You remind me of the babe (What babe?) Babe with the power (What power?) Power of voodoo

RIP David Bowie. I never listened to your music much, but I have seen "Labyrinth" several hundred times and it wasn’t until the last time I watched it, this summer, did it dawn on me about how creepy it was that the middle aged goblin king was trying to seduce a teenage Jennifer Connelly. Still a favorite movie though, you really can’t beat the combination of catchy 80’s music and Jim Henson puppets.

I also want to send my thoughts to my mother's side of the family because one of the last of the Puente clan, my great uncle Louis, passed away this week. I only met him a few times but he was a very sweet man who helped a lot with the care of my grandmother during her last years. He will be missed by his family.

As I write this my bathroom is being torn apart with a new bathtub hopefully reinstalled today. This is just one of the many home repairs/remodels taking place in my flat over the next month. On the one hand it is nice to be getting all new appliances, and I have to admit my room looks much nicer with a new coat of paint, but on the other hand the builders always arrive annoyingly on time at 8 am. While this has made me an extremely productive person in terms of waking up and getting out of the house to go study before 9 am, this morning I am still slightly brain dead due to my exam last night and the last thing I want to do is to start studying for my next exam. So this morning I decided to hide up in my room (I honestly think they have forgotten that I am here) and listen to the sweet sounds of hammers and drills accompanied by the soothing melodies of Ricky Martin and the Spice Girls (got to love British radio) while typing up my latest blog post.

Lake Geneva

Cheeeeeeese

I did actually travel during this time between posts. For some reason it hasn’t felt like I have done a lot of traveling lately which I feel makes my blog a bit of false advertising. I first went to Geneva to visit my friend Louise, and second back home to Austin for Christmas. Geneva was really nice, small, quiet, and sunnier than London. The main draw was getting to see an old friend who I hadn’t seen in 6 years. I am pretty sure we talked for about 48 hr straight. My friendship with Louise dates back to when I studied abroad in France which is crazy to think about because that was 9 years ago. We have stayed in touch, one of the benefits of Facebook, and she is one of those friends who I will always feel comfortable messaging out of the blue if I am itching to get away, even if we haven’t spoken in several years. I like friends like that, because you meet up and it is as if nothing has changed, you feel comfortable in each other’s presence, and the conversation just flows naturally. She kept apologizing for Geneva being boring at that time of year, but I was quite content with the wine, cheese, and good vibes. I do want to go to Switzerland again in the spring or summer sometime, maybe even this year if I can swing it. Louise talked about wine tastings in May at the Swiss vineyards, and, well, one of my favorite ways to enjoy nature is at a vineyard.

Flower clock, one of the most famous things to see.....I don't know why

Jet d'eau. Again, strange tourist attraction

Front of the UN headquarters

I got to experience London at Christmas time before I flew home, full of lights, window displays, and Christmas parties. The English really appreciate a good Christmas party and most companies still seem to throw them though much like the US, people complain they are less extravagant now than those in the past. I was lucky enough to be able to attend three pretty fun parties this season, two thrown by friends and the third by my Spanish school. Good food, good friends, beverage a plenty, and a lot of happy holiday cheer, I have to say it was one of the better Decembers of my adult life.

Christmas at home was nice, quiet, and calm. It was good to be back and see friends, family, and eat all of my favorite foods (homemade tamales!). The house was, as always, decorated impeccably. The McElroy tree, though not the largest we have ever had, was still pretty impressive at 13 feet (I think). The highlight of course was Zoe and how excited she was about Christmas. I mean, just check out her Christmas morning outfit, that little girl was not messing around. She just knew she was going to come out on top when it came to gifts from Santa.

Cool kid

Patiently waiting to open her mountain of presents

While Christmas was great, I was excited to get back to London for New Years. Nadia, running with theory that small parties with food and friends are the best way to start the New Year, and inspired by the NYE party we went to the previous year, threw a Gatsby inspired party (complete with a champagne tower!). I love dressing up and the 20’s was a fun fashion era.  Everyone really looked super classy. I am thinking I should throw another 20’s party after all the work is finished on my flat just so I can wear the outfit again. The best part was Nadia’s idea to set up a make shift photo booth with props in the corner of her apartment. Also, climbing out on the roof at midnight to watch fireworks going off all around London felt almost like a poetic start to the year. I have grown to stop expecting much when it comes to New Year’s Eve because rarely have those expectations been met and I am often left with a sour taste in my mouth due to a mediocre night, but this year the night was everything that I wanted. Not being disappointed is a pretty good way to start the year.

With that said, Happy New Year to all!! I hope 2016 turns out to be as good a year as 2015 (personally, not globally, that mess needs some cleaning up). Already I have fun things to look forward to in the upcoming months: a trip to Argentina in March followed by a succession of visitors to London and who knows what other little trips I can squeeze in my time in England expire. Cheers everyone!