Well, I finally met a bunch of family members I hadn't met before; we went to NC for Thanksgiving at my cousin's house. He was there, obviously, with his whole family, none of which I had met, and his sister and her husband, whom I hadn't met, either, and their folks. And you want to talk about a couple of cute little girls? Wow, are they cute! And I don't usually say that about other people's kids! I also met one of my aunt's sisters and her husband.
The dinner was excellent, and that night, we stayed up late playing cards and other games. I haven't done that in a while. The boys had a good time - I think their unlimited access to pop was a big plus when they thought they were going to be bored. They brought the Playstation and that kept them busy a lot of the time; the little ones were busy watching these two long-haired kids playing games they probably shouldn't have seen them playing (I told them to keep the blood & guts to a minimum - because they listen to me). Little Kid chased the cats all over the place. He would have chased the dogs, too, had they not been in confinement while in the house.
Friday, we got up to find 60 degree weather by 11:00; it was great. Little Kid was out on the swings with the little kids, helping the youngest one onto the slide. DH was ready to go - can't be away from home for any longer than necessary, you know - so we left and were home in about 5 hours. Which actually worked out pretty well, as that left all day Saturday for me to go to the store and get all the Christmas crap out and up, and still leave me a day to do nothing, which I pretty much did.
On December 2, Big Kid went to train with a new soccer team; DH had sent out feelers to the Dacula team earlier in the year, when we knew our Select team wasn't going to be. One of the coaches called DH and asked if we were still interested, and so I took him over to their practice facility that morning, for 1 1/2 hours of conditioning (running - BLECH!). The coach was supposed to go to Big Kid's indoor game, but no ones knows if he was there, or not. I missed it, myself, as I was in FL, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
So anyway, on the evening of 12/2, DH and I went to the Shakespeare Tavern for a performance of Troilus and Cressida. We were supposed to have gone a couple of weekends before, but we had to change the reservations to accommodate yet another soccer tournament. That was my birthday present. It was great; it always takes me a few minutes to get my ears and brain used to the way they are speaking, but once they caught on, it was wonderful. We sat in the balcony this time (we were on the floor in the back last time, for Cleopatra). We had dinner there again; I liked it, but DH did not like the very crusty bread on the sandwiches - it was tough, for sure, but it was good. And on the way home, we had No Problems finding I-85N; I finally found the damn street that has the northbound ramp, so it should be forever etched in the brain, so we can hopefully avoid all future oil pan incidents. I must be a country person at heart; it's nice to go downtown and see stuff, but there's no way in hell I could live in all that confusion and rush.
And then the ill-fated trip to Florida began last Wednesday. I was looking forward to going, if for no other reason than to hang out with my sisters, one of which I don't see very often, and we were going to try our best to see the shuttle launch that was scheduled for 12/7. Let me tell you, I-75 through Florida is B-O-R-I-N-G! God, what a long drive. And I've come to the conclusion that FL is really ugly, except for palm trees. Let me summarize by saying that we missed the shuttle launch, as it was scrubbed on the 7th, and we were at Busch Gardens on the 9th, when it did go. I got to see the town of Celebration, built by Disney, and Disney Town, where I did a bit of Christmas shopping. At Busch Gardens, we rode Sheikra, the only drop-coaster in the world, or so they advertise, and then we rode the roughest, fastest wooden coaster I've ever been on, Gwazi. That one just about did us all in, I think. I can't say as I've ever been jostled quite so much; that ride could swear me off coasters forever. The rest of our time with our mother was a true test of patience, but at the end, we were all tired, but no blood was drawn, and I think we all have a greater appreciation for the distance that separates us, but poor Ed - he's stuck. That is a trip I would not be willing to repeat for quite some time to come, unless it was just the three of us, but we'd have to be vewy, vewy quiet, so she wouldn't find out. Anyone up for a game of Spot the Loonie???? Yes, I'm leaving out the gory details, but that is to protect the innocent. Needless to say, we didn't have any margaritas with us, and that might have helped or hindered - it could go either way, I think.
And now I'm back, and so very far behind with Christmas activities. No cards this year - my card time was spent on the highways and byways of Florida. Normally, I am done shopping before Thanksgiving; not this year. I still have quite a bit to do, and one last thing to finish making, and I am fast running out of time. I finally did some wrapping last night, but that's just a dent in the pile, especially considering I haven't finished making the pile yet. And I'm running out of ideas. Hopefully DH will get a bunch of his done sometime this weekend, between the Christmas - excuse me, Holiday - Party for my work at Chateau Elan again, and work around the house that hasn't gotten done because of always being at soccer. Oh, yeah, and soccer games, indoor, too - one Friday night (Big Kid) and one Saturday morning (Little Kid's team plays the other team DH has - which is okay, because we only have one game instead of two). I just want to get through next week so I can have some down time, as I have the 26th & 27th off of work. I need it, unless we have family here, in which case I just might have to be rude and avoid doing all that stuff we'd do if family is here. I need some peace & quiet in the worst way.
I don't expect to have time to post again before the Big Day, so Merry Christmas!!!
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