Looking Back on a Fabulous Holiday Season

I haven't posted since Thanksgiving, but I promise there's good reason(s):

1. We complete all of our holiday shopping and had gifts in the mail by December 13.

2. We made 100 Christmas cookies (and iced them with homemade buttercream frosting+sprinkles), 100 buckeyes, a tray of peppermint bark and a tray of almond bars. An assortment of goodies for a few friends made it in the mail by December 19.

3. Work was positively, absolutely insane and I tried my hardest to keep from losing my head.

4. I flew home from December 20-25. Yet another great trip to the Buckeye state, as I was able to spend a night with Ashleigh, see the Knostman side of the family for the first time in years, spend time with Gramps, catch up with good friends in Celina, spend Christmas Eve with my family and attend midnight mass with Cathy :)

5. I spent the better half of Christmas day in the air or killing time at the Atlanta airport, landing in Houston around 10:30 that night. Twelve hours later, we returned to airport to pick up Mike's parents and sister.

6. Said family was in town through the 30th. We traveled to Galveston, Kemah and Houston to explore a few places, cooked several very yummy dinners, watched a handful of movies and simply enjoyed one another's company.

7. I got sick.

8. We watched Marley and Me on New Year's Eve. We bawled at the end, then drank too much Asti trying to feel better and I continued to feel sick the rest of the evening. PS. It's weird to watch the ball drop in NYC at 11pm.

9. We celebrated NYD with our traditional German feast: sausage, sauerkraut, stewed tomatoes, fried potatoes and corn. Plus a little imported German beer (Beck's). We also picked up some Baskin Robbins for a little American twist ;) Needless to say, I gained a couple pounds.

Initially, I wasn't sure how I'd feel about the holidays this year. We're farther away from home than ever before and I missed all of the little gatherings, game nights and driving around town looking at Christmas lights with my Grandpa when we were living in Virginia. It was also 70 degrees and rainy most of the month, which doesn't leave one with much hope for snow. However, one Tuesday afternoon it dropped to 30 degrees and we received about two full inches of accumulation. It was gone by morning, when it was 55 again, but still -- it SNOWED in HOUSTON!! We were able to send several gifts out to family and some friends, created our first photo Christmas card with the dogs (on a day when it was 75 and very sunny) and found a cute nativity scene. Although the actual Christmas celebration wasn't as traditional as in the past, I was able to see my family, Mike received their well-wishes and his family was able to visit. It was a whirlwind month that brought more cheer than I could have imagined. 2008 was definitely a year of change for us, both good and bad, but it ended on a high note.

And here's to a fabulous 2009. We're hoping for a bit more calm (ie: no moves halfway across the country or stressful house and job hunting, and hopefully a stimulated economy) and are already looking forward to a trip back to Cleveland in August. My list of New Year's Resolutions can be found to the right. Do you believe in making resolutions? If so, what are you hoping to change this year?! I'm going to need some motivation for the bike race I'm hoping to complete in October so your motivational words are greatly appreciated!!

Hope you all had a great holiday season :)