Obligatory Christmas Happenings Post!
So, some really interesting stuff happened on Christmas, and I got some REALLY good stuff for Christmas this year!
We'll start with the gifts from my friends...you guys were AWESOME, and I loved everything!
Seattle bell and Seattle shot glass - milanthruil
AHistory: An Unauthorized History of the Doctor Who Universe - bethanyedwards
Time-Flight and Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special - strawberrysgirl
Odd Hours, Good Omens, and a framed picture of Michael Shanks - spoonyriffic
I also got a TON of epicly awesome Christmas cards. Thank you to everyone who sent me a card! I loved them! :-D
My family was QUITE good to me this year, especially my mom. "HOLY CRAP!" is the best way to describe it.
From Mom
Heroes: Season 1
Doctor Who: Season 4
All Creatures Great & Small: The Complete Series & Specials
Sleeping Beauty: 50th Anniversary Platinum Edition
Robin Hood: Most Wanted Edition
Star Trek: 2-disc Special Edition
a laptop sleeve
my plane fare to San Antonio
From Wendy (Little Sister)
Big Man: Real Life & Tall Tales by Clarence Clemons (aka "The saxaphone player from the E Street Band")
From Kim (Oldest Sister) and her family (my brother-in-law Barry and my nephews Brandan, Kody, and Jarrett)
Pajamas
Mary Poppins: 45th Anniversary Edition
From Uncle Dave (Mom's younger brother) and his family (my aunt Jenny and my cousins Chris, Cassie, and Joanna)
Dark Shadows: The 30th Anniversary Soundtrack
From Uncle Doug (Mom's youngest brother) and his family (my aunt Lisa and my cousins Noah, Nina, and Alex)
Vera Bradley bag (think is makeup sized)
Ulta hand lotion
Japanese Cherry Blossom shower gel
Barnes & Noble gift card
From Grandma and Grandpa (Mom's parents)
Liz Claiborne bracelet
Bath set with a hairbrush
A lot of my family also sent money to help me with the San Antonio trip, because no one in my family can keep a secret and everyone knows I'm going. So much for my plans to ninja myself into Pittsburgh International and onto that plane without Mom's family knowing...thanks Mom's Side of the Family! XD
All in all, it was a very fun day, albeit a slightly weird one. [TMI] I've been having some postnasal drip issues the last few days[/TMI], which has been making me cough like mad, so my coughing kept me up for a while Christmas Eve. About 6:30 in the morning, I'm FINALLY drifting off to sleep, and I hear my door open and my little sister come into my room & say "Anna, do you want to come out and help me sort the presents out (a slightly odd tradition we started when Wendy was little to keep ourselves occupied until Mom and Dad woke up and before we broke into our stockings), or do you want to sleep for a bit longer? I heard you coughing and figured you didn't get much sleep." I'm pretty sure I gave the coherent response of "15 more minutes, please" before I fell asleep again, because Wendy didn't yell about me hitting her with a pillow or anything before she left. I drift off to sleep again, and after a while I drift into half-awakeness in time to hear an approximation of the following:
Mom: Merry Christmas Wendy!
Wendy: Merry Christmas!
Mom: How long have you been up?
Wendy: Since 6:30.
Mom: Where's Anna?
Wendy: I think she fell asleep again. When I went in there to wake her up, she asked for 15 more minutes, but that was a really long time ago...
Next thing I hear is my door opening and my mom saying "Merry Christmas, come open your presents!" or something quite similar to it. I made a slightly non-committal noise, and then I heard the fizzing of a soda bottle opening. I sat up and there was Mom, standing in the doorway with a Diet Pepsi bottle in her hand, which she handed to me as I wandered past in a half-asleep haze.
We usually have something on TV going when we're opening our presents, and over the years, we've had VH1 on quite a bit. One year was a movie they did about The Monkees. One year was 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s, and the year after that was I Love Toys, then the year after that was I Love Toys followed immediately by 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s. This year, we ended up watching the movie The Ugly Truth while we opened presents. Because nothing says "Christmas morning" like Gerard Butler saying "Fuck" repeatedly. XD
Our older sister Cathy came over for brunch and exchange of presents after that, and our Christmas viewing proceeded to veer straight into "WTF are you watching THAT for?" territory when we put on The Dark Knight. Because nothing says "Appropriate Christmas Brunch Viewings" like things exploding and Aaron Eckhart with half his face missing. XD
Cathy hung out for a while, during which we proceeded to horrify Mom with a marathon of YouTube videos: "Dick in a Box," "Like a Boss," "I'm On A Boat," and "Jizz in My Pants." Cathy then showed us the Funny or Die videos "The Landlord" and "Good Cop, Baby Cop," which sent us into hysterics. Later, after Cathy, Wendy, and I (Mom still wasn't feeling so hot...residual effects from some sort of chicken dish at Ruby Tuesdays the night before) went over to Kim's house for dinner, we horrified her with "Dick in a Box" and "Jizz in My Pants." Dad sure produced a pack of really classy kids. XD
Christmas dinner was kinda small, because our brother and his family weren't there (separate plans with his in-laws that couldn't be broken), and my oldest nephew was at work, but it was DELICIOUS! We had ham, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, stuffing, mashed potatoes, rolls, and a red velvet cake that me and Wendy shiftily carried out of the kitchen at our place when Mom wasn't looking, because we were fairly certain she had told us we should take it over (a quick phone call after we'd already made off with the thing confirmed we were right). We ended up watching the Orlando/Boston game with our nephews, which wasn't as bad as I thought it would be...mostly because we were able to convince Kody to switch the channel to Mythbusters when Boston pulled ahead.
We also took pictures in front of Kim's Christmas tree. There's one of us four girls, one of Kim and her husband Barry, and one of me and Wendy that turned out really nicely. The best moment of the tree pictures came when Cathy and Kody were taking a picture together. We were trying to get Kody to smile, and suddenly Barry yells out "Say "BOOBS," Kody!" The picture came out with Cathy laughing hysterically and Kody's eyes looking like they were trying to escape from his head. It was hilarious! After that, Wendy decided to take a picture with this Santa decoration Kim had in the dining room, so Kim and Cathy took the picture. Then she jokingly made a kissy face at the Santa, which caused Kim and Cathy to scream that it was adorable and do it again...and then they took a picture of it. It was the first time in ever that I was more mature than my 33 and nearly 35 year old sisters, and the first time in a LONG time that I was more mature than the 16 1/2 year old (anyone in our family will tell you that Wendy is loads more mature than I am...even me. XD). Deciding that I didn't want to be left out of the merriment, I stuck my head around the corner next to the Santa all shifty-like, which caused more laughter and produced a fairly decent picture of me.
We went back home, and Wendy had to help me down the driveway with our gifts and a couple plates of food for Mom, because the plowed side of the driveway was ice. Cathy suggested we slide down the ice on our asses, which under normal circumstances would have been a PEFECT idea, but we were carrying food, so we passed. We settled down after we got inside, and Wendy surfed iTunes for a while to try and figure out what songs to get with her gift cards (stocking stuffer win!), and proceeded to break the wrongness barrier. She found a song by this guy named Rudy called "The Underpants Song," and our mother-who has let us listen to all sorts of things and has the same weird sense of humor we do-was so horrified by it that she actually left the room. I was immediately interested, and muted USA as soon as the commercials started (we were watching the end of the Will Ferrell movie "Elf," because I'd never seen the ending before) so she could play the clip for me. I won't link to the clip, and I won't link to the lyrics in this post, but OH.MY.GOD. That song is FILTHY! And WRONG! And I COULD NOT STOP LAUGHING AT IT! This only enhances my conviction that when she gets to be my age, Wendy is going to be just as bad as I am. I am so proud of her.
So as you can see, it was a pretty weird day, but it was fun. Hope next Christmas is just as awesome, and I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas holiday as well! :-D
We'll start with the gifts from my friends...you guys were AWESOME, and I loved everything!
Seattle bell and Seattle shot glass - milanthruil
AHistory: An Unauthorized History of the Doctor Who Universe - bethanyedwards
Time-Flight and Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special - strawberrysgirl
Odd Hours, Good Omens, and a framed picture of Michael Shanks - spoonyriffic
I also got a TON of epicly awesome Christmas cards. Thank you to everyone who sent me a card! I loved them! :-D
My family was QUITE good to me this year, especially my mom. "HOLY CRAP!" is the best way to describe it.
From Mom
Heroes: Season 1
Doctor Who: Season 4
All Creatures Great & Small: The Complete Series & Specials
Sleeping Beauty: 50th Anniversary Platinum Edition
Robin Hood: Most Wanted Edition
Star Trek: 2-disc Special Edition
a laptop sleeve
my plane fare to San Antonio
From Wendy (Little Sister)
Big Man: Real Life & Tall Tales by Clarence Clemons (aka "The saxaphone player from the E Street Band")
From Kim (Oldest Sister) and her family (my brother-in-law Barry and my nephews Brandan, Kody, and Jarrett)
Pajamas
Mary Poppins: 45th Anniversary Edition
From Uncle Dave (Mom's younger brother) and his family (my aunt Jenny and my cousins Chris, Cassie, and Joanna)
Dark Shadows: The 30th Anniversary Soundtrack
From Uncle Doug (Mom's youngest brother) and his family (my aunt Lisa and my cousins Noah, Nina, and Alex)
Vera Bradley bag (think is makeup sized)
Ulta hand lotion
Japanese Cherry Blossom shower gel
Barnes & Noble gift card
From Grandma and Grandpa (Mom's parents)
Liz Claiborne bracelet
Bath set with a hairbrush
A lot of my family also sent money to help me with the San Antonio trip, because no one in my family can keep a secret and everyone knows I'm going. So much for my plans to ninja myself into Pittsburgh International and onto that plane without Mom's family knowing...thanks Mom's Side of the Family! XD
All in all, it was a very fun day, albeit a slightly weird one. [TMI] I've been having some postnasal drip issues the last few days[/TMI], which has been making me cough like mad, so my coughing kept me up for a while Christmas Eve. About 6:30 in the morning, I'm FINALLY drifting off to sleep, and I hear my door open and my little sister come into my room & say "Anna, do you want to come out and help me sort the presents out (a slightly odd tradition we started when Wendy was little to keep ourselves occupied until Mom and Dad woke up and before we broke into our stockings), or do you want to sleep for a bit longer? I heard you coughing and figured you didn't get much sleep." I'm pretty sure I gave the coherent response of "15 more minutes, please" before I fell asleep again, because Wendy didn't yell about me hitting her with a pillow or anything before she left. I drift off to sleep again, and after a while I drift into half-awakeness in time to hear an approximation of the following:
Mom: Merry Christmas Wendy!
Wendy: Merry Christmas!
Mom: How long have you been up?
Wendy: Since 6:30.
Mom: Where's Anna?
Wendy: I think she fell asleep again. When I went in there to wake her up, she asked for 15 more minutes, but that was a really long time ago...
Next thing I hear is my door opening and my mom saying "Merry Christmas, come open your presents!" or something quite similar to it. I made a slightly non-committal noise, and then I heard the fizzing of a soda bottle opening. I sat up and there was Mom, standing in the doorway with a Diet Pepsi bottle in her hand, which she handed to me as I wandered past in a half-asleep haze.
We usually have something on TV going when we're opening our presents, and over the years, we've had VH1 on quite a bit. One year was a movie they did about The Monkees. One year was 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s, and the year after that was I Love Toys, then the year after that was I Love Toys followed immediately by 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s. This year, we ended up watching the movie The Ugly Truth while we opened presents. Because nothing says "Christmas morning" like Gerard Butler saying "Fuck" repeatedly. XD
Our older sister Cathy came over for brunch and exchange of presents after that, and our Christmas viewing proceeded to veer straight into "WTF are you watching THAT for?" territory when we put on The Dark Knight. Because nothing says "Appropriate Christmas Brunch Viewings" like things exploding and Aaron Eckhart with half his face missing. XD
Cathy hung out for a while, during which we proceeded to horrify Mom with a marathon of YouTube videos: "Dick in a Box," "Like a Boss," "I'm On A Boat," and "Jizz in My Pants." Cathy then showed us the Funny or Die videos "The Landlord" and "Good Cop, Baby Cop," which sent us into hysterics. Later, after Cathy, Wendy, and I (Mom still wasn't feeling so hot...residual effects from some sort of chicken dish at Ruby Tuesdays the night before) went over to Kim's house for dinner, we horrified her with "Dick in a Box" and "Jizz in My Pants." Dad sure produced a pack of really classy kids. XD
Christmas dinner was kinda small, because our brother and his family weren't there (separate plans with his in-laws that couldn't be broken), and my oldest nephew was at work, but it was DELICIOUS! We had ham, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, stuffing, mashed potatoes, rolls, and a red velvet cake that me and Wendy shiftily carried out of the kitchen at our place when Mom wasn't looking, because we were fairly certain she had told us we should take it over (a quick phone call after we'd already made off with the thing confirmed we were right). We ended up watching the Orlando/Boston game with our nephews, which wasn't as bad as I thought it would be...mostly because we were able to convince Kody to switch the channel to Mythbusters when Boston pulled ahead.
We also took pictures in front of Kim's Christmas tree. There's one of us four girls, one of Kim and her husband Barry, and one of me and Wendy that turned out really nicely. The best moment of the tree pictures came when Cathy and Kody were taking a picture together. We were trying to get Kody to smile, and suddenly Barry yells out "Say "BOOBS," Kody!" The picture came out with Cathy laughing hysterically and Kody's eyes looking like they were trying to escape from his head. It was hilarious! After that, Wendy decided to take a picture with this Santa decoration Kim had in the dining room, so Kim and Cathy took the picture. Then she jokingly made a kissy face at the Santa, which caused Kim and Cathy to scream that it was adorable and do it again...and then they took a picture of it. It was the first time in ever that I was more mature than my 33 and nearly 35 year old sisters, and the first time in a LONG time that I was more mature than the 16 1/2 year old (anyone in our family will tell you that Wendy is loads more mature than I am...even me. XD). Deciding that I didn't want to be left out of the merriment, I stuck my head around the corner next to the Santa all shifty-like, which caused more laughter and produced a fairly decent picture of me.
We went back home, and Wendy had to help me down the driveway with our gifts and a couple plates of food for Mom, because the plowed side of the driveway was ice. Cathy suggested we slide down the ice on our asses, which under normal circumstances would have been a PEFECT idea, but we were carrying food, so we passed. We settled down after we got inside, and Wendy surfed iTunes for a while to try and figure out what songs to get with her gift cards (stocking stuffer win!), and proceeded to break the wrongness barrier. She found a song by this guy named Rudy called "The Underpants Song," and our mother-who has let us listen to all sorts of things and has the same weird sense of humor we do-was so horrified by it that she actually left the room. I was immediately interested, and muted USA as soon as the commercials started (we were watching the end of the Will Ferrell movie "Elf," because I'd never seen the ending before) so she could play the clip for me. I won't link to the clip, and I won't link to the lyrics in this post, but OH.MY.GOD. That song is FILTHY! And WRONG! And I COULD NOT STOP LAUGHING AT IT! This only enhances my conviction that when she gets to be my age, Wendy is going to be just as bad as I am. I am so proud of her.
So as you can see, it was a pretty weird day, but it was fun. Hope next Christmas is just as awesome, and I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas holiday as well! :-D