Christmas went over smashingly. The biggest surprise award goes to my Auntie Barbs and Uncle Glenn who drove from Missouri to be with us for the week. Auntie Barbs used to come over and spend Christmas Eve with us and Christmas Day. It was ALWAYS like that. Even after she got married in. . . .19….92?? ish She and Glenn had moved out to Missouri and would fly out. After that got expensive, they drove, and for the past few years they couldn’t afford the time off or the money it took to come out here. This year I walked into my mommies kitchen to greet my mommie (by the way I do spell it “mommy” if it is someone else’s mother) and turned to say Merry Christmas to my siblings in the living room and there she stood with a camera and Glenn on the couch with the video camera. She got the award for making us all cry too. I love my auntie barbs.

Christmas at the Mersai house hold was always full of laughter and inside jokes and a few surprises. This year we all had new Christmas shirts my auntie barbs and uncle G-nenn (when Rik was little, he is now 15, but when he was little he didn’t say uncle glenn, he said uncle g-nenn and it has stuck ever since). Many years ago, Christmas of 1995 to be exact the 4 siblings (Summer, Aiyani, Ben, and Rik – or as I would say it Sister, me, Smurf, and Rikster or R.I.K., no it doesn’t stand for anything) received Christmas shirts that auntie barbs puff painted on. She put snowmen on them and snow and sisters was even on a surf board – she was learning at the time. After a few years the boys grew out of theirs, but sister and I have worn them every year ever since. And my aunt barbs made us all new ones this year, including the spouses and the new babester (Baby Samuel, my nephew via Smurf and his wife Jenn) and my mommie the new “grammy” All the girls got green shirts and the boys got red shirts and each shirt was personal to us. All have snowmen, that’s her signature Christmas thing – she LOVES Frosty!! My shirt has a princess crown on with a matching scarf and the snowman is on a stage and you can see foot lights and a microphone. Cleveland has earphones on his snowmen with speakers on the ground (sound designer guy!) Sister and Double T’s have their dog Gwynnie and they have cameras since they are both photographers (thank you shout out “Matt Schmitz Photography”) smurfs had golf clubs and holding hands with this new babester. Jenn had some frogs, yes in the snow, and a chalk board with A,B,C’s on it (she is a teacher) and Baby Samuel was swimming in his but it was super cute. R.I.K had all his sports on there with balls sewn on and Mommie had a had on hers that said ‘grammy’ she totally cried. Its always a goal to make mommie cry!!!

The award Christmas day for making people cry went to me when Smurf opened a picture frame with 2 pictures side by side. One of my dadda holding him, and the other is smurf holding baby samuel. The kicker is the same picture is in the back ground. A picture my mother has had for as long as I can remember. It made my dadda cry which made my brother rik cry making my mom cry. I made Barbs and Glenn cry when they opened their scarves and beanies I had knitted myself with pictures of me doing so to prove I did it!!

Cleveland gave me a note saying we are getting Disneyland passports this year and he gave me the Karate Kid, so cool. I gave him a black baseball hat with “Sound Designer” on the front and “Howlight Sound” on the back. He’s been wanting one for at least 2 years – the length of time I’ve known him.

I gave my siblings a picture frame with 4 pictures in each of them, they are all the same. Again, for as long as I can remember when the siblings take pictures we are in the same order. When you look down at the photo from Left to Right it was Sister, Smurf, Me and rik infront of all of us between sister and Rik. Now that he is the TALLEST OF ALL OF US, his place “in line” is sister, Rik, Smurf, Me” So there pictures are of all of us, in our order at each others weddings (they were October 14 sister, Smurf December 16, and mine was July 14. The space for rik had a clever picture of a piece of paper I had him write that said “I will not fill this until 2016”

Santa got me a wonder woman ornament BUT its not a doll, its just her costume on a hanger, I totally wanted to be wonderwoman growing up – still do.

We received many ornaments this year from Clevelands parents, keeps sakes and hard to find ornaments that are kermit and miss piggy esque and some M&M ornaments (He collects M&M stuff) and 3 mixing bowls and a rolling pin. I don’t bake, “yet” – I believe is the response I’m supposed to have. I also received a small sewing kit/briefcase with needles and some scissors and some sort of measuring/ruler type thing. I’m sure she’ll want to show me how to use all of it during the course of my life.

It was wonderful to have time off of work, see my family for days and cry those expected tears of joy.

New Years eve Cleveland and I had dinner at Panda Express and saw Sweeney Todd.
My response? “meh” maybe I’ll write up one of my good ol’ movie reviews.

Welcome to 2008 ladies and gentlemen.
I start Esthetician school in Mid February and will finish (hopefully) by mid July
I still work at starbucks
I audition when I can if its worth it – I’m still too far away to be able to go to all of them.
I am the Matron of Honor in my friends wedding (Caitlin, whom I call Wifey or Shmootzy) this August

I have goals this year, not resolutions.