Christmas '06

Christmas this year was an entirely new experience for me, since it was my first Christmas as a married man. Instead of the normal visit to Dallas for the Christmas weekend, we made a Dallas trip a week early and had our actual Christmas weekend in Shreveport, with 6 different family events from Saturday at noon until Monday night. Even though the events were packed in tightly we had a good time.

Katie and I cut back quite a bit this Christmas on the gifts we gave each other, and both ended up being happy with each other's presents. For the first time, I really had a hard time trying to pick out Katie's presents. It got down to a week or so before Christmas and I decided I'd have to resort to a little bit of creativity and not head out to the stores for her last present. So, I loaded up photoshop and decided to make a gift certificate for a day of shopping for a dress.

Here's the finished product (click to enlarge).

I think she liked it. It may have been that she wanted a dress, or could've been that she knows how rare it is for me to agree to go shopping for women's clothing. Either way, I'm glad she liked it.

So, here it is the day after Christmas. Katie's at work (derned bank) and I'm planning a day full of relaxing after the family-fest weekend and maybe a little guitar hero 2 (Katie's awesome present to me). I hope everyone else had a Merry Christmas and that you enjoy next week's holiday time too.

Christmas parties... as an introvert

I believe that I have something that can best be described as social fuel... and I think most people have something similar, though they may be able to name it more cleverly. It's the substance that gets drained from me by attending social events (get togethers, parties, family reunions, etc.), and gets recharged by having "alone" time (or possibly just time with just Katie and I).

As far as I can tell, I've always been drastically low on the stuff. I think I can handle a social "thing" maybe once a week... maybe twice if I know, and like, all the people who will be attending. Anything over two and I won't make an effort to go, or will just refuse, and if I do go I'll try to act interested in the goings-on, but I'm not known for my acting skills. With so many Christmas parties and family functions, secret santa exchanges, white elephant parties, karaoke christmas parties (yes, you read that right) that have been going on, I'm convinced that if I had an organ that secreted social juices, it would look like a sickly, depleted raisin.

That was a run on sentence, and I'm too tired to care.

I'm used to not being very social... and I think Katie is used to my being this way also. I'm not, however, used to it affecting me during the holidays. I've always been with the same people every Christmas, my family, who never tend to drain me. Things are different this year, though, new families, two new companies with parties, new friends with their own parties... lots of stuff going on, and I'm glad we have all those people around. I'm just gettin exhaustered and it's a shame because it's one of the times of the year that I love, and a chance to get to spend time with some of the family I don't get to see all that often.

I think I'm going to have to start relying on my old standby, caffiene, to get me through the next two weeks or so. Drugs are a good substitute for being social... but I have to stick to the legal stuff. As for next year, I'm going to have to do some social exercises or something to prepare. I can't have this happen again... I want to be social whenever the holidays roll around.

Our first victim... in the new house

At some point we must've crossed him. It could've been that we bought property and started building directly on top of the land where he used to live. It could be that he was tired of being out in the cold, and wanted to come in for the warmth. Regardless of why he was there... we knew he'd cause mischief.

Katie and I were cleaning up in the garage shortly after moving in when she saw something move quickly behind one of our boxes. She went and gave a closer look and saw a little mouse peeking out from behind a box... just sort of checking her out. As would be expected, she calmly let me know that there was a mouse in the garage... by flailing around and screaming "I just saw a mouse... go look, over there!". As if she didn't know for sure it was a mouse. "Yep, it's a mouse. Big ears, hairy, whiskers, tail... that's the one."

Anywho, she gave me orders to kill the little thing and picked up the killing devices on her lunch break one day that week. On advice from the cashier, I set one up with peanut butter... after fiddling with them trying to figure out how they worked without snapping one of my fingers in half... and left it against a wall, ready to kill.

The strange thing was that we didn't get him anytime soon... it's been a month since I set that trap. He managed to hang out, either inside or out of the house, and even managed to find the only piece of food left in the garage - Katie's Times Square souvenier hershey bar and nibble off the edges. We'd not had any other sign of him until tonight when Katie went to grab the wrapping paper out of the garage, and I heard the familiar frantic yelling and soon saw the flailing arms again. We'd finally gotten the mouse, and it was my job to clean it up. So, with a pair of kitchen tongs I grabbed the mouse trap (with mouse attached) and dropped it into a wal-mart bag and then into the trash can outside.

I'm not sure that I'm all that happy about killing the little guy. I'm beginning to think that I may be going about this problem all wrong. I don't necessarily have anything against mice... and don't really wanna kill them. We just don't want them in OUR house. With this in mind, I've decided I'll just rub peanut butter all over the neighbor's house. Problem solved.

Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song

I've been listening to Christmas music quite a bit lately... and I'm not sure I know why. I mean, sure, it's Christmas, but I'm inundated with Christmas music wherever I go. Why is this song in particular sticking with me this year? Usually, I get fed up with the Christmas songs and try to avoid them until the last few days before the actual holiday - my own way of resisting the push for Christmas to start earlier and eariler every year.

The song that's been lingering in my mind this year is Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song". You know it, though probably not by name. It's the "chestnuts roasting on an open fire song". You've probably heard it at least once or twice if you've been listening to an oldies station or been in an out of a mall in the last month or so.

The song makes me think about Christmases when I was young...getting gifts, decorating the tree, going to my grandparents house in Dallas and forcing myself to go to sleep on Christmas' Eve.

Oh well, I didn't think that by writing this post I'd figure out why I feel compelled to play the song so much this year... but maybe after a few more Christmases I'll be able to put my finger on it.

The Weekend in Review

Friday night Katie and I went to my company's Christmas party, which was held at one of my co-worker's houses off caddo lake. Superior Grill catered, serving their chalupas, fajitas and sides. If you've ever had superior's food, you know the kind of treat we had friday night. It was extremely good food... especially the chalupas.

Katie and I both had a good time, especially with the secret santa gift exchange. Earlier in November, we'd drawn names to find who we would buy presents for. We drew two girls, children of two of my co-workers. After seeing what they'd requested, we decided to get one of the girls (a teenager) a starbucks gift card, and another younger girl a make-up playset. Katie suggested that we get her a cheap set of real make-up, because when she was a girl she knew the difference between play make-up and real make-up and never wanted the play stuff.

So, we went with the grown-up make-up for Friday night and she loved it. She was trying it all night for the rest of the night after the exchange. It was good to see our gift made her so happy.

A word to the wise

Chuck Norris does not get frostbite. Chuck Norris bites frost.

Happy Birthday, Taylor!

Today is Taylor's 27th Birthday. If you know him, send him an e-mail or leave a comment. If you don't, well... I'm wasting your time.

Happy Birthday!

I love this little guy

Tunak Tunak - need I say more?

A staple in our household in college...