Home for the Holidays

Merry Christmas to all! Now that the holiday is coming to a close, I can safely say that I managed to make it a memorable one. Have no fear, I survived (otherwise, this makes for quite an ethereal post).

During my last post, I was in Boston visiting the doctor late Friday afternoon. Apparently, he and I should have spent more time together because I wound up in the ER the morning of Christmas Eve unable to walk thanks to a staph abscess. Merry Christmas. Let's just say, I did not ask Santa for this nor would I wish it on the worst of the naughty list!

A few hours later, full of antibiotics and almost pain-free, my mom and I happily left the hospital ready to take on the swarm of late holiday shoppers in Wareharm Crossing (obviously, myself included in the swarm... don't say anything, I already admitted to my procrastinary ways... and now I'll admit my ability to make up words: procrastinary, that's one for the books!). Within seconds, I found the perfect Lego set for my brother, the last one on my list. The heavens illuminated it and choirs began to sing, like when the Griswolds found their Christmas tree- minus the hypothermia and sap. The shopping was finally complete, presents were wrapped and I was able to spend Christmas Eve with my family, almost a normally functioning person again- at least walking was back in my repertoire!

In the end, we had a wonderful holiday; we shared plenty of laughs, added a page to my medical history and ultimately learned far too much about me. Santa treated us very well and I know that all seven of my brothers Lego sets are completed, taken apart and put back together in as many new ways as possible by now. Anyway, I hope that everyone had a very merry Christmas too and is hunkering down for the blizzard of 2010 to come!

Have to Pay It Forward

Sometimes the world can be a cruel place. We've all experienced it in varying levels. But there are moments of pure kindness that erase any and all thought of pain, like Life's little Etch-a-Sketch. Today, I was fortunate enough to experience one.

After our department's holiday potluck lunch and Yankee swap, I raced out of the office to make a late-afternoon, impromptu doctor's appointment. Obviously I was immediately impeded by traffic, as anyone is who's in a hurry. I was officially running late. Fortunately, I knew my way to the hospital and, more importantly, the parking garage. The entrance to the garage became an "exit only" after 3pm. Fantastic. Thanks to one-way streets, I was up a creek with no paddle. Looked like I was parking on the street. By some miracle of miracles I found a metered spot on Tremont (and if you've driven Downtown, you know how rare that was!). There was just one problem: I had one quarter and approximately an hour-long venture ahead. You do the math. With a dollar bill in hand, I rushed to the nearest store front with hopes of change. The words "No Change" stared me in the face. I was getting more and more discouraged. Ok, plan B. A car pulled up and a woman stepped out as her husband scrounged for coins.

"I'm sorry, but do you by any chance have change for a dollar? I'm running late for a doctor's appointment and only have one quarter." I prayed that my puppy eyes were working. She immediately and sincerely offered to change my dollar, even though her husband told her they may need the coins for their meter.

"Oh, I'll go make change if I have to... she's running late!" she responded to him. I am not sure that I have ever wanted to hug a stranger more in my life. It truly was her sincerity that made my grinchy heart grow three sizes today. Plus, she gave me fifty cents, refused my dollar, and told me not to worry about it. I thanked her profusely and wished them happy holidays, tossed the coins into my meter and sprinted up the street as fast as my high heels would take me.

Because of this simple act of kindness, I want and need to pay it forward. Let's just say that I will be carrying around a lot of quarters in case that couple ever needs their fifty cents back. Whoever you were, thank you and I hope you enjoyed your leisurely hour on Tremont! Christmas really is all around :)

Work Thoughts

My mind wanders during slow days at work. When my mouse isn't furiously clicking between InDesign, Photoshop and the multitude of networks, I imagine an endless stream of creative projects to do. I dream of the family cookbook I will design, the kitchen cabinets I will resurface, the wall I will decorate, the pillows I will sew, the canvases I will oil, the scenes I will photograph, the mittens I will knit, the scrapbook I will update, the frames I will hang. My mind runs like a sugar-high child on the playground. Then I remember: this is why I work. I work to live. I work to one day support a life full of awesome hobbies. For now, most of these creative projects dance within my head, but soon (boy, I hope soon...), I will live the life where I can put these ideas to work.

One Smokin' Party

As the holiday decorating was complete, it was time to show it off with our first holiday party. We started early Saturday morning with intense dusting, vacuuming and general tidying, while gingerbread men crisped nicely in our temperature-fluctuating oven. We chopped and stirred, baked and sprinkled away the afternoon. Somehow, we stayed ahead of schedule and found ourselves relaxing by six, eagerly awaiting our first guests at eight. To complete the Christmasy atmosphere, we began our inaugural fire as the tree twinkled in the background and candles lit the windows. Trust me, we had ambiance coming out of our ears. (For those fire savvy folk out there, don't worry... we moved our stockings to another locale.) With a fire pro in our ranks, the flames roared beautifully. The flues -top and bottom- were open and life seemed perfect. Too perfect. We should have known...

Suddenly, smoke billowed from the fireplace and rolled all over our ambience, headed straight for the smoke detector. We set up fans to corral the beast and hoped to push it out the open windows. I stood in the hallway with a blanket to shield the one detector, praying it wouldn't sound. Water extinguished the flame. More smoke plumed. People coughed and eyes teared. It was just how we wanted our first party to go. As we directed the smoke out, we watched the time tick. Guests were scheduled to arrive in 30 minutes. Somehow (a Christmas miracle, perhaps?), we were able to eliminate the smoke with ten minutes to spare. Phewff. All that remained was a hint of campsite for the nostrils. As the party went on, the smokiness merely added to the smell of Christmas and we wound up having a great night.

As for our fireplace, it will remain the central, yet dormant, element of our dining room as long as we live here. Unless of course we're feeling adventurous...

Happy holidays, everyone! I hope you all experience a little Christmas miracle of your own :)

'Tis the Season

Finally, the Christmas season is upon us. I managed to abstain from the jingle-bell-Santa's-coming-haul-out-the-holly radio stations until the day after Thanksgiving. Now, however, I sing along with Mariah Carey at the top of my lungs and blast the Trans-Siberian Orchestra every chance I get. To complete the Christmassy feel, Jill, Adam and I drove to a tree farm in Allston (I love how accessible everything is in the city!) and picked out our first tree as roommates. It is perfect: full, round, minimal gaps, sturdy branches for the abundance of ornaments we've gathered over the years. Saturday afternoon was dedicated to decorating. The tree was trimmed. The mantel was garland-laiden. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care. I added candles in each of the street-facing windows today and garland will soon adorn the arches in our living room. It's definitely beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

This morning, I trekked to Providence to run their Jingle Bell 5k. It was, and probably will be, the most festive race I've run. Hundreds of reindeer and elves crowded the start line. And I mean hundreds. There were at least 2,700 red- and green-trimmed runners. Needless to say, the first mile was slow going; it was rush hour on a Monday morning. The race continued to build the spirit of the season for me and I am more excited than ever for what is still to come. Next week: Christmas parties!

Runners decked with tree hats (the 11:56 is counting down to the start of the race)