Christmas was quiet this year. Rachel and I did not really feel like decorating. We only had a plastic toy soldier outside, and a couple of random ornaments inside. On Thursday, we went out to dinner with Rachel s mom Pam. On Friday, we went to Pam s house to celebrate with another family. On Christmas Eve, we had snacks with more in-laws. On Christmas morning, we went out to breakfast, opened gifts at Pam s house and back at home.

I remember a better time when I would look forward to Christmas morning. I cannot remember what specifically changed my attitude towards Christmas. Maybe I am missing family and friends. Maybe I do not want to get my outdoor Christmas decorations stolen again. Maybe I am unable to pick out the perfect gift for the ones I love. Maybe other pressures, such as family, work, school, and money are crushing me. Maybe I just need a good kick in the pants. I just do not know anymore.

I did receive a fair number of gifts. Interestingly enough, at least half of the items were food. I guess if you do not let anyone know what you want. One of the most interesting items was eggnog taffy. I had been silently craving eggnog for a while. However, Rachel does not like eggnog and I have not been to a grocery store for a few months. Usually all food is fair game in the house, but I know that this will be one item Rachel will not be eating.

One of my most perplexing gifts is Rubik s Ice Cube. It is similar to the standard Rubik s Cube, but it is only 2x2 instead of 4x4. It only took fifteen seconds to scramble it. It will probably take me months to solve it (without cheating). I remember having the original Cube, but I do not ever remember solving it. I would just pop all of the pieces off and reassemble it.

Now that Christmas is over, it is back to work for me. I had considered taking this short week off. However, I probably made a smart decision in going into work though. The roads were fairly devoid of the usual traffic (not like there is a lot of traffic at five in the morning). The parking lot was virtually empty. I have seen about a half dozen coworkers all day. At least I got my pick of old leftovers (I guess that is not a plus). However, I did get a nice company t-shirt. Moreover, with long sleeves, I will not have to wait until the temperature gets above freezing before I wear it.