December Diary

December is always such a busy month getting ready fo Christmas, having Christmas and then recovering from Christmas. So here's a run-down of how I filled the hours.

2nd - We had the bank Christmas party. I won't tell you where, but it was the worse party ever. The food was not good and the service terrible. What a waste.
5th thru 9th - I went to Salt Lake to do my Christmas shopping. Susan and I stayed at Mark's house Friday and did some marathon shopping on Saturday and Sunday. I was amazed at the deals she found. While not so lucky as she was, I was still able to finish most of my shopping. We ate that night at Joe's Crab Shack at Jordan's Landing. Susan, Kevin, Mark, Cassie, Stacey, Jordan, Lincoln and I were all there. Lincoln entertained us with his Incredible Hulk impersonation. (He's so talented) The food was very good and the service great. Every so often, all the waiters would gather in the middle of the restaurant (our table was right in the middle of their gathering) and do a dance to whatever song was playing. It was fun. We ended the night playing dice at Mark's, except for Jordan's clan who went home to bed. On Sunday, we all went to see Jason and Rachel's baby get blessed. Robbie is such a cute baby. Lincoln was not his most best-behaved and I am not very good at disciplining him. Just ask his dad. But he sure was interested in Susan's glasses. That night I stayed with Stacey and Jordan and got to babysit Lincoln the next day while Stacey got some extra hours at work. We had fun as usual. On Tuesday I drove my overloaded car home and piled all those boxes and bags in the living room.
11th - I wrapped the presents, and wrapped and wrapped and wrapped. I hate wrapping presents. I had bought white paper and red paper to go with a snowman theme. They looked pretty but after hours of wrapping, I no longer cared.
12th - The tree got put up, finally. It's the only the twelfth, why do I feel guilty for not having my tree up until now?
13th - I went to see Twilight with Lisa again. Julene Richards was there so she joined us. It was her fourth or fifth viewing. Cheryl Abplanalp and Sherrie Calder sat with us also. I thought if I saw the movie again, I would like Edward better. Ennh.
16th - Ward Christmas party. Much better food and entertainment. Ron Litton and his family performed. They did some Christmas songs but mostly Beatle music which I liked. I left when Santa got there. It's none of his business whether I've been naughty or nice. Does anyone else think he's just a bit nosy and what about him coming down chimneys? Weird.
19th - We had a shorter version of our progressive dinner and just visited Mom's, Steve and Verona's and Myke and Cheya's. Still, we had fun.
20th - A few more presents arrived plus I did some more shopping. I swear I ws finished, but noooooo. So that meant more wrapping. Good grief!
23th - Cassie made it safely from Salt Lake. At 10:30, Jordan called to say they were on their way. Naturally, I stayed up to wait for them. Just the first of a few nights of little sleep. Lincoln slept in the living room this night but had a hard time getting settled in.
24th - It's Christmas Eve and I had to work until three. The bank wasn't very busy although we did have a customer show up just as we were all leaving about at 3:30. Stacey, Lincoln, and Cassie joined me for lunch at La Cabana. Jordan went hunting with his friends. That night the whole family gathered at Mom's for our annual Christmas Eve dinner and program. The dinner was ham and funeral potatoes. Yummy. There was so much to eat. Greg and Jenny Lou were there with their dog, Apache. Lincoln was interested in the dog but apprehensive. I read the Christmas story from the scriptures, we sang a few Christmas songs and the younger kids performed. Another impersonation from Lincoln. What a ham. Now he claps for himself. Then we watched a video that Katie had made from old Christmas Eve clips. It was so funny and very well done. Then it was time for home and bed. I stayed up and watched Jordan and Stacey get Lincoln's car ready for him. So nice not be in that position any more.
25th - Christmas Day. We finally dived into the huge pile of presents. Lincoln got more than he knew what to do with but it was so much fun watching him ride in his car and beat his drums. My presents were amazing, just what I wanted. Stacey made a delicious breakfast casserole that we scarfed right down. I really appreciated not having to do much for breakfast this year. While Lincoln napped, we watched The Holiday and napped also. Later that day, we went back to Mom's to work on the ham and other leftover goodies and to play games. It was a great Christmas. I know Stacey and Jordan won't be spending too many more Christmases in Vernal, if any, so it was great having the opportunity to have them this year. Cassie thinks she and I should take a trip one of these Christmases. That sounds like so much fun.
26th - I had to go to work and Stacey, Jordan, and Lincoln headed back to the city. That was so sad. Cassie got to sleep in and play more games. In fact, the next few nights, we played a lot of games at Mom's.
27th - I helped at a wedding luncheon for Kenny Richards, Julene's son. They had soup and bread bowls which was kind of messy, but the soups were really good. Mark and Davis came out from Salt Lake, so it was back to Mom's house to play more games.
28th - I gave my RS lesson from President Monson's talk, Finding Joy in the Journey. I think it turned out all right. Cassie left to go home about seven. I always feel so let down when she leaves. It's so easy and comfortable having her at home even though I think she gets a little bored.
31st - New Years Eve. We had a Mexican dinner at Mom's and stayed up until midnight. It's getting harder and harder for me each year.

Work - Things are quite slow but we made our goals for the month and the year. Hallelujah! We are going to start being open on Saturdays which is going to be a huge adjustment but I think it will be okay.

Books - Who has time to read? Actually I did manage to squeeze a few in, but only six. I debated which challenges to join for next year and have decided not to join any right now. Maybe some that start later, but I'm really going to just read what I feel like reading.

TV - I've caught Sherlock Holmes on the KBYU channel a couple of times. It's pretty fun to watch. Even though I don't watch TV a lot, it was good to have some other options. Maybe this satellite TV will be okay.

Overall impressions - The mild weather of November is long gone. We had major storms on the 24th and 25th and I was so glad none of my kids had to drive in it. Then it was just really cold, falling below below zero most nights. It's been an interesting year, probably my best and most challenging at work. I've enjoyed working at the temple so much. I got released as Relief Society President and am back to teaching which I love. The presidential election has come and gone, it will be interesting to see the changes that Obama will make. I sure hope he gets some divine inspiration as the country is in such a bind right now. Watching Lincoln grow older was certainly my favorite activity this year. Being a grandma rocks. And I got to go on my first cruise with Cassie and Julie and it was a blast (most of the time). And I managed to do a journal entry for each month this year. I hope I can continue to do that in 2009. Well, Happy New Year, everyone.