It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

Christmas is officially less than one week away.  Are you ready for it?  I am, for the most part.  I still need to pick up a couple things for my nephews, but that's it.  So I will be one of the insane peeps out at the mall (likely the Lego store, which makes it even worse) this weekend.  Good times for sure!

This Christmas is much different than the past eight.  I am not celebrating with the Hubs.  We will not be exchanging gifts, or spending Christmas morning (well, more like Christmas afternoon, as Hubs always did like sleeping in) opening gifts to one another.  Instead, I will be spending the day & night with my family.  Waking up to my nephews excited to see what Santa brought them.  Watching as my brothers open their gifts from me.  I will be helping Mom & my sister-in-law in the kitchen, preparing a delicious feast of prime rib.  I will be savoring every moment with my family, because the past three years I was not able to be there with them. And I couldn't be happier. 

We decorated the tree the day after Thanksgiving this year.  My brother's girlfriend & I.  We made my brother listen to Christmas music, and laughed at his insistence to be a scrooge.  It's the same tree that Hubs & I had.  The same decorations.  And it's just as pretty. 

Last weekend, BFF & I spent the day in downtown Seattle doing some Christmas shopping, and just generally taking in the Christmas spirit.  Downtown at Christmas time seems almost magical to me.  Sounds cheesy, right?  But it really does!  The lights, the street musicians playing Christmas music, the carousel, the ginormous tree outside Westlake Center...  all of it.  Magical, I tell ya!

 

In typical wintery Seattle weather, it rained.  Pretty much the entire day.  But the magic of Christmas downtown kept our spirits high.  Well, that, a hat, umbrella & some warm coats, scarves, and gloves! ;)

 

 

What girl doesn't love a Tiffany Christmas tree?  :)

Nordstrom builds a Santa workshop every year.  It's always super cute, and has me considering waiting in line for a photo op with Santa briefly.  Very briefly. 

Love.  The best part of Christmas. 

So yes, a very different Christmas is only a week away.  So far, though, this very different Christmas is shaping up to be a very special Christmas. 

Grateful

Some days are better than others.  It's no secret that in the last 9-10 months I've been dealt some crappy stuff.  I struggle more than I probably let on.  For as long as I can remember water has always been a calming force to me.  (ironic, since I lived in the desert for 3 years, right?!) In high school, I remember driving out to Deception Pass to clear my head.  Deception Pass quickly became "my spot".  A place I would visit when life began to overwhelm me, and I needed to regroup. 

It's not very convenient these days to travel all the way up to Deception Pass.  It's about 1 1/2 hours each way.  I'm always on the "hunt" for new beaches that will help me clear my head when things become overwhelming - as they often do.  Last week, I took the day after Deck the Hall Ball off.  I felt emotions piling up, and needed that escape.  So, I headed to the Edmonds Marina Beach.  It's a small little beach, tucked away by the marina.  It was exactly what I needed.  Last Wednesday was a clear, but freezing cold, windy day.  I walked along the beach for a bit.  Went back, and warmed up in my car.  Then walked the beach a little more. 

I know it may sound corny, but it helped.  Tremendously.  Life isn't easy sometimes.  It can be downright difficult.  Although I truly believe with every ounce of me that everything happens for a reason, I often wonder in the midst of it what that reason is.  In the hour or so I spent at the beach, I was reminded of the beauty that I often take for granted.  I'm reminded that I'm fortunate to call the Pacific Northwest home.  That although I may not know the reasons behind why things happened the way they did to bring me to where I am now, I know without a doubt that this is where I need to be. 

So, here's a few photos I snapped on my phone (I really do need to get a real camera again!). 

I'll definitely be returning there.  As well as making the trek up to my all-time favorite, Deception Pass.  Simply beautiful.

Deck the Halls

One of the things I missed most when I lived in Phoenix was the music scene we have here, in Seattle.  I used to go to shows, and check out new bands pretty often.  There was always great bands coming through town. 

Last week, a good friend & I went to Deck the Hall Ball.  A concert put on by the alternative station, 107.7 KNDD The End.  We had SO.  MUCH.  FUN! 

This was the incredible line up

The show started at 3pm.  Sara & I met up for lunch, and then headed in to the show. 

We had pretty good seats.

Inside the Key Arena

 

Cheers!

 

We're officially old... Had to break out the earplugs for some of the bands. 

 

Here's a few photos from the actual performances.  They're not the best, but looking at them brings back some fond memories. :)

Of Monsters & Men

AWOLNATION  Amazing performance!  One of my all time favorite bands now

The Killers



AWOLNATION.  Photo from The end

The Killers
photo from The end

The Killers
photo from The end



The Killers
photo from The end

It really was a great show.  The lineup was fantastic, and we were quite impressed with how on schedule everyone was.  If I had to pick favorites, I think it'd be AWOLNATION, Killers, Lumineers and Of Monsters and Men.  Loosely in that order. 

I'm quite thankful to be back in a city with a vibrant music scene.  Looking forward to seeing many more bands!





Well hello again!

Another several month hiatus from my poor little blog here.  Life has been a bit crazy the past couple months.  So, what have I been up to?  Let's see if I can catch you up on the past 3+ months, shall we?  If you follow me on Instagram, (I'm Shawnana on there, if you want to follow me) you've likely seen quite a few of these photos. 

September
A couple girlfriends & I went to Bumbershoot.  We saw so may great bands.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and it reminded me that we are fortunate to have a fabulous music scene in Seattle.

The Space Needle

Where's Waldo?  No, seriously... do you see him?  This guy cracked me up, dressed as Waldo

Gotye.  Amazing show!

Goofing around

Sitting, waiting for the next band to go on stage

A quick photo before leaving

We grabbed a burger at Dick's for a late night snack

BFF came to visit.  She was here for 10 days.  It was SO good to see her & spend some good, quality time together.  The good news is that her trip here confirmed her feelings that WA is home, and she begun to do what she needed to move back here.

In Anacortes, visiting BFF

The bestest friend a girl could ever have

I met up with Hubs in Las Vegas for a weekend trip.  We thought that maybe we could work things out, but unfortunately we have since decided to continue with the divorce proceedings.  We stayed at The Green Valley Ranch Resort in Henderson.  I highly recommend the resort.  It was absolutely gorgeous and so incredibly relaxing.  We went to see Beatles Love while we were there.  I'd seen it before, but I loved it just as much the 2nd time around.  Such an amazing show!

I went from having blond hair (as you see above) to dark, brunette hair.  Hubs liked my hair blond.  I much preferred it dark.  So, now I get to do what I want to do.  :) the little  things in being single, right?

I think that sums up most of September.

October
October was quite a bit quieter.  I started going to bingo with my Mama Friday nights.  It's quite entertaining. 

I went to see Wicked when it was playing.  My mama and two of my close girlfriends & I went.  We had a really good time.

Fall weather definitely arrived.  Back to the rainy, cold season the Pacific Northwest is infamous for.

 But we did still see some nice days as well. 

 

 

The biggest news for October for me, was I finally bought a car!  Yay!! I absolutely love it!  I got a 2013 Ford Focus.  I didn't intend on buying a brand new vehicle, but with the rebates & incentives they were offering, it was only a couple thousand more than the 2011 I was looking at. 

Phew, so moving onto November (almost caught up!)

November
Mom & I took a weekend trip over to Coeur d'Alene, ID to see my brother & niece, as well as a couple of my cousins that live in the area.  It snowed quite a bit the first night we were there, which was very pretty to look at, but a little nerve wracking for me to drive in it, as it's been quite awhile since I've driven in the snow.  We had lots of quality family time.  Mom & I even cooked an impromptu early Thanksgiving for my brother & cousins. 

My sweet lil' Nousin

My precious niece.

Me, Mama & my cousin

My older brother & his family got a new dog, Dolly.

My nephew, A, kicking our butt at Monopoly

Game night with the nephews

My silly nephew, G.

Thanksgiving was spent with my Mom, Dad, and little bro at my grandparents house.  It was a very enjoyable afternoon.  My family really is the best!

Lil' Bro taking his turkey transporting duty very seriously

Crappy cell phone photo, but I do like it.  My brother is so handsome! 

We've now got the tree up & decorated.  Although at times it'll be difficult, as this will be the first Christmas without Hubs in 8 years, I am looking forward to Christmas.  I am excited to be back home, with my family again. 

Now that I've gotten caught up, let's hope I can continue it!