Reverb 10 - Avoidance

What should you have done this year but didn’t because you were too scared, worried, unsure, busy or otherwise deterred from doing? (Bonus: Will you do it?) (Author: Jake Nickell)

What a great question! Unfortunately, there are quite a few things I wanted to do this year that I just never went for. A big boo to that. I wanted to:
-take spanish lessons (too busy)
-go back to europe with neill (too broke, too busy, too unsure)
-get my drivers license (too scared)
-paint our condo (too busy and too unsure - its hard to pick paint colors!)
-run in a 5k (too scared and too unsure)

I'm sure there are more too. If I can do even one or two of these things in 2011, I'll be really proud of myself!

*edit: just realized the question asked what I should have done - not what I wanted to do. The only thing that falls in the should category is getting my license. Too bad in 2011 I'd much rather travel through Europe than worry about driving.

Reverb 10 - Healing

What healed you this year? Was it sudden, or a drip-by-drip evolution? How would you like to be healed in 2011? (Author: Leoni Allan)

I didn't start off 2010 with an ailment, a break, or a wound and I don't feel like I'm ending this year feeling particularly restored or cleansed. Truth be told, I'm having a difficult time seeing the relevance of this question to my life. I lived each day, doing the the things I had to do and trying to fit in the things I wanted to do. Perhaps I should have focused more on "healing" - but, quite frankly,  I didn't feel broken to begin with.
 
For 2011, I don't feel as though I have an area in myself or my life that is desperately calling out for a healing. Here is a quick run through:

Psychological: In general, I believe that everyone probably has some psychological dents or dings that can be smoothed out. But, most people who are able to successfully manage their day to day life do not need to be "healed." I'm content with my dings - they give me personality :)

Physical: I've already mentioned that there are things I want to do to improve my physical health, but  I'm thankful that I am in good health and don't need to pray for healing.

Relational: Everything is pretty hunkey-dory here. I've got good people in my life and my relationships tend to be pretty conflict free. I can be pretty slow to warm up to people, so perhaps in 2011 that is an area that I can work to improve on.

Spiritual: Feeling good, feeling great. I just wrote a series of posts related to this here, here, and here.

Am I missing any big area?

On a side note, I'm just over about half-way done with Reverb 10 and I've got to say I'm a little disappointed with  all of these hippy dippy new agey questions. I like the idea of reviewing the past year, but I was hoping Reverb 10 would focus more on creating actual plans and goals for next year.  Am I the only one getting terribly sick of them?

Reverb 10 - Lesson Learned

Lesson Learned - What was the best thing you learned about yourself this past year? And how will you apply that lesson going forward? (Author: Tara Weaver)

I think one of the most reassuring things I learned about myself this year is that I can make it through the tough times. I've had my fair share of wanna pull my hair out-hide under the covers-this can't go on oh shit moments this past year. Whether it was the stress of wedding planning or getting beaten down by graduate school, there were certainly times when I sincerely wanted to throw in the towel. For example, if you spoke to me a few months ago I would have probably confided in you that I was thinking about leaving school after getting my masters degree instead of staying on to work on my PhD. Why? Because never having a day off starts to take its toll on a girl! But, I made it through the rough times and this gives me confidence for my ability to tackle what ever is coming next.

As corny as it sounds, there were actually a few quotes that really helped me roll with the punches this year.

"When you are at the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."
"Tough times never last, but tough people do."
"Keep calm and carry on."


 Do you have any good quotes that give you the motivation to keep going or help you make it through the rough patches?

Reverb 10 - Action

With the crunch of finals, I got really behind in my Reverb 10 posts. Thankfully, I'm done done done with this semester!!!!!!! Here is the prompt from December 13th.

When it comes to aspirations, it’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen. What’s your next step? (Author: Scott Belsky)

Ooo ooo I know the answer to this!!! The next big goal I am working towards is defending my thesis. There are a number of things I need to do to make this happen: analyze my data, write up the results, write a discussion section, edit edit edit, format the paper, send document in for a format check, schedule a time for the defense, distribute final paper to my committee, develop power point presentation for the defense, do the presentation, make any changes recommended by my committee, make any changes mandated by my format consultant, and submit final copy along with relevant paperwork to the graduate school. 

I get a little overwhelmed looking at this list, but it feels more doable to just focus on the next step--data analysis. My goal is to have my data analysis done by the first week of January. Hopefully I can keep up my motivation!

Celebrating Christmas for Jewish Girls : A Guide (Part III)

It is finally time to start talking about Christmas!!! Can you tell how excited I am? 

Neill and I celebrate Christmas with his family in West Virginia and it is always a great time. And you know what I've learned? Celebrating Christmas is a whole lot like celebrating Chanukah -- except with more candy. Yes, there are the obvious differences, but both of our family holiday traditions surround spending time with family, eating good food, and exchanging gifts. Hopefully, you don't need a guide to tell you how to do those things!


One thing that is different about Christmas it that there are so many more decorations. With Chanukah, all you need is a menorah and you are set. With Christmas, you've got stockings, wreaths, poinsettias, garlands, and Christmas lights--and that is in addition to a Christmas tree. We've never had even a hint of Christmas in our condo. Since we are always out of town for the holiday, it just seemed . . . unnecessary. 

But, this year--for the first time ever--I wanted to bring some Christmas into our home. I can't stress enough how absolutely wonderful Neill was this Chanukah. He set up the menorah, learned the prayers, helped make latkes, and lit the candles with me every night. It felt so good to have him be an active participant in the holiday that I wanted to do the same for him! If a Christian can celebrate Chanukah like a pro, I see no reason why a Jew can't celebrate Christmas!

See, in the past we've approached Chanukah like it was my holiday and Christmas like it was his holiday. I was in charge of all things Chanukah and he was in charge of Christmas. This year, however, our approach shifted. Chanukah was our holiday and I want to make Christmas our holiday too. I'm looking forward to celebrating Christmas in West Virginia with my in-laws for years to come, but that doesn't mean we can't bring some of the Christmas joy into our home! 

So I present to you everything you need to know about how to make your house look like one big Christmas party. For someone who has spent her whole life trying to ignore all things Christmas, it was quite a change to actually have to think about this stuff! There are so many decisions to be made, so many color schemes to choose from. I decided to keep things classic and stick with red, green, and white. I hope you enjoy! 
   
+Wreaths
This is how Christmas dumb I am - I found myself googling phrases like "Where do you buy a Christmas wreath?" and "How to hang a wreath." And you know what I found out? They make products for that - wreath hangers! Who knew? But, you know what I like even better? This idea -- hang a wreath on each side of the door and use a pretty piece of ribbon to hold them both up (with the middle of the ribbon going on the top of the door and each end wrapped around a wreath). Here are the two I picked - both are variations on my red, white, and green color scheme.

Ornament Wreath

Berry Wreath

+Stockings

I was so excited when Neill's mom made me my own stocking the first year I celebrated Christmas with them. I want us to have stockings to hang on our fireplace too! I really like these simple white stockings from Garnett Hill.

stocking

+Stocking Holders

Oh my oh my oh my. Stocking holders might be by new favorite accessory! There are so many fun ones -- I just couldn't pick between these three.   

JOY stocking holder

Gift Box Stocking Holder

Reindeer Stocking Holder

+A Christmas Tree

A Christmas tree is probably the most iconic symbol of Christmas, however, with our small condo it isn't very practical. But do you know what is totally doable? An ornament tree! I don't know if I've just been living under a rock or what, but I've actually never heard of one of these. But, it just seems like the perfect way to get some glittery ornament goodness without having a tree. Here are three I've found:

Ornament Tree

Ornament Tree

Ornament Tree

+Ornaments

I've never paid much attention to ornaments. So, I was surprised to see just how beautiful some ornaments are. But why oh why do I always fall in love with the most expensive accessories? These Waterford ornaments are just gorgeous.

crosshaven ornament

garland ornament

I think we'll need about twelve ornaments to fill our ornament tree. And since the ornaments are truly the focus of the ornament trees, I felt a little pressure to find the perfect combination. I love the folksy swirls of these first two ornament designs! To keep them the center of attention, I'll fill the rest of the stand with solid green, red, and white ornaments of varying size (all ornaments from c&b). 

Swedish Cookie Ornaments

Folk Swirl Ornaments

White Ornaments

Red Ornaments

Green Ornaments

Whew! Now that is a lot of Christmas sparkle!

I feel lucky to be in an interfaith relationship. I truly believe I'm getting the best of both worlds. Not only do we get extra time to soak up the holiday goodness, but I think both of our lives are enriched by the new holidays and traditions we've been exposed to. While how we manage our faiths is bound to change over the years, for now we've found a happy combination that works for us--two parts latkes, one part Christmas ham, and one part chocolate covered marshmallow Santas.

Psss. Read Part I and Part II