Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  2013 really flew by (I only just started remembering to write the date correctly!).  I'm ringing in 2014 in my hometown this year, which is freezing right now, so we stayed in with friends, and watched the little fireworks show at midnight from the window.  I was thinking about how, in 2013, I saw the most amazing fireworks show of my life during the trip to Venice last summer, and I looked through some of the photos this morning.  The one weekend we happened to go there was the one weekend of the year they have this HUGE night of fireworks, where thousands and thousands of people crowd on to one side of the island, and they have an elaborate show timed out, with 3 different boats shooting off fireworks from the water for a full hour.  At the end people cheer or boo, and the success of the show is discussed for the next week.  The whole show was like a constant finale, it was so elaborate.  There were shapes and colors that I had never even seen before!  My favorite kind are the large, arching golden ones, which are so majestic, and they shot off a ton of them at once, seemingly filling the sky.

Wishing everyone a joyous beginning to the New Year! Any resolutions? Goodbye 2013 - You were a great year!  :)

~xomo

Christmas Visit + Afternoon Snack

Winter break is over and I am back in Kentucky, enjoying 60 degree weather (wow!) much more than the frigid temperatures of Wisconsin.  I do miss my family though; We had a really nice time together, especially because my sister, Tara, was home.  I pretty much only get to see her once a year in these times where we live very far apart and are silly enough to let ourselves be pushed around by work, school, and limited funds.  Tara plays the flute for a living (she's awesome), but she's also super interested in nutrition and has lately been exploring in more detail the types of foods that work best for her body.  What you're seeing above is an afternoon snack she prepared for us that was so good - bacon, salad with avocado, and hot chocolate that turned out super thick and filling, more like a European style drinking chocolate.  If you'd like to try, all we did was mix coconut milk, a cinnamon stick, bit of honey and vanilla, squares of very dark chocolate (melt first), and cocoa powder.  It's not super sweet, but rich and satisfying.  Yum.  

Happy New Year everyone!  Take care out there :)

xomo

ps:  Don't get me wrong, WI > KY