If you're on The Facebook you've no doubt seen the "year in review" montages floating around. The canned post to go along with them starts with "It's been a great year..." Well, fuck that. It's been a shitty year. There have been some good moments, but overall I'm ready to kick 2014 out the fucking door.
But Aaron and I have kept business as usual when it comes to the holidays. We still hosted Thanksgiving for 20, we'll see my family on Christmas, and we're hosting Aaron's family for Christmas this weekend. We've also had a Christmas party every year since 2008, which has grown to epic proportions. We discussed whether or not to do it this year, but decided to keep up the tradition. I can't remember exactly what was said, but it translated to "if we don't have the party, the terrorists win." So my mantra for getting through the season has been "don't let the terrorists (of life) win." I didn't take pictures at the party; I just wanted to be part of it. But here are a few festive pics:
Cocktail napkins
Mom's ceramic tree; the angel that I painted when I was 9
The morning after. (Mom made the poinsettia afghan.)
I'm not always successful at beating away the terrorists. Crying jags come out of nowhere, and sometimes I just want to be alone. And that's OK, too.
The second half of that Facebook post says "...Thanks for being a part of it." Now that I can get on board with. Through all the peaks and valleys of this year, I've had some incredible people holding me close and supporting me, whether in person or from afar. Thank you all so very much.
Here we are, the last day of 2013. I'm really not one to get all retrospective, and actually this post may end up being a lot of rambling randomness. For me personally, 2013 was a pretty good year, and I'll take it because the previous three years saw some major shit go down. But 2013 did suck for a lot of people close to me, so I'm hopeful for 2014. Of course, life isn't puppies and rainbows, and bad things happen to good people and on and on. But for anyone reading this, I wish nothing but the best for you in the new year!
A couple weeks ago I did a post about some of my favorite things in 2013. While I'm sure I left out a lot, there were two things I wanted to be sure to mention. One of the best books I read was The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green. If you somehow haven't read this book, I highly recommend it. And late in the year I became obsessed with this song:
Last weekend we had Christmas part 2 with my family. We went to Erie, PA to my brother's house. We decided it was Opposite Day because I got this:
It's a tagine, for cooking Moroccan food, and I've wanted to try it, but as we all know I'm not the cook in our house. Luckily I received a cookbook as well. I'll let you know how it goes. We had a great time hanging out with my mom, brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephews (and their dog Munch), and I even have a family picture to share!
I dropped the ball on sending Christmas cards, even though I've had them since Halloween. Some of you still may get one in the mail, but if not, here's our holiday greeting.
Have a safe and enjoyable New Year's Eve, however you celebrate. Oh, and here's a little pet peeve of mine: it drives me nuts to see advertisements for parties that read "New Year's Eve 2014." NO, that will be 365 days from now. Anyway, we'll be getting together with neighbors and staying in the 'hood.
Cheesecake Boutique on Lane Avenue in Columbus. Seriously, if I'm feeling down this is where I go. I feel like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman when I'm there. The ladies just bring me clothes to try on and they are brilliant at choosing the right size (even for a good-sized girl like me). I was in there last week and bought a dress for our party and for Christmas Eve. Aaron went in looking for a present for me and just said "I'm Gwen's husband" and Lori immediately pulled out this dress and said "this is what you're getting." Boom.
But wait, there's more! Aaron kept asking me what I wanted for Christmas and I said that I wanted tickets to see Sting with Paul Simon during their upcoming tour. Problem is, they're not playing anywhere super close to Columbus. But in my stocking was a big Hershey bar and inside the wrapping, a la Willy Wonka, were two tickets to the show in Hershey, PA in March!
Also in my stocking:
He's a pretty good gift giver. I think I'll keep him.
We spent Christmas Day with Aaron's family in northern Kentucky. It was a lovely day and it's such fun with the young nieces.
And after the full day of presents, candy, shrimp cocktail, gymnastics and other fun and games:
Lauren (13) Julia (8) Kate (5)
I know that for a lot of you, Christmas is over. Not so for us. We'll have Christmas with my family this weekend so check back on Monday for that.
Also, today my girl Erin is talking about themes for 2014. You can read about mine in her post here.
I have a serious case of the Mondays. Thank God it's a short work week. Last night we had every intention of getting to bed early but we went to our neighbors' house for our usual Sunday Night Wind Down and got sucked into The Sound of Music (Julie Andrews version). Then I didn't sleep well thanks to a nasty cough. Then I realized that my mouse bit the dust and I'm not about to use the touchpad on the laptop. And of course I still have some shopping to do This all adds up to a late post.
This was a party weekend. Friday night we had a party at our house. I haven't done the final count yet but I wouldn't be surprised if I found out there were 100 people here. It was crazy, but crazy fun too!
Bart also surprised me with this gorgeous centerpiece.
Garage crowd
Outside view of the house
Our fun new wreath
I wore this gorgeous new dress but then didn't get
any pictures of myself. I know, I suck.
The next day:
I think we're set on wine for a little while.
The cats (and I) needed naps after all the excitement.
It's such a fun party and it's really cool when we bring together people from different areas of our life. And sometimes we discover connections between people whom we didn't know knew each other! (That's an awkward sentence but I just can't be bothered with fixing it.) This year I actually mailed out real invitations because not everyone is on Facebook and Evite has let me down in the past, but it seems that short of hand delivering invitations to everyone, there's no foolproof way to make sure everyone gets an invitation. And inevitably I end up forgetting someone. So, sorry if that happened to you. Love ya, mean it.
Saturday night we had three parties to hit and we decided we had to do all or nothing. We made it to all three of them and it was a late night but we had such a good time hanging out with three completely different groups of people.
Sunday we did our church thing, then it was time to face the music and clean up the house. Thankfully the cleaning lady is coming today to really take care of business but we still had work to do. And then there was napping. And football. And the aforementioned Sound of Music. And this:
PS #1 - Have you heard that Marla has been nominated as a Hilarious Health Activist? Click here to vote for her. Please and thank you!
PS #2 - I've stayed away from this Duck Dynasty BS. You all should know where I stand, but I think we're all missing the real controversy which is: what the hell is Phil Robertson doing in GQ in the first place?
Ah, the procrastination monster is hot on my heels. Seriously, Christmas is next week? (Ooo, but it is on a Gwensday so there's that.)
Our weekend was fun and busy. We had our church Christmas concert Sunday. If you're interested, you can watch it here. (And if you go to 24:15 in Part One and watch for about 3 minutes, you can see/hear me sing solo.)
Friday night we went to Bob's Bar where the Columbus Brewing Company (you know, my employer) had a tap takeover Christmas party. One of the beers was a super dark stout called Steel Dawn. Aaron calls it "The Stopper."
I still have some house decorating to do. We do have the trees up, which the cats are trying their hardest to dismantle. But then they look so damn cute. I really do think Bella poses; she's such a diva. Wonder where she gets that?
Are y'all watching The Voice? Tonight they announce the winner. I'm OK with either Jacquie or Tessanne (I don't think Will has a chance). I'm guessing that Tessanne will win; she's #1 on iTunes again this week.
How about The Sing Off? I was bummed last week when Street Corner Renaissance went home so early. These dudes are way older than the rest of the groups and they did a One Direction song the first week. And they rocked it! Regardless, I really like this show because I love a capella music and because the judges are awesome. They give real, constructive criticism.
OK, I must sign off now and get some shit done, but I knew I had to post today to link up with my girl Marla, who's co-hosting Tell All Tuesdays this week! I'll be back tomorrow with some of my favorite things of 2013.
This post originally appeared on Friday, December 13, 2013 (hence the reference below).
Horray for Friday! I'm not the superstitious type. I scoff at Friday the 13th. I've had two black cats and I'll probably always have a black cat. Anyway... that's not my topic today so let's move on.
My Favorite Christmas Movies
Die
Hard Whenever I'm asked what my favorite Christmas movie is, my answer is Die Hard (Aaron prefers Die Hard 2, probably because of all the snow). I'm not kidding. Bruce Willis saves Christmas! Well, except for Mr. Takagi and sleazeball Harry. This movie also introduced American moviegoers to the brilliance of Alan Rickman. Hans Gruber = best villain ever.
Favorite quotes:
"I'm Agent Johnson, this is Special Agent Johnson ... no relation."
"SHOOT the GLASS."
"Want a breath mint?"
"Happy trails, Hans."
And of course, "yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker."
Miracle
on 34th Street (1947) Sorry to my boyfriend Dylan McDermott, but I can't get behind the 1994 remake. Nothing tops Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle and young Natalie Wood as that brat Susie who ends up believing. And how smooth is Mr. Gailey when he uses the Post Office as proof that Santa exists. Little does he know it was some schmo in the dead letter department who thinks "what a fun prank" and sends all the Santa letters to the courthouse.
Favorite quotes:
"Your Santa Claus is intoxicated." (clip here)
"Susan, I speak French but that doesn't make me Joan of Arc."
"The district attorney's a Republican."
"Faith is believing when common sense tells you not to."
Christmas
Vacation I have to be honest: it took me a while to like this movie. I always felt bad for Clark and hated that he got shit on when he was just trying to give his family a good Christmas. But it's one of Aaron's favorites and after watching it 794 times, I've come to appreciate it and even enjoy it. I drew the line, however, when Aaron wanted to name our female cat "Cousin Eddie."
Favorite quotes:
(Obviously) "Shitter was full!"
"Eddie, if I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn't be more surprised than I am now."
"I'm sorry, this is our family's first kidnapping."
A
Christmas Story
My dad had never seen this movie until one year on the TNT marathon. And then he went to the basement and brought out his very own Red Ryder BB Gun.
Favorite quotes:
"My kid brother looked like a tick about to pop."
"I triple-dog dare you!"
"Only I didn't say 'fudge' ... I said the queen mother of dirty words."
"Fra-jee-lay. Must be Italian."
Love Actually I can seriously watch this movie over and over (and I do). I think my favorite storyline is the one with Jamie and Aurelia, but that could change tomorrow. I love the soundtrack, I love the cast. Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth and look! There's Alan Rickman again. AND did you know that Chiwetel Ejiofor, now headed for an Oscar nom for 12 Years a Slave played Kiera Knightley's husband AND Andrew Lincoln, currently in a lead role on The Walking Dead, played his best friend who was in love with Kiera Knightley? And the kid who played Sam is now 23 and is on Game of Thrones.
Here's a little quiz to determine which Love Actually character you are. I got Mia, and my results said "Yuck. She's the worst. Feel free to take this quiz again." So I did, and this time I got Juliet - "You like pie, you can't take a hint, and you're a hot commodity in the love department."
I can't believe I never noticed how many turtlenecks are in this movie. Here you can see a ranking of the turtlenecks. It's quite hilarious.
Favorite quotes:
"Just in cases..."
"There was more than one lobster present at the birth of Jesus?" "DUH."
"Let's go get the shit kicked out of us by love."
"I did have an awful premonition that I was going to fuck up on the first day."
In honor of Die Hard, here's a little ditty to get you in the holiday spirit.
And now, you'll have to excuse me while I go re-watch some of these. What are your favorite Christmas movies?
It's now less than two weeks until Christmas. Eep. I've done a lot of online shopping, but truthfully I enjoy going out and shopping in "real life," especially when I can do it in the middle of the day on a Gwensday. Yesterday I ventured out and while I had a good experience, I did come up with some new pet peeves (you can also read Part One and Volume Two). And so, I present:
When parking, if you stalk me for my parking spot and I can clearly see other available spaces, I WILL take my sweet time leaving. I might even just put my shopping bags in the car and go back to the mall.
The 12 days of Christmas really refer to the 12 days after Christmas, not the days before Christmas. I get that it's a good ploy for retailers to use the days leading up to Christmas for sales and such, but it's not right. However, there's a fun little ditty popular with high school choirs (mine did it, which tells you how old it is) which twists around the song. It starts "the first day after Christmas, my true love and I had a fight / and so I chopped the pear tree down and burned it just for spite."
Dear nieces and nephews, if I don't get a list from you, you're getting clothes. Sorry 'bout your luck.
While I love listening to the local radio station 103.5, which plays 70s, 80s and 90s, when the temperature outside is this:
it's just cruel and unusual punishment to play this:
And just for fun, not a pet peeve but I thought this was fantastic:
...well, to a certain extent. Anyway, I wanted to be sure to share with you some events from last weekend.
Friday we went to Mike & Amy's new house for a champagne toast. Aaron and Mike have been friends since they were 12 and Mike and Amy are moving here from Atlanta. They'll be living a 10 minute walk away from us and we're excited to have them here! Of course, Friday was when we got hit with snow and ice -- welcome to Columbus!
Then Aaron and I went to Mitchell's Steakhouse, which used to be a Cameron Mitchell restaurant but is now owned by Ruth's Chris but is still called Mitchell's. Go figure. Anyway, it's one of our favorite places to go during the holidays, especially when it's snowing (although they should have opened up the blinds so patrons could see the snow outside). We both ordered steak, of course, and other highlights were my lobster bisque and a coconut ginger lemon drop martini - delish!
Inside Mitchell's
THEN, we walked over to the Ohio Theatre to see the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and Chorus perform the Holiday Pops. This was the 30th anniversary of the Pops, and the first time in 22 years that Aaron and I were in the audience instead of onstage. We thoroughly enjoyed it and had to refrain from singing along, except when we were supposed to sing along!
Sunday we went to The Grand Valley Dale Ballroom with some of our framily to see Deana Martin's Christmas show. Deana is Dean Martin's daughter, and Valley Dale has been host to lots of stars, including Dean, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, BB King and even Alice Cooper! It was a fun, festive evening!
As for Saturday, it was a pretty lazy day involving naps and football-watching. And now it's already Gwensday and getting close to another weekend. Hooray!
