December began just as Abuela was wrapping up her time with us. Nacho and I managed to squeeze in one real date night which meant a spontaneous trip to Dirck the Norseman brewpub in Greenpoint, Brooklyn on a Saturday night. The winds were blustery and cool and by the time we entered the joint, I saw the fireplace glowing and grabbed the nearest table. Sipping on some really divine beers was just what I needed and the food (chicken schnitzel and brisket) were both mighty tasty. I texted Soula on our way there and she and Kenny and her brother and cousin were able to join us a little later on. It turned into such a nice, low-key evening with some good people. Later in the week, we helped Mercedes finishing up her shopping for the family and she returned the favor by making some cocido, more flan and one amazing paella for our friends in Sunnyside who hadn't tasted the real thing before.
Then on Saturday I had my first round of Santa photos at the Sunnyside Gardens Holiday Boutique. It was a beautiful, balmy 55F degree day in December and the turn out was fantastic. We had so many kids out playing in the park and lots of families stopped by to get their photo with Santa. Even my girls managed to swing over (okay, really several times, some of which were whiny and distracting) and later we realized Carolina was slipping back into her on-again-off-again feverishness. Ah yes, the joys of a warm December mean that even when you are sick, you want to run around outside with your friends.
After my busy weekend of photo snapping, I was relieved to be off in the city one night mid-week to enjoy a little girl time. Turns out my entry in the PBS Downton Abbey screening and cast Q&A was a lucky one and I scored at first two tickets (which later morphed into a total of 5!!) to attend. Tania, Kristin, Katie and Jessie made the trek in and we were handsomely rewarded with an open bar, photo op and all the fun some pent-up Queens mamas desperately needed. It was terrific fun and I'm so glad we got the chance to do such a New York-media thing. Kudos to PBS for plying us with some large pour champagne and to Tania for sneaking in some pretzel/hummus combo packs so we weren't totally wasted on our way out the door. No, that came a little later at the sake bar in Times Square she took us to. What a perfect end to the night! The octopus balls, tempura, ramen and saucy-smothered fried chicken were all highlights. Yes, I might have gotten a little raucous a few times that night, but seriously, I needed it. Thanks again to my ladies for celebrating in style with me!
The next morning was a bit of a struggle, I won't lie. I had an ultrasound appointment in the city as a follow up to my annual exam. So drinking tons of water and hoofing it in while all modes of transportation failed me was not exactly what I had in mind. But hey, I managed. And Nacho came in to meet me and take me out for an early lunch date at Hide-Chan which is by far one of the best ramen joints I've tasted. So yeah, the flow of December is really picking up now that we approach the middle of the month. I can feel the countdown starting to tick off the days and the girls are still devouring the one-chocolate-a-day advent calendars. It also dawned on me that it was kind of now or never to get our Christmas tree up on Wednesday, so Nacho obliged and we ran to Home Depot in the afternoon before the girls made it home. All this nice weather has made it hard to feel like it's really Christmas time, but it is. And getting the lights glowing and the ornaments out has put me more in the mood. So bring it. I'm ready, Christmas.
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