Is everyone excited for Christmas??!! I feel like a kid this year - counting down the days! I blame it on the fact that last year, I was in Guinea, where it was 90 degrees. Last year, it was hard to listen to White Christmas without dreaming of a normal American holiday season. I was staying with my boyfriend for the holidays in Conakry, and his host family knocked on our door on Christmas Eve and gave us freshly-knocked-off-the-tree coconuts. They said, "we know this is a holiday for you, so, Joyeux Noel (Merry Christmas)" It was so sweet. I just reread my blog entry from last year, and I realize how simple life was, and how happy I was. But still, it wasn't Christmas.

Without our families and traditions, it didn't really feel like Christmas. But this year is different. I am cooking Christmas Eve dinner at my mom's, and I am so excited! Here's the menu:

**Starter salad with arugula, shaved parmesan, pomegranite seeds, and a balsamic-orange vinaigrette**

**Roasted chicken with proscuitto-herbed butter, mashed potatoes, and proscuitto and goat cheese wrapped asparagus**

**Homemade apple tart a la mode for dessert**

I can't wait!! Plus the Christmas music, the gifts, the festive mood! And then on Christmas morning, my mom, Reid and I are going skiing! What a treat! I am so excited - more excited for Christmas than the last multiple years combined! I think it may have taken me a year away from my home in order to truly appreciate my family in my life, if that makes any sense.

I still wish I could be with my entire extended family. I have missed them more and more as the holidays have passed. Hopefully soon, I can figure out the $ and the time for a trip to good ol' Wheeling.

I hope everyone else is enjoying the holidays. Merry Christmas!!!