Finally! A Destination for our Family Vacation!

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December Round Up

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?

Dean Koontz's new book "Breathless" was one of the first ones on my list for this month. I love his style, it's very down to earth, and I enjoy the fact that he makes me reach for my dictionary to look up a word every few chapters. I shop for the few hardcover books I plan on keeping in my personal collection at Costco, and when I picked up "Breathless", I also grabbed the last published novel by Michael Crichton. Did you know he passed away? I didn't until I read the book jacket on this new novel entitled "Pirate Latitudes". They supposedly found this manuscript amongst his belongings after he passed and published it post mortem. It was quite different than his usual stuff, but I enjoyed it. I also read "The Fire" by Katherine Neville and "Turning Angel" by Greg Isles. "The Fire" was a good book but according to my husband it was a book more suited to a teen, whatever that means??? The Greg Isles book was quite a heavy subject and well worth a read if you can handle big emotional issues.

What movies, television shows, plays, etc. did I watch this month?

Finally the long awaited finale of "Survivor", "The Amazing Race", and my personal favorite "The Biggest Loser". Of course they put in a hook to secure that you'll watch the new seasons, and of course, I'm pretty psyched for them to start. Other than that we watched several football games where the Seahawks had their bootie whooped, not so much fun. As for movies we rented "Four Christmases"

which surprisingly both Martin, myself & Grace enjoyed immensely. Despite Adam's stating that he didn't' think the new Terminator Salvation movie was any good I decided on a whim to grab it and the new Star Trek. Again Martin & I both enjoyed these two movies, despite what some of our friends had said to the contrary. Martin had been concerned about not having seen all the previous movies in each series, but they were both made in such a manner that you could enjoy it as a separate show and if you had seen the past episodes the better.

With Gracie we also watched the new Pixar movie "UP". I had no idea what to expect and both Maritn & I were pleasantly surprised. They did it again, managing to make a movie for kids that keeps the adult audiences entertained and riveted to the screen. Grace also enjoyed this one, a big thumbs up from the LaVergne household.

What fun things did I do with my family and/or friends?

Grace and I up kept our annual tradition and saw Santa at the mall. Even though she had already had a Santa encounter at her pre-school, she took this one quite serious and rattled off the list of items she decided to ask for this year.

The weekend before Christmas we attended the annual holiday party at the Skagit. It was a lot of fun and without the evacuation we suffered through last year, we even shut down the dance floor in style this time. It's kind of fun to go all out and dress up & have my hair done up. Grace & I went out for pedicures together. She chose purple and I went red for the Christmas party. This year I even had fake nails put on, a first for me, and I think a last. Although they look beautiful I don't think they are for me. LOL

Did you take any trips or vacations or did someone come and stay with you at your house?

As a family we decided to spend New Year's in Seattle. But first a side trip to IKEA to pick up our office furniture, and Troy & Aubree purchased their kitchen for an apartment they are building. After a yummy, but late dinner at McCormick & Schmick where Grace polished off a whole plate of Clams before dinner, we stayed in a suite at the Crown Plaza. Plans had been to go watch the fireworks at the Space Needle, but after seeing how foggy it was and that we actually had a pretty good view from our 11th storey rooms we stayed in. It was kind of cool to watch the fireworks out the window and then see the time delay on the television. We got the best of both worlds because we were warm & dry and could hear the accompanying music along with the beautiful fireworks.

What special or unusual purchases did I make?

I guess the purchase at IKEA qualifies. This time we racked up a bill for about a dozen shelves, three desks, numerous storage items, some desk protectors, door inserts for the shelves, a ginormous wall clock, a leather sofa and a mirror. I think that was it...but I could be wrong.

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?

After Grace's visit with Santa at the pre-school she came down with a fever and proceeded into the full blown flu. She had it for about a week when of course I came down with it. It was mostly a hacking cough and a sore throat, annoying, but not the end of the world. I had my annual check up at the doctor's office and they said I was fine, mid-flu. So what do I know...

During our holidays at Grandma's house I suffered through a bout of sore neck/shoulder, which was so bad I couldn't sleep. After medicating heavily, a bit of massage by Martin and lots of heat and icing it got a point where I could at least function. I personally think this was brought on by the stupid two by four that fell on my back the day before we left, which I had totally forgotten about until we came home and I saw it lying on the ground.

What gifts did I give and/or receive?

Well, Christmas presents of course. I was pretty excited that this year I was pretty much done shopping for everyone by the beginning of December. As a matter of fact I had bought a bit too much and saved some of the items for future gifting. LOL

I did pretty good this year, even if I have to say so myself. I found a purple digital camera for Grace which she absolutely loves. She even took some pretty darn great photos with it right off the bat.

I also received a camera, one of those flip video cameras that you just plug into your computer to download the movies...pretty cool.

For my dear husband I went all out and got him some brand, spanking, new work socks. Just what he's always wanted. LOL No really, I mean it. He didn't' see that one coming at all. He also received some new cologne, a bird bath (that one was revenge for the bird feeder I received from him a few years back!), (besides I really wanted that bird bath, LOL!), a burr grinder for his beloved coffee beans, (which means I can finally send the recalled one back to Starbucks, YEAH!) and some odds & ends as stocking stuffers. Oh plus the usual box of Applets & Cotlets, his favorite.

I was a little disappointed to see that he failed to get me what I had wished for this Christmas. (Well, what do you expect if you wait till two days before!), so Santa thoughtfully substituted an iPod download card in Adam Lambert's new CD's stead. No need to fret, I rectified Santa's error and purchased said CD at TARGET today. ***wink***wink***wink***

What were my accomplishments this month?

I was very proud that my Secret Santa gift went out on time, actually ahead of time. Megan's parcel did not fare so well, but the ornaments for the swap that were in that parcel were also done ahead of time. Yeah for sticking it to procrastination for the month of December. LOL

I also did manage to squeeze out almost all of my Christmas cards to get them in the mail before we left for Winthrop. Amazingly most of them made it to their destinations, even as far a Germany.

What were my disappointments this month?

Definitely being sick over the holidays was a real downer. I had waaay less energy to do stuff, so it was a good thing that most of my shopping had been done earlier in the year. This also prevented me from achieving my goals of cleaning up some stuff around the house.

Also not having a tree up this year was a real bummer for me. I love having the sparkling lights, putting up all the carefully chosen ornaments and such...but this year we were just too busy to get it done. I vow that this will be the last time as I missed having a tree way too much.

Anything else noteworthy to include?

I did managed to stick to my workout schedule for the month and am pretty proud of myself for that. I did not lose any significant weight, but I do notice that my arms are becoming more toned.