dust bunnies beware

I observed something interesting yesterday: I am much more inclined to dust my bedroom, put away my laundry, and Dyson the comforter if there is good music playing. It's just a fact. Yesterday I purchased Apple's iHome iP9 alarm clock. Once we had the thing plugged in and linked up to the iPod, I could listen to my favorite music without having the darn plugs in my ears. I proceeded to immediately clean my entire bedroom, a mission that migrated its way into the spare bedroom. There's something about hunting down dust bunnies to April March and Radiohead that makes hunting down dust bunnies so much more enjoyable.

survival

The Husband and I survived yet another Christmas. I have to admit that I'm enjoying this two-weeks-off thing that is bestowed upon the world of education. I think I may have needed it this year for the recovery process. The combination of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and the whirlwind that ensues in our combined families is enough to make you want to spew eggnog. I love my family (and even the in-laws) so much that I hesitate to say that I'm happy the whole darn thing is over. It starts early Christmas Eve and ends late Christmas night with very little sleep in between. But lest you call me a Scrooge, I've come up with my own holiday list (which I've checked twice)...

The Best Things About Christmas 08:

1) Two weeks off (hands down, the BEST thing)
2) My new Dyson vacuum cleaner (there has to be at least one materialistic item)

3) My granddaddy's eggnog

4) Christmas morning with a giddy 4-year-old niece

5) S'mores with friends

6) Having a "blast from the past" with people I haven't seen in years at The Porch

7) NorthPark mall's holiday decorations

8) Driving through Highland Park with hot chocolate to look at mansion Christmas lights

9) My Nana's turkey dressing

10) Buying extremely inexpensive plane tickets for New York City in January

And we still have New Years in the hopper!

visions of sugar plums

There's nothing like a bit of girl bonding time while making Christmas goodies. Yet another great memory of my childhood is eating raw cookie dough until my stomach hurt. The kids would eat so much there would barely be enough for the cookies. My sister, my mom, and my Nana got together recently to make our famous sugar cookies. (And yes, we ate more dough than cookies.) We even made powdered-sugar icing to coat the already sugar-laden morsals. I'm starting to wonder how much sugar I've consumed this season. It seems that everyday brings a new batch of candy, cookies, or cake...

no time (like the present)

I feel as though I've been neglecting everyone and everything. My laundry is piling up, the junk mail needs sifting, my friends in Austin probably think I'm dead, and my dog, Maggie, (above) hasn't been walked near enough. When I'm not researching something to teach my literature students or writing an article for the Dallas Morning News or grading essays or (lord help me) Christmas shopping, then I tend to want to spend my spare time reading a magazine or watching bad television (Mary Hart, you smile too much). I need a break so I can get caught up on chores and enjoy a slower-paced existence. The holidays can't come fast enough.

bringing a little joy to my life

I have to thank Josh for introducing me to Little Joy. This band is one of the best I've heard in quite some time. Thank god for new, good music! "Don't Watch Me Dancing" is my new favorite song. It kind of reminds me of "After Hours" by the Velvet Underground (love it!).

wrap it up

It's a holiday tradition in my household to drag The Husband to the Container Store, where in the parking lot he has a mini-mental breakdown whilst fighting over parking spots. Once inside, he follows me around as I hunt aimlessly for the ideal wrapping paper for the season. He huffs and puffs as I go, "hmmm" and, "What do you think of this one?" It's a festive annual excursion indeed. These were some of my favorites from this year's expedition:

2009, here we come

I'm swooning over this 2009 calendar by one of my favorite Etsy sellers, Modern Printed Matter. It's gorgeous, is it not? I'm a sucker for letterpress and just about anything related to stationary. I love the large numbers standing in for the months.