A Very Merry.

I am one of those people that loves that Christmas is coming...and is just as happy to see it go. I have been known to take down all my decorations, including my tree, the night of Christmas. Yes, I am a little nutty. Certifiably so.

We had a very nice Christmas. Low key. Simple.

Christmas Eve dinner was with Chris' parents at their house. Feasted on turkey soup and the most fabulous crusty bread I have had in a long time. Opened presents and came home late.

This morning was awesome. I will never tire of hearing Simon's little voice shout presents as he tries to wiggle out of my arms. The Dora house was a total hit. After our immediate family morning we drove down south to visit and have dinner with Chris' grandparents. So nice and calm and just lovely. We all took little naps and chatted and ate and just enjoyed the presence of others.

And, I wanted to share a few things that have been making me merry lately:

• Stick pins with small pearls on the end.

• A lovely, refreshing drink concoction which includes equal parts cranberry juice, grapefruit juice, and mineral water with a slice of lime (courtesy of Body & Soul). Chris and I think it would be pretty tasty with a bit of vodka too.

• Homemade salsa from an old co-worker/friend back in the day:

14 oz jar diced tomatoes
1/2 chopped onion
1/2 jar diced jalapenos
1 bunch cilantro

juice from 1 lime
salt to taste

mix it all up in a food processor and you are good to go - tends to be even better after all the flavors have blended together.

• Red wine.

• TIVO - new to us as of today. My gift to Chris. He is giddy with excitement.

• Trying to stay on top of this whole simplicity thing - I find myself being very conscious of it as I go about my day. Asking myself, "do I really need this?" Trying to clean things as I go and not put them off until later. On Christmas Eve I took an entire car load of stuff to Goodwill. And there is still more. So many things we have are just excess. Feels good to be refocusing and being aware.

• This collage I bought from Navylane Studio. It is beautiful on the screen and amazing in person. Planning to get a frame for it tomorrow.

• Ribbons, ribbons, and more ribbons. I got some samples of these last week and can't wait to add them to my classes. 

• Having Chris work at home. At first this was quite an adjustment. I had gotten used to it being just me when I work during the day (and Simon is at school). Now that he is grooving on his campaign stuff, and I am back in the groove on my scrapping stuff things seem to be cruising along. I like having him here. I like having him happy even more.

It has been quite a year for us. Looking forward to reflecting a bit more on this as 2005 comes to a close this week. If you have not seen a copy of the January 2006 CK (February is hitting the stands now) my column is about scrapbooking your intentions for the new year. Might get you in the mood to reflect and look ahead as well.

Oh yea, and if you are wondering about my Christmas Art Journal...I got behind after my trip to Indiana and then needed to focus on other things. Still hoping to go back in and create some pages based on the awesome prompts I have saved.