We have a lot to be thankful for in this life. The list is extensive, and it’s filled with all the normal things I give thanks for in our day-to-day life. Josh. A loving family. A great, fulfilling job with a great team. Best friends that are family now. A beautiful house that we work… Read More Looking Inward
Merry, Merry Christmas to you all! Josh’s family is here now, and we’re enjoying the time with new family. Wednesday, his brother and his brother’s girlfriend come out to Atlanta, and we’re excited to show them around! Now that we’ve been here for some time, we’ve been to several fun southern events, so I thought… Read More A Very Atlanta Christmas
In New Mexico, Christmas Eve was always an event. Josh and I both have big, close families, and we all celebrate Christmas Eve as the bigger event. As a kid growing up, we’d have tamales and red chile, open ONE present each (normally our Christmas pajamas), and then go to Midnight Mass. As we got… Read More Christmas Eve Traditions
One of my favorite things about my generation (#MillennialsFTW) is our willingness to create our own families. I grew up with excellent Baby Boomer examples on this, however. While I was growing up, I was absolutely close with extended family members (my cousin Steph was a bridesmaid in my wedding). However, my parents had two… Read More The Joy of Community
So you have family coming to your house for the holidays. I feel like I’m in some kind of self-help meeting. So you’ve decided to have family come over. That’s okay! We can help you! But really, that’s what this post is about. I’m relatively new to having family come to our home for Christmas,… Read More Be Prepared: Family is Coming
Twas the week before Christmas And all through the house All the creatures were stirring Because nothing was ready and the presents weren’t wrapped and the house needed to be cleaned The end! Is that how the story goes? Because that’s how it’s going in my house! We’re just about a week out from Christmas,… Read More Twas the Week Before Christmas…
Every year, one of my jobs is to plan to the Leadership Team’s annual Christmas party. It’s one of my favorite and least favorite jobs of the year. Least favorite, because it’s kind of a lot of work and I have a lot of other work to do to close out the year, like budgets,… Read More Christmas Party Tiiiiiime
So Friday, I had a major work event planned. I mean, it was going to be good. It’s a community relations meeting, at which I would hand out the grant checks to local charity organizations. We had decorated with lovely Christmas decorations like holly and black tablecloths and old Christmas music! It was December 8,… Read More Snow?
The older I get, the more I realize that most of my life lessons are just being re-learned in a new way as an adult. Like, in my sorority (Pi Beta Phi), we used to do this thing called “Sunshines and Dark Clouds”. Basically, it was a chance for people to talk about the good… Read More The Good, the Bad, and the Blog
It’s definitely beginning to feel a lot like Christmas in the J&J Household! Tell me if any of you guys have this issue. I am 100% Pro-Christmas. I love Christmas. I love Christmas music, decorations, trees, plans, events, all of it. My husband Josh is what you would normally call a Grinch (or I normally… Read More It’s Beginning to Feel a Lot Like…