Creating Christmas

This will be my 8th year that I have spent Christmas away from my parents, my 7th away from my siblings, and my 1st away from even family friends. Wow... That's pretty... sad.

Don't worry. I'm not one to make myself miserable over that. If anything, I decided to create Christmas for myself.

And it turned out to be A LOT of fun!

It all started when Miss B and I decided to go to the Columbus Zoo to see their annual lights display. It was spectacular, though it's a good thing another friend kindly gave us one free ticket, because the display was certainly not worth the $14 entrance fee (and $7 parking fee). Nevertheless, I had a really fun time despite the wet weather.

 At the central "pond" of the zoo, where the lights show took place.

Then I participated in a cookie exchange party organized by one of my colleagues. Each of us baked 8 dozen cookies, to exchange with 6 other people (you kept one dozen, and shared the last dozen at the party). The idea was that you could give away other people's cookies as gifts. I made my mom's jello-cookies- yum yum! Note to self: use only pure white wheat flour if making the lime green cookies, if not color will lose it's "sparkle!"

I had never made 8 dozen cookies in one sitting, but ta dah! Some of the other cookies included chocolate chip, almond, peanut butter cup, date and sugar. Talk about sugar overload.





After slaving over my paper (that is almost done!) for a week, I took a break and drove down to Louisville, Kentucky to visit my old roommate, Miss Shay and her fiance!!! The drive there was bad because it snowed (finally), and I arrived there late in the afternoon, tired and hungry. But Miss Shay and her fiance took good care of me.

First off, we had good ol' pizza for dinner, with THE MOST AMAZING BREADSTICKS I EVER HAD IN MY LIFE AND I MEAN IT. Oh my word, the breadsticks were
to
die
for.

We ate them up before I remembered to snap a picture- urgh! The pizza was good too. 

 My lovely old roommate and her privileged partner

Next stop: the historic Galt House Hotel. Another oh my word. The hotel has an annual decoration spree that will make your jaw drop. The pictures seriously don't do it justice.

What is Kentucky without its horses right?! 

 We were exploring and found this room full of decorations that were going to be taken out on Christmas Day, decorations such as:

My favorite: the GIANT gingerbread house. There was a display of miniature gingerbread houses as well, and some of the things people can do with candy and treats is absolutely stunning. 

We also walked to Fourth Street Live, where there was an ice-skating rink in the center, and drove pass the famous Louisville Slugger. Did you know Kentucky is famous for its baseball bats? Well I didn't. This is the famous slugger, and you can see for yourself why it's so... famous!

Remind me to save up money so that I can buy one when I drive down for the wedding next year. Baseball bats are great defense weapons, don't you agree?

We slept in the next day, had breakfast, and just plain hung out before I headed back to Columbus. Who knew Louisville could be so fun?! LOVED IT!!!

Christmas Eve- I took a girl out in my ward to dinner. Her father and step-family had driven to Mississippi for Christmas, and she decided to stay here alone. I had so much fun with her! She was born prematurely at 7 months, and has to walk with a walker, but she is one of the most cheerful people I know.
Another note to self: DO NOT go to Olive Garden for Christmas Eve Dinner until 7 or something. It is extra crowded any time before. Who knew so many people didn't like cooking Christmas dinner?!

Christmas Day- Slept in, opened presents, then went to Christmas lunch at Miss Ortega's, another girl in my ward. Her parents were from Venezuela, and we had a traditional Venezuelan Christmas Dinner with food that was super delicious! Hallaca, pan de jamon, rooster salad... num num num...  In the evening I skyped with my family- the wonders of technology!

Post-post Christmas Day, ie. Thursday- Went with Miss Ortega to watch Les Miserables. I have been waiting for this film forever, and I was not disappointed. There were parts where I winced a little (I know people liked Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe's duets, but I didn't. And why was Jackman "shouting" when he was singing "Bring Him Home?" It's suppose to be prayer-like!), but overall it was just wonderful. I cried when Anne Hathaway sang "I Dreamed a Dream," and Eddie Redmayne did a TERRIFIC job as Marius- he took a secondary character in a secondary plot and turned Marius into the star. I'm going to be watching out for Redmayne now.

In between all these, I also participated in two smaller Christmas parties. One of them I organized as a way to feed the missionaries, and the other was organized by some other people in the ward. And I ate and slept a lot as well. Oh yeah!

I still missed my family this Christmas, but there is something special in creating your own Christmas as well.
Hope everyone had a fun and fulfilling holiday like I did!