given how overfestified i can get about the holidays (mild exaggeration, i know), many individuals are always quite surprised to hear how low key is, in fact, the actual family celebration of christiemas when i go home for the holidays. i chalk it up to coming from a small family (just my sister and me, and of course, the ever-devoted parents)... i mean, come ON! half the fun of the holidays is the hustle and bustle of utter holiday chaos... one of my favorite memories involves going over to my best friend's house at some point during the holiday season a few years ago and literally tripping over her sisters, in-laws, nieces, nephews... the works! some might consider it stressful, i consider it glorious. GLORIOUS!
this year was no exception. but there's also something to be said for low key... i guess. leave it to us. let's begin with christiemas eve. as has become standard in our household, the fridge was nicely stocked with cans of Coke for marian and me. our parents really like to not spoil us and really watch out for our health, apparently. as we were getting ready to leave for church that night (after the debacle that can only be reserved for soon-to-be-enlarged family photos), my sister started complaining about being thirsty. to which my dear, sweet scientist of a father responds with "well, we do have some coke..." which makes perfect sense. when dehydrated, drink some coke. new family motto.
so we decide after christiemas eve mass (it was about 10 pm in loveland ohio on christiemas eve, keep in mind), to head to meijer (for some... raspberry lemonade. marian is not picky at all). no better way to spend a cozy christiemas eve, right? sigh. well, this would've been fine and good (i mean, just a slight detour, really) if we hadn't pulled into the ginormous parking lot to find it barren and empty... and the lights of meijer completely off. i mean, we knew it would be closed christiemas day, but who would've thought that it would shut down before midnight christiemas eve? not us. but raspberry lemonade, we (and by we, i mean marian) were determined to have. so we cruise by the walgreens which, of course, was also closed. that was no question, even for us maliyacks. but then, my dad has the brilliant (not to mention classy) idea of driving down to this corner speedway which, quite frankly, ive been to only once in my life for gasoline- never... well, groceries. gag.
so we get to speedway and... quite frankly, are slightly astounded. it's... f'ing... PACKED. and let's be honest, there was no one filling up at the pumps. all cars were readily parked in the miniature parking lot... and let me tell you, id never SEEN such well-dressed speedway customers: the cutest little grandfatherly man in a sweater vest venturing out with a gallon of milk... this other man bedecked in a suit also perusing the dairy aisle... this woman in stiletto heels venturing in to buy who knows what... who ever would've thought? speedway is the place to see and be seen come christiemas eve night apparently.
see? we maliyacks feign ignorance, but really, we just know how to do things RIGHT come christiemas eve. discovering the low-down hot spots of loveland, ohio on christiemas eve, thank you very much.
oh, and marian finally got her darn raspberry lemonade.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
one word: COZY!!!!
ahhh!! cozy time!!!
with the holiday season in full swing, i find no better opportunity to maximize the use of my favorite word in the English language... COZY. that's right. i mean, just look at the word. all the simply delightful ideas that are conjured up with just the THOUGHT... fireplaces (preferably with a book and blanket), hot chocolate (with homemade marshmallows), couches (REMEMBER HOCKING HILLS?!! oh a** heaven... oh sigh. okay i need a moment), napping and, quite frankly, spooning (quite possibly the greatest definition of cozy if ever there was one...), baking extravaganzas, mindless television marathons (preferably with the sister... oh how she knows how to pick 'em... keeping up with the kardashians being the latest... journey shall we say...)... oh i could go on and on.
last week, however, i was greeted with something that i always associated with the epitome of coziness but hadnt experienced in a solid two and a half years... SNOW!!! oh gosh, just the thought...
well. actually. it was slightly disappointing. here i was, hearing right and left about the impending blizzard upon us... i couldn't keep myself from grinning from ear to ear (while, im not going to lie, most others around me were quite wary and kind of annoyed with the thought of an impending blizzard! i mean, i just didnt understand). so, you know me. im already a morning person. this morning, however, i gleefully arise with the eager anticipation of a traipse through the blankets of white (in my brand spanking new snow boots, no less!) to get to my bus stop... after all, the mere day before we'd received the wonderful preview of a slight dusting... no better way to welcome the holiday season in full gear! but what did i awaken to that fine morning after the prediction of blizzard amounts of snow and arctic chills?
rain. cold. dreary. rain. heck, the snow dusting from the day before had actually MELTED.
um. i KNOW, RIGHT?? crestfallen didnt even begin to describe the downward spiral of the emotional rollercoaster that morning.
oh chicago. what. a. tease.
needless to say, i am NOT holding out much hope for the wintry chills and snowy mounds predicted this week. heck, im bringing the flip flops back. taking a stand if ever there was one, thank you very much.
no worries. ive just decided to take matters into my own hands and just create the semblance of coziness (hey. if mother nature's not going to step up to the plate, SOMEone's gotta!)... ive got my two cozy songs for the season nice and lined up on my itunes (for reference: all i want for christiemas is you by miss mariah herself and baby it's cold outside by willie and norah), my cozy holiday activities lined out (this daley plaza christiemas marketplace better be darn impressive...), my cozy chai stocked, my cozy baking extravaganzaranzadanzas lined up, my cozy love actually viewings already in full swing (was it sad that i was all set to just rewind and watch it again after my viewing yesterday?... and that wasnt the first time i watched it this season...sigh. at least im shameless about advertising it), my cozy snow boots ready and waiting (for something other than rain...)... well, you get the idea.
ahh!! cozy time!!! how would YOU actively embrace such a concept?
with the holiday season in full swing, i find no better opportunity to maximize the use of my favorite word in the English language... COZY. that's right. i mean, just look at the word. all the simply delightful ideas that are conjured up with just the THOUGHT... fireplaces (preferably with a book and blanket), hot chocolate (with homemade marshmallows), couches (REMEMBER HOCKING HILLS?!! oh a** heaven... oh sigh. okay i need a moment), napping and, quite frankly, spooning (quite possibly the greatest definition of cozy if ever there was one...), baking extravaganzas, mindless television marathons (preferably with the sister... oh how she knows how to pick 'em... keeping up with the kardashians being the latest... journey shall we say...)... oh i could go on and on.
last week, however, i was greeted with something that i always associated with the epitome of coziness but hadnt experienced in a solid two and a half years... SNOW!!! oh gosh, just the thought...
well. actually. it was slightly disappointing. here i was, hearing right and left about the impending blizzard upon us... i couldn't keep myself from grinning from ear to ear (while, im not going to lie, most others around me were quite wary and kind of annoyed with the thought of an impending blizzard! i mean, i just didnt understand). so, you know me. im already a morning person. this morning, however, i gleefully arise with the eager anticipation of a traipse through the blankets of white (in my brand spanking new snow boots, no less!) to get to my bus stop... after all, the mere day before we'd received the wonderful preview of a slight dusting... no better way to welcome the holiday season in full gear! but what did i awaken to that fine morning after the prediction of blizzard amounts of snow and arctic chills?
rain. cold. dreary. rain. heck, the snow dusting from the day before had actually MELTED.
um. i KNOW, RIGHT?? crestfallen didnt even begin to describe the downward spiral of the emotional rollercoaster that morning.
oh chicago. what. a. tease.
needless to say, i am NOT holding out much hope for the wintry chills and snowy mounds predicted this week. heck, im bringing the flip flops back. taking a stand if ever there was one, thank you very much.
no worries. ive just decided to take matters into my own hands and just create the semblance of coziness (hey. if mother nature's not going to step up to the plate, SOMEone's gotta!)... ive got my two cozy songs for the season nice and lined up on my itunes (for reference: all i want for christiemas is you by miss mariah herself and baby it's cold outside by willie and norah), my cozy holiday activities lined out (this daley plaza christiemas marketplace better be darn impressive...), my cozy chai stocked, my cozy baking extravaganzaranzadanzas lined up, my cozy love actually viewings already in full swing (was it sad that i was all set to just rewind and watch it again after my viewing yesterday?... and that wasnt the first time i watched it this season...sigh. at least im shameless about advertising it), my cozy snow boots ready and waiting (for something other than rain...)... well, you get the idea.
ahh!! cozy time!!! how would YOU actively embrace such a concept?
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
all about the christiemas spirit... or lack thereof
(just an FYI- this post is de-flipping-pressing. dont say i didnt warn you...)
so i really dont understand. WHY cant i just flipping get into the christiemas spirit already? im getting impatient, here! (stamp of foot)
i mean, ive taken all the necessary preparatory steps: the passage of that minor hump that some people like to call thanksgiving... complete and total immersion with the starbucks christiemas cups- filled with holiday flavors (holy mother... that caramel brulee latte? divinity in a christiemas cup, if you will)... holiday music a'playing on the itunes (when i have earphones, that is)... the conversion of some new friends here to the somewhat sacrilegious but still oh so delightful term "christiemas"... the ksjafls!-ly imminent prospect of SNOW (first time in a couple of YEARS!!! yessss!)... the (earlier than expected) hibernation of the flipflops (i mean. chicago's weather and i are going to exchange a few words soon)... the perfection of the lights on michigan avenue (literal. perfection.)... the introduction to the polo store gone so christiemas it's not even funny (trust me, a new holiday tradition has since been enacted)... my apartment's mini-christiemas tree (complete with ornaments, mind you!) and holiday wine (yum! yes!) c/o the one and only laurenh... the prospect of christiemas movies aplenty (LOVE FLIPPING ACTUALLY!!! it's a wonderful life. home alone. among others.)... the introduction to the starbucks christiemas cd (norah jones/willie nelson: baby please come home.. i instantaneously. just. melt. every. single. time.)... sigh.
i. just. dont. KNOW. to be perfectly honest, ive actually kind of slightly stressed myself out over this (sad, but true). but HELLO. usually, festivities are in full SWING pre-halloween. i mean, by this point, i should already be starting to feel the christiemas burnout! i can only hope that anthonyc's christiemas spirit is double what it normally is in order to make up for my pathetic showing this year. i apologize for the additional pressure, man.
maybe it's being in a new place. a new apartment, a new city, new friends, new workplace... but still. it really doesnt make sense. i mean, i love it here! (apparently, i glow when i talk about living here...? haha nice, i guess? but please. michelle obama glows. i merely have a too-large-for-my-darn-face smile.) i love the apartment, the city, the new friends, the workplace... hmm maybe that's what it is. god, at triage, i could just have christiemas throw up right and left and merriment would simply reign! i cant do that here- (establishment of the professional persona and all that). no christiemas tree lighting ceremony in a random office conference room... no liberties taken with miss mariah just blasting away for all surrounding tables to hear (okay. so maybe that was just early morning christiemas fridays but whatever)... no creepy christie's-face-on-mariah's-santa-claus'ed-body christiemas snowglobes... no itunes sharing for the mariah holiday playlist to reach maximum capacity (hahah laurenw, remember? maybe not, but i certainly do!)... no 'twere the weeks before christiemas mass emailed poetry (and what fine poetry it was... probably one of the things i will certainly miss most, actually)...
oh god, im really working myself into a sad, sad state just thinking of all the "no"s this holiday season.. well, now this is just plain pathetic.
sigh. my blog was supposed to be filled with happiness and sunshine. i guess even sunshine personified gets the blues from time to time. and oh, what a blue christiemas season it's been so far.
(i know, right? i bet you were expecting this to end with an upside. oops. maybe next time.)
so i really dont understand. WHY cant i just flipping get into the christiemas spirit already? im getting impatient, here! (stamp of foot)
i mean, ive taken all the necessary preparatory steps: the passage of that minor hump that some people like to call thanksgiving... complete and total immersion with the starbucks christiemas cups- filled with holiday flavors (holy mother... that caramel brulee latte? divinity in a christiemas cup, if you will)... holiday music a'playing on the itunes (when i have earphones, that is)... the conversion of some new friends here to the somewhat sacrilegious but still oh so delightful term "christiemas"... the ksjafls!-ly imminent prospect of SNOW (first time in a couple of YEARS!!! yessss!)... the (earlier than expected) hibernation of the flipflops (i mean. chicago's weather and i are going to exchange a few words soon)... the perfection of the lights on michigan avenue (literal. perfection.)... the introduction to the polo store gone so christiemas it's not even funny (trust me, a new holiday tradition has since been enacted)... my apartment's mini-christiemas tree (complete with ornaments, mind you!) and holiday wine (yum! yes!) c/o the one and only laurenh... the prospect of christiemas movies aplenty (LOVE FLIPPING ACTUALLY!!! it's a wonderful life. home alone. among others.)... the introduction to the starbucks christiemas cd (norah jones/willie nelson: baby please come home.. i instantaneously. just. melt. every. single. time.)... sigh.
i. just. dont. KNOW. to be perfectly honest, ive actually kind of slightly stressed myself out over this (sad, but true). but HELLO. usually, festivities are in full SWING pre-halloween. i mean, by this point, i should already be starting to feel the christiemas burnout! i can only hope that anthonyc's christiemas spirit is double what it normally is in order to make up for my pathetic showing this year. i apologize for the additional pressure, man.
maybe it's being in a new place. a new apartment, a new city, new friends, new workplace... but still. it really doesnt make sense. i mean, i love it here! (apparently, i glow when i talk about living here...? haha nice, i guess? but please. michelle obama glows. i merely have a too-large-for-my-darn-face smile.) i love the apartment, the city, the new friends, the workplace... hmm maybe that's what it is. god, at triage, i could just have christiemas throw up right and left and merriment would simply reign! i cant do that here- (establishment of the professional persona and all that). no christiemas tree lighting ceremony in a random office conference room... no liberties taken with miss mariah just blasting away for all surrounding tables to hear (okay. so maybe that was just early morning christiemas fridays but whatever)... no creepy christie's-face-on-mariah's-santa-claus'ed-body christiemas snowglobes... no itunes sharing for the mariah holiday playlist to reach maximum capacity (hahah laurenw, remember? maybe not, but i certainly do!)... no 'twere the weeks before christiemas mass emailed poetry (and what fine poetry it was... probably one of the things i will certainly miss most, actually)...
oh god, im really working myself into a sad, sad state just thinking of all the "no"s this holiday season.. well, now this is just plain pathetic.
sigh. my blog was supposed to be filled with happiness and sunshine. i guess even sunshine personified gets the blues from time to time. and oh, what a blue christiemas season it's been so far.
(i know, right? i bet you were expecting this to end with an upside. oops. maybe next time.)
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