D Family Christmas

Last year I had just gotten to Germany, therefore I was all by myself on Christmas. It was pretty tough, Skyping with my parents and friends back in the states while I ate canned soup and watched a "Moonlighting" marathon on British television. Now that my parents live here too, about an hour from me, they decided that this year will be Epic Christmas of 2009/2010. Let the picture show begin:

We woke around 0700, due to hungry kittens, and discovered that it snowed a TON overnight. You can't really see it from the picture, but it was still snowing. I think it's still snowing now.

We all got some lovely gifts, but the highlight for me was the set of Betsey Johnson necklaces. She's my favorite. Dad and I got mom a carved wood Bookkeeper that she got teary about, so I think she liked it.

After we were done ripping into the gifts, the cats felt the need to inspect every piece of wrapping paper and empty box.

Then, while dad cleaned up the wrapping paper remnants, mom and I made our traditional homemade donuts.

After a short rest, we decided to venture out into the snow. This is the only time I like snow; when I don't have to drive in it.

My parents have a castle in their town. I love that they put a tree on the very top of it.


Later in the day, mom made our usual Christmas dinner of ham, garlic potatoes, and green bean casserole. Does anyone else put cheese in theirs? It's amazing that way.

We ended the night with apple pie (not pictured, we ate it too fast to capture on camera) and Skyping with my Aunt, Uncle, and cousins.

Merry Christmas everyone. I hope yours was as warm as mine.

You can check out more pictures from today on my Flickr.

Reverb- December 8

Beautifully Different. Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different- You'll find they're what makes you beautiful.

I'd like to think my positivity is what makes me "beautifully different." I am mercilessly positive about things. I also love to make people laugh; I feel that I've got an "in" if I make someone laugh and that's usually how I break the ice when I'm meeting new people.

Reverb- December 7

Community. Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create, or more deeply connect with in 2011?

In the past two months, I have become friends with some of the best people in Heidelberg. I've been lucky enough to find a group of people that I have a ton in common with and that I can have fun with doing just about anything, from going out drinking to staying in and playing board games.
Next year, I hope I can cultivate these friendships even more and go on more adventures with them!

Reverb- December 6

Make. What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it?

I've made quite a few things lately, to include cupcakes and an ugly Christmas sweater, but the thing I'm most proud of is my Halloween costume. I went as a peacock:
The dress was $10 at the Gap, I bought it about 5 years ago. I put an Old Navy shrug over it.

The hat was made out of a piece of felt, hot glued at the back and black pipe cleaners hot glued to the crease.

The tail was made from teal blue material, cut into a feather pattern. Then I hot glued felt circles on the ends of the feathers and used black pipe cleaners and black Sharpie to make the lines. Then I glued PVC pipes to the sides and some of the lines, connecting the bottom part to the pink and white belt.

It was a good design because it also folded down into a tail that I could bend down by my legs. The only downside was that when the tail was up, I had to walk sideways to get through doors and I kept knocking into people. It made for a memorable evening.

Reverb- December 5

Let Go. What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why?

I let go of the man I was in a relationship with for almost a year. I won't go into details, but I will say that long distance relationships rarely work. I also truly believe that he wasn't the one I was meant to be with, so in the end it was the best decision I could have made. Of course, there are always moments when I regret my actions, or think maybe it could have turned out differently, but I have to trust in myself that everything happens for a reason.

Reverb- December 4

Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year?

I'm still pretty much in awe that I'm living my dream in Germany. Each day was a new experience for me, especially when I was on the road so much. There were three weeks in July and August that I probably saw over 5,000 people and was able to see how what I was a part of was affecting them.

Reverb- December 3

I'm back. It's been way too long and to be honest, I've been using Facebook to fill the void that blogging once took care of.
I'm sort of participating in Reverb 10, which will be my best way to catch you up on the last year of my life.

December 3- Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors).

I always feel most alive at concerts. The initial rush of the crowd as the main event mans the stage, the screaming that beats through your heart louder than the bass chords, people touching you, thrumming with your body as you lose yourself in that one perfect song. Them Crooked Vultures made that moment for me. Josh Homme, with his swively Elvis hips and Dave Grohl, my hero for years, they made me feel alive in that Luxembourg arena, screaming lyrics with a crowd that spoke more languages than the United Nations. Everyone was equal, we all knew the music, that was our common thread. No worries about offending anyone, hurting anyone, just losing yourself in perfect rhythms.