6 posts tagged “christmas07”
For some reason, once the fanfare of Christmas morning was over, we put the camera away and didn't touch it again. So, you won't get to see the delicious ham dinner we enjoyed nor the yummy finger foods we snacked on later that evening while watching the Pats/Cowboys replay from week 6. But here are a few snapshots of the early hours at our abode...
Once those were thoroughly inspected, we made our way back upstairs to see what could be found under the tree....
I was rendered speechless and close to tears yet again.
It was The Daughter's idea, and given the oft-strained relationship we have enjoyed this year, that makes this gift even more precious.
I am doubly blessed. Not because of what I received, but because of those who gave.
Christmas Eve was our day to celebrate Christmas with our extended family. We took lots of pictures, as one should, and here are some of my favorites.
But they were there too, and I got a beautiful tart burner from Steve with one of my favorite scents, Midsummers Night. And a Sixteen Candles pen that says "Oh, sexy girlfriend!"
Very cool.
My parents gave the kiddos their gifts since we decided to make Christmas Day a stay-at-home affair...
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is my all-time favorite book. Ever. If you haven't read it, you should. Today.
I procured a paperback copy when I was in the 7th or 8th grade, and it traveled with me into marriage and to several different states and many different homes over the years. I read it at least once a year, every year, until we moved here two years ago. Somewhere along the way of this last move, I misplaced my tattered and torn copy.
So, I put that on my list. And not only did he get me a copy, he got one from the year it was first released...
...but the fact that he not only bought me this book, but looked for one from that first year of printings is just amazing to me. That is better than any so-called collectible could ever be.
I am blessed.
I set the alarm clock for 8 AM this morning so I could get up and finish the baking I am doing for my mother's open house this afternoon. Wouldn't you know I'd wake up at about 6:30 AM, lie (or is it lay? I can never remember that grammar rule for some reason...) awake for an hour or so, only to finally fall asleep with only 20-30 minutes before said alarm went off?
Despite that annoying start to my day, two cups of coffee, three final gifts wrapped, and a loaf of banana nut bread later, I can say I am having a pretty darn good Christmas Eve thus far.
I love the way the house smells right now - all bake-y goodness-y. I am still baking - chocolate chip-n-walnut cookies now. I love to bake. I mean, it is kind of a hassle - the gathering and measuring and mixing, but I love the end result. I love that I am actually quite good at it. I don't toot my own horn very often, but I have some signature baked goods that are oft enjoyed by family and friends alike. And that makes me insanely happy.
Much as hanging blinking lights on the entertainment system did this year. If you know me, you know that generally I hate blinking lights. Especially when they don't blink in tandem. It has always been a holiday pet peeve. But this year, I took a string of lights, added blinky bulbs, and draped them over the speakers atop the entertainment system, and for some unexplained reason, they bring me giddy joy in their mis-coordination.
But I digress.
I asked my mother what she needed me to bring for the open house and she didn't give me an answer, so I baked. Bread, cookies, pretzel kisses, and Mom-Mom's walnut cake.
The only thing that could make this day more perfect would be showing up at the parental's and finding Mom-Mom there. This is the second Christmas without her. Last year I adeptly avoided the potential melancholy at her absence by spending the holiday in California with Rob's yuppy parents.
(Which added it's own fun twist to the holiday, but that is another tale for another day.)
This will be the first Christmas Eve I've ever gone to my folks' and she won't be there. Not that we've been able to spend every Eve there - we haven't. We've lived in too many different states and towns over the past 20 years to afford that luxury.
But the Christmas Eve's we've been "home", she has been there. Until this year.
And I will giggle when I take that first bite of her walnut cake. The one she made for so many years until I took over whist she complained that the walnuts were too small or the texture a tad too dry - in the meantime quietly asking for a nice slice to take home.
I wonder if she will giggle too...
Happy Christmas Eve.
They finally posted the photos taken by the "professional photographer" at Rob's work's holiday party. I am not sure why they hired the guy - the quality is rather poor, but the pics are still kind of fun, so here they are...
We had a great time, if you can't tell. I can't wait till next year's.
Rob and I attended his company's holiday party last Friday night. It was held at a Crowne Plaza hotel near the offices. We opted to stay overnight this time so we didn't have to make the hour drive home at midnight.
We had a lot of fun last year and were really looking forward to this year's shindig. Even though we were staying in the same building, we were 45 minutes late due to a wardrobe malfunction (me). Let me just say that pretty bows are really only good for that - being pretty. That is, if you can re-tie them (which after a good 20 minutes of wrestling with it, I finally managed to do - but only marginally well).
Since we didn't have one of our home-grown photographers with us, we were at the mercy of the hired photog and friends to take a decent one of the two of us together. This is the only one I've managed to round up so far:
I saw lots of flashes when we were on the dance floor pretending to be much younger than we are, so it should be interesting to see those when they are posted on the company's team page some time soon.
(After 20 years together, we aren't looking half bad, eh?)
When I say trauma, I am talking severe. I mean, seriously, folks, what can be more traumatic than family portrait day?
And yet it is a necessary evil this time o' year. We generally do an every-two year thing, with the whole family one year and just the kiddos the next. 2007 marks the time to try to get all five of us to be still, sit up straight, and smile without looking goofy, drunk, drugged, or just plain miserable.
First you have the test poses, which tend to look something like this...
We were going to have Steve take pictures for us when we were visiting them for Thanksgiving, but for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to The Daughter going home with The Grandparents, sheer laziness, and not wanting Mr. Bill to make a surprise appearance in said photos, we neglected to utilize his photographic prowess.
Thusly, we were forced to use the timer thingie, which often results in photos like this...
Getting the perfect family photo, as you might have gathered from my title, was not easy. We took several shots, and then kicked out kindly released the children from the family room while I uploaded our master pieces to my computer.
Only they weren't master pieces, but rather a different kind of piece...
Back to the drawing board.
Did I mentioned that everyone had changed out of their "photo" attire and were comfortably engaged in recreational activities?
We pleaded with rallied the troops anyway, this time being wise enough to forcibly confine encourage everyone to stay in the area until we knew the pictures were print-worthy. That didn't prevent more photos such as this one...
But, alas, I am happy to say that after a mere four separate "photo shoots", we finally did prevail...
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