The Inevitable Holiday Weight Gain

I'm now in California to spend my holiday break at my brother Jerick's. It's been great seeing him, Liz, and Aidan again. What I'm not so happy about is how I've managed to put on five pounds since I got here just three days ago. Argh. My parents are arriving from the Bay Area tomorrow, then my other brother John and his wife Tintin are arriving on Tuesday. I'm really excited to see them. I'm just dreading the weight gain that will come with all our holiday celebrations, which will surely be aplenty.

One small consolation about gaining weight in the U.S. over the holidays is that you can hide it all under winter wear. Nobody notices that you've gotten fatter since you wear so many layers of clothing. Besides, in the very unlikely event that someone does comment on your expanding waistline, you can always tell them you are just wearing a lot of thermal underwear underneath your clothes. Also on the plus side, the added fat will keep you warm, and keep your bottom padded in case you fall on it if you slip on the snow.

Snow Fun

The snow has been around for a week and I finally gathered enough momentum to get out of my house and do snow-related things before it all finally melted. Temperatures are rising a bit so that is likely to happen soon. I thought I really should go out, because a tropical girl doesn't often get a chance to play in the snow. Actually, to be honest, getting out of my apartment was not really my idea. My friends Maria-Ines (from Peru) and Geraldine (from Venezuela) called and invited me to go sledding, and so that finally pushed me to leave my warm bed. I was so glad I did, because it was the first time for me to go sledding. It was a lot like bodyboarding on the sea (if you lie forward on the board, that is), and a speed rush is always fun.


After we got tired from all the sledding (the tiring part was trudging uphill to start again), we decided to go to Maria-Ines' apartment and make a snowman there, since she had a lot of snow near her parking lot. It sounds like a dorky thing to do, but it turned out to be more fun than I expected. Maybe part of the fun was due to the fact that I ate a lot of the cereal that we used for the snowman's eyes.

Worst Snowstorm in 10 Years

Last week, Mid-Missouri had its worst snowstorm in ten years. And lucky me, I was right here when it happened. We had no class last Friday (unfortunately I really didn't have class that day), and so everyone just enjoyed the snow day. Some of my friends were lucky enough to have lived within walking distance from other friends, and they went sledding. I was extremely jealous, since none of my friends lived nearby. To compensate, I put some snow in a cup and made a sprite snowcone.

Being snowed in and not being brave enough to face the cold, I just stepped right outside my door and made a snow angel, after which I scurried back into the warmth of my apartment. A snow angel is something I've never made before, and it will probably be some time before I can do it again. I'm still waiting for enough energy to make a snowman, but the snow will probably melt before that happens.