Christmas 2013

It never really felt like Christmas this year, maybe it was transitioning to the heat after spending the past few in snow weather, but despite going to the Mission Inn Festival of Lights (a few times!) in Riverside, making a gingerbread house, decorating the tree, wrapping presents, watching Love Actually and listening to Christmas music, it still never really felt like Christmas! So now that it's over, it rrrrrreally doesn't feel like Christmas, but it was still pleasant in passing.

On Sunday the 23rd, I went downtown in Riverside with my friend Marisa and her fiance Nate to a whiskey bar. Downtown was pretty packed with families looking at the lights, but I was surprised there weren't too many people in the restaurant and bars. I know it was Sunday but weren't there more people on vacation or teachers or anyone else just enjoying the general season??

Come on Riverside, get it together. Selfie Sunday.

I was happy to see that my Christmas cards made it out in time too, and my friend Anja even sent me a picture of her having received it in London... just before going home to Munich, and sending me a picture of the Christmas markets there. Gahhhh I miss Europe at Christmastime!

Anja and my card in London!

Weihnachtsmarkts in Munich

On Christmas Eve, Shannon, Luke and I went to my Aunt Patricia's house, and it was so wonderfully nice! They had almost the whole family there (minus one of the four kids, but plus two grandkids) and we got to visit, have lunch, sit around over coffee and talk and laugh. My Aunt Patricia is always so good at creating a warm, loving and welcoming environment, always so encouraging of our pursuits and uniqueness, offering humble advice without any personal agenda and always loyal. She is someone that you know you can always turn to who is patient and loving and non-judgmental. I don't get to see her much outside of emailing her pretty often, so it was nice to be able to see her finally (maybe the first time this year!) afterwhich, I took Shannon and Luke for some last-minute shopping. At home we gathered round the table with our computers and did our usual internetsstuffsies together, and I got to play with my little baby Khaleesi!

Khaleesi Bug!

On Christmas morning we did our gift exchange, and were shocked at the amount of giftware exchanged! From tea mugs to coffee cups, iced drink tumblers and protein shake blender bottle, we all had liquids at the forefront of our minds this year. LULZ. I got the added bonus of being able to open presents from Cousin Bobby! Kitty mugs and a garden sign, I loved it!! Also, we have a tradition of us taking pictures with our animals in front of the Christmas tree, and I finally got to do that with my bug!

Too much goodness!

Khaleesi's First Christmas!

Then of course, the usual Christmas festivities at Grandma's in Seal Beach, and is it just me, or was it very small this year? Sadface! But, it was great to see everyone there and the usual staples were in place, like the Uncle Carls and the photoshoots! Plus, everyone there got to meet Shannon's betrothed, and Tawny got to win our ca$h monies in LRC!

Santa baby's got his arm around me

I'm a California girl again

Some guy in the room was laughing while we did this

Text back... kind of

Missing Heather for this picture!

Some of the girls with Grandma!

Everyone looking at the Christmas pictures slideshow!

The day after Christmas, Kathleen and I went to hike the Box Springs mountains behind UC Riverside up to the C (the hike I did with my hiking partner Marisa last month) and yeesh! It was HOT, and we got a late start so I worried we would run out of sunlight so we were trying to kick it into high gear and it was exhausting!

That's me mid-step in the mid-ground

View from the top!

Yeah the Knicks rule all!

Kathleen and her Deathly Hallows!

And, as anticipated, we did run out of sunlight and had to go down the mountain face and finish in the dark and I hurt my knee pretty bad, but the hike was fun! And it was Kathleen's first time at the C, and we got to make our first protein shake in her blender bottle afterwards, and then went to the mall. A full Christmas Eve, Christmas and Boxing Day!