From "Bah-Humbug" to "It's a Christmas Miracle!"

[This is not an article about me not loving the wondrous birth of Jesus. This I believe and find incredible... this is more of the focus of the mass population version of Christmas.]

This used to be me:



Okay... maybe not quite that negative for Christmas. I've always loved the idea of time off, opening presents and seeing friends. But I feel like I've never really loved Christmas until this year.

My family has never made Christmas a big to do. And not in a bad way, just in a keep-it-small kind of way. On Christmas Eve, we'd have a good dinner, open presents (sometimes family friends or relatives would come to watch) and then all of Christmas day, we'd play with our new toys. And that was that. It usually made me sad that I wasn't able to see all my friends because they were busy doing family stuff. After a while, it just felt like we were trapped all day in a house with nothing to do. Toys do lose their appeal rather quickly to a child.

The other part was we never believed in [SPOILER ALERT] Santa. Santa was a stranger, dressed up for the kids who believed in him, and would sit there for you to talk to. In my little kid mind it went like this: Santa isn't real. Don't talk to strangers. Check and check. Yet my mom made me sit on "santa's" lap one year. I cried and cried and got my popcorn ball and left. No thank you. There's no magic there.

Once I became a college student, there was even less Christmas magic. We didn't have a tree at the apartment or house, presents weren't exchanged, and no seasonal activities were had.  It was the time of year when school let out for a few weeks and you could get together with friends.

My friend and I did throw a few Christmas parties with white elephant gifts, exchanges that required an intense thumb wrestling match (shown below) and drinks and food that made the night more heavenly.

This was for a Jesus poster...

Now my husband's family has always been big into this time of year. My mother-in-law did the santa thing. She used to have other people sign the To: and From: on the packages so the kids didn't realize she was "santa". The typical milk and cookies plate would be eaten and letters would be read and answered. It was the whole shebang.

Besides that, they participated in the seasonal festivities. There was a Christmas parade of sorts (the Holidazzle, which has now transformed into a Christmas market. Definitely not as cool) and a viewing of the Nutcracker Ballet. On Christmas, they'd open presents and spend the rest of the day at their relative's house. It just seemed like a big to-do.

By participating in my husband's magical holiday events, I feel like my love for Christmas has grown. But it was really this year that I've loved it even more.

For the first year in my life, I have a real Christmas tree, a fir to be exact. It has ornaments that we were given, some that were picked out, and ribbon that we felt would be the perfect touch. It still needs a lot more love, but for the first one, it's beautiful. We also purchased fir-scented candles for when the tree lost it's original appeal (the scent is so fleeting!) and next year we will purchase stockings to hang.

Isn't she beautiful? 

I also had the privilege of taking my niece and nephew to the Holidazzle market and watch their faces light up as fireworks bursted in the night sky. All the trees in the area were filled with different colored lights and there were games and ice skating.

I feel like you have to force yourself into Christmas to love it. If you don't get a tree, don't decorate, don't partake in the events... well then you're a bah-humbug. It's just that simple. And yes... I'm aware that some people don't have family to see on the holidays, but even then, there are may other resources for those people.

I think as I get older, we get a house, and have some kids, the season will find even more magic to show me. And I love the thought of that.

Merry Christmas to you all!

Always, 
A

So Fresh and So Clean

GUYS. 

It's ME (you know, that Vergin Knapp girl who started a blog when she started college. That one that promises year after year to continue her blog. That same one that promises that this year will be different. I'll write less. I'll have bigger thoughts. I'll theme this out. I'll review things. I'll write about God more. Heck, I'll throw in some politics and my thoughts on going to Mars. 

I'm Back! 

Why? What made me want to come back after almost *gulp* two years of being MIA? If I were in the army, I'd be kicked out right now. 

Literally a co-worker (I work at TPT which is just the Twin Cities version of PBS) was talking about a blog she had started and I was like "Oh Lord, my blog!" Literal smack my head moment. It's bad. It's terrible. I've done a no-good-terribly-bad thing. I apologize. 

I'm a married woman these days (got the BLING to prove it) and already back from my gallivanting in Boston with the Mr. What a story THAT would have been. We've seen the mountains and the oceans and Vermont in the fall. I'm basically an East Coaster with the heart of a midwesterner. 

Here comes my rant per usual: I love to write. But I don't. I don't mean to. It's just easier said than done. I have lots of thoughts and lots of ideas and it mostly goes unused. Which is sad really. But I'm going to try this again. I know that now that I'm the big 3-o I will have a whole new life to talk about. Instead of crushes and school, I'll have married life, the firsts of being an adult (but didn't I become an adult over 10 years ago?) and all that other stuff. Let's take a crack and see where I end up. 

So now that I'm back... what should I write about?

Always, 
A