Best Christmas...Every Single Time...

Christmas, Chanukah, general holiday-ness is basically upon us (heck, Kwanza is probably around there somewhere) and I've got the secret, people. THE secret to having a totally groovy holiday of your choice. Want to know? Read on, friends:

So, every year it happens. I go on a mega shopping spree, for myself, and then give all the peeps in my family what I bought to wrap up and give back to me.

It's awesome.

This year has been no different. Let's just say that I may or may not have replenished my wardrobe (my Christmas presents this year consist mainly of new pants with elastic waistbands and t-shirts with expandable sides. But don't worry, these clothes are as fabulous as they get. Mostly because I make them fabulous. Shoot) and graciously doled it out to various people to give back to me on that wonderful Christmas morning.

Traditional? No way. Practical? Yes! I don't need to return anything!

This Christmas present strategy gets better...

Mostly because I then get to tell everyone, 'Hey! Since I picked out my gift, you should go buy yourself something nice and say its from me!'

Everybody. Wins.

In reality, I may be killing the holiday buzz by taking away that Hallmark moment of gasping in faux surprise/glee as you open a present that you either already guessed what it was when you shook it earlier or are going to have to exchange in private because the person who bought it for you wanted to be flattering so they got you a size too small.

But Hallmark moments are for idealists and those people are crazy.

This guy ain't got nothin' on me!...except about 150 pounds.

P.S. As usual, I also buy my mom something that I really like so that I can 'borrow' it 364 days out of the year...another good strategy!

Introducing Arby...

I made a rash decision today and bought a Christmas tree. I wasn't really planning on it. Luke and I have been married for 3 and half years and we've never once decorated for Christmas. Why start now when you can be a Grinch forever, right? Especially since the tree would have to be guarded by armed forces 24/7 to stop Finn from tearing the thing down for his own amusement.

But I did it anyway...we've (I've) named him Arby...its short for arbol...which (I hope) is Spanish for tree! A lot of clever going on over here.

He's not really a looker, Arby. But guess what, for $20 you can't beat him. I would have taken token pictures of Finn at the tree lot, but it was pretty ghetto. The lady who owned it was walking around with a mini chainsaw in her hand (I'm not joking, people) and I thought if she ended up in the background CPS would come and take Finn away...

...sidenote, she ended up being really nice and let me take the tree home without paying for it since I forgot cash was still something people use buy things. I did go back a pay, lest the mini chainsaw end up trolling outside my apartment looking for retribution...

Anyway, the tree guarded by our couches even though Finn can climb up onto our couches and pounce on him...as of yet, they've both remained relatively unscathed. I'll give Finn an ornament and tell him to be VERY GENTLE with it over and over again, and he gets very serious about it and walks around guarding the ornament for the rest of the night. It's cute.

And while the tree may be scantily (and ghetto-ly) decorated (Wal-mart didn't have ornament hooks at 7pm so we've used fishing wire and the rope used to tie the tree to the car to hang up the decorations for the moment), he's definitely looking more spritely, especially since we put silver bows all over him...everyone wants to feel pretty :)

He's got chunks missing that I aim to fill...with love.

How Foreigners Do It...

Thanksgiving in our household is something to behold...not one of us was born in the United States so when Turkey Day rolls around we all kind of stare blankly at each other and wonder if we really need to get a whole turkey. 9 times out of 10 my mom rolls up with a rotisserie chicken and I bring 4 boxes of stuffing and we call it good. Enter Luke, the lone American. He has expectations, people! He was born and bred in the heartland! His mom made cranberry sauce! How do you even eat that with turkey?! Isn't it a dessert?!

(As you can see this whole T-Day concept excites my sensibilities)

So we rallied this year and my mom covered some roasted chickens in bacon (Amurica!) and I still brought the 4 boxes of stuffing, there was pumpkin pie (sorry, no cranberry sauce, don't push your luck)! Overall, I'm sure he was impressed. I would have asked him but I've been in and out of a food coma ever since...

And would you believe it, I even got sucked into Black Friday shopping...I know, I know, me and shopping, who'd think we'd be a good match...

...ahem...

But seriously, I saved $40 on a new camera...cha-ching! And I bought it at like, 2pm...not am. AND I didn't get pepper sprayed in the process. Total success.

And now that I have a new camera in my possession I'm using it to humiliate my little stinker. He'll thank me when he's older...and by thank I mean disdain:

Christmas slippers!...and not much else :)

In my defense he kept trying to put it back on whenever I took it off...

But it also means I can snap beauties like this:

The view from our apartment living room.

Good times, people...good times.

As for Finn: He is still loving it here, too. Every morning after he has his breakfast he goes to the closet and gets his boots out and sits on the floor, waiting for me to put them on so we can go to the park even though it's about -2 degrees outside. He's getting really, really good at sign language type communicating. He knows how to show me when something is cold or hot (I was talking to Luke about how cold it was outside and he started doing his little 'sign' for cold), and when he needs to take a nap, wants his stuffed dog and when he's thirsty or hungry (which is always). It's very clever, indeed. And a great way to avoid having to formulate, you know, actual words :)

And when you give him your cell phone he puts it to his ear and starts 'talking'...definitely affirming the fact that I talk on my phone waaaay too much.