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{ Sunday, December 26, 2004 }

Merry Christmas!

 
Sorry for the lack of entry yesterday, I was a little busy being Christmasy.

How was your Christmas?

On the way home from Christmas Eve, as we were careening down the interstate (covered in ice at the time), Shelly and I were talking about how anxious we were about getting to see Rabbit Hash: Center of the Universe. Mom and the stepfather had attended the premiere (naturally) and mentioned that it was available on DVD.

Shelly started hoping aloud that we might get a copy for Christmas, but I kept reminding her that there are only 500 copies in the world, so we shouldn't be too hopeful. Mom also sounded doubtful. Our stepfather kept saying "Well, I don't know...", but I didn't dare to hope.

Then, after we had wrapped our gifts (because you can't take them onto the plane wrapped, you know) in a hodgepodge of scrap paper we found in our room, we took them out to go under the tree... and there were little DVD shaped packages wrapped in Care Bear paper...

Had been able to locate some Scotch tape (we used poster tape to wrap our gifts because that was what we located in our room), I would have stood guard while Shelly opened one to see if our little Christmas dreams were going to come true, but we couldn't.

We fell asleep head to toe in our twin bed. The trundle bed that was our very first Big Girl bed, except the drawer was not available because it would scratch the new wood floor, so we slept head to toe in the bed. As we were falling asleep, we quietly sang a selection of songs from My Little Pony: the Movie.

Then we woke up and had Christmas! Mom didn't believe that we really bought her an LCD monitor (the present that neccessitated my buying a larger suitcase) until after she actually pulled it out of the box. The stepfather entertained us for quite a while reading his new book about how people have died at the Grand Canyon (they went when they were in Phoenix and that book was what he came back talking about).

Shelly and I actually received copies of Rabbit Hash: Center of the Universe!!!!!!! We also each got a digital camera. Because we are spoiled brats.

Additionally, I got an IOU for the alarm clock, because the weather had kept Mom from finishing her shopping. My cousins' gift was a very nice, very heavy set of cannisters. Mom made Shelly and me each four necklaces (rhondite, fresh water pearls, crystal and copper and I forget what the other one is, but it's black and clear and very pretty) and two pairs of earrings; they're beautiful, and she finally caught on about not making them twenty feet long.

On top of all of this, because, again, I am a spoiled brat, there were still more presents, most noteably a very large check from Mom. "It's not like this even covers the whole flight home." As though she has to pay for us to visit her.

Shelly has thoroughly enjoyed her piles of pink stuff and is laying on the couch with her My Little Pony and her new stuffed dinosaur talking to them about whatever she is watching on the TV right now. (Shelly is sort of a character. She is also very sick right now.)

I have already watched the Rabbit Hash movie twice, although we haven't yet made it into the town. It was only today that they came and plowed the road. I'm told Mom spent another hour digging out the drift that made in front of the driveway, and now there are no more cars abandoned at the bottom of the hill...

Last night ydelek met me at a White Castle at the exit, and we went to her cool aunt's house and talked and giggled until the wee hours of the morning. Then we got up this morning and did some more of that until five in the afternoon. Time always goes too fast when I finally get to see her.

So, that's my news. I haven't seen Em or Ellie yet... we've been playing phone tag for the last two days. Shelly and I are very very spoiled children. Shelly is very sick, and I am very glad that I did not share a bed with her last night. I am also very glad that I wasn't here at all when she puked.




Oh yeah, and tonight my mom made me eat dinner at a steakhouse. She seemed to think it was a little weird when I asked that we drive through Burger King on the way so I could go ahead and have a veggie burger for dinner. I confessed to doing that every time I have to eat somewhere that may or may not actually have food I can eat. I did not tell her that Shelly and I have done that every Thanksgiving and Christmas since I got a drivers license.

We arrived. I found the vegetable plate on the menu...

Waiter: "Are you ready to order?"

Me: "I have a couple of questions first."

Waiter: "Okay..."

Me: "So, this seasoned rice... does that involve chicken broth?"

Waiter: "It's either chicken or beef based."

Me: "Oh. And now I'm just going to guess that the green beans have meat too?"

Mom: "She's a vegetarian."

Waiter: "Well, yeah they have some ham in them."

Me: "What about the baked beans? Do they have meat?"

Waiter: "Yes."

Me: "Okay, so, um, which 'vegetables' don't have meat in them?"

Mom: (snickering almost uncontrollably in her seat, because she finds all of my misfortunes to be nothing but intense hilarity)

Waiter: "Well, the mixed vegetables don't... and... um...."

Me: "Mashed potatoes? French fries? Baked potato?"

Waiter: "........"

Me: "The french fries have meat?"

Waiter: "I don't... think... we have to put the chili on them."

Me: "Okay, so I am going to have the vegetable plate, with the mixed vegetables and the french fries if they can be made without meat."

Waiter: "You get four sides."

Me: "Yes, but I only have the two options."

Waiter: "Okay, so two servings of mixed vegetables and two servings of french fries then."

In case you were wondering, the french fries were wonderful, but the mixed fresh vegetables were the likely contenders, broccoli, cauliflour and carrots, served in little ceramic cups that were basically completely full of butter. Or some butter-like spread that probably contained more trans-fatty acids than the fries...




I was sitting outside smoking tonight and I couldn't help but think about how sad I am going to be to leave. I hate hate HATE the cold, and frankly I don't know if I will ever really be warm again, but I don't think there's anywhere that's prettier than Kentucky...

The Fine Print:

2003: Goodness but I was feeling whiney.

2002: The giant family Christmas party was at Mom's.

2001: No entry because my neurotic self was having the most neurotic Christmas ever.

posted by mary ann 11:34 PM


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