Merry Christmas!

I have been unbelievably busy the last couple of weeks, but before Christmas gets here I wanted to go ahead and catch everyone up on the goings on in Prattvegas. OK, so technically we don't live in Prattvegas anymore. But it's so much more fun than saying Millvegas. That sounds dumb and I refuse to do it. So Prattvegas it is.

Two weekends ago we decorated the house for Christmas then had our friend Candace over to visit, along with her new fiancé. We had a good time hanging out, then Z and I went to Birmingham for a wedding. The groom went to law school with Z, and all four of us are good friends now. It was a beautiful wedding, and a fun reception.

Last week my company was full of Christmas activity – each day a department brought food for the rest of the company (we actually did that the week before last too. They call it the 12 Days of Eating), and it all culminated in our Christmas party on Friday. We played Dirty Santa, had a big meal, I read the annual Christmas poem I'd written (and my boss heeeeeeeeeeeavily edited/butchered.) It was fine. There aren't really any other words for it. It wasn't terrible.

Saturday was Christmas at my paternal grandmother's house. She's never really been a cuddly grandmother. I mean, I have my Granny, and then I have my other grandmother. I love her, but we've never been close. When my dad got sick, he moved in with her and she took care of him. After he passed away she got very angry with me and my siblings and accused us of silly things that essentially meant, "They didn't love him or care about him." You can imagine how hurtful that was, and many unkind words were exchanged, especially when it was time to probate my father's will and follow his instructions. She did not like that "the kids" were getting all of his antiques because she wanted to sell them. It was a very hurtful time. So, I still love her, but things have never been the same, and I wasn't exactly looking forward to going. But, it was a very nice afternoon. My aunt and uncle (brother to my dad) live in Montgomery, and they picked us up so that we didn't have to drive, which was terrific. Also, we never visit with them (I don't know why – that side of the family just doesn't cherish togetherness like my mom's side), so it was good to spend several hours in the car catching up. My uncle reminds me of my dad before it got bad, which makes me both sad and happy to be around him.

Sunday we went to church as usual, but that night Z had a Christmas surprise for me. He'd told me not to schedule anything for that evening, and at lunch time he finally told me what it was – he'd gotten us tickets for "A Christmas Carol – The Musical" at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. If you haven't been there and you're relatively close, you should definitely go – it's beautiful! When I was in the 11th grade, I went there for bonus points in my English class, and somehow I wound up going with my dad, grandmother, and uncle (re-read the paragraph above – what a weird situation. Especially for high school me.) Anyway, even though I'd been to the Festival before, and toured the museum and gardens, I'd never been inside the theater or seen a play there before. Magnificent. The show was really breathtaking. The set was gorgeous, the orchestra was phenomenal, and the actors were unbelievably talented. The voices on those children – tremendous. Not only was I incredibly impressed that my ultimate fighting- and football-loving husband bought us tickets to a musical for Christmas (he loved it!), but I so enjoyed the play that I was nearly in tears the whole time. I will definitely go back. Too bad they had to cancel next year's production of Les Miserables due to budget cuts…

Yesterday (Monday) I called in sick because I had an interview with the Alabama Medicaid Agency that afternoon and didn't want to come up with an excuse to leave work early. It went OK, I suppose, but not great. I don't feel too confident about it, but it's hard to feel confident when you know they're meeting with approximately 20 applicants similar to you… I'd have to sing and dance to stand out.

My bosses, bless their hearts, announced this morning that they're closing the office tomorrow, Christmas Eve. Originally, we were scheduled to work all day, with the hope that if the "bad cop" boss left early, then we could too, but if he stayed, we wouldn't be allowed to leave early at all. I don't like working like that – I want to know what's going on so I can make plans. And we're supposed to be at Z's parents' house (a good 2 hours away when it is NOT rush hour) for dinner time. So, that is a huge deal for me! So we have Christmas Eve with my in-laws, Christmas morning just the two of us at home, Christmas dinner with my Granny and my mom's side of the family, and the day after Christmas at my mom's house with my immediate family. Z can't go to that one though because he has to work that day. Tell me what sense it makes to have your employees come in for Friday alone. I think that's stupid.

I have been finished with all of my Christmas shopping for some time now, but there is still one item that hasn't been delivered yet. I don't think it will get here until Christmas Eve (tomorrow), which makes me anxious, but if it doesn't arrive in time, I'll wrap and give my sister-in-law a picture of her gift!

Wishing you all a merry and delightful Christmas!