Merry Christmas N'at
I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.Ours was OK. The typical combination of visiting relatives at the nursing home and preparing dinner. There were only 3 of us at dinner this year. My sister couldn't make it in this year. And our friends who usually join us had other plans. Dinner was a very non traditional Beef Bourguignon. Since then we've been trying to catch up with friends & running errands. We took HRH for his annual check-up. You'll all be happy to know he's in perfect health. We asked the vet about what we needed to do when the baby arrives. Any concerns, issues? He didn't think so because HRH's personality and demeanor were so mild mannered. We had A & J over Wednesday evening for Salmon patties. Last night we were at Kiku. Wonderful friends and good food. The service was very slow but that was OK. We were there to hang out so it was perfect.This will be the first day we don't have anything planned. So I will get to r-e-l-a-x a bit. (Not too much. I might become soft & weak) So I'll blog, workout & watch DVD's.Labels: Family, food, Friends, Holiday, Update
Winter is officially here
December 21, the Winter Solstice. Officially the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. The end of Fall. The beginning of Winter. I can't wait until Spring & Miata driving season starts again. Yesterday was nice so I started it up & took it out of the garage. I let it run for 30 minutes to make sure the battery was in good shape and charged up. And to get the moisture out of the engine and exhaust system. I know I really don't need to run it but I wanted to sit in it, fire it up, work a few of the gears. I really miss driving it. Don't get me wrong, the Audi's a nice, quiet, roomy, comfortable car. Full of amenities and luxury gizmos. It is a capable car. It's nice to drive. It's great on long trips and the AWD is a nice feature when the roads are uncertain. It can be fun to drive. But the Miata is all about fun: small, maneuverable, manual transmission, convertible.Wonderful driver to road feel.
I find I take the long way to places so I can spend more time in the car. I'll find the twisty windy roads. I love the wind in my hair and the sun on my face. It's a great stress reliever for me. I concentrate on the moment and forget everything else. Whatever may be bothering me is set aside for a brief time.
Roughly 3 months to go...
Labels: Cars, Miata
Holiday Party
We were invited to a Holiday Party at 1 of my wife's coworker's houses last night. I was a little nervous since I hadn't met all of her coworkers and certainly didn't know their significant others or any other people that may be invited to the party. So I definitely felt out of my element.
I made crostini with pesto topping for the party.
I know I'm being old school here but... When I invite people over for a party I expect them for dinner not appetizers. I guess the new thing is to have people over for appetizers. I'm not sure when things changed but they have. More often than not anymore we're invited over to someone's house it's for nibbly things and not dinner. Nibbly things are cool but I can't get enough of them to feel full AND not look like a huge pig for eating 10 plates of food. Anyways, it was an appetizer party last night.
None of the wife's coworkers showed up last night so everyone there was somehow related to the husband who goes to seminary school. I was overwhelmed with the wholesomeness in the house. I felt like running home and listening to some Black Sabbath or Iron Maiden. Maybe go home and kick the dog.... It was a little too sweet for me. Don't get me wrong they were all very nice and polite. But just too damn sweet. Part of me thought "If there were more people like this in the world, there would be fewer problems". But part of me thought "Damn, they're too damn sweet. Where the hell's the booze?!?"
No booze. Dry party.
Since they were all related somehow to the seminary, the major topics I heard throughout the house revolved around religion and ministry. I don't hold organized religion in high esteem so it took a lot for me to keep my mouth shut and not say a word.
My wife had a nice time. And that's really what counts.
Labels: food, Holiday
Update from hectic central
Things are going better:
- We all survived Thanksgiving. (That's something to be thankful for!)
- The Daddy-o is living back at his place. His blood sugar level is under control. He's feeling better and he's not sore or tired.
- My sister has gone home. My stress level is slowly going down. And there's less chaos in our house.
- We had a sonogram last week and saw the baby's heart beating and limb buds. What a crazy phrase "limb buds". Seeing the heart beating was very cool. Technology can be amazing.
- We saw the OB/GYN today. My wife's about 11.5 weeks into the pregnancy. And everything looks good.
- She's starting to feel sick less often. The doctor said 4 to 7 more days of this and she'll be through the first trimester when the nausea & sickness are the worst.
- Work has been slowing down. There are still spurts of craziness but with the holidays and the end of the year, everybody is easing up.
- My stress is slowly coming down. I'm doing breathing exercises, yoga, relaxation exercises, and trying to exercise more.
- HRH is doing well. He'll be due for his check-up right after Christmas.
I have no idea where this year went. It really doesn't feel like the end of the year, much less Christmas to me. It wasn't that long ago we were getting the lawn & garden ready for the new season. And I was getting the Miata ready for another season of use.
I've noticed the older I get the less Christmas has that special appeal. Maybe it's because work has kicked my butt the past few years, maybe I'm getting jaded, maybe I see it as just 1 more chore to do (cards, decorating, gifts), maybe I'm just tired of the commercialism.
Hopefully having a child will give me the chance to see Christmas through some younger, less cynical eyes.
Labels: Family, HC, Health, Holiday, Update
