question

Writing about my uncle making his grandmother's Arroz con Pollo made me think about my readership. Now we all know that I don't have a huge following. I've noticed someone from the town where my great-grandparents once lived checking in every couple of days. Some of the extended family still lives there and much of the fam is still in the general area. So, my question is this: is a member of the Herrero clan reading? I'm dying to know. If not, I'm still curious as to who is stopping by from Sunnyvale. :)

Holiday Survival

A Belated Happy Holidays to you all (ha, as if there are enough folks reading to say "all"). It has been a whirlwind of a month. We left town last Thursday night to go to Dallas to be with my Mom's side of the family. Friday night was the shindig at her house. I had drawn my cousin's daughter's name and she just LOVED the Snow White dress up outfit that I gave her. She even put it on right over her clothes while she finished unwrapping the rest of her presents. Saturday, her husband's side of the family arrived as we were leaving to go to my HUSband's parents' home.

We arrived at the in-laws home and had a big meal and opened 1/2 of our gifts on Saturday (as is their custom). That night we went to church with his parents and sis and her husband. It was the one year anniversary of his grandmother's death, so not an easy day. I held it together until the singing of Silent Night at the end of the service with everyone holding candles. Was just crying like a baby and had a hard time explaining why. I think it mostly has to do with missing the innocence of standing between my own two parents at my own church growing up... and knowing that it will never be possible again.

Anyway......Sunday morning we opened the other half of the gifts and had a yummy breakfast of Eggs Benedict. I'm picky and don't like eggs when the white and yolk aren't combined, so my egg was scrambled and then put in the poacher thingy. It was sweet of the HUSband and his father to make mine special. Sunday night we went out to the bar in our hometown that we used to go to on a somewhat regular basis. There were some familiar faces and we had a chance to catch up with some old friends. This bar is one that you think never changes, but they've started serving liquor and it even looked like someone might have dusted the ceiling. I guess everything and every place must change at some point. It was still so smokey that I cringed when I took off my clothes to go to bed and again when I picked them up the next morning to pack them.

Monday we finally came back to Austin. But it isn't as simple as it sounds. Sunday, my dad's sister from Baton Rouge and brother from California (and their respective spouses) arrived. Dad's bro has bad knee problems and is staying at our house b/c all of dad's bedrooms are upstairs. I came home to four people hanging out in our office looking at old family photos on the computer. They left soon after we arrived to go back to dad's and give us a bit of relaxation time before we joined them for dinner. More food, more presents on Monday evening, this time with my Dad and his side of the family.

Last night my uncle cooked Arroz con Pollo from their Grandmother's recipe at my house. It was great not to have to cook, but I've left the house this morning with dirty dishes still in the sink. Couldn't run the dishwasher last night because everyone hung around to watch Shrek and it would have been too loud. Then it was too late to run it after everyone left because our bedroom opens up onto the kitchen and the HUSband doesn't like the sound of the dishwasher while trying to sleep.

So, I'm back at work today and heading home soon. I think we're opting out of the Chinese food dinner tonight and going to chill by ourselves. Besides, I have 4 loads of laundry to do since we were out of town and I wasn't caught up before we left.

Movie Quote of the Week

I fear you are underestimating the sneakiness, sir.
-Emilio Lopez in Mr. Deeds.

We watched most of this movie when it was on TV one night last week. I found bits of it much more funny than the first time I saw it in the theater. John Turturro is a riot!

Hot in Here

I'm loving having a new office since moving into my new role. However, the office I'm in was designed to be a small conference room, as were the two other offices next door. The heating and cooling systems are apparently set up differently because of that. It is a sauna in here. I've just taken off my sweater and am taking a conference call wearing only a tank top. Thank goodness the glass wall is frosted glass and nobody can see me.

Perspective

A good friend of mine will be transferring to London in January. She'll be staying with her current employer, but had to go through a complete interview process and was selected for a newly created role. I see this as wonderful, exciting opportunity for her. She's the biggest Anglophile I know, having lived in London for short periods of time for at least 3 times in the last 25 years.

We've been friends for a long time, and much of my family knows her and often asks about her. While IMing with my cousin last week, I wrote something like "[friend's name] is moving to London with her company." His immediate response was "that sucks." I know that he may not have known all the details and that she was vying for the opportunity. Still, it struck me as odd that his initial reaction was that it was a bad thing and something that she was being forced to do. What does this mean? Does he dislike his own job and employer so much that he thinks any move would be a bad thing? Does he love current situation so much that he can't imagine even wanting to live somewhere else, especially another country? Or was he just having the sort of day that would cause him to respond with "that sucks" to whatever I wrote?

Dana wrote something earlier this week about how so many people lack the trait of being flexible. I think this may be another example of exactly that. We all look at every situation with a different set of eyes and sometimes can't even fathom another person's point of view.