december

oh december... always such a busy time. potentially very stressful. which kinda makes me think that the dude who sings "it's the most wonderful time of the year" didnt quite know what he was talking about.

CHRISTMAS TREE: or, rather, "the saga of the christmas tree" because the probability of things going according to simple plan is apparently zero in our lives. i am going to spare the gory details of the crisis and just mention that it seriously took 3 days for us to get the thing upright and decorated. the good news is that it all ended well, and the result was rather charming- although i realized after the fact that all of the red ornaments i bought made our noble fir look like it was sprouting apples. i found that amusing.

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING: who doesn't love christmas shopping? all the stress, spending, herds of people, lines for restrooms, and outrageous traffic. mmm. holiday cheer at it's finest. i personally enjoy the wrapping of the gifts more. i like the sight of presents under the tree. it's so exciting.

CHRISTMAS BAKING: a delicious marathon by yours truely. and yes, i sacrificed and accumulated an extra few pounds by taste testing every single thing that i made, for the good of the people. i shall remember it fondly when i'm working it all off post-partum.

CHRISTMAS LIGHT-SEEING: off of old pepper drive in lakeside. here is how it went down this year: we parked, started walking, got up a couple streets before my back started spazzing out, and then we went home. do i sound like a pansy? it's because i am. i can't even walk up hills anymore. how pathetic.

this house was my favorite: absolutely nothing except for a grinch in front of it. awesome.

FINALS: for noel. so painfully stressful. we shall not talk about them here.

NOEL'S BIRTHDAY: being born close to christmas is kind of a hassle. luckily i've got a good family and great friends who take the time to remember it amid all of the holiday tumult. dear christopher ordered me birthday flowers this year. i was quite impressed that he managed to remember my favorite flower and my favorite color- and put both in the same bouquet! oh i felt so special and loved! because everyone knows that just saying "you're special and i love you" doesn't quite communicate it like something as indirectly metaphorical as flowers (yeah... we women are all crazy, i know). and then, of course, we had a tiny little party at my family's house.

at the logan house... with choco cupcakes.

GIVING BLOOD: by chris only this year, because i am preggers. ;) not to worry though, for tradition's sake i went with him- and the dude taking his blood told us a story about how he changed his son's diaper in his trunk one time and the kid peed all over the upholstery. fun times. i'll have to remember that one if we ever have a boy.

CHRISTMAS EVE: which was actually when chris and i celebrated our christmas day, since he had to work on christmas this year. we had the morning together to open the bounty under our tree, and in the evening we partook of the glorious feast-party that was provided by mi madre. awesome awesome day. i loved it.

at my parentals. in front of their gigantic tree.

CHRISTMAS DAY: was like old times for me. chris marched off to work early in the a.m., and i went over to my parents to witness christmas morning as i always knew it. all seven of us kids were home again- probably for the last time- and i am grateful to have experienced all the magic again. to top the day off, we were able to spend time with some of my dad's family who we haven't seen in forever. it was a good time.

COMMENCEMENT OF 3RD TRIMESTER: which is rather interpretive, since i've seen 3 benchmark weeks that could be considered the beginning of the last trimester (as if pregnancy math isn't weird and confusing enough). whatever the case really is, december was it for me- and i'm looking unmistakably pregnant now. i think it's kind of funny- it took me so long to actually look pregnant, and right when i started thinking "oh there it is", my bump started growing at hyper-pace. and let me tell you, i'm getting pretty stealthy at 7 months pregnant... with my parabolic protrusion knocking stuff all over the place, and me mistakenly thinking i can still squeeze through tight spaces, i am THE epitome of poise and grace, right here. just to think i've got 2 more months of getting bigger to go!!