We Survived

Christmas was chaotic and loud, but we survived. Luke was so tired on Christmas morning that everyone was awake before he was. In fact my brother came in and woke him up; this was the same brother who used to want to open presents at 4am on Christmas because it was finally Christmas. I was a little annoyed with everyone because he was very deliberately going through his stocking and everyone was trying to hurry him up. This time will go by quickly enough as it is; what does it matter if it takes a few extra minutes? Sure enough, he caught on that many of the presents under the tree were for him and they were all opened in no time.

I will have to get a photo hosting service that allows images to be posted directly instead of just links (stupid webshots). I took a number of pictures during Christmas and the ensuing Lego aftermath. I spent 8.5 hours on Christmas day assembling legos, stopping for church and cooking/eating. "Santa" got him the Hogwarts castle lego set, my dad got him the Durmstrang ship, and between us and other relatives he got the Shrieking Shack, Hogwarts Express, Merpeople, Dobby's Release (a little one, yay), some construction legos, Star Wars legos, etc. He is too spoiled and I know it is largely my fault. To his credit we did start to go through his old toys to see what he doesn't play with anymore and have taken a large batch of duplo-sized mega bloks to preschool already.

My mother's friend actually annoyed me more than my mother this year. He barks and makes wierd animal noises at regular intervals; it got old really fast and I do not understand it. She was a lot better than last year, definitely. My youngest brother really pissed us off at church on Christmas eve; he was loud and disrespectful and he's not allowed to come with us anymore until he can grow up. Fortunately I was four people away from him so I couldn't hear what he was saying, but Jay was angry with him and he doesn't even go to church usually. Christmas eve is the only time all year that he attends with me and sometimes I think it is only so he can sing "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" since he loves to sing that song.

Anyway, Jay slept all day Monday out of exhaustion from dealing with my family. I spent the day cleaning and doing laundry (well it wasn't going to do itself, was it?). I need some serious downtime and I don't know when I'll be getting it. Tomorrow I'm taking Luke to Legoland for the day and then we're going to go to my friend's new year's eve party. Today is Jay's birthday so we'll probably go out to dinner. I still need to take Luke to see Narnia, as I promised him we would do. I am working Monday to save my holiday time for Tuesday since leave early Tuesday morning to drive to Brian Head, Utah for three days. We'll still be there for Luke's birthday which is next Thursday. I can't believe he's going to be five in just six days. I still need to wrap his birthday presents that are hiding in the garage. We're having his party in the middle of the month at a big place called "Pump it Up" which has a variety of inflatable bouncies, obstacle courses, etc. He has requested a Harry Potter ice cream cake so I need to order that soon also.

I have not exercised since last Saturday though I did successfully avoid the egg nog shake temptation last night when we ate at the Chicken Pie Diner. I know I indulged too much over the holidays. Well, it's nearly lunchtime so I'll try to eat something healthy and then get some more work done this afternoon. It's unlikely I'll post again until after the trip unless I get a new photo hosting page set up to share pictures from Christmas. I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe New Year!

Four Years Ago Yesterday...

Yesterday was my four year wedding anniversary. Jay and I rarely exchange gifts for anything, so I was pleasantly surprised when he came home with flowers. This year has been a difficult one for me in our marriage, but I guess we're doing alright now. I know he will be a big help over the next few days as we have to deal with all of the family that is coming down for Christmas.

My family is a complicated situation for me, as many people who read this probably know by now. My relationship with my mother is very strained on my end. I wonder sometimes how she perceives it, but I am not close to her at all. She was horrid to me growing up and it's like she has no recollection for all the awful things she has said to me. Anyway, I don't want to dwell on that today. She and her friend came down yesterday for Christmas (at least she isn't staying with us this year). We were going to have a quiet dinner at home, just Jay, Luke, and I (and my best friend, Maya, who was down for the day). Of course my mom invites herself over, even though we'll be spending all day today, tomorrow, and Sunday with them. It was utter pandemonium from the second she walked in the door. Sometimes I think she is afraid of silence; she talks incessantly. I wonder how she ever manages to get a breath in as I never hear a big enough pause!

Today we are going to the Wild Animal Park with them. I have to be honest; I am dreading it. At least we are taking separate cars. I am just so exhausted already from spending a couple hours with her last night; the prospect of the next few days is really daunting.

Sometimes I wish for a nice, quiet Christmas with just my husband and son. When I was a kid we never had grandparents and aunts/uncles descend on our home. Our place just is not big enough for so many people; we have a two bedroom townhome with a table that just seats four. I do not handle the chaos well, and I buy all the food and do all the cooking and cleaning (if last year is any indication of what to expect). I don't know how to express this with my mother without her been irrepairably offended, so I suffer through and dread the holidays. I also feel bad because there are so many people who are lonely at this time of the year who miss their family with whom they cannot spend the holidays. Last year's holiday season drove me to anxiety and panic attacks and took several months of therapy to return things to normal.

Ah well, three more days and I'll have my life and home back. I am really looking forward to the week after new year's when we go skiing in Utah with our friends (their daughter and Luke were in preschool together and we all get along really well). I guess that will be my "holiday".

On an entirely different note, my best friend, Maya, was here Wednesday/Thursday this week. She is due with her first child in May (yay!) and I offered to make her a Christening gown for the baby (she is Catholic). She loves the pattern and was thrilled so we went to an LNS yesterday to get the supplies. Of course they were out of the fabric it requires and there is no other place to get it locally. It figures. I have ordered it though and will be ready to start it as soon as it comes in. I also met some people at the LNS who are just as enamored by the Chatelaine designs as I am. It is still not the same as my old LNS that closed, but maybe that will just take some time.

Well, that's enough for today. I doubt I'll be writing again until next week, so have a Merry Christmas (or a happy whatever it is you celebrate) and be safe!

Mystery 8 is Finished!

I even have a picture to prove it. I finished it Saturday evening. I am so glad to have it done. I don't know what I'll focus on now. I picked up Alpine Garden again last night and I may do parts 4 and 5 of that before anything else. I also have a Christmas ornament in progress that I may try to finish up before Christmas (and there are 11 other wips aside from those 2). I am probably going to start something new in January, if not sooner.

The other night I bought a crochet afghan pattern and some yarn to make a lap blanket for my church's Operation Touch program. They take blankets and other things to people in nursing homes. I bought some blue and white yarn to make a fairly simple afghan; I've only done a small amount of crocheting and it seemed like a good opportunity to improve my skills while helping someone else. I did pull my leprosy bandage out yesterday and worked on it while I watched Luke and his friend at the playground. It is extremely tedious but it's easy and doesn't require a lot of concentration. It is also far more portable than most of my other projects. I used to work on it when he was in swimming lessons over the summer. I am an extremely slow crocheter; I hope that changes in the near future.

On Saturday I went to a friend's officer commissioning (Navy reserves) on board the USS Midway aircraft carrier (it is now a museum). It was really neat. Luke loved it; we toured most of the ship that is open to the public. I also went to a Pilates class that morning and, consequently, was extremely sore yesterday morning. I am up to 80 miles on my Rivendell "trip". I have "only" 378 more to go. It will be a lot easier in the summer to make substantial progress since I can start walking in the evenings again when it is light out later.

My company Christmas (or holiday, whatever) party is this Saturday. I bought a new dress last week and it is quite nice. It is long and black with some tasteful beading. Best of all, it was on sale and an 8-petite although I am convinced that vanity sizing was utilized because there is no way an 8-petite could fit so loosely. I've been doing a fair bit of exercise, but not enough to fit into an 8-petite dress. Well, it's gorgeous and it fits and I can't wait for the party.

There isn't a lot to write that is particularly interesting today, I'm afraid. I am looking forward to seeing the Narnia movie. I read the books as a child and plan to re-read at least The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe this week so I can take Luke to see it next weekend. Jay probably won't go, or if he does he will likely complain about it and refuse to admit it's good even if he likes it. He can be so stubborn sometimes; he makes endless fun of me because I like Tolkein so much but I know he liked the movies even if he will never admit it and just goes on about how long and boring they were and how "only the nerds read it at his high school." Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be married to someone with whom I actually shared interests like reading, hiking, camping, etc. Or someone who actually helped around the house on a regular basis. Oh well. I made my decisions, and must live with them now; there is truly no one to blame but myself and anyway I wouldn't trade Luke for anything. Jay did do something extraordinary last week: he bought a Dremel tool (sweet!) and hand-carved a "wand" for Luke, a la Harry Potter. It is so gorgeous; I was really impressed. I have taken some pictures of it but haven't uploaded them to webshots yet. I'll post a link when I do as it is definitely worth sharing.

This and That

Today is the third day in a row that I’ve had ice on my windshield. This is the third winter that we’ve lived in our current home and I don’t ever remember ice on the windshield. I’m not waking up substantially earlier; maybe it is just colder this year.

The cold has kept me from getting to the gym in the evenings (well, that and the incessant errands I’ve had to run lately). I have decided that, starting today, I will walk home for lunch at least a couple times a week as long as it isn’t too windy or rainy. It’s cold today, but sunny. It’s one mile each way so that’s an easy way to get in two miles of exercise, although the mile back to work takes longer since it is uphill.

I received an e-mail invitation to a reunion group on yahoo for my high school class. It turns out our reunion next year won’t be until October-ish so that gives me a few extra months to get down to my goal weight as I was thinking it would be in June-July. It’s been interesting to see the people who have joined the group so far. I am still in touch with a couple of them but most I haven’t seen or talked to since high school. I definitely plan to attend the reunion; I think it could be amusing.

There isn’t really a lot to say right now. I’ve been busy finishing up my Christmas shopping and trying to finish Mystery 8. I’m over ¾ done with part 12 so it should be soon. Luke was sick over the weekend so I got several extra hours in on Saturday. I finally broke down and let him watch Return of the King. Now it’s time to let him see Fellowship of the Ring and the second half of Two Towers (he’s seen the first half). He wasn’t bothered by any of the movie (we did skip the part with Shelob) and really enjoyed it. I thought he would be scared by it but I’m really glad he wasn’t. He’s been begging to see the movies for ages. He has recently developed an aptitude for swordfighting. We have a foam sword from Legoland and he is maniacal with it and, actually, he has some skills. We bought a second sword but it is too flimsy for the first one so we need another one.

Jay started his new job yesterday and it looks like it will be a good fit for him. Unfortunately it is a lighted driving range so that means he’ll be working late occasionally, like tonight. I think Luke and I will watch The Amazing Race from last night and decorate our gingerbread house.

Well, that’s about it here. I haven’t been exercising much (hence the decision to start walking home for lunch) so I’m only up to 70 miles in my trek to Rivendell. Still 388 more to go…