The Last Post of 2011

Hello and Happy New Years Eve everyone!
I hope you all have had a wonderful holiday so far. The Señor and I had a wonderful time celebrating with our friends and family. It was a sort of a whirlwind of a time, and we did come out of it with a bit of a Christmas hangover, but it was a memorable time that I know we will never forget.

Our glorious holiday kicked off with just a simple trip to the airport to pick up the Señors family. We had shown up with his niece who had recently flown in from California safely the day before. The weather had begin to take a turn for the best, meaning it started to snow. I had never been to the airport during the holiday season, but it was really a unique sight to see. It was a hustle and bustle filled with positive energy as everyone there had smiles on their faces as they waited to catch a glimpse of their loved ones. Once we did, we were elated, and the holiday season had kicked off. While riding the escalator down with my future niece, my friend and bridesmaid Amalia  was at the bottom of the escalator. She had just arrived with her boyfriend (now fiancé) for Christmas. I was so excited to see her and screamed with joy. I had a few minutes to invite her to our home for a posole, tamales, and a stroll through the farolitos/luminarias in our neighborhood.
The snow storm we had was a glorious one, and I was able to catch some video/photos of it.

The next morning we woke up slowly and french pressed our coffee. The calmness of our morning was abruptly ended when we realized how much we had to do to prepare for our Christmas Eve Party. We still had to wrap a plethora of gifts and I had twenty four people to cook for. I was a bit nervous about our party. Mostly because this would be the first our families had actually met. With my nervous excitement I put on my bitch'n cooking apron and went to work on cooking the posole. Lucky for me, my madre and I had cooked up a batch of tamales earlier in the week.  This was an unusual move on our part, but a good one.

The arrival of our guest began with my brother and his girlfriend who had just moved back from Walla Walla, Washington. They arrived in great spirits and were ready to party and eat. Soon after it all became some what of a frenzy because it seemed like everyone arrived at the same time. The Señor and I hustled to stuff everyone up before heading out on the luminaria/farolito walk. Before we headed out we took a moment to appreciate how happy everyone seemed, and how great our families were getting along. Our big group headed out and we enjoyed the chilly air and great company.
We only lost 2 people during our stroll, but were able to catch up with them later. From this incident we came up with the idea of getting blinking reindeer antlers for the males who are above 6 feet tall to wear on the stroll next year.  We think it will help keep everyone together next time.

Although we were exhausted at the end of it all. We couldn't wipe the smiles off our faces. It was a great time, and we can't wait to do it again next year. We hope that we have started a joint-family tradition that we can enjoy for many years to come.

After the Christmas Eve Extravaganza we headed down to El Paso, Texas to enjoy some more family time. We arrived at my abuelitas house starving and ready to eat a feast once more. We got in some more family time and the Señor was able to meet my Godfather from Austin. We enjoyed some good jokes, food, and libations. A highlight of the evening was my Godfather and his son singing together. It was so amazing to see what a great father and son bond they had. Not to mention my cousins unbelievable singing talent. We wrapped the short trip up with a trip to my other Aubelitas house where my future husband stuffed down two bowls of posole like a champ. My Aubelita was very impressed by this.  After our short trip we rolled back up to ABQ and spent our last Christmas celebration with my future father-in-law and another amazing meal prepared by his wife. 

With all the eating and excitement of having family and friends in town you can see why we suffered from a bit of a Christmas Hangover.  However, our hangover was one we enjoyed and could easily handle. We wish we could have these moments all the time, but I guess the reason we have them every once in a while is what makes them so damn special. 

This post is getting a bit long, and I could seriously go for hours about how great 2011 has been. Even though I greeted this year with uncertainty and unsure about what would come of it. I made it a priority to keep a positive attitude about things. This lesson proved to be so valuable in 2011, and I plan to carry it on to 2012.
As for 2012..

I hope to log in a few more miles and a race
breath, stretch and write a bit more
spend more time with the positive influences in my life
do well in nursing school
Marry my Señor.

Best wishes to everyone in the New Year! Thanks for stopping by my soap-box in 2011! 

See ya next year!!