Before you know it, you're the crazy cat lady in the scary house

Day After

December 26, 2003 ... 4:04 p.m.

[discussing what we did Christmas Eve day]

Ernie: �I went to Sam�s Club, ate all their free samples and took a nap in my truck. Let the good times roll!�

All the snow melted here, just in time for Christmas. What is the point of living in flipping Iowa if I can't have a white Christmas? Huh? Huh?

Did y�all have a merry Christmas?

You know, I�m 26 and I still can�t sleep the night before Christmas. I stayed on the computer until midnight or so. I was chatting. Because that�s what I do on Christmas Eve. Ignore my family and chat with semi-strangers.

If I remember, though, Mom was in her room and Bootsie was ... also in her room. She was sleeping because she wakes us up at the crack of flipping dawn to open presents.

So, anyway, was up chatting and had a very nice conversation--even if I don�t think the other person was being all that serious. Then I went to bed. Tossed and turned. Turned and tossed. Finally started to drift off and the phone rings. 3 am. Who else? It�s Oscar. Singing Carpenters songs.

My sister actually let us sleep in this year. She woke me at 5:34 a.m. People! She�s 23! But when presents are involved, we�re really 8.

I got �Wizard of Oz� on dvd. I got all kinds of clothes. Sweaters, pants, a robe, a nightshirt. I got the usual scads of Elvis. Books, cds, whatnot--even a trivia game. Ooo! And I got an Elvis ornament and it plays �Blue Christmas�! Hee!

::pause for the appropriate oohs and ahhs of jealousy::

But, more importantly, I got books! Lots and lots of books! I love new books! New books make me happy! See how high maintenance I am? Forget jewelry, I want a book!

Wait. I ain�t turning down jewelry. (I�m talking platinum, future Mr. Eibisch!)

I am in such a weird mood today. A good mood, but I feel very silly for some reason. I wanted to watch the �A Christmas Story� marathon yesterday, as is my �tradition� but, alas, there was no Ralphie. It just isn�t any fun gorging on Christmas cookies to the point of diabetic coma and loitering about watching the same movie for 24 hours without someone to ~~pass out~~ do it with.

And, from their responses, you would think I had just asked them to be test dummies for my pet badger�s dentistry by mail class, instead of requesting the pleasure of their company during a classic holiday film.

And don�t even get me started on their dislike of �It�s A Wonderful Life�. What is up with that? How can you not like it? It�s Jimmy! Jimmy Stewart! I mean, really! Who doesn�t like Jimmy Stewart? Besides a communist?

The fam is coming for dinner on Sunday. It was pushed back because my aunt�s brother-in-law was back from Iraq. He�d been there since ... March? I think it was March. He left for Iraq again this morning. I like him, he�s a nice guy. When we�re all out at my uncle�s cabin, we end up fishing together. Yes. I like to fish. Because I�m a huge, flipping, boring dork.

Grandpa has walking pneumonia and, although I�m still a bit perturbed with his recent behavior, I adore my grandparents. The five (me, Mom, Bootsie, Grandma & Grandpa) of us are so close, it�s ridiculous. It�s co-dependency at weapons-grade-plutonium level. He�s 78, so any illness he gets makes me very uneasy. My grandma is 78, too. They�ve been married for 57 years.

57 years. YEARS! Fifty. Seven. I cannot imagine loving one person that long. Well, yes I can, but it�s such a staggering concept. And I want that. No divorce. If you�re not in it for the long haul ... don�t bother me with thoughts of marriage.

I�ll probably be up late tonight. I have to write thank-you notes.

Yeah, I still write thank you notes and--get this--I even write actual letters! Send them by snail mail, too!

Can you still breathe?

I was born in the wrong decade.

I�m making pork chops for dinner. I have a new recipe that I�m going to try out on Mom and Bootsie. When I try out new recipes, I always want feedback. What do you like about the recipe? What do you not like? What could I add/subtract/do differently? this is what I get: �It�s good.�

That�s it. I don�t want an Martha Stewart-style dressing down, but is a little feedback too much to ask?

Friday Five

1. What was your biggest accomplishment this year?
I honestly have no idea.

2. What was your biggest disappointment?
How things with my brother turned out.

3. What do you hope the new year brings?
I would say love ... but I really just want to be happy. But--hey--if the fates decide to throw me a bone, or soulmate as it were, that would be wonderful.

4. Will you be making any New Year's resolutions? If yes, what will they be?
I always make them. Keeping them is the problem. See this here journal in a few days--I always post them.

5. What are your plans for New Year's Eve?
I�ll be babysitting. I watch all my little cousins and any other munchkins while their parents go out and party like drunk monkeys.

Why, yes, I AM the life of the party!

Currently Reading: Raj by Gita Mehta
This is one of my new ones. I don�t know why it was given to me, but it�s interesting.

Listening To: oldies
...all I want you to do is just hold me...
�You Really Got A Hold On Me�. *sigh* I wish. I do so love this song, though.

Have a happy day!

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