For anyone that really knows me, they will tell you that I absolutely love the holidays! Family will tell you that there are some things I dread - ahhh, the honesty that those who have known you for years can reveal!
What I love about the holidays can be summed up in just a few words - family, friends and giving gifts! I love shopping to find that perfect gift for someone, the ah ha moment when you find something you aren't actually looking for someone, but it's absolutely stinking perfect. Spending time with family and friends is the best part though - it's mandatory time since it's the holidays, but the time is already set aside and even more precious given the season. Annual holiday parties are great because sometimes that is the only guaranteed time that I get to see some people. Looking back on December, I laugh at the variety of them and how different parts of my personality come out in different crowds and environments... It's this time of year that I give thanks for the wonderful people in my life and variety of their personalities and views on life.
This year was a bit surprising in that I actually spent more than 24 hours with both my siblings in my apartment and in my little car as we traveled for the holidays, and get this - we didn't injure anyone! I know some may say that is no big deal - but you are talking about 3 people that have not done that in several years and we can have a tendency to want to clobber each other. All of us have tempers - yes, even I do have a temper it just does not come out all that much :) and it can be quite nasty. LOL
We had a great time though and the cousins over the age of 21 in the family (funny thing is that are 21 cousins too) had our first no adults get-together. Yes, I know at over 21 we are all adults too in the eyes of the world - but we are the kids of the family! It was a great time with REAL enchiladas and fabulous tequila - the only downer was the weather on Tuesday night when it took me 2 and a half hours to get to Naperville, but it was worth the hassle. :)
One thing I have learned this year is that I love to cook, but baking is falling onto the list of "something I only want to do while in the mood to do so." That may sound strange to some given how much I love to cook but for some reason I was dreading it this year. It may be because I had no inspiration on the gluten-free front (I am in charge of dessert for Christmas with my mom's side of the family) so the result was fruit salad - with a twist. Of course if you serve it over ice cream, my mom and aunt go nuts so it was all good. Those that could eat wheat got brownies with truffle topping and took them all home so none came home with me! I got the leftover fruit salad... Yay!
More later because the words keep coming but now it's time to get ready for lunch with friends :)
Coming up...
More holiday adventures (aka spending Christmas day boiling in an assisted living facility for seniors) and other quirky posts :)
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