Christmas Five and what I've been up to!
Dec. 25th, 2015 12:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hillarygayle1. What is a favorite Christmas/Hanukah tradition of yours?
I might say my favorite thing about Christmas married to Bryan is that we DON'T have any stressful, must-do, gift-giving related traditions. We don't get each other gifts and we get Ganon very little (because he gets so very much from Bryan's parents as their only grandchild).
I DO watch Muppet Christmas Carol yearly, though. THAT is one of my super favorite Christmas traditions. Best Christmas movie in the world.
2. Do you listen to Christmas music while wrapping/bagging gifts?
I do. I'm a sucker for holiday music.
3. How soon do you start playing holiday music?
November. Usually it's before Thanksgiving; to me, Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Year's make up a "holiday season" and are one major reason that "happy holidays" is my phrase of choice.
4. If you could change one thing about the holidays, what would it be?
I'm not into gift-giving, nor do I like having to tell people what I "want for Christmas." The first one is stressful as I try to figure out what other people might want (this is easy for some, dead impossible for others), and the second one feels selfish. I wish we could all just agree to have experiences together rather than buying stuff.
5. Have you been naughty or nice? Remember, Santa is listening.
Well if Santa has been listening to me, he's been hearing a lot of cursing because I'm a doctoral nursing student and I work in the ICU for clinical. There's a buncha cursing involved. However, I have dedicated my career to saving other human lives and in my downtime I organize a group who does random "do-gooder" stuff for the less fortunate, so hey. Maybe that gets me some points. ;)
Yesterday. Wow. That was the longest Christmas Eve I have EVER EXPERIENCED, but it was absolutely worth it.
Christmas Eve Eve
This day was Creechmas! We opened gifts in the evening after we picked up my car. Ruby Rhod is everything I wanted her to be. I will miss Leeloo; she was an incredible car and exactly what I needed when I needed her. She was the perfect car for the person I was. The person I am needed Ruby, though. I'm happy. Highlight of the day: Ganon was inspecting all of the things Ruby can do (Bluetooth phone connection, heated seats, sunroof, the fact that you literally cannot lock the keys in the car because the presence of the key fob allows you to auto-unlock!), and exclaimed "I will miss the Element, but this is the high tech-est thing I have ever seen!"
Final selfie with Leeloo
First selfie with Ruby Rhod
I had no idea what to get my in-laws, but fortunately an opportunity presented itself. My mom-in-law Christy is stressed about the number of people (and which specific people) are coming for Christmas Eve & Christmas Day. After she & Walter went to bed on the 23rd, it occurred to me what we could do...so we cleaned up the entire downstairs of the house. Ganon & Bryan & I all pitched in, and if I do say so myself, we got it seriously looking nice. My goal was for Christy not to have to lift a finger before guests, and I think it worked! They were both so impressed when they came downstairs & saw what we'd done. I was pretty impressed with my inspired gift. What do you get someone who has everything they want? The opportunity to NOT do something they DIDN'T want to do! :)
In addition to my car, which I feel was a fantastic Christmas present, I got a Mophie Juice Pack case for my phone (in lipstick red to match my car!), the Urban Decay Gwen Stefani eyeshadow palette (OMG I WAS SO EXCITED) and the greatest cardigan Think Geek has ever produced.
Christmas Eve
Yesterday was an early-ish (8am) breakfast at a place called Jake's Uptown in Frisco, which had Oatmeal Pancakes. DIVINE. I want the recipe. We loaded Ruby (Bryan is incredible at packing cars) and set out on the 7-8 hour journey home. There was a short stop at Texarkana so I could buy some stocking stuffers for Ganon; we are getting him a "coupon" for his own bicycle but we want to let him pick it out. I wanted him to have SOME surprises.
That stop left us running late, so we didn't go home first. We went straight to my Aunt G/Uncle A's house when we drove into town at 18:50 for the Keller family Christmas, at which there was AN INSANE AMOUNT OF DELICIOUS FOOD as always because my family can Straight. Up. Cook. Home afterward for about 20 minutes, then I headed to church at 21:45 for midnight mass practice, and sang nearly the entire time from 21:45 to 00:30. It was a BEAUTIFUL service. So much music; we sang almost every Christmas song I know. The candlelit "Silent Night" was beautiful. We had the choir, a handbell choir, a brass quintet and even Dr. Bill playing the violin. I'm so happy we did that.
At home we filled Ganon's stocking, put a few small gifts under the tree, & headed to BED.
Christmas Day
So far this morning, J has come over for his 2nd testosterone shot, which he gave himself this morning with a ton of encouragement & some instruction! At 1:30 we have lunch at my Aunt Mary Gaye's house, and then supper is going to be "breakfast for supper" at my mom's, where the nieces & nephews will open their gifts and I will have begun World War III with Nerf weapons. Best aunt ever.
Tomorrow for Boxing Day, we are "dessert bombing" Two Saints kitchen with so many Christmas desserts.
I hope you are having a lovely Christmas, LJ. Mine is delightful, even if I will need some rest after it's all over.
I might say my favorite thing about Christmas married to Bryan is that we DON'T have any stressful, must-do, gift-giving related traditions. We don't get each other gifts and we get Ganon very little (because he gets so very much from Bryan's parents as their only grandchild).
I DO watch Muppet Christmas Carol yearly, though. THAT is one of my super favorite Christmas traditions. Best Christmas movie in the world.
2. Do you listen to Christmas music while wrapping/bagging gifts?
I do. I'm a sucker for holiday music.
3. How soon do you start playing holiday music?
November. Usually it's before Thanksgiving; to me, Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Year's make up a "holiday season" and are one major reason that "happy holidays" is my phrase of choice.
4. If you could change one thing about the holidays, what would it be?
I'm not into gift-giving, nor do I like having to tell people what I "want for Christmas." The first one is stressful as I try to figure out what other people might want (this is easy for some, dead impossible for others), and the second one feels selfish. I wish we could all just agree to have experiences together rather than buying stuff.
5. Have you been naughty or nice? Remember, Santa is listening.
Well if Santa has been listening to me, he's been hearing a lot of cursing because I'm a doctoral nursing student and I work in the ICU for clinical. There's a buncha cursing involved. However, I have dedicated my career to saving other human lives and in my downtime I organize a group who does random "do-gooder" stuff for the less fortunate, so hey. Maybe that gets me some points. ;)
Yesterday. Wow. That was the longest Christmas Eve I have EVER EXPERIENCED, but it was absolutely worth it.
Christmas Eve Eve
This day was Creechmas! We opened gifts in the evening after we picked up my car. Ruby Rhod is everything I wanted her to be. I will miss Leeloo; she was an incredible car and exactly what I needed when I needed her. She was the perfect car for the person I was. The person I am needed Ruby, though. I'm happy. Highlight of the day: Ganon was inspecting all of the things Ruby can do (Bluetooth phone connection, heated seats, sunroof, the fact that you literally cannot lock the keys in the car because the presence of the key fob allows you to auto-unlock!), and exclaimed "I will miss the Element, but this is the high tech-est thing I have ever seen!"
Final selfie with Leeloo
First selfie with Ruby Rhod
I had no idea what to get my in-laws, but fortunately an opportunity presented itself. My mom-in-law Christy is stressed about the number of people (and which specific people) are coming for Christmas Eve & Christmas Day. After she & Walter went to bed on the 23rd, it occurred to me what we could do...so we cleaned up the entire downstairs of the house. Ganon & Bryan & I all pitched in, and if I do say so myself, we got it seriously looking nice. My goal was for Christy not to have to lift a finger before guests, and I think it worked! They were both so impressed when they came downstairs & saw what we'd done. I was pretty impressed with my inspired gift. What do you get someone who has everything they want? The opportunity to NOT do something they DIDN'T want to do! :)
In addition to my car, which I feel was a fantastic Christmas present, I got a Mophie Juice Pack case for my phone (in lipstick red to match my car!), the Urban Decay Gwen Stefani eyeshadow palette (OMG I WAS SO EXCITED) and the greatest cardigan Think Geek has ever produced.
Christmas Eve
Yesterday was an early-ish (8am) breakfast at a place called Jake's Uptown in Frisco, which had Oatmeal Pancakes. DIVINE. I want the recipe. We loaded Ruby (Bryan is incredible at packing cars) and set out on the 7-8 hour journey home. There was a short stop at Texarkana so I could buy some stocking stuffers for Ganon; we are getting him a "coupon" for his own bicycle but we want to let him pick it out. I wanted him to have SOME surprises.
That stop left us running late, so we didn't go home first. We went straight to my Aunt G/Uncle A's house when we drove into town at 18:50 for the Keller family Christmas, at which there was AN INSANE AMOUNT OF DELICIOUS FOOD as always because my family can Straight. Up. Cook. Home afterward for about 20 minutes, then I headed to church at 21:45 for midnight mass practice, and sang nearly the entire time from 21:45 to 00:30. It was a BEAUTIFUL service. So much music; we sang almost every Christmas song I know. The candlelit "Silent Night" was beautiful. We had the choir, a handbell choir, a brass quintet and even Dr. Bill playing the violin. I'm so happy we did that.
At home we filled Ganon's stocking, put a few small gifts under the tree, & headed to BED.
Christmas Day
So far this morning, J has come over for his 2nd testosterone shot, which he gave himself this morning with a ton of encouragement & some instruction! At 1:30 we have lunch at my Aunt Mary Gaye's house, and then supper is going to be "breakfast for supper" at my mom's, where the nieces & nephews will open their gifts and I will have begun World War III with Nerf weapons. Best aunt ever.
Tomorrow for Boxing Day, we are "dessert bombing" Two Saints kitchen with so many Christmas desserts.
I hope you are having a lovely Christmas, LJ. Mine is delightful, even if I will need some rest after it's all over.
