Monday, December 29, 2014

Christmas

I cannot believe that it has been almost a week since my birthday!  I swear time speeds up every single day.  I don't even know what I've been doing with myself.  Okay, I do know.  Lots of running, lots of exercising, lots of laughing with good friends.  We have one more week off school and then it's back to the grind.



Ever since I can remember, we have had a party on Christmas Eve.  I always spent Christmas Eve with my mom and Christmas with my dad.  Even though we are adults now, nothing has changed.  We eat crab and play games.


We also always get new pjs to open.


My favorite part of Christmas Eve, of course, was playing with this little one.



We used to wake up at the crack of dawn to open gifts.  And by the crack of dawn, I mean 4:30am.  This tradition lasted well into our late teens.  Then, we grew up and started sleeping in.  This year, my brother was really sick and took 2 Benadryl, so we woke up later than we ever have before.  Santa always brought us one gift that our mother couldn't afford.  That tradition still hasn't changed.  This year, Santa brought me a camera!  But my brother won Best Gift of the year.  He always does.


We got Christmas Crackers in our stockings this year, so the morning was spent wearing crowns.



Even my grandma gets a stocking!  And a crown, of course.


After eating breakfast and drinking coffee, we mozied over to my dad's house where he raked in the gifts.


My brother and I both had colds, so we were a little groggy on the couch together.


I got something I've had on my Amazon wish list for at least 2 years.  A heart rate monitor!  I was so excited.


My brother got golf clubs.  I didn't even realize that he likes to golf.


Then it was time to put the new present to use and go for a run.  It was beautiful outside and I just kept going until I had hit an hour.  I did a little at-home strength training when I was done running.


Milo was a huge help and spotted me.


Dad made us bison roast for dinner.  Here he is in his natural habitat: the kitchen.


My brother sat around drinking wine and looking classy.


I drank a lot of tea out of my new favorite mug.


My sister and brother-in-law napped.


I also posed in front of my dad's tree in the other shirt my brother gave me.


After dinner, we spent time in the living room just hanging out with each other.  We like each other a lot.


My dad and brother had their ping-pong tournament. 


And this little one joined the party after a long Christmas nap.


She opened her presents and my brother read to her.


It was another really great Christmas.  After the craziness of my birthday and the partying on Christmas Eve, Christmas always feels so mellow and relaxed.  I love the feeling.


Tell me about your favorite Christmas present ever.


8 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh, I love that tank top, I love that mug LOL, and you look fabulous! How do you keep up your muscle mass with the running? I find that when I fun high mileage it's hard to keep my arms 'buff' LOL. (As if they're ever buff!). You know what I mean. :)

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    1. Thank you! I strength train 5 days a week on top of running every day, so I think that is how I maintain muscle mass. There are some days when I get done running and just sit on the couch for the rest of the day, though, so it varies from week to week!

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  2. I wish your family would adopt me! It looks like you all have such a good time together!

    That tank top cracks me up!!

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    1. We'd love to adopt you! Come to California. You will really fit right in. Teacher, gluten-free, Jewish. We're all of those things too. :-D (Well, my step-family is Jewish, I just eat the food and watch the lighting of the candles.)

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  3. Your brother has amazing taste in shirts. :) Looks like you had a wonderful Christmas. When do you go back to work?

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    1. My brother really does have amazing taste! We go back to school on the 5th. Way too close for comfort!

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  4. Okay, I don't mean to creep you out, and it may be partly the wine to blame (I only had 3 sips so far) but this post made a couple tears fall down my face. :) To me, it depicts what Christmas is all about... family and love. :) So much to say...

    1. Your legs look amazing in the first photograph.
    2. Your arms also look awesome and I love the 2 shirts you got!
    3. That pic of your Grandma... it is just so perfect. I love it. Just shows that you're never ever too old for anything.
    4. You will have to tell us about your HR monitor adventures.
    5. Your brother and dad are very cute.
    6. You are beautiful.
    7. Your fam looks like a lot of fun!!!

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    1. You are SO sweet! Thank you for all of the compliments. I have already left my HR watch at the gym. I lasted all of 3 days.... Also, your family and my family would probably mesh really well together so we should probably have a get-together.

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