Was Santa good to you?

Hi all, I hope you had a Merry Christmas, and that you had a chance to either see or speak with the people you care about. This is a picture on a mug that I think SBrother#1 had made for us years ago, with me (front middle) and my sisters and brothers, circa 1955-56ish. Yikes, is my SSister#1 gonna kill me or what when she sees this? We all had our Christmas pjs on. SS#2 and I got dolls, SB#1 got what? a new arm, SB#2 got a new holster set, and SS#1 obviously got lipstick.

Now, step away from the cookies, we tasted them all, and this year SDaughter and her SSignificiant other also made chocolate covered everything-SGrandson almost got dipped himself.

We went there for our annual Christmas Morning Brunch. What a team they are-excellent host and hostess. And how nice it is to see SD using real tablecloth, my former Holly glasses (remember Arby's was selling those about 15 years ago?), and the food was so tasty. SSister-in-law (remember that is what I call my former husbands wife), made this incredible fruit salad-real fruit, every kind of berry you can imagine-so very refreshing after the gluttony of french toast, sausage, ham, and all the other breakfast foods that you pay a bizillion dollars for if you were to go out for a brunch.

SD made orange Julius drinks with non-alcoholic sparking wine-very nice.

So listen, SMom came along, and even though we have a large Rav4 vehicle, we still needed to drop things off at SD's home first before we picked up SM, so I joked with her that we needed to drop off things first, otherwise we would have to tie her to the top of the car like a deer. It was meant to make her laugh because when she is confused I try to make a joke to get her jump-started. She did not understand it maybe even thought I was not joking?? So, I needed to reword then she got the humor and laughed. Laughter really seems to work for her, sometimes she uses it to change the subject if she can not grasp what is going on. I won't say she had her best day, but she certainly kept up with most things. Grateful that she was here to celebrate with us.

Santa was good to all in our family, I am sure Kohls, K-mart, Land's End will be sending me a thank-you note for helping them out this year-my own little effort at a stimulus package. SSon received some techy things(PSP) and some funny things (shorts with images of chunks of
cheese taking a picture with the caption "Say People"), some expected presents, (socks and Sabre wear), and SH bought all of us Yankee World Series Champs shirts.

We played our usual gift exchange after the real gifts: Everyone brings a wrapped $10.ish gift, pick numbers then SM decides which number is going to pick a present first-low or high. Then whomever is chosen picks a gift from the center pile-then opens it. The next person can either steal their present or take one from the middle, and on it goes, taking and stealing. If someone steals from you on their turn, you get to pick another present from the middle. At the end, there is a final "swap if you want to" part, with both parties having to agree to swap. There are always a few gifts that are stolen frequently. A massage pillow was hot this year, and a gift set with cups, coffee packets and creamer/sugar bowl. The more people you have, the more outrageous the stealing becomes-lotsa fun. In large groups there is sometimes a gift that is an obvious re-gifting-sometimes with the tag still in the container-tacky, tacky.

Do you play any holiday games at your house? Do you always play a certain card or other game?

On the day after Christmas, SD, SSO and SGS came for lunch and then most of us went to the movies to see "Blind Side". We gave it 8 thumbs all the way up. (you can see SS and SH in some of the Christmas pictures with both thumbs up-I think it is a flashback to Fonzie Days).

Because you know in advance that it is a true story, it was even more enjoyable to see what was accomplished by this family and this amazing young man. A real "feel-good" movie. And then to feel even better, we went to Pizza Hut. A great American Institution-show and pizza. SH would have been satisfied with just the bread sticks, he really thinks they are a great invention.

This is a truly lovely ornament that aforementioned SSIL made for all this year-the glass beads are sewn on! I can sew too-I sewed a few new buttons on my coat this year!

Tuesday, we go to SSister and SBrother-in-law's house for some great quality time-some of her SGrandchildren will be there, so SG will have a great time TTT (talking tech toys). It seemed that it was just a short time ago that there were high chairs and booster seats whenever "2 or more were gathered". I am planning on wearing the lovely sweater that SD and SSo gave me.

Time is something we have no control over, please let me choose to use it wisely. Sounds like a New Year's Resolution to me-wait, not yet, let's savor the peri-Christmas season first.

Happy Birthday Jesus!