More on Christmas with an addition of New Years and Austin, TX

(for those of you who only care about one aspect of this or another, I’ve labeled it accordingly, scroll til you find what you want.)

Christmas 2011

Christmas was filled with high’s and low’s.  We had the Burton’s come down to Mississippi from Iowa (high).  Ed and I have been trying to make this happen for years and it finally did, YAY!  It was very sweet to see Grammy, Karen, and Charles experience our huge Christmas tree and in general, Christmas in Natchez.  It was also great to see the brother and sister, their significant others, and all the babies (high).  Of course there is always a little family drama (low) involved when you get that many people together.  However, everyone survived and Christmas was a success. 

It was a great first experience for me to see all the babies opening their gifts at Christmas (high).  My family has kind of adopted this rule that only the babies get Christmas presents, which leaves Ed and me out completely L (low), but I understand that money is tight with everyone.  And just to be….nice (or an ass, depending on how you look at it) I got everyone presents anyway.  They were not expensive presents, but something that could be cherished for years to come (frames family photos).  But back to the kids!  They were so cute and it’s always so interesting to see how they differ in their little personalities (high).  Elizabeth just tore through her presents, while Brody methodically unwrapped and took in each one.  I think I liked Evie’s approach best though, she just slept through it all (she’s only about 9 weeks old).

I think everyone enjoyed Christmas lunch (high).  I guess it’s lunch.  It’s not at lunchtime, slightly thereafter, and usually before 3 p.m.  There was plenty of food for all (even for me as a vegetarian) and it all tasted nummy!  Something that has become a sort of family tradition is William Sonoma Pumpkin Butter as a dip.  You cover cream cheese with the pumpkin butter and sprinkle with green onions and bacon (for the meat eaters).  Sooooo tasty!  For some reason broccoli-rice-casserole is another big hit with our family.  It’s always the first dish to go. 

After Christmas, Mom took the Burton women down to Antique Alley in Natchez (high?).  I’m not sure if it’s what they had in mind for antiquing (it’s a little different in Iowa), but I think they had fun and at least found it interesting.  Ed and I joined them later and actually picked up a couple of things.  A wicker basket-bowl that I thought could be useful, a teapot that Ed thought was interesting, and a little “silver” tray for shits and giggles (it’s not actually silver, not sure what it really was) all for right at 30$, yay (high)!

I think we were all starting to get “cabin-fever” (low) because we all decided to leave ahead of schedule.  Plus, Karen owns a business and evidently needed to get back to it.  Ed and I made plans to visit the Ludlum’s and Theilen’s in Austin, TX for New Years.

New Years in Austin, TX!

So after seeing the Burton’s off, Ed and I immediately jumped in the MINI and headed to Austin, TX.  It was our first road trip together in the MINI and I was a little nervous that it wouldn’t work (too late, cause we already bought it!).  It’s one thing to shoot around town, something else to sit in a car for 9 hours and like each other.  But we did it! 

The trip there wasn’t bad at all.  We took the back roads the whole way and it made it more interesting and it seemed to take less time.  Once there we were treated to the Austin Experience by our lovely friends, Mr. and Mrs. Awesome (a.k.a. The Ludlum’s).  We also got to hang out a little with Betsy and Trever Theilen, YAYAYAY!  We did a lot of bar/beer trying, food experimenting, and a lot more of getting to know Austin on our own. 

The Ludlum’s just bought a house and they were so nice as to allow us to stay with them for New Years.  The first night we stayed in, but got some lovely pizza from their neighborhood pizza place.  We also participated in some beer, pretty good!

(I’ll go ahead and admit that a lot of this is fuzzy, not from drinking too much, but from raging allergies and what turns out to be a crappy high temperature.  No wonder my brain felt like it was baking!)

The next day, since Alisa had to work and Matt wasn’t there yet, Ed and I ventured out on our own and did some shopping and exploring.   That’s when I basically realized Austin would be my next more permanent home (more on that under Austin, TX).  After being out and about for a while, we headed back to the house for some relaxing until Alisa got home and we went to dinner to one of the “food carts.”  It was an Indian food cart, and even though I’m not that fond of Indian food, I found it all pretty great!  Afterwards we went to a pretty awesome bar, The Gingerman.  We eventually retired to ready for our next adventure.  Now this is where things get fuzzy.  My head was spinning and baking, so I’m not exactly sure what happened next, but here’s a list of things we did do, in no particular order.

-       went to the grocery store for food and beer

-       hung out with Betsy and Trevor (they were there the first night, too)

-       went to another bar with Betsy and Trevor and on the same night, went and met their new puppy, Landry…sooooo cute!

-       We went to the Kolache Factory and tried Kolachies (sp?)

-       For new years night, we went to Mother’s (a vegetarian restaurant) for dinner and then back to the Gingerman.  We did a not so verbal countdown at the river near Gingerman, where we hugged and kissed our significant others.

-       And I totally forgot that Alisa’s sister and soon to be brother and law joined us on New Years Eve eve.  (They actually got engaged New Years Eve!)

So that’s the New Years Eve rundown.

Austin, TX

At first, my verdict on Austin was…meh.  But then, with a fresh pair of eyes, the next day, Ed and I went into town on our own.  The more places I went and longer I was there, I started to try to figure out what constituted a “place I want to live.”  So Ed and I cam up with:

-       Small town feel

-       Big city stuff (availability of items we love, stores we like, food that can be acquired, variety of things to do, the arts, something for everyone!)

-       Variety of things to do

-       Being able to not live in the city, but be in the city…difficult to find

And I’m sure there was more, but that’s all I can remember now.  I think we actually stopped there as we felt that the list was already unattainable.  But the more we experienced Austin, the more we realized it fill the bill almost to a T. 

Even though Austin is a big city, they keep a small town feel.  They have one of the best camera stores I’ve ever been to (both online and in person).  There is such a variety of things to do there, we only really did one..er two… (the drinking and eating variety).  We’ve also got a strong friend base there already as well.  Which only adds to the awesomeness. 

So the plan now is, Austin or bust!

On Christmas presents and the Amazon wish list…

For years, I have kept an Amazon wish list.  More for my own benefit, like if I research something I can just add it there and not have to keep 100 bookmarks, than for anything else.  But as I get older, I wish people would have them and use them.  I know it seems thoughtless, but you can get ideas from them.  And you get a person something they actually want, rather than something they are just going to re-gift or give away in a few years time.

Also, for the past couple of years, Amazon has had the universal wish list button.  You just install it and you can add anything from any website to your Amazon wish list.  I’ve added stuff from etsy, ebay, Bed Bath and Beyond and many other stores.  It just seems like a convenient place to keep a list of the things you would like to have one day. 

Some people argue that this is materialistic and damaging to your mental health.  I guess it’s just how you look at it.  I don’t look at mine as a list of things I don’t have.  I use it as a list of things that I potentially want, have researched, and don’t want to or can’t buy quite yet, but they are there if I want to easily access them, rather than having to remember what I was looking for to begin with. 

Today I even did a little Wish List upkeep.  I deleted over 50 things that I thought I was interested in or that I use to be interested in, but am no longer.  It kind of felt good and helped me to redirect and focus on what I am interested in.  After deleting more than half of my Wish List, I added a few things that are more directed towards my current goals and wishes.

So I encourage you to make a Wish List.  If anything I can stalk you and see what you like or would like to have.  It’s kind of fun, you can learn a lot about a person.  And it will also make it easier for people to buy you things!

*disclaimer: these are my opinions and you don't have to agree.

On holidays…esp. Christmas

Growing up you spend the holidays with your family.  You don’t really go to friends’ houses, you stay at home and endure the love that comes with family.  Then, you start growing up and dating people.  Things get more difficult.  You want to spend the holiday with your significant other, but you also want to spend it with YOUR family.  And there the problem begins. 

If you want to spend the holiday with your family and your significant other wants to spend it with theirs, but you want to spend it together as well…well, you can’t be at three places at once, so you have to make a decision.  And it’s not an easy one. 

To solve this problem, Ed and I, from the very beginning of our relationship, started the rotation.  Christmas in Natchez, Thanksgiving in Iowa…the next year, Christmas in Iowa, Thanksgiving in Natchez.  We’ve managed to keep the rotation until last year.  Ed got his first job, and me being jobless, we just couldn’t afford to travel at all for the holidays.  So we just put the rotation on hold in general.  We stopped with Christmas in Iowa and Thanksgiving in Natchez.  So this year, continuing the rotation, we should have Christmas in Natchez, and Thanksgiving in Iowa. 

And here comes the next problem.  Ed doesn’t get enough time off to go anywhere for Thanksgiving.  But there’s no way in HELL I’m not going to go see him.  But that makes our rotation now unfair, because it’s Iowa’s turn for Thanksgiving.  Ed’s family understands, but I want it to be equal.  So it gets tricky.  Since we are having Christmas in Natchez, we thought, why not have Ed’s family here too!  We’ve been trying to do it for years and not going back for Thanksgiving creates “demand,” as Ed would say.  So I’m going to Florida for Thanksgiving and we are ALL going to Natchez for Christmas.  Problem kinda solved.

Kinda?  Well, I haven’t factored in yet, siblings.  Now, brother married SIL. And her family has their own holiday traditions, as every family does.  However, they aren’t willing to waiver.  For example, growing up, we use to all pile in a car and ride around and look at Christmas lights on Christmas Eve.  Will the SIL has made it clear that Christmas Eve will never be spent in Natchez and they live out in the boonies with too many other family members making it impossible for us to continue our tradition of the Christmas light ride with her family, THUS killing our tradition.

Enter sister and BIL.  They sort of have their own thing going on.  They arne’t really on a rotation, they just kinda float.  I’ve been trying to convince everyone to get on the same rotation so that every once in a while, we can ALL be home for Christmas and do our traditional Christmas things.  But sister and brother and their respectives, don’t find this important at all it seems.

So I’m kinda pissed about this Christmas.  We, Ed and I, were unable to come home for Christmas last year, Ed’s dad just passed away and the Burton’s are all coming for Christmas, but sister and BIL don’t want to come, and who knows what brother and SIL are going to do.  They spend more time at SIL’s than here anyway, even when they claim to be coming here.  Seems like we can never get it all together.  And I’ve been telling everyone since we found out we couldn’t come last Christmas that THIS Christmas we should all be together… I know it’s hard to coordinate everything.  I know it’s hard to not piss each others families off.  But if we all get organized and try, we could.  And if some people would give in and allow someone else’s traditions to take place, then there would be more compromise and less animosity towards one another when everyone IS here. 

I was just hoping for a big ol Christmas, cause it’s always killed me not to be home for Christmas and this last year was especially hard.  So sue me if all I want is our Christmas traditions and everyone to be together again like it use to be.  Life is too full of missed moments and sometimes I feel like you have to make them happen.  We finally got the Burtons on board and the rest of the crew jumped ship. 

I know things can’t be like they use to be, but it would be nice to have something familiar and be surrounded by friends and family this holiday.  This year has just been really hard.