I'll try to catch up, but it's pretty much impossible at this point
So. I'm in Canada. Busy of course. And if you read taji0143's journal, you know that she is here as well - she decided at the last minute (and I mean last - she was at the airport about 6 hours after buying the ticket) to fly in on Thursday. We both fly back Jan 3rd, but on different flights.
It's been a good trip so far. The last few days before flying in were good as well. I finished up my Christmas shopping as best I could, and emailed my mom a request to pick up some gift cards for people here for whom I hadn't bought anything. On Saturday we went to Chipotle with Brandon and Jennifer and exchanged our gifts - they made the fabulous choice of giving us a Smitten Kitten gift card :) Can't wait to go back and spend that one. We also did the traditional pre-travel IHOP meal with bigbluejoe. Christmas eve was at Leah's parents' house. It was really good - good food, lots of laughing, watched the kids open their presents (which they did early since I was not going to be there on Christmas Day). A few of us went to church at 10pm and, I cried in the middle of the service. It was happy crying, because the night had been SO good and warm and I felt so much a part of their family, but I think it freaked Leah out a little bit. The best part was that she asked her mom for tissues, and she didn't have any, but asked Leah's aunt, who hands a pressed, dainty, flower-print handkerchief down the row to me. At which point I really didn't need it anymore, because I was laughing. It was just NOT what I was expecting.
After the service we went home to finish making some of the gifts I was bringing back to Canada, then we opened our gifts to each other. Leah cannot keep a secret, so I knew everything that I was getting: 2 scarves from H&M, a pottery serving dish purchased at Ren Fest, body wash from Bath & Body Works (the caramel popcorn scent is so yummy), a cute facecloth with a hedgehog on it, from Patina, and a GPS unit (the Magellan Explorist 210, for those who care).
I didn't even pack until Monday morning - it is nice to have a later flight, we were not rushing to get to the airport at all (in fact as we were driving in, we both realized it was too early - that is what happens when you live 5 minutes from the airport I guess). My trip was fine, other than a 70-min delay of my flight from Chicago to Toronto. Luckily I was only scheduled for 45 min between flights, so even with the delay it wasn't too horribly long. Having an iPod and a laptop with several seasons of Sex and the City DVD's helped with that as well.
My crazy family waited up for me, so I heated up my Christmas dinner at 1145pm and we were opening presents at midnight. I got a lot of cash, which has been really useful this week since I couldn't really afford this trip. Although at some point in the near future (after getting the bigger paycheck from finals week?) I will buy some new Keens, and that will be the real Christmas-cash gift to myself.
The rest of the week so far has been the usual - running around visiting family, shopping with girlhighday and today with Leah, and going to a movie with my parents' movie passes, which they don't seem to understand are supposed to be for THEM. (We saw Night at the Museum, which was cute and funny, as we had only dared to hope that it would be. I'm sure the rest of our visit will be more of the same, plus going bowling and having chinese food on New Years Day, which is our family tradition.
I hope that everyone had a good Christmas (and any other holidays you celebrate at this time of year... especially thanks to purpleyarrow for her posts about Yule that made me sit and contemplate and be happy about the return of the sun, even though I didn't do any formal celebrating this year). Catching up on LJ required hanging out at a coffee place tonight, so if I don't have time to do that again, then see you all in the new year!
It's been a good trip so far. The last few days before flying in were good as well. I finished up my Christmas shopping as best I could, and emailed my mom a request to pick up some gift cards for people here for whom I hadn't bought anything. On Saturday we went to Chipotle with Brandon and Jennifer and exchanged our gifts - they made the fabulous choice of giving us a Smitten Kitten gift card :) Can't wait to go back and spend that one. We also did the traditional pre-travel IHOP meal with bigbluejoe. Christmas eve was at Leah's parents' house. It was really good - good food, lots of laughing, watched the kids open their presents (which they did early since I was not going to be there on Christmas Day). A few of us went to church at 10pm and, I cried in the middle of the service. It was happy crying, because the night had been SO good and warm and I felt so much a part of their family, but I think it freaked Leah out a little bit. The best part was that she asked her mom for tissues, and she didn't have any, but asked Leah's aunt, who hands a pressed, dainty, flower-print handkerchief down the row to me. At which point I really didn't need it anymore, because I was laughing. It was just NOT what I was expecting.
After the service we went home to finish making some of the gifts I was bringing back to Canada, then we opened our gifts to each other. Leah cannot keep a secret, so I knew everything that I was getting: 2 scarves from H&M, a pottery serving dish purchased at Ren Fest, body wash from Bath & Body Works (the caramel popcorn scent is so yummy), a cute facecloth with a hedgehog on it, from Patina, and a GPS unit (the Magellan Explorist 210, for those who care).
I didn't even pack until Monday morning - it is nice to have a later flight, we were not rushing to get to the airport at all (in fact as we were driving in, we both realized it was too early - that is what happens when you live 5 minutes from the airport I guess). My trip was fine, other than a 70-min delay of my flight from Chicago to Toronto. Luckily I was only scheduled for 45 min between flights, so even with the delay it wasn't too horribly long. Having an iPod and a laptop with several seasons of Sex and the City DVD's helped with that as well.
My crazy family waited up for me, so I heated up my Christmas dinner at 1145pm and we were opening presents at midnight. I got a lot of cash, which has been really useful this week since I couldn't really afford this trip. Although at some point in the near future (after getting the bigger paycheck from finals week?) I will buy some new Keens, and that will be the real Christmas-cash gift to myself.
The rest of the week so far has been the usual - running around visiting family, shopping with girlhighday and today with Leah, and going to a movie with my parents' movie passes, which they don't seem to understand are supposed to be for THEM. (We saw Night at the Museum, which was cute and funny, as we had only dared to hope that it would be. I'm sure the rest of our visit will be more of the same, plus going bowling and having chinese food on New Years Day, which is our family tradition.
I hope that everyone had a good Christmas (and any other holidays you celebrate at this time of year... especially thanks to purpleyarrow for her posts about Yule that made me sit and contemplate and be happy about the return of the sun, even though I didn't do any formal celebrating this year). Catching up on LJ required hanging out at a coffee place tonight, so if I don't have time to do that again, then see you all in the new year!