Happy Holiday Happenings (late)
Ok ok, so I am totally late with this. I've been working on it but put it aside, and now I finished, so there! :P
~Can you believe it has been another year already? There has been so much that has gone on through out 2008 I couldn't fathom the amount of time it would take to regurgitate it all. The major accomplishment is one year of a relationship. It has been the year of firsts for us and as such, our ornament commemorates 2008 as “The Year Of Firsts.”
Okay, so leading up to this holiday season was quite the stressful accent. With a mountain of things that I felt had to be done, Jarett and I were glad our gift shopping was done before the end of November. The general hurry-scurry caught up bad once December hit, it just seems when it is November you have ample time but as soon as December first is here you are struggling to catch up! The cards were sent out a little late because I was scrambling to finish up some small pieces of art for 5 lucky (or unlucky depending on your view of 'art') people. A few of Jarett's closest friends also got a cookie mix in a jar from us, hopefully they were well liked. I've been keen on giving items that are either useful or practical rather than just ornamental; the artwork was more of a desire to give something handmade. I pray they got to their destinations and were liked by the recipients.
~The Humphrey family Christmas festivities were first off. Due to snow, the paternal side gathering was canceled on the Eve, but it was a blessing as it gave me time to do the baking for the next day and being up until 2am making desserts and appetizers. The 25th was grand, the Humphrey friends and family were fun. The tidbits we brought went over well, nothing left to bring home. I am somewhat embarrassed at the gifts we received mostly because we are unable to give such nice things, but such as life I suppose. The thought is what counts and it was much nicer to be able to see everyone in one place, converse, and catch-up it truly was not about the material things. It was a pleasant white holiday, very white for Vancouverites.
~The fleeting moments between Christmas and our trip to PA was spent organizing, cleaning, and getting ready to be away for a spell. We drove down the night before to beat the weather and not worry about the border (ended up simple, a surprise to me). The hotel that was recommended to us was a roach palace and charged more than Jarett was quoted. United Air also charged us per bag, which was unexpected, so I'm quite glad we packed everything into one bag putting a second one in for the return trip as per my mother.
Our flight out of Seattle was fine, it was at Dulles that we encountered problems. Our final leg was met with issues: our gate had 5 or 6 planes leaving it within minutes of each other but 1 gate person. The poor guy was trying to orchestrate the flights, each one having issues. Most people around us had been waiting or rerouted to other flights. Our plane was there but they couldn't find the crew. All flights were overbooked, what shit over the holiday season, trapping people in airports everywhere. One flight even booted 5 people off due to weight problems, the 5 were selected because they paid the least for their tickets (bullshit in my opinion, this proves you shouldn't always plan ahead). Two hours after our flight was supposed to leave, the crew shows up, does a safety check and we wait... then finally get news our flight is canceled due to a fog that fell over Harrisburg. They sent everyone away with nothing but the boot, the poor gait person caught all kinds of hell. The United customer service was less than helpful giving no direction on what to do nor voucher for hotel or food. They said there was a flight the next day, but couldn't guarantee a seat due to overbooking, DUH! Two hours away from Palmyra, my hometown, we decided to just rent a car and drive the rest of the way, our luggage somewhere in the airport. It took some time, a lot of running around the damn airport, before we got some direction on where to get reservations for a car. Jarett did up the paperwork, was told “go ahead and take any car in the center aisle, the keys are in them, just drive it away.” The looks we had were of shock, just take any car? We did so and finally made it to PA a few hours and dollars later. Our luggage wouldn't make it for another day or so.
~Our time at my parents was spent drinking coffee and chatting with the family. Both my brothers had new girlfriends who in turn had young children. The kids were adorable and yes, I even changed a few poopie diapers, something my brothers will not do. It was a treat to be at the old homestead- a few changes to the house itself were nothing compared to the way the town has evolved in the recent years of my absence. The phrase “you can not go home” seems fitting here, I don't believe I could live in that town again, now that I've been out and about. My home is here in British Columbia, with my husband by my side.
Chris and Beth, his girlfriend, had gotten us tickets to a local hockey game. I was first unsure (anyone who knows me is quite aware of my lack of sports knowledge and care) but the game was great, I only hope Jarett enjoyed it as much. We spent much of the time at the house just catching up with everyone and watching the kids (gosh they are cute, especially when you can hand them back ^^). My parents took me to the barn to show me their horse. A quaterhorse, not much to write home about, but perfect for what they were looking for in the sport. I gave him a little bit of a flat lesson, but with no chaps or helmet and just shy two years of non-equine sporting, my legs bled something fierce, I'll be growing that hair and skin back the next few weeks.
New Years we sat at the kitchen table talking and drinking. Jarett obliged my family with “How a Canadian Drinks” downing a bottle of beer in under 10 seconds. Many Jagger-bombs, Stary-Nights, and other things we consumed later, we did up some bubbly with my mom and got some interesting stories from the past. Though I think we scared Becki, Timon's girlfriend, with our conversation and loudness, it was a laid back grand ole' time. It ended rather late as each couple gradually headed off to bed.
Other than that, there was not too much to write about. I got some flack for not doing much in the way of activities with Jarett, but I for one was content with just sitting back for the week. Perhaps he would have liked to do a little more, I'll never know, for now he tells me it was enjoyable vacation, I'm happy we got the chance to see the whole family and have them all see us as the couple we are. We'll be looking at another trip, as for when, who knows? It was rather costly to do however, rewards in heart far outweigh any dollar cost.
The roundup was fitting, we flew back with 2 suitcases instead of one and of course were selected for special inspection. Delta was a lot better then United, getting us and our belongings to our destinations early, YAY! We got dinner and a hotel room for the evening. The next day we met up with a friend and spent the day with him. It was great to see him again and even better that he is doing quite well for himself. The drive back was late and snowy, many people all over the roads with their bad driving. Thankfully the boarder crossing was the easiest ever; the woman never even looked at our identification!
Whew, so that was our trip to Pennsylvania. We are both now back home and working; back to the normal, life is getting back to the swing. Zion is glad to have us back, thank you Steve for watching him for us *Big hugs*.
~Can you believe it has been another year already? There has been so much that has gone on through out 2008 I couldn't fathom the amount of time it would take to regurgitate it all. The major accomplishment is one year of a relationship. It has been the year of firsts for us and as such, our ornament commemorates 2008 as “The Year Of Firsts.”
Okay, so leading up to this holiday season was quite the stressful accent. With a mountain of things that I felt had to be done, Jarett and I were glad our gift shopping was done before the end of November. The general hurry-scurry caught up bad once December hit, it just seems when it is November you have ample time but as soon as December first is here you are struggling to catch up! The cards were sent out a little late because I was scrambling to finish up some small pieces of art for 5 lucky (or unlucky depending on your view of 'art') people. A few of Jarett's closest friends also got a cookie mix in a jar from us, hopefully they were well liked. I've been keen on giving items that are either useful or practical rather than just ornamental; the artwork was more of a desire to give something handmade. I pray they got to their destinations and were liked by the recipients.
~The Humphrey family Christmas festivities were first off. Due to snow, the paternal side gathering was canceled on the Eve, but it was a blessing as it gave me time to do the baking for the next day and being up until 2am making desserts and appetizers. The 25th was grand, the Humphrey friends and family were fun. The tidbits we brought went over well, nothing left to bring home. I am somewhat embarrassed at the gifts we received mostly because we are unable to give such nice things, but such as life I suppose. The thought is what counts and it was much nicer to be able to see everyone in one place, converse, and catch-up it truly was not about the material things. It was a pleasant white holiday, very white for Vancouverites.
~The fleeting moments between Christmas and our trip to PA was spent organizing, cleaning, and getting ready to be away for a spell. We drove down the night before to beat the weather and not worry about the border (ended up simple, a surprise to me). The hotel that was recommended to us was a roach palace and charged more than Jarett was quoted. United Air also charged us per bag, which was unexpected, so I'm quite glad we packed everything into one bag putting a second one in for the return trip as per my mother.
Our flight out of Seattle was fine, it was at Dulles that we encountered problems. Our final leg was met with issues: our gate had 5 or 6 planes leaving it within minutes of each other but 1 gate person. The poor guy was trying to orchestrate the flights, each one having issues. Most people around us had been waiting or rerouted to other flights. Our plane was there but they couldn't find the crew. All flights were overbooked, what shit over the holiday season, trapping people in airports everywhere. One flight even booted 5 people off due to weight problems, the 5 were selected because they paid the least for their tickets (bullshit in my opinion, this proves you shouldn't always plan ahead). Two hours after our flight was supposed to leave, the crew shows up, does a safety check and we wait... then finally get news our flight is canceled due to a fog that fell over Harrisburg. They sent everyone away with nothing but the boot, the poor gait person caught all kinds of hell. The United customer service was less than helpful giving no direction on what to do nor voucher for hotel or food. They said there was a flight the next day, but couldn't guarantee a seat due to overbooking, DUH! Two hours away from Palmyra, my hometown, we decided to just rent a car and drive the rest of the way, our luggage somewhere in the airport. It took some time, a lot of running around the damn airport, before we got some direction on where to get reservations for a car. Jarett did up the paperwork, was told “go ahead and take any car in the center aisle, the keys are in them, just drive it away.” The looks we had were of shock, just take any car? We did so and finally made it to PA a few hours and dollars later. Our luggage wouldn't make it for another day or so.
~Our time at my parents was spent drinking coffee and chatting with the family. Both my brothers had new girlfriends who in turn had young children. The kids were adorable and yes, I even changed a few poopie diapers, something my brothers will not do. It was a treat to be at the old homestead- a few changes to the house itself were nothing compared to the way the town has evolved in the recent years of my absence. The phrase “you can not go home” seems fitting here, I don't believe I could live in that town again, now that I've been out and about. My home is here in British Columbia, with my husband by my side.
Chris and Beth, his girlfriend, had gotten us tickets to a local hockey game. I was first unsure (anyone who knows me is quite aware of my lack of sports knowledge and care) but the game was great, I only hope Jarett enjoyed it as much. We spent much of the time at the house just catching up with everyone and watching the kids (gosh they are cute, especially when you can hand them back ^^). My parents took me to the barn to show me their horse. A quaterhorse, not much to write home about, but perfect for what they were looking for in the sport. I gave him a little bit of a flat lesson, but with no chaps or helmet and just shy two years of non-equine sporting, my legs bled something fierce, I'll be growing that hair and skin back the next few weeks.
New Years we sat at the kitchen table talking and drinking. Jarett obliged my family with “How a Canadian Drinks” downing a bottle of beer in under 10 seconds. Many Jagger-bombs, Stary-Nights, and other things we consumed later, we did up some bubbly with my mom and got some interesting stories from the past. Though I think we scared Becki, Timon's girlfriend, with our conversation and loudness, it was a laid back grand ole' time. It ended rather late as each couple gradually headed off to bed.
Other than that, there was not too much to write about. I got some flack for not doing much in the way of activities with Jarett, but I for one was content with just sitting back for the week. Perhaps he would have liked to do a little more, I'll never know, for now he tells me it was enjoyable vacation, I'm happy we got the chance to see the whole family and have them all see us as the couple we are. We'll be looking at another trip, as for when, who knows? It was rather costly to do however, rewards in heart far outweigh any dollar cost.
The roundup was fitting, we flew back with 2 suitcases instead of one and of course were selected for special inspection. Delta was a lot better then United, getting us and our belongings to our destinations early, YAY! We got dinner and a hotel room for the evening. The next day we met up with a friend and spent the day with him. It was great to see him again and even better that he is doing quite well for himself. The drive back was late and snowy, many people all over the roads with their bad driving. Thankfully the boarder crossing was the easiest ever; the woman never even looked at our identification!
Whew, so that was our trip to Pennsylvania. We are both now back home and working; back to the normal, life is getting back to the swing. Zion is glad to have us back, thank you Steve for watching him for us *Big hugs*.