12.30.2008

Christmas: Cowell Style

So another marathon Christmas is over for us. Oh wait. No it's not. We still have two more Christmases to go: one on Friday night with my family again since Dave and Julie and their girls were up north for the day of, and then (I assume) another get together with all of Nathan's family since Jeff and Heather and John and Jenna and their girls were in Arizona and Texas for the holiday! And then one more....the craziest of all....with the Eatons next Friday. Phew! So, that will make a total of six Christmases for Nathan and me. Is this holiday out of control, or what? I actually like it. It was a little bit harder this year because I didn't get on the ball and buy the presents early, so I got stuck shopping in the week before, but it all worked out.
Our first celebration was on Christmas Eve with just our little family of four. This is our tradition, since it's the only time we have to be alone. We went to the Olde Ship for dinner. We love the atmosphere. I was all excited, but ended up being let down! For one thing, there was no tomato soup. And then - THEN! when I asked for some crackers the waitress brought us Saltines! We began to question how British this British pub really is. When I told her I meant Christmas crackers she apologized and said that they were only giving crackers out to people who ordered the special Christmas dinner. Usually they give them to everyone, and we were seriously disappointed. We weren't jerks about it, we just told our waitress that that was one of the reasons we go there every year, so she snuck us a couple crackers, which was nice, but still doesn't make up for the new rule. We had fun with them anyway, even though they were sans corny jokes this year.

So we took our traditional round of pictures in crowns, pretending to be wise people.

And because Blogger's being weird about the order it uploads pictures, the rest of these are out of order....
After dinner we came home and the boys opened their presents. Micah didn't care all that much, but Judah did. We got him a bike and he was so excited! He just kept saying "Thank you! Thank you so much!" over and over again. We let him take it out for a spin, even though it was late at night. How could we not? There's a picture below somewhere....


Christmas morning was spent sleeping in a little bit (the boys were worn out from the late night before) and then heading for the Cowells' for brunch with Ken and Elly and Brian and Ashlee. Ashlee made ebelskevers (I have no idea how you spell that), which are basically tiny spherical pancakes filled with whatever you feel like putting in them, and I made an egg dish and Elly provided the bacon and juice, and it was delicious! More present opening after that. Jeff and Heather left presents for the boys before they left, and Judah adored the Lightning McQueen rain boots they got him.

In the evening we went to my parents' house for a proper turkey dinner and more presents..... We stayed there for as long as we could, until Micah threatened to self-destruct with exhaustion. Then it was back home for another late bedtime for tired but happy boys.

Here is Micah with the ball that John and Jenna gave him - he loved it! Unfortunately, so did Judah, so they spend some of their time fighting over it.

Judah on his new bike.....
And, just for you, Jaysen, here is a picture of Judah imbibing. I gave him a sip of my cider, and then Nathan spent the rest of dinner telling him that no, he couldn't have another sip. One a year is quite enough. I hope I don't get arrested or disowned for this picture.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

12.22.2008

I'm a Believer

I posted this game on my Facebook page, but I wanted to do it again and get different results, so I'm posting it here, too! You should all give it a try, it's hysterical and sometimes strangely accurate...

RULES:
A. Put your music player on shuffle.
B. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
C. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!

1. IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY
"Last Dance"
The Cure

2. WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?"
"Brothers on a Hotel Bed"
Death Cab for Cutie

3. WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
"This Must Be the Place I Waited Years to Leave"
Pet Shop Boys

4. HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
"Come to Me"
Jennifer Knapp

5. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
"Secret Smile"
Semisonic

6. WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
"The Holy Hour"
The Cure

7. WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
"The Chauffeur"
Duran Duran
(HA! This was so true when I was 16...)

8.WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
"Melt!"
Siouxsie and the Banshees

9. WHAT IS 2 + 2?
"One of These Days"
Owen

10 WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
"Crooked Teeth"
Death Cab for Cutie

11.WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"Haunting"
The Pogues

12. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
"Sweet Lullaby"
Deep Forest

13. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
"Almost Full Moon"
Enigma

14. WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"Triple Concerto"
William Orbit

15. WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
"Folk Song"
The Sundays

16. WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
"Sexy Plexi"
Jack Johnson

17. WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
"Music for Boys"
Pet Shop Boys

18. WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
"Isobel"
Dido

19. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
"Friday I'm in Love"
The Cure

20. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
"Not Only Human"
Heather Nova

21. WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
"Sweet Baby"
Mike Barnet

22. HOW WILL YOU DIE?
"Brad and Suzy"
Jude
(Yikes! I'm watching my back....)

23. WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
"Just Say Yes"
The Cure
(Barbara, didn't this come up for you for the answer to #23 too? Weird...)

24. WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
"Summer Nights"
Christine Brown

25. WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
"Perfect"
Smashing Pumpkins

26. WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
"Just Like Heaven"
Rockabye Baby

27. DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
"Disintegration"
The Cure
(Lot of Cure on this list....)

28. IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
"Death or Glory"
Social Distortion

29. WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
"See You Soon"
Playradioplay!

30. WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
"I'm a Believer"
The Monkees

12.12.2008

Completely discouraged

First the floor under the water heater was rotted out.
And there was no earthquake strapping on it.
And it was leaning at an alarming angle.
And the property manager didn't want to do anything to fix it.
Then the ceiling fan broke.
And got "repaired."
Except now we can't use it on medium or high speeds, or it will fall out of the ceiling and possibly decapitate us all while we eat dinner.
Then we were promised new floors to replace the rotting ones in the bathroom.
And new carpet.
Those promises were made in May.
We're still waiting.
Then the kitchen faucet broke.
Then the dishwasher exploded and flooded our kitchen.
The landlord promised us a new dishwasher.
We're still waiting for that, too.
Last week our heater broke.
The electrician said it's 33 years old and if we call the gas company they will red tag it and turn it off, and the landlord will have to replace it.
Today the water heater smells disturbingly like burnt toast.
I checked the date on the water heater.
It's past due for being replaced, too.

We don't know what to do anymore. We love this condo, the location, the open feel of it, how big it is. We love the neighbors. Mostly. But every time we turn around something is broken, and our landlord is extremely slow on replacing things. A new dishwasher and new floors we can live without. But it's getting colder, and we cannot live without heat or hot water. And we also can't afford to wait until something explodes and brings this place tumbling down. I'm so totally discouraged. And I'm worried that all these repairs will cause our landlord to raise our rent, which we also can't afford. And which would be unfair, because all these repairs needing to be done right now are a result of years of neglect and cheapskate-ness on his part, and are not our fault at all. If you're the praying type, please pray for us. The economy and the season both make this a really bad time for this to happen. And at this point I'm beginning to worry about our safety and health.