#120 He Takes a Cup of Kindness to 2013

I'm not one of those who grows overly sentimental on New Year's Eve.  In fact, I'm not an overly sentimental type in most categories of life...although I was pretty bummed last week when I broke my astronaut ornament that hubby bought me last year.  If you don't know why I would have an astronaut ornament, don't ask--the explanation wouldn't make much sense anyway.

As a blogger, I decided it would be only fitting to give a run down of 2013 via what has occurred here on "Somewhere That's Green".  As I skimmed over this year's posts I realized two things:

1. Some of these things seem like they happened ages ago.
2. I definitely need to blog more.

January, 2013

The best thing to come from January, 2013 was a gratefulness to my father for never having given into my pressing desire to go plumbing with him.  This was an expensive lesson I learned while he was at my house several times regarding blockage of...well, you know.  Read about it here: cess pool issues

February, 2013

We celebrated my Gram's 80th birthday.  Recently, I was given a compliment that I haven't heard since I was probably a preteen.  My grandmother came to my church to hear me play violin, and one of the ladies I was playing with said, "That's your grandmother?  I thought it was your mom!  She looks incredible."

Read about Gram's birthday bash here: Let's Grow Old Together

March, 2013

Apparently, at least according to my blog, not much happened during March, 2013.  My favorite post of the month was in celebration of World Down Syndrome Day (something that is guaranteed to get me to blog during the month of March).

If you missed it and would like more information about those with Down syndrome read this: All That Matters About People With Down Syndrome

April, 2013

We didn't take a vacation this summer, so our trip in April to Desilu Studios and Pathfinder Village was pretty much it.  It was a short trip, but inspirational time well spent with Hubby.

May, 2013

My favorite post of the year occurred in May after the weight of Easter and the History Channel's The Bible series got to me.

Favorite post of 2013: #96 He Has Been Redeemed

June, 2013

In June, Hubby built and planted our first garden.  It was a little late in the season, so we didn't have a massive crop, but it got us excited about the possibilities for 2014.

July, 2013

I celebrated my 100th blog post!!  Looking forward to another 100 reasons for why I love this man.
#100 He Gives Me More Than 100 Reasons To Love Him

August, 2013

Two fun things happened in August:

1. My Gram, you know, the one who just turned 80, got a tattoo with me and
2. I received a call from my principal asking if I wanted to teach Kindergarten this year.

I'm not sure which I was more excited about.

September, 2013

For Hubby, this was the year of the stache.  He was determined to have a full handlebar mustache by August and succeeded.  In September, he shaved it off for me.  What a glorious day it was.

Sadly, I must state that he recently regrew the stache.  Perhaps I will be posting in 2014 about how he gets rid of it for good?

One can only hope.

October, 2013

 

I was lucky enough to meet my cooking inspiration: The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, again.

November, 2013

Hubby's job goes through many crazy busy stages, however November was the craziest it has ever been.  Hubby began working with a client that has him taking business trips to LA.  Even though I hate when he is away, the old adage "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" is proven all too true whenever he leaves.

December, 2013

December has been a month full of excitement for my home and my kitchen.  There are great things in store over at The Orange Strainer.

#119 He Doesn't Stop the Music

I love in November when some radio stations begin playing Christmas music all day long.  In my area, I have a choice of three which makes commercial breaks just fine with me.  As Christmas Day draws near, a few other stations join in with nonstop Christmas music and everything is right in the world.

The day after Christmas everything changes.  Finding a Christmas song on any radio station is like expecting to hear a Mozart piano sonata on a heavy rock station.

I can't wrap my head around why at the stroke of midnight on Christmas Day the plug is pulled on everything Christmas.  Suddenly, the pinks and reds of Valentine's Day stand in the forefront of supermarkets and department stories.  Radio stations go back to their regular routine, as if they had never played music filled with the hope and cheer of the season.  Employees of various entities who could only give the farewell greeting of "Happy Holidays" now suddenly can say, "Happy New Year".

In Miracle on 34th Street, Kris Kringle says, "Christmas isn't just a day, it's a frame of mind..."

Far too many people have a mechanical frame of mind towards Christmas.  Thanksgiving ends, Christmas decorations go up.  Gifts begin to be bought.  Cookies are baked on this day.  The tree is bought on this day.  Presents are wrapped on this day.  The tree comes down on this day.  Decorations are packed up and put away on this day.  Then, we'll all meet up at the same time, same place next year to do it all over.

Of course, some of the above rant is tradition.  I have nothing against tradition.  I love it.  My problem is when we lose sight of the meaning of Christmas by making it a meaningless part of the machine that is our everyday life.

When the music ends, it's like the world is saying, "We're done with that, now it's onto the next big thing,"

I know I'm a bit of a fanatic.  I get eye rolls when I say that I've been listening to Christmas music since September, a mixture of reactions when I put my first tree up towards the middle of November, and constant questioning towards the end of January from those wanting to know when I will finally take my decorations down.

I don't do it because I'm eager for Christmas Day.  I don't do it because I'm impatient and can't wait until Halloween and Thanksgiving are over.  I do it because the emotions and feelings that go into everything that is Christmas are ones I want to embrace for as long as possible.

The excitement and anticipation to give and receive.

The warmth and coziness of a glowing tree.

The contagious cheer that spreads like wildfire as the day approaches.

The childlike thrill of the first sparkling snowflake that falls from the sky.

The hustle and bustle of preparing the perfect gift or meal for loved ones.

The peaceful calm of knowing every family member is here to share one more Christmas.

The hope and joy of a Savior born to save us all.

So if you pass by my way and the buds of spring surround or the glow of a summer sun is in the sky, and you hear Christmas music--don't think me crazy.   Instead, know that I am longing for the feelings that only this time of year can bring and should not be too soon forgotten.

#118 He Doesn't Trash Pick

Hubby has a firm rule: We don't pick people's trash--no matter how good it may look.  While I may not have always followed the rule firmly, I've learned, as always, that Hubby knows best.

While on first drive by it may look as if the owner is insane for parting with the items resting patiently for trash day by the curb, I've found that if someone has put something out for trash there is usually a good reason that they did.

In October, I broke our rule and picked something up off the side of the road.  I'm giving myself a free pass on this one because it wasn't exactly in the "trash" category.  Four slatted doors with the sign "free" taped to them sat propped against a tree of one of the homes on the way to my parents' house.

I'm going to be honest---I knew when I picked it off the side of the road that it still fell under the trash picking category in Hubby's mind.  If I'm being really honest, it was that way even in mine.  But I had a reason, a very good reason.

Here lies my inspiration for grabbing the one door that I instantly found to be longer and heavier than expected, as I rammed it into the back of my car, after nearly falling onto my bottom, then almost taking out my rear window, while balancing this behavior with continuing to peek behind me in hopes that the home owners didn't come outside to get their mail at this precise moment:

Hubby's boss buys me a subscription to Better Homes and Gardens every Christmas.  Because of this, I have an ongoing file of future home inspiration and current home projects.  Considering my display of Christmas cards usually involves taping them around a doorway in the kitchen, this picture inspired me to find a more creative display for notes of love during the best time of the year.

I'm sure you can see why I needed a slatted door and why finding one on the side of the road was an absolute gold mine for me.*

*Note: For as much as Hubby does not want me to trash pick, he also does not want to spend either minimal or astronomical amounts on items that appear to be anything other than brand new.

While Hubby was away in LA, I cleaned the originally white slatted door and painted it red.

Okay, that story isn't quite that simple.

I went to Walmart, grabbed the cheapest, smallest can of red paint I could find only to discover upon finishing painting my first coat that it was Rust-oleum paint: paint geared towards protecting against rust and corrosion.  

Really necessary for a wooden door, right?

Yeah, that's exactly what I thought when I discovered it.

I also quickly discovered that paint, maybe particularly Rust-oleum paint or maybe just paint in general, smells absolutely horrid and can fill an entire house within minutes.  So on one of the coldest days in November, I cracked open all the windows in my house, left, and prayed that the smell would clear out.

Then I got the bright idea that I should have just endured the cold and painted the door outside.  Because, of course, I couldn't turn back time, hours later I moved the door outside and that is where it stayed for the following week.

But I think it was well worth it.  I now have a beautiful display not only for Christmas cards, but thank you cards, birthday cards, and other notes that ordinarily would fill the front of my refrigerator or the frame of my kitchen doorway.