3 days 'till Christmas ...

and I've got the next two weeks off of work, which means that I have lots of time to update the blog. It also means that there's still 72 hours left for me to "accidentally" find out what Colin got me for Christmas. You see, I suffer from a condition – curiosity-itis – that causes inadvertent snooping and occasional lapses in judgment. For example, last year, on a mission to find some candles to regift at an office Christmas party, I went searching in the guest room closet, which Colin had specifically warned me not to open, and discovered his big surprise present to me – the complete Harry Potter collection. (He responded in kind by immediately logging on to Amazon minutes after I told him I had placed an order.)

Since then, I have tried to inhibit this condition, which I blame on a combination of my journalistic inquisitiveness and hereditary forgetfulness (thanks a lot, Dad!), by practicing self-control exercises and taking placebos, including various kinds of Christmas candy. So far, so good; aside from the digital photo frame Colin gave me early this year due to a replicate b-day gift from his parents, I have not as of yet determined the identities of his other gifts to me, though I caught myself in the act of once again opening the closet where he stashes all his stuff and peeked in his bag after our Black Friday shopping spree.

Speaking of which, I guess I should recap our Thanksgiving '08 excursion. For the third year in a row, we traveled down to Colin's grandparents' place in Green Valley, where we ate loads of wonderful home-cooked food, listened to stories about my father-in-law's childhood, and participated in the post-Thanksgiving melee known as Black Friday. This year, Colin and I were joined by Gavin, their aunt Cathy, and cousins Michelle and Christine, who reminded me of what it was like to be a preppy, private school-bred girl who thinks talkin' ghetto is tight. We enjoyed spending time with family and even more so enjoyed rocking them in both the putting and bocce ball championships. During a lighthearted conversation in which Colin and Gavin joked about their dad's romantic endeavors, we learned that laughing so hard that you cry is a Hesse family trait. This was something I had already encountered during several incidents wherein Colin brought his dad to tears by retelling some story of how he made fun of me, like the time when I said I didn't eat much chocolate anymore (a lie) and he replied, "Tell that to your butt." We're such an uplifting family; haven't you noticed?

As promised, I took a few pics during our Thanksgiving get-together, such as the one shown here. I think it turned out great, though in retrospect, I maybe should have picked a different backdrop than the portrait of Grandma and Grandpa Hesse's late dog, Chrissy, whose button nose looks like a beanie atop Grandma's head.


Time for me to head out and finish shopping for Colin. Yes, I procrastinated this year for reasons I cannot state at this time. At least it will keep me out of the house and prevent my wandering eyes from espying any yet-unwrapped gifts. More fun stories and pics to come from Christmas with the Hesses and New Year's with the Brandlers!