Comment on the gift of time.....

For the last few years 2 of my good friends and I go to the Melting Pot at Christmas. We call it our gift of time. It's perfect-we schedule 3+ hours to spend talking and catching up, plus we get to eat amazing food and if we have a good waiter (which we usually do) the diet cokes flow like wine and we leave happy.

This was what was left of our last course: so amazing! The cheese fondue with apples and the rice krispie treats dipped in the chocolate are my faves.


Also it was nice to get a break from running errands outside when the sky looks like this:

Yep, we're breathing that in. Hence, I had to use my asthma inhaler for the first time in 2 years.
Love those Utah inversions.

Can't wait for snow and Christmas in Pocatello!

Comment on ward choir.....

In the LDS church you will find that almost every ward has a ward choir. The ward choir usually performs on the Sundays surrounding Easter and Christmas and maybe once a month beyond that.

The ward choir is made up of people in the ward who enjoy singing. Sometimes you may have a choir that is actually really good, or sometimes a choir that is downright off-key but everyone smiles and tells you what a good job you did anyway-but it doesn't matter because as long as you can sing, or have a desire to sing, all are welcome.

Unless you're in my friend's ward. Apparently her ward takes their choir a little too seriously. This is an email she received a few weeks after moving in-

Dear Friend of Jen*:

Your name has been recommended by the choir leadership as one of the singers in the ward that we definitely need to have participating in this Christmas season's choir performance on the 20th of December.

We'd like to ask if you could support and participate in the ward choir, particularly this season. Do you think you could arrange to attend the ward choir rehearsals at 12 noon (in the basement of the East Wing)? We really need consistency from singers like you, and to have a different attendance pattern in the choir this year (as you know, it is commonplace for the good singers to only show up at the last moment). Anyway, if you could help out, we would appreciate it. Also, the choir this season will be directed by {some guy} (associate choral director for Ballet West). I'd suggest you approach this request as a "seasonal calling." Let us know if you think you could make the commitment.


Lastly, you are invited to a choir dinner/social ......... Come and enjoy!


If your sister*, (insert name) , also sings, invite her.


Regards,
The Bishop of the ward

Really? REALLY?


That is all.

*The names have been changed to protect the innocent, also my friend has no sister which makes her wonder if they sent the email by mistake. All in all I'm sure that the choir will sound great but is it necessary to make it by invitation only? Kinda makes me sick!

Comment on the spirit of the season.....

Tonight I was able to attend the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert. It's quite the exclusive event as tickets are drawn via lottery or based on who you know in Mormon World. I came by my ticket via my aunt and uncle Pat and Ron and the fact that 2 of my cousins weren't able to go.

The concert was fantastic.

But my fave was a conversation that took place after I hit the ladies room and was trying to get back to my seat. The stairs to my chair (it's a rhyme!) were at a standstill due to people waiting for the ushers to help them find a seat and we were a little backed up at the top. I wasn't concerned since I already had a seat and I'm very patient (no comments from my family here please). Suddenly these 2 dudes came up behind me rudely questioning why nobody was moving, loudly announcing that they NEEDED to get through because they ALREADY had seats SAVED for them.

I was so bugged! I mean we were at a Christmas concert. Christmas is centered on Christ, so shouldn't we be Christlike at a Christmas concert?

I think so.

I calmly looked at the most vocal gentleman and told him that the people were waiting for the usher to help them find a seat and that since we already had seats it wasn't a problem for us to wait a couple of minutes. The girl in front of me who was seatless turned back and smiled at me. The dude looked at me very annoyed. I didn't care.

Within a couple of seconds of the exchange we were able to get down to our seats. Wouldn't you know the dudes were sitting next to us?

I swear (but not at the Christmas concert of course).

Comment on welcoming winter.....

There's nothing like getting up before 8am (the first time in days-nay, weeks) only to be greeted by frigid temperatures.

There's nothing like calling your mother in Florida to hear that it's 65 degrees.

There's nothing like taking an extra 10 minutes at the gym before working out to undo all of the extra layers, then putting all the layers back on at the end of the workout.

There's nothing like the increased heating bill I'm scared to open.

But on the other hand.......

There's nothing like the feeling of Christmas in the air.

There's nothing like wearing Uggs and scarves and warm puffy coats.

There's nothing like hot chocolate (and the TimTam slams-thanks Lisa!).

There's nothing like watching the snow fall from a warm house (or apartment) while watching cheesey Christmas movies on Lifetime.

I guess I'll take the bad to enjoy the good.....

Comment on social commentary.......

Remember when I mentioned my annoyance with baby talk?

Imagine my delight when it was addressed on The Office last week:

Comment on the music in the air.......

I realized at midnight that it's officially December, officially Christmas, despite the fact that the retailers would have us believe that Christmas started Nov. 1st.

So now, for me, the Christmas season is in full swing, and I plan to enjoy every second of it. My favorite part of Christmas, well, one part anyway, is the music.

Instead of putting up one of those annoying music players on my blog I thought I'd give you the option to hear the songs if you wish-if you want to get in the Christmas mood. It was hard to narrow it down to just 8 songs but here goes:

Manheim Steamroller-Christmas doesn't start until I hear Deck The Halls-it was the theme music for KSL Channel 5 back in the day and it was the song played for commercials for Festival of the Trees here in SLC. So Great!


Ok, So Manheim is on here twice-for years their music was the only Christmas music our family listened too. Carol of the Bells is one of my faves-so powerful! Transiberian Orchestra almost rivals it-almost....


My college roommate, Bev, would play this every Christmas-it drove me crazy but I fell in love with this cd and now I have to play it every Christmas too.....


Ran acrossed this little gem on a Christmas cd I bought for a Sarah McLachlan song-


This song was on the first season of Felicity-the finals episode when Noel drank the beet juice. I have to watch it every Christmas to remember how horrible finals were yet how awesome it was to know that Christmas was just around the corner...


Dave Matthews singing about Christmas? I can't resist....


The first time I heard this song it was 'heartbreakingly beautiful'. I looked all over Provo for the cd it was on, and ended up ordering it off of amazon. 2 years later I discovered I'd had the song all along-it was on Sarah's B-sides, Rarities and Other Stuff cd. If I'd only listened to the entire cd I would have saved myself $20.


Heard this song on a tv show recently-can't remember which one. Heard it again in Bath and Body Works and decided I had to have it. Found it by accident on amazon.com. It falls under the 'hauntingly beautiful' category.....


So what about you? What's missing from my list?