Holidays 2010 - recap (part uno)

I promised in my last post I'd give you a recap of Christmas 2010.  I wasn't in the best mood going into it.  Thanksgiving Day hit me kind of hard, and I was in a funk from there out.  But, it helped immensely that 3 of my BFFs were home over the holidays - I miss them all to death and seriously considered keeping them here against their will...no one ever really goes in my basement...but in the end I let them go back to their respective homes.  Hopefully they'll all move back here of their own volition some day!  :)

First, my friend K came home for a week from Nashville.  K and I have been friends since we were about 14/15 years old, went to the same college, were roommates for a year, and I adore her.  She hasn't lived in the 'Burgh since she left for the Big Apple to go to grad school around 2001 (I think).  We were in the choir together in both high school and college, and we love to go karaoke-ing with our friend B anytime we can.  Me, K, and B were like the Three Stooges in high school and we always have a great time when we get together.  Here's the 3 of us singing our anthem - Bohemian Rhapsody (it's been a tradition since riding around in K's parent's Lumina listening to the Wayne's World soundtrack...on tape), and then K, me, and my BFF C.

I also got to spend the following day with K putzing around "my" museum and having lunch.  Then she stopped by our annual Christmas Eve open house the following evening. It was great to spend so much time with her!  Typically she only gets to come home for a few days at a time, so it was nice having her here for a whole week.  Our open house was fun as usual - lots of beer and wine, food, and laughter.  We exchange gifts with my Dad and G on Christmas Eve too, so that's always fun.

That last one is my little cousin A - remember him?  The cutest kid ever?  He's at an age where he's a lot of fun.  He decided that he was going to take our one dog Harley for a walk later in the evening - she was so good with him!  She pulls me around like a ragdoll, but she just kind of stood there while A had the leash...too cute!  Harley and Heaven were completely exhausted by the party, and passed out on top of one another at the end of the night.  So adorable it makes my heart hurt!

The next morning, IB and I exchanged gifts together before heading over to my mom's for Christmas dinner.  IB spoiled me as usual with a gorgeous diamond ring, a new diamond pendant, a spa day, a new wine fridge, and a bunch of other stuff.  I got him a variety of gifts, including tickets to go see Cirque du Soleil: TOTEM when it's in Pittsburgh this spring, but his big gift this year was a new TV for manland.  I can't even explain to you how excited he is about this, so I'm not even going to try!  Then it was off to my mom's where I was spoiled some more - 'cause that's how we do it!  It was an emotional day for me - really hard not to think about the fact that I should have been sitting there with a big old belly instead of drinking mimosas with my sisters, but, on the other hand, the mimosas did help!  N and J got me an awesome bracelet that is in memory of the Shamrock - it's has charms on it that spell out the word "wish".  Indeed.  <3