YAY CHRISTMAS!!

So Christmas was great! (not sarcastic)

First of all, while the tree was the most conservatively decorated tree I have EVER seen (we didn't feel like putting up decorations)... it was nice having a tree. In fact, I really liked not putting up all the ornaments.

Then I found my nice pants that I left here so I was able to dress fairly well for my aunt's Christmas eve party. The party was torturous, especially without my mom, but it was survivable. Plus the food was delicious... including the hors d'oeuvres-- I ate like... an entire village of shrimp!

Then I stayed up reading, as I've been doing every night and when my mom came home I told her that I'd been lusting over these jars of artichoke hearts that Ernie left on the counter. She told me that he wasn't using them because he already used cans of artichokes for his dip. Me-rry Christmas!! I ate a jar.

I unfortunately stayed up until 5am (because I can roll in no other direction, apparently), but my brother woke up but at 10am on Christmas. My brother and sister have always been EXCELLENT about not waking up too early on Christmas! Even when they were young they would wake up at like... 9. When I was young, my parents told me I couldn't wake them up before 7am or something... and I would wake up at 5am and just sit in my living room, staring.

Then, as it turns out, my MOM got the most extravagent gifts... as opposed to Matt and Meredith. My brother and sister got:
-The Host (Mere)
-Ripley's Believe it or Not and Guiness Book of World Records books (Matt)
-Mama Mia (Mere)
-The Dark Knight and Hancock (Matt)
-two t-shirts (Matt)
-two pairs of neat socks (Mere)
-an iPod nano a piece
-trivial pursuit (both)
-Guitar Hero, world tour (drums and mic and stuff) (both)

I know I'm spoiled, but I think that is a reasonable amount of stuff... I don't think it's a disgusting amount of useless things. A few books, a few movies, and 2 extravagent gifts (one to share)... very nice.
I got a new phone a few days ago, and then my mom gave me a pair of socks and $50 in iTunes and $50 for the Regal... which is PERFECT! Also, we're going to look for a new computer tomorrow... so I'm the most spoiled, perhaps.
My mom got a tripod, which confused me a lot because... I couldn't see any need. Then she got some Chanel perfume, which she ALWAYS gets. Then she got an indoor planter thing that like... heats itself, so she can grow herbs in the basement... very interesting. Then she got like... a HUGE lighting set with like... 3 lights and umbrellas and stuff. She later explained that she was going to take a photography course.
Ernie got the same stuff he ALWAYS gets, which I think is HILARIOUS. He always gets a LOT of socks and underwear. Then my mom alternates between 2 pairs of jeans or 2 pairs of sweatpants (sweatpants this year) and there is ALWAYS the discussion of whether they are too big or not. And he ALWAYS asks for overalls, and she always gets him new ones that she says are very sturdy. This year they are demin, but I think last year they were made out of like... thick winter swishy-pant material. I have never seen him wear overalls in my life, btw. She also got him a portable digital photo album. He told me he was going to put my paintings on the album, and proceeded to tell me how good I've gotten at painting. I almost cried because he doesn't talk to me that much... so I had to leave. But it was very nice.

Anyway, then we ate doughnuts (I ate a bagel) that Matt and Ernie got at Dunkin' before they woke the rest of us up. Then we played a lot of World Tour and then we went to my uncle Joe's. It was slightly torture also, but again, quality food, including shrimp. Also, my mom was there. ALSO, my cousins (age 21 (Mary) and 18 (Grace)) and I, when sitting at the kids table (with 5th grader (Matt), 6th grader (Jerry), 7th grader (Julianne), 8th grader (Meredith), and freshman (Alex)) usually provoke them to talk about who they like. However, when we discussed how Jerry went to a boy/girl party and he replied that the party was pretty "suck-ish," Alex said "I know what you're implying." Mary and I exchanged panicked looks and the subject was quickly changed to school.

Anyway, we did gifts and desserts and left. Then, when we got home, I went in my brothers room to look at the turtles and one of the fish (the HUGE goldfish that were never eaten by the turtles and then grew to be like 6 inches long) was dead... and there was a vile smell. Then I look in the cloudy water and one of the turtles is SAVAGELY RIPPING APART ANOTHER ONE!! And the other two fish are no where to be seen. I had no idea what happened so I get Matt and we start trying to filter the tank. But I start to panick that something is wrong and the turtles are going to die so I tell Matt to get mom without letting Ernie know that there is a real problem. Mom doesn't come. So I get her. She finally comes up and tells me that it isn't a huge deal, and she's very upset because these kinds of things really piss her off. Whatever, long story short, she decided it IS an emergency and we clean the tank for the FIRST TIME. And it smells like DEAAATH!! And we find the other 2 goldfish which... how did they hide??? /they were very dead. Also, we killed the two suckerfish, which did upset me because they were trying to kill themselves. And my mom yelled at my brother a lot!! It was KIND OF fun... but very disgusting. I am not going to own turtles.

YAAAAAY CHRISTMAS!