i'll be home for Christmas...

I am a little more than a week away from making my annual Christmas trip home to see the family. The US totally didn’t do me a service by having Thanksgiving in November, immediately followed by Christmas four to five weeks later. I often feel like I just get back to my routine at my house, and then oh hello family again. Really one of these holidays should be in March- it would have made total sense to me if I got to choose the calendar. It’s a nice timeframe to be ready to spend another week with the family, and more time to be ready to eat a large meal.  I am excited to see the family this year so close together, and to spend more time with Norby – who is already reached his one month milestone – which is just crazy. Do you travel for holidays or are you someone who gets to stay local for at least one of the big days?

Letters to Norby #15

Dear Norby-

December is a magical time of year little man. I know you are soon going to visit Santa Claus and I truly hope you enjoy meeting him. I will be honest, it can be a bit strange when you first meet the guy in red, but trust me – he only means happy things.  Your mom and I use to go visit Santa a candy mansion- which was always done after church on a Sunday in December. I loved being able to ask Santa for toys and fun things each year, and he was usually very good about making sure that what I really wanted was under the tree. Santa holds a very special magic, and I look forward to several years from now when you will truly share in his delight.

Happy December.

Love your favorite auntie

(photo from wikipedia)

hark! the herald angels

How simply adorable is Rufus? I love this picture that my friend Ali sent over to me, so I wanted to share him with all of you. Rufus looks like he is singing songs by the tree, and eagerly awaiting Santa to visit and bring him lots of treats.  A happy little dog, taking a happy little holiday photo.

what would you say

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to go see Dave Matthews Band in concert. In high school, everyone loved DMB, and everyone in my hometown would make the annual pilgrimage to see Dave in concert at Gillette Stadium each summer. I was filled with nostalgia when I was asked if I wanted to go see the show – I remember tailgating and feeling like it was the coolest thing ever (and at 17, that was pretty much the coolest thing ever). Though I haven’t been quite an avid fan for more years than I will put out here on the internet, the show was amazing. Granted I only embarrassingly could remember the lyrics to one song (sorry Dave, my 17 year old self would have done much better)- but there was one song where the violin solo knocked my socks off- and was by far the best part of the entire show. There is just something about a rock and roll violin that’s beyond cool.  I really enjoyed going to see a live performance- it’s been far too long since I’ve done that – so hopefully 2013 brings some opportunities to see more live music.