Holiday Fun?!

The roads are almost thawed enough for me to start my day (my car is snow challenged), but I thought I'd ask what everyone did during their holidays.  Did you get fun gifts?  Was the holiday just a big stinker this year?  (I've had a few of those) I had people here from out of town, plus my sister was off for 2.5 weeks.  We ate out nearly every meal and went to about 600 movies (well, it felt like 600 movies).  I'm not a moviegoer by nature, so this was not exactly a fun activity for me.  It's like watching TV, only on a bigger screen. Having said that, I really enjoyed and highly recommend both "Juno" (hilarious!) and "Sweeney Todd" (brilliant!).  We saw "Atonement" and I obviously missed something because I thought it was an excruciating way to spend 2+ hours.  The only thing that saved it was the ending.  (I had the same problem when I saw "The English Patient."  Everyone in the theater loved it, and I was like Elaine from Seinfeld (just die already!).   We also saw "Michael Clayton" which my sister liked and I thought was OK and "National Treasure," which was so bad I wanted to gouge my eyes out with sticks. I received a mini trampoline for Christmas (which isn't the one I wanted and hurts my knees so far, but it's fun to bounce up and down and the doxie likes sleeping on it), a subscription to our theater's Broadway series for next year, and "The Simpsons Movie."   I think next year I will go to Hawaii for Christmas and just enjoy the time by myself.  Our family doesn't do Christmas very well and I don't like having to hang out in platoons for the entire month of December just because some family members are incapable of entertaining themselves! I'm eager to hear about everyone else's celebrations (particularly PJ, who had the nerve to escape back to back snowstorms here in CO to bask in the warm TX climate!)  Kix

hi kix! i made it thru the holiday season, too. i was able to visit my parents in florida for a few days over christmas. it was nice -- quiet -- just them and me.  i'd have to say the wackiest gift i received was one i wanted -- it's a garden ornament/statue- type thing...of a large green thumb! it's 11 or 12 inches tall, very detailed -- lots of fun! i've been wanting one for a couple years. hawaii for christmas? -- i'd like to go to hawaii anytime at all!! hope you get to go.

deb

Deb, you'll have to post a picture of your yard ornament, it sounds hilarious!  I always thought it would be fun to have one of those weird gargoyles in the yard, but my sister won't permit it (and it is her house and all). I'll bet Florida was nice.  I'm ready for a bit of warmer weather.  BRR. Kix

We saw Juno too and it was great!  It was one of my favorite movies in a long time.  We also saw Walk Hard - which my husband liked more than I did, but some of the songs were hilarious.  I've been reading the books which on which The Golden Compass was based (decent movie, badly cut, book was fantastic though).  They are really different, an athiest response sort of to The Chronicles of Narnia.  Very entertaining though, and the first book made me cry.  I am starting the last one today (trilogy). It was an ok holiday, but I still haven't gotten over the cold that started on the 23rd - its never gotten bad, but it just won't go away and last night I was up till 4am because every time I doze I'd start coughing.  We got some cool presents, and my scrapbook left my family touched (and in tears) so it was worthwhile spending months working on it.  National Treasure looks awful - I thought the first movie was terrible. 

I never saw the first "National Treasure" and only went to this one under duress.  I have mixed feelings about "Walk Hard."  I like the actor, but the critics haven't been very kind, so I may wait until it comes out on DVD.  My sister and family saw "Golden Compass" but I absolutely refused to go.  I saw the previews and knew I'd hate it.  I may have to read the books, though. I think I'll go see "Sweeney Todd" again tomorrow or Friday.  I saw the original Broadway production when I lived on the East Coast in 1979 and it became one of my favorite musicals (but then, I'm a big Sondheim fan).  I love what Tim Burton has done with it.  And, honestly, anything with Alan Rickman is worth seeing just to see Alan Rickman (hubba hubba) and to listen to his hawt, hawt voice (hubba hubba hubba). That cold I had back in November still bugs me every now and then -- when I'm out in the cold, I start coughing.  Stupid virus.  Get well, already! Kix

I had a nice relaxing holiday, for the most part.  Lots of pre-planning as it relates to gifts, wrapping, and baking left me with plenty of time on my hands during Christmas week.   I baked lots of nut cups, a delicious cheesecake, and tried my hand at homemade lemon meringue pie, which turned out great.  I think it may become my new speciality.  I love to bake, so always enjoy the holidays when I can bake to my heart's content and take my handiwork to various social gatherings, where people will oohh and aahh, and tell me how delightful my baked goods are.  Me, ego?  Nah -  Unlike you, I didn't eat out hardly at all - one venture to TGIFridays, which has some "right portion" items that are reasonably sized and one venture to The Cheesecake Factory, which did not actually involve cheesecake.  I only made it to one movie - Alvin and The Chipmunks - with some of my nieces and nephews.  Am planning to see Juno, Sweeney Todd, Before The Devil Knows You're Dead, The Golden Compass, Charlie Wilson's War, I Am Legend, and The Kite Runner.  We'll see if I manage to get to them all before they are out of the theater... 

I got some much needed gifts - clothes that fit, including new sweats, sweaters, and a super-soft bathrobe, as well as some fun stuff - books, CDs, etc.  Also received lots of gift cards, which I'll hoard away for days when I NEED retail therapy but am dead broke.  Oh, I also got an action figure of a crazy cat lady, dressed in her bathrobe with six cats.  Pretty funny, as that's my retirement plan (old farmhouse with 38 cats or so)...

Hawaii for Christmas sounds great - one of my roommates and I are planning a trip to Hawaii some time in late 2008 or early 2009 to celebrate her 50th birthday.  Once I'm there, I plan to check the want ads and see if I can wrangle a job (just kidding, but stranger things have happened...). 

I enjoyed the holidays, but am also glad they are over so I can get back to my normal routine!

Kellie

I don't know about "Charlie Wilson's War."  The previews kind of put me off, but it might be one of those movies that doesn't preview well.  Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts really are an odd fit. I like to cook, but I have no aptitude for baking.  My grandmother was a genius at pastry, but it obviously wasn't a genetic gift, because none of the grandchildren inherited it.  My niece does an OK job with pie crust, but it's nothing like my gramma's. I wanted gift cards for the holidays, but no one cooperated.  They don't understand that by giving me gift cards, they are giving me wonderful gifts.  Instead, I get stuff they think I'd like and it turns out I usually don't.  As one niece said, "You're hard to shop for."  I thought, "No, I'm not, you just don't listen."  Oy!  Kix

I agree that Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts are an odd fit, but that's part of why I want to see it.  It's not my usual type of movie, but I like to venture outside my comfort zone once in a while.  Usually at a matinee so it's cheaper My Mom taught me and my sisters to cook and bake.  While I'm no gourmet pastry chef, I can hold my own when it comes to home baking!   Sorry your family didn't cooperate with the gift cards - thankfully my family and friends understand where I'm coming from (either that or buying gift cards is just easier!).  I'm actually pretty hard to shop for, so I've given up and just give everyone a wish list; makes their lives and my life easier.... Hey, are you going to climb a 14er with me and PJ??? Kellie

we went to the casinos in Oklahoma... lost a little money but we had a good time..... my DD actually won a $250 drawing without doing a thing.... she stuck it in the deepest darkest recesses of her jeans pocket and refused to touch it, so she came home a winner!  LOL

I love slot machines! Kudos to your daughter for coming home a winner!  I'm pretty sure I'd have burned through part of it thinking my luck would continue to hold out. Kix