lets talk about Christmas '09
So Christmas around here was really nice. Everyone got along, no fighting. Which is good considering my mom and dad haven't been getting on to well the last few times he's been home -- a lot of tension there. But he didn't say anything stupid and she let it go when he admitted to having satellite teevee down in Nevada (another extra unnecessary expense and all). So it was very good, a lot of mushy-ness too.
On Christmas Eve the 'other Nelsons' came up and we did presents with them. Now, in the past when the gifts from them have been left up to my aunt to pick out my sisters and I have ended up with some real gems(a couple years in a row we ended up with dollar store junk and then once Kim got vending machine toys). So we were not expecting much and have learned over the years to be polite about it, because presents don't really matter that much and it's fun to spend time with our cousins. Also in the past years, because my mom loves to give gifts and puts loads of thought and time into all her gifts, she has been a little upset with my aunt for not even thinking about it and just like I said using dollar store junk or vending machine toys as gifts (and I'm really not joking about this). Any who, so this year my mom decides she's done, she's not going all out any more because not only was it more of the same from my aunt last year but my cousins were less than appreciative no thank you or anything. So she went with simple things, not crap like my aunt does but not anything too extravagant. And surprisingly enough my cousins were all like into their gifts and really appreciative of them (all though none of them had hangovers this year either). And then it comes time for my mom to open the family gift from them which was cash to cover my dad's plane ticket home and then back to Nevada. My mom balled. She lost it and kinda freaked out, not freaked out in a bad way, but in a super surprised I really can't except this sort of way. Turns out, at the last minute my UNCLE decides on the gift for us and insisted that we keep it 'cause what better gift than to have your dad home for Christmas. So that was completely surprising and really awesome.
We, the sisters and cousins, then made some awesome gingerbread houses. Ya know, the kind with graham crackers and loads of candy. So much candy. But I made a nice little house so did Jackie and Kim made a fortress candy prison complete with dinosaur guards.XD
Christmas day was also really good -- except for getting woken up so damn early after not going to bed until after 2. My granny and my uncle came up for presents and breakfast and then eventually dinner. As I mentioned before I got a new camera, a Canon EOS Rebel T1i, and I'm having fun learning how to use a 'fancy' camera after having my reliable little point and shoot for so long. Yes it was a most wonderful day and for the first time in probably three or four years it felt like Christmas and I was (am) sad it's over.
On Monday after we got back home from dropping my dad off at the airport my sisters and I watched the whole of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the extended versions. We started at about 1:30-ish in the afternoon and finished at about 12:30-1:00 am. This is also with fast forwarding through the battle at Helms Deep.XD It had been sooooo long since I'd seen the movies, I had forgotten how much I love the Fellowship and really don't like, or rather have a hard time with, the Two Towers and Return of the King. The first one is such a great movie translation of the book and the second two just sort of fail at that. But I do still love them as movies.
Now the year is fast approaching and I cannot believe it's 2010 already. Seriously where has time gone? What have I have I done with my life? I will be thirty in three years and that depresses me a little, not the being thirty part, but the haven't really done anything with my life part. So I'm calling 2010 my deciding year. I will either go back to school (again) to finish or get a better job. Either way, it's looking like I'm probably moving back up north again because, job wise especially, there is nothing down here. And as much as I would love to stay in the Thurston county Olympia area the lack of good jobs is pushing me up north.