The Holidays Begin

Got thru Thanksgiving. We had Charlie and Dan join us for the traditional meal and Tom and his clan came over for pie later in the afternoon. It was nice hanging with Charlie. Although he lost his job a few weeks back, he seemed in good spirits. Maybe not having the money to blow, he might actually cut back on his drinking nights?

Next up is Christmas. I have yet to find the spirit and am seriously contemplating not messing with decorations or lights. Why bother when I do all the work (putting up and taking down) and no one really seems to notice or appreciate them? Maybe I'll find the spirit this week-end - if not, the house won't be getting lights for sure.

I have yet to find a nutcracker ornament for Allyson (I have all the rest), a gift for Gayle, maybe one more something for Charlie and anything for Shawn. He's impossible. I have a tee-shirt ordered from Disney.com. I think that's all I have for him. I know I need to get cologne. Oh, I have a UV wand ordered, too. That's it. I am totally stumped. Maybe I can put together a New Years Eve package - that's a good idea. Hmmm. I have Thursday and Friday off and hope to find some gifts (and some spirit) then. Fingers crossed!

Breezy had a scare Sunday-she woke up to find her arm numb and unable to speak. She was rushed to the hospital where she was admitted to ICU as she was showing signs of a stroke. Long story short - it was a form of a migraine. Had a bunch of folks scared for her.

Surprise!

I helped Todd and Wendy pull off a huge surprise last night. Wendy had told me they were coming to town for a whirlwind week-end and wanted to surprise everyone. She asked if I could get Shawn and possibly Scott and Jenny to The Yard House for dinner where they and Abby would surprise everyone. And I did! And it was a great surprise - the looks on Shawn's and Scott's faces were priceless - even Jenny seemed a bit taken aback. They were all looking like they had just walked into a foreign land (totally confused as to their situation) when Todd went up to them and welcomed them to Alabama. Disbelief was the word. Then they all started chatting and catching up at once and we had a very merry dinner. Then we all walked into Del and Gayle's house to surprise them with their prodigal son and family. Gayle actually shrieked when she realized who was in their home. Very satisfying event.

Then we had Pippi stay the whole night with us - and she was great. She was asleep by 11:30 and only woke up once, at 3:30 for a ba-ba and diaper change. Then right back to sleep. George and Breezy came by for her at 6:15 a.m. The Pirate Band had a gig in St. Louis and they left right after the show. Pippi is the most adorable thing - just a beautiful baby.

Busy Saturday

Hmm, so I have Pippi spending the night Saturday - all night - AND I have to get Shawn and hopefully Scott and Jenny to The Legends for dinner where Todd and Wendy are going to surprise them all with a quick visit. I am exhausted just thinking about this week-end!

I'm not in the least bit in the holiday spirit this year. Most years I would be done with my shopping and most of my wrapping; this year the only gifts I have are the few Christmas ornaments I bought on sale at the end of last year's season! Nadda, Zilch, Nothin'. And I can't seem to find the spirit to get started. I am not sure what's wrong with me this year. I am very bah-humbuggy.

Tomorrow is Mom's birthday - she would have been 77. I can't even imagine her that old. I went by yesterday and put a sunflower on her grave and one on Dad's (for Veteran's Day). I will probably not go by again tomorrow. I also went to Mount Muncie to check out the new Hunt headstone Tony had commissioned to capture and recognize the Hunts that were in the old mausoleum. It is very nice. He went all out (and my two vases just added the finishing touch - now I can put flowers for the 1800's Hunts.)

Back To Work

Sabbatical is over and I'm back at work. Not much changed over the four weeks I was gone - guess that's a good thing. Means I have a job to return to!

My Disney trip was fabulous! The cruise I would recommend to anyone - though I'm not too sure I will become a 'cruiser', needing to hit the open seas every two years. The Parks were also fabulous - and I am DEFINITELY a Disney-eer. If I get to take the girls, I'll be back at the Parks next year - otherwise, probably not for another (gulp) four years. That might be hard, but there are so many other places I want to go. Seems silly to keep returning to the Parks rather than branching out. Hope I can make it that long!!

I came back to a new niece - Piper Shae Hunt was born the day I was transitioning from the cruise to the Parks (October 23rd). She is a beautiful baby and looks just like all the other beautiful baby Hunts. Scary thing is they want me to take her overnight in a few weeks so Breezy can go to a Pirate thing with George. Gulp. Shawn won't be happy - and I may ask Andrea if she wants to come over and help. I can handle the baby but I also need my beauty rest! I've never had a baby overnight before!

We spent the week-end cleaning out Mom and Dad's house. Pretty much everything we didn't take with us went in to the trash dumpster. It was emotionally hard - I couldn't be there when John and his boys took a sledge hammer to Mom's piano; neither could Dan apparently. Every time I tossed out a glass or a knick knack I wanted to cry. While I was standing out in the front yard looking at the pieces of piano, I quietly apologized to Mom for what we were doing. And a yellow butterfly flew near and landed on a flower. I've always associated yellow butterflies with Mom. It was like she was telling me she understood and it was alright. Makes me want to cry just thinking about it. Between myself, John and Tom, we managed to incorporate a lot of the stuff in to our own homes so that helped. My basement is now full of Hunt House! The day the house sells will be very hard - I'll probably cry and get drunk. Losing your parents is unbelievably hard.