Well, Christmas was basically the same as always, except this year I received more money than gifts, which was a good thing for my current situation. I opened a new checking account today, too, which was certainly needed. My mom and I just got back from the mall, where if you know me, you know that I was most definitely taking advantage of the sale at Victoria's Secret. I searched a bit for summery teacher clothes, but no luck there. I really wanted to buy this excellent strapless bra sort of thing that would have been fabulous to wear with my black dress, but it cost 88 dollars. Yeah. So, sorry to talk about bras, guys who might be reading this, but you should know how much you save on not buying them (which leaves you more money to spend on us girls, eh?). :)

I spent the night lastnight with my dad at my grandma's house. My Grandma and great Aunt Mary moved in with my Aunt Chris about two years ago from Pennsylvania. The visit was quite an experience. My Grandma's memory is lost back in 1992 and she still thinks I'm about 9 years old. Everytime I tell her I'm in college she cries and tells me how proud she is. It's a recurring "surprise" and it always provides for something new to talk about. My Grandma and Aunt Mary left to go to the movies with my cousin Aimee, and my dad and I broke a lot of rules. We let the outside cat in the house and played with him for about an hour and fed him trail bologna. And we turned the heat up from 62 to 68. The cat provided much entertainment (he can CATCH trail bologna in his paws!) and it was like, 2 degrees outside lastnight. Poor kitty. We put him back out of course, and all was well. He was still alive in the morning.

My Grandma always tells me to use the "potty chair" in her room (you know the kind the youthfully challenged and people with disabilities use) if I have to go to the bathroom at night. That is really, really weird, and there's another really, really weird experience with the potty chair that I'll tell those of you who really wish to know.

My Grandma also always introduces me to my cousin, my uncle, and so on, just to make sure I know them. It really kind of makes for an uncomfortable situation because then of course, we say that we do know each other and my poor Grandma is reminded that she's lost her mind, and that probably makes her sad. But only for a moment...because after a moment, she forgets that she's lost her mind until the next time she's reminded, and the process repeats itself. She only knows that she has Alzheimer's for a second or two, and then...she forgets. So, it's really not so bad for her I guess.

Grandma and Aunt Mary will also never let my dad and I help with anything. I washed the dishes this morning and I thought my Aunt Mary might tackle me. And she could, too. She is a mean, green, fighting machine. :)

Grandma and Aunt Mary also think that all people in the house must be eating at all times and they get upset if you don't eat. Lastnight, I ate five cookies when I was already full, a huge apple, a piece of chicken, about 10 pieces of cheese (even though I really should NOT be eating cheese), about 8 pieces of trail bologna and probably about 10 crackers...all of that on a completely full stomach, leaving me no hope for the next few days and my poor little Furby that is now all crunched up in my tummy with a bunch of food that cannot escape. But I swear if I hadn't accepted what I did to eat, they would have attacked with their little old lady persistence. And that is the worst sort of attack mode in the world.

I love my Grandma and Aunt Mary to pieces, and while I love that they are nearby and I love being able to spend time with them, it is an interesting and challenging experience.

Tomorrow John is in his friend's wedding and I think I'm just going to the reception. I'm excited because I get to dress up. It's too bad my flouncy black dress won't get to dance ;-)