Could the holidays get any better?

Hey to the reader,

First and foremost, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope you guys are all enjoying your celebrations as much as I have been. In case you are wondering, the picture above is of my beautiful girlfriend Steff and I. At the moment, I feel like the luckiest guy in the world, as we're still going strong, and things keep getting better and better. I spent 4 days in a row with her in the run up to Christmas day. We're utterly inseperable, and I love her to pieces. But I'm sure all who know me have heard me go on about her far too much, so I won't anymore.

This year, our family broke tradition. Usually, all our closest relatives come and spend Christmas at our house, and chaos is unleashed. Fortunately, my Mum was able to sit twiddling her thumbs. She passed on the baton (or thrown down the gauntlet) to my sister in law - wife of my brother, Merlin - Jo. Considering that they had just moved into a new house, Merlin and Jo did exceedingly well. Despite being able to pinpoint the exact moment when fatigue triumphed over Jo, the whole day was fantastic. It was great to spend the whole day in a new place and get more time with some of our less close family (the Nintendo Wii also provided loads of fun and was very well recieved).

Although I didn't much on actual Christmas day, I couldn't be more satisfied. I got some really cool, if unexpected gifts. One of the best things was Pulp Fiction on DVD. I had always heard good things about the film, but nothing really prepared me for how wicked it is. It's the sort of film where there is a lot of dialogue, but it is so brilliantly written, that some of the best scenes are when nothing really happens. I thoroughly recommend it to all who love film.

I have recently got back into snowboarding, as I'm going to California in February half term with my school. Rekindling the sport has made me realise what a great feeling powering down a slope is. Although I've had some trouble on balancing on my toeside edge, I'm sure I'll be fine once I get back onto real snow and have a good instructor behind me. California will be brilliant, as we're going to places like Universal Studios and LA. One problem it presents is that I'll have to spend an entire week without seeing Steff - the longest time so far - and of all the times it could be, it clashes with Valentine's day. I'll make sure to treat her before or after that week though.

Hopefully we'll hit a time when the dollar is at its weakest, so anything we buy will be extremely cheap compared to in the UK. If you want anything from the US, now is the time to ask!

That's probably the most major event coming up in the next few months, I think I've also got a Science exam coming up in March, which should be, fun...
In the meantime, I hope you guys have a great time, however you're celebrating the new year. Don't get too drunk, and drive home safe kids. I'll probably see most of you at school on Wednesday, if not I'll catch up with you all next year!

Best Wishes and love to a certain special someone,
JoeMI6