Ben and I spent a marvelous Christmas Day at my parents. And those parents, the wonderful people they are, waited until we arrived before everyone opened gifts. Mom was Santa's skinny, dark-haired twin, handing out gifts to their proper (and eager) recipient. Samson attempted to play with Gigi, their dog, who did nothing but bite and swat at him (he has the bloodied battle wounds to prove it. I've come to the belief that Samson is a masochist). Gigi, however, stood undeterred, on the hunt for Dad's chocolates--compliments of Annie. Which,
thanks to Annie's foresight, wasn't actually placed under the tree. Gigi has a rather unfortunate habit of opening wrapped boxes of See's chocolates, eating the lot of them, forcing my mom to spend an exorbitant amount of money at the Vet.
Left: Samson & Gigi (see
how she shuns him?)
Right: Me & Annie
Gigi likes to hide under the gold couch.
And Samson waits. And waits....
We ate a delicious meal of honey-baked ham, scalloped potatoes, bluegrass salad, and hot rolls (thanks Mom!), and afterwards Annie helped me serve my Italian dessert (see, I told you I'm obsessed with all things Italian): Stracciatella Semifreddo, recipe given to me by the infamous Uncle A.
It's home-made custard, whipping cream, and nutella folded together and frozen on top of a graham cracker crust. YUM!
Afterwards, We all took up varying locations upon the floor and napped.
Mom and I played a round of Scrabble, to which I was the willing victim, and we all finished the night with Sherlock Holmes. It really is a "good-clean-fun" movie for any of you that haven't seen it. Ben and I particularly enjoy the soundtrack.
Next year this time we'll be living in Arizona. After 14 years of living in California, this is my last Christmas here. I wonder if we'll decorate a cactus next year. My fingers are hurting just thinking about it.
2010 has been a year of anticipation and hope: applying to Dental school's, Ben wrapping up his last few classes to graduate, flying to DS interviews, waiting...waiting, and me handing out my unfinished manuscript to an incredibly insightful beta-group.
I might say that 2011 is a brand new chapter, although it feels greater than that to me. More like we're opening an entirely new story. The story of personal milestones: Ben's graduating, we're moving to another state (a much, much hotter one), Ben's starting Dental School, I'll be starting a new job (hopefully), and I'll be submitting my manuscript (aka throwing out my heart and soul to be trampled on by professional critics). Needless to say, I feel blessed to have these sorts of challenges and opportunities--and all the support of great family and friends. There's a lot to be thankful for. And, like everything that happens along this journey we call life, I'm excited to have Ben right there beside me, holding my hand, every step of the way!
