Merry Christmas to All, and to All a Good Night

So it's here- the end of Christmas. Another approximately 10 months until I can be focused on Christmas yet again (the Christmas season starts the day after Halloween in my world). I get VERY depressed on Christmas evening. The tree looks naked without the presents under it, the lights and trees on storefronts seem to disappear overnight, as if the holiday never happened, the only remains being 90% Christmas cards and candy canes. The only thing I can think to do is curl up on the couch, watch a claymation movie, and pretend that maybe tomorrow I'll wake up and it'll be Christmas again. 


But I can't dwell. I'll literally start to cry, and it'll be too much. I will use that as a segue though, to other people who cry during Christmas. 

My sister's kids. Merry effing Christmas. 

When I saw this picture at my sister's this morning, I almost died. Baby Will is crying, because he's a baby. That's ok. Lila is looking angelic and quiet. Sam is trying to run for his life, and Jackson is grabbing him, trying to get this freaking ridiculous picture taking over with. Santa looks like he's really had it. These are the sort of pictures that are shared simply for the purpose of making other people smile. 


So with that, Merry Christmas. And as I listen to the John Denver and the Muppets Christmas Album for the 11th time today, I'll share one of my favorite Christmas lyrics. 

I don't know if you believe in Christmas

or if you have presents underneath a Christmas tree

but if you believe in love

that will be more than enough

for you to come and celebrate with me

for I have held the precious gift that love brings

even though I never saw a Christmas star

I know there is a light I have felt it burn inside

and I have seen it shining from afar

Because this is really how I feel about Christmas. I'm not a particularly religious person, and I've certainly had a panic attack sitting in church on Christmas Eve, realizing I don't even know why I believe in this, or if I even DO believe in this. Obviously, Christmas is a celebration of Jesus being born. But it's also a celebration of hope, a symbol of how people and families really can come together even if they drive each other crazy. And that "light that burns inside" can be something, anything, just the feeling that there is something more out there, even if today and tomorrow you might define that thing differently. 

And on that note, have a very Merry Christmas, and I can't wait for next year. 

Top 5 Signs and Causes of BL Holiday Stress

Yes, it has been over a week since I wrote anything on the blog. This would either imply that I lead an incredibly fascinating life of world travel to remote places and unbelievable night time experiences, or, that I overwhelm myself with silly things. Take your pick.

The majority of things I overwhelm myself with, of course, are BL related. Given the success of the "Top Ten Signs You're a BL" post, I think it's appropriate to note the current signs and symptoms of my BL stress, and to see if anyone else can relate.

Did you look like this at 2am last night, frantically wrapping presents for your family and friends? At least we've got company.

5. BLs don't buy gifts, they use their crafty, artsy, fartsy skills to make usable and likable goodies and accessories.  While this sounds like a lovely idea in fashion, the reality of the situation is that all handmade gifts cost two times as much to make as you initially expect, and take three times as long to put together. This isn't an exact formula, but it's pretty damn close. The stress especially piles on when certain other people request a custom made item of yours to gift to someone themselves. Great news for the pocketbook, bad news for your sleep schedule. A BL always says yes, then mutters curses to herself at 1:15am on December 23rd as she tries to complete the 5th to last item needed to be completed in 24 hours.

The pathetic sort of crafts you're stuck decorating your apartment with when the stress becomes too much.

4. Since BLs love free food, there is nary a true meal eaten between December 17th and January 1st. What is Christmas if not a time for free food from relatives, friends, and coworkers? Since those pesky craft supplies ate up the December food budget, BLs rely on popcorn, peppermint bark, caramels, and peppermints to suffice as meals during the holiday crunch. The lack of nutrients obviously leads to crankiness and lack of energy, until you find yourself at the grocery at 11pm on a Wednesday buying every piece of fruit, carrots, cheese, and yogurt that's on sale this week.

3. The leaning tower of unwritten holiday cards begins to actually take over the living room/ entire apartment. For some reason, I follow the mindset that if I stare at something for long enough (weeks), eventually I might get around to doing it. Christmas cards fall in this category. BLs love being a thoughtful friend and relative, so of course there's the good intention of sending greeting cards to every friend on Facebook and relative from the family address book. The stack of greeting cards sways and taunts, until finally you break down, skim the list down to 15 people, and write all the cards with the handwriting of a drunk college freshman. It's the thought that counts, right?

2. You have to deal with the 5 hour radius rule. This is less of a BL stress cause and more of a personal gripe. If you live in Florida, and so does one parent, and the rest of your family is scattered along the West Coast, then your only realistic holiday obligation is to Florida Parent. However, there are many of us who live in the "Holiday Curse of the 5 Hour Radius." The curse is pretty self explanatory- if an immediate relative (parent or sibling) lives within a 5 hour radius, you're expected to see them. In any family. Being a SINGLE person, this means stops in 3 cities (one of them being my home, but still. This is a lot over a 2-7 day period). I can't even think about having to fit someone else's family into this mix. The thought of thinking about it stresses me out. For real.

1. You haven't had a decent, luxurious shower since November 18th. And by luxurious I mean shampoo, condition, face scrub, body wash, and shave. There's just not time to be in the shower. There's crafts to make, free food to find, cards to address, and family to plan coordinate. Somehow, these tasks add up to about 8 hours of time EACH DAY. 24-8-10 (work plus commute)= 6 hours left for sleeping and bathing. For a BL, we know which one tops the list. Hats and Dr. Bronner's were invented for a reason. And no one likes taking off the bottom layer of clothing warmth when it's 20 degrees outside and the heat's been off all day.

MERRY CHRISTMAS PLANNING!!

Another year older, another year wiser... But what the hell do I believe in?

Today (Dec 14th) is my birthday. Birthdays tend to be a time of reflection, a day to look over what's happened since your last one. Sadly enough, I can't even remember what happened on my last birthday or what I did. Even more sadly, I don't even drink, I just have a terrible memory. I'm afraid to ask anyone though, because I normally end up offending someone when I can't remember important events that people went out of their way to make special for me. Once I get a little reminder I can recall pretty vivid details- I think there's a couple synapses that just aren't connected right up there...

But my crappy memory is not the point. I perpetually wonder if I'm doing enough with my life, if I'm as successful as I should be, if I'm really doing what makes me happiest. It can become a complete tailspin that gets so mentally out of control, all I can do is watch House Hunters and eat snacks on the couch curled up in my Snuggie. Millions of self help articles and issues of O Magazine haven't helped either, because I still don't know. What I do know is that I'm always looking for it, that elusive purpose of life.

Recently my purpose has run towards creativity. My jewelry and food experiments have honestly kept me sane over the past month or so as my personal life went kind of crazy. I do my real job well and to the best of my ability, and I (try) and stay as focused as possible when I'm on the clock. But I don't have a cause. I don't have something I either vehemently fight or protect, even though I have a lot of opinions. So does that make me lazy? Does that make the whole 20 something generation lazy?

Where's my fist raising cause?

I want to have something I believe in more than shameless self promotion... That's what this new decade is. Self marketing and branding to the point of self obsession. The way of the world is shifting so that it's impossible not to- employers expect our names to be Google friendly and an accurate representation of our professional (and PG rated personal) selves. Families connect through Facebook pictures. Everyone with a personal dream can market themselves through some combination of social networking and PayPal associated marketplaces. In all honesty, with the time I spend messing around on my Etsy site and stalking people on Facebook, I could be spending hours tutoring kids or writing letters to Congress. 

Not that I really want to tutor or write letters. The point of a cause is that it moves you, it doesn't feel like an obligation. I WANT my cause. I just need to find it first. But really... I care about buying local and small, and supporting independent businesses. I believe very much in taking a role in one particular group that focuses on the power of one helping another. So maybe I do have some causes and beliefs- I just need to bring them more into focus.

10 Signs You Know You're a BL

With a busy week at work and home I've been pretty behind on the blogging. But, last night as I couldn't fall asleep I started thinking about one of my favorite topics- BLisms. Anna and I coined the term BL a few years ago, short for Bag Lady, to describe our lifestyles. What, exactly, is a BL? I decided to pull the top ten signs of a good BL. Who knows? You might be one too.

10. Everything involves an insane amount of planning.
The planning doesn't have to do with a type A personality, but all relates back to what needs to be brought along. Take this past Sunday, for example. Emma's lovely opera recital, all the way out at George Mason, required alot of planning. First, BLs carpool. Gotta save gas. Second, driving somewhere further than 30 minutes away, given the great amount of gas usage, must be made into a multi unit event to make the trip more worthwhile. Third, once the series of events is determined, it's time to back the bags. Makeup, snacks, books if there is an awkward amount of time, school/ work documents carried simply for the purpose of reminding you they exist. Does any of this ever get used? Normally no. But best to be prepared.
  
9. You have a strange interest in Mary Kate Olsen's life. 

MK, the world's richest and most famous BL. 

Mary Kate is a billionare fashion designer BL. And every kid in the 90s loves Full House. Enough said.


8. You don't own tissues or napkins. 
In the BL quest to travel and buy clothes, there are certain costs that must be pared down. A typical household has multiple paper products: napkins, paper towels, toilet paper, and tissues. A BL buys paper towels and TP at Sam's Club, and uses them for all purposes. A paper towel folded in half is a napkin. Toilet paper can be softer than tissues. And given that a box of tissues that aren't horrific costs $3 (that's a latte, people, or a shirt at the thrift store) that money can be much better spent. BUT you must buy fancy toilet paper. Your ass deserves it.

7. You never wear only one layer of clothing. 

Photo from the Sartorialist. 

BLs are on the go, hence the multiple bags. Depending on where you might be during the day, different levels of clothing might be needed. A tank top and leggings base, with a tunic, sweater, scarf, jeans, boots, ballet flats in bag, and jewelry will take you through whatever the day may bring.

6. You have grazing type eating habits. 
Even when home, BLs are accustomed to eating portable foods that can be thrown in a lunch bag. Lots of crackers, fruits, baby carrots, cheese, cereal, fruit leathers, and candy make up the diet of a BL. And sushi. When you eat out, it's gotta be sushi.

5. In the aforementioned measure, you are able to make a meal out of the free samples at Whole Foods when you go to buy whatever organic fruit's on sale. 
The food samples at Whole Foods are a treasure. Show up at 5pm, pick up your home food essentials, and dinner is on them. If you're lucky, there just might be dessert.

4. You like to travel, but travel cheap. 
The world is a wide and wonderful place for a BL, but travel is expensive. Ways to bring down the cost? Bring cost saving measures such as #8 and #5 into your life, and put the savings into a travel fund. Get airline gifts cards as birthday and holiday gifts. Join Southwest rapid rewards- if you travel at work, 8 flights gets you one free! Make a friend in every place you care to visit- free lodging! Just bring a yummy homemade hostess gift.


3. You believe all strange leftovers can be made into a stir-fry or soup. 
Whether they're your own leftovers, or those snagged from a potluck or family dinner, they only have about a 5 day shelf life, and it pains a BL to throw away food. The magic solution? Stir fry or soup. These methods are especially great for veggies at the end of their life. Have the kind of leftovers that can't be reworked? Invite over your friends, make some tea, and call it a buffet.

2. If you drive a car, it must be of a dependable brand, and have some very apparent aesthetic issues. Unless you're lucky and drive a Prius. 
My personal BL life began when I didn't have consistent use of a car, and would be gone for 12 hours at a time or longer with work and school. Now, with a car, I still carry as many bags but get to leave them in the back seat. Is it a coincidence that most of my friends drive (and me) drive Fords? No. Coincidence that these Fords have some visual issues (black hood on a silver car, huge dent running the length of the car, etc)? No. I mean, I could pay $1000 to have the dent in my car fixed, or I could go to New York for New Year's and go snowboarding in Colorado, and put money towards my student loans. Which sounds better?


1. You carry a lot of bags. And none of these bags ever match.
The obvious number one sign of a BL? The large quantity of bags. If you need an oversized purse, shoulder bag, lunch bag, reusable shopping tote, and large coat pockets just to leave the house, then you are most likely one of us. The sad thing? I can't find a great picture of a BL at her bag carrying finest!! If you have one of yourself, send it to me!

Nicole showing off the multiple bag look. Thanks Margot!!

The Dangers of Christmas Tree Lighting

After not much deliberation, I decided do get a real Christmas tree for all the people who live in my apartment (me) to look at and be happy. Yes, it's probably a waste of $40 (this is the price for a puny 4.5' tree, not even a decent size tree. It's not just Hallmark and the toy industry making a killing off Christmas- it's the churches too.), but when it comes down to it Christmas is my favorite holiday.

Not even Christmas Day. I actually find Christmas Day very depressing, since it's the culmination of 30 wonderful days of pretty lights, carols, red bows, cinnamon smells, and excuses to eat pastries for 3 meals a day. It's the whole season. Because of sickness and surgery and the stress of trying to finish school around those other two things and a major snowstorm that locked the DC area into immobile locations for a week, I felt like last year's Christmas season was stolen from me. And I don't bode well with anyone or anything, the Grinch included, stealing my Christmas.

So rants aside I decided to buy a real tree. Being an activity sort of aunt, I took two of my sister's kids tree hunting with me (the other two are a baby and currently sick, respectively). After a calamity free tree picking (everyone agreed, no one got too cold, Sam got to see a chain saw in action, all was well), we headed back to the apartment to set up the tree.

On a somewhat related note, 4 year olds who live in houses find the concept of high rise apartments fascinating. From the magic door buzzer to riding an elevator every day to having LOTS OF OTHER PEOPLE LIVE WITH YOU???, it's a shake to their suburban house living world. And having a bicycle in the bedroom. Bicycles go outside. Tia is crazy and has a bike in her bedroom.

Anyways. There is a reason all warnings suggest inspecting Christmas lights for broken bulbs with exposed wires BEFORE plugging them in and wrapping the tree. Because, if during the course of the year something squished a bulb, leaving working wires exposed, it can electrocute you if touched to skin. And that is exactly what happened. I'm wrapping the lights around the tree and then felt like I got stung by a thousand bees at once. I screamed and screamed and then decided dropping the lights might be the better thing to do. My wrist looked like I got bit by a vampire, two bright glowing red pricks pulsing with electricity. Sam and Lila were quite confused- do we laugh or cry? What is that crazy Tia doing now?

The wonderful elves Lila and Sam in front of the tree. At list the star is lit!

Luckily I found the culprit of the shock. After some deliberation on whether it was safe to duct tape the culprit shut, I decided risking burning my apartment building down because I don't want to spent $6.99 on a new strand of lights is a bit ridiculous even for me. So my tree is decorated, but unlit for the time being. It still makes me quite happy.

The Free People inspired stocking- feathers and bows and crystals, oh my!

Just another reason why I love Free People- DIY!!

As everyone who stalks Free People's daily blog BLDG 25 knows, every Wednesday the girls throw together a DIY project that's totally home accessible. I'm pretty obsessed with this week's, and I can't wait to make them with my random odds and ends at home!!

The best part is, Free People is looking for pictures of homemade stockings too! Looks like I'll have to stop by the craft store today to pick up a stocking as a base :). I'll have pictures to post of mine soon!

I'm also working on a DIY of my own... Just have to find the supplies first!

So fun- After making my stocking, Free People reposted a picture to their blog! http://blog.freepeople.com/2010/12/more-stockings/

Just another reason why BLDG25 is one of my favorite blogs. 

Well. If you want to laugh at a food picture, this is it.

The verdict is in on the raw cinnamon rolls.

Smell: Suprisingly, my kitchen did smell like cinnamon rolls.
Taste: Tastes like a generic cinnamon flavored dessert, a little too much cashew flavor. Wrapper part is a little bland.
Visual Appeal: You can determine that for yourself. It essentially looks like a small child's finger paint project. Rather disappointing. Just compare the picture below, from the Rawmazing Website, with my home picture.

Ready?

I think I only win in the pretty plate department. In case it's not obvious, I don't cook much. Very sad looking, I must say.