A Very Merry Christmas

Runcible Reunion!  Baby C stole the show.

I had an amazing trip home to Bloomington.  It was short, but my days were so full it felt like I was there for longer!  I arrived on Christmas Day, and spent a relaxing evening at home with my parents.  (Watched the John Wayne 'Christmas with the Duke' marathon with Dad!) 

The next day, I met up with a group of high school friends at Runcible Spoon, a truly local and quirky little restaurant. It was so good to catch up, especially since I hadn't seen some of them in years!  Then I went home to help Mom with the preparations for our big family Christmas party.  My sister arrived that afternoon, so we were able to open our Christmas gifts!  I was very spoiled.... I got an iPad, clothes, and   more from my parents, and my sister went way overboard and got me an orange wool coat, Calvin Klein grey business suit, and a Kate Spade New York bag!  OMG!

 

The Christmas party was fun, and I had a lot of laughs with my relatives. It was strange not to have Grandma there; it was the first holiday without either of the Williams grandparents. I made my Dad a photo book of many old pictures I'd scanned over the past few months, and it was a hit.

 

Loss makes you appreciate what you have even more, and I was so happy to be with my family.  And the food was delicious! My Aunt DW made the sugar cookies I love, and my cousin AV even made my beloved pumpkin pie.  In my family, I think everyone believes I live on pumpkin pie! And I'm not complaining a bit. :)

My Family

At Mom's insistence, I went with her to Jazzercise to burn off some of those holiday calories. Afterwards, the whole family went to see the latest Sherlock Holmes movie (it's a tradition for us to go see movies as a family for Thanksgiving and Christmas), which I loved. It was as good as the first, and I love the smart dialogue and steam punk style.

 

As I was changing into my PJs, AW convinced me to go out, so we ended up at Housebar. I saw some friends I hadn't seen in ages, and topped off the night with some 2 a.m. Steak 'n' Shake fare.  It was a great night in town.

 

The next day, it snowed in Bloomington! My Christmas trip was white after all!  I slept in, had a nice family lunch, then hit some sales at the mall with AW. One more guilt trip to Jazzercise, a quick trip to The Rail to meet with my friend PM, and I was spent.  Flying back to Georgia is always bittersweet; Bloomington is a great place to come home to. I may leave the nest, but I couldn't ask for a better town to call my own.

 

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

  

P.S. I even knocked out a Before I'm 30 task... I missed my connection and have now flown First Class!  Thanks Delta for the rebooking.