I am woefully behind in the pre-Christmas posting department. Forgive me? And prepare for bleeding retinas?
The first happy dance was done when we received a box of these from GunDiva:
I shamelessly stole the picture of the magic window cookies off her blog – because I just as shamelessly “ran out of the subject matter” pretty darn quick. Thanks GunDiva and family!
(Just check out the official directions – don’t ask, I ain’t giving up the family secret sugar cookie recipe!)
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Then it was time for Christmas shopping. Trust me when I say there are a couple of TST’s that are begging to be told. One with a stalker and one with a gun… thankfully not both in the same story.
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Then the trip that wasn’t.
Getting up at 4am to set sail on this:
Heading for a weekend escape with my favorite girls (can you see the three generation family resemblance?)
On the itinerary:
High Tea at the Empress
And the Holiday Lights tour at Butchart Gardens
(There’s a whole ‘nother story about the time I got booted from High Tea at the Empress… something to do with a dress code and a pageant girl who was tired of dresses and heels…)
Before we even got on the boat, I had to gasp at this:
(Wow Canadians! I survived a high-speed crash with someone who had a substance problem… the only reason it was a felony was because I was hurt and she ran. Please don’t drive buzzed this New Year, we love you).
There was a wee bit of this:
But I didn’t think much of it because it was smooth sailing on our swanky catamaran. They opened up the duty-free shop, where apparently $65 Marlboro cartons go for $31.
An hour later… they announced they were turning the ship around… rough weather in the Straits made it unsafe to proceed. A chorus of AWWWWs from the full ship of passengers heading for holiday plans.
(I told you my hair won’t completely straighten… and you can blame Mr. Daddy stealing my iron and claiming it as a Christmas gift. Oh yes he did!)
The teenager sitting next to me made my mother’s day when he asked if we were sisters. And since my mother pretty much doesn’t age, I’m guessing that the amateur hair straightening makes me look older? Couldn’t be the wrinkles, couldn’t be…
Then they announced, “If you have purchased cigarettes from the duty free shop, please return them for a refund”. Repeatedly. I started to eye the sudden line to the bathrooms suspiciously. Smoking the evidence???
We returned to a dreary Seattle
Froze our butts off waiting on the windy dock for them to unload the luggage.
It was still early enough in the morning that restaurants were not open. We had no transportation, three ladies with luggage walking along the piers. I made sure to remind my grandmother and mother that I know karate.
We see lights, and like hungry moths to a flame, we head toward the scent glow.
And that glow? Is a gigantic fireplace in the middle of a parking lot!
It was a hotel. That 100 other bumped boat passengers had spotted before us. We’ll just enjoy the setting while waiting for our seats!
Yes, I take pictures of hotel bathrooms. And I refuse to admit it’s weird. I mean, the water came out of the faucets in sheets y’all, SHEETS!
Mr. Daddy does not understand why I now want a real birch tree in our living room.
Then we had some company. You know you’re on the water…
Not like the place was already famous for being right on the water or anything…
We finished our morning with an exotic breakfast and some hot coffee to warm back up.
All I could think of, was how Itty Bit would have destroyed those light fixtures (chain necklaces… genius), and peeled the real bark off the walls. So I guess it really was a girl’s getaway. Though I’m a little sad that our rescheduled trip won’t include those Christmas lights. But hey, it’s better than capsizing a catamaran, eh?
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Then off to mom’s house to drop Itty Bit off for our anniversary date.
Ahh, yes. It must have been the straight hair. Certainly not that wrinkle in between my eyebrows.
You gotta love a guy who will take you out for steak and lobster, then do this:
We headed out for coffee at a bookstore (home of our first unofficial date), and spent some can’t-get-used-to-being-childless time perusing the books without shouts of “I GOTTA GO PEE-PEE!”
(For the record, Mr. Daddy was kind enough to use a nearby tree before we entered the store, and refrained from announcing it).
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So that was Part Uno… and we haven’t even hit Christmas yet. Wait till you hear what Itty Bit did to the refrigerator… *sigh*
Because any post isn’t complete without a picture of Itty Bit… here’s a peek at how caffeinated the kid was… he couldn’t even SIGN straight.
(And Happy Anniversary to the handsome guy that makes my heart happy – my best gift was you).