Ahhh, Christmas!

I can feel myself getting sick.  I can tell.  The back of my throat is all gummed up and my nose won’t stop running.  And it’s supposed to rain buckets the next 4-5 days.  I love the rain, it’s not the problem, I can just see a repeat of the first winter we had here.  It rained so hard that by new years the power was out (it stayed out for 6 days) and I was so sick that I couldn’t leave the bed except to go to the bathroom.  I really hope that doesn’t happen and I’m really crossing my fingers that Derek doesn’t get sick.

So Christmas was ok, about what I expected for oops and time problems.  I made cioppino and pumpkin cream brulee (it’s nice only having 5 adults to cook for), mom made fresh sour dough bread (almost burned, granny’s oven is too hot), my stomach decided to freak out just as I started eating so I didn’t have dinner, got a bunch of stuff I don’t want instead of the gift cards I wanted, got a package from my father (we haven’t spoken in 6 years) that contained both birthday gifts and Christmas gifts for both Lindsey and Bishop, including cards, but only one item for me, an unwrapped piece of junk that my step mom has given me before.  Yeah, what a way to mend fences, right?  But I guess overall it’s better than last year when mom had a meltdown 3 days before Christmas and we stayed home the whole time.

I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted so I’ll give you two pictures, one is Derek as a present that I used for our Christmas cards, one is a pic of him sucking on his thumb for the first time.  And as a bonus I’ll include a video of him…a first for me.  I’ve had my camera for years and I’ve tried to take videos with it (that worked) and upload them to my computer (that didn’t work) but this was the first time it worked.  So, please enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

Look, it's my thumb!

A silly post

Borrowed from Kris, because it’s 3:16 am and I can’t get back to sleep.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate, with a huge pile of whipped cream on top and maybe a shot of peppermint schnapps mixed in.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or set them under the tree? He wraps them, them puts them under the tree during the night.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? I like colored lights inside and one color outside, preferably white.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No. I can never find it around here and when I used to hang it it would wilt and then mold after a day or two.

5. When do you put your decorations up? When I get around to it, usually within the last 10 days or so before Christmas.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Stuffing, lots of it in almost any flavor. And my grandmother’s cranberry relish. The relish is mandatory, like gravy for mashed potatoes.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: One year we were visiting my father for Christmas and it was supposed to hard freeze Christmas eve. Dad set up a sprinkler on our curly willow tree. The next morning not only was it snowing (VERY rare in Modesto California) but there were 3 foot long icicles on the tree, some as big around as my arm. At 8 years old it was really cool.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I honestly don’t remember, it just seemed like by 7 or 8 I was done with Santa other than pretending he existed for my sister.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yes, dad let us pick out and open one and I always do that now too.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? I’ve never had room for a full size tree so we’ve always done a mini fake one. It’s decorated with a mish-mash of ornaments. No theme, nothing organized. That’s how our trees were when I was a kid and I like them that way.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it but only because I don’t live where it snows and never have. Probably never will.

12. Can you ice skate? I’ve only ever did it once so I have no idea if I can anymore or not.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? No, I don’t.

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Spending time with Bishop. Family gets annoying around holidays, I would much rather spend all day watching movies with him and snacking than going to anyone house and having a huge dinner.

15. Dessert? Mom’s persimmon pudding. It’s the best.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Fresh local crab for dinner Christmas eve or Christmas dinner.

17. What tops your tree? My tree came with a crystal star. I’m good with that.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Giving but I hate the pressure of finding the “perfect” gift for people.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? “Tidings of Comfort and Joy” Don’t know why but that one really sticks in my head. Or anything from the Nutcracker.

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? Nasty.

Some new pics

Derek and I

I'm looking at you!

Bishop and Derek

Just thought I would pop in here and show you all some new pics. He is a month old now, amazing, and somewhere in the range of 10 pounds and 22 inches long.

I have to say things are going pretty good with him though this 3 am shit has got to stop. I stayed up late watching Jeff Dunham (.com) on Comedy Central last night and missed out on about 2 hours of sleep that I could have gotten. He woke up at 2:30 this morning and I’m still waiting for him to go back to sleep so I can go back to sleep. It’s 4:30 now…

Stuff with mom and Lin are kind of stalled, we’re working on Lin’s “issues” that she has with us but it’s really slow going because of the holidays and other problems that keep popping up. I’m hoping that on Monday that we can talk about all of her “issues” with us and our rules. Even if we can work it out so that Lin stays 2-3 nights a week over at mom’s house that would be fine, as long as she is still living here and has a bedroom here I don’t have to go looking for a job. And the way that the economy is tanking (come on, I know we are all thinking depression even though no one has said it yet) the though of job hunting and doing interviews scares the shit out of me. If I have to I will, but I would rather not.

One thing that is helping with Lin is the fact that I can take Derek out of the house now. Well, I could before but I wasn’t sure if he would be ok with it or not. Now after a trip to Costco (he slept in his car seat in the basket) and a trip to K-mart (I had a Moby wrap on and he had a great time, even falling asleep in it when we were leaving) I’m not worried. In fact I think him and I are going grocery shopping later today.

If I can get some sleep that is…