Ah December. After spending the first week of the month in Mexico, my sister and I returned home to family, friends, food, pop culture, and more. Being home has been lovely, but it’s time to go back to my other home! But before I can go back to my Mexican home, it’s time for December’s edition of What I’m Into inspired by Leigh Kramer.
Books
In the beginning of December, I didn’t finish many books. My typical reading time was taken up by finishing up Spanish school and returning home, among other distractions. I made up for this lack of reading, though, at the end of December while on vacation in Florida. Here are my December favorites:
- March, Book One by John Lewis (READ THIS NOW)
- Legend by Marie Lu
- Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison by Piper Kerman
- Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist
The important thing is that I accomplished my goal of reading 50 books in 2013 by reading 53! If you’re interested, I created a shelf on Goodreads of my favorite books read in 2013. I’ve set a ridiculous goal of reading 100 books in 2014. I read so many great books in 2013 and I can’t wait to read more in 2014, whether I hit that goal of 100 or not.
Catching Fire
One of the main goals on my “In America To-Do List” was to watch Catching Fire. The first week back, my sister Emily and I went to see Catching Fire in the iMax. Let’s just say, going to the iMax as one of the first pop culture experiences after being in Mexico for three months was a little overwhelming. After I got over the initial shock of loud noise as the movie started, it was a great experience! I read Catching Fire in 2009, so I had forgotten most of the finer points. I loved this movie, and I can’t wait to see what they’ll do for Mockingjay (even if they are dividing the last book into two movies).
TV
Another In America goal was to catch up on some of my favorite TV shows. Thanks to the wonders of resubscribing to Netflix and a free trial of Hulu Plus, I was able to enjoy some episodes of favorite shows. I saw season 8 of How I Met Your Mother and mostly hated it. I caught up with both Parks & Recreation and Bones and really enjoyed both shows. I had other shows on my list, but seeing friends and family were higher on the priority list.
Disney World
My grandparents have become the kind of people who winter in Florida, so this year for Christmas my family went to visit them in Florida for Christmas. My sister and I had never been to Disney World, so our family went for a day. And, as expected, it was Magical.
Florida
After Disney World, my family and I went to the gulf coast where my grandparents stay. It was beautiful and so nice to be away from the cold temperatures in mostly sunny Florida.
El Fin
This December was full: tests, travel, family, friends, and more. As I finish up this post, I am preparing to leave tomorrow (Tuesday) to return to Mexico, a day later than planned thanks to bad weather leading to a cancelled flight. We won’t even talk about the incompetence of United’s phone, website, and app, but once I went to the airport and talked to an actual person, I was able to get my flights fixed. I can’t wait to get back to Mexico!
Lakesidegirl 
It sounds like an exciting life! Thanks for your blog.