Christmas

Christmas was great again this year. I guess I can't think of a Christmas that wasn't great. I spent the whole day with the girlfriend, traveling from house to house. It was a bittersweet Christmas for us, because she leaves in three days. That sucks. But it was a lot of fun.

First we opened presents together, and she got me a Game Boy Advance complete with Ms. Pacman, which is the only video game I'll ever need.

It was fun to get a gaming device, because it's been so long since I've had a new one. I got her some artwork that she wanted from a shop in Nashville. They were both remakes of VanGogh paintings (I think). One was Caffe (I think, and if you know for sure, please let me know):

The other was Sunflowers (I think). Although the one I bought was more colorful than this one. It has like a blue background or something. It looks nice, and she's happy.


After a little breakfast at her house, we went out to Granny's for brunch. Granny lives in an assisted living home, and it's always pretty fun to visit. I can't wait to be an old man (well, yes I can). But old men are funny and get to do what they want. This one old guy shuffled up to us while we were eating to show off his new Christmas present. It was a mechanical Christmas Bulb that sang "Rockin Around the Christmas Tree." He had it ducktaped to the handlebar of his stroller, and played the song in its entirety for us. Yes, it is one of the most annoying songs ever, especially when sung by a mechanical toy. Only an old man and his stroller could get away with that one. And he played it for every table, even though you could hear it all the way across the room.

So after a nice brunch with Granny, we went back to her house for lunch with the family. We ate and opened presents while the Pacers got spanked by the Pistons in the background. Annika's first Christmas was a treat. We played a game of Scategories, and I definitely got screwed. The letter was "T", and the category was "things that grow." I had the ingenious idea of putting down "tree trunk," for a double score, only to be informed that tree trunks don't grow. Well, that was news to me. Jon was the only one who defended me. That's like saying necks don't grow, or fingers. I couldn't believe it. Ah well, such is the pain of the game.

After games and presents we went back over to my house for dinner and more presents. Dinner was unbelievable, and after fasting from meat for a few months, I made up for it all in one day. Mom had surprised us by stashing a few pints of Rhonda's Frozen Custard at the church, to bring out for dessert on Christmas Day. So we ate Rhonda's and watched The Santa Clause after opening gifts. It was a great day.

The only bad thing was not having my brother there. This was the first Christmas we've had without him. He's in California and couldn't make the trip. Oh well. I guess it had to happen some day.

I hope everyone had as great a Christmas as I did.

Oh, and the weirdest Christmas song of the season: "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas." Do you know which song I'm talking about? Where the heck did it come from? The first time I heard it, my head kept turning the way a dog's does when it's trying to understand you.