Hey everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season!  It is always my favorite time of year!  I know we are a few weeks past that magical season, but I thought I’d share with you what I did.

Christmas Eve is my favorite day of the year.  We always get together with my Mom’s side of the family.  It’s a small group, but lively…lots of laughter, sarcasm, and jokes.  It’s such a laid back day.  We gather to eat some delicious food – including korv (Swedish sausage) and then we just spend hours visiting and catching up on life.

The Jones Girls… the women on my Mom’s side of the family.

Christmas Day, the store I manage was closed.  I didn’t have anywhere to go, so I slept in and just relaxed all day.  It was glorious!  I very rarely get days like that.  And know what my dad’s favorite gift was?  The singing bow I put on his gift that I wrapped!  haha

New Year’s weekend was a ton of fun!  My Mom and I traveled up to Toronto, Canada.  On the way up, we stopped at Niagara Falls since it had been a few years since we’ve seen the Canadian side (which by the way, is far better than the American side).  Then when we got to Toronto we walked around the city at night for awhile.  I find the lights and skylines of cities to be so mesmerizing at night.  Our hotel was right next to an ice skating rink which was awesome!  There were people skating up until midnight!  The reason we went to Canada was for a HUGE surprise!  There is an 11 year old girl who has Ichthyosis, my skin disorder, that I met a couple years ago at a conference.  Our families have stayed in touch and her mother got her tickets to see her first professional ballet “The Nutcracker”.  What the girl didn’t know was that I was coming up to see it with her!  So, my Mom and I arrived first and got into our seats and we waited for them to show up.  The funniest thing?  She walked right by me!  She was so focused on finding the correct seat that she didn’t even notice.  Finally her mom called her name.  She turned around, saw me, and finally she recognized me and gave me the biggest hug!  The National Ballet of Canada was absolutely extraordinary.  I have seen the Nutcracker done by a couple Russian companies and in Pittsburgh, but I loved every aspect of the Canadian version…the costumes, the story line, the dancing.  And the girl loved it too!  Afterwards, we grabbed some burgers and fries at Five Guys and then departed…operation surprise was a success.  My Mom & I then returned to the states and on our way home dropped in at another Ichthyosis family’s house where we had a grand afternoon spending time together.  That’s what I love.  It is so important to give back in some way to those around you and I have found that in the Ichthyosis community.  I am the one who will go on a vacation to Tennessee, but take time out of it to visit these families.  And know what?  It is worth it because I am impacting young lives.

At the Nutcraker.