It's Christmas Time

We hosted a Christmas party for our friends and immediate family (Art's siblings Mari and Joe, and our friends Phil, Wayne, Sozan, and Jeremy) on Monday. I cooked and cleaned all day; definitely a first for me. Sozan helped with the cooking for a couple of hours, then spent the rest of the afternoon shoveling everything in sight. It's hilarious to watch that woman shovel snow. She's originally from Texas. Use your imagination.

The guys spent most of the evening playing games. Believe it or not, we had a really hard time convincing them to eat! I guess Settlers of Catan is highly addictive. Let's see if I can recall what we prepared:

Rice
Slow cooker lasagna
Three types of chicken
Meatballs
Lumpia
Cheese ball
Cheese cubes
Spinach dip
TONS of mashed potatoes. WAAAAAAY too many.
Three types of chips
Three boxes of crackers
Cake
Homemade taco dip

I think that's it. Believe me, there was a lot more uneaten than eaten. And I won't even mention the food that was brought but not even prepared. We had a feast! What's funny is that by the time I announced that dinner was officially ready, I wasn't really hungry. I guess I snacked more than I thought I did. All that work, and I couldn't even enjoy it. But I tried. I ate anyway. It's not considered gluttony at Christmas, right?

We had a Secret Santa gift exchange. I got new slippers, dice (because I love playing dice so much, and I kind of stole Wayne and Sozan's dice), and TWO puzzles! The limit was $25, so I kind of can't believe that I got all that. I've already started one of the puzzles (surprise surprise), and it's tough, which is good.

After we all opened our gifts, it was back to the games. I'm sorry I don't have any photos to show you. I was so busy having fun that I forgot to take pictures!

Yesterday was spent mostly recovering from the party. Aka, cleaning.

And today? Christmas Eve? Was perfect.

It's been snowing like crazy, so the world is so white and beautiful. Art and I opened our gifts from each other, and watched a couple of movies. Right now, we're eating leftovers, and as soon as I hit "publish", I'm going to back to my puzzle.

I'll be honest. It finally happened. I miss my family. But this is not a sad Christmas season for me. I got a white Christmas, wonderful new friends and family, and my most favorite person here beside me (that would be Art). I have no complaints. No tears.

No matter who you are, and where you are, I pray that today finds you full of peace, and surrounded by love. Merry Christmas everyone.