Christmas Break Overview

This past month has been lovely.  Going to a state university has its perks. My favorite one is that I got a month off from school, and I still got paid. After last semester, I needed a break. Going back to school takes some serious adjusting, and I was ‘over’ last semester at Thanksgiving. Fortunately, my time off has given my brain a break, and I am ready (mostly) to head back to classes.

Highlights of my break:

1) Going to see my husband’s parents and sister in Pennsylvania. They’re lots of fun. We sang, played games, ate scrumptious food, etc.

The lovely picture below is of my delicious homemade tiramisu with homemade ladyfingers. (I definitely recommend making them from scratch instead of buying them from a grocery store. They hold up better.)

I received the Penzey's "Curry" set from the parents-in-law. Note very awesome packaging that includes bay leave, cinnamon sticks, and whole nutmegs. (Curry is not the same without them.)

2) Visiting Gettysburg. These are my parents-in-law. Husband and I took a pic with Abe, but apparently, we dreamed this part, as there was no pic on the camera the next day.  Notice excellent mood-setting fog. I couldn’t actually see the battlefields, but the fog helped remind me of the catastrophic bloodshed that took place where I was standing.

These graves were numbered because no one could identify them when they were buried.  There were hundreds of these markers.

This is me with one of many holly trees. I like them.

This tree is even cooler. It’s called a sweet gum tree and sheds pods that look like super-magnified allergens.

3) Reading the Master and Margarita, Assassination Vacation, A Perfect Red, Flannery O’Connor.
4) Watching tons of movies without feeling guilty. (No homework)
5) Going skiing for the first time. A fellow grad student took husband and I skiing. He was very patient. I appreciated that. Unfortunately, there are no pics. Husband was in charge of the camera (because it was in his computer bag), but since he forgot it, you’ll have to imagine me in ski gear/skiing.