December 2008: SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, White Elephants, and Xmas

December 7th, Sunday - SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. This year's feel-good movie. It was engaging and emotionally riveting and at the end you just want to dance. It was a very, very good movie about a kid from the slums who get to be on an Indian version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" The child actors were fabulous and the hustle and bustle of the Mumbai was mesmerizing.

December 8th, Monday - White Elephant lunch at work. Seriously, who thought this game up?

December 12th, Friday - Susan's birthday party at Don Cucos. I finally get to see the SoCal TWOP crowd again. They told me all about their trip to England to see David Tennant as Hamlet and how he gave them a good look, in the middle of the performance! Fun! They met up with some of the TWOP crowd in the UK and had a great time. One day, Daryl and I will get to go to England, too. Maybe we will soon, now that we've gotten rid of our credit card debt. Who knows?
Here's the birthday girl. The picture was taken with my iPhone.

Here's Sharon. Also an iPhone photo.


December 13th, Saturday - The Parker/Wheeler Xmas party in the old Victorian house on El Mio. This was a fun party.


There was another White Elephant trade and Daryl and I scored a nerf Clone Wars rifle. Booyah! It was a heavily themed Star Wars party, I have to say. And then we got a lovely tour of the house, which I had never heard before. It was all fascinating and from now on when I go to the house, I will be studying the ornate hinges on the doors. The Parkers really did a lot of work getting the house together and liveable. And they did a great job fixing it up after part of it got burned up. Oh and we also watched the movie, EINSTEIN & EDDINGTON, with Andy Serkis and David Tennant. Good fun. Who knew Einstein was such a loon? and a raunchy one at that?

December 24th, Wednesday - Daryl left for Indiana. Boo.

December 25th, Thursday, Christmas Day - Susan and her mother took me up on my offer of a Christmas dinner and I once again disbelieved my thermometer. At least I could entertain my guests with my brand new DVD of DR HORRIBLE. I brined the turkey this time so the breast remained moist and tender while the rest of the legs cooked. I made the gravy the same way as I usually do and boy was it salty. I guess I didn't think that so much of the salt from the brine would get into the gravy. Whoops. It was nice to entertain someone on Christmas, especially since Daryl was gone. And it gave me something to do, too. Although I had so many leftovers I had to freeze most of it for when Daryl got back. I think I had the same Christmas dinner for breakfast lunch and dinner for three days straight. At least I got to eat pumpkin pie while I was at it.
This time I brined the turkey. It felt weird not chopping it up to cook separately. It had a crusty, salty outside and a moist, tender inside.

Here's most of the other food I cooked. It included Cornbread Sausage Stuffing, Green beans, Candied Yams, Pumpkin Pie, and Giblet Gravy. Look, I actually have place settings and nice napkins!

I just have to add this picture of Daryl's cousin's daughter, Marryn. Isn't she adorable?


December 30th, Tuesday - Daryl is back in LA. Yay!

December 31st, Wednesday, New Year's Eve - Robb and Kellee came to town! They just got back from a wedding in Columbia and were excited to show us their pictures. Columbia looked lovely and it looked like they had a great time. We hung out and celebrated New Years, by writing stuff we wanted for the new year on origami paper and throwing them into the ocean, and then writing stuff we didn't want for the new year on paper and burning it at midnight. We'll see if that worked.
Robb & Kellee in our tiny office.

Robb, Maurissa, Kellee, Me, & Daryl at Swingers for a New Year's Eve dinner.

Goodbye 2008! I shall always remember you as the year we got of credit card debt right when the financial markets went haywire.