artsy

artsy

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

2012.



Resolutions.

What a big word.

Filled with all kinds of hidden meanings.

To me, when I hear that word, I instantly think of diets that fail, exercise that goes undone, and elaborate plans that never get put into play.

On that note, I think I'll come up with some "ways to better myself and those around me." (I think that was just a long description for the word resolution, but that's the way the cookie crumbles)

1. Give and/or receive at least 8 hugs a day. One of my preschool CDs even has a song about it. It's just healthy.

2. Smile at truck drivers on the road. They have a long way to go, and it's fun. I've already done it!

3. Write at least one letter a week. It's always fun to receive snail mail, it'll keep my handwriting neat, and it will help the U.S. Post Office, making me a true patriot.

4. Stop obsessively following awesome blogs without at least posting once in a while on this one. Basically, Be. More. Consistent.

5. Find new books to read. Actually, find more everything to read. It can be the news. Just read more, so I'll have more topics to elaborate on with the Husband.

6. Use my phone for it's primary use more than I do now. Phones were originally invented to call people, not to text, play games, take picture, etc. Call people I care about more :)

7. Budget, exercise, eat healthy, and drink lots of water. There's no need to create more stress for me. I seek out enough on my own already.

I like the number 7, and I like Harry Potter, so that's enough for me.

Happy Resoluting!

~A

Monday, December 19, 2011

Clean Apartment!

It's Monday.

Which means a clean apartment is a huge accomplishment.

Also. We are having pizza night tonight. Cause we can.

Also.

GO STEELERS!


And speaking of Steelers...this is easily the coolest thing you will see today. Possibly in 2 days.



~ A

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

First Annual

What is great about being married:

Knowing that saying things like "ooo, Ben...this is our first annual Soltoff Family Christmas Card" will totally set Ben off

...and cause him to shout at me from the couch "Inaugural! It's Inaugural!"

:-D

IT'S TUESDAY!!!

This is generally how I feel today:


~A

Monday, December 12, 2011

Christmas Trees!

It's for sure a Monday.

But, anyways.

Ben is sick and feels like poo, and i get to feel smug and say "I told you so" about him being sick. It's not really a win for me, except that we get to have my favorite soup tonight :D

Here's the real topic though.

Christmas Trees.


The lighting stinks, but here's ours for this year! Our FIRST FAMILY CHRISTMAS TREEEEEEEEEE!

It's a faker. We aren't going to actually BE around ON Christmas Day, and I didn't want needles on the floor the tree to die for lack of water. So we found one at Wal-Mart a fancy store that had just the right shade of multicolored twinkle lights. 

Here's my thing with Christmas Trees. First of all, they should preferably be live. Because there should be some element of adventure in obtaining a tree. Second, the lights MUST be color, and they have to be the kind of soft color, not this neon fiddle-faddle I've seen in recent years. Nostalgic color!  Third, the ornaments all have to mean something. My family has it's own personal Christmas elf that brings us a new ornament every year, and I got to bring all mine with me when I got married. Combined with Ben's light-up Star Trek ornaments (which until recently I wasn't so excited about) and his others, our tree has a bunch!

Some stories about Christmas Trees. 

Actually just one.

Ben and I helped my parents get a tree this year because my brother broke his collarbone in our annual Turkey Bowl on Thanksgiving. (backstory time) For many years now, my family has always gone to a certain place to get the tree (Cox's Farm for those of you in NOVA), and my siblings and I have a certain tradition about getting it. Mainly, the kids are required to run around and in and out of the trees and the firepit and the other Christmas decorations while the parents pick out the tree. It's complete with a pause in the game to roast marshmallows over the small fire. We always go in the evening, and it's always a crisp, cold night. My mom frets about the tree height, and we kids always tell the parents that the tree they eventually pick looks great. (end backstory)

And that's how it was this year, with the addition of Ben!!

Unfortunately there's another part to this story this year. Ben and my dad got the huge, massive average-sized tree into the house, and cut all the wrapping stuff off, tralala all normal and stuff. My mom was pulling down some of the branches and found a NEST of some kind in the middle of the tree. Then, someone else saw something MOVING and all heck broke out. You would have thought a fully-grown dragon was in the tree, from all the gasping and poking and sudden movements we were making. After a while, Ben and my dad had the great idea to take the tree back outside, and let whatever was in there just scamper out. Just in case, my little sister and I got out our dogs, to eat whatever came out of the tree protect us (they just sniffed the tree). 

It ended up being a tiny field mouse. 

womp. womp. 

I was thinking our night would end up more like this:



In summary, I think Ben will be inspecting our trees thoroughly whenever we decide to get live ones. 

Also, here's me playing with puppies.  Because I really want one and can't have one. The one looking at the floor and not at the camera was awesome, he was going around and jumping on all the sleeping puppies. I'd name him Killer or Brian or something fantastic like that.


Tomorrow's Tuesdayyyyyyyy!!!!! (new girl ftw)

~A

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Baby Names!

Sometimes, Ben and I sit around and talk about baby names. You know. For the future.

Tonight's discussion was ridiculously productive.

I deduced that it would be incredibly clever to get a dog and name it Beowulf. And then name the cat Grendel.


obvs Beowulf. 


YIKES! 

but duh. Grendel.



~A



Friday, December 2, 2011

"Get the biggest aluminum tree you can find, Charlie Brown, maybe painted pink"

Christmas movies are always a highlight to the holiday season, especially for me. Now while there seem to be an increasing number of made for tv movies about this time of year (ABC Family I'm talking to you...Holiday in Handcuffs? Really?), there are also some classics that I absolutely love. 

The Santa Clause: This is a hilarious movie, but it also addresses a lot about Santa Claus, without making it too much about the commercialism of the season. This is one of those family movies that children will love for the story, and adults will love for the jokes and the story.

Home Alone: Along the same lines as The Santa Claus, this movie is a great one to watch with the family because it has stuff in it for all ages. I am completely in love with the house and the Christmas decorations that are set up inside. And who doesn't hope their kid will be as ingenious as Macaulay Culkin if left at home by themselves?

Elf: There are so many lines I could quote from this movie, and it's one of the newer holiday movies that I am really partial to watching. If my mom were here, you'd better believe we'd be quoting lines from this movie for several minutes straight. In fact, we watched part of it as a family on Thanksgiving, and my grandma and her boyfriend had just come over and were watching it with us for the first time. About every 2 minutes, my mom and I would say "oh, this is a great part coming up" or "this part is so funny, watch!" Basically, this movie is definitely on the must-see list!

It's a Wonderful Life: I had never watched this movie all the way through until a few years ago, and you better believe that I cried after watching it (actually, I think I ended up crying during the movie). There are so many life lessons you can take from this movie, and from George Bailey's life, but it all comes down to the title of the movie. What I learned is that life is a wonderful thing (hm, sound familiar?), and we shouldn't take ours for granted, no matter what our situation may be. 

A Charlie Brown Christmas: This is one of my absolute favorite movies, and not just at Christmastime. I have so many personal connections to this movie, and I love re-watching it several times throughout the season. When I was in high school, through a series of events, I ended up directing a play version of this movie at my church. That year was a tough one for me, and my family ended up going to get our Christmas tree without me (it's a huge grand tradition we have, getting our tree, but I'll save those details for another time). The long and the short (haha) of it is that the tree initially didn't fit in the tree stand, and so my dad did what dads do, and sawed off a few inches of the trunk in order to try to fit it in. No luck. He sawed off a few more inches...and a few more...until it ended up fitting. However, by this point, the tree was about 5 feet tall, after starting at about 7 or 8. When I came downstairs and saw the tree, I started crying, because I have a thing where Christmas trees have to look a certain way (big), and this one certainly didn't. My mom (of course) came to the rescue and said "but it's your Charlie Brown Christmas tree" and made me feel lots better. We crammed all of our ornaments onto that tiny thing, loading the branches down with as many as 3 ornaments each, and in the end, it's one of the only trees we've ever had that I can clearly remember. All this to say that this movie is one that holds a lot of meaning and memory for me. 

Miracle on 34th Street: I might cry about this one, because it's just so good. Every single year (since my brother and I were little) we have watched this movie on Christmas morning. I guess one Christmas my parents got tired of us waking them up at THE crack of dawn Christmas morning, and so they put this movie on for us, and said to come wake them up after it was over. We were good kids, and watched the movie all the way through, and to this day, we continue the tradition. Now my baby sister watches too, and my brother goes back to sleep after the first 5 minutes, but in a world where so many things are uncertain, I love having traditions like this one to look forward to each year. In addition, the story is just wonderfully told, and I love every bit of the experience (by the way, we watch the newer version, in case you were wondering). This is something I cannot wait to pass on once Ben and I have kids of our own. Plus. New York City at Christmastime. What's not to love?

There are plenty of other movies out there that are oldies and goodies (A Christmas Story, Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, etc.), but these are the few that really stick out in my mind, and that I am excited to begin watching with Ben this year. 

I'm gearing up to start some yummy holiday baking tomorrow (Peppermint bark! Toffee!) and sing along to Christmas carols on the radio all day long. Hopefully I'll be able to continue to share some of the holiday traditions I have, as well as the new ones I'm creating with the hubby!!!

Remember, "the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!"

~A

Thursday, December 1, 2011

No-Shave November (also Movember)

IT'S DECEMBER 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

These things are finished until next year!!!






(cue Handel's Hallelujah Chorus)

(some beards/mustaches were pretty cool though)
(like this guy)


(Dan Bylsma ftw)

Happy December 1!!! Get those calendars up and start planning your ABC Family 25 Days of Christmas countdown now, hoorayyyyyyyyyyy.

~A