Christmas is what you make of it...

I struggle with Christmas. A lot. Not actually *with* Christmas, but more with all of the things that surround Christmas. I've struggled since I have been an adult and it wasn't until just this year that I really realized the reason.

Growing up, I was an only child. We lived about 500 miles away from our family and we didn't go visit during the holidays. Then, as I grew older, we moved 3000 miles away and we really didn't visit at Christmas then! So, for most of my childhood, it was just me and my parents at the holidays. No big family gatherings, just us, in our beautifully decorated home, sharing the holiday together.

When I became an adult, it became necessary to change things up just a little, naturally, as serious boyfriends and later a husband, came into the picture. I spent part of the time with my family and part with theirs, like most couples do.

Once I married my wonderful husband, Steven, however, a huge change became necessary. You see, they live in Los Angeles, and they too adore Christmas. But, in a different way. Steven has a much larger family than me, and he is used to be being with them for the holidays. So, we had to make adjustments. As the years went by, and we had our son, it became clear that no matter what my thoughts were on traditions and how much I wanted us to have family traditions, we were supposed to be with Steven's family for Christmas. I really struggled with this for a long time, until just recently when I realized that, no matter what I thought I wanted, we have traditions. We have family, and we are loved. Very loved. Steven's parents love to have us come and visit and spend time with them, and to be honest, I completely treasure that time. His parents are so good to me and I love them more than I could ever say. I am extremely blessed to have people who care so much about me and want to be with me.

So, as this posts, I will actually BE in Los Angeles, with my family, celebrating Christmas a few days early because this year, I have to work before and after Christmas, making it impossible for us to spend more than the weekend with them. However, this year, unlike some years in the past, when I have felt a bit "off" about being there, I will treasure every moment, every hug, every smile, and be grateful for the time we are blessed to be able to spend together because....

Christmas is what you make of it.  

around our house... Christmas decor this year...

Most years our house looks the same at Christmas. We pull out the same decorations and put them up, over and over. This year, however, I was not in "the mood" to use all of our normal decorations, and we had company coming pretty quickly after we usually set things up, so we decorated a bit differently and I am pretty happy with the sparkle through the house!

First, our tree.

A couple of years ago, Steven and I splurged on this amazing tree. It has white AND colored LED lights. They are controlled separately and you can make the tree do pretty amazing light things. On top of that, the tree rotates. WIN! So the only issue. :) You knew there was one, right? I haven't been able to figure out how to get a lit topper on the tree. Our usual lit toppers won't work because their cords get tangled up or don't reach where the plug comes up through the tree. When we take it down this year, I am going to try to make a concerted effort to figure out a way to fix this. Until then, I took the photo without the top of the tree!  

Next up, my pink tree. I haven't taken a photo of the entire pink tree yet, but here's what I have taken. I LOVE my pink tree. 

I have a special set of ornaments and garlands that go on the pink tree. White, pink, crystal, silver and gold.  Nothing else. I adore how this tree glows. I really do. Maybe I'll do another post about it. :)

Last but not least, for today, our mantle. Yes, it kind of does glow. The lights are a set of very strange, heavily wired lights that we bought at Costco a few years back. This year, Steven added a stuffed Santa that I have never seen before, and we added our favorite fireplace screen and the stockings that I made us 4 years ago. I love our mantle!

Probably enough for today. It is getting late and I have a few other things to take care of but I wanted to share some Christmas cheer! 

O Christmas Tree....

Last week I blogged about my word for 2010 and about the canvas I made, back in January, using my word. While stalking on Facebook (come on, you know that's what it is, all that flitting around reading things... lol), I stumbled on directions to make the most beautiful canvas of a Christmas tree. I'm still kind of struggling with the whole canvas thing, and I thought the tree was just delightful, so I decided to have at it.

I had my doubts, as I was putting it together, but I pushed them aside, and I continued on. When I was done, I had the canvas you see to the right. I am absolutely head over heels for it. It isn't exactly like the one created by the tutorial writer, Christy Campbell Tomlinson, but it is mine, and I made it and I adore it. Here is the tutorial, in case you want to try your hand at this. I am dying to make another one. I think I have to wait a bit, because I really want to keep going on my Christmas journal, but maybe I'll do both!

Two more days of work, today and Tuesday, and I'm off until after New Year's. It has been an astounding year at work, but I'm happy to have a break and really looking forward to being home for many days in a row! I love our shutdown, because I can just bask in the goodness of being home.

~Have a fabulous Monday!

And so it starts...

Some years, Christmas just comes at you in a blazing flash of color, light, and fun. I think this year is going to be that sort of year, which means that the big challenge will be to hang onto it and enjoy every second!

Since 2007, I have done something called Journal Your Christmas, which is a class with journaling prompts every day for 37 days, from December 1st on. I love it, as it helps me capture the holiday and capture what we did each year. Last year, I realized that it was getting a little stale for me, because there is only so much writing you can do each year on each topic. So, I wasn't sure if I was going to do it this year, but I found a cool way to make my journal different and make it work for this year, so I am excited to get started!

Today, I sat down and created the cover. I LOVE it. It is so me. Spunky, sparkly, pink in places, and just fun. I think it also epitomizes this year, as I set out to learn more about creating my own journals, and art journaling in general.

I used two pieces of corrugated cardboard, acrylic paints in red, green, white, and silver. I also used about 5 different colors of Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, plus Tattered Angels Glam in Chandelier, then I tossed on some brown and some gold Martha Stewart Glitter, and finally added a 3-D gift tag that I bought at Costco. Lastly, I add a very small photo frame with Christmas 2010 in it. (I won the frame in a raffle earlier this year, so it seemed appropriate to use!) The funniest part of the cover is that the corrugated cardboard is actually cut from the side of my latest Nutrisystem food delivery. All part of 2010!

That's my start. Watch out, it's going to be a fun year for this journal. I can tell.