2008 Christmas Vaction Re-Cap

Every year Andy and I try to both take off a big chunk of time over the Holidays so that we can catch up on things to do around the house and spend some time visiting with family and friends. This year we both had off Christmas Eve all the way through today...January 5th. For those of you counting, that is 12 whole workless days and believe you me we enjoyed every minute of it.

HIGHLIGHTS:

1. The 2008 Christmas Vacation "Honey-Do" List: Andy and I have made it a tradition to sit down together and make a "honey-do" list for ourselves at the start of Holiday vacation. Each task on the master "honey-do" list is assigned a "C" (for Catherine, my task), "A" (for Andy, his task), or a "B" (for both, something we need to do together). We then make it a goal to complete all the tasks on the list by the end of the vacation. This makes the vacation a little more productive!

2. Cat's Family Christmas: Andy and I spent Christmas Eve at my parents house where we had an amazing ham dinner and gift exchange with my parents, aunt, bother, and sister-in-law. Opening gifts was so much fun!!!! Some side clutching experiences included Heather (my sister-in-law) literally cheering for the gifts she got my bother (her husband) to help "sell" him on her fashionable selected additions to his wardrobe. Then, a few gifts later, My brother faked falling asleep when my dad opened his "History of Wisconsin Gas Stations" book.

3. Da' B$%* (name has been changed to protect the innocent:)): Andy and I spent a lovely evening with the B$%* family and had a blast (as usual!). We ate and played cards while talking a lot of smack. Basically, our ideal evening!

4. New Friends: Andy and I were invited for pizza and cards at the home of a couple that we recently met at a work party. They have the cutest two little boys who showed off their basketball playing skills before heading off to bed. Then, the adults sat down and play Whist...a card game that Andy learned during his European tour (BC: aka: Before Catherine :)). Again, food, cards, smack talk, ahhhhhh, heaven on earth!

5. Cuz: Andy and I spent a couple of days with Cuz (Andy's cousin) and her family (which includes a slew of Persian cats and a handful of Pomeranians). We aways have such a blast by them. The first visit, Cuz made the mistake of turning on a Dirty Jobs marathon around 8 o'clock. Andy and I love that show (and because we do not have cable at home NEVER get to watch it). We didn't leave until almost Midnight and weren't in bed until well after 2 am. The second visit was with Andy's parents to celebrate Andy's mom's most recent accomplishment: GRADUATION!

6. New Years Eve in Madison: New Years was spent in Madison with a very dear friend, Jen. We played ate, played Scrabble, ate, played Sequence, and, ah, ate again!!!! For the first time in my life I had homemade FRESH Baklava, seriously to die for!

Now it is back to work and the daily grind of the 9-5 for both Andy and I. We were not that thrilled about getting back into the "rat race" and have both decided that after having this chunk of time off we would make excellent retirees...just saying!

Happy New Years!!!!!!!!