Christmas Preparations

I am proud to say that we finished our Christmas shopping earlier than ever! That makes the relaxing and enjoying Christmas a little easier.  Here is how we've been preparing for Christmas this year:

I put up our "Nativity Set" that I ordered from Etsy!

Going to the beach to relax...only a walk down the street

Kyle gets to showcase his wrapping skills, which he prides himself in :)

I got a sneak peak at who got me a present this year.  Oh, my husband makes me laugh!

AAV rides at the Christmas party for 3rd Marines (who Kyle works for)

They even brought snow!!!

There was a beautiful sunset that night!

Mailing packages and Christmas cards to family on the Mainland!

Enjoying our lights at night and trying to get into the Christmas spirit in Hawaii.

I hope your Christmas preparations are going smoothly and you are having fun doing them! We wish we could spend Christmas with our family this year, but it's wonderful to be able to start new traditions with Kyle...even if it's in Hawaii when it doesn't necessarily feel like Christmas.  

Thursday Ramblings: Boy Bands

Lately, I have been feeling a little bit like a teenage girl again.  Growing up, Megan and I were completely infatuated with loved boy bands.  From Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync to 98 Degrees and O-Town.  Here's a little something to bring you back :)

Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way

Now onto why I have been feeling like a little girl again...I had heard of the new boy band One Direction from the UK and rocked out in the car to enjoyed their pop song, You Don't Know You're Beautiful, on the radio. Well...being the 25 year old, married woman I am, who just so happens to still love boy bands, decided to look up some of their other songs.  All I can say is uh-oh... :)

I texted Megan the other day a link to the video below asking her "What other song does this remind you of?! I can't think of it for the life of me!" She texted back saying she thought it was the Backstreet Boys song above, followed by, "Great, Britt...now I want their cd" :) 

One Direction - One Thing

Then we said how "adorable" they are and how they are 18 and 19 years old and how, 1. They are younger than Tyler (weird) and 2. We totally could have substitute taught for them.  Now I feel old.  But ya know what, I don't care...I am still going to totally rock out to boy bands in my car, while I get ready in the morning, shower, and clean my house all the way from 90's boy bands to One Direction!

As I listen to boy bands while I write this post, I'm going to leave you with a text Meg sent me today which makes me want a girl someday.

December Photo-A-Day Challenge

I have always seen these "challenges" and I thought doing it in December would be a perfect way to document the days leading up to Christmas.  As of now, I've stuck to this better than I have any workout "challenge" ;) Speaking of...I started Insanity on Wednesday and I am ridiculously sore, so pray for me that I keep it up! I plan on working out this morning before Kyle comes home this afternoon.  I. Can. Do. It!

December 1: View.  I went to Bellows Beach with my friend Mandee and her husband and kids.  I even got to see Kyle! Bellows is also a training area for the Marine Corps, so a lot of the area is gated off.  The beach is only open on weekends to the public and then there is another part of the beach that only people with a government ID can get into...where we went.

  
December 2: Favorite Holiday Movie.  I couldn't pick just one.  These 3 have to my all-time favorites. A Christmas Story has been my favorite ever since I can remember...we would always watch it on TBS when they showed it for 24 hours straight.  My dad is responsible for this favorite. White Christmas is another one of my dad's.  I remember enjoying this movie more and more in high school when dad would always sing the "Sisters" song.  And Love Actually is a college favorite...thanks Meg!

December 3: Red. Red EVERYTHING! Gift wrap, bags, bows, ornaments, and coffee cup.  All while watching Ellen's 12 Days of Giveaways! And fun little fact, a Staff Sergeant's wife from Kyle's platoon went to Tuesday's episode! I guess she went last year too! I told Kyle I will have to talk to her to see how she got tickets because next year I am going! And Meg, you are meeting me there! :)

December 4: Joyous. So thankful for the birth of my Savior.  JOY to the world!

December 5: Today's Temperature.  Boy has it been humid here! 99% humidity! YUCK! All the vog is making it humid.  And that's right, you heard me, VOG.  Not, fog.  Vog is volcanic air pollution.  There has been a lot of activity on the Big Island lately, so we've been very sticky and sweaty over here!

 
December 6: Shopping.  Amazon is how we do the majority of our shopping.  Not just because we live in Hawaii, but we love the prices and the free shipping on most items! Makes it easy to ship Christmas gifts :)

Hope you all are enjoying your time leading up to Christmas and trying to keep it as stress-free as possible!  If you're getting stressed, try to remember the true meaning of why we are celebrating.  The birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  God sent him here to earth as a newborn baby to eventually die for our sins.  What a thing to praise!