Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog

December 25, 2012: In the holiday swing of things!

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UPS screwed up another mango shipment.

I’ve been in full family mode for the past couple of days.  This of course, means different things to different people.  In my case, it means watching the second season of Modern Family on dvd with Akemi.  Oh, and eating and drinking and hanging with my own family…

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Mom’s dogs – dressed for success.  And the snow.
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Me, getting into the holiday swing of things.

We gathered at sis’ place for the gift exchange.  When we were kids, we were only permitted one present on Christmas Eve and had to save the rest until Christmas morning.  As we grew older, it became two presents, then three, then, eventually, all the presents after midnight. Nowadays, I’d prefer to get right down to business, but my mother insists on sticking to tradition.  Or as close to it as possible.  And so, rather than toll into the unwrapping of the gifts right after dinner, we wait for the appointed time.  In this year’s case, the appointed time being whenever mom woke up from her nap…

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My favorite ornament from my sister’s eclectic collection.  I double dog dare ya!
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Mom rests up for the big gift exchange.

I won’t bore you with a full run-down but rest assured I did get what I REALLY needed: about a dozen socks.  And I do mean REALLY needed because I only brought two pairs along with me for my visit to the east coast.

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Akemi shows off her new slippers.
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Only a foodie would get a dried mushroom assortment for Christmas.
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Mom tears into her gift.  Roxy feigns disinterest.
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Felix poses for his boudoir shot.
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Art for the discerning pug owner.
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My chocolate haul!

Sadly, it wasn’t all good cheer.  Sis’s husky, Aspen, isn’t doing too well.

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Aspen

Sending extra special holidays wishes his way!

[addendum: A quick reminder that I’ll be joining Barbara Barnett on Blog Talk Radio Wednesday, December 26th to talk/field Stargate questions.  That’s 9:00 p.m. Eastern, 8:00 p.m. Central, and 6:00 p.m. Pacific.  Call in number: (718) 305-6982.  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/barbara-barnett/2012/12/27/lets-talk-tv-special-stargate-universe-season-1 …]

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22 responses

  1. Deni Avatar
    Deni

    Extra special holiday wishes to Aspen from all of us, too. Sweet boy, he’s so beautiful.

    I’ve got Elmo slippers on, and Riley and Cody will not let me forget it for a second. I’ve been tripping on dogs all night! Missing Elway like crazy; he so loved going to see the lights. Glad you had a good time, Joe and Akemi! xo

    Reply
  2. Deb Avatar
    Deb

    Don’t post often, but look forward to reading your blog everyday. Did want to wish you and my fellow blog readers a happy holiday season and a good new year! Also hope Aspen feels better. Have been down that road and know how hard it is.

    Reply
  3. sylvia Avatar
    sylvia

    Hugs and head rubs (assuming he likes that) for Aspen.
    Way too much food and snacks and enjoying every smidgeon.

    Reply
  4. archersangel Avatar
    archersangel

    nice chocolate haul! sorry to hear about aspen.

    Reply
  5. sg1efc Avatar
    sg1efc

    Great pictures, hoping for the best with Aspen. 🙂

    Reply
  6. Patricia Avatar
    Patricia

    Happy Holidays to you, Akemi, Mom, Sis and all the puppies and cat! Wishing for Aspen to feel better! God bless everyone… Cheers!

    Reply
  7. Debra Avatar
    Debra

    Merry Christmas to you, Akemi, your family and fellow blog readers.
    Hope that your sister’s dog rouses again.

    Reply
  8. Randomness Avatar
    Randomness

    >Art for the discerning pug owner.

    Brilliant picture there Joe 🙂

    Reply
  9. Shiningwit Avatar
    Shiningwit

    Sending special thoughts Aspen’s way, He’s a special boy.

    @Deni, I’m sitting here in Elmo PJs to match your Elmo slippers:)

    Best holiday wishes to everyone 🙂

    Reply
  10. Carol Avatar
    Carol

    “Only a foodie would get a dried mushroom assortment for Christmas.”

    Perfect presents I say…

    This year my son got a hamper from me filled with lots of food from Belgium, including Coffee, Pastry, Speculoos, Soup, Chocs, and a jar of blue cheese stuffed olives amongst lots of other things. His face lit up with as much excitment as it once did when he got the full Power Ranger set aged 8.

    Positive healing vibes for Aspen..and a Happy, Healthy & Prosperous New Year to all..

    Reply
  11. quade1 Avatar
    quade1

    I didn’t get to see a Christmas Story this year, but wasn’t it “I triple dog dare you”?

    Reply
  12. Alexis Avatar
    Alexis

    It looks like you had a lovely Christmas. Your mom looks great. I’m so sorry Aspen is not doing well and sending positive healing vibes his way. I don’t have a lot of socks, but I am wearing one white one on my left foot now.

    Happy Holidays to the Mallozzi family.

    Reply
  13. Maggiemayday Avatar
    Maggiemayday

    Merry merry!

    Much love to Aspen.

    Reply
  14. Alisa Russell Avatar
    Alisa Russell

    Sounds like you had a good holiday. We had a baseball themed Christmas here. My boys are all ready for baseball season now. And I got books and stuff from Bath and Body Works. Yay! Glad that the weather didn’t get as bad for us as they were anticipating.

    Hope Aspen feels better soon!

    Reply
  15. gforce Avatar
    gforce

    Welcome to (not QUITE the) East coast! Sounds like a great Christmas! I really, really like the “Christmas Story” ornament. Not only double dog dare, but I TRIPLE dog dare ya! (Skipping over protocol past the “triple dare”.) I love that movie so much.

    That looks like some mighty tasty chocolate there. Looks like there will be a ton of exercising in your immediate future. I know there is in mine. I can’t believe how much food I’ve eaten in the last three days. Not only have I actually made a lot of food to eat, but people have been GIVING me tons of food as well. This past Sunday, I actually cooked a turkey dinner to take up to my step-mom and we had a pre-Christmas dinner up at her apartment at her special-care facility. It turned out great! The turkey came out perfect, and the garlic parmesan mashed potatoes and the maple roasted butternut squash were particularly good. Then, leftovers from that on Monday, then a full Christmas dinner again yesterday. Today? Hot turkey sandwich for lunch! 😉 Also, I’m simmering down the turkey bones to make stock for turkey soup. At this rate, I figure I’ll run out of turkey by mid-January or so!

    That picture of Felix is really quite good. I love the lighting.

    Say Merry Christmas to your mom and sis for me – and of course my thoughts are with Aspen as well. Hopefully, he’ll swing back soon.

    Reply
  16. Alisa Russell Avatar
    Alisa Russell

    @gforce: Just had to say your food comments made me very hungry. 🙂 Love turkey and mashed potatoes, and we still have plenty of both here.

    Reply
  17. Joan001 Avatar
    Joan001

    Best wishes to you, Akemi and your family. So sorry to hear about Aspen – too sad at any time and especially at this time of the year. Lots of love for him….

    The focus was in getting together with the family and goodies for the kids. I decided to go retro and make the Bacardi Rum Cake of the 70s. The problem is that there was so much other food around for the main meal that there was hardly any room for dessert – lots of left overs, though.

    Best wishes to all

    Reply
  18. Ponytail Avatar
    Ponytail

    Felix is looking so daper and handsome. Love his haircut and jacket. Hello to all the Mallozzi’s! I’m sure Akemi has seen A Christmas Story, but has she seen The Sound Of Music and It’s A Wonderful Life? Two awesome, timeless, wonderful movies sure to bring a smile to her face. Plus I think The Sound Of Music could help her learn English as she learns the songs. Doe, a deer, a female deer, ray, a drop of golden sun, me, a name I call myself…

    Saying special prayers for Aspen and his mom.

    @ Deni – okay, your daughter is starting to even make me nervous. Maybe it’s time to drive over railroad tracks or some other old wives tale that will induce labor…

    Reply
  19. DP Avatar
    DP

    Does Hancock count as a superhero movie?

    Reply
  20. Tam Dixon Avatar
    Tam Dixon

    gforce: Hmm, that food sounds good! I’ve had a ton of food given to me and re-gifted some of it to my 80 year old neighbor. There is only so much food a person can eat!

    Deni: When I was preggers, my OBGYN group were all women. They made me see all the partners during the pregnancy because they said “You will never know who will be on call when you deliver”. I was so glad I got to meet each dr. It made things so much easier. I’m sure this new dr will be just fine. Prayers to Lauren for an easy delivery!

    The weather didn’t get as bad here as predicted. The weather guy said it was going to the a “Thundersnow”. We had some high winds and a little snow. My light up snowman was decapitated but we fixed him up this morning.

    I loved your Christmas pictures! A little jealous of Akemi’s cool slippers! I’m glad you found time to relax. So sorry to hear about Aspen. Maybe he will rally again like before. Hugs to your sister and “extra special holidays wishes” to Aspen.

    Reply
  21. Airelle Avatar
    Airelle

    Glad you had a nice Christmas there. Happy you got to spend time with family. It was a good one here also. A few days for clean up and maybe we will be back to normal. Sorry to hear Aspen is not feeling so well, Such a beautiful baby, prayers and hugs for him. Cat in a box, they find the best places to nap. Have a relaxing day!

    Reply
  22. PBMom Avatar
    PBMom

    Love all the presents. I love holiday traditions. I wish we had some. We did not even get ornaments on the tree this year. Heavy sigh. I guess sending out Christmas cards is a tradition. 250 snail mail and 650 e-cards. Whoa, huh? I send love to Aspen and your sis and everyone who loves him. Wish we could do something to fix it. Just hope he is not in pain.

    Reply

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