christmas 2012 - a recap

Only 364 days until Christmas 2013!

But seriously, Christmas 2012 was amazing. Spending time with family is my favorite part of this holiday. That and seeing everyone's faces when they open gifts! I LOVE when I get it right and immediately see the joy on their face.

Christmas was extra special this year because it was the first year my nephew really got it. 

Viewing Christmas through a child's eyes makes it even better. I can't wait to have little ones of my own and start our own traditions with them.

Until we have little ones, I'll just have to settle for Mr. Bowden. It was his first Christmas and as you can see, he had a great time. Pooped out around 5pm.

My first Christmas Eve away from home was this year. It was definitely harder than I expected. We spent Christmas Eve and the morning with A's parent's in Lafayette and then drove to Houston to get in around 2pm. I am SO blessed that I get to spend the day with two amazing families, but it's bittersweet. 

I spend 23 Christmas Eve nights with my siblings and parents. Church around 7, then home to open one present. Santa would come and we would wake up to cinnamon rolls in the morning. Not a huge shebang, but 23 years of doing the same thing makes it pretty special.

This year we spent Christmas Eve at A's parent's house. Mass at 4 and then home to eat and play board games. I made everyone Lasagna Soup and then we enjoyed some Apples to Apples and Taboo. A fun night for sure!

So, this is our new tradition for now. We're having fun thinking of we would like OUR tradition to be. Merging his and hers and making it ours and only ours. I'm pretty excited about that.

I'll leave you with a few more scenes from last night - can you tell that I'm having fun with our new iMac? Also, I got the Creative Suite and I'm having too much fun playing around with Photoshop again. I used it daily in college, but haven't much since. It's like riding a bike...but harder. Might take me a while to get the finished products looking good!

time for the big leagues

Up until a year ago, I was firmly in the anti-Apple crowd.

I had plenty of opportunities to get Apple products, but for some unknown reason, I chose to get something else.

MacBook? Nah, I'll just ask my parents for this cheap, crappy Dell laptop because I feel bad making them spend that much on something that isn't even that great. (Yes, I was naive an a little 18-year-old.)

iPod? Nah, I'll ask for some obscure branded mp3 player that will only last a year and is impossible to get to work.

iPhone? Nah, I'll stick with my crappy awesome Blackberry. Upgrade to iPhone? Nah, I'll get this super amazing HTC Evo that dies every four hours.

I finally came to my senses last year and got an iPhone 4S. And surprise, surprise, I love it. DUH! Doesn't everyone?

So, when it came time to research a new computer, I was somehow stuck on the no-way-jose' to Apple train again. That's a very lonely train, it seems.

On Saturday A and I ventured over to The Orchard. It's this cute little Apple shop in Lafayette and they are SUPER helpful and knowledgeable. (And they don't work on commission. Don't you hate when you can tell someone is only helping you so they can make money?)

A walked up to the sales guy and said "Sell her on Apple." And, surprise, 30 minutes later I was sold.

Two hours later, I did it. I bought my new baby.

To say I love my new iMac is an understatement. Obsessed would probably be a better word. She gets delivered on December 31st and I'm counting down the days. I am able to get CS5 from work, so that bumps up the excitement level to INSANE amounts. I haven't been able to do any design work since college - and part of the reason I've been down in the dumps at work is because I'm not utilizing my creative side.

Yes, she is very expensive, but she's going to be very worth it. From what everyone tells me, iMacs last a very long time, and she'll be a great family computer when that day comes.

Please tell me I'm not insane and that you love your computer this much, too. It will make me feel a lot better.