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2009 Christmas and New Year
Jan. 7th, 2010 05:06 pmThe 2009 holidays were pretty good overall. I went home to PA for two weeks because one of the (few) benefits of being unemployed is that you can travel without worrying about missing work. The only thing I needed to worry about was caring for Lyric and Lyre, but a friend came in every few days and fed them, cleaned their litter box, etc. They missed me though, and I can tell they don't ever want me to leave again!
I took two days to drive home, and I arrived on the 22nd. On the 23rd we went Christmas shopping. Dad got some earrings for mom, and they both bought me some books. The 24th we baked cookies. It's the same recipe we've been using since I was a little girl. They're sugar cookies, and we roll out the dough then use cookies cutters. Dad and my brother (who arrived Christmas Eve) don't care about the shapes of the cookies, but mom and I have our favorites. Mom's are the candle stick and the crescent moon, and mine are the teddy bear and the cat. I actually like the bear best, probably because we didn't have the cat when I was a child so it's not prominent in the childhood memories.
On Christmas I woke up around 8:30, and my brother woke up after 10:00. I remember the days when we used to get up at 3:00 or 4:00 to see if Santa came. How did we manage that? Anyway, Christmas was pretty good. We had a white Christmas, and the snow was pretty. I knew what most of my Christmas gifts were going to be, but I still liked them. I got a dozen books, two bracelets, and a pair of earrings. Two surprises were a sun catcher with cats on it as well as a hanging sign chosen by dad that reads: "I love my life because it's littered with cats." Christmas dinner was pretty good too, and no one noticed that I substituted vegetable broth for chicken broth in the stuffing. :) After dinner we mostly watched TV and just relaxed.
The 26th nothing much happened. We had been hoping to go to Hershey Park and see the Christmas lights, but it rained all day. We did go on the 27th, but Walt left that morning so he couldn't come with us. My family used to go to Hershey to see the lights every year. First we went to Chocolate World and took the ride that tells you how Hershey chocolate is made. It's changed over the years, and this time was new as well. I generally like it, but the singing cows disturbed me. After that we saw the lights outside in Hershey Park. They're very pretty, and while not all the rides operate in the winter, some do. We rode the merry-go-round, and dad and I went on the sky ride. We stayed until almost 9:00, which is late for mom and dad.
December 30th was probable one of the best days of the trip! I met![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
andiyana in Lancaster after she got off work, and we went to Philadelphia to see Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers. I was a bit ambivalent about them, but andiyana is a huge fan, and I figured a concert in Philly would be fun. Boy am I glad I went!! They are amazing!! I can't even describe the show. All I can say is that if you EVER get a chance to see them live, DO IT!! We didn't get back from the show until 4:00 am, and we accidentally ended up in New Jersey on the way, but it was worth it!
December 31st, aside from being New Year's Eve is also my mom's birthday! I was pretty bleary eyed from the late night before, but it was still a good day. Mom had opened her birthday presents on Christmas (they were all wrapped under the tree), but we wished her Happy Birthday, and dad baked an angel food cake. It's my grandmother's recipe, and it's tradition in my family. Everyone gets a homemade angel food cake on their birthday. We also went out to dinner with some friends of mom and dad's. We went to a restaurant they like which I'd never been to before. It was very good though! We'll have to go back when I'm home again. After dinner I watched UT play Virginia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, and the less said about that the better. At midnight I watched the ball drop in Times Square.
The last few days of my trip were pretty quiet.andiyana visited my parents' house, and we watched some movies. My car got an oil change, and I spent time with mom, dad, and the kitty. I left January 4th and got back here the 5th. It was a nice vacation.
For those who are interested, there are some pictures under the cut.
( 2009 Holidays )
I took two days to drive home, and I arrived on the 22nd. On the 23rd we went Christmas shopping. Dad got some earrings for mom, and they both bought me some books. The 24th we baked cookies. It's the same recipe we've been using since I was a little girl. They're sugar cookies, and we roll out the dough then use cookies cutters. Dad and my brother (who arrived Christmas Eve) don't care about the shapes of the cookies, but mom and I have our favorites. Mom's are the candle stick and the crescent moon, and mine are the teddy bear and the cat. I actually like the bear best, probably because we didn't have the cat when I was a child so it's not prominent in the childhood memories.
On Christmas I woke up around 8:30, and my brother woke up after 10:00. I remember the days when we used to get up at 3:00 or 4:00 to see if Santa came. How did we manage that? Anyway, Christmas was pretty good. We had a white Christmas, and the snow was pretty. I knew what most of my Christmas gifts were going to be, but I still liked them. I got a dozen books, two bracelets, and a pair of earrings. Two surprises were a sun catcher with cats on it as well as a hanging sign chosen by dad that reads: "I love my life because it's littered with cats." Christmas dinner was pretty good too, and no one noticed that I substituted vegetable broth for chicken broth in the stuffing. :) After dinner we mostly watched TV and just relaxed.
The 26th nothing much happened. We had been hoping to go to Hershey Park and see the Christmas lights, but it rained all day. We did go on the 27th, but Walt left that morning so he couldn't come with us. My family used to go to Hershey to see the lights every year. First we went to Chocolate World and took the ride that tells you how Hershey chocolate is made. It's changed over the years, and this time was new as well. I generally like it, but the singing cows disturbed me. After that we saw the lights outside in Hershey Park. They're very pretty, and while not all the rides operate in the winter, some do. We rode the merry-go-round, and dad and I went on the sky ride. We stayed until almost 9:00, which is late for mom and dad.
December 30th was probable one of the best days of the trip! I met
andiyana in Lancaster after she got off work, and we went to Philadelphia to see Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers. I was a bit ambivalent about them, but andiyana is a huge fan, and I figured a concert in Philly would be fun. Boy am I glad I went!! They are amazing!! I can't even describe the show. All I can say is that if you EVER get a chance to see them live, DO IT!! We didn't get back from the show until 4:00 am, and we accidentally ended up in New Jersey on the way, but it was worth it! December 31st, aside from being New Year's Eve is also my mom's birthday! I was pretty bleary eyed from the late night before, but it was still a good day. Mom had opened her birthday presents on Christmas (they were all wrapped under the tree), but we wished her Happy Birthday, and dad baked an angel food cake. It's my grandmother's recipe, and it's tradition in my family. Everyone gets a homemade angel food cake on their birthday. We also went out to dinner with some friends of mom and dad's. We went to a restaurant they like which I'd never been to before. It was very good though! We'll have to go back when I'm home again. After dinner I watched UT play Virginia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, and the less said about that the better. At midnight I watched the ball drop in Times Square.
The last few days of my trip were pretty quiet.
andiyana visited my parents' house, and we watched some movies. My car got an oil change, and I spent time with mom, dad, and the kitty. I left January 4th and got back here the 5th. It was a nice vacation.For those who are interested, there are some pictures under the cut.
( 2009 Holidays )
