Another holiday season has come and gone, our first in the cold country.  While we saw some flurries on Christmas Eve, we didn’t have any snow on the ground on Christmas Day.  Here’s hoping for next year.

However, living in the middle of Christmas Tree Central, we did experience going out to hunt down our very own tree.  We set up a tree stand, and waited for the perfect tree to amble by.  Our patience (and frasier fir cover scent) paid off, as we bagged the ideal tree, and took it in for processing.

We then loaded our prize onto our vehicle and headed for home.

Bagged a tree!

Once home, we unwrapped our trophy.  You can see the dog is greatly impressed.

However, because we didn’t want Gabriela to feel left out, we waited until she got here to decorate.  In fact, we wanted so much to make sure she felt included that we let her decorate the whole tree. I’m not sure  I’ve ever seen anyone so grateful.

Once we had a tree up, Christmas was free to arrive.  All presents arrived at their destination safely (I don’t know how Aunt Kimie mailed presents from Florida for all those years, I could barely handle one year).  The great folks at Go Postal (yes, that’s really their name) rescued my sanity.  I’ll never ever ever go back to the post office.

Alex winterized me for Christmas.  He got me snow boots and gloves, both things that I really needed.  Given that I was ready for winter, we headed again for Washington, DC (yes, you may be noticing a theme here, I’m sure Jared and Meredith are wondering if we’re slowly moving in).  It was good to see Jared and Meredith, but really we wanted to hang out with Tesla.

Tell me that’s not a great face!

So the new year is here.  I’ve never been much of one for resolutions, but this year I’m going to live with intention.  I’ve not taken an active role in steering my life in the past, and have gotten incredibly lucky.  So, I’m taking the reins!  Now I just need to figure out how to do that (I’m pretty sure there are lists involved). . . . . .

Happy New Year everyone!  Here’s hoping that you all have a great year ahead, and that I’ll see you before the end of 2014.