I went to San Diego for Christmas. All we did was go shopping. I didn’t even buy much!
Here are some pictures of UTC, University Town Centre, the mall. I’ve been going to this mall since I was like 7 or even younger!

I’m off to Ottawa for Christmas, I’m just going for a couple of days, so I’ll be back for New Year’s with all the information of what’s happening in and around Toronto.
I don’t quite “celebrate” Christmas, but I like saying “Merry Christmas” and not “Happy Holidays”, I don’t get offended or anything, even if I don’t celebrate it.
So there you go…. Merry Christmas everyone!!!

An iguana singing Feliz Navidad.

I like the spirit of Christmas, the getting together and the exchange of gifts, especially for kids. Christmas for children is a magical experience, a time they wait for all year long, making a list of what they want and hoping to get it.
It is not so much like that for me, it’s not like I can make a list of “what I want”. If I want something I probably already bought it, and if I can’t afford it why do I want it anyway.
Come Christmas, I am lucky to be surrounded by people who love me and want to give me presents, yet, I don’t want anything. Do I really want another “scented candle” (just an example), it’s just stuff that will accumulate in my house. I really don’t have a need for anything specific. Similarly, I don’t want to be thinking what to get people. Again I would be getting them a scented candle, or a mug, or something like that. Just a waste of time and money, they probably don’t need it anyway and, although I’m sure they would appreciate the gift and the thought, it is not absolutely indispensable.
So this year I have decided to make a donation to a charity close to my heart, the amount of money I would have spent looking for and buying gifts is now going to a good cause.

Daniella and Maria
Originally uploaded by Maria in Toronto.

Loyal readers may remember Daniella, who moved to Toronto a couple of years ago to pursue her PhD at U of T (she has a blog here: cuatro sentidos -it’s in Spanish, though). She came with a seeing-eye dog, Roger. After years of loyal service and companionship, Roger died unexpectedly in August. Since then, I have learned how difficult and expensive is to get a guide dog for a disabled person. Luckily, charities exist that are completely dedicated to that, and the blind/disabled person does not pay to acquire the dog (they have to take charge of all maintaining expenses and veterinary fees, though).
That is why I decided to give my donation to Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind, a registered charity that does not have the marketing power of World Vision, The Salvation Army or the United Way (not that these are non-worthy causes or anything).
There will be no Christmas gifts for absolutely anyone this year (I know, it sounds like a Seinfeld episode, George Costanza tried to pull off a scam like this, but I assure you it’s for real). I also am inviting everyone to give a donation to Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind, or to any other charity close to their heart. In this world of materialism and consumerism we do not need more “stuff”.
There will be no “gifts” this Christmas.

We just came back from Ottawa and I have to say the Porter flight is so convenient. It’s like taking a bus or train but way way faster, you go to the Island Airport, get on the plane, leave, you’re in Ottawa in one hour. It’s amazing.

We had delicious Christmas dinner and lots of presents and much fun.

We went for a nature walk on Christmas day and we almost had a mishap. The lake was frozen, there was so much snow there was no path and we had no snowshoes. For a moment we were walking on the frozen lake and didn’t realize it, we almost broke some of the ice but at the end all was good. We made it home safe and sound.

Oh my god, it’s not even Halloween yet and my book has started to fill for dates for Christmas/holiday parties. HELP!!

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I took the 7:45 VIA train to Ottawa on Saturday. I arrived there just after midday. James was already waiting for me at the station wearing his Santa hat. We drove to his parents’ house and proceeded to wrap all the presents and put them under the tree. Later that evening we all went to James’s sister’s apartment for dinner and then we went to a dance club called Heaven. We had a riot and got home at about 3:30 AM!Sunday we slept in and then went shopping and to visit some friends of James’s. We hung out and didn’t do much.
Christmas morning we woke up for the presents. It was the first time that I had a stocking full of presents. We just don’t do that in my family. It was really nice and I had great fun. We went hiking (the original plan was to go cross-country skiing, but there was no snow). We had a delicious pasta and mushrooms dinner. Later we watched the Queen’s Christmas broadcast.
It was snowing on Boxing Day so all the kids (OK, James, his two sisters and me, if you can call us “kids”) made a gigantic snowman. We had an early delicious roast dinner and then took the train back to Toronto.
On our way back, we had the most hilarious adventure, there was smoke coming from the bathroom and someone got busted for smoking there. Really, I don’t think it’s worth $1,000 fine and a criminal record for a stupid cigarette, but go tell that to smokers!
All in all we had a marvelous Christmas and I loved my presents and James loved his!

(click on the pictures if you want to see them bigger).

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Santa James
Originally uploaded by Maria in Toronto.

Yesterday we went for a sushi lunch. It was really delicious and, as always, I ended up eating triple what James ate. At the end of it James mixed all the remaining wasabi (all of it!) with his soy sauce and dipped his last piece of sushi in the resulting concotion. It was so funny to see him make faces and almost cry because it was so hot. I took this picture just after that. You can see that James is hiding his face, maybe in shame, hahaha.

Note: If you click on the picture, you’ll find a Christmas surprise.

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