Apologies and thank yous
A big apology to dustandroses - - I missed your birthday and I'm so sorry!

And a bunch of very late holiday thank-yous - - it's been a rough and eventful week and a half here and I'm just getting caught up.

Holiday card thanks to: nehalenia and betagoddess - - thanks for your lovely cards!

Thanks to odogoddess and chazpure for the e-card.

Thanks to mrs_sweetpeach, my much-loved partner-in-crime, for the hand-drawn holiday wishes, yummy Belgian chocolates, caramel wafers(J laughed when I showed him how many!), cds, and J and I both thank you for the Jayne hats(as soon as he feels better,there will be pix).

Thank you to aswanargent for my pink bracelet! I love it!

lorelei633, your card wasn't in the mail when we checked on Christmas Eve. We'll be going back to Rhine sometime this week, and I'll check again.

rosybug, did you get a card from me? I'm very afraid I sent it to the wrong address.

I had the cold from hell(got it from J's dad at Christmas, and was sick from Christmas until, well, *now*, I still have the cough). I was scheduled to work one day last week - - Wednesday, which I managed - - Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, I was pretty much in bed. I gave it to J, who went back to work today after 2 weeks off, though he was miserable. The day before Christmas at Wal Mart was crazy, but not as crazy, it turns out, as the day after. That was *insane*.

The grownups skipped exchanging presents this year, and we just bought for the kids. Which we may rethink next time, for Elizabeth and Eve anyway. J's mom and dad bought them clothes, which they needed, and we gave them both clothes as well as a couple of other gifts. Their parents gave them clothes, a dvd each, a Disney Princess bath toy each, a set of Polly Pockets(Elizabeth), a set of those homely big headed pets(Eve), a Hannah Montana guitar(Elizabeth) and one of those lifelike dolls that cries and pees(Eve). Every time they started to open clothes, when they saw what it was, they threw it to the side. All Elizabeth was concerned with was the Hannah Montana guitar, and Eve the doll. That's not counting the Santa gifts on Christmas morning. Or the things Larae brings home nearly every day(I call them guilt presents - - since she rarely sees them, she gives them gifts to make up for it). Don't get me wrong, I remember how it was when I was a kid - - I hated getting clothes, too, and wanted the good stuff - - but Mom always told me, on Christmas and birthdays, whether it was clothes or a toy, always say thank you and at least pretend to be happy about it. It's just that the girls get *so* much, they don't seem to appreciate it.

J and I sort of exchanged gifts - - he got the latest season of Dragon Ball dvds, and I got the sound therapy nightlight I've wanted but was too cheap to buy(I can fall asleep to the sound of rain *anytime now!).

And we got bad news on Christmas Eve and New Year's Day. We found out on Christmas Eve that J's mom's surgery was cancelled - - in the pre-op testing, they found blood in her urine, which we were hoping was from a kidney stone. She had a CT sca the Friday after Christmas, and we found out on New Year's Day, there is a growth/tumor on her bladder. They're doing a biopsy, and I'm terrified of the results. Can't deal with it. No way.

I'm off work until Saturday, and intend to spend my week doing fun stuff. My BFF Jan and I are supposed to get together for Chinese this week if she feels better(she has a variation of the cold I had). Today I got laundry and cleaning out of the way. And I also made the dip I planned to make on New Year's - - cream cheese, cheddar cheese, sour cream, chopped ham, onion, green pepper, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, etc, baked in a hollowed out loaf of bread. I've been craving it for weeks. Tomorrow I'm making broccoli-raisin salad. I'm also planing to make some flower arrangements for the cemetery, for Mom, Ben and Daddy's graves. I'm planning to use small stone-look vases from Wal Mart, and either roses or some pretty spring flowers.

I also plan to get caught up on reading slash - - I have tons of links saved, as well as the Nick Lea 2008 Christmas Zine - - I've only read one story, the very lovely I'll Be Home for Christmas by redblack32 and wolfens - - but I can't wait to get to the others. And I'm ecstatic that mrs_sweetpeach and I have a story in it!

I have seen the entire first season of Supernatural and I'm more in love with Dean than ever. And John. I have a serious JDM crush.

Not saying much about the new Doctor yet. I wasn't sure about David Tennant and he turned out to be my favorite. New Guy does have some big Converse to fill, though. BTW, will the next Doctor be a pre-teen? They seem to be getting younger.

If I forgot anyone in the thank-yous, in this post or previously, please bring it my attention.