Merry Christmas!

Since I will be home for a few days without my laptop (it's shiny and new and I am afraid to subject it to airport security...) I leave you with this: One of my favorite Christmas duets ever! Should something particularly noteworthy occur, I will let you know. Until then....Feliz CHRISTMAS ohkeh

Where do you live, again?

Tis the season to receive Christmas cards! Unfortunately few people actually know our address. In just the last week we have received mail addressed (by hand, so no typos!) in the follow (incorrect) ways:

1641 Fairview Circle

1541 Reunion Circle

1541 Fairview Drive

Now would probably be a good time to remind everyone that I put a return address on every wedding invitation, thank you note and Christmas card we sent out. What is going on?!?

A Letter to Santa

Dear Santa,

I know I am too old to be writing you a letter, and I am old enough to know that this is was past the deadline to ask for anything. I mean, the elves have to be loading the sleigh at this point...

But since you're an expert traveler and obviously know how to travel faster than anyone, thus avoiding all sorts of terrible delays maybe you could help. (Then again, you also have your own flying aircraft. If there's one way to make sure you take off on time it's to pilot your own sleigh that can land ANYWHERE! But I digress) See, we are flying on Wednesday night. Could you work some Christmas magic and try to make sure our flight is not delayed and it's not snowing when we land? Reindeer can handle the snow (and so can the Cleveland airport, really) but I prefer to land on normal runway. So, since you travel on Thursday night, maybe you can send good vibes my way the day before, and I'll be sure to leave an extra cookie or two for you.

And thanks again for the Barbie DreamHouse all those years ago.

Love,

Julia

The Never Ending Flight and other travel thoughts

So I said I was going to talk about my terrible, horrible flight experience . But that was Monday and this is Friday and the excitement and irritation has since subsided. And I tried to write about it and it was actually kind of boring. Maybe I'm not in the mood, but maybe it just wasn't that horrible 4 days later.

Also, I just heard about a GINORMOUS storm hitting the mid-atlantic this weekend and thought Well, yeah. My small fiasco is NOTHING compared to the delays and cancellations and other travel hell that folks traveling this weekend will experience. Flying, driving, snow shoeing, whatever your mode of transportation, it will likely be delayed. And I normally wouldn't care about such a storm, since I don't live in the mid-atlantic, and am not traveling this weekend. However.... Pannie is going to be driving to Tennessee tomorrow and the biggest snowfall is literally falling all along her path home. NOT GOOD. I must admit, I am looking forward to her blogging about the adventure. But, seriously, I'd rather she simply get there without incident.

BEST BALLET EVER!

Well, actually it wasn't. I mean, it was, like all Nutcracker performances, quite enjoyable. The dancing probably wasn't the best dancing we've ever seen, and the music for sure wasn't because the Washington Ballet lost a 'significant grant' and for the first time used recorded music instead of the live orchestra (gasp!) Also, approximately eleventy billion* people were late arriving to the show, and thus disrupted the beginning of a couple dances in the first scene, entering more like a herd of elephants than a slightly embarrassed group of human beings.

It was the best, though, because it was THE CHEAPEST! Pannie got two comp tickets through work. See, when you work in the arts you know others who work in the arts and have connections to such venues as the Kennedy Center and Warner Theater, if you ask, they give you free stuff. FREE! BALLET TICKETS! IN THE ORCHESTRA SECTION! (Which, obviously wasn't technically orchestra because there wasn't one. But we were on the floor, and since we started sitting in, literally, the back row of the balcony in 2001, this was pretty cool) And it was the best because I hadn't seen Pannie in awhile, thus killing two birds with one stone: Reunion and Nutcracker watching

Since the tickets were free we decided we could have a decent dinner beforehand but the dinner Gods were against us. Restaurants were either booked solid (at 5 PM!) or didn't open till 5:30. As the show started at 7 and we still had to get tickets at will-call we decided not to risk it. So we had the cheapest dinner ever consumed before the ballet: Potbelly sandwiches. I didn't even get a milkshake because it was so cold out, but it was good to be back at an old hangout. And what a deal: We spent less than $25 and got a darn tasty dinner and a lovely cultural event.

Granted, I suppose you could also argue it's my most expensive ballet ever since I flew in from Orlando, but the airfare was surprisingly reasonable, so who cares. It was also the longest flight back EVER, but this is a happy post so I'll talk about that another time.

But anyway, aside from the glorious Friday evening we shared, Pannie and I had much roommate bonding while driving, eating lunch at Cheesecake Factory, shopping in Friendship Heights, watching Invictus (two thumbs up) and spending the entire rainy Sunday indoors reading books, drinking tea, eating takeout (but not at the pizza place next door because they close at 5. Who does that?! How much business do they lose during football season?) and watching.... White Christmas! The highlight of the evening was obviously Pannie's "Blue Skies" dance.

And now I am back doing laundry so I can pack again and we can go to Ohio next week. I'll be back soon to regale you with tales of the Longest DC--> Orlando flight EVER.

*TM Pannie

Hundreds Day!

This is my 100th blog entry- time flies, doesn't it?! I don't know why 100 is such an important number, but it is. I'm pretty sure I first became aware of this when I was 5 years old. When I was in kindergarten we celebrated 100s day, when each student had to bring in 100 of a particular item; I brought pipe cleaners. Who knows why, but I can tell you we had a plethora around the house for years afterwards, and some weird art projects, too. AFI has created several lists about 100 movies, which are fun but I often disagree with their ranking system. And if memory serves, you have to be 100 in order to appear on the Smucker's birthday segment, hosted by Willard Scott of the Today Show. In addition to these fun facts, 100 is also important in more serious matters. For example, the US has 100 Senators (I did not know this- I looked it up, which is kind of pathetic. I mean, I remembered what I took to 100s day 21 years ago but don't know how many senators we have?!) And in the 'fun and games' department, a standard game of Scrabble has 100 tiles, and once a TV show airs 100 episodes it can be syndicated (who knew?).

Around here, 100 blog entries on a Monday in December don't really mean much, except that my archives list is getting longer. Because I sure as hell don't have 100 readers!

Anticipation

You know when you're a kid the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas drag on and on and on? Not only do you have to wait for Christmas, you have to GO TO SCHOOL while doing it. In short, December is tough. Especially when your sister's birthday is 11 days before Christmas and she gets presents twice! Actually that never bothered me; I was usually too psyched for Christmas to care what she got after she blew out the candles.

Anyway. As an adult the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas go by at lightening speed. Have you ever noticed that? I think the days lose hours. The first week of December has 20 hours per day, and the second week has 18. The third week has 15 and then, well, just before Christmas good luck- the days just blur together. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining. I very much enjoy the holiday season and is usually that nut wrapping presents and baking four kinds of cookies in the same afternoon, singing along to Amy Grant's three Christmas albums.

But this year? Whoa. I am going somewhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas! Practically no one does this except business travelers so I feel pretty special, let me tell you. And also, tickets are so darn cheap between these two big holidays. Too bad the same can't be said for travel the week of Christmas. But I digress. So guess where I am going? I'm thinking this won't be a big game or anything because the person who reads my blog the most thought of the trip in the first place. Ok I'll tell you. I am going to DC to visit PANNIE for 5 WHOLE DAYS! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Since 2001, our freshman year in college, Hannah and I have seen The Nutcracker in some form on a stage in DC. Kennedy Center, Warner Theater, doesn't matter. We are totally there, singing (humming?) along to the entire score. We're quite animated during the various ethnic dances. Last year was the first year we did not go, since I live in Florida and she is in DC and it's hard to coordinate such a cultural event in one evening, while the participants span 5 states. And let me tell you, it was sad. I tried to make up for it by buying Pannie Nutcracker themed ornaments (which were very cute) but it didn't work. So this fall I received the following e-mail:

In other news: I think you need to come visit this fall/winter. We need some roommate bonding time--I am in withdrawal. I'm starting to receive info about this year's Nutcracker performances, and I must say, it rather sucked not to enjoy holiday festivities with you last year. I'm just throwing that out there for your consideration.

And by golly, she twisted my arm. So not only am I anticipating Christmas and seeing my family in Ohio and all that jazz, I am also anticipating my DC trip! It's less than a week away, and I am now realizing I don't really have the right clothes or shoes. What the heck happened to my cold weather clothing?! Especially my ballet-appropriate clothing?!