i'm gonna keep using this icon for a few more days
HAPPY ATHEIST CHILDREN GET PRESENTS DAY, INTERNET! MERRY CHRISTMAS! HAPPY HANUKKAH! HAPPY MONDAY! HAPPY BELATED SUNDAY! HAPPY YULETIDE!
Whew.
So, since I last posted I went home to New Jersey for the holidays and then came back. Between secret_mutant, writing that holiday fic, and spending time with my family, I didn't have time for my customary Christmas posts.
Friday was mostly spent driving, but I did end up dragging my dad to see Arthur Christmas. He was skeptical at first and I have to admit that I was sort of using the "I'm home and I'm never here so we should do things together!" pressure to force him to see a movie he normally wouldn't have chosen, but he really liked it! He mentioned more than once over the weekend that it was really enjoyable. Score another one for Arthur! I think I maybe enjoyed it even more the second time--there are definitely things I picked up on in the second viewing that I missed the first time around, and I laughed just as hard and my heart grew just as much ♥ I'm so bummed it won't be on dvd until next Christmas :\
(Also, the first time I saw it, I assumed that there wasn't as much laughter at some of the jokes because of the median age of the audience, but on Friday there were a lot more adults and even some teens, yet my dad and I were still the only ones laughing at certain parts. WEIRD. IT'S SO FUNNY. OMG.)
Saturday we went out to breakfast at our favorite breakfast place and it was wooonnndddeerrful. Oh, I wish I could eat there every week like my parents do. After that there was a lot of last minute running around and tree decorating. I had to finagle an extra string of lights to hook up our Abe Lincoln and Darth Vader ornaments since the LED lights on the tree weren't strong enough to activate them :( (One of our traditions is just...the using of these ornaments, I suppose. They both light up and make noise, so when you plug the tree in, "America the Beautiful" plays while Vader says "The force is with you, young Skywalker, but you are not a Jedi yet." It is amazing. It is my favorite part of Christmas.) But I managed it! Hurrah! Bah, Aunt Beth, and her kids came over for our customary Christmas Eve Chinese food and we talked a lot and made fun of each other a lot and it was lovely.
Sunday was low-key. We eventually rolled out of bed and even more eventually opened presents. We did it all backwards this year--usually Brendan and I open ours first, alternating until we're through, then we give our parents their presents, then they give each other their presents. This year Dad gave Mom her presents, then vice versa, then we gave them our presents to them, then everyone broke to use the bathroom and make coffee and stuff, then Brendan and I opened. IT WAS CRAZY TOWN. But I got everything I asked for--a suitcase, a crockpot, towels, sheets, some books and dvds--and a few extras, like this awesome, ridiculous little Doctor Who purse thing. And a Kindle Fire! Which I hadn't exactly asked for, but had mentioned being interested in, so yay!
(Hilariously, for the first time in years I didn't get any clothes. I preface with "hilariously," because I meant to bring my laundry home and thus didn't pack many clothes, just a dress and a spare t-shirt. GUESS WHAT I FORGOT.)
Anyway, we didn't have any food in the house, so we went to the diner for breakfast and then came home and watched A Muppet Christmas Carol. I worked on my fic and my parents and brother napped. Brendan woke up about two episodes into my enjoyment of the Who marathon and turned on the basketball game instead, so I retreated to the kitchen until around 8 when we left for my aunt's for dessert.
All my aunts and cousins were there, which was nice, and there was much sugar and wine and talking and making fun of each other. When we got home, I finished my fic and then played DD for Brendan and then collapsed into bed at about 3am.
Today, we went out to breakfast again (look, we like going out to breakfast) and then I packed up and finally watched the Who Christmas special. No spoilers, except to say that I loved it and I cried. brilligspoons showed up not long after and we drove back home.
And now I am here! I finished up the secret_mutant posting for the day and sort of unpacked and now I'm chilling out watching Nightmare Before Christmas. (Since I started this, NBC ended, so I put on XMFC.) I want to read fic and catch up on teh interwebz in general, but I'm pretty exhausted and might have to save that for tomorrow. I have Friday off and my boss isn't in tomorrow, so it will (hopefully) be an easy week!
***
So, there's a lot to catch up on and I'm probably going to reiterate this on the end of year memes that I always do, but I wanted to take a moment to tell you all that you're wonderful and I appreciate you. Part of the reason that I rushed to finish the daycare Christmas story was because I really wanted to give fandom a Christmas present. Like I said, I'll get more into this in the end of year memes, but the first seven or so months of this year were just... awful. It was a really hard time for me. I was flagging emotionally and physically. I was miserable. And this stupid movie and their stupid faces came along and I just... can't explain to you how it turned my year around. How all of YOU turned my year around. People I'd known for years, people I met because of this dumb movie, all of you.
Anyway, I meant to add this to the start of that fic but when I finished it, I was fucking exhausted and seeing things and I forgot. But. The gist of it is happy holidays, internet. I hope the holiday fic brought you joy. I hope you have joy in your lives. And thank you for bringing it into mine.
***
And with that, I am going to turn on my heating pad and spam littledust on GChat with my feelings on Charles Xavier.
***
(This is basically what I do every night, just to be clear.)
***
Good night!
Whew.
So, since I last posted I went home to New Jersey for the holidays and then came back. Between secret_mutant, writing that holiday fic, and spending time with my family, I didn't have time for my customary Christmas posts.
Friday was mostly spent driving, but I did end up dragging my dad to see Arthur Christmas. He was skeptical at first and I have to admit that I was sort of using the "I'm home and I'm never here so we should do things together!" pressure to force him to see a movie he normally wouldn't have chosen, but he really liked it! He mentioned more than once over the weekend that it was really enjoyable. Score another one for Arthur! I think I maybe enjoyed it even more the second time--there are definitely things I picked up on in the second viewing that I missed the first time around, and I laughed just as hard and my heart grew just as much ♥ I'm so bummed it won't be on dvd until next Christmas :\
(Also, the first time I saw it, I assumed that there wasn't as much laughter at some of the jokes because of the median age of the audience, but on Friday there were a lot more adults and even some teens, yet my dad and I were still the only ones laughing at certain parts. WEIRD. IT'S SO FUNNY. OMG.)
Saturday we went out to breakfast at our favorite breakfast place and it was wooonnndddeerrful. Oh, I wish I could eat there every week like my parents do. After that there was a lot of last minute running around and tree decorating. I had to finagle an extra string of lights to hook up our Abe Lincoln and Darth Vader ornaments since the LED lights on the tree weren't strong enough to activate them :( (One of our traditions is just...the using of these ornaments, I suppose. They both light up and make noise, so when you plug the tree in, "America the Beautiful" plays while Vader says "The force is with you, young Skywalker, but you are not a Jedi yet." It is amazing. It is my favorite part of Christmas.) But I managed it! Hurrah! Bah, Aunt Beth, and her kids came over for our customary Christmas Eve Chinese food and we talked a lot and made fun of each other a lot and it was lovely.
Sunday was low-key. We eventually rolled out of bed and even more eventually opened presents. We did it all backwards this year--usually Brendan and I open ours first, alternating until we're through, then we give our parents their presents, then they give each other their presents. This year Dad gave Mom her presents, then vice versa, then we gave them our presents to them, then everyone broke to use the bathroom and make coffee and stuff, then Brendan and I opened. IT WAS CRAZY TOWN. But I got everything I asked for--a suitcase, a crockpot, towels, sheets, some books and dvds--and a few extras, like this awesome, ridiculous little Doctor Who purse thing. And a Kindle Fire! Which I hadn't exactly asked for, but had mentioned being interested in, so yay!
(Hilariously, for the first time in years I didn't get any clothes. I preface with "hilariously," because I meant to bring my laundry home and thus didn't pack many clothes, just a dress and a spare t-shirt. GUESS WHAT I FORGOT.)
Anyway, we didn't have any food in the house, so we went to the diner for breakfast and then came home and watched A Muppet Christmas Carol. I worked on my fic and my parents and brother napped. Brendan woke up about two episodes into my enjoyment of the Who marathon and turned on the basketball game instead, so I retreated to the kitchen until around 8 when we left for my aunt's for dessert.
All my aunts and cousins were there, which was nice, and there was much sugar and wine and talking and making fun of each other. When we got home, I finished my fic and then played DD for Brendan and then collapsed into bed at about 3am.
Today, we went out to breakfast again (look, we like going out to breakfast) and then I packed up and finally watched the Who Christmas special. No spoilers, except to say that I loved it and I cried. brilligspoons showed up not long after and we drove back home.
And now I am here! I finished up the secret_mutant posting for the day and sort of unpacked and now I'm chilling out watching Nightmare Before Christmas. (Since I started this, NBC ended, so I put on XMFC.) I want to read fic and catch up on teh interwebz in general, but I'm pretty exhausted and might have to save that for tomorrow. I have Friday off and my boss isn't in tomorrow, so it will (hopefully) be an easy week!
***
So, there's a lot to catch up on and I'm probably going to reiterate this on the end of year memes that I always do, but I wanted to take a moment to tell you all that you're wonderful and I appreciate you. Part of the reason that I rushed to finish the daycare Christmas story was because I really wanted to give fandom a Christmas present. Like I said, I'll get more into this in the end of year memes, but the first seven or so months of this year were just... awful. It was a really hard time for me. I was flagging emotionally and physically. I was miserable. And this stupid movie and their stupid faces came along and I just... can't explain to you how it turned my year around. How all of YOU turned my year around. People I'd known for years, people I met because of this dumb movie, all of you.
Anyway, I meant to add this to the start of that fic but when I finished it, I was fucking exhausted and seeing things and I forgot. But. The gist of it is happy holidays, internet. I hope the holiday fic brought you joy. I hope you have joy in your lives. And thank you for bringing it into mine.
***
And with that, I am going to turn on my heating pad and spam littledust on GChat with my feelings on Charles Xavier.
***
(This is basically what I do every night, just to be clear.)
***
Good night!