Releasing

It’s winter break.

I’ve always thought: yeah it’s break time to partay, go wild, and what not. But now I consider myself SOMEWHAT more mature and SOMEWHAT of an adult. and I notice that no, break is actually for:

1. Sleeping.

zzzzzzz…….

Well…in all actuality, the reason I wanted to spend the majority of my break sleeping at the beginning of break is because I had lost my eyeglasses and was literally blind. I felt like an old woman and my friends had to drive me around and read me items off of menus at restaurants.

The missing eyeglasses are still a mystery, but I was able to order some new ones from http://www.warbyparker.com , which I would recommend to anyone. You browse their tremendous selection of trendy glasses, choose 5 you like, and for FREE, they’ll send you those 5 as samples in the mail, you try them on, send them back, and can order 5 more samples, or order the one you liked! I gave them my eye doctor’s number and they were able to get my prescription and do all the work for me. With expedited shipping, I got my glasses 3 days later, taadaa!

With every pair you buy, they give a pair to a person in need! Which is something so beneficial to the needy. Glasses are so expensive nowadays.

2. Reading (currently reading Fast Times in Palestine because of my future hopes to take a solo trip to The West Bank this summer, cross your fingers).

3. Getting ahead on all your projects you left behind.

I started face painting as a side weekend job, not only is this GREAT money, but I’m also seeing it as a side project to express my creativity. I always think it’s creepy to take photos of the kids I work on at birthday parties, so instead I practice on friends and use them as my porfolio.

Another little project I took on this break was this gift I made for a friend for christmas. I bought the texas stand at a thrift shop, and used my collection of beer bottle tops over the year, and hot glued them on. No repeats of the caps!

4. Applying for internships/jobs.

5. Cooking/eating every single thing that is in your vision.

My boyfriend’s family is in Dallas, so I spent my first week of break there. We ate so much….but he also picked up this wonderful hobby of juicing. He made me plenty of this deliciousness which is purely veggies and fruits 🙂

His mom taught me how to make lots of their traditional Venezuelan foods.

These are Arrepas, you can open them up and stuff them with any meat and cheese you prefer. Similar to a Gyro.

This is Pan De Jamon. It was a long process to make but well worth it. Dough with ham, turkey, olives, and raisins in it. The contrasting flavors make your mouth water with every bite.

6. Watching TV, even though it makes you feel lazy. relax your brain.

I watched the first whole season of Showtime’s, Masters of Sex in the first few days of break. SO GOOD. and so different from anything you’ve ever seen before. A show on human sexuality set in the 1950s, topped with lots of typical exaggerated drama. Yum.

7. Not looking back on finals, or grades, or ANYTHING school related.

Just think about all the great times you have enjoyed this semester. 

8. ENJOYING THE FREE TIME.

Here’s a little bit of what I did in Dallas. The city showed me way more than I expected, next destination of the break is Grandmas House in good ol’ Brownsville, TX. Then my H-Town Houston Hood.

My Christmas Gift from Brian was this Free People Skirt ❤ , as much as I love that clothing brand, I can just never afford it. Good job boyfriend 🙂

My cousin Antonia lives in Dallas as well, so she joined us for the day. 

In front of the Dallas Art Museum which is completely FREE. Everyday. 

It’s a little north of Austin, so the climate is completely different, and the trees and leaves and all were such beautiful colors.

The Venezuelan becoming a true American. This was in Deep Ellum, pretty much the sixth street of Austin. We stopped at one bar and had the juiciest burger. And Brian enjoyed what WAS a delicious IPA, until he found out it was $8 for one glass…

We all spent the evening in Highland Park Village. This shopping center and whole area was like a touristy museum attraction to me, because you get to see the luxurious, glamorous, lifestyle these people breathe everyday. Seeing their different world was cool, but made me appreciative of my own. But their christmas lights were pretty and that was all we really cared about! 

My last night there, we went to the Fort Worth Stockyards, where you get a taste of True Texas. I felt eyeballed for not having my cowboy boots on.

With many restaurants, all being steakhouses….we decided to partake in the festivities.

Happy Holidays! Smile, eat, don’t feel so guilty about splurging on gifts a little, and if you want a mix of Christmas Jams, you can search me on spotify and I have created a wonderful Vurry Murry Christmas playlist.

Sincerely, 

Nadeen Abou-Hossa