Me, being non-Grinchy with the pup
Tom and I just spent our 8th Christmas together and I’m going to go out on a limb and say it was the best one yet. Frankly, the competition wasn’t tough as I have been a notorious Christmas Grinch. But as regular followers will know, this year I vowed to kick the Grinch out of my marriage. There’s definitely something to this whole power of positive thinking concept. Once I decided to have a good attitude about the holidays, they magically became amazing. I don’t want to claim I have the power to control things with my mind… but it kinda’ seemed that way.
Over the course of December, we rested, relaxed, baked, caught up with friends and family, went on lots of fun dates and it all culminated with a whole week off between Christmas and New Year. My birthday is on the 27th, another reason why I’m usually grumpy around Christmas (because it always overshadows a day that’s supposed to be about ME, ME, ME.) This year, I decided to get over my usual birthday bad attitude and enjoy the day.
Birthday girl, shot with new lens
Tom, as usual, went out of his way to make it extra special with the crowning highlight of booking me in for a one-hour massage at my favorite spot (bliss, bliss). I also got so many amazing presents including my favorite make-up from my in-laws; beautiful jewelery, clothes and a watch from my parents; and for all you photo geeks out there, a Canon 50mm macro 2.5 from my brother and a Canon Speedlight 580 EX II from Tom (i.e. a fancy flash).
New birthday necklace from the 'rents, also shot with new lens
Unusually for us, we used the time off to primarily kick back and unwind, rather than work. Ok, we did sneak in a little bit of work: we filmed an incredible, uplifting, can-you-feel-the-love-in-the-room wedding on New Year’s Eve. And we also had an inspiring 2012 goal-setting meeting at Top of the Hub, a local restaurant with epic views over Boston. It was the ideal setting for blue sky thinking and we came up with a long list of professional and personal goals and plans for 2012 that we’re so excited about including a creative, marriage-focused project that we’ll be sharing with you soon (suspense!).
Tom looks ahead to 2012
So all told, we finished 2011 on a high note and I’m actually a little sad to see the holidays end (so weird for a reformed Grinch). We’re excited for the year ahead on this blog, with our business and in our marriage. We’re really looking forward to seeing what comes next.
How were your holidays? Did you manage to relax and recharge? What are you excited for in 2012?
YAY! So glad it was the best holiday EVA! And yay for new camera gear. That 50mm compact macro is Sarah’s go-to, all-the-time lens and I think you’ll love it. And I’ve been debating about a big-girl flash, so you’ll have to share the details. Happy 2012. Can’t wait to see what’s in store for you, Tom, and TLHP!
The holidays were wonderful. It’s the first year we didn’t travel and I missed that a bit. But really, we were just so grateful for time with each other (uninterrupted by emails or calls). So happy you successfully kicked the Scrooge out of your Christmas. And you’re absolutely correct, a positive attitude makes all the difference in the world.
Meghan, I’ll give you a full report on the big girl flash. I already rented it a couple of times before and loved it!
Fawn, glad to hear your holidays were great. We did a lot of traveling this year so I was actually happy not to get on a plane or train!
Bah humbug!!
Just kidding.
We had kind of a random Christmas (being in Thailand with no family around), but it dawned on us for the first time that we can rock the holidays just fine wherever we are. We didn’t do gifts or cookies or anything (okay, we did cookies, but that’s par for the course), but we had a great celebration because we took a bunch of time off from work and spent it together. It was wonderful! 
Glad you two had a fabulous Christmas, and that necklace is gorgeous!