Christmas in October!

Can I just say that I love, love, love my Nanna!!?!?

Today I received a package from my (favorite person in the world) dearest Nanna! A few weeks ago, we were talking about me missing Cajun food and how it's getting to be gumbo weather but I have no gumbo. So, she said she'd send me a jar of roux with directions on how to make gumbo here in Idaho. Wellllllll..it arrived today! Woot.

Not only did my package contain the much-anticipated roux, but also some "Cajun spaghetti sauce" (whatever that is...hey--I'm grateful for everything, ok?), and traditional Cajun spices such as garlic and onion powder and gumbo file! She also included some newspaper articles and pictures from the hurricanes, as well as a hat/gloves set, and warm slipper-type-socks. I can't wait to show the hurricane pictures and articles to everyone at work. Oh, and probably my favorite goodie item of all was the bag of lemon heads!!

Let me tell you, this package of love sure made my day! It was like receiving a mini "Christmas box" in October!! Though, I guess most of you have no idea what I'm refering to, in reference to a "Christmas box"...

So...we have this tradition in our family that Nanna started when we were little and now I won't let her quit... For christmas she would always put together these "family boxes" or "Christmas boxes" with random things for everyone in the family...like funky socks, candy we liked, shampoo, toothpicks, envelopes...some useful and some fun things that come from like the Dollar Store or whatever...and I absolutely love the Christmas boxes becuase we just like tear it open and dive in, looking through it to figure out what's for us and what's for everyone else. It's kind of like a really fun scavenger hunt/guessing game. Over the years, there have come to be a few specific items that I know she always puts in there for me. These items include lemon head candy and funky socks, stationary, etc. So, when I saw the lemon heads and socks, it made me think of our Christmas boxes and how much I love them each and every year.

Last year, Nanna threatened to do away with the Christmas boxes, since we are all older now and the items are evolving into more useful, every-day things. In response, I complained for weeks about how it's just not Christmas without our boxes. I even told her that I'd rather have a Christmas box than a present, if it came down to one or the other. In the end, we did have the boxes for Christmas, after all...and I made sure to remind her that they MUST continue. So, today when I received the box, I told her that she better start working on my real Christmas box...or else. Hehe. (Okay, I was nicer about, but I did say that I expected a box for Christmas...tehehe. )

Anyways, I'm getting sleepy, so I think it's about time I get to bed. These 6:20 a.m. mornings suck royally...but I gotta do what I gotta do. Best wishes to all, and I'll try write again soon!

I love you, Nanna!
-Lauren