Best Christmas EVER.

I try to be careful with my superlatives. (Okay, I'm lying. I'm too much of a drama queen for that.) But seriously... BEST Christmas ever.

Christmas Eve got off to a shaky start. The day before, a co-worker and I ordered lunch from Quizno's. Since the internet at our office was acting squirrelly, after lunch I headed over to our Summer Avenue office to get some work done. My lunch buddy called me about an hour later to ask me if I was sick. I said I was okay, but twenty minutes later, the food poisoning hit me like a ton of bricks. I was determined not to call in to Borders that night (calling in sick to a retail job the day before Christmas Eve is just not done.) I went home hoping to sleep it off before I went to my evening shift, but alas, I woke up feeling even worse. Now things were getting projectile. I made an appearance at Borders just so they could see that I truly was green, clocked in, spent 30 minutes in the bathroom, and said, "Peace out, people. I'm outta here." I went home and spent the rest of the evening spewing forth unpleasantness. Christmas Eve morning found me still feeling pretty rotten, but at least keeping down small amounts of ginger ale. I was scheduled for a vacation day, but had told my boss I might come in for a couple hours to make up for leaving early. Didn't happen. I barely managed to emerge from my cacoon late afternoon to finish up some last-minute shopping and go to my brother's in-law's Christmas Eve gathering. Finally, about 10:00, the ugliness seemed to have left my tummy, just in time for Christmas day at my sister's.

Having our family together Christmas day (sans my poor sis-in-law for most of the day, who had to work) was better this year than ever; not that it's not always great. I hear stories of the drama in other families and feel very blessed that there is almost none in ours, at least not in my immediate family. In the past year, the lines of demarcation caused by the age difference between my brother, sister, and me seem to have blurred away, and we are truly more friends than siblings. The day was spent playing games, talking, and eating WAY too much food.

I always have trouble shopping for my Mom. For one thing, I can never afford the things I'd really love to get for her, and for another, she is very stingy with her wish list, and I always end up getting her something she doesn't use. This year, though... I thought of the perfect gift. Something she desperately needed, whether she realized it or not- a digital camera. It's time to bring dear Mumzy into the twenty-first century, kicking and screaming though she may be. She was thrilled, which of course thrilled me. Everybody loved everything they got... the day was really as close to perfection as I could have hoped. Then it was home to do a gift exchange with Roomiekins and her boyfriend.

The Bright Family Christmas Extravaganza was taking place late this year, on Dec. 27. This way, my favorite uncle, Danny, would be in town. I swapped shifts with somebody so that I could work in the morning and be off that night. (Which was rough considering Roomiekins and I had stayed up way too late trying out her new wine glasses!) By the time I got home from Borders at 3, I had time to nap for about an hour before getting ready and making something to take to the party. Didn't happen that way. When my alarm went off at 4, I decided to sleep a little longer and just pick up something to take on the way. However, instead of hitting the snooze button, I turned the alarm OFF. The party started at 6. I woke up at 6:20, still needing to wash my hair. After drying my hair (and then getting caught in a freak monsoon without an umbrella on the way there, negating that fact completely) I arrived at the party an hour late and in less than jovial spirits. But you can't stay in a bad mood for long with the Bright clan. It ended up being a great night. The perfect wrap up to the best Christmas ever!

Stay tuned for... NEW YEAR'S! :)