Monday, December 26, 2011

Christmas Wrapping

Hi friends!

Did Santa bring you all the things you asked for?

Or where you on the "naughty" list?

I didn't get anything on my list, but I know Santa will bring them throughout the year so hopefully at this time next year I can tell you that Ke$ha Barbie is happy up north in a really great art school...with grants paying for it...and that my house sold to nice people and that I found a wonderful place for me to live with The Cutest Boy in the World...and maybe that I found a friend to drink wine with, cook for, and enjoy watching "Modern Family" with...

I did get some really great things that weren't on my list:

1) My aunts found a very old letter that my Grandma wrote me...it was very touching and special...I don't think she ever mailed it...but I think I needed to read it more now than then. I cried and will treasure it always....

2) Speaking of Grandma, she's almost 93...and has Alzeheimer's...but for a brief little bit of time she knew who I was and that was a very special gift...because I don't know how much longer we will have her with us and she doesn't always know who I am. Sometimes I think she thinks I am my mom...other times I'm just a stranger to her...but when she looked at me and said "Hi, Niecy"...well, I knew then that she knew it was me!

3) I had my first holiday having to split time with the kids with the ex. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be...but it was hard to let them go after we unwrapped our gifts. But God blessed me by easing it for me and I'm glad they had time with their dad. Speaking of which, he looked like a hero to Ke$ha Barbie for getting her an Urban Outfitters gift card...she says he "nailed" it...he "nailed" it because I TOLD HIM TO BUY IT...so he looked like a hero...thanks to moi....and yes, I'm just bitchy enough to have informed her of that...sorry Ex...

4)My bestie, D-Nice, invited me to spend Christmas evening with her family...that was a true gift! I had a really nice time, ate the best bread pudding I have ever had in my life, and had fun with her, her brothers, sister, and their wives, and her parents and her son who I would happily claim as my own.

5)Speaking of family I had a wonderful time with my aunts and uncles, and cousins, as well as my Grandma. We had a perfect Xmas lunch and laughed so hard sometimes I thought we would all pee ourselves. My family is the BEST...

6) I got a lot of sweet messages, emails, and texts from friends over the past 2 days...I love hearing from friends on holidays...and they made my day!

7) Oh and this one was a biggie...Ke$ha Barbie gave me the gift of TIME with her...Friday night we went and had pedicures together and then went out and had sushi. Having her all to myself, without the stress of travel, made for a really wonderful evening. We talked and shared and ate ourselves sick with the sushi and every time I looked across the table to see her beautiful happy face my heart swelled...and I remembered why I love her so much and that maybe I should not refer to her as "Valdemort" or "The Creature Who Lives Upstairs" so much...

So yeah, I had a great xmas!

But as much fun as I had getting those "gifts", I really had more fun giving the gifts...finding the perfect fun bracelets for my aunts, getting The Cutest Boy in the World the earphones and knife he wanted so much, getting Ke$ha Barbie some very fun jewelry and clothes, and giving D-Nice an old Jim Beam decanter that is just like what they used for Jeannie's Bottle in "I Dream of Jeannie" delighted her so much that it almost made me cry! In return she bought me a beautiful french apron and some Herbs de Provance so that we can start on our journey of trying to cook some things from Julia Child's cookbook. And yes, I will blog about it...

I bought myself my own gifts...D-Nice and I went to Nordstrom on Thursday and I bought some hot little tops that might be perfect for a date night (if I ever have one...in the meantime I will wear them for "Girls Night") and some new workout tops at Lululemon.

(And maybe I shop at Nordstrom too much...because when I pulled up to valet the valet parker hugged me and said "good to see you!" and parked my car front and center as he always does...when the valet guy gives you a Christmas hug, you are a little too familiar with each other...just sayin)

This is also the time of year that I like to show my appreciation for those who "serve" me (waiters, car parkers, etc) so I always give a big tip to show them how much I appreciate what they do. I love giving the valet guys a huge tip (see above...it works...they hug you and park your car front and center) and tipping the waiters 25%...and my sweet pedicure girl got a huge bonus tip for being such a doll. And I gave the guys at Sonic a big tip too (and yes, they hug me too...maybe I"m there too much...in fact I know I am because they see my car and start making a Route 44 Diet Dr. Pepper with vanilla and easy ice for me when I pull up).

I ate far too much over the weekend so another gift I got was that JayVee and J'taime Jamie taught a spin "master class" on Christmas eve. 75 minutes of perfect music and spinning so that I could eat the tamales and queso without guilt that night. For them to give up part of their holiday morning to teach us was a real gift and I love them all the more for it...

Marvin the Package Wrapping Elf never showed up...I waited in vain for him...finally had to do it myself...next year that is the first thing I am asking Santa for. I hate to wrap. And no, my kids did not pick up all their trash until I asked them 4 times...and The Cutest Boy in the World still left trash all around...oh well...just part of it.

So today I'm cleaning up the mess but leaving the decorations up for another week so that I can enjoy all my hard work FINALLY getting my house dressed for Xmas for the first time in 7 Christmases...

And I'm gonna workout like a fiend today so I can pay for my sins and get back on track...I had started to lose a few pounds before the weekend got under way and I want to keep that going so that I'm ready for the tummy tuck when I find the time, money, and courage to do it.

Next year here is what I would like to happen:

Ke$ha Barbie will come home from school and gift me with a lovely piece of art...and she will be nice and pleasant and loving...and we will have a fun "mom and daughter" night again.

The Cutest Boy in the World will still be sweet despite the fact he will be a freshman in high school. But then again, freshman boys are the lowest form of life on the planet (right there under the scum that amoebas feed on) so he will be humble and maybe still think Mom is pretty great.

We will celebrate the holiday in our new little house and decorate it and enjoy the fact we are a little family...

My Grandma will still be here and might even call me "Niece" again...

I'll have my aunts and uncles and cousins to spend time with and laugh with again until we almost pee ourselves

The valet parker at Nordstrom will give me a Xmas hug and park my car front and center...although it might be Ke$ha Barbie's truck so he will have to get used to that...

I'll find the perfect gifts for everyone again...and will delight in them opening them...

D-Nice and I will cook some terribly complicated french recipe from Julia Child and we will be proud of ourselves and share it with our families...

And maybe, if Santa comes through, I can spend a little time under the mistletoe with a special man...but if not I have the greatest hugs and kisses in the world from my son and daughter...but it might be fun to have someone make the song "Baby It's Cold Outside" come true for me...and if he has children I might enjoy it even more because it gives me more to shop for!

So there you have it...my holiday wrap up...of course we have New Years Eve ahead of us and time to start making those resolutions...I'll give you mine in a later blog...

Inspiration Song: "Christmas Wrapping" by the Waitresses...Glee did a great version this year too...one of my favorite non-traditional holiday songs...

Bye Darlings...Christmas may have wrapped but the spirit of the holiday continues in us through the year...be a Santa daily and share your love...

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