Merry Christmas 2007

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Worse Than Santa Clause

Tonight I am at my parents' house for the Christmas holiday. I have a ritual for when I come "home." The first place I head after greeting my parents is the kitchen. Usually I come to their house later in the evening, and tonight was no exception. I waltzed in at 11:00 pm, ready to snack. As I eyed the countertops laden with pies and christmas treats from neighbors, my mom pointed out one pie that was covered in tin foil. She said "that pie with the tin foil on it is an apple pie that has already been cut, and you can have some it. Of course, that might not be a good idea this late at night." I disagreed. It was a very good idea! I am quite the night snacker, you see. Many of the inches of fat around my waste are there because of my late-night forages in the kitchen. Lucky for him, Santa Clause only eats the cookies left out for him one night a year. I, however, leave cookies out for myself many nights a year, too many nights a year. As a perpetual night owl, I get the munchies at about 11:30 or so. I guess the best option would be to go to sleep before then. Maybe I'll make that a resolution for the new year. . .

Singing for the King

Last night I attended the annual Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert with a friend. I always get tickets from my parents, who happen to be members of the Choir. This concert has become a yearly Christmas tradition for me, one that I will miss when my parents retire from the Choir in a few years and I will no longer have easy access to tickets.

Every year the Choir invites other entertainers to perform with them at their Christmas concerts. They've performed with Angela Lansbury, Meegan Follows of Anne of Green Gables fame, Charles Osgood and Gladys Knight, to name just a handful. This year, the guest performers were The King's Singers, a world - renowned group of British male vocalists that has been around since 1968. As they described themselves last night, they are a group that sings "acappella," the italian word meaning "without furniture." It's true. They sing without background instruments and sound incredible. Of course, the MoTab and the Orchestra on Temple Square provided background music for them in this concert, but I am always struck by their ability to blend their voices so perfectly together to create a seamless sound.

The whole concert was a wonderful mix of carols, both upbeat and soothing. The MoTab knows how to combine dancers, a bell choir, lighting, decor, and their guest performers into one flowing, magnificent whole. I felt the spirit of Christmas in that room last night, a tanglible combination of gratitude, worship, and joy at the thought of our Savior coming to the world to provide the way for our eternal happiness and joy.

The MoTab has a special mission in this world, one of teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ by bringing the Spirit in to the hearts of others through music. I am grateful for my parents' membership in the Choir, for it has touched their lives and mine in so many different ways.

Pad

I now have an apartment. Hooray! What's more...it's not a college apartment, it's so much nicer than what I'm used to living in. Sigh. My new roomie and I actually get to decorate it! And it's CUTE!! This will be a new and fun adventure....

Plastic Bottle Bingo

Right now the back of my car appears to be a recycling bin. About a month ago I purchased a 24-pack of Kirkland brand VitaRain bottled water. There are four different flavors in the bunch, dragonfruit, tropical citrus, kiwi strawberry, and blueberry pomegranate. Yum. Each of them contains vitamins and electrolytes. I have been religiously drinking one a day...sometimes two if I'm feeling especially vitamin-deficient. I am confident that they will help me stave off the same grody, gooey sickness that settles in my chest once or twice a year. A problem has arisen, however, in my consumption of these vitamin-enhanced waters. In my desire to recycle, I collected the bottles instead of tossing them in to the regular trash. For some reason I equate healthy eating with ecofriendliness. Some weird connection I make between keeping the body and the earth clean, I'm sure. Now what to do with them. Well, I've got to find a place to recycle those little guys, or soon they are going to become a permanent fixture in my backseat. I won't be able to give other people rides anywhere because...ahem....sorry, that's the recycle bin back there. At least it won't ever become a compost heap. If I never get around to recycling the bottles, I've come up with an idea of how to make sure that they don't go to waste. I'll make them into large board game pieces. Anyone up for some bingo?

Oh yeah, I didn't forget to mention my Christmas theme!! Tonight I was thinking about Christmas lights. As I drive home every night, I see the same colors of lights everywhere, car brake lights, store signs, the refinery...isn't it cool how we use the same principles to create lights for a variety of functional and fun uses? Christmas lights are for adornment, the extra sparkle in our already electrically enlightened surroundings, the accessory that adds just the right touch of pizazz to an otherwise ordinary outfit...

The Real Rudolph

As I read my friend Holly's blog about "nonconformities" and the story Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, I remembered one of my favorite christmas stories. It is about the man who created Rudolph, a fellow by the name of Robert May. I was first introduced to his story when my sister-in-law Lori made the whole family copies of a Christmas book and distributed them to us before Christmas one year. For every day in December, the book contains a Christmas related scripture, song, poem, and story to read. One of those stories tells about the life of Robert May and what prompted him to write his tale about the little reindeer whose nose so bright helped Santa guide his sleigh one special Christmas night. The moment I first read it, I loved it, and I've been sharing it ever since. When I read Holly's post, I was again happy to share, and offered to give her a copy of the story. Happily, I played around on google tonight and found the exact story, word for word on a Christian website. Read it and I can almost guarantee that you'll love it.

It's funny, though, how people see the same situation from different perspectives. Another article I found tonight on Snopes.com told Robert May's story from a very different, very commercial, standpoint. The author of that story avoided all of the tenderness and fatherly devotion that was so evident in the one I'd read, rather telling the story from an extremely commercial point of view.

I personally want to believe the first version I mentioned. It is as great a Christmas tale as any other I know of, and it could very well be true! The idealist inside of me could be saying that, but I don't care! Plus, I could always do a little sleuthing and figure out the facts for myself. If I ever do, you'd better believe that it'll be posted on this blog.

But Baby It's Cold Outside!

It snowed last weekend. Now it's cold. My sister put fake icicles on her christmas tree. Not the shiny silvery kind that drape over the branches, but the ones that actually look like real icicles. Whenever I walk into her living room, I see them and psychologically speaking, I feel colder. It's the IDEA of them rather than their actual temperature that makes me mentally shiver. This brings me to my topic for this evening: winter temperatures. Now, I've met some people that are classified as "snow birds," and others that simply avoid winter all together. They do not like shoveling snow, driving in it, or being cold. They are cold-blooded people that need their habitat to keep them warm. I can appreciate their feelings, but I cannot say that I agree. I don't love being cold, but appreciate the ability to layer clothing and produce warmth if and when the temperatures sink beneath the icy floor of freezing. On the other hand, during the heat of high noon in sizzling hot places, there are only so many layers you can take off before becoming a cooked lobster under the blazing waves of the sun. Of course, some people are almost immune to getting sunburned....drat their luck! Maybe I would appreciate heat more if I didn't emerge from it as a crispy as if I had been battered and deep fried at the local KFC. I guess you could say that I prefer warming up to cooling down, not that I would choose to live in extreme cold conditions. Guess what?? Winter time is here.....Yay!

Scents of the Season

To me, it seems that part of the joy of the holidays comes from nostalgia brought on by objects, scents, scenes, decorations that invite wonderful, warm memories to inhabit our hearts. Either some master marketers have monopolized the Christmas nostaligia niche, or maybe many people are stirred by the same sensations. What scents do you associate with Christmas? Cinnamon, pine needles, snow....or rather wet items of clothinig used in frolicking through the snow, peppermint, freshly washed pajamas, chestnuts roasting on an open fire (0kay, I have NO idea what those smell like), roasted turkey?

One way of adding a spicy potpourri to the Christmas mixture is especially effective in tickling my memories into action. My mom used to cut up oranges and simmer them in a small pan on the stove with cinnamon sticks and cloves. Ahhhhh. The citrus-infused scent was divine, and now it has become inextricably wrapped and woven through my opinions of what makes Christmas the holiday that it is. Strange how a simple scent can become so emblazoned upon the memory, isn't it! I also adore the smell of pine that follows after someone has vaccuumed the stray needles from a real christmas tree, baking apple pie, and chicken noodle soup boiling on the stove. These smells bring me warmth from within, a gentle feeling that all is right with the world and that I am home.

Christmases Yet To Come!

This is a sentimental post, folks. Hitch up your britches and be prepared. Last night I worked until 9pm at the Family History Library, which shall hereafter be referred to as the FHL. My fingers thank me for using acronyms sometimes, especially right now when it's 1:30 am and my dyslexia comes shining through. Thank goodness for the backspace key. Every night this week I have enjoyed walking from the Conference Center to the FHL and vice versa. The twinkling christmas lights remind me of how good we humans are at celebrating holidays. Well, some are better than others, and some have infinitely more resources to do so, but you get my drift. While strolling between the bejeweled trees, I couldn't help but notice the crowds of people passing me on their various errands and journeys. People of all ages. Among this smörgåsbord (I love Blogger Spell Check!) of humanity, I noticed many couples in different stages of their relationships. Some were younger, horsing around, eager to be with one another. Others were older, most likely married, smiling and content, seemingly happy with their lot in life and the partner they chose to share it. Sigh. Sentimentality begins right here. I no longer want to be a single person. I want to be part of a "we." I want to share holidays and jokes and friends and fun and tears with a husband. Many of my friends and family, people who are around my same age, are having kids, some of them pregnant with the second or third. I want those familial relationships too, now more than ever before, and I wonder what kept me from pursuing it more tenaciously in the past. College undoubtedly consumed a large portion of my life for the past few years, and I know I did not give myself enough time to socialize and develop relationships that could be lasting in the realms of romance. This post, however, is not about the past, it is about the future. From now on, a socializing I will go with a will and might that have yet to be witnessed in myself! Who knows, hopefully by next Christmas season, I will have found the other half to the "we" that I'm so anxious to become. I could cop out, buy myself a Wii for Christmas and call it good, but that would be simply ridiculous!

Very Cordial Cherries

What is Christmas without candy? I know that I am a little less chubby without the stuff, but we're not talking about me right this moment. Candy is the sugary glue-like frosting that holds together gingerbreadhouses, the striped canes beckoning from loot-stuffed stockings, the sugarplums dancing in wee little heads, and the warm flow that envelopes your senses as you sip hot cocoa that almost singes the tongue, but not quite. Sugar. It is all sugar, an addicting substance that is my bain and my delight.

When I used to work with my friend Sherry, every now and again she would say "I want some chocolate milk," then promptly act on her statement. Oftentimes, I would accompany her to the vending machines and help myself to my own favorite, cookies 'n cream flavored milk from the BYU creamery. Mmmm. It is FULL of sugary splendor. For a reason that I could expound on, but I don't have the energy to at this moment, when I think of Christmas, many flavors come to mind, but I immediately thing of two things: sugar and chocolate.

Oh the wonders of christmas chocolates. Does anyone else think of mint and chocolate as being a particularly christmasy mixture? I do. Not that I refrain from eating mint and chocolate together throughout the rest of the year. I would be deliberately and shamefully lying if I said that I did. I'm pretty sure that mint has some magical qualities. Its ability to fill your mouth with its scent and an almost windy feeling is quite amazing. It's almost like winter in there when you eat it (hence the brand WinterFresh gum, right?). I think that I associate christmas with mint chocolate because of the cold weather outside. It's like I've welcomed the North Wind to inhabit my mouth when I eat Andes Mints or some other type of minty confection. I adore chocolates with filling, especially mint, but others are quite satisfying to my over-eager palate. One in particular that I also relate with Christmas is the always tasty, never dry, cordial cherry. There is no better way to consume a cherry. Except maybe if it's a freshly picked cherry, which is better mostly because it is nutritious. Cordial cherries are not good for my physical health, but they work wonders for my emotional health!

Another Christmas favorite that does my body good is the overt evidence of people striving to make a difference in the lives of others. Salvation Army bells ring at the doors of many stores, JiffyLube offers rewards for those who bring in food, people who kindly hold the door open for you or smile as you walk by. There are some pretty fantastic people in this world, and their charity only intensifies during this time of cheer and giving. One day I hope that I can be like them, thinking less of my self and more of those around me. Their own problems loom small, while the difficulties of others move them to action. What wonderful examples of giving they are! If I were to compare these true givers to candy, they would be cordial cherries. They bring satisfaction and happiness to others and, even better, they don't cause weight gain or cavities! Thank goodness for good people. . . and I thought this post was gonna be about sweets! ;)

There is more of Gravy than of Grave about You!

Today I am quite tired, but wish to post, as I vowed I would daily this month. Yesterday I missed out! This post will be short and sweet. A Christmas Carol, in my mind the most tasty of all Christmas entertainment treats, comes in many wonderful formats:

The Muppet Christmas Carol
Mickey's Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol (George C. Scott plays a magnificent Scrooge and the ghost of Jacob Marley in this version always scared the bobby socks off of me when I was little!)
A Christmas Carol starring Alastair Sim as Scrooge.
A Christmas Carol the play.
A Christmas Carol as adapted to the radio.

There are so many interesting versions, who can get enough? I certainly can't. Reading the original is the most delicious, as it is the plant from which all the other fruits have sprung. I particularly enjoy A Christmas Carol because the different versions keep the same fundamental plot while interpreting it from different, fresh, viewpoints.

My suggestion: Watch, listen to, or read this classic tale sometime this Christmas season!

What Child Is This?

One of my favorite aspects of Christmas is the music that greets you as you turn on the radio, enter the store, and visit peoples' homes. This has prompted me to blog about one of my favorite christmas carols today: What Child Is This?

I've heard rumors that the tune of this christmas carol was originally put to words written by Henry VIII to his love interest and future queen, Anne Boleyn. We all know how that relationship ended, and the possible meaning of those words (as told on Wikipedia...could be right, could be wrong) is quite interesting. As for myself, I am glad that the tune now provides the perfect backdrop for the words written in 1865 by William Chatterton Dix in a poem entitled "The Manger Throne."

The question he asked, "what child is this?" is one that has resounded in the hearts of people all over the world. It has consumed the minds of many since the Savior came to the earth. Who is he? How does he perform his miracles? How can we understand the depth of his great love for us? Knownig that those are only a few of the questions that people have pondered and continue to ponder as life rolls continually forward, I am grateful to have a knowledge of my Savior, of the love he has for all of us, and for his willingness to sacrifice all to help his brothers and sisters find lasting joy and happiness. What child is this? The Son of God and Savior of the world!

Let It Snow!

The weather outside's delightful guys....it's SNOWING again. Ahhh, snow brings back such wonderful memories. Today I took Belle outside for a potty break and she didn't know where to "go" because the whole yard is covered in four or five inches of the precious white stuff. I grew up with snow in the winter, and lots of it sometimes. In fact, the first year we lived in the house that my parents still call home, roughly 16 years ago, we got three feet of snow in October. After that crazy autumn, things haven't been quite so extreme so early in the year. Some years they've accumulated four or five feet of snow in the yard by the end of the season. Anyways, my purpose in producing this brief history of me and snow is to set up a story that always makes me smile when I think about it. Here goes:

About 6 years ago I was attending a small private college in Portland, Oregon. Ahhh, it was a beautiful place to live, and I was always surprised by the sheer amount of green plants around. There was an abundance of ivy, which was considered to be a weed by some people. This surprised me because I loved ivy and thought it was very charming as ground cover in gardens or as shaped hedges in yards. I won't go into the qualities that made it a nuissance for some because I would rather dwell on the positive aspects. :) In December, the grass on campus was still a beautiful, bright, healthy green. Of course, I was taken aback by this, as I was used to the grass in Utah being brown and quite bristly by that time. I was adapting to my new environment, and enjoying every minute of it. One night, I found myself at the library on campus until the wee hours of the morning. It was open 24 hours a day during the week, and some people actually spent all night there. One day I even saw a pizza delivery man walk in with a few pies that someone had ordered to be delivered to them in the library. While I was studying that night, it was probably about 1am by that point, I heard a loud scream. Anyone who frequents libraries knows without me saying anything that this was quite an unusual occurence. I couldn't tell what type of scream it was, whether it was a scaredy scream, joyous scream, excited scream, etc. I, along with several others who also heard, looked around ourselves and quickly found the culprit. This particular library has many windows that allow students to see the beautiful scenery outside while studying. As we swiveled our heads, we saw that it was snowing outside, and we saw people out there swirling around and generally having a smashing good time in the snow. I found out later that the girl who had screamed did so because it was the first time she had ever been in snow. Wow! I love the stuff and I'm so glad that I grew up in it!