OMG I forgot to write about Christmas and my anniversary!!!

About 10 seconds after posting, I realized I haven't written anything about my 1st Christmas with Diego (and without my family) and our 1st anniversary!!! Big moments that I would like to remember meaning that I HAVE to write it down....my memory is already gone.  If there are no pictures or written stories, it's practically gone.

Christmas wasn't as difficult for me as Thanksgiving and I had a lot of fun.  First, Diego and I had to work Christmas Eve so we couldn't go to his parents for Christmas which was a little sad.  I am used to having a lot of people around at Christmas so it would have been nice to go, but it's a possibility for next year.  I had some skype video calls with the family on both Christmas Eve and day which helped a lot, because they just set me on the table so that it was like I was actually there. 

I had made cheesecake, brownies, empanadas, bunhuelos (the bread that looks like balls- see facebook pictures) and eggnog.  In Colombia they only celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve.  What I didn't know is that they don't celebrate it at the same time.  I was expecting to have food and eggnog with music and open up a couple of gifts around 7 or 8.  That's when Diego told me that we had to wait until MIDNIGHT!!!  Well, I had worked in the morning and spent the afternoon running to the store and cooking so I was quite tired.  Diego was as well so we took a nap.....at 10:00pm!! We woke up in time to open a few presents and talk some more so it was nice.

Christmas day celebrations were something new for Diego, but I think he like them (although he didn't like waiting the extra day to finish opening presents hehe).  We started off with a Colombian traditional breakfast with tomales which are nothing like the ones that you will see in the US.  They are quite tasty though and very filling.  We opened up some more presents and then played with them in true Christmas tradition....I kicked Diego's butt in UNO like 5 times!  If I remember correctly we took another nap and went for a walk then saw the 7th Harry Potter movie that night.  I was very excited because I understood everything they were saying and it was in Spanish!!!  I do have to say that the "bad guys" need to work on their pronunciation....they do not speak very clearly. LOL

Overall, I would say it was a GREAT Christmas.  Though presents and activities were low key, it was nice to start some new traditions with Diego.  Only 2 1/2 weeks later we were celebrating our 1st anniversary!!!

Our anniversary was also very low key....I think that's how we are in general.  Because we had gone out so much during the "feria" and for New Years (delicious sushi), we decided to make things more personal and have a stay at home dinner.....that Diego cooked!!!!  He wouldn't tell me what he was going to make so it was a surprise.  He made pasta carbonara (pasta with cheese and bacon) and wine.  Luckily we had a center table arrangement from our friends' wedding to make the table look even nicer.  It was a very nice dinner and a good anniversary. 

Life in the New Year

It has been a while since I have written so I felt like I needed to do a short post. 

Diego and I brought in the New Year in true Colombian fashion at a friend's house.  There was lentil throwing, grape eating, dancing, and lots of music.  New Years is a big deal in Colombia so it felt like it was a block party with everyone in their open garages/driveways/streets partying together.  I didn't see any balls drop (not that I waited up for that in the US every year), but I did see a small hot air balloon (personless) catch on fire.  There are some great pics on facebook of the group trying to send a hot air balloon in the air, but the wind kept pushing the fire onto the actual balloon before they could get it up.

The following week was quite interesting with a beautiful wedding of two of our friends (fun, photoshopped pics on facebook) and the feria (fair) in town.  I learned that Colombians LOVE beauty queens.  They have a "Queen" for everything in Colombia....Queen of Coffee, Queen of Water, cities, states, and anything else you can think of.  The parades were pretty interesting....not quite as organized as I am used to, but still fun.  We saw one of the parades from the bus (in the opposite direction) because it couldn't really move anywhere.  People simply stopped their cars on the street to watch the parade....while blocking the traffic!!! LOL There was another "parade" which consisted of every person in Manizales (maybe all of Caldas) that had horses.  They all rode down the street....not the most diverse parade I have ever seen, but it says something culturally.  Diego's brother, Sergio, came to visit us during that time so he was able to see the firework show (pretty good) and some tennis matches for a tournament that was happening. 

On a more personal status update....I am feeling very happy and comfortable here. Like I said in an earlier post, I was pretty scared of my future here for 2 months from before Thanksgiving to Christmas.  Between frustrations with the apartment, my job, my body, the rain, and missing family it was really tough.  Of course, I still miss family at random times and would love visitors, but I feel like I found my niche here.  The weather has been great since New Years, I have a better idea of what is expected of me at work, and I have been working out religiously since Christmas. 

I think working out has especially helped my mood (or rather mood swings).  To be honest, I feel likes it's a "Dog Whisperer" thing.  If you wear out the dog, he get rid of the pent-up energy and laid back to get upset/obsessive about things--same thing for me.  Well....my dad always compared to raising kids to training dogs....I guess that has been passed on.  Anyway moving past the dog comparison, I am quite proud of myself for getting up every morning at 5:20 to go for a run before work.  It's been challenging with the altitude and some of the hills, but it gives me something to work on.  Diego doesn't run with me, but with the weather nice we go for long walks on the weekends (while listening to the Harry Potter audio-books hehehe).  So overall, I am just feeling much better.  I also want to point out the "Dancing with the Stars Workout Video" is a lot of fun and quite challenging at times (took me a while to get a lot of the foot work) so I highly recommend it to someone looking for something different to do in house while it's too cold outside or busy at the gym.

Anyway...enough about me!  Skype me or email me for updates about YOU!!!!