Many years ago I resolved never to bother with New Year's resolutions, and I've stuck with it ever since. ~ Dave Beard

Happy New Year!

(photo taken by Joannis Duran)

The holidays went by so fast! The past few weeks feel like such a blur. I am excited to get back into routine and catch up on all the blogs that I have missed! I hope you all had a great Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

Looking back, 2010 was probably one of my toughest years in awhile. There were more downs than ups - but I am hoping that 2011 will be better.

What are you looking foward to this year?

A few things I am looking forward to...

My new neice or nephew being born in a little over a month.
Going to Las Vegas in May (for 2 weddings in one weekend!)
The new season of Mad Men
U2 concert
Some new changes in my personal life
My new kitty cat (that I will hopefully get this week!)


P.S - The photo was taken during New Years on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada. Hopefully I'll be there one year.

Merry Christmas!

It will officially be Christmas here in 2 minutes!

I arrived in Pittsburgh on Wednesday night (quite delayed - thanks, Delta) and it has been very nice to spend time here and to see my Joseph again. Things have been busy here and I will probably be absent the rest of the week as I spend time with family here.

I hope you are all having a happy and wonderful holiday! Merry Christmas! Keep a warm heart and spread the joy around.

Christmas Time is Here

Christmas Time is Here by Vince Guaraldi (you may recognize it from A Charlie Brown Christmas) is one of my favourite Christmas songs. Right now, I'm sitting here listening, drinking tea, and eating a mandarin orange (a really big deal here the time of year - we call them Christmas oranges in my family) with my Christmas tree shining bright.

PS - Did I use the word Christmas enough?

Brrr...

It is soo cold here, brrr! I hope where you are, the weather is nice! The windchill here is -35C (-31F). I'm still not feeling great and had a fever today, so this cold is making me feel miserable.

But, now that it is snowy and cold, it is starting to seem more like Christmas - especially because the neighbours already have their Christmas lights up!

One thing I love about this time of year are the holiday movies. Here are my top 5 (which I realize are somewhat childish - but I have a special place in my heart for them!):

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Such a classic. I love it and watch it numerous times during the holidays. Every year, my mom buys me the newest Rudolph Christmas ornament, and I even have a stuffed Bumble.

Muppet Family Christmas

(not to be confused with A Muppet Christmas Carol - although that one is great too).

This one has all the Muppets, even from Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock. This one just makes me smile. I remember we taped it off tv onto VHS years ago when I was little and now it is really hard to find.

Love Actually
(finally, a more grown up one!)

I love Love Actually. It makes me feel so warm inside. It is so romantic and makes me happy. Because the story happens around Christmas, I consider it a Christmas movie (although I watch it all year round).

Frosty the Snowman

This goes hand in hand with Rudolph. I can't watch one without the other.

A Christmas Story

I actually didn't know about this movie until I was in 9th grade when my teacher, Mr. Nelson, played it for us in Language Arts class. On Boxing Day (December 26th in Canada)they play it on tv for 24 hours straight.

What are your favourite holiday movies?

Gift Tags

We still don't have snow here yet but there is a winter storm and heavy snowfall warning for tonight. I am going to bed and there is no snow on the ground - we'll see what I wake up to!

Even without the snow, it is starting to feel like Christmas. I love these Christmas gifts tags from Craftypagan Designs! Especially the 'Do Not Open Until Dec 25th' stickers.