Closing out 2018 in the Motherland--um "Maryland"

Team WestEnders' Maryland Excursion 2018, the Winter Edition began on a somewhat inauspicious note, with nasty weather (of the foggy, rainy variety) that impeded our progress and slowed us down considerably, from NC all the way to Richmond. After that, however, conditions improved enough for us to start booking along and making up time--so we ended up with a pretty typical journey, length-wise.

We settled into our home-away-from-home on Friday night to rest up for what we expected (and hoped) would be an extended weekend full of...various shenanigans. Well, for the Male Posse, this wouldn't start out with anything too ambitious, since their entire agenda for the next day consisted of "watch college football games back-to-back from noon to midnight". Although I don't participate in this sort of...couch potato tomfoolery...as an impartial observer walking through the living room once in a while I can report that their plan seems to have gone off without a hitch.

As for me, I'd scheduled my twice-yearly lunch date with college girlfriends. We're always on the lookout for cool vegetarian/gluten-free friendly places to meet, so this time I'd found something in Frederick called Sanctuary Modern Kitchen that sounded like it could be promising. It turned out to be a tiny, inconspicuous cafe tucked behind a retail strip near the heart of downtown. It seems like the bulk of their business lies in the food that you can buy to take home and prepare yourself, but they also offer a very limited eat-in menu as well. All three of us chose the burrito bowl--which are cooked fresh for you individually when you order them, and which proved to be absolutely delicious.

The bonus was that, in a city with few free parking options, the small shopping center has its own lot. So we could leave our cars where they were, and take advantage of the pleasant late-December weather to walk around and enjoy the holiday decorations and quirky shops that abound in the historic section of town.

Next up, a day with the extended fam at my dad's house, for cousin-bonding, Ravens-viewing (although the game has serious playoff implications, so depending on how it goes, the experience could either be tremendously exciting and positive...or  more along the lines of "Whoa, howzabout we just turn off the TV now, so Pop Pop doesn't blow a gasket"? Obviously keeping fingers crossed for the former scenario...), and....whatnot. (Update: the boys from Baltimore pulled it out, but it literally took until the last minute of the action to decide their fate, so needless to say, it was thrilling...and tense...and required much yelling at the television to achieve the desired result. Good grief, the whole thing was simply exhausting...)

When we weren't all absorbed in sports mania, one of the random activities involved my sister's and my annual attempt to wrangle the younger generation into an at-least-semi-presentable holiday photo--you know, one that doesn't involve any poking, wild waving of limbs, obnoxious faces, insults, or threats (the last one admittedly being issued by the adults, in exasperation after 5, 10, or however many failed shots). As you can see, we were eventually...um...moderately successful? (Hey, you work with what you have, yeah? Although someday, in the elusive "future", I dream that they'll all calm the heck down and hold still at the same time...siiighhhh...)

Then on Monday, the social whirlwind will continue: a coffee catch-up with an old pal from my interpreting days, followed by the New Year's Eve shebang, which conveniently will be taking place at the very house where we're staying...so basically, we're living in Party Central, and all the fun will come to us. Win! (I mean, let's be honest: that's my kind of fiesta, for sure--hang out and chat with people for as long as I want...hold on until the ball drops to usher in 2019...then sneak downstairs to bed when the finite power contained in my Extrovert Battery has drained away for the evening.)

And with that, the seasonal follies will conclude, and Team WestEnders will hit the road again, for the return trip to Chapel Hill, and whatever awaits us in January. Hasta luego and thanks for the memories, Northern friends and relations--we'll see you in 6 months or so!

Merry and Bright (and silly, of course)!

Now that it's come and gone, I can say that Christmas 2018 pleasingly mixed some familiar traditions with a few updated twists on the classics. For example, this was obviously the first year we had to actually perform a retrieval operation in order to bring the college son home for the holidays. Then he ended up being responsible for one of those "new favorites", when he requested that we watch Frozen (DVRd during Thanksgiving, during a brief span of temporarily-free movie channels) on the 24th, rather than one of our customary choices (Grinch, Peanuts, Muppets--all of which are much-loved...but also viewed approximately a million times...each).

As we gathered on the family room couches, snuggled under warm blankets, laughing at the onscreen antics (and--mostly successfully--forcibly restraining oneself from singing along. You're welcome, child!), Derek noted, "I think we should do this every year, now! It totally counts as a holiday movie!" (Apparently, "containing a lot of snow" is the only criteria one needs. Eh, fair enough...if they're willing to tolerate a Disney princess flick...repeatedly...then who am I to argue?)

With regards to the gift-giving component of our festivities, as the kids have gotten older, it's become increasingly difficult to figure out what to get them on my own. Long gone are the simpler days when it was easy to tell which toy they wanted; therefore we've resorted to including them in the same process Husband and I use for each other--namely, asking for a specific list of items. Hey, it might take some of the...magical Santa surprise...out of Christmas morning...but it also relieves a great deal of the potential shopping stress...and at least you receive what you actually want, right?

So, Husband and Riley each requested a "non-blue hooded sweatshirt" (since oddly enough the only other ones they already own happen to be that color): Kohl's sale, check. Both the boys struggled to come up with anything else for a while, but finally Derek asked for a couple of new titles for his PS4, and a long-sleeved shirt for those balmy SC "Winter" days. I took care of the games myself, but Riley decided that he'd pick out the clothing for his bro.

Which is how he and I ended up at Fleet Feet, since each of us had won a gift certificate from a recent 5K, and they were expiring at the end of the month anyway. And, in what instantly became a part of WestEnders Family Lore, we found a really nice Nike dry fit quarter-zip, originally extremely overpriced (in my opinion, anyway) at $65, but currently located on the clearance rack for 25% off, which after applying our reward money came to a total of (drum roll) NINE DOLLARS. Riley proceeded to derive waaaayyy too much glee out of teasing his sibling over the next several days, about the "cheap gift", and how proud he was for obtaining it. So I'm not sure what Derek was expecting, with all the misleading information Riley fed him leading up to Christmas--but when he finally got his hands on his new apparel, it's safe to say that any misgivings he might have been harboring were safely dispelled.

Meanwhile, Riley himself did some research (naturally) and selected two paperbacks from the popular line of "[fill-in-the-blank] for dummies" that he wanted to add to his collection: (are you ready for this?) Thermodynamics...and Alternative Energy. You know, so he could have a little light reading over his vacation. Sheesh. Oh, and he emailed me the links so I could quickly and easily purchase them on Amazon. (I just...I can't even with this kid...)

As for myself, my wishes ran toward the practical (removable seat covers for the Subaru, to protect from passengers who are sweaty, or dirty, or sunscreen-covered, or what have you) and the healthy (a pillow that, when plugged in, delivers a heated massage sensation to wherever you apply it--such as my perennially cranky neck and shoulder region).

And then...there was the Elf usually known as "Derek", who decided this year that he'd do some of his own recon, and come up with something special for each of us. Thus Riley came to possess Pittsburgh Penguins slippers (because Derek admitted he was stumped as to what else to purchase)...I was able to add a University of South Carolina ornament (which we'd been conspicuously lacking) to ye olde tannenbaum...and Husband somehow became the proud owner of...a decorative, inflatable, Christmas NARWHAL. (Because really, what says "deck the halls" better than a fun, candy cane colored sea creature? Please don't answer that...)

Clearly, the boy knows his dad well, because Husband could not possibly have been more delighted, and immediately texted photographic evidence of himself with his new blow-up pet to both of his best buds (who quickly conceded that he had, in fact, won Christmas. Bunch of big honking gooberheads, ALL of them, I tell ya...).

So there you have it--a pretty cool yule for 2018 is in the books. Now Derek can plop himself in front of the TV and manipulate some virtual soccer and basketball players...Riley can learn more about the topics he thinks he might want to study when he reaches college age in a few years...I can spend some relaxing time having my on-call massager work out the knots in my back...and Husband can....I don't know, perhaps sample his bounty of unique snacks while lounging in his warm hoodie and gazing upon a cheerful ocean pal? Anyway, I'd call it a Christmas that is not likely to be soon forgotten, that's for sure.

And now, we commence packing for Maryland, and the next set of adventures. Whoo hoo!

Christmas pre-game activities

Sooo...in unprecedented fashion, the entirety of Team WestEnders will be sharing a long holiday break this year. It's true that Husband typically takes the week of Christmas off, if he can manage it, and the boys of course are on hiatus from their respective schools. And, well, I set my own final day at my now-former job as last Thursday--you know, just to join the merry vacationing crowd, and all.

While we're on the subject, I gotta tell ya...that was super weird. First of all, my giving the organization three solid weeks of advance notice unexpectedly caused an oddly mixed situation...in which I was simultaneously eagerly counting down to the end...while also running at a high level of stress in order to get everything finished and organized that colleagues were asking of me before I departed. I mean, sure it was nice have good wishes heaped upon me, and to hear that I'd be missed. But it was also a little awkward trying to explain (to a group comprised largely of research-analyst-and-scientist-type people, mind you) that I was leaving without a clear plan in place for Next Steps...and that I was 100% okay with that. (See there? I used DATA! Sort of. Whatever....)

In the end, my awesome NC officemates gifted me the most amazing basket, filled with delectables such as fair trade chocolate bars, coffee roasted right here in Carrboro, my favorite brand of tasty and allergy-friendly cookies, gourmet hot chocolate, small-batch fancy peanut butter made in Durham...plus a t-shirt to commemorate both our nerd-tastic staff and our weekly bootcamp sessions, and gift certificates to an independent bookstore and my go-to nacho-and-burrito joint. Clearly, they're the best Coworker Friends a girl could ask for...and also, they know me reeeealllly well, yeah?

Meanwhile, College Boy was making the most of his first week of freedom, by sleeping in, relaxing, spending time catching up with his bro...and assorted other shenanigans. Such as invading--I mean "stopping by"--the old High School stomping grounds, to visit some former teachers he holds in high esteem. In this portion of the mission, he was reportedly successful. However, when he took it a step further, and attempted to harass the younger sibling and his buddies at lunch, a watchful security guard firmly insisted that he skedaddle....because he "looked suspicious". (And can I just take this opportunity to say: Ha--you're just not blending in with that BEARD, dude!)

Next, he participated in a delicate retrieval operation--you see, all but one of the lads in his inner circle had already returned to Chapel Hill from their respective universities. So this Gang of Four obtained permission from the Fifth Amigo's parents to pick him up from the airport when he arrived on Friday. I can only imagine THAT scene...but I'm told there was tackling involved in the enthusiastic greeting. Ay yi yi...I'm just grateful that RDU is such a laid-back place, so I wasn't called upon to come pick up my mischievous child from, I don't know, TSA Jail, or something, due to his rowdy adolescent behavior.

In quieter news, the teenage dynamic duo has been bonding a fair amount...playing basketball, throwing a football around in the front yard, hanging out in one of their bedrooms and chatting...and in the most amusing fashion, digging up the Lego Star Wars video game I'd completely forgotten they owned, and setting themselves a goal to beat all of the levels during their collective time off. (Whatever that particular game cost back in the day, it's worth a million times that, to hear the two of them laughing while they madly press the buttons, animatedly wave their arms around as if that would help whatever's supposed to be happening on the screen, and vehemently yell either taunts or encouragement at the screen and each other, depending on how things are going. Yep...priceless...)

And finally, in keeping with what has become a treasured Mother/Son tradition over the years, we attended church (seizing the early option, with Sunday being in such close proximity this year to Christmas Eve, when we normally go), and followed it up with a shopping excursion to several nearby markets, to procure interesting, (hopefully) delicious treats for Husband's yule gift. This normally involves a fair amount of silliness (Shocking, amiright?) as we wander the aisles in search of items that meet the criteria of being somewhat quirky...but still yummy-sounding.

The whole process leads to quite a a bit of discussion as well--such as me asking, "Do you think he'd like strawberry barbeque sauce?" And the kids answering, "Nah, too strange. And besides, he'd make US eat it, and we don't want to do that." We ended up with an amusing assortment of things like bacon/cranberry bison jerky...spicy dill pickles...salt and vinegar peanuts...pretzels flavored like "everything" bagels...Carolina bbq crackers...and sesame honey cashews. Now, he does expect by this point that we're going to do this every Christmas, but he never knows what we'll come up with (nor do we, for that matter), and he looks forward to the surprise. So, it's basically a Win/Win scenario.

And there you have it: the pre-festivities are in full swing, but I believe all the actual prep work is now over, and we can commence the "chilling" phase of our agenda. Whoo hoo--let the celebrating begin!

The Mid-December Report...

Well folks, there might not be a whole lotta time left in 2018, but that doesn't mean we're just coasting to the end, right? Although technically, I suppose some of us may be doing just that...for example, my older son, whom I just retrieved and brought home after he wrapped up his first semester of college. (Yay! And also: what the HECK? Is it just me, or did that pass in a rapid blur?) He finished up his classes, turned in papers, projects, and lab reports, took final exams...and now he gets to spend a well-deserved respite from the...university shenanigans...at Casa WestEnders for the next month.

As an bonus, I only had to drive as far as Charlotte this time to pick him up, since he'd caught a ride that far with a friend who lives down the hall from him in his dorm, and whose family resides in the Queen City. For perspective, this makes it a 4-hour roundtrip, mostly on highways, with plenty of options for gas and refreshments...rather than the complicated, rural, amenity-less back roads we usually travel on, which take double that amount of time. Needless to say, it was a much easier and more pleasant journey to make, especially on a dark, drizzly, and ridiculously foggy December night.

Now, younger son still has one more week of school left before Winter Break--but in other news, he's turned his attention to...seeking employment. Let me pause for a moment here and remind you that Husband and I had to gently suggest...and then firmly prod...and finally outright demand that Derek get a job during the Summer following 11th grade. But Sophomore Riley--in typical fashion--decided on his own, without any parental prompting whatsoever, that he wanted to start working....preferably "as soon as possible".

However, there's one teensy tiny monkey wrench in his scheme: although NC is a state that claims 15-year olds are permitted to work, we're not finding any places that will actually hire kids below the age of 16. This would be a super-bummer for Riley, since his birthday falls so late in the Summer that he'd essentially lose an entire year if he has to wait, and he's itching to get some experience...not to mention a steady paycheck (for reasons that remain unclear, since he rarely spends money. But who am I to discourage such admirable initiative?)

But I helped him fill out some online applications nevertheless, just in case one of those businesses that say they abide by an age restriction decide to give him a shot anyway. We figure that if all else fails, he can always try working at Subway for a while--like Derek did--until he reaches the arbitrary threshold that will allow him to aim for something else.

On a semi-related topic, I recently realized that I'd arrived at that undeniable point where Job Contentment had begun to undeniably segue into Change of Scenery Mood. Sometime during the hot months (which I know in NC doesn't narrow it down all that much, but just go with it) I began to feel antsy and dissatisfied. When I mentally explored what could be wrong with me, the obvious answer that popped up was: this past October would mark 3 years that I'd held my current position. I'd never thought about it consciously before, but this had been something of a Life Pattern for me over the course of my career...s...with that benchmark tending to trigger a desire for...an as-yet-undefined but absolutely necessary..."something else".

Don't get me wrong--the organization is still wonderful, with an important mission carried out by talented people. It's just that I, personally, feel as though I've reached a natural endpoint of my stint in this particular role, and it's time to move along. And even though I haven't nailed down the details of the Next Big Thing, the holidays provided a fitting transition for me to step down, take some time with the clan, relax, regroup, and head into the new year ready for a fresh challenge.

Soooo...the upcoming week is going to be crazy-weird at the office, to say the least! I have about a million-and-one tasks to tie up in pretty bows--plus colleagues to spend time with, bid farewell to, and make plans to see again in the future, during arranged social occasions after I'm no longer able to catch up with them on a daily basis. Meanwhile I'm actively putting out feelers for opportunities that sound intriguing...because as we all know, my tolerance for boredom is, oh, approximately "slim to absolutely freakin' NONE".

For the moment, I'm totally looking forward to the festive season, and so grateful to be able to celebrate it with the full Male Posse in the house. A little job hunting...lots of chilling...some visiting with far-flung-friends-and-fam...and of course, copious amounts of hot chocolate and holiday treats. Whoo hoo--bring on the Yuletide fun!

Oh, the weather outside is...wait, what?

Well folks, brace yourself for yet another post about crazy weather, comin' your way from the Winter Wonderland also known as...North Carolina? It appears that Mother Nature is all kinds of confused, because she provided us with a super-early "major snow event", at a time where our temperatures typically are still hovering around 55* every day. I mean, I know my experience here is still pretty limited, but since Team WestEnders moved to this area, I don't think we've even seen so much as a stray flurry until at least January--and certainly not before the holidays. (To further illustrate my point: there are still plenty of colorful leaves hanging onto the trees, which makes the whole Fall/Winter mashup that much more perplexing...)

So yeah, the forecast was kind of a Big Deal, right from the start. Heck, there was even a report (on Facebook, so it MUST be true, right?) that the famed Harbinger of Doom called Jim Cantore had been sighted in our state, so that was super-terrifying. (That is, until I learned that he was supposedly hanging out several hours west of here, in the mountains, causing me to breathe a deep sigh of relief...) However, the prevailing opinion in our house--jaded as we are from our years in the slightly-more-northern-Mid-Atlantic--fell strongly into the category of "sure, uh-huh, let's just wait and see about that, shall we?"

Yet at the same time, we're not the kind of people who are likely to completely blow off an episode of impending...potential...meteorological mayhem. And we're definitely not cavalier enough to just skip the readiness drills--like stocking up on groceries, filling the cars with gas, checking out library books, and charging all our devices in case of power outages.

Which brings me to my next item: seriously, what the HECK is up with our stupid weather this year? Two hurricanes and a tropical storm brushed through here only a couple of months ago...so aren't we DONE yet? The only bright side to this is that we had the opportunity to become a lot more emergency-preparedness-savvy from our delightful Summer season...thus we still had some non-perishables and bottled water socked away from the LAST proverbial sky-falling scenario.

Anyway, we went to bed Saturday night with no clear idea of what the morning would bring. Adding to the uncertainty was the seemingly somewhat...flaky (Ha! Sorry...) path the storm was taking, where it looked like it was totally going to miss Raleigh (30 miles to our south), while dumping an amount of white fluffy stuff on us that varied from 3 to 10 inches...along with some regular old rain...or maybe sleet...or both...who really knows?



When we woke up, the threatened--I mean "promised"--precipitation had indeed materialized, in a powdery form that admittedly blanketed everything in a very picturesque fashion. And I have to say, since I now live in a place where this only happens once or twice a Winter, I find I'm able to appreciate the frosty landscape in all its glittery glory...or whatever. Heck, with the holidays approaching, it even feels--dare I concede it?--festive!

Seizing on the recreational possibilities in a manner truly befitting an active teenage male, Riley almost immediately began the delicate negotiations required to rally his friend group for a game of Snow Football. And since I'd read that it was now supposed to change over to non-icy showers, I decided I'd better take a stroll around the neighborhood while it was still scenic...and before it transformed into a slushy mess.

Meanwhile--not unexpectedly--school was cancelled for Riley on Monday, so he already knew he'd have an extension to his weekend. To be on the safe side, I'd brought home a company laptop before wrapping up on Thursday, so tomorrow I'll be able to work from, oh, right about here...under a blanket on the guest bed in our spare room...in my pajamas if I so choose...sans makeup (and coworkers who choose to Skype me will just have to deal with it)...with a mug of hot tea by my side at all times.

Yeeeaaahh, it's gonna be rough, I tell ya...but somehow I'll muddle through...and with temperatures predicted to climb back into the low-to-mid 40s by Tuesday, everything will get back to normal, and this will all become but a distant...and perhaps even mildly fond memory. Buh-bye, and good riddance, Diego!

Next year, can I just hire models??

Sometimes traditions continue rolling merrily along just as they are, with no changes whatsoever, from as far back as people's memories go--while other times, they need some gentle tweaking to carry on uninterrupted. In this case, I'm referring to the Team WestEnders custom of including a snapshot in front of our Christmas tree on the holiday cards we send out each year. So, Derek being away at college caused a dilemma: assemble the tree super-early...hold off on decorating for several more weeks until he comes home after his Final Exams...or move the family photo fest to a different setting?

After some deliberation (time elapsed: 5 minutes) and consultation with the clan (sample dialogue: "You good with that? Yeah? Okay, then...") it was decided that we'd simply set up the pictures one room over, in front of the fireplace, which I could quickly and easily adorn for the Yuletide season.

The only minor hitch occurred when Derek, deeply ensconced on the sofa in the midst of some hotly contested college football game between bitter rivals (blah blah blah) tore his eyes briefly from the broadcast action to remark, "We're gonna need to do it at halftime, though." I didn't even feel it necessary to respond verbally to such a ridiculous statement, but rather fixed him with the patented Mom's Silent Death Stare...causing him to hastily backpeddle with the much more reasonable, "Or, you know, whatever works for you is fine!" (That's right, sonny--and don't you forget it!)

When I was ready to get this show on the road, or whatever, I returned to the sports viewing domain, where we encountered our first problem...Derek's attire. You see, he was wearing an utterly obnoxious t-shirt that Husband gave him last year, depicting the University of Miami's "turnover chain" splashed in gaudy screen-print across the front. Um...nooooo--it may be green, but it certainly doesn't count as appropriate...elf gear. Derek was, shall we say, "less than pleased" by my parental demand that he change, so in defiance, he selected an only slightly less offensive option (sent to him by his godfather, and stating a common sentiment among those affiliated with Penn State). Eh, at least it was...a wee bit subtler?...so I threw up my hands and let him get away with it.

#1

And then, the real...let's call it "entertainment"...began. First, of course, there was the annual "relearning how to use my camera's self-timer", which only took me a couple of seconds this year, but was long enough for the children to "help" me with a Test Frame (#1).

#2

Then there was the inevitable Scramble Shot: "Did I push the button already? Was that the beep? Oh, shoot, we're not quite ready yet!" (#2).

Next we moved on to the version where it all starts to go haywire, with me getting exasperated, like "Okay, we've HAD our fun--now everyone cooperate; get over here; center yourselves; make sure we can see you; stand nicely; smile at the lens...I said a nice expression, not a grimace; DO NOT CLOSE YOUR EYES, DEREK; and for the love of all things holy, let's make the freakin' magic happen, people!"

#3

This is more or less verbatim, by the way, but it was all for naught, because just when I thought I'd badgered the recalcitrant menfolk into submission, the normally well-behaved youngest member of our quartet suddenly yelled "Text BALLS to 202020!" just before the shutter clicked...and you can see the hilarity that ensued--among the Male Trio, anyway. (#3. And also, not that you or I care, but apparently that command came from a commercial frequently shown during televised sporting events, for some sort of testosterone-enhancing product, and the slogan is therefore embedded in their brains. Oh, goody...)

Eventually (possibly after I threatened to cut off their food supply, but no one can prove that) everyone managed to calm down, act reasonably maturely for one hot minute, and participate in the heartwarming holiday portrait of 2018 (or what passes for it...but hey, I'll take what I can get! See below...). Because immediately following this, they naturally reverted right back to Couch Potatoes, and I crossed my fingers in the hopes that I'd gotten something I could edit into card-worthy material. I swear, you'd think at some point that this endeavor would get, I don't know, EASIER each December, wouldn't you?

But in the end, I suppose I really should focus on feeling grateful to have my goofballs...even with their silly quirks...all in the same house around the holidays. So on that note: cheers, y'all!

At long last--success!