home for Smithmas

last night 10 people (my parents, 2 sisters, 1 brother, 1 brother-in-law, 2 fiances, 1 uncle and I) and 6 pets (5 cats and 1 dog) slept at my parents' house. 'twas a full house the night before Christmas.

holidog

I bunked with Shannon, Mike, Chip and for part of the night, Biff. poor Mike is allergic to cats but he really had no choice.

true to Smithmas form, we were woken up at 8 a.m., opened stockings, had Polish breakfast, then sat down around 11 for the big show (opening presents), followed by a roast (thanks Mom) and a full day of serious lounging, Big Love and cocoa.


you'd think Mormons would be offended by Big Love but my family got way into it. as you can see from the photo above, my family can joke about smoking, so why not about polygamy. (I'll say it once, polygamy is not a Mormon belief.) there are so many Mormon references in the show that are totally accurate and I don't think could be picked up on by non-Mormons (or former Mormons)....hymns, pictures of temples, catch phrases and jargon, etc.



what a splendid day. well, besides the Celtics' loss but that was bound to happen sooner or later.

bench press

those of you who frequent Central Sq have probably noticed Hot Off The Press is gone.

a sign out front says "Rotisserie Chicken Coming Soon"...I thought that meant HOTP was going to start having rotisserie chicken.

the quality there had seriously deteriorated over the last few months but I still liked their coffee and bagel sandwiches.


1369 doesn't have bagel sandwiches.

and how's this for salt in my wounds? I only needed one more stamp on my press pass to get $5 off.

an oldie but a goodie

I searched through my gmail to find this email from a friend who will remain nameless. I always enjoy reading it. hope you do, too.

5/10/07
3:18 am

I AM DRUNK

i also just made out with a boy in boston common!

the nice part, the gardens.

im not a slut, come on!

but it was for like, 2 hrs outside.

hot.

now i am having some special k.
cause i havent had dinner yet! it is 3:11 am. goodness.

also, yes, i am 'replying all' by a concious decision. because i think you all would enjoy this email.

now i am sad because i have finished my special k. theres still a lot of milk left in the bowl though!! oh NO!!! what should i do should i refill the bowl with cereal, drink the milk, or just throw it away!? im gonna think about this for awhile. you may all get a follow-up email in the morning.

xo

3:20 am

alright everyone, i drank the milk.

in case you were worried!

I went to your wedding so you should come to my party

Santa will be there.

family

we're having real Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow when Shannon and Michael return from their honeymoon.

today was an unconventional Thanksgiving for us. I had lunch (steak) in Boston with my parents and Josh. then we came to Medway where lounging commenced.... those of you who have spent time with my family know we can get a serious lounge on. I just watched 5 hours of Dexter with my parents. I got them hooked.

when I packed my overnight bag for Medway it consisted of elastic waist pants, slippers, a sweatshirt, Dexter dvds and my book.


(Biff chewed off the laces)

my mom just made me a grilled cheese. today I woke up feeling especially thankful for my mom.

I'm reading I Capture the Castle. it's totally adorable.

I heard of this book a few years ago because it inspired an Anthropologie apparel theme while I was working there.

brief synopsis:
the narrator is a 17 year-old girl named Cassandra who lives in a castle with her family. they moved there after the father had been a successful writer, but has since given up writing and now the family is very poor. they don't even pay rent anymore. Cassandra's older sister, Rose, gets engaged to a wealthy man named Simon. while Rose is in London with Simon's mother to buy new clothes she sends a letter home to Cassandra. I'm going to type in some parts from it because it's just so sweet.

I expect you will wish I would describe everything we have bought but I haven't the time and I also feel embarrassed at having so much when you have so little. But you are to have a most beautiful bridesmaid's frock - you are to come up here to be fitted for it - and I think the ready-made clothes I am wearing now can be altered for you, once I get my trousseau. And when I am married we will shop like mad for you....

I have a bathroom all to myself and there are clean peach-coloured towels every single day. Whenever I feel lonely, I go and sit in there and I cheer up.

for some reason I get misty eyed whenever I think about that letter... the feeling of wanting your sisters to have everything is familiar to me. (sisters before misters!) as is how they can appreciate and understand your silliest behavior.

note between Emily and me:


the thought of how life and family dynamics will change once someone is married is particularly relevant. it makes me sad to think about how future holidays will be spent differently.

I wonder how Emily would've reacted if I left a note that said:

Darling sister, I awoke this morning to find an unpleasant treat from your cat. How I avoided it and thought about just leaving it for you to tidy after. I relented as I do respect your efforts to never clean up after that cat. In turn I request you see to the washing of our rather bedraggled floors.

Smithmas 07:

I don't think it really registered with me that last Christmas would be the last one where our immediate family was the 6 of us.

Emily and Josh both got engaged this week. Emily on Monday. Josh on Wednesday. first I thought I was having my recurring nightmare of the above scenario happening. but no, I was awake.

I haven't really adjusted to the news. in fact, I haven't like it at all. as a protest to what I consider "unreasonable behavior" I ordered beer with lunch today. I have never drank in front of my dad before. I had a winter ale with my oysters and filet mignon. I don't know what I accomplished by ordering expensive menu items but that was part of the protest, too.

oh well. cheers.

boys don't make passes at girls who wear glasses

my grandpa told me that after I got my first pair of glasses - at age 10.
first pair of glasses:

I didn't know what that comment meant at the time, but I remembered it. then at least a teansy bit consequently from grandpa's statement I almost always wore contacts from ages 12-22. sometimes I still feel sloppy or lazy if I wear my glasses (I wore contacts to my sister's wedding and sometimes when I go out) but as of a few years ago, I basically switched over to glasses full-time. on a similar note, I also stopped dying my hair and pretty much only wear elastic waist pants while in my house.

a couple days ago I took my sister, Emily, to my glasses guy:

he's great. he has a good sense of humor about the frames I bring him.
i.e. these sunglasses I had him put prescription lenses in.

and these toy glasses from Savers:


in a month and a half Emily is moving to Idaho and decided new glasses would be a big part of bringing granny style to Rexburg, ID.

some of the finalists:



calling our mom to tell her about the pair she wants to buy (and is wearing)

you can bet on seeing A LOT more photos of these glasses on flickr once she picks them up this week.

this morning at brunch 5/6 of us had glasses. Friday night 3/4 of us had glasses.

I think it's only a matter of time til we take over the world.

Vital(e)

big games tonight and tomorrow. well it's only like 9 games into the Celtics' season, so it's not that big. I can't believe it's already week 10 of the football season. tomorrow: Pats vs Jets to determine first place of AFC East. Pats and Jets = currently 6-3. the Pats won their first meeting of the season 19-10.

tonight: C's vs Hawks. Hawks = currently undefeated. Cs beat them in the playoffs last year but it stretched to 5 games (it shouldn't have). the other thing to know about the Hawks is that Boston hates Mike Bibby. and he has stupid tattoos.


about 10 years ago I was really into the NCAA's March Madness. I was a fan of Bibby and Arizona all year. then when it was the finals I stayed up to watch Arizona play Kentucky and it went to overtime. I didn't stay up late that much in High School (having to go to church before school and all) but I stayed up and watched Arizona beat Kentucky and Rick Pitino. Miles Simon was MVP. what happened to him? Anyways, the best thing happened the morning after that game. we had a snow day at the beginning of April! so I didn't have to go to school and I could watch highlights on Sportscenter all day. I can hear Dick Vitale's voice now....

I can't believe I found that on google image search.

extreme hangover

a couple weeks ago my sister was watching something lame on tv (I didn't know what it was but I could tell it was lame) when I asked her what it was she said 'Extreme Home Makeover'

but I thought she said 'Extreme Hangover' which amused me for a while. I thought about how funny that show would be.... until Friday, when I lived it. and my memory was refreshed that someone hungover should never be videotaped or photographed. or probably be exposed to sunlight or living things.

Friday morning I saw Katie at Velouria. she said I 'looked tired' and asked if I ever went to bed the night before. it felt like I hadn't slept (or tasted water) in a long time.

that image still makes me queasy.

about 5 years ago my cousin Aileen showed up to a family gathering at my grandma's house in NH really hungover. she didn't want to tell my relatives why she didn't feel good so all my aunts started thinking maybe it was morning sickness. they laughed and looked disappointed when she told a select few she wasn't up the spout.
here we are 2 months ago at Shannon's wedding (happily inheriting some champagnes)

enough of the lowlights, time for highlights.

Friday night were happyhaps for Elise's 25th birthday. Elise enjoying a sangria sampler:

friendly bats at Kaitlin's art show:

AI goes to the Pistons:

I'm not sure how I feel about the trade. it will be interesting to see how the remaining Pistons react to having a superstar instead of being the team with no stars. I watched the Celtics - Pistons game last night and was surprised how handily the Cs won. I didn't miss Billups or McDyess that's for sure.

I finished reading Little Children and The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta. I'm almost done with The Uses of Enchantment. I need a book to read next, I'm on a roll. if Mary finishes Notes on a Scandal soon I will read that. I'd like to have a book club of books made into movies. then it can be a book and movie club.

Happy Birthday Perk


the party at the Good Life was beyond good.

they asked Mary and I to have a monthly party there, so more partees to come! the next one being December 6.

pound it

places seemed crowded today...there was traffic going everywhere, Starbucks had a line out the door, the elderly affordable housing complex in JP where I voted was lively and swarmed with people (I'm guessing a rare occurance)... but I noticed very little impatience and road rage (also a rare occurance).

it felt like the day of the deciding game in the World Series or the NBA Finals last year. or maybe Christmas Eve...there's a buzz of energy in the air and people on the T actually make chit-chat and you feel comaraderie with your neighbors? that's what today felt like. it was exciting. and after the victory (fingers-crossed) tomorrow feels even better.


Barack would totally get up there if there was a President trophy... there really should be one.


I like how this person thinks:

how the cookie crumbles

my sister (and roomie) is moving West in December.

I've known this for about 2 months now, but every time I think about it I feel like I'm just hearing it the first time and someone is punching me in the stomach.

last night I was in bed and Emily knew I hadn't eaten dinner. so she woke me up with a plate full of onies (macaroni & cheese) and a hot dog.

Emily makes the best macaroni & cheese.

we have our own language (something I also lamented about when Shannon moved because we have our own language, too) i.e. onies. we always tell eachother 'luvshu' (love you)... now you are hip to a couple of our words.

Emily's kitten and probably car will stay here with me. but they don't help me feel better about her leaving.



shortly after we moved in together, Emily heard me making my middle-of-the-night snack. (a ritual old roommates thought was completely weird because it is.) she burst out of her room looking so relieved that I was awake too. "I can't sleep" she said (and looking like she had taken some no-doz.) while I ate my rice krispies, Emily made bacon. then I had cashews and she had a jello. like this was a perfectly normal thing to be doing at 3am.

oh Emshee I mishu already.




in other news: I hate this time of year. go Celtics.

the party to be thankful for