I know since I don't blog on a daily basis, some of mine can become LONG drawn out sagas, but I'll try to break this one up. I do actually have several things I want to discuss and most of it is NOT relationship crap!
1) Christmas at my Mom's house was really, really good. I was able to spend some time with my good friend Kodi and her little girl, Emmarie. We met for lunch at Chucky Cheese because that's where Emmarie wanted to go. I gave Kodi and Emmarie their gifts--Em's response to each one was so cute, "Ooohhh...thank you for the ____________. It's so cute!!!!!" (I had given her the set of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse plate, bowl, cup and placemat. She had no idea what the placemat was for.) She spent her tokens and racked up a bunch of tickets, which were then promptly exchanged for candy. What else is there when you are 3?
2) My brother and his wife, Terri, came up to spend Christmas with Mom as well. I never get to see them hardly, except for Christmas and maybe the 4th of July. I want them to come up to KC this summer (HINT...HINT...) and spend some time with me on vacation! I've got a pool...! Seeing my grandma also made me realize just how bad her condition has worsened over the years. I don't think she's ever been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, but she definitely has a case of dementia. Last Christmas I didn't think she'd live to see this Christmas, but she's still alive and kickin'! I don't think she knew who any of us really were, but it was really good to see her again. And of course, Mom fixed enough food to feed the Infantry division even though it was just the 6 of us!
3) Santa brought me a ring for Christmas. It's a pearl setting with diamonds on either side. I wanted one to wear on my ring finger in place of my wedding set. I have to admit that it does look good--the pearl matches the ring my Dad and step-mom gave me two years ago. For Christmas, I also received some new clothes, 90210 DVD sets (I know...I know...but they make for good scrapbooking!), a couple of movies, and a cute zebra-striped bag that I'm actually using as a purse.
4) After Christmas, I came home on Saturday to meet Todd and his friend Jeff to see the Jeff Dunham show. Since Todd and I bought those tickets back in October and he is both of our favorite comedien/ventriloquist, neither one of us wanted to give up our ticket. The night worked out just fine. I genuinely felt like I was out with two friends, not a husband or boyfriend, etc. The show was FANTASTIC!!! The seats were further away than any of us wanted, but thank to the jumbo-tron, we were able to see everything. I was even pleasantly surprised by how the pictures turned out on the point-and-shoot camera. The best part of the show was at the very end during his encore. Jeff brought out Bubba J, his Nascar-watchin', beer-drinkin', good ol' Southern boy. He started out doing his standard jokes and about 3 minutes into it, the entire audience started saying the punchlines with him. I think we freaked him out. Jeff said this was definitely one of the weirdest shows he's done in a long time.
5) Following the show on Saturday, I had to wake up before dawn to catch my flight to Memphis to see Pat, my step-mom and that side of the family. I hadn't seen them since May or so when I went over for the drag races. Seeing her and especially my stepsister, Trisha, was very therapeutic for me. Trisha and I spent most of the days from about 1 in the afternoon until 11 or midnight shopping!! Kodi, I even got to visit Eclectica, the WOWSA scrapbook store there!!! It was heaven on earth. I spent WAY too much money there, especially considering I haven't really done much in the way of scrapping in a long time, but I figure I'll get back into the groove shortly when my life begins to calm back down. Now I know how a druggie feels when he gets his high. I was definitely feeling it when I walked into that store. Pat let me sleep in and once I woke up, I felt just like a little kid again. I'd climb into her bed and we'd watch "The Price is Right" or some cop show on TNT. We chatted about anything and everything. I do hope I get to see them again soon. Before Trisha took me back to the airport, she swung by Dad's grave so I could spend a little time with it before leaving. This was the first time since he passed away November 6th of 2007 that I had seen his grave with the headstone. It was one of those things that kind of caught me off-guard even though I knew he was there. This, though, made it truly sink in that that's where he was. I guess just seeing the stone for the first time made an impression. It was beautiful!
6) After New Year's some friends and I made our way back to Ernie Bigg's, a very happening place in Westport. This was my third time to go and it is just so much fun that I know I will go back again and again. We could look at Marcus play all day long...
This is my friend Jill who is also going through a really tough time in her relationship. She definitely needed this night to get away! We both did!
7) Now my life is back in the school and I am going back to the gym days a week. I would LOVE to be down 10 pounds by the end of January. We'll see!!
