merry christmas!!

Well, Christmas has finally arrived!  Though Christmas this year is very very different than every other year, it's still my favorite time of the year.  We're certainly missing all of our families and loved ones, that's for sure!! But we're enjoying being together and celebrating some of our own traditions. 

This afternoon, we went skating on this cute little rink nearby. 

It's about -20 celsius (like -5 F), but we managed to get a good 40 minutes in before our fingers and toes were totally frozen.  I had 3 layers of bottoms on and 5 layers on top.  haha.  We shot the puck around a bit and had a great time.  I can't remember the last time I've skated outside like that!  There are several rinks like this around the city.  They freeze a lot of the soccer fields in the winter for people to skate on.  We'll definitely be going back (hopefully it will be warmer next time!)  It was also a good practice run for J, because his team will be playing an outdoor game in February in this stadium:

1952 Olympic Stadium

 

 Probably won't be quite this sunny though! haha

That will be a chilly one!!  They have already sold 30,000 tickets for it, so it should be a great atmosphere aside from the Arctic air.  They play their big rival team, so it will be even more exciting.  I will definitely be layering up- and possibly coming home for hot cocoa in between periods- it's right next to our apartment! :)

Tonight we will be having a Christmas Eve meal here just the two of us- I can't wait!  Then, we each get to open one present (the rest will have to wait until tomorrow morning!)  We'll also be Skyping our families, which will be nice :)

Tomorrow morning we'll be having brunch and opening our presents in our PJ's, then in the afternoon we're heading over to celebrate Christmas with 2 of the other American guys on the team, and one of their wives and baby.  It will be nice to get together with others and make the day a little more special, plus have all the yummy food!  My task was dessert- we thought we'd play it safe with chocolate covered pretzels and strawberries, and then go a little crazy and make Peppermint Ice Cream/Chocolate Cake.  It's halfway done right now, and I can't wait to finish it!  It looks absolutely delicious.  I'll have to share the recipe after I am finished and can have some taste testers :)

Even with all of our festivities, it still doesn't really feel like Christmas.  I guess we're just going to have to redefine our definition of "Christmas" cause I don't think it will be changing anytime soon!  :)



Hope you all have a wonderful holiday.  Enjoy the food, family, friends and togetherness.  Take time to reflect on the past year and everything that has happened, and to be thankful for everything you have!  

♥Merry Christmas

Hyvää Joulua♥