The Myth & The Majesty

As the sun sets on 2012, I'm finding myself in very much the same place I was last year. Except ... not. The last three weeks have been utter mayhem. Good mayhem. And after a couple years of limbo, this little forward motion thing feels wonderful. Actually, all of December has been pretty dang good. So as I head into 2013, full of a strange excitement for the future and a readiness for whatever comes next (well ... within reason), I have to marvel just a little bit. I haven't felt this good, this upbeat, this genuinely hopeful about something in quite some time. And isn't that what New Year's should be? Happy 2013, all. Looking forward to chatting with you as the year unfolds.

It's been a crazy few days. On Monday, my parents and I had our own quiet Christmas Eve, including going to "The Hobbit" ( wow, was that fun) and the usual church stuff. For Christmas Day (take 1), we hunkered down with a fire and did our own miniature seafood boil. We're saving the turkey (and most of the presents) for when Shorty gets here. In the meantime, we've done some shopping (hey, the 26th is a good day to stock up for next year) and we've worked on some last-minute Christmas presents that just haven't gotten done yet. And I've been packing. I have a week to re-pack everything I own. It shouldn't be so hard; most of it is still in boxes since I never really intended to park here for so long. But the organizer in me wants to go through those boxes NOW and not haul so much junk across the state. Even though it's easier to sort while unpacking. I may need a practicality check.

Baby, it's cold outside... As I write this, it's 0 degrees outside with a windchill of 13 below. Not exactly cozy. It seems I'm hardwired to get up early on Christmas morning. I was usually the first of us kids out of bed, always at an unseemly hour -- the oldest but still the most eager to go check out stockings. When I was in my teens, it meant I could get breakfast (cinnamon rolls) started. And in college ... well, there wasn't really a reason. I just woke up. This year, despite the fact that we're not really celebrating today, I'm still up. And I've got those cinnamon rolls rising and the oven preheating. Because even if we're not really celebrating, we need our food. The last few years, we've adapted to odd Christmases, much as every family with grown children does. For one reason or another, we can't always make it home for the 25th itself -- one lives too far away, one has to work. I'm here, but then I haven't left in two

A couple years back, I started ripping off classic Christmas songs and poetry. I don't know why . It just happened . But in the midst of manic Christmas cleaning this year, I found an opportunity I couldn't pass up. So ... Merry Christmas, folks, and happy 2013! * A Crazy Family Christmas   A few weeks before Christmas the fun really got started With one highly detailed gingerbread house. A little after turkey day the search begins Two hours tree hunting And one enormous gingerbread house. It's only a few weeks and we have to do some planning Three Skype phone calls Two hours tree hunting And one Hansel & Gretel gingerbread house Mom starts begging for help, and next thing she knows Four Christmas lists Three Skype phone calls Two hours tree hunting And one not edible gingerbread house. We're all tired of cooking so we dig out the premade Five chicken wings ... Four Christmas lists Three Skype phone calls Two hours tree hunting An

It's snowing outside, making me not want to run my errands. In the meantime, I should be packing but ... well, it's hard to work up the enthusiasm for that right now, too. So here I am with another house post. This past weekend, we drove out to hear Shorty preach. (That still sounds so strange to me.) He did a fantastic job and said a few things I'll probably be working into a later post. Heck, it's even possible that some day I'll give my "Pay Attention!" spiel that seems to be a thing this week. But not right now. The other thing we did (besides eat too much, visit relatives, and try to keep calm during the Packers-Bears game in a land where the only game broadcast on regular radio was the Broncos one) was stop out at the camp so I could check out my new digs, take some measurements, and try to make a few paint decisions. My new place is half of a duplex. Built for a small-to-medium-sized family, but this time only housing me (and a temporary

Our prayers are with you, Newtown.

My Favorite Web Things This Week 1. That Guy With The Glasses . Particularly Todd in the Shadows. Granted, my patronization of this site led me to have a Taylor Swift song stuck in my head for two days. Aside from that, I love this one. 2. Pinterest . I resisted this one until I saw a genuine use for it. Now that I'm putting together a house again, I decided to dive in ... and it's certainly been interesting. 3. The pictures over here . 4. Treat . In a list of websites I love, I would be remiss if I did not mention this one. You can design, personalize, and send greeting cards, leaving you with genuinely original cards for ... anything. As someone who is running out of ideas for weddings, this was an amazing discovery. (I also made Christmas cards this year. Woot.) 5. What If . Of course.

In case I was too cryptic earlier: 1. I'm moving back to the Hills (and Storm) and 2. I'm really, really excited about that. What I'm not excited about is the packing thing I'm doing here. Or the fact that I'm moving in the dead of winter. Seems like I should know better by now, but moving in three blizzards hasn't taught me yet. Okay, okay, so in this case the timing was entirely circumstantial. It's still potentially problematic. However, the other thing I get to do is plan out a house. And that, my friends, feels SO good. I'm taking suggestions. I finally joined Pinterest in a quest for ideas. I've got free catalogs requested from various places. Anyone know of other sources? Blogs to reference? Anything. I'm starting with a clean slate on this one. And it's gonna be fun.

So what is it you've got planned now, Ashley? Well, I'm moving west again. I was offered a job in a place I happen to love with people that are pretty awesome, and ... well, I don't ignore things that stand in front of me and go, "Look at me! Look at me!" Even if I want to. Well, that's ni -- wait a second. Are you insane?! Um ... Maybe.   All right, all right. So what does this job entail? Um ... well ... ... You won't be cleaning things, will you? Okay, fine. Yes. I will. But I'll also be cooking things and managing people and doing some tech-geek stuff as well. I thought you were an engineer. I am an engineer. This job also happens to open me up to the possibility of getting a master's at my alma mater -- or online, if I so choose -- and I get the chance to work on other dreams while I'm there, including pursuing that homebrew thing I've been so excited about lately. With an audience, no less. That sounds strange.

An excerpt from this week's Monday Morning Quarterback: Brady Quinn, drafted by the Browns in 2007, hasn't had a lot of great moments in the NFL. In fact, he hasn't had a lot of good ones. But yesterday was a great day for Quinn, and for his Chiefs. He was the most mature adult in the room -- the room being the entire NFL -- in Week 13 when he eloquently used his post-game platform to address the larger society and how it may have failed Jovan Belcher. "When you ask someone how they are doing, do you really mean it? When you answer someone back how you are doing, are you really telling the truth? We live in a society of social networks, with Twitter pages and Facebook, and that's fine, but we have contact with our work associates, our family, our friends, and it seems like half the time we are more preoccupied with our phone and other things going on instead of the actual relationships that we have right in front of us. Hopefully, people can learn fr