Songs In Blue

I had an awesome Christmas! Yeah, it was a little weird with the nice hot weather and hearing stories of the massive snow fall back home, but it was so much fun!
The morning started with breakfast and opening presents.  I got a beach bag/towel and the sweetest gift EVER from Matt.  I wasn’t expecting anything from him since he already put some money towards my camera, but he got me a photo album and filled it with photos of my friends and family.  A note in it said, “Just in case you miss your family. Love, Matt” and the album ended with a photo of us.  I may or may not have cried.  Dude did good!

After that, we mostly hung out and watched movies then started getting dinner and drinks ready.  A few of Matt’s extended family came over for the meal and the night ended at 1am with *mostly* everyone playing SingStar (new favourite game).  I have a bunch of photos up on flickr, so go check them out!

Tomorrow we start our road trip to Mt Maunganui!  6 days on a beach…there are no words to describe how excited I am.  It’ll be so nice to chill for a week before having to go back to work.  I’m sure I’ll have a ton of photos to make you all jealous when I get back.

There’s only a week until Christmas and it’s just started to feel like the holidays.  Only because I’ve sent this week buying and wrapping Christmas presents, sending out cards and will be doing some baking this weekend.  I’ll be attempting to make my mom’s fudge balls, candy cane bark, and maybe even egg nog.
Although I’ve done it before, it’s so weird to have a summer Christmas…then I think about spending the break on the beach in Mt Maunganui and all feelings of missing snow disappear.  Funny that.

I think the weirdest thing about not being home for Christmas is missing out on all the traditions I’m used to.  We pick out a tree and use it to light our house for the month of December, everyone’s allowed to open one gift on Christmas eve, and there’s always a gift under tree from ‘Santa’.  Stockings get opened first on Christmas Day, and dinner is always turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potato, corn, peas, stuffing and gravy.  We do those things whether we’re with Dad or Mom, if we’re in a car on the way to Grandma’s, or in Dad’s city apartment.
It’s a good thing I can handle change.

We’ll be heading up to Matt’s mom’s house after I finish work on Christmas Eve (so wrong to work that day!) and spending a couple nights there.  Matt’s talked up the family Christmas Dinner, so I’m really looking forward to it.  He’s in charge of alcohol (thanks to his bartending experience) and will be making what he says are real bellinis.  Apparently the Cactus Club version back home doesn’t count. I personally don’t care either way, just as long as my glass is full.
I’ll be bringing any of my weekend baking that my flat mates (and I) don’t get to first.  Everyone else is bringing food too so we’ll end up with ham, salads, BBQ meat, turkey (just like home!), and lots of dessert.

Then it’s no work and all beach until the 5th…it’ll be grand!