Well, it has been so long since December happened that I don't remember many details. Here are some highlights I do remember:
Christmas Gifts
We decided to give two gifts this year to our family members. We of course couldn't give up giving little wrappable gifts that they could unwrap and we bought most of those from local Missoula businesses:
- Noteworthy
-- Cross for Nichole
- Yellowstone Photo
- Missoula Artists' Shop artist store
- Pandora Jewelry - Queen Bee
- brian regan
- jeannette rankin
- Montana Mud Shirt
- Flask
- Gifts
- Life is Good
But the second gift was a donation made in their names. Honestly, after moving into our first house we have been a tad overwhelmed with the amount of crap we have. And we were thinking pretty selfishly when we decided that our families don't need any more crap either. So instead of giving a bunch of "stuff" (see George Carlin's skit on Stuff) we decided to make a donation to the Heifer Foundation. Unless there is a bunch of protest, this will probably be a regular thing.
- heifer.org
Kundalini Yoga
I have started taking yoga classes but it isn't your average yoga. Kundalini yoga is done mostly while sitting on the floor and the exercises are designed to work the glandular system. I love it! I love the practice (who knew sitting was such a workout?!) and I love the meditations we do. My teacher gives handouts to help orientate us to the practice and to try it at home. But one handout was a simple little poem that I offer here now:
A Precious Human Life by the Dalai Lama
Every day, think as you wake up
today I am fortunate
to have woken up.
I am alive.
I have a precious human life.
I am not going to waste it.
I am going to use all my energies to develop myself,
ti expand my heart out to others,
to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings.
I am going to have kind thoughts towards others.
I am not going to get angry,
or think badly about others.
I am going to benefit others
as much as I can.
My plan is to practice Kundalini Yoga for the rest of my life to nurture my physical and spiritual health.
Tea
Mike continues his tea hobby and we chuckled this month when he read about something so common in the tea community that it has an acronym: Tea Acquisition Syndrome (TAS). Mike clearly suffers from TAS because our cupboard is overflowing to the point that we are designing a piece of oak furniture that will act as storage and humidifier for the tea. :)
Freezing in Montana
There were two little things about December that were cooooold. We spent one Friday hiking with Diane to Sweathouse Falls. It was a lovely hike to some frozen falls. (Too bad there isn't much snow for skiing.) I guess that wasn't so cold as long as we stayed moving. But it was below freezing a few times in December and the window in our shower developed a hefty layer of ice one it during our showers!
San Diego
The big deal in December was the two-week trip to San Diego. It was wonderful. We spent two weeks with the entire family and by entire I mean both my family (mom, dad, Alex, Nichole, plus Alex's girlfriend Jenny and Nichole's boyfriend Dave) and Mike's family (mom, dad). It was amazing to have everyone together! We stayed in two condos on the boardwalk in Pacific Beach...just two doors down from one another. So we had our meals together and planned our days together as best as we could.
The second highlight of the trip was the day we spent in wine country. San Diego's wine country is in Temecula about an hour's drive inland. We hired a limo driver to drive us around in a 10-person limo for the day! It was wonderful. We had lots of silly fun. And an added bonus was that our friends Danielle and Lyle (who we know from Colorado but who now live in California) were able to join us for a toast!
We were lucky that Mike was able to take two consecutive weeks off. (Followed by a third for a ski trip in January.) That will be a rare occurance for the next 6 years.
Media
Film
24
Books
Brother and Sister: A Novel by Joanna Trolloppe
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
Beneath Marble Sky by John Shors
Schneider Luck 2008 by me!
Music
Pandora's Christmas Music
Foo Fighters
The Ramones
Web
http://www.bunchball.com/
