Old Home Movies

Hubby out did himself by having all our VHS home movies transferred to DVDs. Last night we watched about 2 hours worth of them. We watched movies from when the Imp was 2 and the Singer 5. We were rolling on the floor laughing. I thought I was going to wet my pants I was laughing so hard.

Of course, there were bittersweet moments. Watching my brother, Chris, interact with my niece, Lauren made me miss him. He really was a great uncle. And even just watching my own kids as little ones made me nostalgic for having little ones. The come out with the cutest expressions, like when the Singer proudly displayed her "Half swimsuit" (Two piece). I'll be enjoying this gift for a long time.

We hadn't taken any home movies for years, because our old-fashioned camcorder no longer worked (and weighed about 10 pounds). So we invested in a digital camcorder...I really wanted to be able to capture both girls' graduations later this year. The Imp got a digital camera so we've all been playing with editing features on the computer.

Just before Christmas we saw "Enchanted." Definitely a feel-good, wonderfully entertaining movie. Of course, Hubby and I were amazed that the movie captured the personality of the Singer quite so well. There's a line when the princess, Giselle, looks at the New Yorker (Robert) when he laments that he's not sure if his fiancee really knows how he feels, and says, "But have you sung to her?" This is already on our purchase list for when it is released as a DVD and the Singer got the soundtrack for Christmas.

Hubby has really been on a roll recently and took me to the beach for our anniversary. It was a perfect day. We got to the beach around 1 pm and walked the boardwalk, then had lunch, sat on the beach and read and napped, watched the sunset. We then went to our hotel and showered and then went to a family seafood place and had the best shrimp and scallops. The next morning we got up and spent another hour on the beach before check out time. A great way to celebrate 23 years of marriage. I was 21 when I got married. No wonder I feel like Hubby has always been a part of my life. I can't imagine life without him.

Yesterday, a Mass was said for John. It was nice to go to church as a family on the feast of the Holy Family and to be praying for John. The priest talked about the only way for families to survive is to have God an integral part of your life. I really don't know how people get up each day and continue on through hardship with a strong faith. My faith has been my lifeline.

We're off to Bob and Leslie's tonight for our traditional New Year's Eve celebration. Lots of "finger food" (sausage, cheese, crackers, shrimp cocktail, etc. and of course Christmas goodies, too), lots of games (Apples to Apples and Imaginiff

are two favorites) and then at midnight we go outside and watch the fireworks that neighbors inevitably are shooting in the sky. It's low-key but fun. We've done this almost every year since welcoming in 1995. The first years, the kids were put in front of a video that the fell asleep in front of, while the adults played board games. Now we all play together.

I don't even want to think of Wednesday (back to school and work)...ugh. And our beautiful paradise weather is leaving us. We've been having sunny and warm (high 70s) weather. And Wednesday morning it'll be in the 30s! If it brings rain, I won't complain, because we need the rain, but otherwise, I'll just be a very unhappy camper.

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Christmas Preperations

To poorly paraphrase a great writer: "It is the best of times; it is the worst of times." December is the month I dread and look forward to all year. I love getting ready for Christmas. I love the family get-togethers, the baking, the cooking, the family traditions, the Advent calendar count-downs. I love thinking of people I love and trying to decide on the best gift to give them and unlike most people, I love going to the mall to see all the pretty, wonderful things out there and to people-watch. So what do I dread about December? THERE'S NOT ENOUGH TIME! People tell me, "Don't stress over it all. You don't have to do all those things." The problem is I WANT to shop, to bake, to sing Christmas carols, to read nightly Advent readings as we prepare for the birth of Christ. I WANT to send friends cards, to visit, to watch the great Christmas shows (there are lots of less than great ones, but Charlie Brown, It's A Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street..1934 version are greats) while drinking hot chocolate with my family.

As a rule, I am dismayed by the overuse of gift cards. It seems like a cop-out. Before I get bombarded with the many positives of gift cards, let me qualify. Gift cards, like money, seem so impersonal. Gift cards became the answer to (or contributed to the growth of?) the unreasonable demands of the recipient. "I'd rather a sweater instead of a scarf." "This isn't EXACTLY what I wanted." Somewhere along the way gift-giving became a requirement and somehow the giver was in the hot-seat if the gift weren't just perfect in every way. When I was growing up, I would never have thought to have returned a scarf and exchange it for a sweater. Even if I didn't like the scarf, I would have been appreciative that the giver spent the time picking it out for ME and I would have worn it. Gift cards are so generic...let me do all my shopping in one place and just buy gift cards. As someone else said recently... this season is all about relationships. Somehow receiving the same gift as everyone else on your list takes something away from the uniqueness of this relationship. Having said all that, getting a gift card to Michael's craft store from my scrap-booking friend shows thought and a connection between us. Still, I think people use gift cards because of fear of disappointing the recipient and gifts shouldn't be 'required' or they aren't really a gift.