WalkingPortland: New Year

Ok, so it is the 8th already and I even missed the Orthodox Christmas yesterday. So bummed. Oh well, I'm not exactly Orthodox, I just like to remember the time I was in Armenia and how important January 7th was to them.
The holidays were not as frenetic as in past years. Yeah, we did the family thing, but it was spread over a few weeks instead of over 3 days. I loved it! Christmas Eve was for us this year. Christmas day? YEP, you guessed it. US! So fun.
Some highlights:

Christmas with my niece and nephews(3): Wow, what energetic kids. The oldest is 6, the youngest is 3 (he's the cowboy.) Tradition at my parents home is to read the gospel according to Luke before anyone gets presents. I'm glad they kept that tradition and not the one where we were forced to eat Oyster Stew and Lutafisk. Well, these 4 little kids could not sit still waiting for presents. At first, I reacted like my mom and my sister-in-law with stern looks and tried to get the kids to calm down. That lasted a total of 3 seconds when I realized - THEY ARE KIDS! I took a swig of beer and enjoyed the gospel and the fun. Once presents could be handed out, it was a frenzy of wrapping paper and screaming. The kids were so excited about each gift, they forgot what they got and moved on. Only Hank, our youngest, focused on each individual item and didn't want to move on. I love that from a 3 year old. In the end, we were all hanging out and the kids were able to assess what they got and realize the best presents were from us (just kidding.)
We learned from my brother that to curb his daughter's thumb-sucking, she had begun to use fingernail polish. So, we got her a hello-kitty lipgloss set and manicure set. Well, that didn't go over with mom and dad too well which made me that much happier. We're such the rebel aunt and uncle. We're the cool ones. Also, my niece earns allowance by doing different chores and being good. Throughout the night, I kept handing her $1 bills just for hugs or smiles. I'm such a bad influence.
Time off- both of us were fortunate to have time off between Christmas and New Years. With Anna starting school this week, our goal was to clean up and create an office space in our office. It was a crazy adventure which included a ton of purging and the purchase of a cool desk unit from Dania. In the end, we have purged more than either of us ever expected and have a cool new office with a great big desk, less furniture and soon...a cool carpet. And we did it all without Brett tearing into any walls or doing any structural work. Woot!

I'm excited for Anna and her schooling. She's gonna become a nurse and take care of me when I get old and frail. I'm here for her as much as she wants me. For this term, she'll be doing some serious night classes, so I'm alone most evenings during the week. Further, she'll be studying the other nights (probably.) I gotta find stuff to do to pass the time which would normally be spent with her and the dogs watching the OC. Initially, I'm gonna get this house cleaner than it has ever been. Next, I'm gonna setup a routine for keeping it clean with daily chores for dusting and vacuuming. Lastly, I'm gonna work on the master bath. Yep, the work I started over 2 years ago and never finished. My goal is to move upstairs in 2007 and I'm stickin' with it.

So, wish us well. It will be a fun ride. Here are some photos for your enjoyment: