The ribbon on my wrist says,"Do not open before Christmas".

Yesterday was a pleasant day of mini-adventures. I was up before 9am on a weekday for the first time probably all month. I had an ortho appt. and afterwards decided to visit my mom and grandma at work (the salon at Castlewood Retirement Home) since I was in the area. Since my grandma moved out of the casita and far far away to the other side of town, I don't see her nearly as much, so it was nice. My mom made the comment that my hair was lacking of lustre and shine (I ran out of coditioner and it is really taking a toll on my hair!) and my lovely grandmother shampooed my hair for me at the salon! She is a good woman. One of my favorite things in the world is when people play with my hair, so it was a treat. Although, I did feel a bit like Benjamin Button sitting in the beauty chair while Castlewood's finest filtered in & out to say hello to schedule appointments.

On my way home, I decided to pick up lunch for Linds and I (yes, I thought it might have been a little ambitous to assume she was awake at noon, but I took my chances and fortunately she had been up for a little while before I got home). I stopped at Chuck E. Cheese's to pick up an order of breadsticks to go. Little known fact: Chuck E. Cheese's has the best breadsticks ever. Even better than Olive Garden. It's like a combination of Sizzler cheese toast and heaven. While waiting for my order to be prepared, I parked it at a nearby booth and surveyed the scene. There were literally two other adult non-employees there, and they were both 30-ish and appeared to have no children. One of the men was on the Jurassic Park simulation ride and the other was intensely playing one of the games. I wondered if it was BARC (Bakersfield Adult Retarded Community) day at Chuck E. Cheese's, but then, out of the shadows, the Jurassic Park guy emerged from the ride with a young toddler, and a little girl appeared from the shadow of the intense game guy. That little girl stood by her dad for 5 minutes- maybe longer, holding his tickets while he showed that game who was boss. Then my order came out and I left. Conclusion: The real reason some men have children is to have an excuse to play at Chuck's as an adult? It makes sense.

Lastly, the posse finally followed through with our gift exchange, now that Christmas was almost a month ago. It went well. Everyone loved their gifts. A few people left after the gift exchange, and then Kellie, Clint, the L(i/y)ndsays and I played Catch Phrase. It was a very high-stress game. I get pretty into games, and it makes me nervous when there's a time limit. To make a long story short, my sister, who was sitting next to me, almost lost her head when I accidentally "frisbeed" the card holder at her head in an attempt to get it out of my hands before the timer went out. Tensions were high. There was laughter, a few tears, and possibly still resentment.

Here's a recap of the gifts:


Clint got Kellie a singing light up Rudolph and Bumble plush toy! Bumble even growls at the beginning! AH-MAZING!







Kellie got Lyndsay a Guitar Hero electronic game! Sweet skills, Lynds!








Lyndsay got Clint a pickle catapult, a pooping reindeer, and a cheeseburger keychain! I'm sorry folks, but there are just too many inside jokes to explain that one...

Joseph got Darlene a Paramore sweater and a T-Shirt! Unfortunately, he gave it to her a couple of weeks ago, you know, a little closer to Christmas. But we took a pic of Cute Darlene anyway!

Darlene got me the most lovely scented moisturizing body splash and lotion! Appletini! Whoo!

I got Audrey the movie Mama Mia! and a funny little fish ornament. Now, every time she looks at that ornament on her tree, she will think of me!





Audrey got Lindsay some delicious candy and a shirt that says "I run with werewolves" on one side and "Team Jacob" on the other!





Lindsay got Joseph a Chicken Chucker and some unicorn bandaids (in case he chucks a chicken into his eye or something).