I hope everyone had a great holiday! I figured if I’m going to do a Christmas recap I ought to do it before New Years. I’m not sure why I even feel the need to recount it but I do.
Warning: there are a lot of parenthesis in this post for reasons I can’t explain. Guess I’m just trying to let ya’ll into my head or something.
We had decided for various reasons to do Christmas with my parents and bro a bit early, on Friday. As I am one of those crazed last-minute shoppers with the frantic look in their eyes you can guess how I spent my Thursday night. I was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly the shopping trip went though. God bless Target is all I have to say about that. (Of course, my parents’ main gift was to be telling them about Bean but I’m saving that for another post.)
Friday we left Cooper to his own devices in the basement and a very generous father-in-law who agreed to come let him out around midday and The Accountant and I headed for the lovely hills of West Tennessee. Dad and The Accountant worked on business stuff and I hung out with mom. Or tried to, I think I dozed in dad’s chair by the woodstove for most of the afternoon. I’m afraid I wasn’t much company that day. That evening we “did Christmas”. The Accountant got some mysterious-to-me manly gadgets, tools, books, etc. I received books from my childhood (Ramona, The Frog and the Toad and I think an Amelia Bedelia one too), a movie, the most comfy pjs ever, a bootiful shoulder bag, and so forth. Cooper even scored a stocking.
I am completely drawing a blank as to what happened on Saturday. There is a very good possibility that I slept through that day but I really just can’t remember. I do remember (only because I just checked my day planner) that we went with the BIL and gfriend to PF Changs for dinner (this did NOT agree with Bean AT ALL) and then went to TPAC to see The Nutcracker (the gfriend and I came up with various names for it using our juvenile humor – a couple of which I will use shortly so pay attention). This was my first ballet. The Accountant had seen The Nutcruncher when he was a child but didn’t really remember it very well. After the gfriend and I got over our initial shock and awe at the *ahem* snugness *ahem* of the male dancers tights (giving new meaning to “The Nuthugger”) we all really enjoyed the performance. Over the next few days I was surprised at how many commercials I noticed that use the music from the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Advertising a Norelco razor with that music just seems so wrong. (But so does defaming this ballet with various tacky pseudonyms so ok, I have no case).
Sunday….hmmm…I seem to have another blank spot…I think I slept a lot once again…so forget about Sunday because I have no clue. Oh wait, yes, I wasn’t feeling well and was pretty much a worthless bum that day.
Christmas Eve was on Monday as you recall. I felt better that day so we went to a family shindig for a little while that afternoon. That night we hit up yet another Christmas show (for some reason this was the week the Finn house decided to become patrons of the arts) and went to see The Rockettes at the Opry House. (The Rockettes can be considered part of “the arts” can’t they?) Those ladies are amazing! For real. I was expecting to see way more high kicking stockinged leg action than I could stomach but they did some really cool choreographied dances and I was thoroughly entertained. My only complaint was that the filler material in between The Rockettes performances was a bit hokey but the 2 year old sitting in front of us enjoyed it immensely.
Oh, somewhere in all this (but not at The Rockettes show mind you), The Accountant and I swapped gifts. He gave me a digital picture frame which I have been wanting ever since I knew there was such a gadget. I have yet to set it up but that’s on my weekend to-do list. I gave him some books and miscellaneous things you don’t need to know about. (Get your mind out of the gutter, it wasn’t anything like THAT.)
On Christmas Day The Accountant and I decided to get all Martha Stewart and had Christmas brunch at our house for the FIL, BIL and gfriend. It turned out rather well I think and will perhaps become a tradition. We shall see. Also, I do believe a portion of my family had a Christmas gathering that evening that I skipped. Oops.
The day after Christmas The Accountant had to go back to work but I had the day off. I headed back to West TN, this time to visit the grandparents since we hadn’t had time to do that on Friday. I also got to tell them about Bean and I received the standard reaction which I’ll discuss later. Let’s just say I’m getting quite used to inflicting a feeling of disbelief on folks.
Since there was not a stitch of any type of Christmas decorations at our house I am happy to say that I do not have to take any of them down, always a dreaded task. I do believe this will be the last year for a naked house though with Bean coming along next year. I mean, what kind of a parent would I be if I didn’t put up lights and a tree for the little bugger?
Now you are caught up on our holiday shananigans. I hope you and yours had a blessed holiday and that the New Year holds wonderful things in store!
Note to mom: when you use parenthesis does the punctuation go on the inside or the outside of the parenthesis? And did I even spell “parenthesis” correctly?
