Grandma and I went to the Messiah sing-a-long. We tried, but more often than not we sang the wrong words, the wrong notes, and even from the wrong page, but we didn’t care because it was fun. It was more half singing, half giggling, and I think we pissed off the Serious Singers around us.
We both did the alto part, but next year I’m going to sing with the tenors. Rob likes to joke that I should sing “ten or” eleven miles away. Harumph.
Rob and I had the fourth annual Hanukkah+Christmas party in our tiniest apartment yet, and it worked out just fine. It always does. For the most part, I’ve gotten over missing having a bigger place to live in, with a place to park your car, a washer and dryer IN THE HOUSE that you can use whenever you want, a machine that you put dishes into that magically makes them clean without you lifting a finger, and a room dedicated solely to watching television. And a basement for storage!
But on party days, and in the aftermath when everything is dirty and disorganized and needs to be put right again, it’s frustrating. (The trade-off is that we don’t live in the suburbs where “a night out” ends at 11 pm and involves either a dive bar, a loud bar full of skanky girls and meat-head guys, or the Olive Garden.)
To throw a party now we have to push all the furniture around to make room, but even then people ended up spilling out into the hallway. I met new folks, including the chick who writes STFU Parents. She brought me a Britney Spears ornament.
On Hanukkah night one I got a latke-making lesson from Rob’s mom (I did well!), and I recreated it for our party on night eight, along with sufganiot which are jelly donuts also traditionally served at Hanukkah. Then I made big soft pretzels, chocolate chip cookies and sugar cookies. In other words, I lost my damn mind. It was delicious.
On Christmas Eve I’ll be on a plane early in the morning and will spend Christmas on the beach in Puerto Rico. I make absolutely no promises about not coming home with a dog. We’ll be back in time to do absolutely nothing on New Years Eve. I like it that way.
It’s probably because I was deprived of Christmas as a child, but I LOVE Christmas carols. I can’t help singing along whenever I hear one. Unfortunately for everyone around me, not only do I have a terrible voice but I don’t know the words either.
West Coast Amber
23 Dec 09 at 5:27 pm