Nature as the best medicine

With the holidays over and school starting tomorrow, I was feeling a bit restless. Then I realized that I haven't had a good dose of nature since the summer! As always, nature is the best self care medicine. So, the boys and I once again made our way to the cabin in Estes Park to medicate ourselves!

The weather was gorgeous and the roads not too bad. We checked in and the boys romped in the snow on the balcony.

I ran into town and did some shopping. I took US 34 back to the YMCA through RMNP and it was gorgeous! There were a ton of elk and deer along the way. The sun was starting to set and the sky had a nice pink color to it. I got back, and enjoyed the rest of the sunset.

I made dinner and then read the rest of the night. I had promised the boys they could take turns sleeping on the bed. So, here is Chester ready to snuggle in, while Stan is laying comfortably on a bed of pillows and towels.

This morning we woke up, checked out and took US 36 to US 34 through the park again. The sky was blue and the sun really showed off the beauty of the park!

Now I officially feel ready for the quarter to begin!

13%

I heard somewhere that there is a 13% chance for snow in Colorado on Christmas Day. Well, the odds were in our favor!

Cheers to another successful Christmas!

Stories

Every Christmas, I love listening to the hour NPR program called "Tinsel Tales". It is a bunch of different holiday stories that are poignant and many that are funny. My favorite is Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris. Here is the link-cut and paste it into your browser...if you have an hour to listen I hope you enjoy the program as much as I do! http://www.npr.org/2011/12/21/17488106/tinsel-tales-npr-christmas-stories

Coldplay Christmas Songs

Last year I posted this YouTube video-one of my favorite versions of this song! Thought I would post this song recently by Coldplay... You can't have too many YouTube videos showing Chris Martin's handsome mug and his great voice!

The Yin and the Yang

It was a realization I had last week, after hearing about the mass shootings in Newtown of children. It is the realization that no matter how hard we try as a society to envelop the world in “Christmas Spirit” and being festive, loving and giving to all mankind, we can’t escape the realities of humanity. I got to thinking about how the holidays (or the time from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day) is really a compact experience of life at its most impactful…the yin and the yang. During this time, the yin and yang are magnified. Feelings are felt stronger during this time. Happiness is incredibly happy…all the food and friends and festive outings. The music, the holiday plays and events, the lights, the gifts you give to people you love most and to those who you may not even talk to much the rest of the year. On the flip side, the sadness is, well, incredibly sad. A Christmas where a child anticipating the day is suddenly dead…Where people who are facing end-of-life realize this is their last Christmas…and people who have experienced loss grieve it all over again. Not to mention that if you are not Christian, you are reminded every day (on the radio, in stores and as you drive home from work) that you are a part of a minority (which can be intimidating and rightly so). I am not writing this to be the Debbie Downer of the moment, or, as we say in holiday-speak “The Grinch”-I am writing this to acknowledge that humanity and the life we all lead is multifaceted. The idea that really keeps me on my toes is that we can’t know the love, the good, the happiness if we don’t know the bad. If everything was good and happy all of the time then we would be robots. And while a future of humans becoming robots is not too far off (and maybe we are, already), I prefer the yin and the yang. I prefer feeling the pain and also the good. Because I know, then, when the good is happening, and what it feels like. And I know that the next round of pain will be followed by the good. The family of that dead child is getting more support and love than many of us put together. That patient who realized this was their last Christmas is reconciling with a family member whom he/she has hurt. That non-Christian can validate his/her belief system more being in the minority and with the support of those in his or her community. What better alchemy than that? I just don’t think the Christmas spirit is all about a time for “charity”…I think it is all about tapping into the yin and the yang that we all have in our own lives and recognizing that the yin and the yang are universal for us all.

Another successful lights tour

For the past few years, Meg and I take the kids on a driving tour of lights. We research on the internet where to drive to, and pick about 3 or 4 houses to enjoy. We had another successful lights tour this year, seeing some houses in Centennial and Englewood. Typically we get hot chocolates from Starbucks before we go on our journey, but neither Meg nor I wanted to feel bloated from the chocolatey drink so the kids got theirs at home. There was one house, though, that kind of freaked us all out. It was very nicely decorated, except in the window there was this reel of the shadow of the Grinch moving about. It was a tad bit creepy. We did miss seeing the one house that for years was decked out to the max and they would have cookies and cider for the viewers. They wrote a note last year it was their final year because they were retiring. So, while the other houses couldn't compete, it was still fun to play some Christmas tunes and carry on our tradition.

A night at Table Mountain

Since I threw the book club holiday bash on Saturday night, the boys went to the kennel for their own little vacation. I couldn't pick them up until today, so I had decided to stay the night in Golden at the Table Mountain Inn. I called up Liz and Lance to see if they were free for dinner because they live so close to Golden and we decided to meet at 5:30. Before then, I checked in and enjoyed the lovely hotel. It isn't as posh as the St. Julien in Boulder, and I kind of prefer feeling a little more anonymous and a little more comfortable. The rooms and hotel decor have a Southwest flair, and the upper floors have balconies that overlook Washington Ave. This is the super cozy bed; however, no matter how much I plan for a really good night's sleep at a hotel, I always wake up at 3am and have trouble falling asleep...

This is the night view from the balcony:

I went shopping in the afternoon and then read for a while. I met Liz and Lance for dinner at the Inn's restaurant which is really, really good. They went on their way; I hung out in the room, took a bath and did my nails. I woke up this morning, did the treadmill, and checked out around 10am. The waiter last night recommended that I have the chorizo sausage and cheddar biscuits and gravy with the apple-smoked bacon for breakfast; though I pondered it in the morning, I realized I would have had to spend about 5 hours on the treadmill to work it off. I opted for a very light breakfast instead. It is always fun to get away, even if just 30 minutes away. It is never too short to feel like you are on vacation!