Obligatory Christmas Post

Our Christmas weekend was wonderful. Full of family and food. 

For the very first time, we held Christmas Eve at our new home. I piled everyone downstairs into our practice space to devour chili after our candlelight service at church. Surrounded by guitar amps and pieces of scattered drums sets, we came together as family and enjoyed each other's company. 







(The Chili Masters) 




The next morning, Ryan and I awoke early and the festivities soon followed. We began at my parent's house, then on to my grandparent's house, then on to my aunt and uncle's house (where a massive feast was held), and then on to Ryan's parents for swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes. 

I really don't have any need to eat for a while after this weekend. I dearly wish I would have taken a few more photos, but these will do. 



  (Stew Man) 

Ryan's parents framed one of his paintings for us for Christmas. 

I love the holidays. 












The Pack A.D: Chick Rock with Guts

Music to my ears, quite literally. As a chick musician, I do my best to stumble across bands that are woman fronted or include female musicians that I can actually respect and appreciate. I have nothing against the poppy acoustic driven chicks out there (at least they are doing what they do and are rockin' it), but that is about as far from my taste as it gets. Enough of the sugar coated butterflies and four chord wonder songs. 

Play some music with some guts. 

Today, I was enlightened. While listening to Pandora at work, which is probably the best website I have ever discovered while being stuck in an office all day, I heard a band pop up on the mix I was listening to. 

Case and Point....The Pack A.D. 
(Image Source: The Coast
( Image Source: Shaun Stander

Awesome two piece band of two women that actually play their instruments and do so with rock n' roll to the core. I'm hooked. 

They remind me a lot of the Black Keys or the White Stripes, both bands I love and adore. 

Take a listen. 




And Ladies, let's do more of this kind of rock n' roll. 

I declare at this point to NEVER have a soccer mom haircut......


I’ve been greatly pondering the idea of what it means to be a wife, a homemaker, and someday a mother. Daily, as I sit at my neatly ordered desk at my place of work, my mind is swept off with ideas of what’s for dinner, the lack of a maternity leave at said place of work, and the cost of the Kitchenaid mixer that I just can’t seem to get my hands on. 
What’s happening to me? 
These new thoughts and occurrences have lead me to question...
At what point does a girl become a wife? A mom? Suzie Homemaker? 
It’s as if a switch that was once buried deep inside of me has been turned on by some unknown force. As of late, my mind has been filled with decorating my house or making zucchini bread. The simple joy of leaving my work everyday and driving back to our home to spend time with my husband is reason enough for me to simply love my life. 
My desires seem to be changing overnight. I am known to be a driven individual. Always dreaming my way into the next course of my life, swiftly riding upon a wave a music, photography, and an entrepreneurial spirit. I am always seeking, always searching, always striving. Those things will always be a part of me, but not the biggest part, as I am coming to find. 
There’s something else. A spirit of legacy and family. Of banana bread and vacuuming. Of coming home to cuddle with my husband on the couch and talk about all of the business ideas that have been running through my head. 
Yet, many of those ideas seem outlandish compared to what has been placed on my heart. 
And strangely enough, I becoming alright with all of it. Almost. 
For so much my life, I have been consumed with doing, doing, doing. Working, working, working. I was in a place where if I wasn’t moving, I felt lifeless. I wanted to be a successful, creative individual that would do anything to get where I felt I was supposed to go. There was always a song to write, a practice to go to, a photo to take, a connection to make.  
Now my thoughts are filled with a very different picture. I see myself as a stay at home mom/working part time, learning for the first time what it is to truly care for another human being in a way that I have never known before. I would bake that banana bread, have a garden out in our backyard, and go to those play-dates with those so-called soccer moms (although, I declare at this point to NEVER have the soccer mom haircut). The music and photography would still be there, in some form, but not in an all consuming one as I have seen in the past. 
Someday. 
Someday, we will grow a family and a home. 

Christmas at the Hollens

I finally took some photos of our house this Christmas. I love owning a house and being able to decorate as much as I please. I also love the DollarTree and the fact that I spent about 40 bucks on everything. Last year I used aqua and silver. This year I decided on gold, silver, and white on the tree. In our kitchen, I used most of our ornaments from last year. It's almost pathetic to think of how excited I was to have banister now to decorate. 

I love Christmas. Hopefully these next few days are easy going at work and then I can enjoy time with my family and friends. Many things have been circulating through my mind and heart as of late and this coming year is one of the unknown, which makes me search it out all the more. 


Here's to some time of reflecting upon 2010 and dreaming about 2011.