And just like that, the holiday festivities are mostly over. I say "mostly" because technically we still have 5 nights of Hannukah left, but seeing as how we don't have any children yet, we light the candles each night and say the blessings, but that's about it. When we have kids we'll do a Hannukah gift each night, play the dradel game, etc., but right now we just gave each other one Hannukah gift and called it good.

Christmas was so great fun! It was great to host this year, and all the push to get the house ready for the family was exhausting but SO worth it. I'm learning that a deadline is key for me to be pushed into completion of a project, and having the holidays here was the perfect deadline to have. We got the dining room done just in time, and I was really happy with the results from renting the carpet steam cleaner from our local market. It got up virtually all the spots and stains from our carpet and made it look new(ish). With a dog and a husband who both track in a lot of dirt (clay really, the entire city of Charlotte is built on red clay), I was skeptical that it would clean the rug well, but I was pleasantly surprised. When my Mom and Dad arrived last Thursday evening I was so proud to show them the house. And they sweetly "ooed" and "ahhed" appropriately. Nice parents.

My sister, bro-in-law, and nephew came for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (photos of which can be seen on http://www.flickr.com/photos/57108531@N00/sets/1665537/ and we had a great time. I don't really know when it happened, but I was more excited this year to see people open their gifts from Non and I than to actually open gifts myself. Not that I didn't get some great gifts, because I did. There was the classic moment when Non and my mom realized they'd given me the exact same gift, and my poor mom became confused about the wrapping... "I don't remember putting it in that box" she said, or something to that effect. Unfortunately, it didn't fit (it was a bathtub caddy - the metal thing that lays across a bathtub and has places for a drink, a book, a candle, etc.), but since we have a garden tub, both didn't work. Non and I ended up taking them both back and exchanging them for a ceiling-mounted pot rack that was on a creepily great sale. So... more cabinet space for us, and we also ordered a "jumbo" bathtub caddy for me. Yay Christmas!

I'm back to work today, but Non, being a teacher, is off this whole week. He slept in a bit, then ran some errands, and has been back in bed for the last 3 hours. I don't blame him at all - in fact, I applaud him. I love that he's actually RELAXING on his vacation days and not just trying to work at home and burn himself out even more. I have next Monday off and he doesn't, so I'm already planning my Day of Sloth. Sleeping in, lots of trash TV, maybe even a chick flick at the local theatre, and lots of reading... all spent in my pajamas, of course.

So... in summary..... good times were had by all. The end.