All I want for Christmas are... Strawberries!

I love strawberries! In fact, the only reason why I even considered migrating to the United States was because of those big, fat, juicy strawberries I see in the supermarket. During my almost one-year stay in Baltimore, I literally gorged on these luscious fruits almost as big as my palm, either with chocolate fondue or whipped cream. If heaven is made of your favorite things, mine will be full of strawberries, full and ripe.

Back home here in the Philippines, I ached for strawberries of my Baltimore days. I longed for them like a lost friend. When I got pregnant with my second daughter, the cravings became more pronounced. I perpetually hounded my husband about strawberries, but alas, my pregnancy was ill-timed. I didn't crave for them until after the strawberry season and the ones that were available looked like emaciated children that I couldn't bring myself to eat them because I felt too sorry for them. (Pregnancy hormones really hit me hard during my second pregnancy.)

I don't believe in maternal impressions or lihi, but my daughter was born with a vascular birthmark or a salmon patch on her forehead. I have one too, which only appears when I am ecstatic or livid. I call it my mood birthmark. I attributed it to the unfulfilled strawberry cravings I've had.

And so, this Christmas, I was blessed with a family friend who bought strawberries for us in Baguio and they were large firm ones that I have no qualms in eating them. And so this Christmas was spent making chocolate fondue for the strawberries. My daughter and I had fun dipping the strawberries in chocolate and arranging them in a dish.

Although I was mourning for Santa Claus, I comforted myself with white wine and strawberries, watching reruns of Ugly Betty with my husband and brother-in-law. My eldest was sitting on my feet reading Lemony Snicket's "The Austere Academy," an early Christmas present from her Santa Mommy and Santa Daddy.

I hope all of you had a great time these holidays as we did. I'm also sharing with you one of my digital scrapbooking pages. I've been into this hobby for a few months and I'd like to share this hobby with you, my dear readers.

Digiscrap Credits: Berry Patch Kit by Kristin Cronin-Barrow of Sweetshoppe Designs.