Blaaahhhh..or how I spent my xmas

It's 9pm on the day after x-mas, and I'm sitting in my PJ's, drinking tea and watching Martha Stewart. Thus is my recovery. After spending a hectic couple of days planning, running around, shopping for and making gifts, and eating much junk food, then zipping in and out of town in 24hrs, and dealing with crazy family stuff, I needed to wind down. Although the best regimen I could be following now would probably involve some kind of light exercise and tons of green leafys, and fresh whatnots, I feel more inclined to like sit around reading books, watching TV, and eating leftover meatlessloaf. This is a time for unabashed comfort. The craziness will start again on Saturday when we leave town for a weekend in New Orleans, and then my birthday celebration (21!) on Monday, but it's a good kind of crazy. The kind of crazy that you want to remember for the rest of your life. The kind of crazy that leaves you in a haze for a week. I'm looking forward to that crazy. The crazy from the previous week, though, I wish to soon forget. Here are a few things I have learned, along with a few random thoughts, from this holiday season:

When you spend any extended amount of time (more than 10 minutes) with someone else's crazy family, you begin to appreciate your seemingly less crazy family

Eat nothing but sugar for a week, and you will feel like shit

If your grandmother asks what you want for Christmas, never say "nothing". She will inevitably get you something.

The book is always better than the movie. The big boys in the media industry seem to think that dumbing down movies will somehow make it much better and more accessible to the general public.

If you tell people your plans, things will inevitably go to shit

Cinnamint flavor is good for lipgloss, but not always so good to eat

Chocolate and Amber are a match made in olfactory heaven

Teenagers possess an uncanny ability to sit and stare at a TV screen for an amazing 12 hours straight

Meatloaf is so much better without the meat, this recipe saved my x mas, with the addition of sauteed carrots, celery, onion and garlic

Hope everyone found a way to keep their sanity in tact. Cookies, coffee, and sleep helped me a lot. Except when I got sick, then it was mainly orange juice and echinacea.
In less than 6 hours, I will be having lunch with my (stubbornly omnivorous, yet still love able) family at a vegan haven in the middle of cattle country- Spiral Diner, to commemorate the beginning celebrations of my birthday. I am undecided on what to eat, but I'm sure it will be good. Then it's off to New Orleans for a weekend of raucous fun. See you next year!