Heading South for the Winter

December 23-17, 2012

My favorite Shark's tooth

 I hit a first in the Christmas realm this year – I headed south. Joining all of the other snowbirds, I headed to Florida for a short break in the cold winter months. As my Dad was there for the winter, I spent Christmas with him, my Aunt, Uncle, and cousin. Did it feel like Christmas? Well, I had a closer glimpse at what it might be like to live in the Southern Hemisphere in December: we went to the beach to look for sharks’ teeth, borrowed the neighbor’s gulf cart to go on a Christmas Lights tour around the park, and even made to the pool on one occasion.

Dad on the bridge of our canopy walk

Still the regular traditions shown through the unusual atmosphere: classic Christmas movies, amazing food (yeah Uncle Erv), and a special time with family. 

Blankets with Sleeves

December 18, 2012

I saw this on pinterest and thought it was absolutely hilarious....

Then, low and behold, what does my boss get me for Christmas?

Bless.

Peppermint Shake Hunt

December 8, 2012

            On November 13^th, I found the following ad in my email inbox:

On Decemeber 7^th, my Chick-fil-a milkshake buddy, Laura Messerly, was passing through Durham on her way home to Maryland. I had decided I was going to hold out until then to have my first peppermint shake of the season.

December 7^th came. She arrived, and we headed up the road to Chick-fil-a. We even invited a third person to enjoy one of these wonderful shakes for the first time. Tragedy struck 3.2 seconds after we walked in the door. The ice cream machine was broken! As it was nearing closing time for the store, we were rocked so horrifically we didn’t quite know how to cope.

As we headed outside, we determined we didn’t have enough time to make it to the next Chick-fil-a before it closed. Shakes still needed to happen, so we headed down the road to Cookout.

The next morning, we rallied our spirits and decided to give it one final effort. After all, we both had waited 25 days for this. Success was achieved. That peppermint goodness was well worth the effort.

The Christmas Season

Christmas has arrived in Apt A. 

The garland is hung. 

The tree is shimmering. 

A cold chill is in the air. I love this time of year! This year an added bonus exists in the form of my roommate. She is from Taiwan. I love telling her about the crazy traditions that Americans have around the holidays. For one of them, I decided to show her instead of just tell her. And here is the result:

Paper Snow Flakes!