Cheer

Another Christmas has come and gone, and everything was pretty much perfect. Our festivities started with Christmas Eve Eve, the annual party I've hosted for the past seven years. It's been our tradition since I was a senior in high school! This was the first one to take place away from South Plainfield, but I think it still went well. I made sausage and peppers, baked ziti, and cookies. My family brought food, including my dad's famous lasagna and my mom's Swedish meat balls. On top of all that, Rob made hummus, Bryant made mashed potatoes, and lots of people brought desserts and drinks.

The only mishap of the party wasn't even really a mishap. Around 10 PM, right as we were about to open the gag gifts, the police knocked on our back door. My initial thought was a noise complaint. Then I thought, maybe all the cars were going to get ticketed for technically being illegally parked (no one seems to follow the signs on our road, though).

Luckily, it was neither -- they were looking for our upstairs neighbor. We unlocked the front entryway for them, and they proceeded to pound on our neighbor's door for awhile. Eventually, he did come down and they dealt with him. I still don't know what he did, but it makes me a little uneasy about living beneath him.

After that, the gag gift ritual continued without any other problems. My favorite gifts were Alex's boyfriend pillow (with his face printed on it) and Bryant's Do-it-Yourself Appendectomy Kit. My friends are too clever for their own good.

Clean-up only took a few hours, and by 2 PM on Christmas Eve, we were off to my parents' house. We dropped off all our stuff, pets included, and headed to Branchburg for my Aunt and Uncle's pasta party. Afterwards, we headed back to my parent's and played Wii games until midnight or so. Finally, Rob and I retired to the pull-out couch in what used to be our part of the split-level house, and went to sleep under about a dozen blankets and all our pets.

Christmas Day was a little chaotic. It began with my dad backing into my parked car and leaving more than a mark. It seems to be repairable, so hopefully it won't be too much of a problem. I remedied the stress and anger by presenting my parents with their brand-new, 40-inch HDTV. Thank goodness I had that -- I think my Dad's head was almost ready to explode.

As usual, my family went above and beyond with gifts, as did Rob. My parents got me a new flash for my camera, boots, snow pants, a purse, jewelry, candy, and lots of other goodies. Rob bought me a leather jacket, a printer, and a white, 3G Kindle. I also bought him a Kindle, along with a case (that I have to send back and replace with one for the latest generation Kindle -- not second generation), a remote control helicopter, and a Star Trek Enterprise pizza cutter. I got my sister a new purse, and my parents the aforementioned HDTV. Dexter even got spoiled this year with a new tug-toy, treats, a DVD (yes, a DVD), and a doggie back-pack. All in all, a pretty good haul for everyone.

After the usual gift opening, we cleaned up (both ourselves and our wrapping paper) and headed out to see more relatives. My aunt and uncle provided an awesome ham and turkey dinner with all the fixings. After eating, we rushed off to Rob's Mom's house to spend some time with his family.

The weekend winded down yesterday, as the blizzard raged through our state. I stayed at my parents' a bit longer than I should have, which made the drive home a bit treacherous. What would have usually taken 30 minutes took well over an hour to traverse. I was surprised to find that even in a blizzard, some jerks still had the audacity to tailgate me. That's OK -- they can drive like maniacs if the want. I was perfectly happy rolling along at 20 miles per hour.

Today we're slowly digging ourselves out. Our street was plowed late last night, so another half foot or so is still in our way. So begins our winter!