Well, another Christmas has come and gone. Every year it's built up for weeks and you make all kinds of preparations, and then before you know it, you're sitting around on December 26th, in a sea of wrapping paper and leftovers, wondering where the time went. It's a bit of a letdown to realize it's over for another year, but it's also fun to reminisce and to look ahead toward the new year.
As you reflect on your holiday this week - however you may have celebrated it - I hope you feel nothing but warmth and happiness. I know that's what I'm feeling right now – even if I am a little family-ed out, and a bit sick from all the food I ate!
The past four days have been a complete whirlwind and I've packed so much activity into those four days that Friday night – when it all began – seems like it was two weeks ago!
I got out of work around 12:30 on Friday, so I was able to finish up some Christmas shopping (I'm not usually one of those people!) That evening, Christi came over around 6:30 and we shared a bottle of champagne and exchanged gifts. Then it was off to Candy Cane Lane.
The stream of cars going up and down the streets was long, and since the air was pretty warm that night, a lot of people were walking through the neighborhoods, too. The sense of community and holiday spirit I felt as we drove through – headlights switched off, windows rolled down, heat blasting and Christmas music playing – was really special. Hundreds of people, all excited for Christmas, enjoying the spectacle together.
I was worried that Candy Cane Lane might not be what it has been in years past since I'd read several stories about the high heating prices this year and the residents not being able to afford their big displays. However, most of the houses were every bit as bright and over-the-top as I remembered.
We had a brief encounter with a crazy snowman – he put snow in Christi's bare hand and walked away – we put some dollar bills in the firemen's hats as we drove by them, and we got to say hello to Santa Claus again, too. It was really fun, and just a great way to kick off the holiday weekend!
And if I may interrupt myself for a moment … There will be plenty of outdoor activities to read about in the coming weeks and months, I promise. I know I've been straying from my designated subject matter quite a bit lately!
For now, though … For those who are interested in the rest of my weekend, please read on! For those who aren't, I'll be back again soon!
Back to Friday … The Bistro was having a get-together that I'd been invited to, so Christi and I along with Dave and his friend, Mike, headed to Mantra Lounge for that. It was fantastic to see all my old co-workers and I had a blast. The music the DJ was spinning wasn't very good in my opinion, but after a few drinks, we all spent a good portion of our evening on the dance floor. We headed out by around 1:00 and we were quite hungry so Christi, Dave and I headed to Ma Fischer's on Farwell for some diner grub – always a good way to cap off a night out, I think. We ate too much, of course – and that definitely became one of the themes of the weekend.
Saturday Dave and I got up and opened presents from each other, and then headed to his parents' in Whitewater for the day. His parents' house is so cozy and get-togethers there are always very relaxed and nice. We opened gifts, ate a ton of food, drank some wine, and then built a fire and relaxed together in front of A Christmas Story. 
Dave and I left there around 9pm to head to Burlington to get together with my dad and brothers for a couple hours. There we opened more gifts – look, we all got snow shovels! – ate some more food, and then watched an hour's worth of home movies that dad had made me a copy of. My parents took home movies from the time I was 3 on up, and so we have tapes and tapes of them. Dad is in the process of putting them on DVDs and I got "Volume I" as a gift – one of my favorite gifts by far! We laughed and laughed – at hairstyles, mustaches, camera angles, and quite a bit at what an obnoxious young child I was. Not much has changed there! 
We all slept at my mom's that night, getting to bed around 1am. We got up in the morning and opened presents with her, and then Mom and we three kids (Dave stayed at mom's apartment) met dad to go to church. Well, we were under the impression that church was at 11:00, but it started at 10:30 so we were late. We decided we didn't want to go in late, so instead, we all drove out to dad's.
I think everything happens for a reason, and I think we were supposed to have missed church. The hour that the five of us spent together that morning was really special – and let me tell you, we can be quite the dysfunctional bunch. I read a small passage out of the Bible about Jesus' birth (we had to get something in to make up for missing church on Christmas!) and we all sat in the living room and listened to Josh Groban sing O Holy Night. Every member of my family had their eyes closed as they listened, and I kept opening my eyes and peeking, savoring the sweet music and moment. Once the moment passed, mom and I danced around to some faster Christmas tunes, and then we all sat around and visited and – whatta ya know? – ate some more before heading back to mom's.
Christmas Day was spent at my grandma's house in Delavan. My cousin, Rhonda, and her husband, Frankie were up from North Carolina with their kids and I'm so happy they could come! I met their five-month-old twins for the first time, which just made the day for me. Babies simply melt me, and I had a baby in my arm almost the whole day. They were so precious! Their four-year-old, Lauryn, is going to be the flower girl in my wedding, and she made things lively, too. Dinner was pork tenderloin and my mom's fabulous cheesy hash browns. Everyone settled in front of the Packer game by 4:00 – which I didn't like because, come on, it's Christmas. I lost that battle, though, so I just ate cookies and played with babies while they sat enthralled by the game! 
We left around 7:30 and were home an hour later, and it took several trips each to get all of our loot upstairs. I seriously think that presents should mostly be for kids on Christmas but hey, I won't complain.
I slept eleven hours Sunday night I was so beat from all the festivities. Yesterday was a lazy day that included burritos from Chipotle, four episodes of South Park (we got Season 5, the latest in our collection), and ... not much else. In the evening we went over to Penny and Carlo's (Dave's bro) for dinner. We had gotten them a sushi set for Christmas, so we had an awesome dinner of homemade sushi with them, with flan and coffee for dessert. We played a game of Trivial Pursuit 90's Edition and then headed home. 
That brings us to today, the day that many people had to head back to work. Sorry people!
As for me, I have big plans for the next few days, most of which don't include leaving the house. Reading, writing, cleaning, maybe a little wedding planning … I don't know exactly how I'll fill all my hours, but I do know it will be just heavenly to have so much time to myself. I have a doctor's appointment in there (ugh), Amanda and Mark are coming Friday, Saturday is New Year's Eve, and of course I'll be heading outdoors to play a little … I know I'll be back to the grind in what will seem like no time, but I'm just not going to think about that right now!
Happy Holidays, Erin! Looks like it was a great holiday. You are real lucky that your firm closes for this whole week. I had off yesterday, but am DREADING the rest of the week.
Posted by: kelly | December 27, 2005 at 02:18 PM