8 minutes...8 thoughts on Christmas...ready, set, GO!

Ahh so there are officially 8 minutes left of Christmas and i think I will share 8 things I learned today.
1) I received a couple of boxes of chocolates this year. Boxes of assorted chocolates are a dangerous gift. I know that I like chocolate...who doesn't? I suppose there are a few sugar nazi dentists out there that are opposed to it...but I pity them really. Assorted chocolates usually come with that little pamphlet guide in them that shows you an illustration of what each piece looks like and what is inside of it. That is the dangerous part for me. I find myself opening the box thinking, "oh...I'll just have one or two and put the lid back on!" It never works out that way. One of two things happens...I either search thru the box for the tastiest ones based on their description...OR I will play the russian roulette of assorted chocolate boxes...I pick one at random and try to guess what it is! This can be fun or it can result in some disappointment to say the least. I have the worst luck and usually wind up picking the coconut ones or the orange filled goopy ones...BLECH! In any case, it always proves to be a fun gift to get.
2) I learned not to judge a book by its cover today...or should I say judge a present by it's nerdy stigma? My husband has a corny sense of humor at times and bought me a Snuggie this year. A purple one. Ever since they have come on to the market, we have both had a few chuckles over this gift. It just seemed a tad ridiculous to me...armholes in a blanket? really? Is it seriously that hard to take your arm out of the covers to grab what you need? Is it really that cold where you are that you are afraid to risk frostbite by reaching out for that tv remote? In any case...since I am now the owner of one, I thought I had better try it out. I am very impressed! This thing even has pockets! I can sit here at the computer and type this blog out to you without having my arms be chilly and I can even keep my assorted chocolate guide book in my pocket at the same time!
3) I learned that deciding to go out to eat at a Chinese buffet restaurant at 3:00pm on Christmas day is easier said than done. We had a bit of a wait on our hands seeing as how we didn't have a reservation. Apparantly we were not the only spur of the moment type of folks out there with the same bright idea. It was sort of like dining with 700 strangers all breathing down your neck and scrutinizing how many times you actually came back with another plate of food. It did make me feel like the family from the movie "A Christmas Story" though...too bad the wait staff didn't sing Christmas carols to us...that would've been the icing on the cake.
4) Buying a cat one of thos pre-packaged stockings filled with cat toys is not the best idea. They always throw a couple of those really annoying and obnoxious plastic balls in there that jingle jangle every time they move. The cat has not stopped playing with them since this morning. I can't help recalling the line from "It's A Wonderful Life"...'every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings'....let me assure you if there is any truth to that statement, there have been a whole LOT of angels given their wings today thanks to my cat.
5) I think that there should be a new profession out there in the world. Someone who can be hired to come over while we open presents and spend the whole freakin day here getting all of the toys out of the packages and then assembling everything and reading the instructions on every single game. Seriously...is it really necessary for Mattel to use so much packaging and twist ties and string and tape to secure Barbie to the package? Are there really that many Barbie thefts out there in stores where they need to make it so difficult to get her out of the freakin box? I have a hard time believing it...I have never once seen a featured story on the evening news about some weirdo going around from store to store opening all the Barbie boxes and stealing all the Barbies. I think the good folks at Mattel do it on purpose...I think they all sit back on Christmas night and have a great big chuckle over how much anger they have caused parents of young girls with their Fort Knox style packaging methods.
6) Polly Pockets and Littlest Pet Shop toys are also maddening. Every little girl loves them. They are actually cute I suppose. But really? Is it really necessary to make a product that tiny with so many little pieces that go along with it? Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a missing Polly Pocket shoe in the back seat of the car while it is sitting in the driveway on Christmas night?
7) Christmas with a diabetic child is a coin toss. You can spend all night Christmas eve checking blood sugars and treating lows because you just cant seem to get them to stay above 3.0 only to find them coming in with a whopper of a 22.8 blood sugar Christmas morning. I wonder if there is a diabetic child out there who had stable blood sugars all day today. If there is, I would like to shake their parents hand and say kudos to you! Tip my hat off to them...give em the old pat on the back...and all that stuff. It's hard and I unfortunately am not actually a pancreas....i just play one in real life...and I was never any good at the acting thing.
8) Finally, I am gonna get a little sappy on this last one....so bear with me. I have learned that the real point of Christmas...the real meaning...the real true purpose of all this madness....is to be together. To spend time with those that we love. To look at the pretty lights and ornaments together...to eat, drink, and be merry...to just enjoy each other's company. To see the sparkle in our kids eyes...to watch their faces light up...to just be together and remember what it is like to have the innocence of a child and see things through their eyes.
So....Merry Christmas everyone...I hope you all had as good a one as I did.