Christmas 2010

Wow... it's been quite a busy Christmas this year.

For us, it began on the 17th with a White Elephant Party at some friends'. We had a great time exchanging wacky gifts (which included an enormous pair of pants which could easily fit three people inside, a Daffy Duck hair dryer, a large naked doll that everyone tried to keep covered up that evening, and magical oatmeal that was supposed to guide the reindeer to your house on Christmas Eve). We also played a version of charades (I still think my team did the best wedding scene) and wax museum (where you have to stay absolutely still else you get caught by the person who is "it". Seth is a master at this game). It was a very enjoyable evening, but it would have repercussions for the next Tuesday night.

The next day (December 18th), we four (Seth had to work that day) went over to Grandpa Mike's house for Christmas with him. Some of our relatives from Greenville came down, and we had a nice time. We had a nice surprise in that Grandpa had converted some of the old videos from the 70's to DVD format, and we were able to watch two of them. It was humorous to see Dad and Uncle Jason (Uncle Josh was either not born or just a baby at that time) in some of their fighting matches and even play dirty in them. We also had a chance to see my great-great-grandparents' farm in Greenville, to see their horses, the tractor, the chickens, and also a chance to see other relatives that I have never met before.

Tuesday the 21st was supposed to be a Christmas program at the church. However, the party the Friday night previous meant that several people who had been there came down with colds, particularly among the party's hosts and who are the strongest choir singers. It was providential, though, as Mandy was indisposed that day, and they cancelled the program that morning. It has been re-scheduled for New Year's Eve, though there are still some sick folk among us and there is a chance Dad and Seth might not be able to make it. Still, I am planning on recording snippets of the show like I did for the talent show back in September; I've already got my mind made up on recording all of "Carol of the Bells", as I've fallen in love with the choir's version.

On the 23rd, we drove up to the Cumming area of town to deliver Christmas cookies to various families and to stop and chat for a few minutes. It was a nice time, and we had Zaxby's for dinner afterwards.

On the 24th, Mandy didn't wake up feeling well and was a bit out of it for the rest of the day. However, she was well enough to go with us to Uncle Jason's that night for the clan Christmas celebration. We ate dinner, and we sampled the mocha punch (it was delicious, but it made me quite jittery, which is one reason I don't drink coffee). Then we opened presents. I got purple boots to wear around the house (they are sooo warm, and I wear them all the time), a pretty shawl, some earrings, a bag from Bath and Body Works (love that store), socks (I'm always on the hunt for new socks), a photo album with pictures of me as a baby, and some hair thingies. Mandy got boots similar to mine as well as a scarf and hat (not sure what else she got), and Seth got new clothes (which Mandy and I were thankful for). After that, we had the white elephant gift exchange. Seth got a shirt that glows (no kidding), I got two owls (I thought they were cute, so I took them from Mandy), I forgot what Mandy got, Mom got a cat tray, and Dad got a set of dishes. After singing some Christmas carols and listening to Gabe, Noah, and Hannah play the piano (or violin), we went home. We have a tradition to open one present on Christmas Eve, and this year Mom and Dad had a specific one to give us: new cell phones that are absolutely gorgeous and were insanely cheap because of an instant rebate at the story.

On Christmas morning, Mandy generally gets up fairly early and does not let the rest of us sleep for long. This year, I woke up before she started calling me, and poor Seth had to be dragged out of bed. We had a good Christmas this year. Gifts included two kindles, a wok for cooking, clothes, Loreena McKennitt's new CD, Anuna's "Invocation of Ireland DVD" and much more. We spent the day enjoying our new Wii controller and game and just relaxing. We had nice visits with Grandma Linda and then Grandpa Mike and Marsha that afternoon. And then, it started to snow! Yes, snow on Christmas Day in Georgia. It was we kids' first white Christmas, and Mandy and I got some pictures. However, the temperature was not cold enough, and the snow started melting that night. The elders had to cancel church the next morning because the parking lot and sidewalks were completely iced over (not to mention some of the other roads were bad), so we listened to a sermon at home instead.

It was a very busy Christmas this year, but it was a good one too. The only sad thing is now that Christmas is over, I have only a week and a half left of my break from school and then it'll be back to the grind. Still, it was nice to have a break from college, and I shall savor every moment of it.

White Christmas in Georgia

Well, this is certainly a first. Dad has been down here in Georgia for well over twenty years, and this is the first white Christmas he has seen. Yes, it is snowing outside. It was raining this afternoon, then it turned to slush, and now snow is falling. It has slightly begun to stick, but it will probably be dark by the time a decent amount is on the ground. It's very pretty outside, but our concern is that when the temperature falls below 32 degrees, all the water from the rain will freeze and leave everything iced over. But, we shall see what happens.

I will post later about our Christmas. I'm engrossed in one of my presents and in the falling snow that is beginning to stick. :)

How to Miss an Eclipse

Practically everyone knows by now about the lunar eclipse that took place in the wee hours of this morning. Several friends on facebook were talking about it. I planned to see it but technological difficulties prevented me from doing so.

Last night, we had a game night of sorts. We had originally planned for a movie night with friends to watch "Inception", but with our TV acting strange, we changed our plans. It was a fun evening, and I discovered not to play monopoly with my cousin Gabe; he was acting like the city's mafia and was involved with two other guys in stealing the other players' money (which resulted in further theft from the bank). Anyway, because a few of the girls were spending the night, they decided to go to Blockbuster and get a movie. The TV still acted weird, but Gabe helped to keep it under control as they watched "The Last Song". By then it was after midnight, but everyone decided to stay up and witness the total lunar eclipse. The moon was beginning to disappear into shadow, and I wasn't sure about staying up late. I decided instead to set my phone alarm to 2:55 so that I could sleep for a while, wake up, go outside, and then see a red moon. I did this, but my alarm never went off. Apparently, I should have made sure that the alarm was set for AM instead of PM. Oh, well. I'm not sure if the others witnessed the event, but I'll have to ask Mandy when she gets up.

Six Kitties....

We have lost our reputation for having seven cats. We lost our sweet brown-orange kitty Fuzz last night in a car accident. I don't know any details about it except that our neighbor who hit him was completely distraught about what happened. He is now buried near Mom's lilies in the front yard.

RIP Fuzz: 2002- 2010

Snow in December?

Snow in Georgia is unheard of most years, and even then it usually appears in January or February for a day or so before disappearing and leaving some of us disappointed and the entire state in a panic mode like we just got slammed with the biggest blizzard the world has ever seen (yes, this is how people in Atlanta react to snow). Now there's rumors circulating around that we might get our first snow tomorrow, but it's expected to be only some light snow flurries. Still, I wouldn't mind a nice little snow shower myself. But, as some old-timers around here have pointed out, Georgia generally gets a big snow roughly every twenty years, and we're about due for another one. Judging from this unusually cold weather, I hope it's this winter.

And this isn't to get anyone's hopes up, but I'm looking at a free book copy of my two fantasy novels right now. Because I won nanowrimo this year, I got to get a free hard copy of something I've written. I do have the option to sell it on amazon, but I'm not going to do that because... well, frankly, because neither of my novels are ready for publication or public consumption; both are still a bit ghastly and need several more years of work done to them. I've uploaded the picture of my book on facebook, so check it out if you're interested. Even though it's more like a rough draft, it's still nice to have something bound and looking almost like a real published book.

Fashion Sense

Fashion sense on campus is pretty bad. Mandy has a lot of fun critiquing the students when I'm dropped off or picked up; her favorite (and I speak facetiously) are guys who wear skinny jeans. Sometimes it can otherwise can very disturbing with some of the girls dressing like... well, I'll leave the word to your guessing, if you can read my mind.

Well, one would think that with the cold weather making itself right at home in Georgia that people would start wearing pants and sweaters. I myself gave up on wearing skirts to school the week after Thanksgiving because it was just too cold. Apparently not everyone else shares my desire for warmth. Today I've seen girls wearing mid-calf boots walking around in short skirts (like, for example, above the knee) and a sweater. I guess getting attention trumps practicality.

That reminds me. I need to dig through my drawer and find my hat. It'd help me stop freezing during my long walks between the buildings on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Well, only a few days of classes left, then it's finals next week. If I can get this huge history paper done on time and with the proper number of pages, I will be an extremely happy person and will feel like leaping around and shouting for joy. So... off to the paper I go.

A Bit Frightening

I saw something a bit frightening at the GGCity Cafe today. It was after British Literature, and Blair and I were contemplating what to get to eat. We were standing in the cooler area when I picked up a container that contained key lime yogurt with some granola on top. Now, generally, the products that the eating places on campus use have some sort of expiration date. This yogurt had two expiration dates: one for 2009 and another for tomorrow (December 3, 2010). Blair and I looked at each other with disgust and fear on our faces. I think I'm distrusting the food at GGC a little more now.