O Holy Night

What makes your Christmas special? Christmas isn’t always celebrated by every one. There is so much emphasis and commercialism surrounding this day, with so many expectations and gimmicks. Don’t get me wrong, I love shopping for gifts, seeing all the lights and decorations make me happy, and I thoroughly enjoy all the food I get to indulge in; however, it’s so easy to forget about the things that should matter to me more than anything material in this world. I went to midnight mass at St. Andrew’s Church in Pasadena today, not only to celebrate the birth of Jesus, but to reflect on and give thanks for everything that I enjoy and that I am able to experience in my life. Whatever any one’s belief is about what Christmas is or what it means, I find that a sense of appreciation and gratitude should be savored just as much as the spirit of giving or receiving gifts. With all of the crazy events that have happened lately, like the shooting in Connecticut, which I still can’t comprehend, I have to count my blessings. There is so much to be grateful for.

Ugly Sweater Party

Who do you love spending your Holidays with? Last night, we hosted a Holiday get together with some of our nearest and dearest friends. As you can see, we had an ugly sweater party and half of the sweaters were home made to look Christmas themed, which actually turned out being the best! I know it’s not always easy finding time to see friends, especially around the holidays, when family is in town, work gets crazy busy, and travel plans are always conflicting with one another’s. I was so happy that despite it all, we were able to eat, catch up, and play board games together. (I realized; however, Catch Phrase is sexist. What kind of timer goes off knowing when the hot potato is passed to a girl and doesn’t even give her the opportunity to describe the phrase?) No matter how great the food, drink, or decorations, a party is never great without great company. I could’ve have stayed up to continue watching silly you tube videos, reminiscing about high school drill songs, and laughing all night. I truly enjoy spending time with close friends and I absolutely savored these precious moments with them from last night. I think it’s time to start a tradition.