mothra

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

And just like that Christmas is over. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I know I did. As I've mentioned before, this was my first Christmas in SF. I was a little nervous about staying here. I thought that being alone this holiday would make me miss my family all the more. Luckily, some friends were still going to be in town and I was able to celebrate with them.

 My holiday started off with a lovely Christmas Eve dinner with Butterbean & Jill. We feasted on cheese, meats, nuts, crab, ham, and cookies. We drank bubble stuff. We played scrabble. Christmas presents were exchanged. And we finished our evening watching Bitch Pudding on youtube. The evening couldn't have been more perfect.

Christmas morning like all other mornings, I awoke early. I immediately headed into the kitchen to start throwing the ingredients in the crock pot to make split pea soup. I wanted it to cook most of the day. Once that was going, I called my pops to wish him a merry Christmas. We chatted for a bit. He seemed in good spirits which was nice to hear since I'm never sure how he's going to be during the holidays. He loved the stuff that Zoe & I had sent which was an added bonus.

This was definitely a year of firsts. Instead of just talking to my sister on the phone, we had our first Skype Christmas together. My nieces and nephew opened their presents from me while I watched through the computer. Then my sister and I opened our gifts. It's not the same as being physically together but it's a great alternative. I snapped a picture of my sister's family to capture the moment. :)

The rest of my Christmas day was spent relaxing, eating, & watching TV. My split pea soup turned out to be simply delicious. I ate two bowels, stored some in the fridge, and froze the rest. My evening came to an end with me watching The Sound of Music.  I still love that movie. So now I've officially created my own Christmas traditions. I can't wait until next year. Just where will I end up next is any one's guess.

my Christmas loot
1. money
2. gift card
3. steamer
4. frother
5. Jonathan Adler design book
6. sleep pants
7. Jersey Boy tee
8. Robin figure
9. Samuri action figure (gift to myself)
10. Gypsy Witch fortune telling cards
11. and lots of stocking goodies

What did you get?

stay gold & be well

what a wonderful world

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

Ah, Christmas Eve is upon us. This will be my first Christmas that I spend in San Francisco. Usually, I go home this time of year but since I went home for Thanksgiving I decided to stay put. I think that's part of the reason why I've been filled with "Christmas Spirit" this year. I'm looking forward to starting new traditions. I'm having some friends over tonight for Christmas Eve dinner then will most likely spend my Christmas morning on Skype with my sister opening presents. You've got to love technology.

This time of year is always hard. I've been thinking about my mom a lot lately and all the Christmases we spent together as a family. She always had the house decorated for the holiday making it feel like a magically place. Christmas definitely hasn't been the same without her. However, I'm truly thankful for the memories of Christmases past and for the all people I have in my life. I hope that everyone has a wonderful & magical holiday. Just where will I end up next is any one's guess.

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year

stay gold & be well

Dad & Mom, Christmas 2000

christmas wrapping

deery-lou.

previously on the e-list…

Happy Holidays!

stay gold & be well

still ill

deery-lou.

previously on the e-list…

Wow! There's only three days left until Christmas and I haven't even blogged about my Thanksgiving trip yet. I'm going to do my best to catch up so that I can begin 2012 on track with my blogging. Hopefully, it'll be more eventful than 2011. Perhaps it's time for me to create my own fun. Anyway...on with the blog.

I spent my Thanksgiving break in South Florida, Orlando, & Atlanta. All around it was a great trip. I got to spend time with both family and friends. What more could one ask for. My trip started off in South Florida where I spent a few days with my sister and her family before I drove up to Orlando. HP that me crash at her pad while I was in town. She's always a great host. The day I arrived HP & I went to Hurricane's to have lunch with some old high peeps. It was great to be able to catch up with them while drinking some ice cold beer.

That night, HP, Kat, & I drove to New Smyrna Beach for an evening of F.U.N with Jill T. It was a night of drinking & dancing our way through the town. In the morning we went to Toni & Joe's for breakfast where Farrah became an instant hit. She's always the talk of town. Later that day, HP & I met Jill G. for lunch and hung out a bit.

On Monday, I met up with my sister's family for a day at Disney. It's been a long time since I was at the Magic Kingdom. It was day filled with long lines and fun rides. I almost forgot how exhausting a day at Disney is.

On Tuesday, we packed up the car and headed to Atlanta for Thanksgiving. The drive was pretty uneventful until we hit traffic and rain outside of Atlanta. We spent the rest of week at my aunt's house for the holiday. The days were filled with family, friends, food, and lots of drink. I can't think of a better way to spend the holiday.

We headed back to South Florida early Saturday morning. The following Sunday my sister and I took the little ones to Hollywood Beach. It was gorgeous day. There's nothing like having lunch and beers while looking at the ocean. My sister and I spent Monday and part of Tuesday doing marathon Christmas shopping. We basically knocked out all the gifts for the little ones. We are so good! My flight back to SF left Tuesday night which ended up getting delayed due to the heavy fog in SF. Go figure!

That pretty much wraps up my Thanksgiving Holiday. I hope every one had as good of a holiday as I did.

stay gold & be well