Christmas was pretty swell, especially since my dad came home from the hospital early Christmas Eve. My mom made pork, rice and beans, and tostones for dinner that night, which is always fantastic. I love Cuban food, especially mom’s. The next day, we had to wait for my brother and sister-in-law to arrive before opening presents. I’m such a little kid about it – I get all antsy about opening gifts. Mom didn’t help by laying out everyone’s presents the night before, so I had to stare at them in all their wrapping-paper glory until we were able to open them.
I was really excited to get the Stephen Sondheim boxed set from Santa (yes, my mom writes “From Santa” on our gifts, still), as I am a huge musical theater dork. I also got the Full House series on DVD, some new PJs, Ricky Martin’s autobiography, loads of gummy candy, a zhuzhu pet (!!!), and a cute squirrel statue. And my brother and sister-in-law got me a beautiful cameo and crystal necklace from Swarovski. I gave them one of those flip video cameras so they could capture their baby’s most adorable moments, and they were really, really excited about it. I can’t wait for them to use it.
A few hours later, the Cuban hoard arrived (a.k.a. my family), and we all sat down for some lasagna and meatballs. Every year, my mom is usually the one who cooks, but with everything going on with my dad, my two aunts took over that job. I’m not a huge pasta and sauce fan, but I did enjoy it. We then exchanged gifts (hell yea for gift cards!), and everyone left. Even though I love my family tons, I cherish the moment everyone leaves and it’s just quiet. I take that time to adjust my ear drums to the normal levels of sound, because damn, my family is loud.
Today I woke up, looked outside, and everything was covered in a thin layer of white fluff. Now there’s probably ten inches of snow on the ground, and the wind is picking up. We’re supposed to get 18 inches by the time it’s all over. It’s the perfect evening for peppermint hot chocolate and watching movies. I already watched Putting It Together with my dad, which is a musical revue of Sondheim songs, starring George Hearn, John Barrowman (adore him!), Carol Burnett, Bronson Pinchot (Balky!), and Ruthie Henshall. It was fantastic and sweet and everything a Sondheim musical embodies.
She's a Bibliophile 