Out with the old...

I can't say I'm going to miss 2008. Not to be a bummer, but it was a really difficult year. Lots of crappy things happened. Some really cool, great things happened too, but often they were overshadowed or marred by the bad. I don't let it get me down, though; I keep moving on. Some years are amazing, and those years wouldn't be as special if it weren't for the years that are bummers. It's funny too, because "8" is my favorite number.
Anyway, between my brother and I, we have pretty much blogged about all the highs and lows of 2008 already, so I'm not going to go into detail here. What I do want to do is write about how I spent the holidays, with my family back home in Kansas.
Dylan and I flew out on the evening of Dec. 23rd and we stayed through New Year's Day, returning to LA on Jan. 2. So, it was a nice long trip and a great vacation. Christmas Eve was spent with my entire family, enjoying our time together and watching a video I had put together of the trip that most of us had made to Paradise in July. That night, we all gathered in the dining room for the traditional Strecker Christmas Eve dinner of Oyster Stew. As we probably have several times before, we discussed this tradition and pondered it's meaning. Who started it? Which of dad's siblings still observes it? And why Oysters? Dylan pointed out how lucky we are that all of us kids ended up enjoying Oysters (he's not crazy about them, to say the least.) My dad pointed out that our cousin Stuart is allergic to shellfish, so he didn't think he probably carries on the tradition. Personally, I always thought that Oysters must have been quite a rarity in Western Kansas in the early 1900's, so it must have been a special treat for my ancestors. It's just a tradition that I like upholding. When else do you have Oyster Stew anyway?
On Christmas morning, we awoke and upheld another tradition - opening presents by the tree. I always thought maybe someday I would outgrow this but here I am, 31 years old, and I still get giddy on Christmas morning, despite the fact that I'm apprehensive about using the word "Christmas" anymore and I have to make it clear that I am not celebrating the birth of Jesus but rather the traditional holiday of family, giving, and new life. That said, we had a great Christmas, and I opened quite a few terrific presents and eagerly watched others open the gifts I gave them. We all got a kick out of our dog Royal and his presents! He got several and seemed to know right away that they were "his". He played with all his new toys, but his favorite was his new stuffed sheep, which makes a "baaa" sound when squeezed. His favorite game is to bring you a toy, then when you take it from him and throw it, he runs and gets it. However, he doesn't bring it back to you. He either takes it and runs off with it, or he'll come back to you and then keep running right past you, trying to tempt you into chasing him for it. I chased that sheep around quite a bit while I was there!
The true highlight of the day though was a divine meal prepared by my sister, Adrienne. I have pretty stiff competition now when it comes to being the family chef. In fact, I was completely outdone this time! Adrienne prepared a gourmet meal with all the fixings, and I can't say I've ever had a better meal in any restaurant or elsewhere.
Brandon left us to go back to LA that evening unfortunately. The remaining days before the end of the year were lazy and often uneventful, but special nonetheless. We all went to see "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" which was an excellent movie to see together and we all thought it was great. I got a new tattoo in Lawrence, we took Royal on several walks and to the dog park, went shopping, watched movies, and played a lot of Wii.
On New Year's Eve, we went to see my cousin Denise and her new baby, Jenna, who was just born in November. It was nice to see Denise as it's been several years, so to get to see her new house and meet her baby was really special. Her husband, Rich, was in my class in High School but he was working that day so we didn't get to see him.
That night, Dylan, Adrienne and I went out to Missie B's, just several blocks away from my sister's house. It was fun drinking and talking with Adrienne and I wish we got to see her more often. She ended up going home shortly after we rang in the new year, and Dylan and I tried to go bar-hopping but ended up doing a lot of walking out in the freezing cold night air. It was fun though and we both thought it was a nice change from New Year's Eve in LA.
I woke up with quite a hangover on New Year's Day so when we got back to my parent's house, I was thrilled to smell my dad's Paella cooking on the oven! I guess this is a new Strecker tradition, started by my aunt Mary. It's definitely one I like! The paella was very tasty and was a very good cure for hangovers and for stuffy noses and colds. Plus it was delicious.
Dylan and I got back to LA on Jan 2 and Brandon picked us up from the airport, which was a nightmare. Remind me not to fly out of or into LAX anytime near the holidays again.
Saturday, I went to a funeral service for the father of my very good friend Von. It was a nice service which included a really neat slide show of photos and videos from Don's life. I only met him a few times including one Thanksgiving dinner that I spent with their family. I had just lost my Uncle Al earlier in the month, and my friend Kristahn also lost her Uncle around the same time, and losing someone close to you around the holidays is so difficult. I was glad I could be a part of their grieving process and share with them in honoring their father's life.
On Sunday, Dylan and I went and picked up a couch from a co-worker of Dylan's. It's a light blue sectional that really fits our living room perfectly! We had to do quite a bit of rearranging to get everything to fit just right and there's still alot of work to be done to get the apartment the way we want it to be, but when we're done it's going to feel like a whole new place, which is a great way to start out the new year.
So, goodbye 2008. I am sure 2009 will be better.