Thursday, December 29, 2016

Christmas Break, Pt. 1

Wednesday morning, we opened all but a few presents with our kids and had breakfast. I ran a few errands with Joseph, went to a doctor's appointment, and attended my self-reliance class. I also cleaned and packed for our trip.

Thursday was travel day. We made pretty good time and actually got to Rexburg around 4. That was even with a stop in Pocatello to see Rex and Joseph, who were on their way to get Angie and did not get back till the middle of the night when we were all asleep. We had dinner and then went to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. It was a fun movie. Even better is that it was free! Sam and Jesse went too.

Friday, I worked on my latch hook rug and cooked dinner after my nap (yellow curry). Rex and Melodie went to clean the temple. I went to bed early, around 10, because I hadn't had a very good nap.

Saturday, Christmas Eve, I worked on my rug again and cooked jello, bread bowls, and potato soup for the non-dairy folk. I attempted a nap that didn't go well. The kids all went to a live Nativity, we had dinner with the Lees, and we did our own Nativity. I opened a cute cowboy blanket for Lewis. We opened the rest of our presents from Grandma Lee, set out stockings and presents, and then went to bed. I was exhausted and uncomfortable by then. It's been really hard to keep cool in this house. If it's not the wood-burning stove, it's the oven being on. I feel miserable when I am too hot, which is almost always unless I am in my own house.

Sunday, Christmas Day, I got the kids ready for Church and had breakfast. They had a little candy from their stockings before leaving. I didn't go to Church because I wasn't feeling well (fatigue, high blood sugar) and I broke down crying out of sheer frustration and loneliness. All my siblings are home in NC right now, but I'm here instead. It would have been our year to go, but my pregnancy might have ruined it anyway. I don't think they want anyone to fly at 35-36 weeks. We haven't spent Christmas with my parents since 2012. I really just want to do Christmas at my own home in Vernal, because I keep things really simple. Here there is no rest from the constant flow of people, goodies, or attention to some small details that I don't feel are important. (Example: bread bowls. They turned out more like rolls. For all the time I spent on them, I really felt like it was a waste.) I was feeling a bit better by the time everyone got home from Church. We opened presents and had scrapple for lunch. Then we headed to the Head grandparents' home for the day. It was a pretty good day. I worked on my rug while dinner was cooking and talked to my family for a while after dinner. Too bad the internet didn't cooperate very well, and then cell phone service died shortly thereafter. We still had a good conversation. The drive home wasn't too bad despite all the snowy weather.

Monday was a bit frustrating. I worked on my rug some more and we had dinner with the Lees. The really hard part was working on all the digital photos from the past 20ish years. I consolidated (Tuesday morning too) from 5 computers, 4 jump drives, and 8 SD cards onto 2 external hard drives. It took forever because the computers are old, but I got it done. I really can't do the next part, which is actually organizing the pictures into years and then possibly subcategories. I wish the family luck on organizing it further, because there are 75 gigabytes of data just in pictures.

Tuesday, I still worked on my rug while doing pictures, as I mentioned before. James and I went out for lunch at the Thai place. It was so yummy! We stopped at D.I. afterward and I even got a nap. After dinner, the Rammells came over for dessert and a game. The game was called Code Names and was actually really simple and fun. I worked on Melodie's pictures a little more and showed her how to go about organizing them. It shouldn't be too terrible, actually, thanks to the genius of Picasa.

Wednesday, I finished my rug! (A whole day early too, so I felt pretty happy about that.) I also read the next lesson for my self-reliance class. It was sad not to be there in person. I worked on a few paperwork-type things that I needed to get caught up on. I went to my first ever massage in the afternoon. Angie had one too, so I drove her and read a book while I was waiting for mine. It was so incredibly relaxing. I almost fell asleep, and the half hour was definitely over way too fast! We had dinner and then celebrated Jacob's birthday by going to Rogue One. It was a really good movie, even worth staying up late for.

Today, Thursday, should be pretty relaxing. I'm finishing up putting all the photos in one place. There is one more computer after I finish up the CD's and DVD's. I'm making dinner tonight, eggs rolls and fried rice, and then Kenneth and Nick are coming over at 8. Other than that, I'll probably just hang out and get ready to leave tomorrow. It's been a really good, but challenging week for me. I am definitely ready to go home and get back to my own bed and schedule.

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