Christmas and the Like

i spend every christmas at my parent's house in rhode island, which i fondly refer to as "home home". and, as with every christmas vacation, traditions continue, new traditions are made, and hilarity almost always ensues. here are a few traditions and special moments from this christmas vacation:

• wrapping all of my dad's christmas gifts, except for those he buys for me (which i love doing!)
• last minute christmas eve shopping for everyone i forgot (which tends to be half my family)
• attending christmas eve service at my hometown church
• a christmas eve open house hosted by mom and a gift exchange with my family and my brother's in-law's family
• opening one gift with my parents christmas eve after everyone else has gone to bed
• my grandfather's lobster bisque (nothing says christmas like lobster .... nothing!)
• being asked what time present opening would begin on christmas day because somehow i gained the reputation, as a child, of being an early riser on christmas morning. go figure. my brother was always on my heels, mind you.
• watching marathons of ridiculously bad "reality" television shows

and that's about it, folks. hope everyone had a wonderful christmas ... oh, and pictures will follow shortly.

i promise to post more in the new year ... so, for all two of you that read this blog, watch out!