Oh there’s no place like home for the holidays…

So December has come and gone, and oh what a month it was. It was mostly filled with Christmas shopping and holiday-ing. Like that word? 🙂

I went home from the 24 to the 28 sans Elvis. I was a bit disappointed that we didn’t have Christmas Eve services at the church. I think this is only the second time in my life that I haven’t been at services (the first being when I was in Ecuador) and it’s probably my favorite service of the year. Heather was at the house when I arrived home and we had fun playing board games and eating. Featured at this year’s Christmas Eve dinner was Indian food, complete with naan, Tandoori chicken, curry potatoes and fried worms. (Okay, so they weren’t really worms, they were fried dough soaked in rose water and sugar…not sure what they’re called, but Matthew insisted we have them.

Christmas day was fun, got a lot of great gifts including a GPS, a MD park pass and a bunch of lenses for my camera. I haven’t had much of a chance to use them, but I look forward to it! We also went to visit with both of my grandmothers which was great!

Friday I went shopping and got some amazing deals! I went to JC Penney’s and got three pairs of jeans. My bill came to $48 dollars. I added a sweater and my total came to $46. Yep, they paid ME to take the sweater away. If you look at the receipt, I saved $121 and spent $46. Pretty sweet, if you ask me!

Saturday I refused to change out of my pajamas until 7pm when Heather, Philip and I went to see Doubt. It was a pretty good movie – gets you thinking.

Sunday was church, then packing, then a typical Walters’ family Christmas party – half the family arrives late, you sit with people you see on a regular basis anyway, eat, play a couple of card games, get your gifts and leave. Total time: 2 hours. Then a drive back to DC which sucked. Not because of weather like the drive home, but because we would be driving 70 miles an hour, then we would come to a complete stop. For absolutely no reason. Then we would get back up to 70 again. Then stop. I really don’t understand why.

Last week was pretty uneventful until the 31st. We spent some time at the boys’ house, then went to pick up Veronica and headed to Latin Palace. We danced and had some really good conversations with the guys and came back home at 5am. Yes, 5 am. Yesterday we went to the boys’ house again and made soup for them (which turned out delicious) and hung out until returning home to watch PSU stick up the Rose Bowl. No more smelling like roses, but more like the manure they use to fertilize the roses. Oh well, c’est la vie.

Now we have to get back into a work schedule. For two full weeks. Then we have 2 days off for MLK Jr day and the inauguration. I’ll post pics from New Year’s Eve/day on Monday, hopefully!

Here we go again…

So it has been 2 weeks since I’ve updated and I’m sure that a lot of incredibly fun things have happened since then.  And, actually, they have!

I don’t remember what happened the weekend after Mom and Dad came down…and there aren’t pictures, so that doesn’t help.  Must have involved relaxing at the house!  Gasp!  That would be something new and different!  Oh wait!  Now I remember!  Saturday involved taking Elvis’s cousins shopping at the mall and seeing Los Francos play at Cuzco Numero Dos.

The first weekend in October was very exciting!  Friday night we went to Latin Palace and I saw LAUREN for the first time in over a year!  Julia and Jacki came as did a bunch of Elvis’s friends.  It was a lot of fun! There was also a cumbia/reggaeton band that played there that night, so that was cool.  We also played a lot of foosball.  Then Lauren, Jacki and I slept over at Julia’s.  (The biggest success of the night was that I managed to parallel park my car ALL BY MYSELF!!!)  

Saturday morning we didn’t want to get out of bed, but eventually we headed to Mt. Lebanon for the PA Renaissance Faire.  We had a lot of fun seeing the different shows, eating some delicious soup and drinking some hot apple cider (it was really cool out that weekend).  Unfortunately I left my camera in my car, so I don’t have pictures, but Jacki should have some up sometime soon!

Sunday Elvis and I went to hike at Greenbelt State Park.  We did the 5 mile loop and saw a few deer and basically just enjoyed being outside for awhile!

Then there was another week full of work.  That wasn’t as much fun.

This weekend was fun as well.  Saturday we got up and headed to a farm in Germantown.  We walked around for a bit, went through the corn maze (incorrectly, I think).  And then went up to the pumpkin patch where Elvis chose a 40 pound pumpkin to carve.  He liked it because it’s slightly hour glass shaped and it was different from any other pumpkin in the patch.  We went back on the hayride, paid for the pumpkin, and headed to the house.  After a nap, we started to carve the pumpkin.  We had purchased a carving kit (with a mini-saw and everything!) and chose the Yoda design.  The next two or three hours were filled with trying to get the design right!  I attempted to toast the pumpkin seeds, but forgot about them in the carving madness and they ended up being black.  OOPS!  Saturday night we made ceviche and patacones and watched tv with Elvis’s cousin.

Sunday we went to the mall to buy bread…mmm…Then to visit with the boys that Elvis used to live with.  In the afternoon, Meryl and Chicha came over.  We played volleyball (Elvis and I won 16-14 both matches) and basketball (Meryl and I won 21-9).  By the time Elvis won Around the World it was so dark we could barely see, so we went back to the house and had bread with the hot coffee and tea and finished off the weekend by watching Bailando por un sueno.  Good times, good times. 🙂

P.S. You can see pictures from Mom and Dad’s visit and some of the other things mentioned in this post here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2022524&l=461e7&id=75900409.

a day in the life

Since it’s been almost 2 weeks since I have updated, someone might think that I would have something interesting about which to update.  Wrong.  This is what has happened:

August 22 – 26:  Took 3 days off of work and went home for Grange Fair.  (Pictures here.)  Highlights – playing cards, eating fattening food (I seriously think I gained 2+ pounds), seeing some family members I hadn’t seen in a long time (that may or may not have been a highlight haha!).

Last week – worked and worked and didn’t really have time for much else.  On Thursday, we took Elvis’s ex-next door neighbors (from Canilla) who were here to visit out for dinner.  That was kind of fun.  Friday we went dancing at Latin Palace for the first time since May.  Also fun.

Saturday – went to look at a car.  Relaxed.  Listened to Maynor whine about how no one comes and visits any more.

Sunday – saw Alyssa’s baby and hung out at the boys’ house for awhile.  Magdiel and Melvin came to watch a soccer game.  Dency, Coca, Marlon came to play basketball for awhile.  Then hung out at the house w/ them, Alyssa and Ari.

Monday – day of rest and relaxation.  Went to Sandy Point (trip #???) to swim and fish in the afternoon.  I caught 2 fish in 10 minutes.  Elvis caught 10 in 2 hours and Chicha caught 0 (I told him he needed to use a floater…)

Today – back at work.  Lots of things to do (which I’m obviously not doing).  To the soccer fields this afternoon and then to eat fish soup maybe?