Weekend Update - Christmas Edition

I haven't updated my blog for several days, so I thought I would do one long weekend post and include Christmas.

December 23

Geoff and I went to see a stage version of "A Christmas Carol" at the Kodak Theatre. The play was starring Christopher Lloyd as Ebenezer Scrooge, John Goodman as the Ghost of Christmas Present, Jane Seymour as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Jane Leeves (from "Frasier") as Mrs. Cratchit and a special hologram appearance by Gene Wilder as Scrooge's former business partner, Jacob Marley. However, when we get to the Kodak Theatre, we find out that Jane Seymour was "feeling ill" and backed out of the play at the last minute. In addition to that, the director felt that the hologram of Gene Wilder didn't work for the play, so they replaced it with an unknown live actor (which ended up being a horrible mistake). I was bummed. I was looking forward to seeing Gene Wilder.

The first half of the play was, uh, a little bit boring. They had a few technical difficulties, but it was only the second night of the play though, so technical mistakes are no surprise. The second half was better and included John Goodman. He was funny, which is what the play was needing. All in all, it wasn't bad. At least, not as bad as "The Nutcracker" incident Geoff and I had to sit through two Christmases ago, where a male ballet dancer tripped on a prop while holding up a female dancer and ended up throwing her off stage right. It was all downhill from there.

December 24 - Christmas Eve
I woke up early and got some last-minute Christmas shopping done. I then went home and cleaned-up my house before Geoff came over for Christmas Eve dinner. A little while later, Geoff called me to say that he was pulling up to my house. He got out of work really early and came over early as a surprise, which was very sweet of him. While he put presents under the tree, I cooked our dinner. Everything tasted really good and Geoff ate two full plates.

After Geoff cleaned-up the kitchen and I put the food away, we put on some Christmas music, lit the fireplace and sat by the tree to open our presents to each other. We decided to open them on Christmas Eve since we'd be busy opening presents from our families the next day on Christmas. We let Gidget "open" her presents first, before opening ours. We had a good laugh watching her tear apart the wrapping paper and pull out her dog toys. Geoff wanted me to open my present from him last, so I let him open his first. Aside from his stocking and a few small gifts, I gave him an iPod Touch. He was so excited about it! I originally was going to get him an iPod Nano, but I decided to get the Touch since it can get wireless internet access and he can check his stocks during the day at work. I'm happy I went with my instinct!

For my present, Geoff handed me a pretty bag with a gold toile print (one of my favorite vintage designs). I removed the tissue paper and pulled out a small box from the bag:

I instantly recognized the famous little blue box with white ribbon. I smiled really big. Geoff was smiling too and said, "Open it!" Now, before I continue, let me say that I knew this wasn't an engagement ring. I've made it very clear to Geoff that I'm not ready to be married for another year or two and he feels the same way. With that being said, I did happen to already know what was in the box...

I've been wanting this beautiful, very simple, delicate flower pendant for the past FIVE YEARS, since the first day I saw it. I was so shocked and surprised that Geoff got this for me. He got a little teary when he saw how happy I was. He also said that his shopping experience at Tiffany's was very nice and that the sales people are really friendly and helpful.

After showering Geoff with kisses and hugs, we cleaned-up the wrapping paper mess and ate dessert. Then, I heated up some hot water and made hot apple cider for Geoff and hot chocolate with whipped cream and sprinkles for me. We took our drinks, snuggled on the couch with the dog and watched "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (the claymation one, of course). After that, we watched a DVD of Mr. Bean's Christmas episode. After that, we took Gidget for a walk around my neighborhood and looked at the lights and decorations on everyone's houses. We were cold and tired after that, so we went to sleep. Well, I went to sleep. Geoff stayed up for a little bit and played with his new iPod Touch...


December 25 - Christmas
Geoff woke up early and headed over to his parents house. I slept in a little longer and then woke up to cook Christmas lunch for my family. A short while later, my dad and sister arrived. After eating and opening presents, I got ready and headed over to Geoff's parents' house.

When I got there, Geoff's grandma, aunt, uncle and two younger cousins were also there. Several minutes later, Erin and Erick arrived and we all sat down to eat. We then exchanged and opened our presents. Geoff's parents always have a stocking for me and this year they gave me some really neat stuff in it. As for presents, from Sean, I got a yoga mat I've been wanting that came with a DVD. Geoff's parents gave me a gorgeous dinnerware set from Target that I've had my eye on for a little while. They gave me a set of 8 dinner plates and 8 mugs and Erin and Erick gave me 8 matching salad plates. Erick's parents, who came later on, surprisingly also gave me a gift of more mugs that matched my dinnerware set. Since I already had the mugs, I later exchanged them for 8 matching bowls for a complete set. The dinnerware is so elegant. It's cream-colored with a design of small leaves, branches and a bird all in gold. It's hard to see the design in the picture below.

I can't wait to have a dinner party and use these dishes. It's gonna look so pretty!

After presents, Erin and Erick showed me the new car they just got. After a quick ride in it, everyone sat around and talked and ate dessert. Geoff's uncle, who is Jewish, brought a menorah and had his daughter light a candle while he explained the menorah. It was neat and really interesting to learn about it. Then, Geoff, Sean, Erin, Erick and I all decided to go see a movie. We saw "Bedtime Stories" with Adam Sandler. It was actually a pretty good movie.

December 26
The next morning, I had an early morning appointment to get my car serviced. I can't believe I've already driven 7500 miles on my brand new car!! It's all blamed on my work commute! Before I headed over to the Volvo dealership in Irvine, I stopped by Target to shop their after-Christmas sale. I usually do this to stock up on gift wrap, ornaments and lights for the next year. I got to Target around 7 am, right when they opened. There was a big crowd already waiting -all women too! Ha ha. I bought wrapping paper, blue twinkle lights, placemats to match my new dinnerware, a matted gold tiered server that also matches my dinnerware, and a bunch of other stuff. Everything was on sale and my total came out to around $60, which was pretty good. However, I had a few Target gift cards friends and family had given me for Christmas, so I actually ended up paying nothing out of my own pocket.

After dropping off my car and receiving a loaner that Volvo gives it's customers, I headed over to Geoff's office in Irvine to have lunch with him. After that, I went home for a few hours to take my dog out, do some laundry and take a nap. Little while later, I picked up my car and went to Geoff's, where we both relaxed for the rest of the evening.

December 27
Geoff left early in the morning to meet with and help train one of his old track athletes he coached at Warren, who is now in college. I went home to do some research work I wanted to catch up on while the college is on break. Later on, Geoff came over to my house and we went to the movie theatre to see "Marley & Me." It was good. I loved it. I cried towards the end -and I never cry at movies...but I love dogs, so I guess that's why it was an exception. Even Geoff got a little misty-eyed. I knew he was thinking about his old dog, Rusty. The only so-so thing about the movie was that it was hard for me to believe Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson playing parents of three kids later in the movie. That part wasn't really believable for me.

After the movie, we grabbed dinner and went to the park on top of Signal Hill, up the street from my house to watch the sunset. It was breezy that day, which meant the view was crystal clear. We could see Catalina Island from atop the hill. After some cuddle time, Geoff went home so that I could do some of my research work without being distracted.

December 28
True to my word in a previous post about my vacation, I decided to do absolutely nothing today. Nothing at all. And it felt really good. It was my lazy day. I couldn't do this everyday though. I'm an active person and I need to always be doing something. Occasionally though, I'll take a lazy day like today.