The Christmas cruise was a lot of fun, especially our white Christmas in Cozumel (by that I mean white sand). Unfortunately on the way back from Mexico a cold front hit the Gulf at around 1 AM on December 26th and the entire rest of the ride back was accompanied by really rough waters. Despite all prevention aids, my mom got extremely seasick and had to get IV fluids in the infirmary. I didn't get sick but found the only way to prevent the possibility of seasickness was to lie down, so I stayed in bed for almost the remainder of the cruise. But up until then we really had a great time. I'm not sure I've become a cruising person. I think now I can say I've done it, but don't really have to do it again. I think I prefer more privacy and more opportunities for real relaxation. I also didn't really enjoy being really dizzy for days after the cruise, which only started to wear off a week later.
After getting back from the cruise I stayed at my mom's until this past Tuesday, where I was really able to read and relax. That was more of a vacation for me. I did a little bit of work here and there, but I mostly enjoyed sleeping and reading to my heart's content. I read "Welcome to the World, Baby Girl" by Fannie Flagg (author of Fried Green Tomatoes) and have started "Blue Like Jazz" and just finished "The 5 Love Languages". On the professional front I'll be reading more books on writing and style, but I want to make sure I manage to find more time to read for pleasure.
New Year's Eve I was supposed to go to a New Year's Eve party with a certain special someone, but he was sick and those plans fell through. Thankfully I had a backup plan - aka Raclette with the family. I brought this tradition back from Germany and we absolutely love it. For those of you not familiar with raclette, it is a cousin of fondue. Instead of a pot, raclette has a grill that is set in the middle of the table. You can grill on the top and below there are small individual pans for people to cook in. You can put pretty much anything you want in the pan and then you top it off with a slice of cheese that melts. The word raclette means to scrape - i.e. scrape the cheese and all the stuff out of the little pan. When your little portion is done you put it onto your plate and eat it with potatoes. You keep making individual portions until you are full. This is a social meal that can last for hours. I've yet to meet anyone who doesn't like it. This year's raclette featured: tomatoes, pears, mushrooms (shiitake and baby bellas) asparagus, onion, pineapple, scallops, corn, bell peppers, shrimp, walnuts, steak, grape tomatoes, zucchini and squash, raclette cheese, cheddar cheese, colby jack cheese. brie and gorgonzola. As sides at the table we had homemade bread and butter pickles from my stepdad's daughter and pickled beets. As sauces we had aioli from Trader Joe's, honey mustard dressing, A1. I also used curry powder and an Middle Eastern spice blend to season my food.
As for New Year's resolutions, I wrote down a few little things: achieve a better work/life balance, read more, cook more (I'd like to try one new recipe per week), achieve my target weight (i.e. lose 6-7 lbs) and maintain it, pay off the car (scheduled to be paid off in May - 1.5 years ahead of schedule) and save more. I'm also hoping to do some traveling this year - at least one trip to Germany, hopefully a trip to China in September/October to visit a friend, and who knows what else I might come up with.
I'm sure some of you might be curious about my mentions of a special someone. I'll get to that in another post, just be patient.
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