Christmas Break

I've taken a 2.5 week blogging/writing hiatus by accident, without telling my 5 readers, and I'd like to apologize.  But I'm BACK after a glorious break at home in Dallas!  I was so excited to go home I could hardly stand it and I'd been secretly counting down the days since we bought our tickets in September.  I really like our lives here in Dublin and we've only been here 6 months but damnit, it was so good to be home.

So right now we're in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and I just watched a pretty sad movie and I'm feeling a little down and have a sinking feeling that I hope passes soon.  Drew is snoring in his seat next to me.  Lucky.  We're on our way back after an amazing and fabulous and wonderful winter break in Dallas.  And I'm not gonna lie: it was hard to leave.  I was hoping it wouldn't be but it was.  Saying goodbye to Annie (my niece) was the absolute worst and I can't stop looking at pics and videos of her.  And now I'm crying again.  DAMNIT!  Must stop.  Making a scene.  I cried a little telling my parents bye and a little when the plane left Dallas, and Drew and I have been relatively quiet all day/night, but...it will get better.  It's always hard to go back to real life after a fun break, even if you're staying right there in the same city.  And we have to remember that our real life is exactly where we want it to be, in Europe, where our HOME is now.  Which is a weird concept but one that I don't want to forget or take for granted.

So...the break...

My silly mama at the airport with her homemade sign!

Things I was looking forward to:
Annie and Murphy.  Murphy and Annie.
Our families and friends!
Eating at Houston's and Mi Cocina and Coal Vines and Picasso's and Vickery Tavern
Annie and Murphy.

Things I was scared/nervous about:
Splitting time evenly with families.  Territorial family members.  Etc.
That I'll never want to leave.
Spreading myself too thin and not getting to spend quality time with the people I want to.
That leaving will be as sad and tearful as it was in July.
That I'll never want to leave.

I'm happy to report that there was nothing to be nervous about because those bad things didn't happen and the break was so wonderful and fun and it couldn't have gone better in my opinion!  Our families couldn't have been better or nicer or more accommodating and fun.  I got to see all my friends a LOT and loved it.  I got to celebrate new babies and pregnancies and baby showers and feel like I was a tiny part of their lives even though I'm far away.  And I got a lot of great quality time with Beth and Blake and John and Lauren and Annie and Murphy, which was so wonderful.  And boyyyyyy did we eat.  We ate like we were trying to move up a weight class in wrestling.  We went to every restaurant we loved (some of them twice) and ate and drank and ate some more.  And while I'm definitely going home with some holiday weight, I don't regret a single bite cause it was all a damn good time and it'll be off in a week!  Or by February.  Who knows.  But the break was a huge success and we had the best time and it's probably a huge blessing to have a hometown that's so hard to leave.

Christmas dinner with our poppers!

I'm generally into resolutions for the new year but I also hate them because if I don't do them then I feel like a Big Fat F-ing Failure (BFFF).  Last year ours was to have a "positive, life-changing experience." CHECK!  I don't think I'm making any "set" goals/resolutions but I think I'm making a list of things I'm looking forward to doing.  And I actually like the new year and the feeling of hopefulness it brings - even if you live in a relatively dark, rainy country and don't have Christmas to look forward to anymore and have the upcoming PWC busy season to deal with.  BUT I like being hopeful and in this particular time in my life, I like the fact that I have absolutely no clue what this year can bring.  And that's new for me...but exciting at the same time.  Woohooo!  So...what am I looking forward to?  Starting to run again!  Dropping some lbs.  Feeling good again physically.  Cooking new and exciting things that intimidate me!  Reading more!  Taking more classes!  Writing more!  Blogging more!  Getting more involved in the city!  Making better use of my time!  Making a "30 Before 30" list!  Traveling!  I feel good about all of these things and I need to write them down and hang them up somewhere so I don't forget.  Drew would like to make more of an effort with his correspondence and communication with people he loves, which I love.  So...2013!  Gonna be a great year!  God willing!  I can't stop using exclamation points!

That's all for now.  I'll upload some pics and write about more specifics this week.  Now we're gonna go hop in bed and attempt to sleep through the night, since we haven't been able to yet.  Damn jet lag.  Alright, goodnight!