2014: That's a Wrap!

Hey, y'all.  Guess what?

It's January 6th.  And "New 2015 Me" was kicking butt for about 36 hours and now she's a little tired and it's snowing out and so she's reverting back to the "Last Couple of Weeks of 2014 Me" which involved lots of time on the couch or in my bed, surfing the internet, reading books, and watching movies.

I generally don't have any specific new year's resolutions, unless you count last year when I lasted a whole 17 miserable days without Diet Coke.  On the 1st of January 2015, I reminded my husband how I had tried that last year and without a moment's hesitation he said, "Please, don't ever do that again."

Still, during the first week that the kids are back in school after Christmas I usually wake up as if shot out of a cannon what with all the cleaning and organizing;  exercising and meal planning; and committing to being the BEST PERSON WHO EVER LIVED.  And yesterday was no different.  I was up early making homemade protein-enriched pumpkin pancakes for the kids and eating my scrambled egg with turkey bacon and going to yoga.  The laundry is done - at least for the next 15 minutes. The Christmas decorations are boxed up.  There was a real meal in the crockpot by 8:30 am.  I cleaned out and organized every single cabinet in the kitchen. 

(Did y'all know that spices have expiration dates and there were some in my cabinets that expired in 2008?  And aren't you glad I don't host dinner parties?)

Well, yesterday, it appears I bit off more than I could chew.  So today even though the list is full and I need to make appointments and buy all manner of bins and closet organizers and go for a run and create another dinner, and perhaps write something meaningful I'm just going to sit here and think back over the 2 week break and share with you some boring photos and tales of how 2014 ended in my world.  You know why?  Because Bed, Bath and Beyond and the Fix It and Forget It:  Slow Cooker Recipes cookbook are not the boss of me.

We had some wonderful moments during the two week Christmas holiday and also some moments that were lazy which is just another word for wonderful in my mind.

First of all, we did celebrate Christmas, of course.  We went to the candlelight service at church where we sang Silent Night and as I do every year, I sang, cried and burned my hand with candle wax, not necessarily in that order.  Here's an obligatory Christmas Eve photo of my people and me.  Poor Kyle had a terrible cold and we basically had to prop him up and pull his hood off of his head for the picture. 

Minutes before this photo, he looked like this.

Christmas Day we had twenty family members at our house for dinner and it all was lovely.  But it was perilously close to a Christmas Day tragedy because around noon, Steve and I realized that each of us had neglected to buy wine for the dinner we were hosting.  There was no time to argue about who was responsible for that epic fail;  we just had to find an open store quickly.  We struck out at three grocery stores and a gas station before CVS saved Christmas and also kept us from divorcing just weeks shy of our 20th anniversary by being open and having a reasonably good selection of wine.

Christmas dinner went off without a hitch. That is, if you don't count the moment when smoke filled my kitchen because grease spilled in the bottom of the oven.  Which was when I thought that I was about to become the worst Christmas dinner hostess in the world because the 20 people in my house were about to suffer carbon monoxide poisoning.  It was fine and you know why? Because my family is awesome and when I was about to cry, my superstar brother-in-law gave me a hug and made sure my drink was full. (Again, shout out to CVS.)  But I cried later anyway, because even though I am surrounded by so many boys that I love, my mom sent me this photo of the first two guys I ever loved - my big brother and my dad - and it's hard on Christmas when you live far away.

After Christmas we watched a whole lotta college football.  And football, personally, was not very kind to us.  Texas melted down in their bowl game. It was UGLY, boys and girls.  And this type of game is upsetting all on its own.  But you know what makes it worse?  Having to watch it with my 10 year old son.

You know that drunk idiot in college that acted like a maniac, berating players and coaches, screaming obscenities and all manner of opinions as if he was flippin' Vince Lombardi?  The one who you were *this close* to calling the security guards on and having his tail hauled out of the stadium for disturbing the peace?

Let me tell you something, people.  That guy is a dream compared to watching a game with Drew Skinner.  A DREAM.  And Drew doesn't even drink beer, y'all.

It wasn't all football for us though.  There was also basketball.  Each of the younger boys had a tournament and we saw the Washington Wizards play the Celtics.  Booorrrinnnggg, except for the fact that my brother-in-law and sister-in-law and my BFF, Nancy, and her family went, too. Which meant that Nancy and I were thrilled to realize that Kris Humphries, Kim Kardashian's ex, plays for the Wizards. You'll be happy to know that he had a gazillion points and he doesn't have to be married to her anymore, so things are definitely looking up for that young man. Also, when purchasing the tickets, Steve was asked if he wanted to get a message put up in the Verizon Center.  We are so proud of ourselves.

But just so you know, it was not ALL about sports.  We are very cultured and sophisticated.  My wonderful inlaws got tickets for the whole darn family to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Kennedy Center.  It was amazing and wonderful and I LOVED it.  I would like to tell you how impressed my boys were with the artistry, the music, the dancing and the costumes, but that  would perhaps be a little white lie.  Or a big fat one.  Drew sat next to me complaining about why do they have to sing the WHOLE time and what's the big deal with the coat, it's kinda ugly and looks like a dress.  *sigh*  The Skinner boys are a work in progress.  Still I have photographic proof that we actually spent a Sunday afternoon watching entertainment that did not include an umpire, referee or scoreboard.

I spent the rest of the time hanging with my people, watching movies, playing games, reading books and spending time with friends at Lake Anna for New Year's Eve.  I finished reading Molokai by Adam Brennart and Wild by Cheryl Strayed and started What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty  I watched The Good Lie, Step-brothers, Home Alone, Gone Girl, Elf, The Game Stands Tall and The Giver.  I prayed a lot.  I talked a lot.  I sat quiet a lot.  I ate a lot.  I spent just enough time at the gym on the treadmill and just enough time in my pjs on the couch.

We had great break full of His love and His grace and His favor.  We finished strong.

So, here's to 2015.  May it bring us more of all of His good things, especially His strength and love.

(And also, may it bring us a few more succinct and meaningful posts at The View from Behind Home Plate.  Let's not judge the whole year by this first post.  Ahem.)

Happy New Year, friends!