Chris is going to make the turkey today and were going to take it down to his folks. He makes the turkey on the Webber Grill (charcoal) and it super yummy. Maybe I will try to get some pictures of him doing this. The turkey comes out pretty than a Martha Stewart Magazine. Really and the taste is amazing. It's our year at his folks so hopefully things will go well. I'm okay with his folks and feel comfortable around them but I have my usual uneasiness about his sister. Then we never know if his crazy aunt from Delaware is going to fly in so that's even worse. She's like SIL but 10x worse. Anxiety is high. I'm hoping that Chris is going to have a chat with his sister today about gift giving at Christmas where he notes "how about you don't buy for us and we will not buy for you" since brother in law is unemployed thanks to GM. Plus, I'm tired of getting all of the regifts. For our last birthday she gave us a spoiled bottle of wine that the cork was rotted out and it tasted like vinegar and for Christmas she gave us a salsa mix that expired in 2002. I know it's the thought but I'm struggling to find thought in those!
I wrote the folks a letter and they claimed that they never got my second message. Okay, I will take that but it appears that things are hammered out now. They noted that I "over reacted" but in this family, you never know. I think this all stems back to the issues over the holidays. My family has the tendency to do this, myself included. I don't know where it came from but the holidays were a stressful time when I was kid. It was not very happy around the home at Christmas especially when I was a teenager. I heard that Christmas is for little kids, etc. I remember going to church just being generally withdrawn and sad at Christmas while being a teenager. Maybe it stems back to my parents financial situation when I was a kid or maybe even their own upbringing because my dad was a foster child in the 30s-50s and my mom grew up in poverty in the hills of West Virginia. I don't necessarily remember them noting positive stories about Christmas time, just sad memories when they do come out because it's not spoken usually at all. For instance, at one foster home my dad was in, he thought he was getting a bike because he saw it. So he noted this to the foster mom and she noted "no you are not getting a bike" my dad noted that "I saw the bike" and when Christmas arrived no bike or anything else. He had no presents at that Christmas or hardly any at other Christmas's. That is sad. So maybe this is where my family gets all wacky about Christmas from the past. Those old feelings get churned up. My thing is that I am aware of this. I do tend to get unbalanced around the holidays with stress. Chris and I have been starting our holiday time so hopefully the stress will end. We have a nice Christmas Eve, have dinner, go to church, and come home to open gifts. I also notice that I get overstimulated at Chris's parents home when we go down there for Christmas. The materialism is over the top and it's hard for me. I noticed that I get grumpy and sullen. I don't mean to but I do. Another thing that is drilled into me is being practical. I was talking to Chris about this. I'm so practical that it's not even funny. For example, my boss's husband died last month and for a gift back, I suggested gift cards while my other team members thought of a cute bear for her son with the dads picture on it and another keepsake for my boss. Why is it in my mind, that I couldn't come up with something like that...like automatically? Humm...self awareness is good but I need to work on this stuff.
Body wise...I'm looking better. The class ended last week and I'm officially down 5 pounds, lost 7 inches, my flexibility has tripled, and my cardiovascular has increased greatly. The class was so worth it. My goal is to rejoin the class in the spring. Eating wise and exercise wise, we are still doing the same stuff. I get a combined 40-50 minues on the elliptical, bike, and arc trainer. The arc trainer is AMAZING! It's a true calorie burner. I burn about 11 calories a minute on this thing. At first, it was uncomfortable to go on this thing and now I am up to 20 minutes. About 5 weeks ago, I got my Polar Heart Monitor and I love it. I have to say that the machine readouts on calorie burn is not correct at all. My watch will tell me the exact number of calories and what my heart rate is. I'm usually exercising in about my 75% heart range which is good. I also pay close attention to my heart rate so that I'm not going over the max heart rate. I especially love the weekly summaries because it lets me know if I am on target. 
Well, I hope you all have or had a terrific Thanksgiving! Take care all-Kellie
3 comments:
Christmas was also a sad time around my house when I was a kid. It brought back lots of painful memories for my folks. Thank goodness we have out own families to celebrate with now, and compassion for how hard it was on our parents.
The past 3 Thanksgivings were bad, but this year I started a new tradition. I hosted here at home, it was crazy getting everything ready - but I did it. Even though we have a small house - it worked. Christmas always gets me frazzled, I don't think I ever really enjoy it, I always forget to give somebody a gift, and drawing names never works.
Want to talk about crazy. My brother just got out of a Mental Hospital after a week and a half visit (4th visit, first time he hasn't tried to kill himself). My sister decided if she doesn't see us inbetween holidays then she doesn't want to see us on holidays (she seems crazier than him). I think I like them all better when I don't see them.
Happy Holidays
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