Dancing, Christmas, and Roses

I am so out of breath right now and am sweating like a...wow, I just realized I don't know any similes that make good, un-gross comparisons between people and stuff that sweats.  There's "sweating like a pig", but I don't really want to be likened to some damp, shiny swine.  How about "sweating like a tiger lily in the glistening morning dew"?  Yeah, let's go with that.  Okay, so right now I'm completely out of breath and I am sweating like a tiger lily in the glistening morning dew, and it's all Trinity's fault.  She got "Just Dance 2" for Wii for Christmas, and she talked me into trying it out with her two days ago.  Ever since then, I have been hooked.  The game is such an awesome workout, requires virtually no real dancing skills, and is SO much fun.  I might have to quit working out on the exercise bike for awhile in lieu of rocking out to "Walk Like an Egyptian" and "It's Raining Men." 

I promised to write a better post about Christmas, but I have sort of already lost steam with that whole topic.  However, for the sake of having something to read in the years to come regarding this particular holiday, I'm going to attempt to say a few words. 

On Christmas Eve, Clint's family came over to our house for our annual pajama party.  Like last year, we all wore our jammies and ate breakfast for dinner.  Clint and I cooked pancakes, homemade waffles with blueberries, eggs, bacon, sausage, and biscuits and gravy.  We wound up with way too much food, but it was all so delicious.  After dinner/breakfast, we exchanged gifts.  Mike and Amanda bought me a new white coat with black trim and giant black buttons adorning the front.  It is very cute; I wound up wearing it on Christmas day.  Clint's parents bought me a 410 shotgun.  I was utterly shocked.  I had no clue whatsoever that they were getting me a firearm, other than the fact that when I went to open up my gift, they kept telling me how much they loved me and acted like they were getting ready to dive for cover.  It was pretty hilarious.  The shotgun is the perfect size/weight, and when I hold it, it feels comfortable and smooth.  I absolutely love it.  I'm hoping to go out after New Year's to try it out.

Other than the mild, inner mood swings I was experiencing on Christmas, Christmas morning was wonderful.  The kids woke up way too early and raided their stockings.  We ate breakfast (leftovers from the night before) and then took turns opening presents.  The kids favorite gifts were their electric scooters, and then of course Shelly the tortoise.  Clint got me an iPod and a Ram-Bear (yes, he actually turned my crazy vision into a real item!  It's amazing!).  I got him a Nintendo DSI and some games, but in actuality he already knew what he was getting.  We both got each other a mutual gift of a new big screen TV, but both the TV and the new TV stand were broken, even though the two came from different manufactures.  So now we have to wait until the 4th of January for our new one to arrive.  Until then, we're still making due with our old big screen that only shows the image about 50% of the time.

After our own personal Christmas, we got dressed and headed out to my parents' house in Silver Lakes.  I'm not sure why, but every year, Christmas with my extended family gets more and more fun.  My sister pretty much outlined the day (link on previous entry), so the only thing I'm going to add is the whole wrong-gift hoopla.  My grandma makes my grandpa wrap and tag all the gifts, and in the last couple of years, he has begun to make small mistakes in which he accidentally tags the gifts wrong.  This happened three times on Christmas (although only two of them were Grandpa's fault), and it was so ridiculously funny.  The most hilarious incident was with little Shelby.  She tore off the wrapping from her very first gift, and it was a size XXL men's T-shirt.  She's only two, but she was so cute and polite, saying "Oooh, I like it."  And Shannon was like, "Um, thanks.  I'm sure she'll eventually grow into it."  Then my grandma started hollering, "Dang it Roger!  You tagged the gift wrong again!  That's Jeremy's gift!"  My grandpa just looked really confused, and my mom and I were busy crying with laughter the whole time.  Later, Cassidi opened up a throw blanket that was supposed to be Shannon's, and Samantha opened up fabric that was supposed to be my grandpa's.  I suggested that we might have better luck if we tear off the tags from all the gifts, throw them all in the middle of the room, and just go for it.

Wow, that was more than a few words.

Tomorrow I'm going to Pasadena with my Builders Club to work on the Kiwanis float for the Rose Parade.  Me and the advisor for the high school's Key Club decided to take our clubs together, that way we can save expenses by sharing one bus.  I am really looking forward to this field trip.  I have 22 kids going, and they are so excited.  Plus I love the Key Club.  We've worked with them a few times now (our town's fall parade and Salvation Army Bell-Ringing), and they are a very fun, lively group.  Key Club has somewhere between 15-20 kids going, so between both clubs, we will be chaperoning for a total of 35 to 40 middle-schoolers and high-schoolers.  Since we are volunteering only two days before the parade, we get the desirable job of "petal-pushing", which means that we will actually be applying the flowers onto the float.  The only downfall is that it is going to be a long day; we're leaving at 6:00 a.m., and returning at 6:00 p.m.  I'm curious how these kids are going to do, pulling off a twelve hour day.