"How wonderful life is, now that you're in the world..."
Oh, this holiday season has been wonderful! I’ve had such a lovely time, and so busy, too.
On Christmas Eve, our family went to Mass. We got there just in time to nab the last fourteen seats or so, which were fold-out chairs placed in the back. Kaity and I were sitting over a large old heating vent, and we pondered what would happen if it collapsed beneath us. In addition to that, Aunt Cathy thought of something Uncle Rob would say when she heard the priest say, “The gift that keeps on giving.” The raunchy joke made her laugh, and she told Uncle Rob, and he laughed, and they told Christopher and he started laughing so hard he was crying. All during Mass, mind you, so it was pretty interesting.
Afterwards, we returned to Grandma and Grandpa’s and changed out of our nice clothes and ate dinner. I finished knitting Joe’s scarf, which ended up looking really cool and is really warm. The younger ones, Jack, David, and Alex, put on a little concert that they had made up, and for the first time in years, Grandma played the piano for us! What a treat!
Kaity and I couldn’t sleep on Christmas Eve. I couldn’t believe it, I was so tired, and yet I still couldn’t sleep. Well, it might have had something to do with the fact that I was sleeping on the floor. There wasn’t enough room to blow up the air mattress, so I did the best I could to improvise. We were woken up at 7:00 Christmas morning and had to hurry and clean up the living room for when everyone else showed up.
We opened gifts, and I got some nice things. Apparently, everyone was thinking about my laundry habits, because I got detergent and dryer sheets in my stocking, and two rolls of quarters from Dad and Cindy. I also received an extremely nice backpack, CDs - Goldfrapp, The Smiths, and Dave Gahan, the V For Vendetta graphic novel, and Love Actually on DVD. After opening my gifts from the family, I retreated to where I had kept my gift from Danny and opened it in secrecy. He gave me the Watchmen graphic novel. I literally squeaked with joy.
We had a nice breakfast, and then we basically just hung out all day around the house. Aunt Cathy and Uncle Rob brought their PS2 and all four Guitar Hero games, and so we commandeered the television and played that for a good chunk of the day. I didn’t do much else.
The next morning, I was woken up at 7:00 again, only I wasn’t leaving - everyone else was. Dad, Cindy, David, and Alex left around 7:30, and by 8:00, it was only me, Grandma, and Grandpa. I took my time, got pictures from Grandpa, and had the chance to have my pick of Grandma’s collection of yarns. I had some fun with that.
Grandma and Grandpa took me back to Pendleton, and then Mom and I just caught up on things. I told her how Dad and Cindy offered to pay for an eye exam so I could get new glasses, but then she surprised me and told me that Grandma and Grandpa Gilbert decided to pay for them, as a Christmas gift to me. That really excited me, because honestly, that is what I wanted most for Christmas, and I’d be getting it.
I had my eye appointment on Thursday, and then we went to the library and picked up some movies. We watched Monster House, and then Krista called and said they were hanging out over at Mia’s. Austin came by and picked me up, and we went over there and hung out. Friday was Chris (The Frosch)’s birthday. He’s seventeen now.
On Friday, Mom and I went to the Indianapolis Museum of Art. We looked around at some exhibits that had opened since our last visit, and we saw this motorized piece where it is only turned on twice an hour, and most people don’t realize that it moves. Our main purpose was to see Roman artwork from the Lourve, and we did, but it was awful because I was in pain, and there were way too many people there. I don’t consider myself claustrophobic, but it was so bad I was having a panic attack. The artwork was pretty amazing, but I was still upset. We came home and watched Blades of Glory and Hot Fuzz.
Saturday, Mom didn’t get home from work until 3:30, and then we traveled to Ohio and stayed with my grandparents. The next day, we went to Mass and then Aunt Jo and Uncle Dave showed up around noon and we opened Christmas gifts. Shortly after dinner, Mom and I had to return back to Pendleton, and we went grocery shopping as well.
New Year’s Eve was crazy. Really crazy. I woke up around 10:00 when a woman from Christian Ministries showed up at our door and wouldn’t go away, even when I tried to ignore the fact that she was ringing our doorbell. I got up, took some time to wake up, and then started baking my super-sweet-kick-ass birthday cake. I took my shower, and then Sarah showed up around 4:00 to help me out. I vacuumed, and I took my hair out of the curlers I had put them up in. It was a disaster. My hair was atrocious. I really needed a solution for it. So... we called Kristin!
Kristin showed up around 5:00 and took her first look at my hair and the mess it was and laughed. She had to take photos of it, too, just to make sure it would be immortalized. We were all laughing about it, really.
The party went underway, and the rest of the rotating guest list consisted of Jack, Missy, Christ (The Frosch), Kyle, Tim, Alyssa, Becca, Austin, Teddy, Nick, Chris (The Fox), Krista, Leigh, Grant, and of course, Danny. We made pizzas, and Jack brought Rock Band and people played that, though I didn’t have a chance to play it before Jack left.
We were having a lot of fun, and a few minutes before midnight, Dad called. Or, well, he did, but it was David on the other line first. He was excited about staying up late again, and he sang “Happy Birthday” to me. It was the sweetest thing, and I was in tears because it was so wonderful. Then, I got to talk to Dad for a little bit.
We toasted the New Year in with sparkling grape juice, and it was really funny because everyone was making something out of Danny and I kissing at midnight. Someone had asked him earlier, “So, are you going to kiss her at midnight?” and he said, “I don’t see why not.” And then a few minutes prior, a whole group of them said, “If you two don’t kiss, we’re all going to kiss you!” and then when the ball in Times Square finally dropped, they were all watching us, and I said, “Hey...Hey! Hey!” trying to get them to calm down. I don’t know, I’m not used to an audience when we kiss. Hell, we can’t even have Scrubs playing in the background if we kiss, because chances are, either he or I will hear something funny, and even if we hold it back, eventually, we are going to laugh.
Anyway, we played this funny game called Don’t Quote Me, and then we just hung out until 5:00 in the morning. Leigh, Krista, Kristin, and Jennifer slept in the family room, Austin, Teddy, and Sarah shared the guest bed, and Danny and I slept in my bed. My loft bed. Yes, it can actually fit two people, and it surprised me. I heard the girls in the living room put Moulin Rouge into the DVD player, and I remember hearing “Sparkling Diamonds” and falling asleep after that.
I had to get up to use the bathroom around 10:40, and that was a feat. I managed to climb over Danny without hitting the ceiling, and then walk down the ladder without killing myself. Danny woke up, and he smiled when I stepped onto the carpet and raised my arms and said, “Yay! I made it!” When I came back, I crawled back into bed and fell back asleep until I heard them playing Moulin Rouge again, and I distinctly heard Teddy say loudly, “The Super Mario Brothers Movie was awesome!” I laughed.
Oh, how simply magnificent to wake up in the morning on New Year’s Day, in a new year, on my birthday, in the arms of my man. Ah...
We had breakfast around noon, and Danny had to leave around 1:30. I was sad to see him go, but I have just a few more days until I can see him again. Unfortunately, he has to travel with the Ball State marching band to play at the International Bowl... in Toronto.
Everyone else left a little later, and Sarah took a shower and I opened up my cards and presents. Aunt Beth’s gift, I still don’t know what it is, but it was on backorder and will show up sometime soon. Aunt Jo and Uncle Dave are going to visit me at Ball State so I can show them my Ball State compared to how it was when they were attending, and Danny gave me the Smiths CD, Strangeways, Here We Come.
Sarah and I walked to Nick’s house, even though it was snowing, and then the three of us picked up Teddy from Austin’s house, and we went to Kristin’s for a while. I was really tired, so when they decided to go to Austin’s around 8:30, I opted to go home and relax. I think I just needed a break from people for a little while again. Mom and I watched Scrubs, and I was up until 2:00. Shortly after she went to bed, I finally figured out how to view my grades from this past semester. I did an amazing job, and my German grade actually surprised me. I ran into Mom’s room and told her. That just boosted my confidence for this upcoming semester. Things are going to go really well.
Sarah spent the night at Austin’s and came back around 1:00 this afternoon. We talked, she had some coffee, and then she put her stuff in her car and left. I stayed in my pajamas all day and watched the Sci-Fi channel. The first episode of the Outer Limits that I watched had Wil Wheaton in it, and it made me feel so happy and all geeky inside.
Mom came home around 2:30, and then she left again at 4:30 to teach at the gym. I listened through some music I got from Sarah (both Kill Bill soundtracks and the new Killers’ album, Sawdust, for the win!) and ordered my textbooks, as well as two extra things I think I probably shouldn’t have ordered, but will be so awesome to have.
Now, I’m still sticking around the house. Tomorrow I am going to get my new pair of Chucks, as Mom had bought a pair for me for Christmas but they were too big. I also get my new glasses tomorrow. Yay!
I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and a Happy New Year. I know I did, and I have had one of the best birthdays ever.