Top 10 Good Things About Getting the Stomach Flu on Your First Married Christmas Eve
10. You get to drink plenty of Sprite®
9. At any given point in the middle of the night when you're up feeling like you're on the verge of death, you can flip on TBS and watch the "Christmas Story" marathon for cheer.
8. You can put the whole "in sickness & in health" thing to the test (note: he passed :))
7. You have someone there to hold your hair back (sorry if that was graphic, and please refer to #8 :))
6. You get a lot of sympathy the next day (& food from your mom -- thanks mom!)
5. If you're extra and specially nice, you might share your illness with your new hubby, in which case you get to lounge around like beached whales watching TV together.
4. You get to brag about your previous 10-year puke record to unsuspecting family members
3. Santa still visits :)
2. It makes for a Christmas we'll always remember
1. It's still possible to have a nice Christmas with your family - a reminder that you really are blessed, and also of what the true meaning of Christmas is. :)
Shopping, Creches & Stuff
Today was the annual "Dugan Family Shopping Trip to the Mall of America". For years my family has had the tradition of taking one day off to all go Christmas shopping together, and for the past several years this has meant a day at the mall with lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. This year I had to work in the morning, and Mark had to work all day, so he couldn't join the crew, but I was able to join in for the afternoon...what a fun day! It's one of those traditions that I'm really starting to realize how much I enjoy it -- not that I didn't enjoy it before...but you know how sometimes you're doing something you've done a million times before, when it suddenly hits you: "man, this is really fun!"? It's like that. :). I didn't even buy much of anything today, but I feel all the more in the Christmas spirit.
On a different note, as Mark and I were decorating our home the other day with all kinds of stockings, ornaments and cute little snowmen, the thought hit: "something's missing". Then I realized it. Duh. We didn't have anything out representing the TRUE meaning of Christmas. So I dug out my tiny little nativity set and set that up. Here's what it looks like:
As you can see, it's pretty sad. Aside from being 1.5 inches tall, the figurines just look lost and frightened. No one knows where they belong, probably because there is no stable! So I've decided to try and find the perfect nativity set. (or at least a decent one! :)). Here are a few options I've thought of:
1. The More Traditional Style:
2. The WillowTree brand super-nativity (my personal favorite, though it costs a small fortune):
3. Or this piece, brimming with historical accuracy:
What would you pick?
