We somehow survived the holidays and the "holiday hangover" is in full force this evening. I have been off work since 12/24, celebrating Christmas, cleaning out every closet in my house and organizing, then hosting New Year's in Indy. It was only supposed to be our dear friends and siblings but then my folks lamented the fact that they had no plans on New Year's Eve. What's two more people when you already have six? Eight. It was a very full house. I have no idea how the Tanner's did it...we would not have had room for Comet the dog or Kimmy Gibbler. During preparation for New Year's Eve dinner (a succulent turkey!), our kitchen literally reminded me of the opening scenes from "Home Alone" where all those people were in the kitchen.
It felt like I was watching an anthill. On speed.
Everyone ate and drank too much but we played "Things." Have you heard of this game? Everyone gets a slip of paper and you will have to answer a question such as "Things you don't want to find on your sandwich." It digresses quickly. And you find out that your future sister-in-law has a filthy mind. It was hysterical and for the third time in three weeks, I found myself with sore stomach muscles the following day from laughing so hard.
[Perhaps this is helping my crunch challenge!]
I love my family and friends and feel so incredibly blessed. I love our times together when we eat too many carbs and forget to cook the broccoli and green beans. We can live on shrimp cocktail and when talking about it, a ten-minute diatribe starts about the origins of the word "cocktail." Christmas was beautiful and New Year's was a bit exhausting - but still filled with a lot of awesome memories. We toasted the Time Square ball drop together; I kept glancing around the room, not sure how so many wonderful people ended up in my life. So entirely blessed. But of course, it had to come to an end.
Regardless of all the time throughtfully Christmas shopping, wrapping, decorating, giving, cooking, traveling, churching, laughing, and toasting, it is always nice to return to normal. As excited as I am to carefully decorate the Christmas tree and hang garlands on our stairway rails, I am so happy to tear everything down and pack it away come January 1.
Our New Year's party petered out by 6 p.m. on New Year's Day and everyone left for their own corners of the state. Jack and I, with my brother Brady and his fiancee, Eva, cleaned up the kitchen for hours. Everyone had frazzled nerves and everyone left for their own corners of the house.
Did I mention that Brady is living with us in Indy? He got a job down here in October and has been cooking us dinner every fourth night since then. Eva is wonderrful - their wedding is scheduled in August. So we are privy to their pre-wedding fights about appetizers and who should stand in what order in the bridal party. Jack and I remember fighting like that - but it's good to be on the other side of marriage! Honestly, having Brady around all the time and Eva on weekends is starting to feel as though we live with two 26 year old's we didn't birth.
We're in weird roles of being siblings and yet parents, too. I try to minimize the number of times I tell Brady to take out the trash. LOL.
So while our holiday hangovers are going strong on this Sunday evening, tomorrrow starts a new year at work. New beginnings, new goals, and new initiatives. New workout plans, new ideas to read more non-fiction, and finally run that half-marathon. Here's to a new year! Make it a good one!
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