Category: Holidays (Page 12 of 13)

Carrying on the Tradition of Christmas Cookies

December 14, 2009 / Katie L. Carroll

Holiday traditions come in all shapes in sizes. As a kid, one of my favorite Christmas traditions was when Santa would leave our filled stockings for us at the end of our beds. It was so exciting to wake up on Christmas morning and not even have to get out of bed to find our first presents.

All five of us (my two older sisters, me, my younger sister, and my younger brother) used to gather together on one bed and open up all out stocking gifts. As my older sisters got older, us younger kids used to open up our stockings first, then we’d go wake up my older sisters and watch them open up their stockings. This was a nice tradition for my parents too because it meant they got to sleep in a little later.

Oh, and we always got oranges in our stockings, which seems like it would be lame, but I remember it as a nice treat. The orange-in-the-stocking tradition is one that carried over into my adult life (it seems Santa remembers about such things even as we get older). Many of the traditions I had as a kid have faded away, but many new ones have taken their places.

Making Christmas cookies with my niece and nephew is one of those new, but at the same time old, traditions. I used to make Christmas cookies with my Nana (my great grandmother). Then she stopped coming up north for the holidays because it was just too cold for her. She passed away at the ripe old age of 96, but I feel a little like I’m carrying on her tradition in a new way with my sister’s kids.

Unlike last year, we didn’t have any lady-licking incidences this year, but I paid homage to that by making a snowman and gingerbread lady the centerpiece of my cookies.

(These are the cookies I decorated…notice the snowman and his gingerbread wife.)

(My ten-year-old nephew decorated these cookies. He and his friend also made a really cool gingerbread house of Hagrid’s hut, but I forgot to take a picture of it.)

(My four-year-old niece decorated these. She was very meticulous and seemed to have a grand plan for each one.)

(These ones were decorated by my three-year-old nephew…he did most of the decorating by himself, but my sister did give him some help with the big gingerbread lady!)

(And because I didn’t want my sister to feel left out, here’s her cookies, including the big gingerbread lady.)

It was definitely a fun afternoon. What are your favorite holiday traditions?

Full Moon Ruminations

December 2, 2009 / Katie L. Carroll

As I drove home from work yesterday, it was already pretty dark (it’s such a bummer how early it gets dark this time of year) and my eyes were drawn to the sky. Against the slate-colored December sky was the brilliant light of an almost full moon. This was not the first time I had the pleasure of such a sight.

Later in the evening, I walked into my bedroom to find the bed blanketed in the silver moonlight. And last night, my hubby thought he was going to have to run in the dark, but the moon lit the way for him. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to do anything by the light of the silvery (and full) moon tonight; it’s raining.

I was playing with settings on my camera when I took this picture and somehow the moon came out with a weird double image. The detail on the leaves is pretty cool, though. This full moon occurred in October 2008. That full moon brought out the weirder side of people. I haven’t noticed much oddness yet today, but there’s more than an hour left in the day…plenty of time for erratic behavior.

Since it’s only the second day of the month, I started to wonder if there was going to be another full moon this month, also known as a blue moon (which is also a popular beer!). Turns out the second full moon this month just happens to fall on the 31st, which means we’ll all be bringing in the New Year with a blue moon (too bad we won’t be bringing in the New Year with a New Moon).

I also learned an interesting tidbit about blue moons: there’s actually two different kinds of blue moons (and neither of them have to do with painting your butt). There’s the one that is occurring this month, which is two full moons in a single month, the second of which is called a blue moon. This is actually fairly rare—hence the term “once in a blue moon”—and the next one doesn’t occur until August 2012.

There’s also the Farmer’s Almanac definition of a blue moon, which is technically a true blue moon. This occurs when there are four, instead of the more common three, full moons in a single season. Instead of calling the final full moon of the season the blue moon, the third full moon is the blue moon. This is also fairly rare. There will be this kind of blue moon in November 2010 and then again in August 2013.

Okay, how many times can I write the word “moon” in a single post? Everything in excess I always say. Happy full moon!

Celebrating the Accomplishments Made Later in Life

November 22, 2009 / Katie L. Carroll

The hubby turned 30 today, and he’s kind of been freaking out about this milestone birthday for some time. The other day he said something along the lines of, “Well, I may as well just die now because I’ll be 30 soon and my life will be over then anyway.” (He was kidding, of course, but I’m pretty sure there was a kernel of truth to him feeling that a certain aspect of his life would be over once he turned 30.)

In honor of this momentous occasion, here are some major accomplishments people have made after the age of 30:

“Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” is published just shy of J.K. Rowling’s 32nd birthday.
As chronicled in the movie “The Rookie,” 35-year-old Jim Morris makes his Major League Baseball debut pitching for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
At the age of 37, Julia Child begins her culinary career by enrolling in the Le Cordon Bleu cooking school.
Also at the age of 37, Tom Hanks wins his first Oscar for his role as Andrew Beckett in the movie “Philadelphia.”
John F. Kennedy becomes the youngest man to be elected into the office of President of the United States of America at the age of 43 years and 236 days.
At the age of 52, Ray Kroc, with the support of Maurice and Richard McDonald, franchises the hamburger restaurant McDonald’s.
In an act of civil disobedience, 61-year-old Mahatma Gandhi leads the approximately 200-mile long Salt March.
At the age of 73, Charlie Chaplin becomes a first-time father when his son Christopher is born.
The first of edition of “Roget’s Thesaurus” is published when Peter Mark Roget is 73 years old.
Anna Mary Robertson (Grandma) Moses begins her career as a painter at the age of 76 years old.

As for my thoughts on age, I maintain the argument that you’re only as old as you feel and that each birthday is a time to celebrate that you’re still here, alive and kicking. I, for one, can only wish that my younger sister (who died when she was 16) got to see 30. Imagine all the things she would have gotten to do with an extra 14 years. That’s why, although I don’t relish the idea of getting older, I try to embrace it as an opportunity. Not everyone gets the opportunity to grow old, so I am honored each time I reach another birthday and try not to let it bother me as I continue to grow old(er).

A Monster Mash-Up

September 30, 2009 / Katie L. Carroll

Now that it’s almost October, I’ve decided it’s not too early to share this little bit of silly Halloween fun. Courtesy of the Oriental Trading Company (which is a good place to shop if you’re hosting a themed party), I made a Monster Mash-Up.

I created several of these with various people in my family and e-mailed the results to them. Admittedly, uploading and cropping those pictures to get the heads just right was way more fun than it should have been.

The one you got to see featured me, me, and more me (at various stages of my life). There’s me at a Yankees game, me sitting in a river with shorts on my head while on a girls’ camping trip, me in a swimming pool, me dressed up as a pirate for my Halloween party, and me sitting on a lawn with my sisters (we’re all in dresses). I picked the rock version of the song because, of course, I’m a rock star!

So often, it’s the little things in life that put a smile on my face. What makes you smile? (Oh, and if you decide to make your own Monster Mash-Up be sure to post a link for me…pretty please.)

On a Power Trip with my Snow Village

January 21, 2009 / Katie L. Carroll

While I was originally—as an eight-year-old—attracted to the bright colors and shiny finish of the Snow Village, I find—as an adult—there is another appeal to having it: control. I have all the power in my village. I decide where all the buildings go, where the people go…I’m in charge of everything. Bwahaha!!! (That’s evil laughter in case you couldn’t tell!)

This doesn’t really surprise me. As a kid, I used to play with the vintage Fisher Price Little People. Remember how the people had no hands or legs. We had a school, a castle, houses, a barn, cars, all kinds of things. (By the way, my mom still has all these toys, and looking over these pictures and prices, I think she could make a bundle selling them!) I always loved setting them up and figuring out all the backgrounds for all the people, and then once that was over, I would hardly play with them. The fun was in the back story, and it was all mine to control.

I get that same sense of power from setting up my Snow Village. When all else in the world is out of whack, I have my quiet, peaceful, twinkling village. It’s as beautiful and perfect as I want it to be. So, here’s some pictures and commentary on this year’s Village.

I decided that this year the Tudor-style log cabin is my home. I imagine it’s next to a big snow mountain, but within walking distance to the center of town. (That is the Town Hall behind it.)

That’s me in the wagon…the little blond girl holding the present. In previous years I have lived in the lighthouse (it’s kind of small living quarters, though).

That’s my nine-year-old nephew and his dog, Cashew. (My nephew gave me that piece.) He’s in front of the Center for the Arts because he has my sense of creativity.

The clown always goes near the Hospital…in case there’s any sick kids stuck there for the holidays. Notice the Library and Church in the background. Also, that’s my dad (sorry I cut him off a bit) leading his horse, Beau.

My brother decided he wanted to be the kid in the party hat (he thought the kid was a wizard). It’s more likely that my brother is actually the kid throwing the snowball! The lady with the balloons reminded me of my grandmother (and she is the one who started this whole Village, so I guess she should be in it!)

I decided that my husband is the delivery man this year. We met at Harrison’s Hardware when we were in high school and the Gift Shop reminds me of that. (He wanted to be the fireman, but my brother-in-law is a fireman in real life, so he got that designation this year…maybe next year the hubby can be the fireman.) I love how the proportions of the people are way off compared to the buildings, doors, and vehicles.

This picture came out kind of psychedelic, which I thought was cool…and below is what this part of the Village (there’s more than just this table!) looks like in the dark.