Christmas: The Aftermath

Hooray! You all survived the holidays! And so did I! Pictured above is the food I MADE. Yes, I cooked. Nope, no one died. #nailedit

The company I work for gave every employee a turkey for Christmas. Or a ham, but since I don't eat pork, the decision was easy...

For an expat, the holiday season is the toughest time of the year. Being away from family, best friends, and all the traditions is hard. I have shed a countless amount of tears during the past couple of days. Who am I fooling... WEEKS! Actually, I've just cried at Starbucks, cause I opened my mailbox and there was an e-mail from my uncle. I'm a crybaby lately.

Since my personal life is far from rainbows and unicorns right now (I'll be moving out in a few weeks), I felt extra lonely this year. Oh and have I mentioned my niece? She was born in July, and I haven't met her, smooched her, held her yet,... nothing. It breaks my heart.

Just like last year, me and my family used FaceTime to hang out on Christmas Eve. FYI: In Germany, the BIG Christmas day is Christmas eve. That's when Santa, or in our case: the Christkind, brings the gifts, the whole family gathers around the tree, and eats potato salad & hotdogs for dinner. Well, my family does. So no one has to spent a whole lot of time in the kitchen while everyone else celebrates.

Only one of my siblings' gifts made it to the USA on time, so here is what my sister and her son gave me for Christmas:

My MacBook might be just as happy as I am now!! Well, my sister asked what I want for Christmas, so... I love this pouch! I love the design, and that it comes with a little bag for the cord.
My nephew made me some (unintentionally PG-rated :oD) candles at his daycare. I died laughing when I unpacked the big one! He is such a sweetheart though. I miss him so much!

I got my other Christmas gift little early, 13 days early: Tickets for a NBA game in Houston.

If you follow my blog for a little, or read THIS or THIS post, you might know I'm a HUGE Los Angeles Lakers fan. Always been! Kobe is one heck of a player, so it was MUST for me to see him playing LIVE again before he retires by the end of the season.

I will share a recap of the trip to Houston, Galveston, and the game later this week!

What did Santa drop off for you this year??