Navidad

Okay, so I think this will be my first blog post that doesn't have to do with being in Peru.  I'm not promising that I won't mention Peru, but I will tell you that the majority of this blog will not be about Peru.  What will it be about, you ask?  Christmas, of course!  What else would it be about?  Nothing, obviously.  Only Christmas and everything that goes along with it!  Like I have said before, I have no idea in what direction this blog is heading, but I hope that it's a good one and I hope you continue to enjoy reading it!  Okay, here it goes.  I may not be going on a big adventure in Peru, but I know that the next phase in my life will still be an adventure!

Okay, back to talking about Christmas!  What are some awesome things about Christmas?  Number one on my list has to be watching Christmas movies!  This is something that I really missed doing while in Peru! (#1 time mentioning Peru)  Once December 1st hit, I was wanting to watch Christmas movies SO bad, but I had to wait until I returned to the states and I was so excited to watch Christmas movies.  My two favorites are Christmas Vacation and Elf.  There's just nothing like a Christmas movie that make you laugh and smile for hours!  Some of the other great Christmas movies are The Santa Clause, White Christmas, The Christmas Story, Prancer, Holiday Inn, The Year Without a Santa Claus, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Home Alone, and many many others.  Want a list of more look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christmas_films  Anyway, watching Christmas movies and listening to Christmas music like Bing Crosby are just some of the ways to get you in the Christmas spirit, as well as shopping and wrapping presents!  I did most of my Christmas shopping in Peru (#2) so that everyone had unique gifts, but I also was able to shop the day before Christmas Eve with my mom and boyfriend and that was just a great day.  Not only was it great because I got to see the Abercrombie & Fitch guys shirtless, but I got to spend the day with my mom and boyfriend and there were great deals at all the stores! :)  I hope that you enjoyed your days leading up to Christmas as well!  What do you do to put yourself in the Christmas mood?  Usually snow helps with that, too, but unfortunately there is no snow yet.  That means that there is going to be another snowmageddon this January.

Yesterday morning my mom, dad, and I all packed up the truck with presents and suitcases and headed three hours to my grandma and grandpa's house near Chicago.  Family time is just the greatest, isn't it?  Especially when you don't see some family members all the time, which is what this Christmas has been like.  I have family that live in Texas that came up for Christmas and also, since my sister went off and got married and moved, I was able to see her and her husband finally, too!  For Christmas Eve, we traditionally have a Swedish meal complete with Swedish meatballs, potato sausage, and potatoes and white gravy (because we are part Swedish).  Yum!  Also, we always have a white elephant gift exchange on Christmas Eve night.  This year we played Christmas Trivia (Example: Who hollers "Stop!" at Frosty the Snowman? Answer:  The traffic cop) as well as the Cake game (Example: What kind of cake does a mouse like? Answer:  Cheese cake) :)  Anyway, everyone got a small gift, but the grand prize was a prize that I brought back from Peru (#3).  It was a goodie basket full of Peruvian foods including IncaKola, Huancaína sauce, Sublime, chifles, and cancha.  My family didn't really like anything too much, but I still think most of it is good, however, I'm still not a fan of IncaKola.  Also, for Christmas Eve, it has become a tradition that my sister and I always get pajamas as a gift.

Christmas Eve with my sister in our new pajamas

For some reason after the games, we watched the movie Jaws because it was on TV.  Not really what I call a Christmas movie, but who cares because Christmas isn't just about watching Christmas movies, but it's about sharks family, too, so it was nice to just sit and talk and watch people get eaten alive by sharks.  Soon after, we all climbed into our beds and waited for Santa Claus to bring us gifts during the night.

My grandparents Christmas tree
with presents on Christmas morning :)

Now, it's Christmas day and again it's been a wonderful day filled with love and laughter.  We all took the liberty of sleeping in and I love sleeping in, but I wonder where the excitement for presents went.  Remember when you were a kid and you woke up before 7 a.m. to open presents?  Where did that magic alarm clock go?  I wish I had one of those internal alarm clocks for everyday, but unfortunately when you grow up, your body realizes that the presents are still going to be there even if you wake up a couple of hours later.  This morning I was excited to open many gifts from my family and Santa and I'm happy with everything I got.  I would list everything, but I don't want to make you jealous so I'm just going to leave my Christmas gifts out, but they were amazing..just saying.  As we all sat down to play with our new gadgets and gizmos, we were happily surprised with a doorbell.  There at the door were my other two cousins and their new 6-month old son from Texas.  They weren't supposed to be here until later tonight, but it was a wonderful surprise to see them this morning.  Also, my boyfriend came up today to celebrate with my family.

My 6-month old cousin, Maddox :)

My boyfriend and I on Christmas day :)

My family and I have pretty much done nothing today except for relax and enjoy each other's company and really I don't think there's anything better in this world.  I really hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas as well and that you spent it with the ones you love!  The night is still young and I know that we have another wonderful dinner planned for tonight, which I'm excited for, but this is goodbye for now.  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!!