Two Years

Can you believe it's been two whole years since this happy day?

I know, right? I can't either.

Our anniversary is on December 19th, which falls on a Sunday this year, so we decided to hold our observed holiday on Saturday so we could actually do something. We didn't do anything too fancy, since we did just go to New York last month, but we had a wonderful day together.

First of all, we opened our anniversary gifts to each other...

Rob got me some of the fabric for which my heart has been longing! I was so ridiculously excited about this. He couldn't really understand it, and I quote: "I thought that was totally the most boring present I got you." Love that man. Little does he know the depth of my fabric love.

Speaking of boring presents, I just got Rob a couple DVDs. Sword and the Stone was really not anything too exciting. It was a Black Friday deal, so I got it for him to add to our Disney collection. But Sherlock Holmes is in Rob's top five favorites, so he was pretty dang stoked. In fact, he's watching it right now as I type this. I love it too. We both just agreed that we can add Jude Law to the very short list of men who look handsome with mustaches. Rob is very jealous.

Anyway, we drove down to SLC for the day, and went to Gateway. It was all shiny and Christmasy.

Plus, I had a surprise there for Mr. Rob...

I took him out for Brazillian food. This is a photo documenting his extreme excitement. They have this sweet deal at Tucanos where if you sign up for their birthday club, you get a free meal during the month of your birthday. Since our anniversary happens to be just two days away from my birthday (yeah I know, swell planning on our part. It was the only time we could have the wedding.), I decided to use my birthday meal for our anniversary meal. I arranged this whole deal unbeknownst to Rob, so he was pretty stoked, not only to be getting a never-ending Brazilian feast, but the fact that I got a slick deal.

Here we are, all smiling, eating delicous food to our hearts' content. (That pineapple is the food of the gods, I swear it.)

...and this is how we felt afterwards. We went to Anthropologie, which, by the way, is every bit as heavenly as grilled pineapple, and had some fun playing with monograms, hence, the "wow" picture from the beginning of this post. I bet you were all wondering what that had to do with anything. Incidentally, don't you love that "g" in the middle of Rob's "ugh?" I sure do. I almost bought it tonight, but as you may or may not know, I have a huge thing for monograms, and I already have several Gs, so people are probably starting to think I'm weird. But as I look at this picture, I'm really sad I didn't get it, so now I want to jump back in my car and buy that thing.

I know everyone always says this, but I really can't believe it's been two years. In some ways it feels like we've always been like this, living together in our little home. And in some ways it feels like it literally was yesterday that I stood in my white dress, freezing to death in the snow on the temple grounds with my best friend, both of us smiling so huge because it was our wedding day. I really love my sweet Rob, and I'm so happy we're married. We've learned so much this year. I feel like even though we don't have a lot and we may not know what's next for us, we've grown so much together; we really know what's important in life and I think that we work really hard together to that end. I can't wait to see what year three has in store for us.

Happy anniversary Rob! I love you more than Anthropologie, more than grilled pineapple, and more than Jude Law with a mustache. He's got nothing on you.

And so this is Christmas...

...that's my favorite Christmas song. The good old John Lennon classic. It's such a good song. A close second would be Paul McCartney's "Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time." I love Paul much more than I love John, but I have to admit that even though I love him, Paul's contribution to the world of Christmas music in all actuality, is a terrible song. But I like it, and I have been singing it around the house all weekend.

I thought I'd share some of the Christmas cheer that's happening around our little place:

This is my Christmas wreath. It's made from book pages from my copy of Don Quixote that I used for my canvas art a few months ago. So I only had to buy a dollar store wreath and a yard of red ribbon, bringing this beauty to a grand total of $2 in production costs.

Here is is in the lovely lamplight of our porch light. Makes it look all Christmasy and stuff.

And here is our little baby tree. We debated getting a big one this year, but I love that little guy, plus we aren't even going to be home for Christmas, and we didn't want to spend the money on a new tree and more ornaments for it. But maybe I'll hit up the after Christmas sales and snag one for next year.

This is my holiday shelf! I decided to do this for Halloween, and I'll just add and take away things for each holiday. The birds and the Willow Tree angel are things I have out all year, but I thought they were kind of Christmas appropriate, so I put them on the holiday shelf. I bought the little reindeer this year (love that so much, might leave it up all year too...) and the snowflakes I crocheted last year, and observe also our super ghetto and hilarious stockings...

Here's a closer look. They have owls and woodland creatures. The raccoon on the toe of the one on the right (that'd be mine) is super creepy and shifty looking in person. These beauties were $5 each at the Hob Lob. I want to make us some special, heirloomy stockings eventually, but I haven't committed to a particular kind. I keep going back and forth, and since it's kind of a big commitment, I decided to get these cheepies to tide us over until I decide which kind I want to make.

And here we have the piece de resistance of my Christmas decor. My beloved reindeer, whom I have christened "Prongs," because he resembles a certain patronus we all know and love. I got this baby as a sweet Thanksgiving special, and I adore him. In fact, I've decided to start a fun Christmas tradition and start collecting reindeer. You know how some people collect a certain Christmas thing, like snowmen, or santas, or snow globes? Well, I've decided that mine shall be reindeer. Hence, Prongs (to whom I sometimes refer as "Prongs, Prince of the Forest")...

Here he is again, being attacked by Rob's head on your far right...

...also my wrapping paper for this year is reindeer-oriented...

...and also my cute little shelf reindeer, up close. (And don't forget the weird little deer on my stocking, see above.)

I'm also making a reindeer pillow, which will probably not be finished with enough time for me to enjoy it much before Christmas is over, but oh well. I really want one of those glittery reindeer, similar to Prongs, but you know, glittery, but I've yet to find one that I really like. But I plan to collect a reindeer (or two or three) each Christmas. I think it will be fun for the future kiddos and, let's face it, it will be fun for me.

That's about the extent of my Christmas decorations. But you have to remember, aside from the little tree and it's small assortment of ornaments (most of which we made), I had not a single thing from last year. I'm pretty happy with my small expansion, amd I'm also glad that I didn't go overboard. I want to snag some stuff after Christmas when it's all marked down, so I'm excited for that (maybe I'll add another reindeer or two to the family, eh?)

One thing that I am missing, that I really wish I had, is a nativity set. The problem is, I can't find one I like. I think that 95% percent of them are creepy and/or tacky. I hope I don't offend anyone by saying this. I am notorious for being extremely picky about the religious paraphernalia I put up in my house. When Rob met me he thought I was a heathen because I really hate a lot of the standard Church art and non-hymn churchy music out there. (I know you're all judging me right now, unless you're agreeing with me. Either way is cool.) I just think a lot of it is really cheesy, and the Gospel is something so personal and sacred to me, that I don't really like to cheese it up, at least not in my own house. Plus I'm an art history graduate, so I have a very particular eye. I do like some things out there, but I'm super selective. Anyway, I'll stop justifying my hatred and get back to nativities...
So my mother's nativity set is my all-time favorite in the world. My grandma made it, and it's beautiful white glazed ceramic. It was always my job to put it out each year, and I loved unwrapping the pieces and looking at each one, and thinking what it must have been like for the shepherds, and the wisemen, and yes, even the camels who were there. I love the thing, and I've never seen another that I like as much. I think the Willow Tree set is really nice too, but man, that thing is like a bajillion dollars, which personally, I think is pretty hypocritical. I mean, you really expect us to spend a bajillion dollars for a scene that celebrates meekness and humility? Nice, Willow Tree, real nice. Anyway, that's my tirade of the day. Can't find a nativity set I like, and won't spend a bajillion dollars for one.

On an unrelated note....

I got bangs awhile ago. I know it's old news for those of you who see me on a regular basis, but oh well. This is a weird picture, I know, but Rob had just said something that was either funny or ridiculous (probably both) and I was in the midst of reacting to that. So far I'm liking them. It was a nice change. The bad thing about bangs is you have to put a bit more effort into your hair, or else you'll end up looking like a thatched roof. You know, like the thatched roof of the stable in a nativity scene. There you go, I've brought it all together.

...And so (in the words of the now immortal Mr. Lennon), Happy Christmas, and a happy New Year, let's hope it's a good one, without any fear.

One last Harry Potter post, I promise.

The final question on my list is a really big one, and I wanted to do it justice. I don't think I'll be able to still, but I'm gonna try. The final question is:

How has Harry Potter affected your life?

To answer this question, I'm going to tell you a little story:

My sophomore year of college I took a creative nonfiction writing class. My teacher, Paige, asked us to do a writing exercise called "15 Things that Define Me," you know, to get us thinking about important events in our lives as material for essays. She gave us like 15 minutes or something to write the list.

After the time was up, and Paige asked us to share a few here and there. Some had their marriages, some, becoming a parent. Some had missions, or their parents' divorces, or whatever else. Common things that change our lives and define our characters.

Some had cultural or historical events. There was talk of 9/11, or when the Berlin Wall fell. A non-traditional student who was older and wiser than most of us said she remembered seeing Elvis on the Ed Sullivan show, and knowing right then that the world was going to change. It gave me chills. How would it be, to see first-hand something so significant?

Then Paige asked, "Did anyone put a book?"

In a class full of English majors, only two of us raised our hands, me being one of them. "Vienna," Paige asked, "which book did you choose?"

"Harry Potter."

"What?" she looked really skeptical. "Why?"

A couple people had laughed, and I was really surprised. Throughout my youth I'd thought of Harry Potter as something universal, something everyone loved, or at least understood its importance. I hadn't expected to have to justify it.

"Well...I was 12 when I read the first book, and the last book just came out this last summer, when I was 19. So it's like I grew up with him. Those books are one of the most important cultural events of my lifetime."

Paige looked thoughtful, and then she said she'd never really thought of it like that.

But they are. I remember where I was when each book came out. And my memories associated with each represent huge milestones in my life. For example, when Half Blood Prince came out, I was 17 and happened to be in Paris on its release date. I bought the British Bloomsbury copy at a train station, and I saved it for the long flight home. Being in France was such a huge event in my life, and Harry Potter is connected to that. Three years later, when I was going through a really dark and difficult time in my life, I opened up that copy I bought in France and read that book again, just to remember what it was like to feel how I felt then; to remember what it was like to be excited about life, and to love something so completely, the way I loved being in France, and the way I loved the Harry Potter books.

I don't really ever know how to talk about it without being cheesy, and a lot of people think I'm just a big old freak who's obsessed with some children's series, but it's more than that to me. These books are so huge. And I was alive and witnessed their release first hand. I'll be able to tell my kids crazy stories about waiting in line, and about how it felt to wait in anticipation to see how things would end for Harry. We did, we grew up together. Those memories, that excitement, they are precious to me, and my youth is irrevocably connected with them.

As an English major, and as a life-long reader, I tend to love books that are about this one simple thing: trying to be good and true in a world that isn't. I want nothing more than to be an idealist, and to bring good into the world and to stand up for what's right. It's like Dumbledore says about Cedric Diggory's death: we all must make the choice between what is right and what is easy. I think we live in a pretty dark and cynical world. There's a lot of evil out there, and that terrifies me. But there has to be a way to cultivate goodness. I have to hope that good wins out in the end.

And in essence, this hope, the triumph of good, that's what Harry Potter is about. This idealism is something that defines me. It's the way I want to be.