I had a very MerWii Christmas. Seriously, I spent about six hours playing Wii Sports on Christmas day. I got beat in baseball by my 9 year old cousin. I have no idea how he can turn on a ball to hit it out of the park...I guess that means I have to play more.

It was a pretty low-key Christmas, no family drama, no disasters, and a few surprises. I got a call Friday night from a cousin that lives in Missouri. He was in town and itching to go out. I had a show and a birthday to go to...and went to neither. He ended up giving me updates throughout the night about his whereabouts, and the latest bar he'd been kicked out of. I spent Friday helping my sister finish her last minute shopping at the mall. I avoid the mall like the plague, but must say it wasn't nearly as bad as I'd thought it would be.

I have no recollection of Saturday. I know I was called to Fox & the Hound to watch the Cowboys game, but other than that, have no idea what I did...

Sunday, I made Korova cookies (which were fantastic) and helped mom and dad wrap a few presents. That night we went to my dad's family's celebration. His side of the family grows exponentially every year. It was Kerry's first Christmas with the family and I'd say he met maybe 40% of the people there. I'm sure Jennifer tried to prepare him, but he looked a little flabbergasted at times. As usual, we stayed with our usual cohorts at the meal. It sounds awful, but when you have such a large family, you don't really know everyone. Our table of a dozen or so was pretty much our company for the night. The gift exchange was done a little differently this year and went much faster than in the past. We had a great time.

I can't, for the life of me, remember what I did the rest of that night. I know Larry called again wanting to go out, but I had no desire to go to the Gaslight. I'm thinking I probably read and watched Graham Norton's Christmas Special (hilarious, if you haven't seen it). Whatever I did, I must have been wiped out, because I didn't get out of bed until noon on Christmas Eve.

Mom's family dinner went off without a hitch. A few people couldn't make the dinner, but we saw almost everyone the next day. I feel as though I got back to my parents' house early that night, but that can't be right. It was probably around ten or ten thirty. I couldn't resist the lure of the Wii, and played against my nieces until about two thirty in the morning (following Midnight Mass). I think my gifts to them were a hit. They love the coaster cars, and turned the kitchen at mom and dad's into their own little racetrack. Yesterday, my mom had had enough and sent them out into the yard to circle the pavement. Lex and Lauryn love the fact that they don't have to charge a battery or pedal to make these things go, just move the steering wheel back and forth and off they go.

I was back at work today, a day earlier than planned. I need to finish this paper I'm writing and made some progress on it today. Two more days, then it's time for a drive south. It's been too long since I've visited the Hill Country.