M.I.A.

I've been M.I.A. for the past month, so naturally I should have a plethora of updates for my betrayed blog and "readers". Rest assured, I have just that, a plethora of updates. Sit back, relax, hot cocoa in hand, and soak in what I like to call, "the good life".

Arriving home on Christmas Eve to a snow covered valley, granted me one of my Christmas wishes, a white Christmas! And with the continuation of snow fall that occurred over the next few days, I couldn't have been happier. I thought the snow on the ground, being in the comfort of my own home, and being surrounded by all my childhood Christmas memorabilia would make me feel like it was actually Christmas, that wasn't quite the feeling the atmosphere left me with. Christmas was quiet with just Andrea and I at home. I felt like we were being spoiled for our birthday's, instead of for Christmas. No complaints there, but I definitely missed having my whole family together for the holidays.

I adventured to the slopes on cross country ski's for the first time, good work out, beautiful weather, and fun to be back on the slopes, but at the end of the day I wish I had a board strapped to my feet instead of two ski's and poles in hand. The Sunday after Christmas my whole family was together at last. My amazing Dad got to speak in church. That was the first time in who knows how many years, that the entire family was together in our home ward and got to hear my Dad speak. He did a great job like always, and it was just another testament that I have the greatest family EVER! I still don't know what I did to get so lucky to have them? That night my dearest Mother decided to throw a Candrian style "Open House" and invited family, friends, and neighbors over for a little, after Christmas party. It's always fun to have a bunch of people come over to your house, especially people you care to see. And in this case, I cared to see everyone that stopped by. My good friends Cath, Steph, her husband Ben, and Liz came over, and I think it's safe to say we were the loudest ones there! No surprise, we're usually the loudest people wherever we go, that's part of what makes us so great! Love those girls!

Another highlight of my trip home were the daily lunch dates with good friends I hadn't seen in awhile. There's nothing better than eating good food, hanging out with good friends, and chatting away like we'd never spent months or years apart. I commented to some of my friends that "going to lunch" seems like such a "grown-up" thing to do. Seeing that one of the friends I said this to is pregnant, I guess it's safe to say we've definitely transitioned into that part of life, or at least the "growing up" stage of it. For New Years I spent the night party hopping with Erin in SLC. I don't know what it is about hanging out at big parties with hundreds of strangers, but I much rather people watch, than engage in meaningless conversations with people I probably won't ever see again. I definitely used the excuse of living on the east coast to my advantage that night, so how I managed to have some stranger help me ring in the new year the right way is still a perplexing thought. I still can't believe 2008 has vanished away, where has Christmas gone, even more, how have the last 12 months already disappeared?

The rest of my week at home was spent relaxing, shopping, and hanging out with even more friends than I originally thought I'd see while I was home. I think that's what made my entire trip so great. Being able to see friends I literally haven't seen in years, reminded me that life isn't half bad on the west side! A friend of mine and I adventured down to Provo to watch the BYU vs. Wake Forest game on Saturday night...let's just say that being back in Provo was definitely better than the final score. It was still fun regardless, and like expected, made me miss being back at BYU. I dreaded the approach of Sunday, and although it was a great day, in the sense that I got to see even more friends again, like Erin, Lauren, and Liz, I didn't want to face the fact that when I woke up the next day, I'd be back in D.C., back at work, and back to the real world. I'll admit it, there were tears that night before I headed to the airport to fly back "home", and not just from my Mom's eyes. I didn't expect my trip to be so rewarding, in more ways than one, but it was, and I loved every minute of being home. Now, if I could only figure out how to get paid to do that all year round, life would be even more blissful than it already is. But, alas, I'll have to settle with having rock star status every time I go home. It makes it that much more enjoyable, right?

Note to self: Get adequate sleep the nights leading up to a red eye. Three Advil P.M. doesn't always ensure you a good night's sleep, especially on a plane. Then coming straight to work from the airport with about 10 total hours of sleep in me over the past three days, makes for a very long work week. But it's Friday, and I've managed to last an entire week! It's a New Years miracle!!! I think this weekend will be spent in hibernation mode.