1) Decorate the house. This year my goals are pretty simple: add only new decorations this year that I LOVE and that are homemade/upcylced (good thing Greg does not read this blog because he’d probably divorce me for using that word seriously); spend no more than $100 on decor; spend no money on wrapping (i.e. use up a bunch of stuff I have around the house already); donate all decorations I don’t LOVE at the end of the season; hang Christmas lights outside. // I made a table runner, wreath and card tree and upcycled the reindeer from my FIL’s farmhouse basement (minor discretion: the $3 JOY pillow I found at Target); probably spent about $75 on supplies for the runner and wreath and washi tape for the card tree; did not spend any money on wrapping – used brown postal paper plus ribbon I had left from our wedding and washi to write labels; we haven’t undecorated yet but anything that was not put out this year or loved is definitely getting donated; Greg hung lights on the house. 

2) Participate in a Jingle Run. I’m not sure if I’m going to run or walk yet, but either way it will be fun.  And hopefully it will involve some sort of costume. // I got sick and my friend, Talia, had to deal with some family issues. That brings us to 0/3 for races we’ve signed up for and run. I think the universe might finally have gotten it’s message across. 

3) Take a fun holiday family photo. This is always a goal and maybe I’ll have something to replace the shadow picture from this summer as my favorite photo of 2013. // Truth be told, I kind of forgot about this one, but my FIL came to the rescue and we have a series of these, which I will cherish forever. Or until next year’s photo out does this one. 

4) Make Paleo egg nog. I’m not about the Paleo treats, in almost all instances I’d rather just eat the real thing on special occasions. But I don’t do dairy and I love egg nog, so Paleo egg nog it is. // I threw my no dairy rule right out the window and, conservatively, probably had twenty or so egg nog lattes this year. Grief + red cups at SBUX + living in Seattle are not a good combination. So yeah. Nothing else to say about that one. Oh except that those twenty (conservatively) egg nog lattes have formed a lovely spare tire. 

5) Spread cheer. Focus on the positive. Be merry. // I did my best and if I wasn’t spreading cheer I at least tried not to be negative. My dad repeatedly told us when we were little that only two things were required of us: try your best and treat other people nicely. Perhaps I’ve lost the exact wording over the years, but for probably the first time in a decade I thought about those two things over and over. If I managed to do both over the course of a day,  I considered it a success.