Holly Days

 First there was drama.

Then there was Thanksgiving: (J&J&J&D)
Which, by the way, would not have been complete without the Olympia contingent - we had a very tasty turkey, courtesy of J&J, and yummy pie and beets and pickles, thanks to J&D. Wow. Yummy! It was fun - we got so wrapped up in playing Pandemic that we forgot to make mashed potatoes. And gravy. And a lot of other things. It was a great time.

Then there were the obligatory holiday parties to go to. I only took "pre" pictures of one of them though:

Then I flew to LA to meet the board and eat dinner at Morton's. For reasons which I won't get into, I had to use my free night at the Omni the night prior to the board dinner. I had never stayed at the Omni in LA before, though I had stayed several times at the Omni in San Francisco and it is a gem.

Not only did I get a free night, but I got upgraded to a suite. ^.^ Lucky girl, yes! There were TWO bathrooms, etc. I took a ridiculous amount of pictures but will just share the ones that emphasize the awesomeness that was my suite. Too bad I was there for all of ten hours. :(

This is the view from my window. LA at Christmas -- no snow, but they do like their tinsel and twinkle lights.

The next day was the board meeting at Morton's. It was work stuff so I will mostly leave it at work except to say that we played Pink Elephant (which is basically a bunch of boxes that all look alike and you pick one and use the same rules as for White Elephant only they all look the same...but at the end there were gift cards inside, each for a varying amount. I was pleased that I got one of two $50 denominations. I considered it a "win." What was not a win was that night, when I stayed at the Jonathan Club. I walked in my room and immediately thought of the accommodations at Alcatraz. (The JC really is not like Alcatraz, but in comparison to the Omni, it really did seem like it. The bed had a headboard and creaked horridly, the walls weren't very soundproof, the tile in the bathroom looked it was from the 1950s, and I woke up hurting all over the next morning from the quality of the bed. Next time, I'm staying somewhere else. I don't care if it is only two blocks from work. However! They did have a really cool electric train setup, as well as a ginormous Christmas tree.

Then I flew to Austin. I convinced my sister to let me do her makeup. :) Her husband of course says she looks much better without it. And she of course is gorgeous. But I was very proud of myself, because I did a very good job blending.

She worked in the kitchen all day on Christmas Eve to make a very special dinner: roast goose. It was the first time I had ever had the pleasure of tasting goose. She made tiramisu as well, and I helped by making rolls and mashed potatoes. It was, as I would say, delicious.

Here we are, opening presents. :) Look at cute little IGPM's face...he loved his Bumblebee transofrmer I got him so much. And K loved the Pollypocket I got her, too. And...I did not get Wolf Hall for M.

I have already chronicled some of our verbal escapades on Facebook. (more's the pity.) But I'll re-chronicle here:

Christmas morning breakfast conversation:
Me: (eats French toast, thinking about stocking stuffings)
K: (out of of the blue) Not very many people in TX voted for Obama. But lots of people in IL voted for Obama.
IGPM: HUNDREDS of people in CA voted for Obama.
K: Not HUNDREDS. Only 55. A half dollar plus a nickel.
Me: tries really hard not to laugh

(At least she knows how many electoral votes CA has!)

Christmas afternoon:
IGPM: let's have a marshmallow gun war so I can hit you in the bum.
Me: well, that doesn't sound like a very good incentive, does it? I don't want to be hit in the bum.
W (I's mom): if you hit her in the bum, she might hit you back.
IGPM: (very nonchalantly): Ooooh. That would be exciting.

...later...

K: I don't want to eat these beans.
W: you've been eating these beans your whole life. Eat up! Besides, if you eat them your tummy will be happy because you will be giving it protein.
IGPM (under his breath): I seriously doubt it.
K: HEY, I! You quoted Mom!! That's mom's line!
W: (surprised) you're right. He did quote my line!

Highlights of the trip include a pre-stocking-opening snuggle with K & IGPM; marshmallow gun wars, the salted caramel shake at the "Elf" quote-along we went to at the Draft House, lots and lots of yummy food, and time with both K & IGPM. I spent lots of time in the kitchen with W and A, too. We had fun doing Advent and singing songs and hunting for treats, and I definitely got my trash kicked at MarioKart Wii, but I did improve a bit by the time my visit was over.

K took several movies of me. IGPM drew a Christmas tree with me. He thoughtfully looked at my tree and said, "Auntie, do people ever make fun of your drawings?"

"Yes, they do," I said. I could tell he was sincere, and that he was really just curious. Maybe I gave off an insecure vibe or something...I don't know. But ever since my little sister accused me of trying to make "everything ugly on purpose" I have had a bit of an issue with my drawing skills -- or lack thereof. Besides, this Christmas tree actually looked pretty good.

He put his little hand on my arm and looked at me in the eyes and said, sweetly, "I would never do that."

I hugged him and peeled him a clemmie. I have such a nice family. :) :)