Survived "actual" Christmas (which is Christmas 2 of 3 this year). It was actually quite nice - it was the first time Eric and I had a Christmas alone, as we did Christmas 1 with my mother a couple of weeks ago, and Christmas 3 will be happening tomorrow with Eric's family. We couldn't really get out yesterday, so we were forced to spend all day together in the apartment. Oh noes! Whatever shall we do? :)

Christmas Eve, we didn't go into work - trying to get out of our driveway wasn't happening until late afternoon. (Completely random sidenote: I'm listening to On Broadway on my satellite radio, and they've just started playing a song called "The Calling" from Altar Boyz. The chorus? "Jesus called me on my cellphone." It's a show about a Christian boy band. I highly recommend it. /sidenote) In the afternoon, we went out to get the veggies needed for 10-bean soup, and spent some time at Brian's playing Neuroshima Hex and Ninja versus Ninja, both of which are much fun. (Plus, NINJA! How can you go wrong?)

Christmas Day was soup and bread-making, laundry-doing, and watching Eric play Call of Duty: World at War (one of his gifts from me) on the 360 while I sewed and watched a little NCIS on my laptop. The soup turned out well, the bread was nummy (sourdough just goes so well with a good, hearty soup), and the day ended pretty early as we were both exhausted.

Today? I'm at work (and working hard, as you can see :)), and Eric's running the game store. So, if any of y'all are in the Lynnwood/Mukilteo area, and feel up for playing some board games, check out Phoenix Games on the Mukilteo Speedway - the guy with the glasses and goatee behind the counter will be more than happy to play a game with you. :) After work, I'll be heading down there, as our usual Game Night has been moved to tonight (it's normally Wednesday). Come! Play! Pick up a game or three!

Oh, and in case any of you were curious you can see the finished cross-stitches I did this year here.

We spent this past weekend in Portland, visiting my mom and having our first Christmas of the year. Eric and I have a minimum of two Christmases, usually three - one with my mom, one with his family, and one that's just us. Which family gets "real" Christmas (as in, December 25th) alternates every year, and this year belongs to Eric's family. Thus, Christmas with my mom happened disgustingly early.

I'm discovering that my mother is full of contradictions. She told me several times over the weekend that it looks like I'm losing weight, and then proceeded to load me up with candy, cookies, and brownies. Helpful, Ma. Eric and I have split the candy in half and brought it in to our respective workplaces, so hopefully it'll get eaten soon. The cookies, though, those are mine. Bwahahaha.

As per usual, Mom and Eric both spent too much money. Well, Eric, and Ramses and Feina, as they use him as his agent of Christmas gift-giving. :) Seriously, we need to discuss Ramses' allowance or something - he should NOT be able to afford to get me a 250G external hard drive. Also, squee! It means I actually have some place to stash my distressingly large mp3 collection (well, it's distressingly large to me - I'm sure it's next to nothing for some of you fine folk). Next thing is to save up for a new and bigger iPod, as the current StephiePod display is starting to go, and it's pretty well full. Something to look forward to. Mom seemed to appreciate her gifts, especially the patriotic kitty cross-stitch - I'll post pictures of all the cross-stitched presents once I finish them all, just to keep them all together.

We went to see Bolt yesterday, as well. It was very cute, and had flashes of Pixar brilliance, but Disney by itself is not quite on the same level. Regardless, there are bits that had me giggling for quite some time afterwards. All in all, it was a nice weekend. Very strange at times, as we ended up getting turned around at one point and wound up driving past my old dorms, which did nothing so much as remind me in a flood of all kinds of crap (both good and bad) from those four years at Reed. While I enjoyed college, I think it's a little painful for me to be near the center of all those memories - it doesn't do much but remind me of not necessarily better times, but times when there were many, MANY more possibilities than there are now. Something to ponder.

In other news...well, there isn't any, really. What can I say? I'm boring. :) Now, back to work with me.

Well, technically, back at work again, but you know what I mean. Christmas was good overall, if exhausting. It was very very nice to be back in my own bed last night.

I'm sure that I'll have some sort of update later, but in the meantime, take a look at the flowers Eric sent me at work on Friday. Best. Husband. Ever. (And that's ignoring the first volume of the super-deluxe Sandman special edition that he gave me for Christmas.)







Now to try to work through the haze of the cold that's trying to smack me down. Only three days of work this week - I WILL make it. Dammit. :)

Care of my darling (and incredibly 733+) husband, gamethyme...

( 4 \/151+ Phr0|\/| 541|\|+ |\|1ch0745 )

I got lent to another department at work for two days. Two days, that's it. Today, I got to go back to my normal stuff and have discovered that said normal stuff has reproduced like bunnies. My inbox is overflowing, and I had to give some things to my boss to do because I simply can't.

Add to that that I still have to take care of a few things present-wise, am close to broke already, and there still isn't a stitch of Christmas decoration in the house (which didn't bother me last year or the year before, but is bugging the crap out of me this year - I got a cedar garland this weekend, I just need to put it up), and and and ack. The anti-anxieties aren't quite cutting it as well as normal. Plus, for some reason this year is turning into a "missing Daddy and family in general like crazy" year. I hate those years.

They're coming to take me away, ha ha...

Snagged from fairoriana
Christmas Questions

What album speaks most of Christmas to you? What is it just not Christmas without in terms of music?

What is your favorite ornament? What's it's story? Where do you get it?

What's your family tradition regarding present-opening? Christmas morning? Christmas Eve? Other?

Does Christmas usually involve a fancy big meal, or is most of the day spent in PJs reading the new books you got?

What the best Christmas present you got for Christmas last year. Do you even remember?

Whose Christmas present are you most excited to give this year?

( Answers under here )

Sirius is playing all classical Christmas music on channel 86. With the exception of a song or two that are truly unnecessary (White Christmas as sung by an operatic soprano, for instance, but that's because I don't like the sound of most operatic sopranos), it's the Christmas music that makes me enjoy the season. I'm not the bah-humbug my husband is, but I do get a bit sick of the crassness of the season. However, with the pretty-pretty music and some of the nicer decorations around Seattle, I can remember that there are a good number of reasons why I like the holiday season.

Happy almost-winter, everyone!