an aggregate of all things Johnson

Tomorrow is the winter Solstice (the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere). Yesterday was the start of Hanukkah. Saturday is Christmas. And New Year’s Eve is right around the corner! The holidays are here and I am enjoying the season. I hope you are, too. (That is a photo taken by my friend, Aimee Quesada, of me & Travis running the Jingle Bell Jog in Prospect Park on December 11th.)

As 2011 is winding down, I am reflecting on the highlights of the past twelve months…

• We kicked off the year with a 12:01 am road race through Central Park on New Year’s Eve/Day.
• I turned 30!
• I visited the Martha Stewart Show… twice.
• I visited my grandma in Kentucky for her birthday.
• My sister-in-law, Amber, graduated from the Police Academy!
• I attended the wedding of the year! Congrats, Nina & Adam! Oh, and made some invitations, too.
• I went to my very first Yankee’s Game!
• I got to see God’s favorite musical (and mine too), The Book of Mormon on Broadway. I loved it so much!
• I did a crazy, 3-day, juice cleanse.
• We celebrated the passage of marriage equality in NY in our favorite way… by running, of course!
• We went on a food tour of the Lower East Side.
• I served on jury duty.
• We survived a hurricane
• I hosted Swap-bot’s 100,000th Swap!
• I published an eBook.
• I attended The Creative Connection/BlogHer Handmade conference in Saint Paul.
• I marched with Occupy Wall Street.
• We had a great week exploring NYC with Travis’ family.
• Running was the theme of the year: Travis and I ran the Manhattan Half Marathon, the New Jersey Half Marathon, the Brooklyn Half Marathon, the Queens Half Marathon, the Staten Island Half Marathon…. and on October 30th , we ran the Marine Corps Marathon!!

Looking through my blog archives for the year is so much fun and reminds me how much I love keeping this “scrapbook.” I plan to double my efforts in 2012!

Warm winter wishes to you and yours… Season’s Greetings… Happy Holidays… Peace, Love, and lots of sweets!

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I woke up thinking about The Bahamas this morning.

My family took a trip there for Christmas in 1998. With four kids, I am actually amazed at the amount of traveling we did — The Ozarks, Saint Louis, Rhode Island, Chicago — but our trip to The Bahamas was our first (and only?) exotic family trip outside of the “main land.” It was my senior year of high school and I was a year into my romance with Travis… so my attitude wasn’t the best.

I can’t imagine traveling with four teenagers (turns out, my parents were saints) but I think we actually had a good time. My favorite part was when we took a chartered boat out to a tiny island for a day. We hung out on basically our own private beach and were fed lots of coconut and pineapple. That is where this photo (the only one from the trip that I have in digital format) of me and my brother, Adam, was taken. The water was very clear and blue.

My dad also arranged for us to swim with dolphins, which was a thrill. They feel like wet rubber, but are very cute and friendly.

The rest of the trip details are a bit fuzzy… I know that we snorkeled a bit, went to a botanical garden that had seen better days, rode in a crazy taxi, and went out at midnight one night to see the Junkanoo celebration… where I almost passed out. (In retrospect, I think I was dehydrated, but also overwhelmed.)

Our trip was definitely a unique holiday celebration. It was also a valuable opportunity for four midwest high school kids to see something outside of our daily suburban lives. I know that was important to my dad. Now that I am an adult (and have trouble planning a quick trip to KC for the holidays for me, Travis, and a little dog) I am amazed by how well he planned, organized, and paid for a tropical vacation for six people!

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As is the tradition, Travis and I traveled home to Kansas for Christmas. Crusher came with us and even got to ride with us in the plane cabin in his carrying case. We had planned to stay for about nine days, but the winter storm in New York delayed our return. The extended stay put us behind on our work, but meant for extra family time. Here are some highlights:

Chelsea and I love posing with our dogs because they are so darn cute. She has two Boston Terriers, we have Crusher, and my parents have two dogs… which makes for a lot of dogs!

Speaking of which, it is a good thing that Travis has come to love dogs because they love him!

Although, Crusher really loves my dad the best. That is dad protecting him from the big, bad outdoors when we took a trip to Roundrock (my parents’ country property). Crusher has grown to be something of an urban dog…

The Lamble holiday break can basically be summarized by three things: Diet Mountain Dew, Snickerdoodles, and the board game, Sequence… which was actually slightly more exciting than this photo would have you believe.

Speaking of Lambles, here is Adam with our new family addition, his fiance, Nina. They are deep into wedding planning and I am thrilled to be helping them with their invitations. (I’m even more thrilled that I get to be a bridesmaid!! Thanks, Nina!)

We did the traditional Christmas morning at the Johnsons, and this year the girls had matching pajamas. (Thanks, Chelsea & Nicole!) My ultimate goal is to have every single family member in matching pajamas next year!!

On Christmas Eve, Travis’ family hosts a big family night. It is always a good time and we get to hang out with the younger cousins. That is me and my cousin (sort of) Gabe striking a pose. Christmas needs kids!

On Christmas Eve, we also played a trivia game that was centered around the classic stories told by Travis’ grandma, Isabella. Isabella is one of my very favorite people. I admire her upbeat attitude and the love she shows for everyone she interacts with. The game was a fun way to get to know her even better.

Travis’ Grandma Johnson (one of my other favorite people) made each of the Johnson families these incredible family history books! I haven’t even been able to read it all yet because it is so thick, but I already treasure it. What an awesome gift! (Please ignore my morning face…)

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So, that gives you a good idea of how I spent my holiday… It really was a wonderful time — full of tradition, relaxation, and food. I wasn’t as active with my camera as I would have liked, but I have a few more photos in my Winter 2010 Flickr Set.

How did you spend the holidays? What are your yearly traditions?

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I love the holidays, but they often zoom by before I can catch my breath and enjoy them. I didn’t even attempt to decorate our apartment this year since December is already half over and we will be traveling for much of the rest of it. And so far this year, we haven’t done any of the traditional, touristy, NYC Christmas stuff — like the tree in Rockefeller Center, ice skating in Central Park, checking out the store window displays on 5th Ave — but we did manage to fit in a few bits of holiday fun this weekend. (For the record: I am ok with missing the touristy stuff. It gets soooo crowded.)

On Saturday morning, Travis and I ran the Jingle Jog in Prospect Park with a few friends. It was a really fun, casual, 4-mile race. As you can see, we wore elf hats with jingle bells. (Travis was thrilled about that.) We also got bells to tie to our shoes and were fed green bagels and hot cocoa after. Exercise + friends + food = a good time.

On Saturday night, my friend Jess invited us over for (delicious) dinner and a gingerbread house decorating party. It was such a great time. There were six of us each decorating a cute candy house. Of course, I love doing any type of craft or candy-related project, but the guys really stole the show. Travis made a lovely house with a snow-covered roof. There was also a hurricane survival house (complete with a giant shark on the roof) and a “rainbow” house (inhabited by two gingerbread men, Lance and Darren). It was a great night and although I am not sure how much each of the gingerbread house kits cost (thank you, Jess & Eric!!), I would highly recommend the activity for any holiday gathering.

Since Travis and I always travel during the holidays, things seem fast-paced, frantic, and often stressful, but we always enjoy it. We are especially looking forward to spending time with family this year because we haven’t been home in nearly a year! wow!

…but I can’t deny that I look forward to the day when I can plan, decorate, and cook for a Christmas in my own home. (And now you have that on record, so in a few years when I am complaining about all the holiday prep, you can point me back here!!)

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