Holiday this & that

Wed night the owners of the Blue Moon had their employee/performer holiday party and gift exchange.  (The Blue Moon is where I perform in the Legends shows.  Yes, that's me in the Elton John costume.)  The food was terrific and the bar was complimentary.  After everyone had eaten the gift exchange began.  Everyone brought a gift valued about $20 and folks could either 'steal' a gift that was already opened by someone before them or pick something from under the tree.  I picked from under the tree and got a bucket of loose change!!  Needless to say no one tried to 'steal' my gift.  But it all worked out, as I took the change to a CoinStar machine the next day and converted it into a gift card.

Although I don't take many photos, Marvin is just the cutest and friendliest little guy I could hope for.  He has really brought joy to our lives, and in general is easy to live with.  However, he is not fond of cold weather and wind.  When we take him outside to do his business he wants to run back inside as soon as possible.  We've gotten him a sweater and a jacket but they are kind of awkward to put on so we don't use them unless we're going for a walk.  But even when he has an accident I can't get mad at him.  Who haven thought that I'd be the one to be smitten by him?

About a week ago Spouse started to get a cold.  Not wanting to be sick at Christmas, he immediately began taking Zicam and other remedies to try and prevent the cold from knocking him out. Unfortunately he's still got the cold, but fortunately he doesn't really feel badly.  I hope he'll be okay with our full holiday schedule.

Speaking of the holidays, on Mon all 130 cards went into the mail, and yesterday I wrapped all the gifts, so our countdown to Christmas has started.  Unfortunately I did not have time to do any holiday baking this year.  I usually like to make cookies to give to neighbors/friends and to enjoy ourselves but I just didn't have time for it this year.  

Spouse is off work all of next week off and my office is closed Sun-Wed.  Since I work tomorrow and perform tomorrow night, we can't leave for VA until Sun morning.  Once we arrive we'll pick up Spouse's mom and take her with us to meet Kerry & Hugh, Kelly, George, and Lisa for our annual lunch of pizza and hippie rolls.  That night we're having dinner with our buddies Mike & Clark and Ron & James, followed by coffee and Christmas cookies at R&J's house.  Then on Mon morning we're heading to my cousin's house (about an hour away) for a visit and lunch.  That evening we'll join the rest of the family at Spouse's sister's house to celebrate Spouse's mother's birthday.  Yes, her birthday is Christmas Eve!  My old friend Kathryn will stop by for a visit that night too.  Tues morning we'll have a leisurely, relaxing breakfast and hang out with Spouse's mom for a few hours, then have Christmas dinner around 2 or 3pm at his sister's house, followed by opening gifts.  We're coming back home on Wed.