There is a downside to Christmas

I can't believe the holidays are over :( I need to have one more post about Christmas and I want to share with you our first tree!



There is a downside to Christmas. Can you guess what it is? Yep, taking down the Christmas decorations is officially 2nd on my hate list (right after grocery shopping). Putting them up was so much fun! Listening to Christmas music while trimming our tree made me merry. But after spending 2 days cleaning and taking them down, I've turned into a Grinch. Until this Christmas our decorations, ornaments, etc. were stored in my mom's attic. Now that Christmas is over and mom's attic is no longer available, I have to find storage in my own house. One of the things we love about the house is the immense amount of storage. There are 3 alcoves in the master and guest bedrooms and a small attic. I decided to use one for holiday decorations. Guess what I discovered in our storage spaces? Noah's stuff. He has stuff everywhere! He has more UVA t-shirts, pants, shorts, hats, shoes, footballs, and other gear than anyone should accumulate in one lifetime. Noah says one of the perks of being on the football team was free stuff. I have to disagree with the word "perk." He doesn't wear half of it! It's in storage bins and bags in all of our storage space. And instead of choosing one alcove to store it in, he has spread it out throughout the house. In the guest room closet, I found a huge basket full of athletic shoes and cleats.

So I asked him, "Why is there a basket full of your shoes in the guest room?"

"There's a basket of shoes in the guest room?"



We've been living here 8 months and those shoes have been forgotten about (because his closet is already full of athletic shoes). And even though he just bought a pair of running shoes a few weeks ago, we must continue to store the basket of shoes.



Now ladies, here is a perfect example of "choosing you arguments wisely." I choose to let this one go. There are bigger fish to fry. For example, the garbage receptacle that is Noah's car.



So until next year, our ornaments and stockings are stored neatly with care,
along with the footballs and t-shirts that will forever be there :)

A Christmas to Remember

WARNING: the following post is somewhat sappy and sentimental.


It's Sunday and Noah's watching football (which means I'm bored). I have plenty of laundry to do and I should be going to bed early since I know this week will be busy busy with customers coming in for last minute gifts. Everyone is bustling about town to prepare for Christmas (which is somehow less than a week away). It seems as though every year I tell myself that I will buy all my xmas presents early. Yet here I am with 4 days to go and I still have shopping to do. I love Christmas time with the sparkling lights, Christmas music, apple cider (which my mom serves EVERY year on Christmas morning) and of course the holiday parties!


My shopping was put on hold this weekend from the HUGE snow storm that dropped about 14 inches of snow on Richmond. Jeter loves the snow. He hops about not knowing whether to eat the snow or play in it. Something changes when it snows. It's as if time slows down. I guess it's because you can't go anywhere but all our neighbors were in the streets with their dogs and children. One of our neighbors even brought us Christmas cookies. It's as if you're in your own Christmas movie.

What did I do on this snowy day?? I wrapped presents. And I'm not trying to sound conceited, but I am Martha freakin' Stewart when it comes to wrapping presents. It truly is an art form. I am bad at a lot of things; however, I am confident in 2 of my abilities: wrapping presents and baking chocolate chip cookies. Ask my mother (who has always been a cookie monster and taught me how to wrap).

This is a very special Christmas as it is our first as a married couple. I want to remember every second of it. Noah and I have been together for almost a decade and I find myself forgetting some of our happiest memories. I had just finished a long workout on the elliptical machine this morning. I was breathing heavily and staring at the Christmas tree. I looked at each ornament and tried to remember who gave it to us or where we purchased it. Each one has a special meaning and I don't want to forget. Finally, Noah looked at me and said, "babe, whatcha doin'?" I gave him a hug (even though I was gross) and I took a deep breath. My life has been a roller coaster ride with huge pitfalls and mountainous highs. It scares me to think about how great my life is because I'm so afraid of what may happen.

But you can't think like that. I'll enjoy the here and now and I'm ready for whatever life may throw at me.

I have the memory of an 85 year old. I want to get some of my memories written down.
So here are some of my favorites:

- We met in Costa Rica on spring break in high school. Our friends set us up and we were both so shy. Our resort was pretty large and everyone stayed in bungalows. There were little buses to cart you around the resort. Noah rode with me one night to my bungalow (just the two of us). He gave me a little hug but I remember getting butterflies.

- My sister hated Noah at first. We went horse back riding in Costa Rica on the beach at sunset (could that be more romantic?) Noah ruined it because his leg was rubbing on the saddle and he refused to go faster than a trot. Bonnie and I, on the other hand, were galloping up and down the beach.

- Our first kiss was pretty awful. His breath smelled like onions. To this day I refuse to kiss him if after he eats onions.

- Our first date was at Hermitage Country Club (a double date with Kevin and Blair... the ones who set us up)

- For my 16th birthday, Noah gave me a ring (which I still wear). My dad gave me a car a month before I turned 16 so Noah drove it around. He's probably driven that car more than I have!

- The first time I went to NYC was with Noah. It was amazing. We went to the Central Park Zoo and Noah was so afraid of the bird house. This is when I found out that he HATES birds.

- I made this adorable baseball cake for Noah when he turned 17.

And the one that tops them all.....the night Noah proposed

We went to Georgetown (for HIS birthday). We always stay at this one hotel right in the middle of Georgetown. We walked to dinner enjoying the surprising cool July evening. On our walk home, Noah asked, "Do you want to walk down by the canal." I declined since I was wearing these amazing Christian Louboutin peep toe pumps that were killing my feet (later I found out he was going to do it by the canal). When we got back to the hotel room, champagne was waiting for us. I changed into my pjs right away and Noah started acting weird. I didn't pay much attention because I thought maybe he hate too much or something. I hopped into bed and Noah handed me a glass. He told me to scoot over to the edge. I started making a toast about how much I loved him and ended it with, "Happy Birthday." I took a sip of champagne and realized Noah was making his own little speech. Before I knew it, he was down on one knee. I honestly can't remember what he said. I was so shocked I couldn't think! Somewhere in there I heard, "will you marry me?" Of course I said yes. We spent the next hour on the phone with our family (who already knew) and our friends.

Wait!!! This one tops them all...our wedding day!
- I loved every minute of our wedding day. I was nervous all day and didn't speak very much (I have no idea why I was so nervous). My wedding day felt like an out of body experience. It was so much fun and I wouldn't have changed a thing! Even if something goes wrong on your wedding day, you are so happy you don't even care (and I can say that because our groomsman passed out and our ring bearer threw up all over Noah's dad).

The first time I felt like Mrs. Greenbaum... was on our honeymoon. The morning after we arrived, we were woken up with a phone call. The operator said, "Good morning, Mrs. Greenbaum. Would you and your husband like breakfast in bed?"


I warned you this post was sappy!!!

BAD MOOD BEAR

Don't you just love Christmas?

Everywhere you look...wreaths, ornaments, lights, presents, elves, Santa...I could go on and on!
This is a very special Christmas for Noah and me as it is our first as husband and wife (I'll pause for the "awe"). We put up our very first tree and stockings (even one for Jeter). We put on Christmas music and spent the entire night decorating. Noah even danced with me a little (even though I know he thinks it's corny). It makes me realize how truly lucky I am to have such an amazing husband, a cute house, and the world's best dog :)

Fast forward one night...

We have no plans for the night which is good because I'm in a terrible mood for no reason (if you are a girl, you will understand this ... if you are a boy, you won't understand it and you never will). I call Noah on the way home to inform him we have nothing to cook for dinner and I am not about to go to the grocery store (it's cold and raining...and I DESPISE the grocery shopping when I'm in a good mood). I decide it's definitely a Chinese night. I'll go home and put on my pjs and engorge myself with moo goo gai pan.

As I walk into the kitchen (dreaming about snow peas), there's Noah with groceries.
"I'm going to make grilled chicken and put it on a salad."

Now normally I would give him a huge kiss and say, "that is so sweet of you." I mean he's cooking and he's making something nutritious!

But not tonight. No, tonight I am a bad mood bear.

All I can think about is the fact that I don't get to waste 3 days of caloric intake on my Chinese. No, I HAVE to eat healthy. I bite my tongue. That's a lie...here's what I really do...

"Babe, you are going to mess up the entire kitchen. Which means that I will have to clean it. I don't want to clean tonight. I'm not feeling well and I'm not in the mood." (I'm such a bitch).

Noah assures me he will be neat. I ignore him and stomp up the stairs to change into my pjs.

The meal was delicious and nutritious! It actually put me in a much better mood (maybe I was just hungry all along). I felt terrible for being so nasty to Noah and spend the rest of the night making it up to him. When Noah goes into the office, I decide to sneak into the kitchen and clean up the entire mess before he notices.

OH MY GOSH. He managed to get olive oil EVERYWHERE. I guess he used the olive oil to cook the chicken. He must have had the burner up way too high because there was oil burnt to the stove top, on the microwave and all over the counter. Just as I finish assessing the damage, Noah walks in afraid of what I may say to him now. All I can do is laugh. I remind myself of how lucky I am and how insignificant a little mess is. Besides, Noah is so cute I can't resist myself (I'll pause for you to gag).

Most importantly, you never know when Santa is watching...