Sunday, December 26, 2010

Christmas Inside My Head

I've heard a lot of "What are you doing/did you do for Christmas?" I keep responding with, "I think I'll write a blog entry on my Christmas and you can all see from that." So, here it is. :)

My Christmas started on the 23rd, when we went to Aaron's family's house. Before we left, we opened gifts with Cassie. From that session I ended up with a huge, lovely jewelry box from Aaron...
It looks something like this, but much more decorated and beautiful. I'll get pictures after I empty my camera. From Cassie I got Despicable Me, and a video game. Despicable Me is one of the cutest videos that came out this year. I quite love it.

When we showed up at the parent's house, we played card games for a while. I'm pretty good at playing Bullshit because I sit quietly, under the radar, and don't put down more than one card at once. Golf, I don't really do well because the rules are sketchy to me. Enough of games. On to the roast. It was amazing, with mashed potatoes... and pie... I love eating homemade food, and this was very good.

When we finished eating we decided to open presents. The tree, which is gigantic, looked like it had exploded at the bottom with gifts. I laughed cause I thought of our little tree that my family had growing up-it was usually a 4-6 footer-next to their really big one. Aaron and I have a 6-foot tree, and it is still a lot smaller. Good thing we were small little people in a small house with our small tree and small presents when I was a kid.

Aaron and I got an LCD big screen tv... That was the highlight as far as Aaron was concerned! Let's just say I would have been content with the yoga/pilates outfits and the Maurice's gift card. We got a griddle which turns into a waffle griddle and makes all kinds of things. I used it just this morning to make pancakes. :) And I got the coziest pj pants and slippers, and Aaron and I got 'exotic' alcohol from his brother... It was amazing.

We did watch Despicable Me afterwards, followed by the rousing movie Shoot Em Up, which reeked of sex and assault and guns. Somewhere in there Dan and Aaron and I also played a pretty awesome video game called Castle something, where I, as a beginner, got to kill about 26 bad guys my first round! (The guys were helping me a lot, though.) By the time we went to bed it was pretty late...

On Christmas Eve, we went to the first set of grandparent's house. They are the center of activity, as far as I've seen. We go to their house on the 4th of July to be part of parades, races, food, games, etc. Every Christmas Eve they host a huge bingo party. I've heard a lot of funny things about the past year's parties, so I was intrigued to go experience it for myself this year.

We got to do a craft first. All the ladies made watches. We started with watch faces and made our own personalized wristbands to attach them to. I made 3, and made Aaron's mom one. That was a fun project, and we followed up with some prime rib, more mashed potatoes, and a ton of other foods...

Let me tell you about mashed potatoes. Where I come from, that is the most highly appreciated food you can cook. When I was younger, my sister Berea and I would sit and peel a couple dozen potatoes. Then we would chop them, boil them, and finally whip them up with milk and butter. We never had instant mashed potatoes until the divorce, and even then, REAL mashed potatoes prevailed. We would ignore whatever other food was on the table: meatloaf, corn, yams, stuffing, rolls-and load our plates with these potatoes! Every time. This was our addiction.

So we ate this amazing dinner where I had 2 plates of mashed potatoes, because that is my personal rule. Then we sat around and groaned for a while about how full we were. Then we played Bingo. With their rendition, when you win a prize you can either open a new gift or steal someone else's. They have a lot of silly prizes and a lot of really nice ones. I didn't think I would fare too well since I'm a quiet person, but I actually was very pleased with my prizes.
I got this Husker hat, which fulfilled all my Christmas dreams. I LOVE this hat!!! To prove it's my favorite thing, I have worn it practically nonstop since I got it. I also got a set from Bath and Body Works called Pink. I love the scent of it. And a couple of Itunes gift cards, and a nice set of dinnerware... and a marshmallow sucker... and other stuff... plus Aaron's grandparents gave me a couple nice gifts as well.

We got to eat again before we went home, and sit around and groan some more. Then we returned to the house for the night. Christmas Day we came back to town. I had asked to work Christmas Day because I get time and a half. I worked 11.5 hours, so I definitely get a good paycheck this period!! Plus family came and visited me all day long, and I got to party with them and my coworkers. This is my second cousin Jessica:
She's pretty much the sweetest doll I have ever met! She played with me for almost 2 hours and never stopped hugging me and grinning. She looks so much like my cousin, her daddy Jon. Jonathan and I talked for a long time, remembering our past life of crime with wistfulness. Like how we ripped up my mom's new grass with our awesome waterslide. Or how we would con our moms into believing we were working, when in truth we were doing anything but. My cousin Nate was there too, and he bitterly recalled our adventures involving himself and duct tape. Jessica's mommy is a sweet, sympathetic girl who has become close to me in the past few months. We got to talk about family issues, both hers, mine, and Jon's. She also gave me a fruit roll up from my little brother, which was really cute. Aaron and I ate it while watching A Christmas Story in the bar last night. that's how fun my work is. :)

Last night I got off early, which was nice, and went home for some quality alone time with my husband. We went out and admired the snow, the stars, and breathed in the deeply frosty air for a while. We set up our new tv, which now is in competition with our tree for the most space on that particular wall of our living room. I think it's winning! And then we had a few celebratory shots of buttery nipples and went to bed. Today I am meeting my old neighbors for pizza, then meeting another friend for my baby fix. And then I might do a little shopping for my Secret Santa at work, play some video games, and relax until Aaron comes home with the rest of my gifts and more homemade food.

This holiday season has actually turned out to be probably the second best one in my life. Amazingly I say that, because I really went into it with a negative attitude. But I ended up having a wonderful time, and maybe this is what Christmas is actually supposed to feel like. The anticipation of giving Cassie the beautiful opal ring we saved up for. The look on Julie's face when I announced that she, Cassie and I were going to get a spa package (1-hour massage, 1 hour facial, pedicure, manicure, and hairstyle... mmm!!!) on us. Looking for just-the-right gift for Gloria and Chad and the triumph Aaron and I shared when we found it. Christmas movie marathon while we baked cookies and red velvet brownies. Realizing how much work my mother and father-in law went to to make my Christmas memorable and perfect. Maybe these are the things that Christmas is made of. If so, I'm very glad I've found it. And now, in the words I am learning to speak fluently,

Joyeux Noël, et puissiez-vous trouver votre bonheur!

1 comments:

Gloria said...

Awww.....yay! :) This post makes me happy!!! Glad you had such a marvelous Christmas- you deserve it after the year you've had!

Enjoy the luxurious Canadian made body and lip butter! ;-)