Playing Catch-Up

Cliche Warning:

I've been so busy living my life I haven't had time to tell you about it.......

(sorry about that....I did warn you.)

It is true though.....I haven't updated in a while and I realized I needed to just jump into it today.

To catch you all up on my life...... I finished my first semester at Western and have been home for about 2 weeks now. I had a wonderful Christmas and I hope everyone else did too. On Christmas Eve my family had our annual dinner (quiche, asparagus, yummy orange jell-o my mom always makes), got all dressed up and headed to church for the special Christmas Eve service, went for a drive around downtown to admire all the beautiful holiday lights, and came home to new pajamas! (Does anyone else get Christmas pajamas every year?) My family holds our traditions strong and have probably been doing all of those events in order since my birth....seriously. 

Every year there's this point at the end of the church service where a light is passed around the whole congregation so that everyone is holding a lit candle and we all sing Silent Night. Don't get me wrong this has always been my favorite part of the whole experience, but my anxiety sky rockets. There are so many things that could go wrong! Think about it......little kids and old people with candles.....old people's hands shake (not a good condition for holding open flames in an old building made of a bunch of wood), and little kids most often can't sit still let alone be trusted with fire. I also have this irrational fear that someone will light my hair on fire. I know I sound crazy, but it's the truth. I shared this thought with my family this year who all just proceeded to laugh and make fun of me (typical). When we took our seats in the balcony, a family sat down behind us....and of course a little squirmy girl was directly behind me (who my brother kept reassuring me would light my hair on fire by the end of the night). Luckily nothing bad happened and I managed to escape with a full head of hair. 

Christmas morning, my family woke up and opened stocking at my house before packing into the car and traveling the empty streets to my grandparents house (another family tradition). We ate breakfast, opened stockings and gifts, laughed a lot, ate more food, and gathered around at the end of the day to watch Julie & Julia. My family always picks a movie (usually one that was received that day) to watch during dinner. This year my grandparents were given a Blue-Ray player, thus we had to try out a new blue-ray movie (holy clear picture!) I love technology sometimes! I got some new UGGs (yay), which I needed because my old ones had no fuzz left in them and were gouging the back of my ankle. I also got things like socks and a coffee maker, and more stuff that I'm not going to take the time to list but am very thankful for. I can't wait to try out my iPod arm band holder next time I run....it'll be so much nicer than holding it the whole time.

(what was your favorite Christmas gift this year?)

In the last couple of days I've been relaxing.....eating leftovers, sleeping in, playing Xbox Kinect games with my family, watching Doctor Who and hanging out with my long lost friends Samantha and Gabby. Yesterday, I finally tried out the free week of classes at Yen Yoga and Fitness I received in my Turkey Trot race packet. Sam and I planned on going to Power Yoga at 11:45 but were running a little late, so we decided to go to Vinyasa I/II Yoga at noon instead. I loved Yen's atmosphere and decor. Tucked in right downtown Traverse City, the inside is fresh and mellow, just the perfect place to relax. The classrooms were small but nice and slightly heated which felt great....I want to test out their Hot Yoga sometime this week as well. It felt good to do some yoga after all the stress of the end of semester/holiday. The class flowed nicely and was the gentle stretch I needed to get back into the swing. The only downside of the class was my slippery mat. I brought my own mat to class that I got last year for Christmas, but my hands and feet kept sliding out from where I placed them and I could barely stay in downward dog for more than 3 breathes. :( Overall though I felt great after and can't wait for another class.