Although my week and a half at home has been quite relaxing, it's been full of photo-worthy events to be shared!
Merry Christmas! The Artemas family on Christmas Eve at Sts. Peter & Paul.
Eleni, Maria and I with Yiayia Sophie
Let's rewind to Saturday, Dec. 18 and go from there. Dean's friend told him about Glendi at St. Demetrios-Elmhurst, so Christina, Dean and I figured we'd try it out. Their friend was Greek dancing in this Cretan troupe and the three of us enjoyed a nice meal and danced afterwards. The unique part of this experience for me was going somewhere I clearly don't belong, not knowing anyone else there, and just making the most of the situation. We had a great time catching up, dancing and meeting fellow Greeks, but I felt not Greek enough to be there. If a group of college students came to a dance at Sts. Peter & Paul, the current college students would probably glare at them. But being on the opposite side of the situation taught me a lesson and encouraged me to attend such benefits in the future!
Dean and I
I spent a lovely night with the Flammily building gingerbread houses with Becca and Jessie! Mine is painted red (obviously), and is Christmas-y with its red and green gum drops, but Mizzou-spirited with M-I-Z on one side and Z-O-U on the other, bordered in yellow and black gumdrops and licorice.
Dean and I
I spent a lovely night with the Flammily building gingerbread houses with Becca and Jessie! Mine is painted red (obviously), and is Christmas-y with its red and green gum drops, but Mizzou-spirited with M-I-Z on one side and Z-O-U on the other, bordered in yellow and black gumdrops and licorice. If there's anything I've learned over the holidays, it's that crafts like this as well as dishes and cleaning are the most relaxing break you can take.
Jessie, me and Becca with our trees!
Jessie, me and Becca with our trees!
Problem: Since I've only been in Northbrook twice without really working at Friday's or having a constant babysitting job, I've only had these two times to realize how open-ended people can be when they don't use a planner. To take advantage of this essence, I volunteered to drive to Cincinnati and pick up my Yiayia Sophie to join our family for Christmas. Why go on a Megabus when your granddaughter can chauffeur you, and take a vacation while she does it?!
Meredith came with me and we had a nice drive there, visiting my Yiayia, three of my Theas (aunts) and some cousins. Meredith's good friend Jon from University of Illinois lives in Cincinnati, so we went with him and his sister to the zoo for the Festival of Lights! It was gorgeous!
Light show
We still got to see a couple of animals regardless of the surplus of lights and the cold weather! The elephants!
After the zoo, we decided to show Meredith all of Cincinnati and went to Fountain Square downtown. There was a nice ice skating rink we planned to skate on, but unfortunately it closed early and they were out of skates so we weren't able to pursue the plan. Our nice alternative was Graeter's Ice Cream, a Cincinnati classic, in Clifton and enjoying each other's company in a different setting than our college towns.
The next morning (we packed a lot into two days), we took donuts to my cousins Christina (left) and Jillian (right) who taught us how to play Just Dance 2 on the Wii. This game is not quite DDR, but instead lets you hold the Wii-mote and forces you to follow each move the character is doing, as if he or she is a dance instructor for let's say, a Zumba class. It was the most fun Wii game I have ever played and was a phenomenal workout. Meredith's psychic aunt purchased it for her for Christmas, so I will be playing again soon! The songs range from Ke$ha to Avril Lavigne to Mika, a variety of upbeat favorites. Give it a try!
After packing and a quick lunch at Skyline Chili, another Cincinnati classic, we visited my Thea Jeanie and her three children! Megan, Drew, me and Courtney smile below :)
We still got to see a couple of animals regardless of the surplus of lights and the cold weather! The elephants!
After the zoo, we decided to show Meredith all of Cincinnati and went to Fountain Square downtown. There was a nice ice skating rink we planned to skate on, but unfortunately it closed early and they were out of skates so we weren't able to pursue the plan. Our nice alternative was Graeter's Ice Cream, a Cincinnati classic, in Clifton and enjoying each other's company in a different setting than our college towns.
The next morning (we packed a lot into two days), we took donuts to my cousins Christina (left) and Jillian (right) who taught us how to play Just Dance 2 on the Wii. This game is not quite DDR, but instead lets you hold the Wii-mote and forces you to follow each move the character is doing, as if he or she is a dance instructor for let's say, a Zumba class. It was the most fun Wii game I have ever played and was a phenomenal workout. Meredith's psychic aunt purchased it for her for Christmas, so I will be playing again soon! The songs range from Ke$ha to Avril Lavigne to Mika, a variety of upbeat favorites. Give it a try!
After packing and a quick lunch at Skyline Chili, another Cincinnati classic, we visited my Thea Jeanie and her three children! Megan, Drew, me and Courtney smile below :)
Driving in Indiana with Yiayia sleeping in the front seat. This was what I actually did for 10 hours in two days, but you would think we id so much more based on our schedule! It was nice to get away and see my entire extended family on my mom's side while doing so.
The past few days have been a combination of going to a church service and eating with the family, all in efforts to celebrate Christmas. Christ is Born, Glorify Him, and hope you're having a fun break too!
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