On Hard Drives and Kindness

Sorry for the radio silence around here. Besides a terribly busy week, my laptop's hard drive crashed! I'd been getting the rainbow wheel lately, and ignored it, and then yesterday I got the dreaded blue screen of death! When I took it to the Apple Store, they ran diagnostic tests and about 5 employees asked me if I'd backed up my files. Backed up? Nope. No backing up over here. My external hard drive died a few years ago and I never bothered replacing it. The whole scene reminded me of this Sex and the City episode:

When they told me none of my data was recoverable, I started crying in the middle of the mall's packed Apple Store. Yep. Private tears in public spaces. Mortifying. I know it's not the end of the world, but I've been so tired that my coping skills are way down, and the result was a breakdown when I realized that all my precious photos and years of files are gone forever. Poof.

Thankfully, the woman helping me was a saint. She squeezed my hand, telling me this happened to her once, and to take it as a lesson learned, it sucks, but it's okay. She helped me see the positives: a brand new hard drive for a brand new year, getting the newest operating system, I'm still under their extended warranty (thank god!), and no more worries after today. She took AppleCare to a whole new level. It was a tender moment and a small gesture, but her kindness means so much. Surrounded by stone-faced holiday shoppers, bustle, and sleek machinery, she was a quiet example of good will and the true spirit of the season.

Friends, back up your hard drives and be soft with others.

Weekending

There was not much relaxing or leisure reading this weekend as hoped for, but there was a lot of grading papers, some brownie baking for a holiday gathering, a rainy Saturday, a pot of Julia's French Onion Soup, fun with friends, and a bit of wassailing.

I didn't get photos of the holiday cheer but here are few of the quieter bits. Note to self: Need to carve out more quiet time. Not rested or ready for the work week ahead (I know I say that every Sunday night). And I am pretty sure this weekend had less than 48 hours in it. But, two more weeks until break, friends. Two. more. weeks.

{Saturday rain}

{the life of a teacher}

{Can you tell which one is hungover?}

{holiday tea, a brownie, morning light}

{French onion soup.)

And last week, Flavio got a new (used) car! Low mileage, low price, well maintained, and driven by a little old lady to work and back. My favorite part: heated seats! My butt has never felt toastier. This was a great deal and we're stoked. Check out his g-ride:

TGIF

{Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?}

The week after Thanksgiving always feels subtly sad for me. The leftovers are eaten, the family has gone, and work is at its most demanding point in the semester. I am pretty much running out of steam at this point. Thankfully, my non-work life has been filled with mellow fun to keep me in holiday spirit, including an evening in with my two faves last night, next to a crackling fire, watching Elf.  We're hitting the first round of the holiday party circuit this weekend and I'm excited to get dressed up. I'm also hoping to squeeze in some reading (currently loving this page-turner), spend time in the kitchen with the inaugural batch of holiday baking, and do a bit of general lounging. I hope you have a fun weekend. xo

PS: 18 things you probably didn't know about the movie Elf

Underbelly

Is it just me, or is this the longest week ever? Ugh, Wednesday. Humph. Sometimes what you need after a long and draining day is some good ramen to soothe the soul. Thank heavens our advent calendar activity for this evening was to ENJOY SOMETHING WARM and we absolutely did in the form of a steamy, creamy, dreamy bowl of Underbelly goodness. San Diego friends, if you haven't been, you must go. Their kinky noodles are perfectly al dente, the soft boiled egg is cooked just right, the pork belly melts in your mouth, and the broth is a fatty nectar of the gods. And any place that has champagne on tap deserves an award, IMO. The soup warmed us from head to toe, and the evening out lifted our spirits. Tomorrow is Thursday, thankgod. Thursday, Thursday, Thursday.

Angel Chimes

A few years ago, one of my students gave me a box of angel chimes. She is from Sweden and we'd been talking about holiday traditions when she mentioned how lighting the four little candles and hearing the soft "ding ding ding" of the bells means Christmas to her. I'd never heard of angel chimes before and was intrigued when she gave me a set. They've since become a special part of our advent calendar activities.

Tonight, we opened a nice bottle of wine, turned off the lights, and sat on the floor by the Christmas tree to light the chimes and listen to their sweet tinging sound. The heat from the candles makes the angels spin and though these chimes couldn't be any simpler, each year Flavio and I find ourselves mesmerized by the little cherubs, silently listening to the bells like children, delighted as angel reflections dance on the walls.

Activities Advent Calendar

{one of last year's advent activities, mulled wine by the tree}

I look forward to the holiday season all year long. I start playing Christmas music on Thanksgiving, put my decorations up early, sip my favorite holiday tea while addressing my Christmas cards, and I feel so festive and peaceful as I enjoy each of these small traditions. For me, the holidays are all about experiences. But somehow, the calendar fills up, things get hectic, and I used to find myself scrambling or forgetting to enjoy the simple joys of the season. So, for our first married Christmas 2 years ago, I decided I wanted to be intentional about celebrating the holidays and I talked to Flavio about creating an activities advent calendar. Did you grow up with an advent calendar? It's one of my favorite traditions. We wrote down 25 things we wanted to do to celebrate the season, like have a romantic candlelit picnic by the tree, watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, pack hot chocolate and drive around to see the lights, etc. and we stuck each activity into the 25 stockings in our advent calendar, along with 2 little pieces of chocolate for each day. We planned our activities so that during the week the experiences were small and no-pressure, and we left bigger outings, like ice skating, to the weekends. Yesterday, December 1, we picked out our Christmas tree and decked the halls while listening to Christmas music. Tonight's experience was to rock out and dance crazy to "Feliz Navidad" - which Guiri thought was scary. I'm excited to document this year's advent activities on the blog - My goal is to post most days, but work is crazy and we'll see how it goes.. I am feeling so merry already!

PS: In case you are looking for a cute calendar, this is our Hats and Mittens Advent Calendar, which I love, for sale here.

Thanksgiving Weekend 2013

The long Thanksgiving weekend was just wonderful.

Flavio did such an amazing job preparing everything that on Turkey Day itself we found ourselves oddly relaxed. We watched movies, took long showers, and waited for guests to arrive with cranberry margaritas in hand. It was lovely. Of course there was the annual chaos of trying to keep 10 different dishes warm at once with our teeny tiny oven, but then I finally declared that this year some sides would be lukewarm and everyone should just have another drink - and ah ha! That is the trick.

{table setting, in progress}

{Gorgeous George, as in Clooney}

{my list}

{table games}

We cobbled together seating in close quarters and enjoyed delicious food, delightful company, a highly competitive pre-dessert Thanksgiving trivia competition, and writing/sharing gratitude on our placemats (I stole the idea from here). We made the rule that you couldn't write/share anything obvious, like health, friends, etc., so everyone's "I am thankful for..." lists were funny and inspired. After dinner we crammed into the living room to eat pie and the birthday cake my mom brought for me, the ladies chatting, the guys watching football. Nothing makes me happier than the laughter and the bustle that comes with a full home. I am now thinking Thanksgiving is my new favorite holiday. (Some years it's Christmas, some years it's Halloween) but Thanksgiving feels like Christmas without all the consumerism, but with all the gluttony and family time! Love.

The Post-Thanksgiving weekend involved lazy mornings, lots of leftovers, precious time with my parents, picking out and trimming our tree, and a trip to the movies to see 12 Years a Slave, which is still haunting me.

On 12 Years a Slave: I nearly had a panic attack in the beginning of the film - it is so horrifying and brutal that I kept squeezing Flavio's hand, sinking lower in my chair, thinking I might leave. But then the film sucks you in, captivates and devastates you, involving you in the psychology of subjugation in a way that makes your feel chained to your chair, truly afraid of what's going to happen next. I've never really experienced this kind of emotional manipulation in a film before. The story chronicles the stages of Solomon's mental state as he moves through periods of confusion, horror, helplessness, Stockholm syndrome, anger, and the continual struggle to maintain his identity and soul - and he takes you right along with him. It's a brilliant, heartbreaking, and important film and I can't stop thinking about it. Somehow, despite its grimness, it felt perfect for Thanksgiving weekend - reminding us that slavery is as important to remember as the pilgrims, and that we are privileged to have the freedom to give thanks. It should be required viewing.

{Saturday night's stunning sunset}

{morning, mimosa, magazine - heaven.}

{day at the park}

I'm feeling a little Sunday sad tonight. The house is quiet, I am anxious about the long work week ahead, and I am missing my parents. On the bright side, our Christmas tree lights are twinkling at me, reminding me I only have 3 weeks left of the semester, and that cookie-baking, holiday gatherings, and the most wonderful time of the year is just around the corner.

{twinkles}