So a new year... I'm very apathetic about it this year. Well, I was last year, too. The most exciting thing is that we're going to a friends NYE get together and Kevin is bringing variations on his latest cookie masterpiece to try out/show off. Otherwise, it's just a normal nite for us. I'm off tomorrow, but he's gotta work, so it's not like we can stay late anyway. So, goodbye 2006 and hello '07. Eh... whatever.
My mother is Swedish. It used to be our tradition from the time I was old enough to know it, until I was about 20 that we had our holiday meal on Christmas Eve and we opened presents after... In Sweden, Saint Nicholas comes to your house via the door to actually hand deliver the gifts to everyone. (Now, I would imagine that's a bit harder with 5 year olds using texting devices. "Santa here. Got 2 go!" with the other child realizing Santa just got to his house, too!) Anyway, that was what we did. All the family came over to our house and my mom cooked and as kids we excitedly waited till it was dusk to begin asking if we could open presents yet.
Then something changed. My sister had everyone to her house one year. Then my brother and his wife at their beautiful new home... Then my other brother in Montgomery. Suddenly, the tradition was gone. My niece, Renee, and I have tried over the years to revive it without luck. After my father died, there seemed to be no chance that it would ever revert to the old ways. (Not to say that he was a big fan of everyone over at his house, anyway!) My mom's rarely at home. She doesn't want the hassle. My brothers both live far off. One nephew is grown and has to visit his dad and that family, and then probably has a girlfriend to visit with. Another nephew we just never know where he is or when he'll be around. Renee, who I think will always be around with me on the Holidays, now has a family of her own to make Christmas memories with - not that I won't be a part of that, but you get what I'm saying... There just seem to be all these reasons why not.
I never thought I'd be so nostalgic over Christmas. I truly miss that time when everyone was there. Now that I'm grown and don't care (so much) about the gifts, and find that it's truly more about the getting together and seeing everyone be happy, I realize how terribly I will miss that that how much I really appreciated it even as a kid.
So here's to traditions. Here's to families. Here's to everyone being with everyone else. Here's to holiday happiness.
On Thursday, Kevin came home from work about the normal time - 6ish - after doing some shopping for the holidays and grocery stuff... He told me he was bringing home some food, and when he got here, he had Chik-Fil-A. I was really excited. He also brought in the mail. He mentioned he'd forgotten a bag in the truck and went back down to get it... He came back up and set it down in the kitchen floor and I got up off the couch to bring the food into the living room and to check to see what we got in the mail. There was a card from my family in Washington, and I opened it, read it, taped it to the card collection, and walked back over to the counter... as I was walking, Kevin kinda chuckled. I asked why he was laughing and he said, "Your keen sense of observation." I glanced around, not noticing anything unusual, and then spotted it. A black box. A plastic handle. Yes. A Playstation 3. I was in heaven. Not only a PS3, but also Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. So we could both play!! So, we got it all connected, and have played a little bit now, and I gotta say, it's pretty awesome. It's very familiar if you had a PS2, but it's much better. And the games are better. I bought Dark Kingdom yesterday and played it today. I really liked it so far... Now, all I need is a Wii and the new Zelda game to make my holidays complete!!
Just had to share the joy!
How awesome is Gwen Stefani... I mean, anyone who includes anything from The Sound of Music into a song, especially if it's The Lonely Goatherd, is just freakin' amazing!! I really liked her first solo album and I'm hoping I really like this one, too. So far, it's pretty fun. Lots of self-references in there it seems. But that's okay. And as with the last there's such a wide array of sounds so far. It's not repetitive, and I like that a lot!
-Thanks, Kevin!!-
On Friday night Kevin and I went to see the Dixie Chicks in concert at the Gaylord Entertainment Center. It was AWESOME!! This was the Accidents and Accusations tour. Pete Yorn opened for them, and was great, but when the Chicks took the stage, it was incredible! They did about 2 and a half hours and I got to see them perform Truth No. 2, Sin Wagon, Long Time Gone, and one of their very best covers, Mississippi. Natalie did a lot of talking (imagine that!) in between songs, and she was really hilarious! There was a bit about Kevin Federline and Brittany and the missing panties pix... she was saying that the next song, she used to dedicate to K-Fed, and that since the panty incident, she didn't know what to think. The next song was White Trash Wedding! Hilarious! Anyway, it was a great show! I am sooooo glad that I've gotten to see them now. My "to see" list is almost complete. Madonna - check. Alanis - check. Dixie Chicks - check. Sheryl Crow - not yet. Janet Jackson - if she gets any worse, she may be bumped off. Christina Aguilera - can't wait for that one!
What song gives you the most holiday cheer?
Submitted by Roxy.
My absolute favorite holiday song ever is Sleigh Ride. I LOVE the version by Debbie Gibson, but just about anyone can cover it and it's awesome!!
An enormous stinkbug has attacked a rural homestead in the White House area...
Do you remember that girl who did the Glad commercials...? She was kinda perky, and she would always say, "So and so is MAD!..." It was always cuz their sandwich bag had spilled whatever it was containing. I really liked those fun commercials.
This picture makes me want to say, "David Champion is MAD!"
What were you afraid of as a child that seems silly to you now?
Submitted by navelgazer.
I think that I had pretty reasonable fears as a kid... snakes, spiders, ghosts, monsters, etc... My house was crazy creepy! And so were my woods. I was still scared of them even as I got older. Now, my woods are my woods and don't scare me anymore.
Maybe one that was a little ...silly, was the fear of spitting in the toilet. This might have been another one of my crazy moments, but I had this idea that the toilet water would somehow get into my mouth if I spit. How, I don't know, but I guess that's what makes it silly!
