And a Jolly Good Christmas to You

Whereas my brother and father flew over to Japan to inject a little more family into my first Christmas away from home, this year I'll be borrowing Heather's family for the occasion. After months of planning and waiting for our first big trip together, it is now only a week until we fly from Tokyo to London before heading on to her hometown of Warwick.

Ever since we came up with the idea of me accompanying her when she headed home for the holidays, I've had Dickensian visions of a white christmas dancing through my head. I've been trying to ready myself for the actual thing being far less Halmark Idyllic (though with the wacky, snowy weather the UK has been having of late, who knows), but I'm still expecting the experience to be pretty swell as Heather's parents live in a big old house in a town that has its own castle. Also, she tells me that her dad places as much importance on cooking as my own father does. Finally, my cries for Fish and Chips, Indian Food, and good cheese have not fallen on deaf ears, and she's promised me all of the above, perhaps with some delicious baked goods thrown in for good measure.

Long story short, I'm expecting to come back to Japan a good deal fatter than I left it.

Now I just need to keep myself from going squirrelly as I play the waiting game for the next week. I also need to reign my brain in and plan some Christmas classes for the elementary as I'm already getting into cerebral holiday mode.