Happy New Year!!!

I have lost touch with this so called "Blog" thing for too long.
Hope everyone had a fabulous holiday season and I understand many people are back into the swing of things in their respective homes. I was very fortunate to spend the holidays with Alexis and Kate in London for vacation. We had a blast! We stayed in a sweet house, thanks to Alexis's boss, and as a special treat Alexis took us to Paris!! (only for 7 hours) but we made the best of it. That's when you put on Travel Mode, as the Meghans call it. Although I was told by my sis's that its dangerous and too difficult to keep up with. But hey I slowed the pace down a bit and then everything went swimmingly.

So lets see.... since I have been back I have been UBER busy. But in a good way of course. I arrived back to Madrid on Saturday evening, just in time for 3 Kings Day but was sadly informed that the big parade and stuff all happened on Saturday during the day and that Sunday there really was nothing going on. But I swallowed my disappointment and took it in stride. It was certainly lovely to hear English all during vacation but I was sooo happy when I got home and could hear Spanish again. Although when I arrived at my house I was bummed because I imagined I would walk in the apt and Gina and the group would be there waiting for me, but NO the apt was empty and deserted. SO I threw my things down and went up to the rest. thinking that Gina would be there, which she wasn't either. BUT Arlene, my cuban neighbor, was there and we had a great chat. I even got to try the FAMOUS Kings Cake! It was delicious, but fills you to the brim! The cake consists of a sweet bread, kinda like a croissant bread and then they slather it with whipped cream in the middle. The tradition goes that everyone shares this huge circular cake, and the bakers have put a secret surprise inside the whipped cream. Whoever gets the prize then must pay for the cake. And they are pretty expensive. But its worth every penny. Well I only say that because I did NOT get the prize. But it was a good way to welcome myself back home to Madrid.
On Sunday I took my time organizing my things from the trip and uploading picts. It was quite nice though because I only saw Gina briefly that morning but she told me that she was working all day and that if I got bored to come up to the rest for a coffee and chat. Well whilst doing my things that afternoon, I got a phone call from Gina saying, Aren't you bored yet? I think she was really trying to get me to come keep her company. It was really nice though. I had a great long chat with she and a new girl at the rest. who is from Cordoba. I feel ashamed because I can never remember her name now, but we had a good time. I was up there for a good two hours just talking away getting to know some locals. A fabulous way to unwind.
Earlier in the morning I had spoken to Lawler, because I had brought home two cupcakes from this famous bakery in London that the megan's didn't get to on their trip, so I invited them over for a coffee and some sweets. Lawler showed up but Brennan was doing her own thing that day. Lawler showed me some wicked nice photos of Prague, which looks gorgeous and I must go someday.
Monday, being a holiday, the group came over for dinner and we were able to exchange our secret Santa gifts which we were all excited about. I was sooo anxious to see them all! We had a great supper, per le chef, Gina. She even strayed away from the typical meat stews and rice and beans to make Chicken Cordeon Blue, but without the cheese, cause Carlos is really picky, with a tasty salad, oh and I forgot there was rice and beans, whoops.
It was really special too because another friend, David, joined us for dinner which was great. We had a wonderful meal and then jumped into the presents. I got an awesome webcam from Carlos, but unfortunately it doesn't work. I am going to try and return it for another one to see if its the machine or my computer because its a spanish product but an American comp. I don't really know what is wrong but the comp doesn't recognize the device. Que lastima! What a shame. But everyone was super pleased with their gifts, one of which is now Carlos favorite game, CLUEDO, aka Clue the DVD edition. So we HAD to play a round before we all went home. The cool thing about this version is that its no longer a murder, but people steal objects around the mansion. We had a blast, so much so that we didn't go to bed til 3AM!! Can you believe it ! I knew at that moment I was in Spain thats for sure.

The reintegration to school was not so smooth. The kids were nuts! Everyone wanted to hear about what everyone got for 3Kings day and it was difficult to get any teaching done. But hey I realized it was ok because I was running on four hours of sleep, so I took advantage and went with the flow. It was good to back to a routine and to see the teachers again. Isabel, my boss even stopped me in the hallway to say that they had a gift for me and Connie. Oh man, was it smelly! They had provided each staff member with a traditional Hamper, but with all dried meat and cheese! Oh the smell was nauseating. But I put on a big smile and thanked them profusely. I already knew that this would be Carlos and Hugo's housewarming present! And we enjoyed it together as a group at lunch yesterday! The rest of the week went well and the kids are now in gear to work again which is helpful to say the least.

On Thursday night though we had a meet and greet with the group at where else, an Irish Pub of course!! We all talked about our travels over the vacation and had some drinks. It was good to see many of the people. Then Friday I just stayed in and watched some TV read my book and relaxed. Saturday I had a great morning reading my new book that Carlos had recommended me, called the Eight. Apparently its an International Best Seller, but I had no idea! Its really good except I find myself a bit lost at times because the story goes back and forth between a few different story lines. But I enjoyed sitting down with a good cup of strong Spanish coffee and reading the morning away. I was trying to hold back excitement the whole morning because I was finally going to see Carlos and Hugo's new apt. What I didn't know was how FAR it is from everything. It took us an hour to get there, which in Madrid is a long time for a train commute. Plus the neighborhood where they live is still being constructed so all there is in the neighborhood is a huge IKEA and Carre Four (Walmart). But I guess that's all you need in a new development.
The apt they have is super nice. Its small but it works for them, which is important. We had another fun filled day of Cluedo and Gina made a great beef stew kinda thing. The funny thing is that we were supposed to each lunch there but we didn't end up eating til 6! I was kinda bummed we had eaten so late because I was supposed to join the girls for Thai food in Sol but because we ate so late I had to decline. But then later I met them all at another Irish Pub to have a drink and see some other folks that didn't make it on Thursday. It was great! Although poor Brennan had an unwanted "friend" visit her at the Pub. Her old roommate, Southie was at the pub. What a small world! There were a few tense moments, but thankfully no one got a black eye. Then we all went to Brennan's for a sleep over since the T was no longer running.
All in all a great first week back. Although I am on a strict budget because in just three short weeks I am heading for Munich and Salzborg with Alexis. I am really stoked and can't wait for it.
Have a great week and hopefully soon we can "see" each other online with my web cam!