Holiday Happenings at Casa Cabenson

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday! Get anything good?

We survived. No injuries, no arguments, no hangovers.

Mrs. CB had her family gathering Tuesday, 12/23 up in northern Ohio. We had originally planned that I would go up with her when I got off work, but Mother Nature had other ideas so Mrs. CB went up earlier in the day by herself. Smart move. When I left work at 3:30pm, ice was just starting to fall. When I got home 15 minutes later, the side streets were really slick. I settled in with leftovers, a bottle of wine and the boys.

Christmas Eve we made our annual trek to northwestern Ohio to see MamaCB and Daddy#2. Just before we left, I got a call from Daddy#3 (he's in Texas)and wished him and his kids a Happy Holiday(they aren't ready to call me a siling yet). Anyway, we got to see Daddy#2 for the first time since his 3X bypass on the 10th. He is recovering wonderfully and is very serious about getting his ass back on track. This was the first Christmas in 27 years that he was not drunk. That! was worth it all.

My mom is doing well with all of this and was thrilled when I gave her a "Heart-Healthy Cooking for Dummies" book for Christmas. They have already started on their diets and have both lost some weight. Mom made us a gorgeous Ohio State University colored quilt:



But the best part is in the details-the quilting stitch has a block OSU design which I have crudely tried to highlight for you:



Very awesome!!

We went out to my uncle's and had dinner with his family. His kids are 12 and 13 years younger than me, so when they were kids, I was more of an "aunt" to them than a cousin. When they acted like the spoiled brats that they were, I grabbed the phone and told them I had a direct line to Santa. Shut them the hell up just like that! Now one of them has two kids and did you know camera phones can catch you doing bad things and send the evidence straight to Santa's personal cell? Those little boys know it now ;)

We drove back to Columbus that night because wanted to wake up in our own place Christmas morning. We watched three movies (Dark Knight, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Too long of a title, Wanted, drank a bottle of Uncle Dick's Sparkling Shiraz (velvety deliciousness!!! I highly rec this!) with bruschetta for lunch and I made steaks for dinner. Mrs. CB got me the fourth season of LOST so I can get caught up before the new season begins. We won't talk about the man-sized digital photo watch she also got me ;)

The day after Christmas, we were expecting my sister and her brood to come up from KY. I would be telling a lie if I said that Mrs. CB and were not stressed out about this. While I love my sister and her family, I do not like feeling like I have to be on my toes every minute they are here to babysit/entertain/cook/clean/pay for everything. Needless to say, when I got the phone call saying they were coming on Saturday instead of Friday, AND that they wouldn't be staying over at all because of work, Mrs. CB and I celebrated by drinking at lunch. That gave us all of Friday to get groceries, clean things up, and just freaking relax. And we did.

In between torrential rainfall, we went to Best Buy and grabbed a couple movies (Burn After Reading, Mamma Mia,The Hulk (the newer one))a few games for the PS2 and just had a wonderful, relaxing evening with the boys.

Yesterday morning we got up early and finished up the last minute cleaning before guests arrived. I had the food situation under control and was at the store getting wine when Daddy#1 showed up. My brother followed him, and then, only 2 hours later than what she had originally said, my sister showed up. We had made the wise decision to close the entertainment center and make everyone talk to each other like a family instead of watching tv. It worked! We had a good time. The food was a hit (roast beef, ham, scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole, baked beans, deviled eggs, veggie and cheese tray, SHRIMP!!) and we had a couple pies and cookies for dessert. Gifts were exchanged and everyone seemed thrilled with what they received, even the kids. A far cry from last year when they were being whiny brats.

By 7:30 pm, everyone had gone, we had cleaned up, the cats were recovering and Mrs. CB was drinking straight from her wine bottle ;) We watched The Hulk and then we crashed. Today is a "Do nothing" day-we have plenty of leftovers, the house is clean, the boys are good. I did get a copy of "Scarpetta which was one of the few things I really wanted this year. I am thinking of settling on the chaisse and reading for a while.

Now I have to work on my NY resolution list...any suggestions? I will take them all under serious advisement.

Holiday Happenings at Casa Cabenson

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday! Get anything good?

We survived. No injuries, no arguments, no hangovers.

Mrs. CB had her family gathering Tuesday, 12/23 up in northern Ohio. We had originally planned that I would go up with her when I got off work, but Mother Nature had other ideas so Mrs. CB went up earlier in the day by herself. Smart move. When I left work at 3:30pm, ice was just starting to fall. When I got home 15 minutes later, the side streets were really slick. I settled in with leftovers, a bottle of wine and the boys.

Christmas Eve we made our annual trek to northwestern Ohio to see MamaCB and Daddy#2. Just before we left, I got a call from Daddy#3 (he's in Texas)and wished him and his kids a Happy Holiday(they aren't ready to call me a siling yet). Anyway, we got to see Daddy#2 for the first time since his 3X bypass on the 10th. He is recovering wonderfully and is very serious about getting his ass back on track. This was the first Christmas in 27 years that he was not drunk. That! was worth it all.

My mom is doing well with all of this and was thrilled when I gave her a "Heart-Healthy Cooking for Dummies" book for Christmas. They have already started on their diets and have both lost some weight. Mom made us a gorgeous Ohio State University colored quilt:



But the best part is in the details-the quilting stitch has a block OSU design which I have crudely tried to highlight for you:



Very awesome!!

We went out to my uncle's and had dinner with his family. His kids are 12 and 13 years younger than me, so when they were kids, I was more of an "aunt" to them than a cousin. When they acted like the spoiled brats that they were, I grabbed the phone and told them I had a direct line to Santa. Shut them the hell up just like that! Now one of them has two kids and did you know camera phones can catch you doing bad things and send the evidence straight to Santa's personal cell? Those little boys know it now ;)

We drove back to Columbus that night because wanted to wake up in our own place Christmas morning. We watched three movies (Dark Knight, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Too long of a title, Wanted, drank a bottle of Uncle Dick's Sparkling Shiraz (velvety deliciousness!!! I highly rec this!) with bruschetta for lunch and I made steaks for dinner. Mrs. CB got me the fourth season of LOST so I can get caught up before the new season begins. We won't talk about the man-sized digital photo watch she also got me ;)

The day after Christmas, we were expecting my sister and her brood to come up from KY. I would be telling a lie if I said that Mrs. CB and were not stressed out about this. While I love my sister and her family, I do not like feeling like I have to be on my toes every minute they are here to babysit/entertain/cook/clean/pay for everything. Needless to say, when I got the phone call saying they were coming on Saturday instead of Friday, AND that they wouldn't be staying over at all because of work, Mrs. CB and I celebrated by drinking at lunch. That gave us all of Friday to get groceries, clean things up, and just freaking relax. And we did.

In between torrential rainfall, we went to Best Buy and grabbed a couple movies (Burn After Reading, Mamma Mia,The Hulk (the newer one))a few games for the PS2 and just had a wonderful, relaxing evening with the boys.

Yesterday morning we got up early and finished up the last minute cleaning before guests arrived. I had the food situation under control and was at the store getting wine when Daddy#1 showed up. My brother followed him, and then, only 2 hours later than what she had originally said, my sister showed up. We had made the wise decision to close the entertainment center and make everyone talk to each other like a family instead of watching tv. It worked! We had a good time. The food was a hit (roast beef, ham, scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole, baked beans, deviled eggs, veggie and cheese tray, SHRIMP!!) and we had a couple pies and cookies for dessert. Gifts were exchanged and everyone seemed thrilled with what they received, even the kids. A far cry from last year when they were being whiny brats.

By 7:30 pm, everyone had gone, we had cleaned up, the cats were recovering and Mrs. CB was drinking straight from her wine bottle ;) We watched The Hulk and then we crashed. Today is a "Do nothing" day-we have plenty of leftovers, the house is clean, the boys are good. I did get a copy of "Scarpetta which was one of the few things I really wanted this year. I am thinking of settling on the chaisse and reading for a while.

Now I have to work on my NY resolution list...any suggestions? I will take them all under serious advisement.