ALL IS CALM...ALL IS BRIGHT

NOT A CREATURE WAS STIRRING...

Twas the Night Before Christmas

By: Sister St. Thomas, B.N.D. de N

Via Domestic-Church via Catholic Pages

"Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the town,

St. Joseph was searching, walking up roads and down;

Our Lady was waiting, so meek and so mild,
While Joseph was seeking a place for the Child.

The children were nestles, each snug in their beds,

The grown-ups wouldn't bother, there's no room they said;

When even the innkeeper sent them away,

Joseph was wondering, where they would stay.

He thought of the caves in the side of the hills,

Lets go there said Mary, it's silent and still;

Made pathways of light for their tired feet to go.

And there in a cave, in a cradle of hay,

Our Savior was born on the first Christmas Day!

The Father was watching in heaven above,
He sent angels, His couriers of love.

More rapid than eagles God's bright angels came;

Rejoicing and eager as each hear his name;

Come Power, Come Cherubs, Come Virtues, Come Raphael,

Come Thrones and Dominions, come Michael and Gabriel.

Now fly to the Earth, where My poor people live,

Announce the glad tiding My Son comes to give;

The Shepherds were watching their flocks on this night,

And saw in the heavens and unearthly light.

The Angels assured them, they'd nothing to fear,

It's Christmas they said, the Savior is here!

They hastened to find Him, and stood at the door,
Til Mary invited them in to adore.

He was swaddled in bands from His head to His feet,

Never did the Shepherd's see a baby so sweet.

He spoke not a word, but the Shepherd's all knew,

He was telling them secrets and blessing them too.

Then softly they left Him, The Babe in the hay,

And rejoiced with great joy on that first Christmas Day;

Mary heard them exclaim and they walked up the hill,
Glory to God in the Highest, Peace to men of good will!"

[source]

Oh Holy Night
Sweet hymns of JOY in grateful chorus raise we,
let all within us PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME!
CHRIST is the LORD!!!

Oh Little Town of Bethlehem

We hear the CHRISTMAS ANGELS,

the GREAT GLAD tidings tell

Oh come to us, abide with us

our LORD EMMANUEL!

Christmas Carol of the Bells

Ring Christmas bells,

Merrily ring

Tell all the world

JESUS IS KING

Masters in the Hall

This is Christ, the Lord

Masters be ye glad!

Christmas is come in

And no folk shall be sad!

Joy to the World

Joy to the world! the Lord is come;

Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare him room,

And heaven and nature sing,

****************

Wishing you and yours a blessed Christmas Eve. 

And if you're offline the rest of the week I wish you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Year in Review {April, May, June}

Hey, friends! Can you believe Christmas is only six days away? Yay, wahoo, and oh my right? Still quite a few things to take care of, but after my family Christmas on Sunday I'm kind of ready for the big day to arrive. Before we get there, let's look back at the second quarter of 2017, shall we?

A P R I L

I started a new job, which led to a much happier life.

April brought my 34th trip around the sun, leading to some self analysis. 

People responded well when I shared how often the 'bad self' takes over my brain.

M A Y

Surgery at the beginning of the month scared the ever living sh*t out of me.

My gallbladder surgery was successful, even though the recovery was a lot harder than anticipated.

I was honest about my feelings about life, I confessed some work mistakes,  and my fear of being average.

J U N E

My first DOUBLE DIGIT blogpost month since the move. Small peanuts, but still, I felt back in the blogging groove finally and found time for this little space. Shared about 'what you don't see' here, confessions of a group fitness instructor, and some joy bombs. 

A year after our move we went on our FIRST Tennessee hike and the view was gorgeous. Recovery was tough.

I took and F A I L E D my personal trainer exam... by four points. It was my own fault, but I was still devastated to have failed. I was embarrassed to tell my husband, my family, my friends and y'all. It was a rough few days to say the least. 

Le Husband and I took a weekend trip to a different lake and I got a new hairdo.

Completed my first What I'm Up To post in forever and got excited about family coming into town.

Second quarter brought about a much better balance with life and I started to feel human again. Especially after surgery. Summer was hot and I enjoyed a lot of time outdoors. Le Husband was traveling a lot, so I found fun ways to be on my own and continued to work on the house.

Weekend Update {Devastated, Delivered, Divine}

All in one weekend, y'all. All in one weekend.

Remember Friday? My excitement, joy and anticipation? The plan was an evening flight home on Friday to get into DC the day before my sister's baby shower. Everything was planned, I packed the night before, weather here was good, Le Husband dropped me off, I got my free checked bag for presents, snacks in my carryon, Les Mills videos cued up to practice on flight and I was ready to GO!

Then my world crashed in a nanosecond when the words delayed changed to C A N C E L E D!

Apparently small flights lost priority with the weather and only big planes were allowed to land at DCA. There was a different carrier flying to IAD leaving just then and I rushed over to see if they would let me buy a ticket [was prepared to pay through the nose] but I was outside the 30 minute window and they couldn't let me on the flight.  I cried, y'all, in the airport. Big tears, blubbing on the phone to my as I told them I was stuck in Knoxville for the night. Small airpots are awesome when things work, but when delays or cancelations happen options are very limited or zero as was my case.

Le Husband had to pick me up, drive me back home and listen to me cry. A hug from him didn't fix it but it made it better. We ate dinner together, got to watch a show and I was able to get a bit more sleep than expected. My ticket was booked for Saturday morning and I was set to make it to the house before the shower.

Long story short, the preggo picked me up and I made it to the house at 1:45pm before the 2:00pm start time. Make up was done, I had a quick change and then boom, party time. Babyspice, Mama B and Daddy did an amazing job getting everything put together without my extra set of hands and I was able to swoop in and just worry about the homemade hot cocoa for the cocoa bar. It was a brunch theme with chicken and waffles, bacon, punch, hot cocoa bar, chicken salad pitas, yogurt parfait bar, cucumber sandwiches, dips with crackers and cookies for party favors. EVERYTHING was incredible, so thankful I was able to make it there for the party.

I did a poor job of blog picture taking because, yeah, a day late and everything was a whirlwind. I also was able to spend time with friends and catch up with friends I hadn't seen in so long, which took  precedent. Below are a few I snapped, if you follow me on Instagram you received more a peek with my stories.

Once everyone left the family headed to my favorite place, POLLO RICO, for dinner then on to Babyspice's new apartment to eat. She moved earlier in the month and it was so nice to see her in her new space all set up for Christmas. When dinner was over we headed home for some clean up, snacks and then sister hang out until we couldn't stay awake.

Sunday was church, hanging with some darling girls, then family Christmas. Mama B pulled everything together with stockings and we all exchanged family gifts around the tree. It was a different Christmas this year. No husbands, less surprise because we bought what we needed, donations made for trips and all opened on the 17th instead of Christmas day. Yet, it was still magical and still lovely in it's own merry way.

Too soon it was time to pack up and head for the airport. Haven't left without tears yet, but maybe that will change soon. Crazy pants to think the next time I see Sportyspice lil 'Salsa Bean' will be here! It makes me want to cry I'm gonna miss so much, but excited to meet my niece. Thanks for all the well wishes Friday night, y'all were so sweet. Hoping you have wonderful week before Christmas < 3! Sending you cheer, sleep, joy and happiness!

Mama B was so happy ALL DAY!

Weekly Wins {Ten Days Until CHRISTMAS}

[source]

Are you ready? I think I am, mostly. I'm sure I've forgotten something though, it always happens. But, then that person gets extra because I buy something after sales, so kind of winning right? It was a long, busy week here, with not a lot of sleep, but it was also a good one too. On to the wins for the week, yay!

.:. SportySpice is on the East Coast aka HOME! YAY, wheeee! WAHOOOOOOOO!

.;. Today I'm flying up to DC to see family and cohost her baby shower. It is Santa Baby themed and we are oh so excited to celebrate Sportyspice and our lil baby niece. Some of my friends are coming up early to help and it will be a lovely afternoon for sure.

.:. Extreme gratefulness is the them of my heart even during the stress and bustle of everything this month. When I started writing my yearly recap I realized how far we have come since last year. A year in our home almost, wow! It's funny when you think about time, how short 365 days can seem when life moves at a happy clip. But when life is ever so hard, when days feel like years due to arduous work and stress it is easy to sink into the 'stuck in the weeds forever' feeling. Broken record, I know, but those of you dealing with tough times keep your chin up, okay? It will get better, I am living, breathing proof.

.:. Multiple glasses of hot cocoa were consumed this week. Glorious indulgence during the festive season. January with come soon enough, but for now, I'm enjoying delicious cocoa when I want.

.:. Management sided with me regarding the stolen class situation and I'm so thankful to be so supported. I honestly try to do my best to get along with everyone, support the team, while being someone people can count on all the time, so having someone go behind my back [again] totally through me for a loop. Knowing where I stand at my gym and being valued is amazing.

.:.Today is double payday, WOOOOOOP

.:. Le Husband finished making my Christmas card holder and I'm so stoked. Pictures to come next week because I still need my little clothespins. Any ideas, friends?

Wishing you an awesome weekend before Christmas. Catch you Monday, lovelies! < 3

Year in Review { Jan, Feb, March }

Through the course of this blog's history, December has been used to quarterly recap the previous year. Last year was a bit of a wash in blogland after our move, which didn't leave much to recap. Our 2016 was basically PREP for the move, VISIT Europe, MOVE, freak out when things didn't happen the way we expected and SCENE!

This year has been tough, but better. Blogging still took a major backseat to life at the beginning of the year, so not too many posts to recap. However, there were quite a lot of THINGS that happened at the beginning of 2017.

J  A N U A R Y

I adapted a new mantra after months of things not working out.

We BOUGHT A HOUSE! Following months of losing out on rentals and weeks of dealing with banks [ugh, why?] we signed off on our fabulous home and began the process of home ownership. #itallworksout

Welcome to OUR HOUSE! [gosh I look so tired from work!]

F E B R U A R Y

House renovations + financial worries + a job I hated + no sleep = a dark pinky

I attended an advanced training for BODYPUMP and started to find a rhythm with life.

M A R C H

I interviewed for, was offered and ACCEPTED A NEW JOB. It was an answer to so many nights of prayers. 

Life consisted of HOME RENOVATIONS ALL THE TIME.

My body gave me a WAKE UP moment and I had to practice some self care.

The beginning of 2017 was great [HOUSE] yet still dark [job] and I'm so thankful to be SO HAPPY in December. I know I've said it a lot, but looking back has me realizing how hard it was last year and how grateful I am to be here now.

What I'm Listening To {December}

Today I'm sharing some of my favorite Christmas music. We all have the songs we love this time of year and below are some I listen to over and over whenever I'm needing some extra Christmas cheer. 

Carol of the Bells

Oh Holy Night

Wizards of Winter

Mary Did You Know

Where are you Christmas?

Christmas Carol

Do You Hear What I Hear


Last Christmas

All I Want for Christmas

Nutcracker {Snowflakes, Waltz of the Flowers, Arabian Dance}

What are your favorite Christmas tunes?

10 Things I'm Doing In December

1. Decking the halls and breathing in the Christmas cheer. After our tough December last year I'm finding this season so much brighter and delightful. My goal is to reach out to those who might have less of a lovely month because I know how tough it is to feel lost at Christmas.

2. Walking outside in the snow and feeling grateful I'm no longer in a job where SNOW is a bad thing.

3. Being brave and taping FOUR auditions to send to LMUS. #fingerscrossedforme

4. Coaching/demoing multiple BOOTCAMP classes a week, on top of my regular class schedule. Soft launch is in January so we have to be ready for members ASAP. Lots to learn, but I'm optimistic.

5. Trying out a 'Dip Manicure' to have pretty nails, that last, this holiday season.

6. Staying up way later than normal to help Le Husband finish up painting and organizing the upstairs. He decided he needed to use up vacation and even though it makes me exhausted I know it will be amazing in the long run.

7. Indulging in extra sweets, hot cocoa, savory bites and lots of adult beverages. Tis the season.

8. Attempting to stay on track with food during the week, because January.

9. Heading home for the weekend to throw Sportyspice a baby shower. I am super excited, it's going to be so cute, and I can't wait to celebrate my little niece. Oh, and also do an early Christmas with my family.

10. Spending Christmas with Le Husband's family in Ohio. I can't wait to relax, eat yummy food, drink delicious beverages, snuggle little nephews and hang out with family. Holly JOLLY and ho ho ho!

inspiration found here