Christmas & New Years
I love LOVE LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!
went to family Mass @ St Gertrudes Smithfield -they had the cutest kid's Nativity play ever.
& then Midnight Mass @ John the Baptist, Bonnyrigg. i bumped into Renee L -no she wasn't skanky as rumours had it, she was nice.
We had SO MUCH dessert. Most tastiest was
- a traditional Goan cake. Ours took over 6 hours to bake! but it was so worth it. mmmmm it's the best!
present opening was so much fun! my sis & i bought pressies for most the family & i really enjoyed watching everyone open theirs
miffi you'll love this photo below!
My presents:
Christmas day itself was quiet, more a day of rest & recovery from its eve.
Boxing day was spent @ Tio Nando's & Tia Mimi's place. We had yum bbq lunch which extended to late dinner. Played cards, I won a game called King -it's so complicated, there's like 8 rounds or something. Joe beat me @ playing pool. I entertained my overwhelming 5 year old cousin Paula, & later on saw cousin Nunu's photos of his time in the Australian Army in East Timor in 06. He's my age & a Private.
Alternative New Year
as a family we'd always celebrate New Years at Church since I was in early highschool, so i've gotten use to it & nowadays look forward to it. However, this year the service was heaps long.
There was Mass for Solemnity of Mary Mother of God at 6pm & afterwards Adoration in front of the Blessed Sacrament till 11.30pm where there was Benediction & Divine Office prayers.
I thought i'd be extremely bored & distracted, but I surprised myself on how deeply i could contemplate & remain focused, it was really peaceful.
Afterwards we went to watch the city fireworks from Fr Michael's top balcony & simultaneously on his tv. You can suprisingly see the fireworks quite well from his balcony, though obviously at a distance.
When we finally got home, I ate Chow Mein our Sino-Timorese friends cooked for us.