Christmas (Part 2)

I woke up at about 7:30 on Christmas morning, and walked to the bathroom. I saw Josie standing in her crib, with this look on her face that said "Uncle Eric, let me out!" But not wanting to do the wrong thing, I kept her in her crib, and eventually she went back to sleep. I did not, and although the TV was in the room with me, I couldn't find the remote to watch and kill time while waiting for the rest of the house to wake up.

By about 9:30, we were all awake, and drinking coffee. Breakfast was bagels with three types of cream cheese, veggies, ham, and lox. Then, once the mimosas were poured, it was time to attack the pile of presents that were pictured in my last entry.

I should note that in that entire stack of gifts, a grand total of four were my gifts to people, and a grand total of two gifts were for me. So needless to say I spent a lot of time watching Kyle, Kari, and Inese opening gifts. But it was a little more fun than last year; at least I could watch Josie attack her gifts.

Here are a couple of cute photos of Josie:




























Bette and my father showed up in the afternoon, and gifts were also exchanged with them. I got some nice things, but there is one thing I am having to exchange: during my office Christmas party, a co-worker got me a copy of "Hairspray" on DVD, and my father got me one too. My father's has to be returned because he is not the most savvy person about movies, and got me the fullscreen version. I don't understand why they make DVD's in fullscreen.

The food did not stop for the entire day, and by the end of the day, my jeans were starting to feel tight. But the thing that alarmed me the most was Inese's drinking. I don't recall seeing her without alcohol close at hand for most of the two days I was there. Making this more interesting is that she went for a walk briefly, and looked like quite a sight walking down the street in her fur coat, with a cigarette in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. I asked Kari if she that could be called a Dean Martin walk. I make light of this, but Inese isn't exactly choosing a healthy way to numb the pain that she is feeling since she lost Ralph. And it does worry me. She is a nice person, and has always been good to me, even if she did find me more caustic than usual (her words).

I left the house at about 7:30, plugged in my satellite radio, and switched it to XM 83. I'd had enough of holiday music. I got home to find Cleo home. Julie is catsitting for her cousin. So Cleo and I shot the breeze for a while, and then I went downstairs, got myself together, and went to bed.

Today was a very busy day at work, but it went very quickly. True to my word, I drove myself to Dulles Town Center and walked for an hour. The crowds were not too bad, and I really felt good getting back into routine. My calories for the day were about 1400, and I feel better for getting back on the wagon. Tomorrow I plan to walk in the morning alone, and in the evening with Cleo. I don't know what pace he wants to take, but I want to get my walking in with my music and my dork weights. Plus, unlike Julie, Cleo will never try to sabotage my efforts to control my weight. I don't ever want to get into these pants again:

And on that note, it is time to go to bed. Happy Kwanzaa to all, and thank GOD I made it though another holiday season!