Wii Christmas

Well, I had my most relaxing Christmas to date. For me Christmas and the word "relaxing" do not go hand in hand. Christmas and the word PAXIL or PANIC ATTACK or HELL usually do. But this year it was easy. We put the tree up but I didn't go insane about the reindeer. (For those of you who don't know I have 9 years worth of hands and feet made into reindeer heads from friends since the 211 Westerly Parkway days when I lived "alone"). I also didn't have to work like a crazy lady at SBUX which always helps the cause. My time kinda went like so:

12/23 Christmas Eve Eve.
9 hours of baking. I will never do this again. But I had to do it once. You will recall that "i don't bake" this being the case I own ONE pizza pan that holds about 8drop cookies and ZERO rolling pins with which to flatten the sugar cookie dough and cut out shapes. (Mother-in-law to the rescue on that one!!) I got the job done though and PLEASE don't think that purchasing these tools for me will help. From now on my cookies are coming from outside the Miller-Corcoran household! A rolling pin for me would only be cause for a mental breakdown over what a domestic diva I am not (re: lying on the kitchen floor crying when we opened the glass pie pan we received for our wedding). The evening was a great success. VERY VERY VERY low key much to my enjoyment. It did not end in a visit from a holiday Mastiff but with a visit from Papa John and a viewing of some Crazy Indian Music Videos from youtube.

12/24 Christmas Eve.
Breakfast at the Park Diner.
Clean up - major recycling efforts made by the M-C Lites
Rest.
Off to the Corcorans for Holiday delight. We spend Xmas Eve with Nick's folks which is sooooo relaxing. The four of us drink some wine, eat some tasty food, have lovely conversation and open some gifts. This year the guys were finishing up the coffee table for A&S so I got some QT with Mrs. C. That was extra special.
That night Corky and I exchanged presents. My present was laaame (red barn gift card) compared to the coooool one he gave me (wii!). We boxed eachother into the early hours.

NICK AND THE TABLE:


12/25 Christmas
7:30am - Coffee brews, Audrey and Spero arrive and we exchange presents and play Wii until
AUD AND SPERO LOVED THE TABLE

10:00am - Off to Dad and Sue's for breakfast, more coffee, lots of laughter, conversation, exchanging presents until
3:00pm - Dad has to work, still, the cows don't know it's Christmas. Back home for a little more Wii action and RELAXING until
5:55pm - Heading to Windsor for the Miller family extravaganza. 19 bodies, one home. I love it. I feel so thankful and lucky that my family is so close. It once again makes me realize how fabulous it was to grow up in a farm family where everyone is there. Everyone is around. Even the Greens were always around in the summer because Aunt Syl was a teacher and came to the farm at least once a week. This is why Nick and I moved home being away from that killed me and knowing that we would have children and they would not have that same experience also made me incredibly heavy hearted. But now we're here and my family extends past the Millers to the Corcorans and my mom and Jon and our "family of friends." ... I digress...
here's a photo of my amazing grandparents and generation #3

9:30pm: Back home with Aud and Spero. More Wii playing, wine drinking...

12/26 Boxing Day
Yes, Kami, I say boxing day ;). I don't know what the hell Boxing Day is but I do know that since Nick's company is owned by a Canadian company he actually gets an official paid holiday on Boxing Day. I'm all for it.

This day was spent...doing what else? Playing Wii... obtaining an extra remote and nunchuk for the Wii... and avoiding the leftover cookies.

I'm going to end there because as you can guess the rest of the weekend involves visiting and Wii. The visiting included a trip to see Nick's goddaughter, which is always my favorite. Though she is one she was witty enough to give her Aunt Kate the "Knocked Up" DVD with a note attached "I want a friend!" Isn't she smart? (either that or her parents are smart asses...) *aaahh...* How I love my family...

remember the times, grandson

remember how much fun justin was at gollum's going away party...

some things i've done...

I woke up at 7am on a SUNDAY. It's snowing like the dickens outside, I may just have to go sledding today! I stole this from Sweetfern and Merry Journey's pages. I couldn't resist. The things I have done are in bold.

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightning at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Ridden an elephant

...i may be one of the few people who visited vatican city but did not see the sistine chapel. instead, since there were too many people, we visited a nearby castle and then went and ate sherbert and drank beers. ...i did not like disneyworld... i slept under the stars before grassroots one year on a tarp with nick, shane and one of our good friends at the time. i also sat up all night at grassroots and watched the sunrise under the influence only of coffee and the understanding that at sunrise you can wander through the dreams of those around you... i slept on the overnight train on the way to Paris with Nick to see the Mona Lisa. The Louvre was fun but the Picasso museum blew my mind... I hit a homerun when I played "girls softball" and it was a fluke. No one could catch the damn ball, they kept overthrowing and the fat, uncoordinated girl finally got a homerun... Nick and I woke up at 330am when we lived in baltimore to drive to the loch raven reservoir and watch a meteor shower. Sometimes you can hear the meteors rip through the sky...

nick in paris in March 2000...

kate at picasso museum also march 2000...

delinquent

I'm ALIVE!

I'm actually only half alive as it is the day after Corcoran's Christmas party where each year I continue my love-hate relationship with company parties. Somehow it feels very 1950s and also lovely. This year I've lost enough weight to wear this BEAUTIFUL dress and I felt like a million bucks.

(at the christmas party)

(after the party, experimenting with the timer)


First though, we had my "company" Christmas party, or uh, Holiday party or whatever is politically correct. The center's Secret Santa is like nothing I've ever participated in before. My brain literally hurt by yesterday. My secret gift giver (as we used to say at the bucks to be PC) was Becky who granted me with the beauty of my secret LOVE. (Don't tell my old friends at the bux...because its flavored coffee) Flavored coffee is like the coffee snob's worst nightmare...it totally takes away from the natural flavors of the bean...but let me tell you this cinnamon crumb cake coffee i'm currently imbibing is like crack it's so good. Not that I actually know that crack is good or bad...

My paper is done. It's not my best but it was my first attempt at anything over 15 pages so it was quite an accomplishment.

I am now off for the next 4 weeks. I am in heaven. I seriously SERIOUSLY am going to miss the kids though. I tell you what, I am madly in love with all of them. They are all so precious to me and so special. We've been together now for weeks and I know their quirks and when they're off and having a bad day. We celebrate together and cry together and I'm just crazy about them. Last night at the party I was talking with one of corky's co-worker's husbands about my job and he was all "what about first grade? what about third grade?" and I told him flat out, no way am I getting back into the public school system! He then proceeded to get out his wallet and point to it. How about advocating for early childhood educators? I think that's my next step in life, actually. I have found my calling (thanks HP) but now what? Fight for it.