Goodbye 2011

Christmas in Taipei was a success.  Although I was missing friends and family back home, I managed to still have a very Merry Christmas.  Christmas Eve was spent with several friends at an English pub where we enjoyed another turkey dinner.  Afterwards, some of us went out walking in an area of Taipei that is all lit up with Christmas trees and Christmas decorations.  The atmosphere of Christmas was alive and comforting here in Taipei, but I still was missing home a little!  Christmas day was great; Mark and I woke up early and opened presents, and then skyped with several family members that morning.  It was nice to talk to family for a few hours and have them be apart of our day.  For Christmas day dinner, I took Mark (as his gift) to a Western style restaurant that was serving a full course turkey dinner.  It was way too much food and wine, and we both left feeling disgustingly full, but since that's how you usually feel on Christmas, we enjoyed the discomfort.  The next day it was back to business as usual as we returned to work.  Having a day and a half off at Christmas was definitely not enough, so I am counting down the days til our vacation abroad... 22 days!  Here are some pictures from our Christmas.  Hope everyone back home had a wonderful Christmas!

How adorable is she?

The gang at Christmas eve dinner

  

 This year has definitely flown by, but I guess every year does.  In 2011, I finished my last semester of university, graduated, enjoyed an amazing summer with friends and family, moved across the world, settled in a foreign Asian city, began my career as a teacher, surfed in the ocean, ate tons of random food,  made new and amazing friends and learned a bit of Chinese (not much).  I think 2012 will be a great year.  I have a trip to Thailand coming up at the end of January, and then I am blessed to have my mom and brother come visit me in April.  That right there makes the year already amazing.  Not sure what the rest of the year will hold, but I will make it a good one.  Hope everyone had a festive holiday season, and has a very happy new year!  All the best in 2012!

Christmas In The Air

I've been really slack and have been feeling guilty for not updating my blog.  I am going to do a pre Christmas blog and a post Christmas blog to make up for it!

It's been a month or so since my last blog.  Not too much has happened seeing as how work takes over my life.  I have had to work every Saturday morning in December, and having one day off a week takes a tole on your sanity.  I am working Monday-Friday 8:30-6:30 (with the exception of Tuesday which I only work 3 hours).  It is technically not a full 10 hour day as my day is broken up into three classes.  So I usually have a 2 hour break at lunch and a 40 minute break in the afternoon.  Nonetheless, it is still a long day which makes for a short evening, and a lack of a social life.  Mark and I have been on a fitness kick since October so once he is home in the evening (7:30), we go to a track nearby and run a few miles most evenings.  By the time we get home, eat and shower, it is basically time for bed.  So we are rather boring most nights.  The fitness routine is a bit lacking this week with a lot going on for Christmas and not enough time in the evenings to get the necessities like laundry and grocery shopping done.  I will be blaming my laziness and mass intake of food on Christmas, because I know I would be doing the same back home!

We got a few packages in the mail a week or two ago, one from my Grandma and another from Mark's parents.  We were spoiled with homemade cookies, stove top stuffing, presents, clamato (ahhhh) and cheese!  We were so very thankful!  We had our first caesar the other night before heading out to a Christmas dinner and it was amazing.  We have about 8 more cans of Clamato that we are saving for Christmas and New years.  Then I will be devestated once again not having Clamato until my mom and brother come and visit!  We have already had one Christmas turkey dinner that our company put on for us new teachers at Hess.  It was decent, kind of cold, but free so I wasn't complaining.

 

This Saturday, we have reserved a table for 20 people at an English pub where we will have a proper turkey dinner with several of our friends.  However, we only have the table for 2 hours as the pub is so full of reservations, so we will have to find something else Christmasy afterwards.  Looking forward to skyping with family this weekend when they are having their Christmas dinners without me wahhhhhhhhhhhh!  Definitely going to be missing it, and I'm sure I will be feeling a bit homesick.

He loves me, I swear

Miss you allllll very much!!!! Will blog post Christmas and let you know all the wonderful, extravagent gifts Mark buys me. Hahah jk.

More pics to come!