Of Christmas and New Years and Other Such Things

Christmas Eve Eve!

I've neglected blogging a lot lately. I guess I've had a lot going around in my brain that I just needed to sort through and work out, so here's a quick run of the highlights of December.

The day before Christmas Eve, I went to Poulsbo and picked up a little Christmas gift to me - a new pair of cuffs! They are nice and warm and allow me to still use my fingers (something I hate about gloves). They are locally made and super comfortable. I had lots of fun going wine shopping to prepare for the parties ahead!

Christmas Day

My Sailor left on a deployment, but we were lucky enough to have him back for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. He was running off of about 3 hours of sleep on Christmas Eve, but was a real trooper! My family flew in and we did dinner in Gig Habor (at the never-disappointing Green House) and we saw Jack Reacher at the local theater there. Good movie, good food, good wine, good times...

Christmas Day we went on a crazy cleaning spree and then had my family over for brunch, presents, Die Hard (my brother's Christmas movie tradition), and dinner. A good time was had by all. One funny thing happened though - it snowed (I mean blowing, heavy snow) within a mile of my house any direction, but not actually AT my house. Go figure! But I'm still counting it as my first White Christmas.

The day after Christmas, My Sailor had to work so I got up before the sun with him to start working, and then joined my family for some Seattle time. We went to Pike's Market, The Space Needle, the EMP, and took a stroll through Pioneer Square. It was a fun day.

Me and the family in Pike's Market

A creature from Constantine at the EMP's "Can't Look Away" horror movie exhibition.

 The next day, my family had to head home and, you guessed it, My Sailor was still working, so I joined them for a tour of the Suquamish muesum and we went on a hunt to find the grave of Cheif Seattle - the man the city was named after. It was a beautiful experience that reminded me just how lost America feels now. In this time of industry and technology, we're only starting to get back to the reality of how connected we all are to everything else. It's as if we lose sight of that with all of our conviences and ideals of superiority. (Says the blogger, typing away on her Acer in a Panera in the middle of the city...Yes, I'm aware of the irony and hypocracy...)

Another highlight this month - I got 1 day in Southern CA to visit Disneyland with my nursing friend! It was a great day, and a funny tradition that we didn't mean to start. Having such wonderful traditions for myself and for my friends make up for what we've yet to develop in our little family here.  It was also really great to see Carsland and Buena Vista street all lit up for the holidays.

December 2012

Toontown, 2012

As the year is about to end, I'm a little sad to see it go. So much happened and there is still a lot I want to accomplish next year. And, of course, there is always the dreaded deployments breathing down my neck, but that just means I have to throw some real effort in moving forward.

Hope you all had an amazing holiday!