Christmas

Isn’t It Wonderful!

/ jennced15 / 2 Comments

I did it! The first time ever was I able to get Christmas up by December 1st! In fact, I got it up on November 28th. I am so proud of me!!

Now that Christmas is in full swing at my house; I have to start planning all of the fun things that I want to do during the season. Since I am in a new state this year; I need to become well-versed in all the Portland traditions. If you are a local–please bring me up to speed. Below are 5 things that I am going to start out with and see how they go.

  1. Christmas in the Garden at The Oregon Garden
  2. Portland Christmas Ship Parade along the Columbia and Willamette Rivers
  3. The Miracle of a Million Lights at the Victoria Belle Mansion
  4. Handel’s Messiah performed by the Oregon Symphony and PSU Chamber Choir
  5. Scandinavian Fair at Portland Veterans Memorial Coliseum

BTW–I am actually in Utah for the weekend, catching up with the family. So I owe it to everyone to give you a heads up on the things that you should do while in Utah this Christmas season. Here are my top 5:

  1. Candlelight Christmas at This Is The Place Heritage Park
  2. Holiday Central at Thanksgiving Point
  3. Pickleville Playhouse Christmas at The Grand Theater
  4. Holiday Window Display at The Grand America
  5. Temple Square Lights at Temple Square

ENJOY the season! 🙂

So Much To Be Thankful For

/ jennced15 / 1 Comment

Do you ever have one of those holidays where it is so special that you seem to be misty-eyed the whole live long day? That was me yesterday. I woke up realizing how much I had to be grateful for and I was overwhelmed.

It is too easy to be caught in the day-to-day motions of life. Not only that; it is too easy to be caught up in the frustrations. I have had my share lately and I find myself at night in bed wondering what is wrong with me.

But yesterday morning I woke up really taking in all of my blessings. Like a really good meditation session–you know the kind that you are sure only Buddhist monks have high in the mountains of Asia. The best part was that it has stayed with me ever since. I hope it stays with me for a long time.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I was lucky enough to spend it with my friend and her family and her dog. We had a wonderful meal, great desserts, conversation and apparently the right climate that all of us took a healthy holiday nap. Nothing gets better than that (except petting the dog for probably 6 hours straight). 🙂

So now I am sitting in my house and staring at a mass cluster of red and green boxes. I can hear each one of them whispering to me that I should open them. I know that in a day my house will be fully decorated for Christmas and I hope with it, the spirit of Christmas will abound. But, I first have the task of creating the magic which means that I am going to need some great Christmas music to work with.

That brings us to the post and not only that but the musical post. So here we are at my top 5 Christmas songs that keep me excited and happy to decorate.

What’s your favorite Christmas song to keep you pumped up for the season?

  1. Brian Setzer: Gettin’ in the Mood (For Christmas)
  2. Gary Walker: Santa’s Got a Brand New Bag
  3. Jewel: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
  4. Brenda Lee: Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree
  5. Dean Martin: A Marshmallow World

ENJOY THIS SPECIAL TIME OF YEAR EVERYONE!!