'Tis the Season

So Christmas is now officially over. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, though certainly not the best Christmas of life (no matter how many presents I got).

I got to see most of my family which is nice, since that's what Christmas is really about. Went to my grandfather's Christmas day and then my Aunt Liz's that night. Then yesterday, we all went to my Aunt Marilyn's, which was fun (though noisy, as always). We also went to my godparents' on Christmas Eve, which was nice, though more subdued that usual.

I got a lot of stuff. This seems to be the year of the double present. I got two belly button studs (both from Taela's presents), two make-up kits (one from my mom and the other from my aunt), and two watches (both from Mom), as well as multiple trivia games and puzzle books (from my mother).

I did pretty well in the present department. Lot's of clothes, books, and candy. The movies that I wanted (Lord of the Rings: Return of the King EE; Harry Potter: Prisoner of Azkaban; and The Princess Diaries2: A Royal Engagement). In fact I got most of the stuff I wanted. I got a book on Katherine Hepburn (yay!) and some other books that look interesting. Mom did make a slight mistake with LIttle Women. I forgot to tell her that the book is occasinally sold in two parts and sure enough, I only got the first part. Oops. But, I got two book gift cards, so I'll just rectify that mistake myself. No big deal.

Had fun with my cousins. I got my little cousin Billy to actually talk to me. He's a great kid, but very quiet (which is really odd, given the rest of our family). I think he's starting to realize that we actually have a bit in common, like similar taste in music. I mentioned a song I like and he went and got the CD and played it for me, which was cool.

Got to play with my little cousins who are all so cute. Even if my cousin's daughter really doens't seem to like me that much. My cousin Cathy is so pregnant, not surprisign since she's due any day now. I was actually surprised that she made it down, but I was glad to see her.

Christmas wasn't easy by any means. I missed my dad a lot. I think we all did. I just couldn't help thinking it wasn't much fun as it would have been if he were still here. But then most things aren't. He was so much fun, so full of life. He loved Christmas, he was just like a little kid, and it wasn't the same without him.

I broke my vow of getting through the hollidays without crying. I ended up crying in my cousin Tammy's lap yesterday. It just hit me that he wasn't there and he would never be there again. After a few minutes and a couple of hugs I was okay, though still a little sad. I'm lucky though, to have a big wonderful family there to comfort me when I'm sad.

Taela and I are going to watch all three extended editions of the Lord of the Rings back-to-back on Thursday, which'll be fun. We've been waiting three years to do that. Then on Friday it's New Year's and I have a party to go to. It may or may not be fun, depends on whether luck is on my side or not.