My sister, Renee, and her family, once again, hosted us for Christmas. Ten people and two bathrooms, lots of good food and even more good laughs. And much to my surprise, no cold! I came busting out of Dulles Airport fully bundled, complete with a knit ski cap and immediately started stripping–only down to my regular clothes!
As much as I’d coached myself about not overindulging with the sweets and other fatty foods, I hungrily devoured my sister Carla’s homemade bonbons with pecans. My direct flight did not include a meal and I was not about to pay for a snack after paying $25 for my checked bag.
Coupled with my near-empty stomach, my father took the scenic, traffic-ladened route back to Renee’s house. Fortunately, my mother always rolls with snacks in the car, especially popcorn. I wasn’t in the mood for popcorn, but she also had sweet potato chips and premade cheese and crackers. So, before I could even step in my sister’s house, I’d already downed three different snacks. So much for avoiding the junk food!
Renee had the grand idea to type up an itinerary of what we were planning to do while I was here and email it to other family and friends. Of course, that did not get off the ground, but I managed to send out a text to a few friends about our upcoming trip to the wax museum in DC. So far, only one out of three friends can definitely make it. No matter what, it’ll be fun to go to DC then eat afterwards in Chinatown.
I’m impressed that any of my nieces or nephews still believe in Santa Claus, but my 11-year-old nephew set out three cookies for Santa along with two celery stalks for the reindeer. His mother convinced him not to pour the milk yet, saying that she’d do it before going to bed. Ha! I remember years ago when I set out a slice of rum cake for Santa along with a glass of milk.
The same nephew got the present-opening party started around a quarter to 8–about an hour later than what I thought. My sister, her husband and their three kids all assembled in the living room. The kids tore through their presents while Renee captured it all on video. She politely asked if I was ready to be “on camera” and I told her no. I had to walk past them to get to the bathroom and certainly didn’t need that zombie walk recorded for eternity. At least I knew to change out of my bed clothes first.
I was so happy to see all the gifts I bought enjoyed by their recipients. I must admit, though, Renee had set me up this year to expect that I was getting a digital reader from her this year. The only reason I thought this was that she called me up a few weeks ago to see which one I wanted “if” she was going to get it for me. This morning, she handed me my usual Christmas gift–a $50 Visa gift card. Not that I’m complaining, but I could have done without the false expectation.
Of course, one of the best gifts I received was the one I bought myself: the latest Vitamix model. My mother purchased it for me on base since she could get it cheaper and did not have to pay taxes. She had not bothered to wrap it since it was a gift to myself, but she did put it under the spectacular Christmas tree. I waited until this morning to open it. Both Renee and Mom were a little jealous of the kickass cookbook that came with the blender.
I’ve evolved into a blender cook and have “sacrificed” about three cheaper blenders to the cause. I already had some bright ideas of my own about what I was going to prepare with my heavy duty blender, but the included cookbook was truly a surprise. I’m going to have a good time going through those recipes–at least until get the hang of it. I’m amused that most of the recipes instruct me to add the ingredients in the order that they are listed. I’m now wondering if I should have used such logic with those cheaper blenders. I only followed the blending of the dry ingredients by the wet ones.
Mom pulled a prima donna and dashed into the bathroom to shower rather than joining us for the gift opening. By the time she emerged, we had already cleaned up the wrapping paper and had gathered her gifts in one convenient spot so she could sit in comfort and unwrap them.
Finally, my other sister, Carla, had put the final touches on breakfast and we ate. Again, I reminded myself not to overindulge since we’d probably do nothing, but download movies until my brother-in-law finished Christmas dinner. As a matter of fact, Renee hasn’t scheduled us to leave the house until tomorrow. It’ll be so good to stroll, even if it’s around the mall!
It’s always a joy to visit my family, but the temporay sedentary lifestyle nearly kills my spirit! I’ll have to get back into my good habits when I return to Austin…until my next family visit in the summer!