A (Not So) Quick Holiday Recap...

A belated Merry Christmas! I hope everyone had safe travels, presents of things they didn't know they had always wanted, and was able to enjoy the magic of the days.

I've been in the land of dial-up, and at the in-laws, so no way was I going to get any privacy to post a day by day record of events!

So here goes - please note that each item could be an entry unto itself:

-DH's work Christmas party Friday night: open beer/wine, buffet, Secret Santa exchange (his Santa and I are friends, so the major portion of her gift was really something for me...oops!). Biggest negative was my having to hurl before we got very far out of the parking lot after leaving the party. I'm calling it food poisoning because I felt just fine about 2 hours later once everything had made it out of my system, and because I only had 2.5 medium glasses of wine. Luckily I had made DH stop at a drugstore so I could get some inserts for my heels (because my shoes were falling off and I would have killed myself just walking around at the party without the inserts), so we had a bag in the car and I didn't have to stick my head out the window. But it made for a fun ride home.

-Baby Shower for DH's cousin's wife my MIL and I hosted Saturday afternoon: about 16/18 of us, mostly family members and close friends of the family (girls only, including the twins!). She's going into the hospital Jan. 15th for pelvic rest and a high level of monitoring due to the riskiness of her pregnancy. The girls (identical) share not only the placenta, but the sack. The odds of this kind of pregnancy are 1 in 60,000, but there is actually another woman they know with the same type of pregnancy already at the same hospital, so they have someone to share notes with. She was really gifted with some nice things, even the Washington Redskins items she had registered for (she's so delusional)!

-Christmas Eve with DH's extended family: DH's grandmother's recent health issues (I haven't mentioned her stroke) have completely thrown all of my MIL's plans and expectations into disarray. She recruited my FIL and I to make the traditional holiday punch. DH overheard our conversation and noted that it sounded like a couple of mad scientists in there, with our comments of "is that enough?" "oh, who the hell knows, add a little bit more". It includes pints of gin, rum, bourbon, vodka, orange and lemon juices, steeped green tea, and maraschino cherries; and really packs a "punch". Of course, the longer it sits before you serve it, the better it is since all the flavors get melded into something irresistible, but even having only sat the better part of a day, it is still pretty damn good. I really enjoyed it, and have the pictures to prove that I drank my fair share (they will get posted, I promise)! But, the dinner and white elephant gift exchange along with the now annual tradition of singing the twelve days of Christmas (with everyone assigned a number), and the start this year of a visit from Santa (played by one of DH's cousins), a great time was had by all.

Christmas Day: As you know, my gift to DH got left at home, because there was no way I wanted that opened in front of the in-laws (who wouldn't blink an eye, but I have an ick factor on letting them know what we are doing), actually, my MIL would probably enjoy getting one as a gift, but that's NOT going to happen! DH gave me a very nice gift cert to one of the local Spa's so I will definitely be taking advantage of that (tomorrow would be good with the residual in-law visit stress still in my body...), and my BIL gave me a gift cert at a local Pilates/Yoga studio, so I am also looking forward to cashing that in and starting off the New Year by working on getting more fit . Apparently I was not specific enough with the item descriptions on the list I finally came up with to give the in-laws, so all of that is going to have to be returned (and luckily it can be!). DH got several of the items he wanted too, including the computer game "Hellgate: London", from his brother, and he is really enjoying playing that (single-player, off-line). FIL and MIL liked their gifts, he got one big one she also shared in, so she got a picture frame with a picture she had ask for already in it. That was definitely a thought that counts gift!

We returned home today, the day after Christmas to some kitties who were very happy to see us! Our dog is currently sleeping off the excitement and exhaustion of spending so many days with our in-laws dog. I'm off work until the 2nd, so posting could be spotty, and DH has taken all of that week off (I'm jealous, but he wants me out of the house so he can just be, which he also needs after spending Christmas with his family!).

In case I don't get back to the computer before New Years, I want to wish everyone a safe, healthy, and happy start to 2008 and the hope that those virtues will continue throughout the year.