And so it ends for another year
Yesterday began as it usually does, with the dogs doing their Parade of Fools outside the bedroom door around 5:30. Tippity-tap-tap, skitter, skitter, whine. Repeat ad nauseum until one of the humans rises to open that damn locked container with all the lovely food.
Thankfully, The Mister enjoyed a full nine hours of uninterrupted sleep (a Christmas miracle in and of itself) and so I was able to make my usual breakfast and settle in with the computer for a couple of hours before he rose and we gave our meagre gifts. This year we decided to pool our money and get a 42" LCD television at the Boxing Week Sales while they're terribly reasonable. I won't lie to you, I'm very excited at the prospect of such a large screen.
I was gifted some Clinique products from The Mister; from work, I received a basket of specialty chocolate, one Cohiba, a six-pack of Guinness and a monster poinsettia. The Police DVD "Certifiable", though highly-reviewed across the board, didn't quite do it for the hub, who actually made a face. I'll return it and take him with me to HMV to ensure we get him something he'll actually enjoy.
Christmas at my parents' house was remarkably easy-going this year. No fights, no burned food, no bad weather; it was probably the closest to perfect we've ever managed.
This morning, I was allowed to sleep in for an additional hour before getting up to play about a dozen games of Mahjong and a few rounds of D&D on Facebook before cleaning up and driving through the freezing rain to the inlaws for our Boxing Day Extravaganza. This year I was sort of dreading it, since my MIL had been whining about how pared-down the gifting was this year, due in part to the financial strains on my SIL's family over the past three years. I was actually relieved to have so few obligations this year, although The Mister's dental drama has been an unforseen additional stress on my life since the middle of November and proved a huge obstacle to any holiday preparations this year. Ultimately, I'm more concerned with his bone health for the next 50 years so I decided to give myself a pass. It was very freeing.
My gift today was courtesy of niece Nicole, who reminded her Dad (he had drawn my name two months ago) that I was always on the lookout for a hand-hammered Japanese teapot. I literally gave a squeal of delight as I wrested open the incredibly heavy box and cannot wait to use it tomorrow morning.
As a last hurrah, I am drinking tea and enjoying the last piece of Chocolate Gingerbread as I type this, before launching once again into my healthier eating regimen. I'm even going to head back to the gym sometime in the next week to work-harden my muscles before my niece Andrea (the newly-certified personal trainer) takes over and tries to mold the lump of lard that is her Auntie into something resembling a healthy human being.
I didn't decorate and I didn't send cards and that's okay. I barely baked and I barely shopped and that's okay, too. Change is good.
This has been a Holidailies entry.