Holiday wrap-up

The holidays are over, or at least the real holidays are over. This means I've been off work for a bit, gotten some presents, stuffed myself with cookies and candy and had some type of illness.

The sickness is freshest in my mind, having just come off a two day bout of a stomach virus. The night before last I was eating Gumbo from Shane's, and at 2 that morning I was in the restroom, and again at 3,4,5, etc. until Sunday afternoon when my body called off the mandatory evacuation. Since it's so close to the holidays, I have to be positive and think that it really is a blessing in disguise as my caloric intake turned to colonic output and balanced out the cookies and candy from the previous days.

On a related note, getting old is a wonderful thing. I had conflicting medications and ailments for the first time. My shoulder was hurting like the dickens from tossing and turning all night because of the stomach problems, but I couldn't take the pain meds for my shoulder because of the effect it has on my stomach. If I were well enough, I would probably have spent my Sunday yelling at kids to get off my lawn.

As for the few days of holidays preceding the sickness, things are becoming more routine for the younger Simpson household. Katie and I are getting used to sharing our once consolidated family holiday time and are getting comfortable in our respective duties.

Christmas Eve - Church, Extended Family Gift Exchange (K-family)
Christmas - Gifts at K's family AM, lunch/gifts with my parents, Burford family PM
Day after Christmas - Katie's dad's family, Katie's Grandma's house - afternoon++
TBD - Christmas with my grandparents in Dallas (this weekend sometime)

Katie and I tried to make this Christmas a smaller one, but I don't think we really achieved that though. Her family is large enough that if you were to only spend $5 per person per gift, you'd still be looking at a sum the size of a detroit automaker bailout. However, two good things did come of the lack of self control:

1) I bought Katie a new couch and loveseat. Technically not a Christmas present, but horseshoes and handgrenades... and all that. We'll finally have seating (permanent furniture) for more than 4 people at a time in our living room.
2) Katie bought me an iphone - Had to wait until After Christmas here due to AT&T playing Ebineezer Scrooge in this year's Christmas Carol - can you give a sister four or five days on the subsidy eligibility for Christmas' sake?

Overall, this year was much less stressful than the last two, mostly, as I said, because of the calm of a holiday pattern Katie and I are falling into. We had our share of gift giving quandary's and holiday snafu's, but things are much better when you have a plan and nuptial agreement.