Momma Told Me: Our Holidays, Puppy Pajama Cuddles, + Gift Exchanges

Blog Archive

Our Holidays, Puppy Pajama Cuddles, + Gift Exchanges

Momma Told Me: Do the holiday hustle.

This year our holidays were very quiet. Most of our friends and family were scheduled to be out of state for Christmas, so we had made alternative plans, and even held our great Omaha Steaks feast of 2013 in November to compensate. As it turns out, life is often unpredictable, and everyone ended up right at home this week. Of course all of the gifts had been exchanged and unwrapped, and the tidings given, so Jay and I hunkered down for a simple holiday. The days leading up to Christmas we had chilling mid 70F degree weather with torrential, warm, Santa Ana winds. I got up early, as Jay left for work and began putting my house back together from 2013- there is much cleaning to be done. This resulted in a rather large donation of a new scooter, dozens of coats and blankets, and several large boxes of shelf stable food (couponer, remember) to the local church outreach program. In between I took turns napping with Truffles and Nora, and got my fair share of 'Winter' snuggles.
On Christmas Eve we trekked over to my father's house where the three of us opened gifts from family on the other side of the coast, and enjoyed a nice 'traditional' meal of Ribeye and Baby Back Ribs. We retired early so Jay could get enough sleep for his morning shift on Christmas Day. I woke up and completed my work, clean, cycle again. That evening we went across the street to enjoy a home cooked meal with Sabrina and her family, which involved watching the entire first 3 Disney 'Pirates' movies on cable television. All and all, fairly routine.

Of course, this year I was part of the Social Fabric, Collective Bias, blogger community (this month marking my year anniversary), so I also had the chance to participate in a few unique holiday events. The first, the Virtual Gift Exchange, allowed me to take a closer look at Cristi of Motherhood Unadorned. In my virtual gift post I explored the person behind the blog, and the causes that motivate Cristi to curate such a uniquely candid forum of acceptance and support, her blog. Needless to say, I've since become a reader, and highly suggest you check her out too!
I also participated in an Ornament Exchange through Social Fabric, in which I was paired up with fellow blogger Kim, of Mommie...Again and tasked with sending her a secret ornament. I was told her tree would be decorated in a burlap theme, with lots of black, beige, and white hues. I also learned, with a quick visit to her blog, that she lived in Texas and was very much into nature and crafting. After much deliberation I decided to send her a Snow Doe ornament I had found at Cost Plus World Market; it seemed to match a 'burlap' theme perfectly, while keeping with the rustic, handmade style Kim loved. I hope I did good!

On Christmas Eve day, I received a curious parcel in the mail from a holiday website; and quickly knew my ornament had arrived. It didn't take much sleuth work to determine this parcel was from Janet Krugel of Going Crazy!! Wanna Go??!!, her name was on the return address label. I think I'd told the 'form' when signing up for this swap that I loved animal prints, bright colors, and things that sparkled. Janet managed to find a set of ornaments that fulfilled all three, with these beautiful, slightly loud, Zebra Print, Hot Pink, Sparkle Globes. I also love the antiquing detail put into the top of these!

So, there you have it. All the wrapping paper is on the curb in the bin, and the thank you notes about to be written. 2014 is almost here and I have a lot to do to start the year off right. With BlogHer on my agenda, my first blogging conference, I'm certain the new year will mean big things for me. What are you looking forward to in 2014?

What Daughter Says: This morning, while laying in bed I thought, "I should start preparing for Valentine's." Is there, really, such thing as a holiday 'season'?

8 comments:

  1. Sounds like you had a wonderful holiday. May great joy find you in 2014.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Glad to see you enjoyed the holidays! I did not participate in a lot of gift exchanges but still had fun anyway by spending more time with relatives. Here's to an awesome 2014 for us!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your holiday sounds restful and fulfilling! This year we focused on giving. My kids learned the good feeling that comes from giving to others. We went to PA for a whirlwind weekend of visiting family. After that, we just relaxed and nursed our wounds, since we came back with colds and strep throat. Yikes!! I'm hoping that 2014 is full of lots of family time and good health--for your family and mine!

    ReplyDelete
  4. how cute are the cuddle pajamas!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Aww! I wish I had done the holiday ornament exchange too! Definitely going to do it next year - you picked such perfect, thoughtful ornaments and your holiday sounds like it was wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am always on the lookout for quality posts and articles like this!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I suppose im lucky to have found this! I hope you will be adding more in the future

    ReplyDelete
  8. Just want to say your article is as surprising.

    ReplyDelete