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Posted in Christmas on December 5, 2007| Leave a Comment »

I like Christmas decorations.  I love the way a fresh cut Christmas tree smells, and I love twinkly lights on trees (especially the ones in downtown athens) and I love all things that sparkle. 

It makes me happy and gets me thinking about the weeks to come, and helps me to mentally prepare for everything that Christmas involves. 

I spent some time last week helping my mom get our tree decorated, mostly I laid on the floor with the dog and watched her decorate, but I was there for moral support. 

Britt and Ross got a tree for our little house this weekend, and it now has three ornaments on it, with dreams of much, much more. 

I bought some candy canes at the grocery store.  I love candy canes.  As a child I used to like to make spears by creating a point on the end on the candy cane.  A shiv if you will. 

Briscoe likes Christmas too.  I’m going to get her a santa hat.  Or maybe an elf hat.  I think she might like being an elf. 

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The presents I got for Christmas make me happy

Posted in Christmas on January 3, 2007| 1 Comment »

I know this post seems a little late – but it really isn’t.  Because, obviously when you open presents on Christmas morning you think – Hey! This is Cool!  I could really use this!

But then a few months later you find that same present in a bag in the back of your car and you think – hmmm, why haven’t I found a place for this?  I’ll tell you why.  Not because you didn’t like it – or because it wasn’t thoughtful – but probably for the mere fact that you didn’t need it.  At Christmas we are required to give people stuff they don’t need.  I’m not going to rant about the commercialization of Christmas – because Christmas is different for everyone and who am I to tell the atheist down the street that their decorations are tacky.  Maybe it makes them happy.  And I like the idea of atheists spending time and money on Christmas decorations.  It makes me laugh.  Some might disagree. 

But I will say that it made me immensely happy when my six year old cousin told me on Christmas eve what she wanted from Santa.  Kathleen’s list – Three things:

1.  Skateboard

2.  Hermit Crab

3.  Arrowhead collection

I smiled and told her that I was glad that the evil commercialized world had not infiltrated the low country of South Carolina yet.  Just then our next door neighbor came barging through the door with a full Santa costume on and candy bars in his red bag.  Kathleen said – that isn’t the real Santa.  The real Santa is busy today.  I told her maybe it was one of Santa’s elves.  She shook her head.  No, they are busy too.  It is probably just a neighbor. 

Having children around is fun. 

Back to presents – I got a lot of great Christmas presents that I really like and enjoy and that I needed.  My brother gave me an awesome coffee maker – and hey! I needed a coffee maker!  It makes excellent coffee.  Briscoe and I have been getting back into the routine of waking up at 7:15 with the help of the useful Christmas present. 

My parents gave me a sparkly time piece for my wrist.  It is a combination law school graduation present/birthday/Christmas what ev and I LOVE it.  I haven’t worn a watch in months, so I still have to remember to look it when I want to know the time – but I like the reflections of sunlight it throws all over the ceiling of my car when I’m driving. 

One of the most surprising and thoughtful gifts I received came from a boy who helped make the summer of 2004 one of the most fabulous summers of my life.  He lives far away – but we chat on occasion and he knows that I love Luna bars.  And on December 26th – I received a box from far away city UPS store that contained this –

Dcp2015_md It is a pocketbook made out of Luna Bar wrappers – and every time you buy one they plant a tree!  How hippy is that!  I love it.  The note said he saw it and thought of me and knew I would like it.  Those are the best kind of gifts.  Also because those kinds of gifts don’t happen every day.  And all gifts are awesome, it really is the fact that someone thought enough of you to take the time.  But sometimes those special gifts really make you smile. 

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Merry Christmas!

Posted in Christmas on December 25, 2006| 4 Comments »

I should have posted this earlier – since at this point it seems like Christmas is already over, but it really isn’t.  These are my two favorite Christmas Bible Verses.  They make me very happy.  I’ve posted them before – but they are still my favorite so I’ll post them again. 

I wish each and every one of you a very merry happy Christmas.  I’m going to sit by the fire in the back yard and drink champagne with people I love.  I hope you all have an equally blessed holiday. 


Luke 2 (NIV)

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree
that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.(This was the
first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)
And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up
from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of
David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went
there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and
was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the
baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She
wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no
room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels 
And there were shepherds living out in the fields
nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord
appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they
were terrified. But the angel said to them,
“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great
joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a
Savior has been born to you; he is Christ, the Lord. This will be a
sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the
shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this
thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

 
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph,
and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they
spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,
and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her
heart.** The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all
the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been
told.

John 1 (The Message)
The Life-Light

The Word was first,
the Word present to God,
God present to the Word.
The Word was God,
in readiness for God from day one.

Everything was created through him;
nothing–not one thing!-
came into being without him.
What came into existence was Life,
and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;

the darkness couldn’t put it out.

(emphasis added)

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iTunes and I have great taste

Posted in Christmas, Music on December 21, 2006| Leave a Comment »

The free download of the week is That was the Worst Christmas Ever! on the Sufjan Stevens Christmas Album.  And I was just telling y’all the other day that it was awesome. 

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Christmas Carols

Posted in Christmas on December 18, 2006| 5 Comments »

Kat tagged me in the Christmas Song Game, and I love games.  I love Christmas music – but I don’t LOVE christmas music.  Like – it makes me really happy, but not on the radio before thanksgiving.  And it irritates me when certain radio stations go completely christmas for six weeks.  Please.  There is no need for that.

Following directions has never been my strong point – so I am going to tell you about a christmas album, a christmas DVD, and a few songs. 

If you are looking for a good, different christmas album – you should download the Sufjan Stevens Christmas album on itunes or buy it on amazon.  I downloaded a lot of the songs last christmas when they were free – but I think I am going to buy the whole album because it has so many songs and I can honestly say this is the first christmas album I’ve ever listened to that I really and truly loved every song.  I looked at the site where I downloaded the songs but the link is broken, so I guess you will have to pay for it.  GO GET IT.  My favorite songs are – That Was the Worst Christmas Ever and Come On! Let’s Boogey to the Elf Dance!

My dad loves watching concerts on DVD.  I apologize to anyone who has been forced to watch a concert on DVD with my dad.  I kind of enjoy it, as long as I have a glass of wine or my laptop to distract me.  Well, A Gala Christmas in Vienna is a favorite in the Paine household.  It really does have some amazing music.  The only creepy thing about it is that you can see through Sarah Brightman’s dress most of the DVD.  There is also Our Favorite Things – Christmas in Vienna which gets it’s fair share of screen time. 

I love Carol of the Bells, in any language, version, whatever.  I love the words, I love the rhythm, it is just one of my very favorite songs.  It is also very popular so I get to hear it all the time on the radio. 

O Holy Night is probably my favorite hymn, but there is something about Joy to the World – with all it’s verses that makes me happy.  It is like while you are singing Joy to the World – Christmas will never be over. 

Y’all know how I feel about Dolly – so Hard Candy Christmas will also have to be on my list.  Actually a very depressing song, but what ev.  I love Dolly. 

That’s all I’ve got.  I guess I have to tag some people.  Hmmmm…..who will participate?

Faris, Pete, Betsy, TSC Girl, and Jeremy.

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Decisions, discussions, travels, trips, music, memories, family, movies, toys, dogs, hot ham

Posted in Christmas, Movies, Music, ridiculousness, Thoughts, Travel on December 26, 2004| Leave a Comment »

I stayed up too late last night. It is becoming a trend. I have so much stuff I need to do, but I think I am going to just go to sleep. I am very tired.  Daddy and I tried to go see the aviator, but it was sold out so we went to see a series of unfortunate events.  I liked it, but I like children’s movies and love children’s books.  I thought it was fun and just dark enough. But I don’t think that Daddy thought much of it.  Oh well, he goes for the popcorn mostly anyway.

Libby and I are going to the ATL in the morning for a little shopping and to spend the night with Betsy and Katie. Then Libby is going to take me to the airport on Tuesday morning. I am flying to DC to hang out with Cybil and Jennifer and Emily and Caleb. I am really excited, I love DC. Caleb is going to pick me up and take me to see his family and house and then we are going over to Cybil’s for a dinner party. It is going to be awesome! Mary Beth is going to meet me in DC and on Friday Emily, Jennifer, Mary Beth, Cybil and I are all going to New York for New Years. Libby and Emily and Maggie will already be there and Katie, Katie and Sally are going to be there too. It is going to be all of my past colliding. Best friend from kindergarten, best friend from middle school, best friend from high school, best friends from college, pledge sisters, a couple old best friend roomies from college, best friend in law school…..I mean, I can’t tell you how happy I am going to be the entire time. I am going to be one big ball of excited. Plus New York has the best food all the time. And you don’t have to drive anywhere. Especially late night for food. Because there is a gyro place next to the bar, or down the street. (although I doubt I will be able to find a waffle house or a pancake house – but hey, when in rome – eat fried risotto balls). Come to think about it, I think that one of the greatest things about traveling is that everywhere you go eats something different as a late night snack. And it is normally delicious. And New York has some of everything.

I think I am going to get to hang out with some new friends I made last night time I was in New York, and I am also pumped about this. I love new friends. Mary Beth has never been to New York, so that is going to be fun as well.

Wow, I feel like I am partying up the east coast; the ATL, D.C., NYC. (it really isn’t a big city if it can’t be referred to by a few letters. I love calling it the ATL. But, I like prefer to call it THE ATL, and not ATL, and I don’t think I would ever call it THE D.C. – which is probably in fact more appropriate than THE ATL). (how about THE O.C.? – that isn’t really right either, but I like it).

My hands are cold. I left my laptop at Katie and Betsy’s house and have been without it for over a week – which is huge for me. Otherwise I would have had a lot more to say this week. I love Christmas. And I love y’all.

It didn’t snow, but it did sleet and was very cold. I will pretend that we had a white Christmas, even if it was only ice. I love my family and friends a lot, I am so very blessed. I will try to post on my travels, but if not I will get back to you when I return on the 4th. Sweet Dreams.

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These are my two favorite

Posted in Christmas, Religion on December 25, 2004| Leave a Comment »

These are my two favorite Christmas bible verses. Both which were read at church on Christmas Eve, which made my night.


Luke 2 (NIV)

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels 
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them,
“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.** The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
** doesn’t this verse kill you? Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart? The Message translation says: Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. I mean, she was only around 14 years old – I would expect all of this to be a bit overwhelming.

John 1 (The Message)
The Life-Light

The Word was first,
the Word present to God,
God present to the Word.
The Word was God,
in readiness for God from day one.

Everything was created through him;
nothing–not one thing!-
came into being without him.
What came into existence was Life,
and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;
the darkness couldn’t put it out.

"The Darkness Could Not Put it Out."   This is one of the greatest verses in all the bible. I love it.

Happy Happy

Happy Merry Christmas!

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I’m dreaming, of a white christmas……

Posted in Christmas on December 20, 2004| Leave a Comment »

Who am I kidding? It isn’t going to snow here. Especially not on Christmas day. Travers called from work today to tell mama and me that weather.com said it was suppose to snow on saturday. Travers is normally not to be trusted on information like this because he teases people unmercifully on an everyday basis. But sure enough, according to weather.com, there is a 30% chance of rain and snow showers here on saturday. The low is 19 degrees. Which is a little chilly. But I also don’t think I am going to hold on to the hope that the 30% of rain/snow showers is going to materialize. I don’t want to be disappointed on Christmas. I did talk to Cybil today and she said it snowed there, which is exciting. What if it snowed while I was in New York? It would be bitter cold and my feet would be colder than normal, something I don’t think I want. But maybe.

I don’t think I am going to go outside on Christmas. I think I might stay inside and watch movies and eat cookies and soup and lasagna all day long and play with all my fun new toys that santa claus is going to bring me. Maybe I’ll drink a bloody mary. But probably not. That would involve me refraining from cookies for a few minutes and I don’t know if that is a possibility. I could drink champagne, because I can do that and eat cookies at the same time.

I just want to give a shout out to all of those people out there that are at work, and aren’t at home yet. Christmas will be here soon!!!

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