Tag Archives: Holiday

Indianapolis Holiday Attractions

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Yes, it’s that time of year again…what fun things can you find to do for the season?  This is from the Visit Indy website:

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Indianapolis is a city of tradition and the holiday season is no exception. Join 100,000 spectators on Monument Circle as we flip the switch on the Circle of Lights for the 52nd time. Or be a part of a new tradition and see the Simon Skjodt International Orangutan Center glowing in holiday colors for the very first time.
From old to new, here are few of our favorite holiday attractions and traditions.

Christmas at the Lilly House

Indianapolis Museum of Art, November 15 – January 4, 2015

Christmas at the Lilly House

Christmas at the Lilly House on the grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art uses the American country house setting to explore the decorative ideas of the 1930s and 1940s. Explore this piece of history and witness nearly a century of holiday tradition firsthand.

Jingle Rails

Eiteljorg Museum, November 22 – January 18, 2015

Jingle Rails

Jingle Rails at the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art is a journey to the Great American West – the real West and the West of the imagination. With over 1,200 feet of railroad, watch seven trains wind past the local treasures of downtown Indianapolis, including the Eiteljorg Museum, Monument Circle, Union Station, and Lucas Oil Stadium, as well as historical sites, including Mt. Rushmore, the Grand Canyon, Yosemite Falls, and Old Faithful.

Jolly Days Winter Wonderland

The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, November 22 – January 4, 2015

Jolly Days

Jolly Days Winter Wonderland is a holiday treat for the whole family at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. Complete with an indoor “ice skating” rink for children to skate in their socks, an ice fishing area, and a holiday train, this is an unbeatable family tradition. Mark you calendar – on November 29, Santa will arrive Indy style in a Dallara IndyCar!

Circle of Lights

Monument Circle, November 28 – January 11, 2015

Circle of Lights

Circle of Lights is the world’s largest Christmas tree, complete with nearly 5,000 lights and 52 garland strands streaming from Indy’s beloved 242-foot tall Soldiers and Sailors Monument. This tree has been named by Travelocity as one of the top five must-see Christmas trees in the nation.

Celebration Crossing

Indiana State Museum, November 28 – December 31

Celebration Crossing

Celebration Crossing at the Indiana State Museum invites you to learn about holiday traditions, both longstanding and new. Visitors can ride the Santa Claus Express, visit with Santa and get their photo taken, and participate in holiday- and winter-themed activities on all levels of the museum.

Christmas at the Zoo

Indianapolis Zoo, November 28 – January 4, 2015

Christmas at the Zoo

Christmas at the Zoo is a wintertime extravaganza everyone will enjoy. Stop by the Indianapolis Zoo for its annual light spectacular, and experience one of the nation’s top 10 zoos in a whole new way as hundreds of thousands of sparkling lights delight and inspire. Soaring 150 feet above the Skjodt International Orangutan Center, you’ll be able to spot the Beacon of Hope glowing in holiday colors from miles away.

Outdoor Holiday Adventure

Conner Prairie Interactive History Park, November 28 – January 4, 2015

Outdoor Holiday Adventure

Outdoor Holiday Adventure at Conner Prairie will take you on a winter adventure through Prairietown as you enjoy the holidays the 1830s way! Meet a variety of characters in their homes as they prepare for the holidays. Discover what holiday treats, games, and gifts were offered and even what pranks were played more than 175 years ago.

So what are

Ah…memories…

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Many of you know, I’m in the fortunate position to be the Realtor who sold my Grandparents farm recently and as any full service daughter would do, I’ve been working alongside my parents and uncle to clear out the house, garage and barns for the new owners, looks like we might be ready to close in early January!

I know I’ve written before about the tears and memories, and the weekend before Christmas was especially exhausting because we were just getting started, but today was the first time I didn’t feel like crying most of the day.  It’s been a lot of work and we have so much more to go…but I thought I would share of few of my favorite memories with the next few posts…since it’s Christmas, let’s start with a few Christmas memories…

Growing up, our Christmas followed a very strict routine…Christmas Eve at Aunt Ruth and Uncle Loren’s…with the entire McKay side of the family.  For most of my youth, that meant a big brick house painted red on Main Street in Vevay and later a much smaller home overlooking the river – boy did that house ever seem small with so many of us crammed into it!

Dad worked 2nd Shift most Christmases, so Mom and my sisters, brother and I would go for dinner and gifts then come home and watch the Sound of Music on Channel 3…for you youngins out there, that was before we were able to get satellite out in the country and we only got 2 channels!  Then off to bed with us!  A lot of the time, we would all sleep in the upstairs bedroom that belonged to Paula and I…then it was Christmas morning!  So much fun!  Mom always worked really hard to get us each exactly what we wanted, heck she still does!

After a quick breakfast, it was off to Mamma and Pappa Reed’s for Christmas lunch, gifts and and our annual picture of Dad stretched out on the couch asleep…we added a Christmas bow for an accessory and took a picture…we have one for every year up through 1988…He was always exhausted because he never got enough rest at Christmas.  It was always a great time, my favorite year was when the “old” pond was frozen over and Pappa dug out his ice skates and we all went ice skating – he was really good!  So much fun, then back to the house for hot chocolate and pie!

Then after a great afternoon there, we went back home and Mom’s parents – Granny and Pappa Howie would come up to see what we had all gotten…I have a picture somewhere of Granny sitting on our bean bag chairs we had gotten one year – a better pic would have been her trying to get up!

Bear with me, more memories to come…let’s talk about Easter next time!

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Vicki Reed

Recap of 12 Wishes of Christmas from last season….

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It seems like yesterday that I was writing the 12 Wishes of Christmas series, hard to believe it’s been a year!  I thought it was time to run through them again and see where we are in 2013…

Wish # 1 – I wish for my family and friends to find happiness and success in their everyday lives….let’s see…we’ve had a few job changes and promotions, a pregnancy (slightly unexpected), a wedding (no it’s not the same one), a couple of deaths and a more successful year in real estate for me.  All in all, things improving or at least moving in the right direction…

Wish # 2 – My second wish is that everyone feel loved and valued…I found that over the last year, I have made an impact on a number of lives of friends and even the new agents in our Keller Williams office…I simply do what I do and several have graciously shared with me that I have had an impact on their lives…makes me cry tears of joy, but I’m weepy at this time of year anyway!

Wish #3 – Everyone remember to be human, not just during the holiday season, but all year long.  I have tried to pay more attention to those around me this year, held doors for others whose load was greater than mine, taken the time to speak when in the past I might have been caught up in my mind (or my phone!) and not paid attention.  I intend to continue this trend, it gives me a warm feeling inside and I’m sure it translates to my outside!

Wish #4 – we, as a society, remember the victims of senseless acts of violence and make changes in how we treat ourselves, our loved ones, and one another.  This was written immediately following the Newton school shooting.  I struggle with our media as it creates a “psuedo-celebrity” of those who commit the crime and doesn’t focus enough on the victims.  They are looking for their “15 minutes”, let’s not give it to them!

Wish # 5 – is that society curb their consumerism.  I don’t know about you, but I truly need…nothing.  I have clothes, furniture, shoes (way more than I need, but love them all!), bags, accessories, well, just everything!  in 2013, I bought 2 long-sleeve white t-shirts (on sale total was $21) and a pair of black sandals on sale for $20 – mine broke in the middle of my day and Payless was closer!  That’s it…what did you buy?

Wish # 6 – goes along with Wish # 5 is that we as individuals work to reduce our debt on a path to eliminating it.  I have!  I can say that I no longer carry any credit card debt!  I do still owe my Dad for a few things, but he will be taken care of by the end of 2014…on thing at a time.  I’ve also working on The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey – the man makes sense, wish someone had introduced me to this years ago!

Wish # 7 – that we turn off  the television more often and lessen the constant bombardment of advertising, noise and a 24/7 news cycle.  I’m the first to admit, I am a TV junkie…but only for the noise! I am one of those people who have the TV on all the time, I am likely not really watching it, but it is on while I’m reading, working at home, or cooking, eating…I’m still working on this one!

Wish # 8 – that I would win the lottery…I’ve won about $12 this year, haven’t been able to make a big change with this, but I’m still wishing!

Wish # 9 – that we open ourselves to receiving help from others when we need it and not being shy about asking for help from our family and friends.  This can be humbling, but sometime necessary…be grateful that you have people in your life who are so willing to share what they have and be ready to share with them in the future.

Wish # 10 – that we curb our excess eating and drinking and work toward a healthier lifestyle.  I have failed miserably on this one…my 2013 has been very stressful, the hope is that 2014 will be easier and I can get myself together!

Wish # 11 – that we allow ourselves more spontaneity in our lives and be more lighthearted, it is important to see the joy in your life.  I have continued to enjoy this aspect of my life as a Realtor – if I have a “break” in my schedule…I love the ability to pop in and have lunch with a friend or stop by a clients home…try to find it for yourself next year!

Wish # 12 – I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and my wish is that all your wishes for positive change come true.  Ditto for 2014!

Christmas

Vicki Reed

What are you Thankful for???

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Sitting here thinking about the Thanksgiving holiday and feeling grateful for so much in my life I decided I’d share a little with you all, give you something to think about as you prepare your “I’m thankful for…” addresses for the family table tomorrow…

I’m thankful for…

1.  My Family…some here, some passed on, but always on my mind.  I’m thankful for my parents who’s unconditional love and support have allowed me to become the person I am…the world’s greatest Realtor!  All kidding aside, Mom and Dad are simply amazing people who tomorrow will be celebrating 51 years of marriage and while they’ve had their ups and downs, raised 3 very strong, independent women who have followed their own paths regardless of popular opinion.  And then we have my nieces…can I just say WOW an incredible group that I am so thankful to be a part of.

2.  My Friends…They say there are those that pass through your life, only there to serve a need for a short period, then those who stay much longer…Mary, Nancy, Jason and Dan…I am so thankful for your friendship, “group” dinners and the unwavering support I’ve received from each of you over the years…thank you for being my friends.  There are so many others…Tina, you are awesome, Gretchen, I wouldn’t have survived my first few years in the biz without you! and so many more of you that  it would take too many posts to count.

3.  My Keller Williams Family…I’ve never met a group of people so willing to help each other, not just in business, but in life!  Tonya, Staci, Natalie, Patti, Beth, Kris, Ann, Kim, Tony, Stephanie, Amber, actually, just everyone in the Keller Williams Indy Metro NE office…being part of this family has been life-changing and I so look forward to continuing this experience and growing my business.

There is so much and so many more to be grateful for, I challenge you all to really think about your life and those that have encouraged your dreams and stayed with you during your failures….these are those to be truly thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone…

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Vicki Reed

Who’s your Valentine?

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Every February 14, across the United States and in other places around the world, candy, flowers and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine.   An estimated 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year, making Valentine’s Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.)

Interested in the backstory of the holiday?  The History Channel website has a couple of great articles on The Legend of St. Valentine, History’s Romantics, Great Romances, and yes…even the St. Valentine Day Massacre for those, like me who find the Prohibition Era fascinating  (Got to love The Untouchables right…Costner, Connery, DeNiro, Garcia…LOVE IT!)

IMDB has a list of movies to celebrate the holiday, The Hallmark Channel has Be My Valentine and Hallmark Movie Channel is playing a selection of Love movies this week.  I admit, I paid to see the movie Valentine’s Day in the theater…I was hoping for a Valentine Day version of Love Actually (fantastic flick set at Christmas…you just have to see Hugh Grant dancing his way around 10 Downing Street!) and was sadly disappointed…but I have to admit there have been times in my life that I truly identified with Jessica Biel’s character and her disdain for the holiday!

Who’s your valentine?  Who are your favorite past valentines?  Do you love the holiday…or hate it?  I would love to hear from you!

Happy Valentines Day Wallpapers (41)

Vicki Reed

Wish # 12

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Wish twelve…my final wish!  So for my twelfth wish…I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and my wish is that all your wishes for positive change come true.

This exercise has been eye-opening for me, I hadn’t really thought about my wishes other than how my wishes affect my life, thank you all for taking this journey with me, I hope it opened your hearts as well.  Continue to pray for those affected by the tragedies of 2012 and pray for a brighter 2013.

Merry Christmas

Christmas-Decorations-Gift-Thread-Needles-New-Year  Vicki Reed

Wish # 5

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My fifth wish is that society curb their consumerism…do we really need a bigger TV to be happy?  Does constantly accumulating more “things” make you happy?  I’m the first to admit…I love shopping!  I love nice clothes, purses, coats…and oh the shoes!  But do I need them to be happy?  Probably not, but the right shoes with the right outfit makes me happy and these red ones, they just make me feel great…Red Shoes

I see people every day, working hard and spending more for things you wonder if they really need or more likely, do their children.  Growing up, we had everything we needed, sure there was plenty of stuff we wanted, but I couldn’t tell you now what any of those things were.  My favorite things are the experiences we had as a family.  My Pappa was a school bus driver and a farmer (goes hand in hand more often than you would think).  His route took him past our house for a drop, then he would come back by…we would yell to Mom where we were headed, he’d pick us up at the end of the drive-way and take us home with him.  Mamma would add more plates to the table and after Dad got home and finished feeding (we too lived on a farm), he and Mom would come to retrieve us.  There was always ice cream (sometimes homemade that we had to crank!) or watermelon and cantaloupe, sitting on the front porch, laughing, talking enjoying the breeze and each other before jumping into the back of the pick-up and heading home.

With Christmas just around the corner, it is a great time to take stock, look around at what you have, decide what you really need before making that Christmas wish list, think about what you have, what you don’t use any more and donate usable items to your favorite charities…Goodwill, Salvation Army, Red Cross…the list is extensive.

My friend (and Co-Blogger) Mary O has a great solution – she has 3 sons, all married, 2 with kids, (1 with dogs) – instead of shopping for things…she takes each family to dinner and an event.  Plays, the Circus, Children’s Museum…she is making memories that her Grandchildren will remember for a lifetime…that’s what life is about, not the “things” you accumulate…

What could you live without?  What are your wishes for positive change?  Please share!

Vicki Reed

12 Wishes of Christmas…

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Now that the Thanksgiving holiday is behind us, everyone is in overdrive for Christmas…the Hallmark, Family  and Lifetime Channels have been running Christmas movies nonstop, some since before Thanksgiving!  ION Television has added one to their line-up that sounds intriguing (bear in mind that I have not watched it yet!), “Twelve Wishes of Christmas” Lately things haven’t been going right for Laura, an aspiring fashion exec. With her professional and personal life crumbling, and willing to try anything to help, she follows her best friends suggestion and sets up a session with a life coach, who tells Laura to return home and make a list of twelve wishes for positive change in her life.

If you had 12 Wishes for Christmas, what would they be?  Would you be selfish and wish for just yourself? Or altruistic and wish mostly for others?  I suspect that most of us would have a little of both on our lists…

Between today and Christmas, I will be working on my list and will share them, one at a time, with all of you.  Will you share with me?  I’m easy to reach – you can comment on this blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or my website…