Hectic Holidays.

I've been a bit MIA this past month, but I assure you it's for good reason. With the arrival of our new sitemates and the holiday season sneaking up behind us, this season has been particularly festive and filled with socializing and work. So, since I haven't updated as much, I'll just take you through the highlights.

Sitemate arrival. We got 4 new sitemates this month! With the arrival of new people, there were also welcome dinners, tours around town, general hanging out, and getting to know the new Ming family (while not forgetting those who've left).

Lale's return. Lale's back and I'm SO happy about it!

Sitemate Sean's birthday. Sean is one of the new sitemates here in Ming and, for his birthday, his friends came into town and spent it with him. We had great food, played fun games, and overall had a great time.

Christmas baking with my girls.

My girls came over after Sean's birthday festivities to bake Christmas cookies! As you (might) can see, the cutting out of cookies weren't the most traditional, but it was delicious and fun all the same. We made sugar cookies and chocolate mint.

Visitors!. Ming's had a ton of visitors this past month. As always, fun, but also tiring.

Sitemate Laura's birthday!!!. Laura is our Christmas baby, so we started celebrating early with a Chinese inspired dinner with homemade fortune cookies! I made fortune cookies for the first time in my life and, let me tell you, it wasn't nearly as easy as I thought they'd be. Some of our favorite 6s came to town to celebrate the birth of Laura and we played games all through the night.

Sheki Christmas. Sheki Danielle hosted a TON of PCVs for a Holiday Hoorah and it was great! There were cookies, Christmas movies, music, the fabulous hotel, Secret Santa, hot showers, and warmth (both company and temperature wise). What else could've we asked for?! Thank you Danielle for a great time!

So, friends, Merry (belated) Christmas! Happy (belated) birthdays to Natalie and Sarah, too! Next up, Baku New Years.

Hungry for the Holidays.

I love the Holiday Season. This wasn't always the case, but it most assuredly is now.

This is my second and last Christmas I'll be spending in Azerbaijan. So, I'm kind of going as all out as I currently can. There's a small tree involved as well as other little decorations around the apartment. Yesterday I also did my first round of Christmas baking (motivated mostly by a neighbor's help in getting my electricity box to work again and wanting to thank them). I'm excited; I have some presents wrapped, garland up, Christmas movies ready, and am currently trying to perfect my Christmas '09 playlists. T'is the Season.

I found myself thinking about how my past few Christmases were before coming here. I honestly don't remember the day of very well... actually, not at all. But, I do remember the basic sections of life I was at. I think I'm able to remember that only because of the albums I had in rotation each year. I remember Holiday '05 (the old 111 Records catalogue and a Drive-Thru band sprinkled with various other bands I knew) because I was on the road all the time baking for and hanging out in seedy bars and decent venues all around NC with my band friends. That year, I spent the coldest night of my life at an old friend's house... that is, until I came here.

Holiday '06 (Lydia, Sufjan Stevens, Bright Eyes, Band of Horses) had some of the same, but it also included working at Bath and Body Works, trolling through Gravity Records, and reading at Folks Cafe way too much. I remember '06 for providing an especially amazing Thanksgiving and, on Natalie's birthday, the 22nd, my first tattoo. That was also the Christmas Break of Atlas Shrugged. I think I calmed down a bit Holiday '07 (still Lydia, The Swell Season, Glen Hansard, Stars, Joseph Arthur) but I was still working a lot and stayed in Wilmington for the majority of the time. Cinematique, Thalian Hall, and spending time with Heather processing French Existentialism are my most vivid memories from that year. With all of these memories, I thought about who I was each of those years and how I barely recognize the person I was in '05... and how much I miss being that girl. There are so many people I wonder about from that chapter in my life, but I guess all of that is the cost of 'growing up'. Nevertheless, each of my past Seasons have held some memorable events.

My Holiday '08 and '09 will be forever instilled in my head as the ones I spent in Azerbaijan (provided I don't suffer from some sort of amnesia; knock on wood). Though they're probably not as eventful as the hustle and bustle of American consumerism and fueled with to-go Peppermint soy mochas, I think they're special nonetheless. '08 was my first not in the States and as an actual PCV. I pretended New Years trees were Christmas ones and I was good to go. It also may or may not have included a hat making party. This year, with me having a place of my own, I'm able to just be me and share my holiday with the Azerbaijanis I like the most. We'll bake Christmas goodies, watch old Christmas favorites, listen to Christmas music and I'll get to give presents! I think that for sure qualifies as a wonderful Holiday '09.

Hope to see all of you next Christmas! The thing, aside from being a RPCV, I'm looking forward to next year is meeting my niece. :)