Life | Book Chatter

I wasn’t going to post today but it’s the last Sunday Salon post of the year so I decided to write one up anyway. I’ve been off from work for over a week and I’ve literally forgotten what day it is. It’s lovely! I’ve been sleeping in and watching tons of movies. I haven’t read much but what I am reading now is really good. I may have to adjust my “best of” list because of it. We’ll see. It’s a Murakami.

What I love about this time off is that we have no plans at all. Absolutely nothing. Like today. Nothing planned but we could go for a drive…or grab a bite to eat or pop in yet another movie. Whatever we do, is fine by me.

The Boy has been going to track practice in 36 degree weather. He’s also thinking about Winter formal and what he’ll be wearing. I swear. That kid loves clothes.

The Girl has been spending time with the Otter Pup. Lots of snuggle time on the couch. I don’t know what the pup will think when we all go back to work and school. She’ll have withdrawals!

The Hub couldn’t take as much time off as I did so he’s been working some short work weeks with a day off here and there. He’s okay with it for the most part, but he hates to leave the house when we are all sleeping! That’s got to be hard.

I am trying to savor my time off because The Music Man is right around the corner and production week is hellish! Lots of rehearsals and stress. I cannot lie. Getting them back and forth for their call times and me helping backstage can be rough.

But…

I am pushing it from my mind and going back to my book. What are you doing today? Any big plans for New Year’s Eve? We plan to order Chinese take-out. Exciting, huh?

As I update my calendar for 2013 and begin to take the Christmas decorations down, I can’t help but think about all the people I’ve chatted with this year. I’ve “met” a lot of new readers through this blog and it’s been wonderful. Talking about books with others is something that makes me incredibly happy and I have to say, all of your comments and yes…friendship have made me a happy girl. Thank you.

Well, hello there! The holidays are always a bit crazy, but this year they came up too quickly for me. I had planned to be online for most of it and I was for some of it, but then the days got away from me and before I knew it, Christmas was here and then poof, it was over and done with. Isn’t that how it always is?

We did have some fun though.

Leading up to Christmas we went to Disneyland and California Adventure. I love Disneyland at Christmas but the Boy and Hub wanted to see all the new stuff at California Adventure so we did both in one day.

Sleeping Beauty's Castle

We got there before the park opened and stayed for over sixteen hours. Towards the end of the evening, I was hobbled in a big way (like that guy in Misery), but we saw almost everything we wanted to. There is nothing like Disneyland at Christmas! I love the lights, the holiday atmosphere and who am I kidding? Starbucks! California Adventure has a Starbucks now! After sixteen hours of dragging myself all over the park, it felt so good to get a REAL coffee drink instead of the watered-down “tea” they call coffee.

Of course, there were other treats to be had such as the caramel apple and turkey leg I sucked down but I digress.

It was an amazing day. Bliss! I am a bit OCD when it comes to making sure we do stuff but all in all, it was a great day. Tons of people but our fast passes (strategically obtained) came in handy. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Boy move so fast but he used those cross-country skills to get us passes for Radiator Springs Racers and it paid off because they were sold out by 11am.

On the Saturday before Christmas, we met-up with our friends for a driving tour of the Christmas lights in our neighborhood. We do this every year and have been doing it for well over fourteen years, if you can believe it. Anyway, I didn’t capture any pics because it was raining, but it was still fun to drive around and check out all of the lights. I made my giant ginger cookies and two kinds of fudge and we sipped hot chocolate while driving around. It was great to see everyone again.

On the Sunday before Christmas, we went to my Mother-in-law’s house. We got there a little late because I had a laundry faux pas but let me tell you… it was nice to be late for a change. We are always the first ones there and the party was in full swing when we got there. Felt good to arrive to a crowd of happy, smiling people. The food was great and everything was very casual and relaxed. A perfect evening.

Christmas day, I made cinnamon rolls and a pile of bacon. We watched movies at home and then headed to a restaurant for Christmas dinner. I ALWAYS cook and usually enjoy it but I was just sick of making stuff so this year, I made reservations instead. We like this one restaurant that is right next to the airport and they offered a Christmas buffet this year so I thought, why not?

The Girl and Boy at Christmas Dinner 2012

I think each kid ate their weight in food. The sun was setting in this pic but that’s the air field right there! We got to watch the planes take-off and land while we ate. It was perfect and a lot of fun. I especially liked the fact that there was nothing for me to clean-up afterward!

After dinner, we drove home and watched It’s a Wonderful Life. A perfect end to a perfect evening.

I think everyone on the planet was watching this movie though:

My son got to see it with friends but I seriously feel as if I need to get myself to a theater to see it.

Anyway, that’s it from me. I just started my last book of the year, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World (Murakami) and tomorrow, I plan to just lounge around and do nothing. I do have two reviews to write-up. We’ll see if that happens.