(no subject)

I don't know when I'll be on tomorrow so...for those of you who celebrate...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

For those of you who don't, I hope you have a fantastic weekend regardless.

I made it to Arkansas after more problems than you could shake a stick at. I'm just glad I made it at all, some people have been on standby in Detroit since Tuesday. So I'm definitely counting my blessings. :)

Tomorrow is Christmas dinner with relatives I haven't seen in 6 years. This could get interesting.

Oh, and my baby niece is *gorgeous*. I'm so in love.

Anyway, Happy Holidays to you all. I feel honored to have you all in my life and I'm wishing for only the best for all of you in the upcoming year. :)

woah, a real update for a change...

So yeah, in the last-minute, pre-bed update from last night, I forgot to mention the GOOD things about the trip here yesterday.

On my first flight, a girl in front of me was very obviously TERRIFIED to fly. I mean crying, shaking, hyperventilating, the whole thing. I felt so bad for her! But the woman one row up and one across from her just reached back and took her hand and didn't let go until we were leveled off in the air. It was just a nice thing to see.

And during the Detroit mess, I had the opportunity to chat with people. One of whom, I discovered in the midst of our talking, is on LJ. We both got a kick out of that, and realized we had a lot in common and agree on a lot of things. It was very cool. I definitely cannot complain about that!

***

As for today, I woke up well before I meant to, and couldn't get back to sleep. So I watched a movie with mom for a bit before I got ready for the (very huge) family gathering. The fact that we filled up the "auditorium" of an old schoolhouse might give you an idea of how many people were there. Most of them I hadn't seen since my freshman year of college, but there were others I haven't seen since earlier than that and some I had never seen at all (mainly spouses/children that have come in since the last time I was here). It was insane. The hardest part was talking about my great-aunt with them and realizing just how much I meant to her, and vice versa. But I held it together during the gathering, so it was all good!

Christmas bounty was very nice, got a necklace from the most beautiful baby in the world *g*, a huge bath set from my brother and his fiance, three books (books that I think I actually want to read! woohoo!), a very sentimental framed gift from my mom (the dress I came home from the hospital in, framed), and cash. WAY more than I expected. By a long shot.

And tomorrow, we shop! Not early though, I have no desire to fight the ice and the people who CANNOT DRIVE to get there at the crack of dawn. I'll pick over the leftovers, thanks. :) Family pictures are tomorrow at 1 also. Let's hope my brother and I don't kill each other before then, k?

Hope everyone's day was wonderful!