It feels like I haven’t blogged in forever. Usually Christmas brings about many topics and many memories to write about and I felt like I had dropped the ball. However, as I looked back over the last 7 blogs – 6 of the 7 were Christmas related, so I guess I’m not as “Grinchy” as I thought.
It’s been a busy week for me. Last Monday, we had our company Christmas party. This year the theme was “Hawaiian Christmas”. I used to have a Hawaiian shirt, a few actually, but my ex hated them and made me donate them to good will. I was telling Sam about the theme, and my mother in law told her she had a grass skirt, coconut bra, lei, and Hawaiian hat at her house. I borrowed them for the party and wore them all – including the coconut bra (it’s always about getting a laugh!). There’s a story behind it, which many of my coworkers know, but some do not, so I won’t tell it here…but one of our coworkers came dressed as Bernie from Weekend at Bernie’s! This, in itself is hilarious, but factor in that the coworker who did it is female makes it even funnier!!
One of the highlights of the get together over the past couple years has been the White Elephant gift exchange. This always reminds me of that Christmas Episode of The Office where everyone has a specific person they are to buy for and then it becomes “Yankee Swap” with everyone getting gifts that were meant for someone else. One of my favorite episodes of that show.
With our party, everyone brings a gift. Everyone choses a number and then gets to pick a gift. No one unwraps them until the end. A gift can be stolen three times. This can be very misleading, as some of the biggest and prettiest gifts are often crap! Last year, one coworker got a toilet seat and accessories (This year, he got a HUGE can of Bush’s Baked Beans!). Another got bunny slippers made from tampons. This year, I found a silly picture of my boss (Amy) from last year’s party. I blew it up into an 11 x 14 picture and had a caption on it “Who needs an Elf on the Shelf? You now have Amy in a Framey!” Lots of laughs … and I wasn’t fired, so that’s good!
For the gift exchange, I got the LAST number! Really, this is the worst because, all the gifts worth stealing have been stolen three times and not going anywhere! As they got closer to my number, I kept looking to see what one I might want to steal. When they finally got to my number, I was handed a gift. I didn’t get to chose one. I was like “What the hell?!? What if I didn’t want this one?!” I was basically told that “this is the gift that you get!” Then, I opened it….
My sneaky coworkers took up a collection and bought Sam and I stuff for the baby. The basket included teethers, rattles, onesies, some very cute outfits (one will probably be the “take home” from the hospital outfit), and an Amazon gift card. They knew we hadn’t received a mattress for the crib, and we are using the card to get one. It was pretty overwhelming and they are lucky I held it together. With as emotional as I have been lately, I could have easily cried at the party. I work with some pretty amazing people!
Ultrasound
We had a coupon for a return visit to the place that did our gender reveal ultrasound. It does 3D ultrasounds, so we can really see our baby’s face. I was so excited to go in and see her! We got there and found out that they had overbooked. They were going to get us in, it was just going to be a bit. When we finally got back, Sam got up on the table. We saw the baby’s face briefly, and did get a picture of her. We found out, however that the baby is breech. Frank breech to be exact. I had no idea that there were a few different “breeches”, but sure enough, there are!
So, basically, she is sitting in Sam’s pelvis with her legs up in the air. This made it difficult for them to get more pictures. They suggested we go walk and see if the baby would move. We went and had dinner and walked around the store. When we returned and got back up on the table, it was even harder to get pictures. We had to reschedule. We’re going to go back right after the first of the year. Sam said she hopes that she doesn’t come before then, as she’s starting to have cramping and contractions on occasion. She isn’t due to arrive until February, so I’d like her to wait a few weeks. Here is the picture we got to see. I think she looks like Sam, but she thinks that she has my facial features. One thing we did get to see was that she has hair. We could see it floating on the ultrasound. Pretty cool! The excitement continues!!!
I love that we can see her like this!! It really is amazing!!
Writing Prompt Extras
I get a daily writing prompt in my email. Many times I don’t feel like there is enough to write about in a full blog. There were two this week that I felt I could write about, but only as an “extra” to a longer blog, or a blog full of random things (like this one).
Prompt #1
“Besides a family member, what is something that used to be a part of your holiday celebration that is missing today?”
Instant Egg Nog. Really?! Yes! My brother and I recall this vividly! My grandmother used to buy it in a pouch and make it for us every year. It was VERY good. I have looked for it every year, but simply cannot find it. I recently came across a picture of the pouch and hoped that this would lead me to a website to buy it, but no such luck.
I have always loved Egg Nog – the non-alcoholic stuff, anyway. I never even knew that it was supposed to contain alcohol until just recently. When you go to the store today, you can find various kinds of Egg Nog’s, and I have to admit, I really like the Custard Nog. It has a very unique flavor to it. Please let me know if you ever see this instant stuff in a pouch, though!
Prompt #2
“What is the oldest Christmas Ornament on your Christmas Tree?”
I actually mention the ornament in the blog I wrote about Christmas Trees. When I was a 6 year old boy, I was going to catechism for church. They gave us all this baby Jesus ornament. My mom always hung it on the tree, and it eventually went with me when I moved out. The ornament get’s hung every year on the tree. I remember asking Sam if I could hang it when I moved in. It really doesn’t fit with any of the ornaments that she has, but she lets me hang it up there every year. The ornament is 43 years old. One day, I hope it will get passed down to one of my children, and then one of their children.
Good Grief
In between working my real job, filling in at the radio station, and working on the baby’s room, I finally got 30 minutes to sit down and watch a Charlie Brown Christmas. It is one of many Christmas specials I have to watch every year. Every time I hear Sally say, “Will you please write a letter to Santa Claus for me?” I chuckle. They had to feed so many of the child actors their lines a few words at a time and then piece it together to form a sentence. You can really hear it in that line. I love it!
I don’t care how many times I see it, I still love when Linus starts quoting the Bible and tells the Christmas story only to walk over to Charlie Brown and say, “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”
One of my favorite Charlie Brown quotes:
“It’s not what’s under the Christmas tree that matters, it’s who’s around it.”
After work tonight, I will go home to sleep. I am excited because I get to have my sons tomorrow. Christmas Eve was always when we celebrated with my dad’s family, and it is when I get to celebrate with them. Christmas Eve morning is our Christmas. I can’t wait to pass out their presents and celebrate with them. My grandmother always made ravioli, and I plan on doing the same. My work schedule has prevented me from seeing them much this month, so I am extra excited to have the day with them.
Because I will be focused on my sons, and my family, I may not get the chance to blog before Christmas. I hope that you have a wonderful holiday season and that you are surrounded by friends and family. Whether you are celebrating, Christmas, Hanukkah, Festivus, or another holiday, I hope that your holiday is full of joy and that you make happy memories! Thanks for reading! Merry Christmas!
(Some are making less than that, or trying to make it off unemployment!)
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 