Good-Bye To You

That's a Michelle Branch song that I guess I find totally relevant to this day. Today, I leave for Ireland. Can you believe it? It still hasn't sunk in yet, so I can't either. Matt's playing with the luggage tags, putting in the new addresses. Daisy and Buddy are confused. Mom's trying to get everything organized. Carmen's trying to stay awake. I was the last one up. Mom said I was sleeping so soundly that the others were easily able to make lots of noise without waking me up. I still can't believe it! I suppose I should get going now, since we are just about ready to load the car.

Lots of love, Christi -- the craziest girl about to be in Ireland :)

The Day After Tomorrow

I can't believe it. I'm totally not ready. I don't know the lingo, the embassy, or even where my own socks are. Ok, I do know the last one, in the black luggage. The fact that check-ins aren't weighed or even filled not to mention that my carry-on items are scattered in several bins has not escaped my attention. At least I got some new shoes!

This morning after Sarah left (we both overslept...oops) I cleaned and packed and sorted and folded and put away stuff. In fact, stuff still needs to be done, but it's mostly that I didn't vacuum (it bugs me) and some things are still in the living room waiting to be picked up. I didn't have to wait to be picked up though.

Mom, Matt, Carmen, and I went out to Half Price Books (I got a hardcover "The DaVinci Code" at half price!), Rockys for lunch (yummy Chicago pizza...sausage, tomatoes, spices, no sauce) and the mall where I got a calendar and day planner for half off. To JcPenny's where I finally found a Badger sweatshirt I liked (on sale) and some new tennis shoes (also on sale). Before Mom goes to spill the beans, yes, we now own the same pair of shoes (also on sale). Well, we each have our own pair, but whatever. I tried them on and liked them, so she tried them on and liked them and found another pair in the exact same size. If one left from one pair and one right from the other gets lost, at least we'll still have one pair of shoes (and in the same size too)!

Tomorrow's my last day at home and we really haven't much planned. Daisy vet visit is on the list, as well as calling some peoples. And finish sorting, laundry, packing....

It never ends.

Lots of love, Christi and Oscar (I've got to take him some place warmer because he's just too cold to eat) with Mom, Matt, Carmen, Buddy, and Daisy

Basketball with Sarah and Bucky!

We didn't make it to Merl and Ev's yesterday, and considering the terrible colds that Matt and I now have, it's probably a good thing that we didn't spread it. Matt was pretty out of it this morning because he has it worse. While Mom and I went to Madison for my eye and neuro appointments, Matt stayed home to get better. After the eye appointment, which dilated my eyes so that I had "the sight of a 50 year old" according to the optometrist, I went directly to the neuro appointment, where the doctor also looked at my eyes. Since he didn't get to dilate any eyes before he examined them, mine were the largest eyes he had seen in a long time. Also, his mother or his mother-in-law was born in the county above Galway in Ireland....small world, huh?

Tonight, after Mom picked up Carmen and dropped me off, I cleaned up a bit, making my own bed (which I fully expect not sleeping in for 5 months) and finally emptying the dryer. Sarah and I went to Ian's for dinner...mmmmmm...yummy pizza and close to the Kohl Center. We got GREAT SEATS. It felt like you could reach out and touch the players. The people around us were really great - made us laugh lots. They were pretty tame compared to the football student section and indeed, there were several non-students sitting there. We commented on the game and the cute players playing it. It was really fun. We came back to my house after the Badgers won to watch movies. First we watched "The Notebook". We sniffled, but not because we were crying...we both have really bad colds. Grandpa also has a bad cold -- perhaps we all caught a present we didn't want during our family Christmas? We finished off "The Stepford Wives" and are now watching "Twister". We are keeping ourselves busy and generally out of trouble. I've set up Mom's new page so please do check it out (and often soon, because it will take her a bit to learn how to use it-:D )!!

Well, I'm getting too caught up in the movie, so I'm going to go plug this back in. Lots of love, Christi

"At Least My Hair Smells Good" --Mom

That, by the way, is a direct quote from my mother. Today we went to the hair salon and got some hair cuts (or is it "styling"? I'm used to a barber, so this is a bit higher standard than I usually get). She used shampoo and a nice mousse in Mom's hair so she's been smelling her hair all night. Buddy likes it too.

I got a crash course in euros and pence/pounds today from Matt. He's so sweet, he's loaning me his spare change so that I'll have a few pounds to go on when I get there. I'm soooo way not ready for this. Heck, I'm not even sure what I've got to pack yet!

Sounds like we'll be visiting Grandpa, Merl and Ev, and Monnie tomorrow. Sounds like fun! And full of fudge (Ev makes FANTASTIC fudge!). Not that I need any more sweets, especially since Matt bought me a whole box for Christmas. I hope he eats more of it, because if I do I won't be able to fit my bum in the airplane seat. Wow, I leave on SATURDAY!!!!!!

Lots of love, Christi and Oscar (still not happy with me) and Mom (sleeping), Matt ("conquering" the world - his computer game world, that is), Buddy, and Daisy

Merry/Happy Christmas, Feliz Navidad!!!!

cDepending on where you are, Christmas can be either merry, happy, or feliz, so I thought I'd cover all three. Well, there are many more choices than that, but that's what was said around here.

Buddy, Daisy and I tried to stay up late last night to catch Santa Claus (we do it every year), but my eyes became droopy at about 1:30AM and when I awoke again at 10AM the presents were there. Santa, practical as always, gave lots of gifts like laundry detergent and tootise rolls. I really had a wonderful Christmas. We unwrapped presents, stayed in our pjs, ate breakfast at noon, played Scrabble (I won with the 42 point "weaned" which had a triple letter score and a double word score in there somewhere), and Operation. Poor Operation patient "Sam" with his three doctors. Dr. "Long John" Makos (aka Matt) who wears his long johns on the outside of his clothes, Dr. "Fuzzy slipper" Makos who was eating an orange at the Operating table, and Dr. Mom "Giggles" Makos who kept trying to make us laugh so she could win. Poor "Sam" who, according to Dr. Mom, has 12 kids, 32 grandkids, and 6 wives to think about whilest we were operating even though he isn't...umm...anatomically correct. Hahahahahahahaaa....

The rest of the day Mom and I have spent reading books and watching Christmas movies - most notably "Single Santa Seeking Mrs. Claus" and it's sequel "Meet the Santas." Both are light-hearted stories of the son of Santa finding and marrying his Mrs. Claus. Completely unrealistic, and yet so much fun to believe at the same time.

During the movies, Aunt Sharon called. She and Mom mostly talked about stuff and next Christmas which will hopefully find her family here for the holidays. Daniel hasn't had much experience with snow and never a big family-Christmas celebration like we do. I'm so excited to have them next year.

Only 6 days until I leave. I'm not packed, and today....well, I'm in no hurry to do much of anything today. I did start a bit of the family calendar though :)

Lots of love, Christi and Oscar (with Mom, Matt, Buddy, and Daisy!)