So, as mentioned previously we picked out and paid for our Christmas Tree back during the weekend before Thanksgiving. Well we finally got it cut down and into our lounge room on the 2nd. So we strung some lights on it and then proceeded to teach Callum a valuable lesson about the chore that is decorating a tree. Is it just me or does it seem like a great idea, a wonderful Christmas traditional full of warmth and joy, and then when you actually go to do it, you start trying to remember the last time you went to the dentist, and whether you should duck out for a quick check up? Being perfectly honest though, watching Callum do the decorating this year and trying to explain to him what he needed to do, did make it a little more entertaining this year.
On the 4th I went to the Strong Ale Festival down in Carlsbad (about an hour south towards San Diego). All of the beers on the menu were 8% alcohol or above, with the highest being around 15% (my memory is a little fuzzy). Here is an 'artistic' photo from late in the evening that will give you an idea of the thought processes I had going on at the time.
The next night was my company's Christmas party. Over the previous weekend (Thanksgiving) I picked up a little flu bug of some kind and I was still a little under the weather and combine that with the Strong Ale Festival the night before and you can understand I was not in my finest form for the party. Luckily we had booked a room in the hotel where the party was being held and so I was able to bail out around 10:30pm and go upstairs and go to bed. Jen stayed at the party and danced/drank etc. with my work friends for a couple more hours.
The weather in southern California deteriorated dramatically on the Sunday and Monday following the Christmas party and it rained nearly all day Monday. And rain down by the ocean where we live means snow up in the mountains nearby. On Tuesday the weather had cleared and we could see the mountains again. This photo is from my office window. The photo doesn't really do it justice, the snow was actually quite visible and obvious and there was a lot of it.
Fast forward to the next weekend and it rained all day again on the Saturday. Basically two big storms back to back, which is really the first winter weather we have had so far this season. BTW, as I write this on the 21st, all the snow on the mountains is gone again. Anyway, since Callum was stuck inside all day Saturday I took him down to the park on Sunday morning to let him work out some of his 2 year old energy.
Later on the Sunday we attended Jen's company's Christmas party. The company was founded and is still owned by a Chinese family and so the party was at a very traditional Chinese seafood restaurant. The dinner was 10 courses and I think between Jen and I we did try every course, but there were definitely some we didn't try much of. Each time a new plate was put in the center of the table, there was this unspoken look between all the non-asian folks of the table that said "you first!". Santa did make an appearance though which was very exciting for Callum as this is the first year he knows who Santa is and what he is all about (ie. he is the present giving guy). Each of the kids at the party got to sit on Santa's lap and received a present.
The following Friday (the 18th) my department at work had our annual Festivus celebration. For those who don't know what Festivus is (and care), you can read about it here on Wikipedia. Basically it is a made up holiday celebration made famous on an episode of Seinfeld many years ago. Anyway we have casually adopted it in my department as our annual holiday celebration. Below is a photo of our Festivus Pole (the Festivus equivalent of a Christmas Tree) with all of the presents below.
Basically you get a choice, you can either unwrap a random present from the pile, or you can steal a present from somebody that has already unwrapped it, and then that person has to unwrap another one, or steal one from someone else. It takes about 2 hours for everyone to end up with a present and the stealing to stop. I walked away with a bottle of Chivas Regal and some scotch glasses, so I did pretty well this year. Also as part of the party we do a bring-a-plate lunch, this year I brought Maple Bacon Chocolate Fudge.
The weather this last weekend was much better than the previous 2, it was bright and sunny and warm, 80°F(27°C) on the Saturday afternoon when we were at the park.
So that gets the blog up to date, as today is the 21st. So the next post will probably cover the Christmas week.
2 comments:
a Cubs shirt! You're teaching him well.
You know very soon you are going to have to post a "first half of 2010 catch up" if you don't get with the program...right now you might still be able to get away with "the first quarter of 2010"...
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