Keep the Yuletide Gay

My friend Jenn and I went to see the cutest theater production - Keep the Yuletide Gay in Palo Alto at the Dragon Theater. The venue was super quaint, probably about 30 or so seats. The play was was about a group of single girlfriends (plus one gay friend) who have an annual Christmas Eve dinner and gift exchange. On this particular year, one friend is engaged and the rest of the gals go to extremes to keep her from marrying the wrong guy. It was a fun storyline, the characters were vivid and the acting was excellent. I highly recommend seeing it if you're in town - it's playing through December 30.

'Tis the Season

Yep, the holiday season is upon us...there's a bite in the winter air, traffic is getting worse and stores are flooded with crazy shoppers scurrying around to find the perfect gifts for people on their lists. Call me Scrooge, but it seems to be taking me longer each year to get into the Christmas spirit. Since Benjamin and I will be traveling, we opted out of a tree and instead decided to decorate the fireplace mantle. The scent of fresh garland and cinnamon, hanging stockings and lights definitely help me feel more festive. Don't get me wrong...it's not that I don't enjoy the holiday season, I just sometimes get annoyed at how commercialized it's become. For the past couple years, I've pleaded with my family to refrain from gift giving. I thought I had them convinced this season...until I called my sister last week and she reluctantly informed me that we are in fact exchanging gifts (and "Oh no! What are we going to get everyone??") We go through this every year - trying to figure out what to give our family members is quite a daunting task because the reality is, we don't NEED anything! We should all be thankful for what we have, which is a lot - good health, food on the table, a roof over our heads and a loving family. I think next year I will propose that we get gifts for needy families instead of each other. My company is participating in the Family Giving Tree and there are so many people out there who are asking for warm clothes and grocery store gift certificates. It breaks my heart to think about how some families can't even afford to stay warm or have a decent meal and here we are stressing about what to get each other. I hope we all take a moment this holiday season to think about the non-materialistic things in our lives that we are grateful for.

Triplets Take Disneyland

My brother, sister-in-law, and triplet nieces are visiting from New Zealand! They will be in the states for about a month and a half. Grace, Hope and Joy just turned 7 so my sister Kathy and I thought it would be the perfect age to take them to Disneyland! We flew down to LA over the weekend to embark on our adventure. Although exhausting, we had such a fun time. On Sunday, we took the girls to Knotts Berry Farm without the parents. Whew, it was a bit of a handful with only 2 adults supervising 3 children. Luckily Grace, Hope and Joy are well behaved. Check out pictures from the trip. It amazes me how fast kids grow. It seems like just yesterday that they were learning their abc's and now they can already write short stories. I can't wait to see everyone again over Christmas!