Christmas in ABQ

On Saturday, we got back to BG after spending nearly two weeks with our families in Albuquerque for Christmas. It had been a year since either of us was there, and it was great to spend some quality time with everyone and enjoy the local food. This year was unique because Mark's older sister and her family were in town, too (they usually come at Thanksgiving rather than Christmas). So our Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with the Cook side was especially nice--our niece and nephew are so fun to have around.

For me, it always seems at the beginning of our trip that we have lots of time and surely we'll be able to see everyone and do everything that we'd like to do. By the end, though we are, in many ways, ready to come home (and to get a good night's sleep in our own bed!), there always seem to be things I'd hoped to do that don't happen. For example, I just remembered this morning that I'd talked to my sister a few weeks back about watching Tomorrow When the War Began together on Netflix, but it never even occurred to me while we were there. So, Julie, if you read this, let's both try to remember to make that happen next time we're in the same place!

The other thing that happens at Christmas is we are overwhelmed by the generosity of both families, and we come home with a lot of new stuff! Thankfully, we were able to get it all home in our luggage, with only one small snafoo in security leaving ABQ (they didn't like the looks of the sword with Mark's new dragon figurine, but a supervisor let it through!).

It turns out I'm not great about consistently taking pictures, but here are a few:

The table set for the annual Mother-Daughter Tea

Christmas morning--opening gifts at my parents' house

...with Grandma

 Other highlights not captured by my camera:

• Christmas Eve and Christmas Day--all the traditions, family, and food--my favorite parts of the trip!
• At least one day with green chile at every meal! :-)
• Shopping, shopping, and more shopping (with Mom G, Mom C, Grandma, and Julie)
• My Dad taking Mark's nephew for a couple of rides in his Ford Model A
• Planning a stained glass window with Grandpa Mike
• Lunch with some ladies from the staff at Hoffmantown
• Christmas open house at the C's (with the best carne adovada in the world!)
• Beautiful NM scenery--snow topped mountains with bright blue sky!

Overall, it was a great trip, and I'm also glad we'll be heading back before Christmas next year (when Katie graduates in May!).

Now that we're back in BG, we've enjoyed a couple of quiet days of hanging out, but we'll both need to get serious about preparing for the spring semester soon--we go back to school one week from today. We've also had some very wintery weather--here's a view out the sliding glass door (pardon the distortion from the screen). The icicles out there now are well over a foot long!

End of Semester Celebrations

Well, the semester is officially over! It was certainly an intense one, but Mark and I both made it through. He passed his comps (big deal!) and finished some major final projects, and I survived my teaching overload. Besides finishing the work of the end of the semester, I've been celebrating the holidays with friends. First, my friend Angela organized another trip to the Swan House in Findlay. People around here think it's the best tea house in the area, and the price is reasonable, too!

We had the ladies at a neighboring table take this pic of us.

And here's the lovely tray of food.

That was last Saturday. This week was finals week, and I hosted my own tea party on Tuesday. I tried out several new recipes, which were all well-received, and there was a good turn out. Here's some pics of that event.

Self-serve tea & hot chocolate

Cucumber sandwiches...

...and cheese & crackers (so simple, but such a hit!)

Chocolate peppermint sandwich cookies (center) and coconut lime bars (right)

Spicy chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin spice chai short bread (left);
cranberry banana bread w/honey butter (center)

A few of my guests!

So, amid the stress of finishing another semester, there's been some great chances to spend time with friends and refocus on things that really matter. Now, we're getting ready to head home to ABQ on Sunday night, and I can hardly wait to spend the holidays with family and friends there!