what happened was, on Friday the 13th I had plans to go out of town with my family and I did not have a post prepared ahead of time for Friday, or that whole weekend. And so then by the time I got home on Sunday I was like it's cool I can totally catch up it's fine, this is fine. But I didn't catch up and so here lies Blogmas, 2019, after 12 days. It was fun while it lasted.
BUT the silver lining is, 12 is a very Christmas-y number (12 days of Christmas anyone?) and perhaps I MEANT to only write 12 posts - the 12 posts of Blogmas, if you will. We all know I didn't but we can pretend it was on purpose. And I mean, 12 days is 12 days and given my hot and cold streaks of blogging the last few years, I'm counting 12 days in a row of Blogmas a win. It's a win. It's a semi-successful Blogmas. We came, we saw, we sort of almost conquered.

Now that that's out of the way. Can I tell you about said trip on the Friday that ended Blogmas? Because it was freakin fun.
My family and I unintentionally started a tradition a few years back of taking a quick little weekend trip out of town to hang out and do Christmas-y things together. We started with Sedona, and would take the long way home through Flagstaff for a pit stop to play in the snow. When that ran its course we tried out Prescott for a few years which was equally as fun. We were ready for another change of scenery this year so we decided to make the trip up to Greer for a Christmas weekend in the White Mountains.

Nate and I left on Friday and took our time mosey'ing up there. We made a pit stop at a wood working store in Heber, and also the gas station wherein, a man standing behind us in line with a very Russian-looking fur hat told me that I had really good hair for braiding. "You have really good hair for braiding," he said. "The texture, the length - your hair just looks like it would hold braids really well." This at the same time the gentleman in front of us was chatting up Nate about friends he knows who work in law enforcement. Not gonna lie, I felt really popular at the gas station in Heber, you guys.

We made it to Greer by the early afternoon and upon check-in we realized the main lobby had corn hole boards for the taking. So take them we did. And corn hole we played. A best of three between Nate and I and my parents that it kills me to say we lost. We had a really good first round and then I just got overly excited and I let the win go to my head and I got distracted with the Christmas music on the bluetooth speaker and I probably spent too much time trying to floss to "Mele Kalikimaka" by Bing Crosby. Sorry Nate.
My sister and brother-in-law didn't leave town until after work on Friday so we ate dinner the four of us, and watched a Hallmark Christmas movie while we waited for Audrey and Lionel to arrive (Bless you, Greer Lodge for carrying the Hallmark Channel). And we waited. And we waited. 

My sister shared her location with us on her phone so we were able to keep an eye on how close they were getting. Except they were getting very close to the New Mexico border instead of Greer. For those of you good at geography, that is the WRONG WAY. We kept watching their location in anticipation as if it were a sports game: "Noooo that's the wrong way!" "Ok they're back in Globe hopefully they don't miss their turn." "They're approaching their turn...Yeeeeah the took the right turn!" The joke became, "they're back in Globe" and any time anyone asked a question, the answer was always, "back in Globe." Where is my flashlight? Oh it's back in Globe. Has anyone seen my slippers? Yeah I saw them back in Globe."

It was a wild ride but at about midnight we walked up to the main road in our jams and jackets to wave them down with our flashlights (heaven help us if they missed the last turn), and they finally made it to cabin #90. Nate had thought he'd be funny earlier in the day and switch the pillows on their bed from the head to the foot so that they'd lay down the wrong way, but after their long journey and too much time spent in Globe, we quickly switched it back knowing they'd probably not be in any mood for shenanigans. Wasn't about to take that risk.

After a good night's sleep we all took our time in the morning and eventually headed out to play in some snow!
My mom and dad found a nice snow play area that was not teeming with people earlier in the week and it was so nice. In fact, after about an hour, most people had left and we were one of the only families left on the hill. I was not mad about it. 

We took turns sliding down the hills in our tubes - feet first, face first, on your stomach, doubled up, backwards - you name it, we slid it. Queue the action shots:
Our proudest maneuver however, and surely the gold medal winner if this were the Layman's-Snow-Play-for-a-Bunch-of-Desert-Dwellers-who Barely-Even-Own-a-Pair-of-Snow-Pants Olympics, was when all six of us piled onto our three tubes and slid down the hill linked together like some sort of centipede of death. Oh yeah. 
Did anyone break any bones? No. Did we cause a bit of a scene? Yes. Were small children looking at us like we were having more fun than them? Also yes. 

Once we had our fill of tubing we headed out to check a thing off our bucket lists. 
That thing: a freakin real life sleigh ride
Am I making this up? No. Is this picture photo shopped? Also no. This happened. I don't have a lot else to say about it because...like...just...UGH 😍
You can't hear it but there were even sleigh bells jingling (ring ting-ting a-ling too) around the horse's harnesses. Outside the snow had fallen and family was calling, "yoo hoo!." It was lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you.
Sorry I'll stop. I had to.
You know that feeling you get when you have a really good day? Like, you can't stop smiling and your heart feels full and warm and you keep looking at all the pictures you took? These wonderful things are the things we remember all through our lives....ok FINE SORRY I said I'll stop. 

After our magical sleigh ride we headed back to the cabin, hung out for a bit, and then headed down the road to the Molly Butler Lodge for dinner. After we'd had our fill of steak and potatoes and bread and all the delicious things that fill you up after a long day of Christmas-ing so hard in the snow, we entered into a rousing game of Head's Up. The last time we played it we were in Sedona on a weekend Christmas trip, drunk-ish in the hotel lobby and it's a miracle we didn't get kicked out. Especially because my sister has a tendency to yell SO LOUD that you literally cannot hear anyone else. See look, she's standing up yelling louder than anyone, can't you hear her?
Of all of us, my dad is the worst at this game. Once people start shouting he gets a deer-in-the-headlight look and doesn't know who to listen to and doesn't know what to guess and so he just stares until his brain processes the six clues that have just been hurled at him. My mom finally had to be like, "GARY LOOK AT ME. GARY LOOK RIGHT HERE. GARY FOCUS HERE." It was funny. It was also funny when they were trying to get me to guess "Alamo" and my dad's hint was, "remember the...!" and I yelled "TITANS!" so sure I nailed it. It was a good movie ok, how could that not be the first thing that pops into your brain?
We went to bed late after yelling our hearts out at Head's Up, woke up Sunday and started to pack it up.

It was such a good and cozy and Christmas-y weekend and I'm not gonna lie, I felt a little bit like I was in a Hallmark movie all weekend which, I am totally ok with. Shenanigans in Cabin #90 coming to a Hallmark Channel near you 2020.


Thursday, December 12, 2019

Blogmas Day 12: Christmas TBT - Christmas Tree Edition


If I was smart I would've titled this post "Christmas TREE B TREE"...get it? It's a pun. Cause "t" and "tree" kinda sound the same. No? Anyway...

When we were kids one of the traditions I remember was that my mom would always take a photo of my dad bringing in the Christmas tree. This tradition started long before my sister and I were even born, and as they celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary this year - they now have forty photos of my dad bringing in the Christmas tree. 

When I got married I decided I wanted to do the same thing. The first battle was getting Nate to agree to getting a real Christmas tree. I told you earlier this week how I am ride or die Team Real Tree...Nathan is not. I've always said my one piece of marriage advice is to pick your battles. This was a battle I 100% picked to fight. 

It might sound stupid and seem like a small thing but Christmas meant so much to me growing up and I have such rich and wonderful memories of Christmas time throughout my life, I really wanted that as I started my own family as an adult. And I wanted a damn picture of Nate bringing it in with all the rest of the Christmas cheer every year too.

So Nate finally obliged and here we are 11 Christmases later. It was fun digging these photos out - I obviously knew I was taking them each year but I don't think I've gone back to look at them all collectively. 

2009
Our first Christmas tree! With a small cameo featuring puppy Maycee.

2010
Is Nate literally wearing the exact same shirt and hat from the year prior? He sure is.

2011

2012

2013
Nate losing patience with me and my need for photos in 2013 - didn't stop to let me take one. Although this year we did go up north to cut one down, so he was probably over it all, after having to manually chop it down, lug it home, and lug it into the house.
Bless him.

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Aaaaand last but not least, 2019
...with a small and slightly blurred cameo featuring 10-year old Maycee and Gunther.

We really ran the gamut in Christmas tree entry points didn't we? Back door, garage door, front door. No dog door though - probs can't fit a tree through that door. 


Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Blogmas Day 11: Midweek Brain Dump

Hello friends. Can we please just take a moment to acknowledge the fact that I have posted every single day on this blog for the last 11 days. ELEVEN. I don't want to like, toot my own horn but like...TOOT TOOT!
When I was considering attempting a blog post every day until Christmas, I read another blogger's post about reasons why you should participate in Blogmas (I would link to that post here but I was deep in a Google search and I didn't bookmark the page and I don't remember the bloggers name. My bad.), and one of the reasons was that it creates discipline in writing and posting. This was the main reason I decided to give it a go because discipline is something I have a real hard time with, particularly in making time for this 'ol blog. So far after 11 days I'd say it's working. I feel like sitting down to write posts might almost maybe kind of is close to being a habit. *Knocks on wood.*

But anyway, after all my planning(ish) and trying to come up with themed posts for Blogmas, today felt like a good day for a brain dump. That and plus the Hallmark movie currently on is an old one that I've seen so I don't have any FOMO about it.

When I got home from work today the dogs were in the middle of eating their dinner and Maycee literally stopped eating, ran over to greet me and wag her tail and say hi to me, and then returned to eating her dinner. Like, she stopped mid-meal to come say hi to me. THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE. Maycee interrupts her meals for no man, woman, or child. She is motivated by, dreams about, begs for, and lives for her meal time. But on this day, the 10th of December (lol writing this post the night before it goes up), two-thousand and nineteen, Maycee interrupted her dinner to welcome her mother home. BRB gonna go wipe the tears from my eyes and bask in the love and devotion my dog has for me.

I am currently rewatching New Girl on Netflix and I have to say, why is this show not more popular? New Girl was the first show I started binging back when I very first got Netflix, but then I stopped after season three because that was all that was available, and then I never picked it back up. So naturally, I started back at the beginning a couple months ago and now I'm about halfway through season six of seven and I am thoroughly enjoying every single minute of every single episode. Like, this might be controversial but behind The Office, New Girl is my #2. Like, I like New Girl more than Friends. Am I allowed to say that?

For those counting and in case anyone is wondering, it's four more games before Deandre Ayton returns to the Suns after serving his suspension. I told myself I would not invest in the Suns this year because I hate a lot of the decisions the front office has made and how they've handled a lot of things in recent years. Also, they've been a flaming dumpster fire of hot garbage. But this year they brought in Monte Williams to coach, and then a bunch of players I have literally never heard of so more than anything, curiosity made me tune in on opening night. Since then, every time they play I text my dad something along the lines of, "There is a Suns game on tonight and I hate myself for being excited about it." And now you know what's happened? I just can't quit Ricky Rubio's man bun. Or the very large bearded Australian man. And also Devon Booker but we're all already on that train. See? See what you did, Suns?

In other sports news, Winter Meetings have begun and if the Diamondbacks even think about spending $100+ million dollars on Madison Bumgarner I'm gonna rage.

I have a question - who started the, "I'm telling my kids" meme? At first I didn't really get it but the more memes I saw, the funnier it became. So good job, people of the internet. This is one of my personal favs:
If you know, you know. 

Now, before I send you on your way please enjoy this video of Shania Twain performing at the AMA's and smile, feel good about life, and appreciate the fact that Shania Twain has not skipped a beat since the 1990's.



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Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Blogmas Day 10: Christmas Absolutely Not's

I don't know if any of you have heard of, or listen to, or follow Heather McMahon but if you like to laugh and you love shenanigans, you should definitely do so.

My coworker told me about Heather so I first started following her on Instagram and then I learned she has a podcast and so now I listen to that on my commute home from work once a week. It's called Absolutely Not and again, if you love to laugh and you love shenanigans, you should listen to it. Instead of me trying to describe it I'll just insert the little show blurb thingy here:

So anyway, you can call in to the show and leave your "absolutely not's" in a voicemail but I thought why the heck not put some in a blog post because it's Blogmas and we need 25 whole days of content right?

Absolutely Not - Christmas Edition

Black Friday shopping
Absolutely not. No way, now how. The only Black Friday shopping I'll do is in my sweat pants on my couch with a glass of wine and that's it.

Making the Starbucks Christmas cups a controversy 
Please don't. It's a cup.

Home Alone 3
This a whole new cast of actors. It is no longer a sequel. Absolutely not.

Fruit Cake
Abso-freakin-lutely not

Being offended if someone or anyone wishes you or anyone else a "Merry Christmas" 
It's the holiday season. Please do not be looking for things to be offended by. Absolutely not. Receive the warm wishes bestowed upon you by your fellow human, with open arms and an open heart and feel blessed by the tidings of comfort and joy. Amen.

Being offended if someone or anyone wishes you or anyone else a "Happy Holidays"
See above.

Artificial Christmas trees
I know this one may ruffle a few feathers but I am a ride or die real-Christmas-tree-only kind of girl. Absolutely not to any Christmas tree that I have to pull out of a box.

Christmas at the Dursley's
Absolutely not. Christmas at Hogwarts always. Or the Burrow.

Tinsel
Tinsel reminds me of sand when you go to the beach - it gets places you had no idea it could reach and you are finding it in and around yourself and your things for days after you leave. This is what tinsel does. No thank you. Absolutely not.

What do you say Absolutely Not to, during the holidays?!


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Monday, December 9, 2019

Blogmas Day 9: My Christmas Playlist

I thought about writing like, my top ten Christmas songs or my favorite Christmas albums or something like that but it is just TOO HARD to pick favorites when it comes to Christmas music. There's so much to pick from and it's all SO GOOD. So, here's the playlists I've been rocking and some of my go-to albums I typically reach for first!

This Christmas Classics playlist by Spotify
This is usually the first playlist I reach for; it's a two-hour and 32-minute playlist of truly the best Christmas classics from Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee to Mistletoe and Holly by Frank Sinatra. So much classic goodness.

This Happy Holidays playlist by Spotify
Spotify describes this playlist as "a list of new and old seasonal favorites." And that, it is. It's Ariana Grande's Santa Tell Me and A Holly Jolly Christmas by Burl Ives. It's Baby it's Cold Outside by Brett Eldridge and Happy Holiday/The Holiday Season by Andy Williams. A little old a little new. The perfect mix of both and I am into it.

This Christmas Peaceful Piano playlist by Spotify
I've been putting on this playlist when I sit down to blog or journal or any time I want to wind down for an evening, or have a nice relaxing holiday soundtrack in the background. 10/10 will bless your holiday ears.

This Hogwarts Christmas Playlist also on Spotify
Ok so don't make fun of me on this one but Christmas time at Hogwarts is the most magical thing and is a prominent part of the stories and movies. So when I searched "Harry Potter Christmas" on Spotify to see what I could find, this playlist came up described as "A mix of Harry Potter score pieces, holiday classics, and wintery classics that evoke the spirit of Hogwarts at Christmastime." WHO DOES NOT WANT TO LISTEN TO THAT? Not I. I want to listen to all two-hours and 47-minutes of it all the time. And that, I do. Blogging? Working from home? Wrapping Christmas gifts? Addressing Christmas cards? *presses play on Hogwarts Christmas."

Christmas Portrait by the Carptenters
This album is from 1978 and is one of the ones I remember hearing the most growing up as a kid. It sounds like Christmas and reminds me of my childhood. A win-win.

Home for Christmas by *NSYNC
This album. Every year. All season long. I don't usually like modern attempts at Christmas albums as much as the old ones but this was an instant classic even in 1998 when it came out. MERRY CHRISTMAS HAPPY HOLIDAYS, PEOPLE. It's the Christmas Jam!

Christmas Eve with Johnny Mathis
Samesies as the Carpenters above. Christmas time + childhood memories = Johnny Mathis Christmas music

Noel by Chris Tomlin and Lauren Daigle, from the album ADORE Christmas Songs of Worship
This song will move you, you guys. Lauren's voice is so powerful and the message she's singing about is even more powerful. Noel! Come and see what God has done!

I can't talk about Christmas music without shouting out my girl T Swizzle and her brand new, instantly classic Christmas song, Christmas Tree Farm
It's new, it's original, but it has lots of jingling bells and sounds like it's been around for years. Homegirl nailed it.

I was going to include Michael Buble on here but I figured y'all are already well aware of the gold star standard in Christmas excellence that is the Michael Buble Christmas album right?

I know I am missing a ton of good Christmas music on this list and it doesn't even touch the tip of the holiday iceberg. What are your favorites?!

Happy listening!

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Sunday, December 8, 2019

Blogmas Day 8: All the Blogmas Posts I Cannot Write About

When I decided try and attempt Blogmas this December and write a blog post every day for 25 days, I started a brainstorm list to make sure I could even come up with 25 blog post ideas. During the brainstorm I consulted Pinterest to see what kind of blog post ideas the internet had. It had a lot. But I found, after reading list after list, that most of the suggestions I couldn't actually write a full blog post about. These are those posts. All the blog posts I can't actually write about. Is this reverse blog post psychology?


A Gift Guide for Your Husband, Wife, Children, Parents, Coworkers, etc. etc.
Gift guide posts are a funny thing. I cannot put together a gift guide for your husband or your dad because I do not know your husband or your dad. For this reason, I feel like most "gift guide" posts end up being super generic suggestions and thus, not helpful. Unless of course you are a Harry Potter fan - in that case yes, I can write you a gift guide post because I too, am a Harry Potter fan.

How to Stay Healthy During the Holidays
Staying healthy during the holidays is not a priority for me, I'm gonna be real honest. Eat your cookies and sweet treats in the morning for breakfast because then you have all day to burn it off...is that good advice?

Holiday Fashion
I am not fashionable and I promise you, you won't want to see my Christmas Outfit of the Day. It's loungewear. You don't even wanna see my Christmas Eve Outfit of the Day. It's Christmas jammies.

Holiday Makeup Looks
I have none.

Tips for Hosting the Perfect Holiday Party
Also have none of these.

Christmas Day Gift Haul
I know these are popular blog posts and Youtube videos for content creators, and I know a lot of people like them so don't hate me when I say this but they kind of come off braggy to me. So I can't and I shan't be writing about my Christmas gift haul.

Winter Skincare Routine
My skincare routine is the same during winter, as it is during summer, and spring, and fall. Do we need different skincare routines for different seasons? Asking for a friend...

How to Child-proof your Holiday Decor
I don't really know how to child-proof things. I do however, know how to dog-proof your Christmas tree. Is that helpful?

The Best Dishes for your Christmas Dinner
We don't really do a formal "Christmas dinner" in my family; we never have growing up and I don't do it as an adult either. Mostly because we all just got done eating a big ass dinner at Thanksgiving - why do we need to go to all that trouble again, four weeks later? Get yourself a Costco spiral sliced ham, throw it in the oven and eat it for dinner on the couch before your police officer husband goes back to work on Christmas night. That is the extent of our Christmas dinner. And I'm not mad at it.

Blogmas posts I can and have written about in case you need to catch up:




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