My family was very lucky to have me show up for Christmas this year. The plan began in mid-late October. I got the crazy idea to come home for Christmas! I did some budgeting, and I realized it was possible. Kasey was the only person to be trusted with the secret, and she did a great job. The internet is so bloody slow here that I'll have to post the videos of the surprises at another time! Here's some blasts of Christmas Pasts:
More pictures to come when I get a more stable connection. Some things never change.
Since I've been home, I've been involved in several local outings.
-Attended church at Holy Family in Silver Lake. I got to be an usher for the first time! Nothing to note during the service, but it was after mass when things got suspicious. The priest was thanking us for our service, and then he asked how long I was home for, where I was coming from, etc. He mentioned that my mom had said I was having trouble sleeping/waking up, which was relatively true. He also noted that I gave my mom a heart attack by coming home, which was also true--as the videos will soon show. The strange part was that he hadn't even spoken to my mother yet! But, priests don't lie... So it goes in the small town.
-Visited the local sales barn in Hutchinson to sell some of Dad's hay. We unloaded the hay in frigid winter winds. When we went inside, I saw a nice pair of boots that would be going up for auction the next day. My dad saw a pair of knee pads that he thought would be useful for fixing the barn cleaner. I jokingly said I should put them together so we could get them at the same time. As luck would have it, when we came for the sale the next day, they sold the boots and the knee pads together! We overpaid, and they added tax. Talk about destiny! The more enjoyable part about the whole experience was the interactions with the local sellers and buyers. Gossip doesn't stop at the sales barn that's for sure. Anyway, we didn't strike gold in our hay sales, got ripped in our boots/knee pad combination, but it was a great cultural experience for sure. I can't wait to bring Anwer!
-Went to another hay sale a few days later near the Hollywood Ranch House. Met a guy there who told us a story about his "pony". Now, I've never really liked nor understood horse people. This guy goes on about the horse eating so ****ing much hay. He mentions that the horse bit him. So, he looked the horse straight in the eyes and punched him in the nose... a pony. He punched a pony in the face. This is the problem with those horse people. Crazy. This guy proceeds to talk about the market and hay. His final quote for you in connection with hay going for $6/ bale: "You could get a hooker for that much." Oofta.
-Did a bunch of Christmasy things. We made sugar cookies and frosted them. Jackson licked a lot of spoons of frosting. Played some family games that end in the usual animosity you could expect. Kyle booted up the Nintendo, and I pretended that I wasn't so terrible at Super Mario Bros. As it turns out, I am just as bad as I was back then. I also still move the entire controller when I try to jump over things. Ate a bunch of fudge, poppy seed bread, cheese slices, summer sausage, and other things high in saturated fat. The scale maxed out today, and I think I'll slow down the food shoveling situation.
Merry Christmas to all!
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| Christmas 2011 in Goa, India with Anwer and Lindsay |
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| Christmas 2012 in New Delhi, India with Anwer, his brother Jamal, Jenny, Rahul, and friends. |
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| Christmas 2013: Schultz Farm, Silver Lake, MN |
More pictures to come when I get a more stable connection. Some things never change.
Since I've been home, I've been involved in several local outings.
-Attended church at Holy Family in Silver Lake. I got to be an usher for the first time! Nothing to note during the service, but it was after mass when things got suspicious. The priest was thanking us for our service, and then he asked how long I was home for, where I was coming from, etc. He mentioned that my mom had said I was having trouble sleeping/waking up, which was relatively true. He also noted that I gave my mom a heart attack by coming home, which was also true--as the videos will soon show. The strange part was that he hadn't even spoken to my mother yet! But, priests don't lie... So it goes in the small town.
-Visited the local sales barn in Hutchinson to sell some of Dad's hay. We unloaded the hay in frigid winter winds. When we went inside, I saw a nice pair of boots that would be going up for auction the next day. My dad saw a pair of knee pads that he thought would be useful for fixing the barn cleaner. I jokingly said I should put them together so we could get them at the same time. As luck would have it, when we came for the sale the next day, they sold the boots and the knee pads together! We overpaid, and they added tax. Talk about destiny! The more enjoyable part about the whole experience was the interactions with the local sellers and buyers. Gossip doesn't stop at the sales barn that's for sure. Anyway, we didn't strike gold in our hay sales, got ripped in our boots/knee pad combination, but it was a great cultural experience for sure. I can't wait to bring Anwer!
-Went to another hay sale a few days later near the Hollywood Ranch House. Met a guy there who told us a story about his "pony". Now, I've never really liked nor understood horse people. This guy goes on about the horse eating so ****ing much hay. He mentions that the horse bit him. So, he looked the horse straight in the eyes and punched him in the nose... a pony. He punched a pony in the face. This is the problem with those horse people. Crazy. This guy proceeds to talk about the market and hay. His final quote for you in connection with hay going for $6/ bale: "You could get a hooker for that much." Oofta.
-Did a bunch of Christmasy things. We made sugar cookies and frosted them. Jackson licked a lot of spoons of frosting. Played some family games that end in the usual animosity you could expect. Kyle booted up the Nintendo, and I pretended that I wasn't so terrible at Super Mario Bros. As it turns out, I am just as bad as I was back then. I also still move the entire controller when I try to jump over things. Ate a bunch of fudge, poppy seed bread, cheese slices, summer sausage, and other things high in saturated fat. The scale maxed out today, and I think I'll slow down the food shoveling situation.
Merry Christmas to all!
