Week in Review...

Friday to Friday, 7 days, 168 hours... and about a months worth of memories crammed in. My favorites:

*After the Saturday night Dallas Cowboy's game a sports commentator from ESPN reported on the condition of Terrell Owens. He said the Cowboys were reporting one diagnosis, but that he had it from two good sources that it was really something else. His exact quote was, "But I have it from two good sources, my left eye and my right eye, that it is actually his Achilles tendon." I have never laughed so hard. Is that what they teach in journalism these days, eyeballs as two separate sources? Did anyone else see this? Anytime I needed comedic relief this week I reveled in the complete absurdity of this comment and it made me laugh or smile. Note to self: give this guy a teleprompter.

*My mom decided she wanted to use some of her Christmas money to get a manicure for the two of us. She has never had a manicure, and after her first and only pedicure she thought nail salons were from the devil. But she wanted Christmassy nails, so after assuring her that the place I chose was sanitary and she would not contract some sort of disease or fungus, which she was assured she would get, we went in. She was so tense that the guy doing her nails, who was from Vietnam and barely fluent in English, had to swat her hands for the whole first ten minutes because she had them clenched up in some sort of pre-rigor mortis clench. Then all four of us were laughing. My guy didn't talk at all, he just had a high pitched giggle, and giggled the whole time while saying things in Vietnamese that didn't sound very nice. My mom's guy kept trying to say "relax" but it sounded funny and we were all dying laughing. Finally he literally quit working on her nails and gave her a shoulder massage to try and loosen her up. Her nails are already chipped.

*Christmas eve day our group of friends and parents all got together for breakfast and Tuba Christmas. One of the most fun little holiday traditions. And yep, it is just what it is, breakfast, and then 150 tuba players who play Christmas carols!

*At my husband's parents house Christmas Eve the kitchen sink backed up with some funky looking nasty stuff and lots of water. It was gurgling and attacking us when we used the garbage disposal. We tried Drano, we tried plungers which only caused more food to come up and hit us in the face. We resorted to calling plumbers who were pretty put off that we would call the night before Christmas and offered no help at all. And finally, Ryan's brother and I decided we should get down there and take the pipes apart, which was something we had all been trying to avoid. I did nothing but laugh and hold a flashlight and jiggle things, but still, I'd like to think I was a great help. When a big blob of potato came lurching out into our pot of mushy gush, I just died laughing. There is a theme here...I have pretty much been laughing all week.

*Favorite gifts (and I didn't really have a list this year, so these were surprises): A Tony Romo book that Ryan said makes me crazy and obsessed, but I proudly claim that badge! James Taylor and Amy Grant greatest hits CD'S. A Cowboys hat. Cookie cutters. Sprinkles. And a corn scraper and butter bell (don't ask me, ask my mom, they just make me laugh) And of course, one of the best gifts you can give...gift cards!

*My brother-n-law to be puked all day the day after Christmas at my families house. I wasn't there for it, but I think it is an appropriate way to break yourself into the family. Mark your territory, that kind of thing, like dogs do. It took me back to my first Christmas at Ryan's house. I ate an ungodly amount of fajitas, rotel dip, and cookies. Then I got some sort of horrible bug and puked all night long. And there is nothing worse than doing this at someone else's house, much less someone you are trying to impress. I feel for him, and for me, I still can't eat rotel.

*There are a lot of memories from this week. I love watching people open presents. I love the Christmas eve service, the hymns, the candles, the spirit. I love the food and the board games. I love that every year, much to our embarrassment, my mom makes us gather around the Christmas tree and share our "hi's and low's" of the year. The best and worst of 2007. I always feel weird at first, but then people really open up. This year there were 8 of us. That was a first. I remember the years that were so hard on our family and we sat around the tree and cried and prayed for a better year. Or the years where we felt like miracles literally happened in front of us. This year we told the hard things, the beautiful moments, the stories that marked our year. There were a few tears, but more than that, there was happiness; it was a brief moment to be away from the world and to be real with another. And if I had one new years wish for people it would be that...there would be more moments when we can be real. When, as uncomfortable or as awkward as it might be at first, we come together to be honest and transparent and a bit vulnerable.

My high this year? My blogging family.

Just kidding...what kind of lame answer would that be!!! Though I do love you guys!

I hope you have a lot of good memories from this week too. But more importantly, as we start a new year, I hope you will make many more memories. Life is short; let's have a good 2008. A lovely, inspiring, passionate, fun, humbled, worshipful, memorable year.