Oh Holy Night(s)

There are few things greater than time off for the holidays. A well deserved break from the grind is essential to one's mental sanity, in my opinion. This year, for the first time in a long time, I have many days off and no travel plans. Usually we rush to finish work, rush to catch a flight, rush to see everyone on our "loved ones list," and rush back to Chicago feeling happy but less than well rested. This year because we are getting married this May, we decided to save the money and spend a quiet and relaxing Christmas at home.

One bonus is that we will actually see snow during the holiday, instead of riding beach cruiser bikes down the beach in sunny California (which though awesome, feels strangely un-Christmas-like).

Another bonus is spending our first Christmas with our new kitty Burke. He gets a Christmas gift but will have to work for it--Adam bought an elf costume on a whim and plans to torture Burke by putting him in it and attempting to take a photo we can use for next year's Christmas cards. Claw City coming our way for sure!

Another bonus? We decided to celebrate Jewish Christmas and go get Chinese food and see a movie with some friends. A fun, low-key way to ring in the holiday the way that Adam used to spend it, before I started dragging him to mass with my family every year. I like that he is always game to celebrate how I would like to, but I also like the opportunity to spend the holiday in a way that is unique to him and his childhood memories of Christmas. This give and take is a fundamental part of any marriage, and I think we have got it down pretty well so far.

In the spirit of filling our time off with fun and productive activities, here are some things we may or may not be doing.

Stuffing wedding invitations
Watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Cleaning the kitchen
Grocery shopping
Using all the liquor we happen to have in the house right now to make specialty cocktails for the holidays
Feeding our friend's awesome huge orange cat
Feeding our other friend's awesome small orange goldfish
Cleaning the bathroom
Exchanging gifts
Doing Christmas Eve yoga at a friend's yoga studio
Eating cookies people baked for us for the holiday
Playing with Burke using various methods, including but not limited to: shoestrings, laser pointer, balls of tin foil, balled up wrapping paper pieces, tiny toy mice, and a mini football that when bounced plays the University of Michigan fight song
Working on wedding music selections
Blogging
Cooking
Drinking
Exercising using our new workout toy that turns a regular bike into an indoor stationary bike
Enjoying the Chicago holiday vibe all over the city

I realize this post is a little lazy and humdrum. However, I myself am feeling a little lazy and humdrum, so it is only fitting. Happy holidays, y'all. May it be all at once productive, fun, lazy, and humdrum for all!