verbingnouns

Happenings

I hope everyone had a marvelous Christmas. I certainly did, even though it was unconventional. Since both of my siblings had Christmas with their in-laws this year, we opened all our gifts with them in Calhoun on Christmas Eve. I went back to Texas with my parents after that where I stayed until yesterday. We went to the Christmas Eve service at the local Episcopal Church Saturday night, which was lovely. Of course, we had a special service at church Sunday morning and then had a family over for lunch. It didn't feel very Christmas-y (65 degree weather didn't add to the Christmas feel either), but it was a nice day.
Taking a few extra days off was just what I needed. I didn't really have anything planned, so we just kind of did a little of this and a little of that. We saw The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. I definitely enjoyed it, but I'm no Chronicles expert, so I can't compare it word-for-word with the book. Mom and I went to Tyler on Tuesday to do a little gift-card spending. Of course, I'm always up for shopping, so that was fun. I still have some money left on my card, too, so I can do some end-of-the-year sale shopping. What to buy: practical or whimsical? That is the question.
I came back home yesterday and spent the evening setting up my iPod. I got the Nano for Christmas and I'm super excited about it. However, it's quite a commitment to get it set up just how I want it. I'm about halfway there. I guess that's part of the fun, huh? I really want to get an iTrip so I can use it in my car, but those evil-geniuses at Apple made the outlets on the Nano different from all the previous iPods so none of the same devices can be used. Most of the accessory makers are a little behind on getting Nano accessories out, so I'll just have to wait to get the one I want.
I also have a stack of new books to read and CD's the listen to. Aaron & Amy gave me the Garden State Soundtrack and Sufjan Stevens' Illinois(e). My dad copied all (hundreds) of his MP3s onto Cds for me. He has a lot of folk-type stuff which I'm happy to have. Now I just need a lot of time to listen to music. Hmm. Is it time for another roadtrip?
Now that I'm almost halfway through my two-day work week, I've got to get my contributions to the New Years' Eve party ready for the big event. The next weekend, we'll have the post-baptism-of-the-nephew-and-niece shindig, then the parties wil be over for a while and life will be back to business as usual.