25 weeks, ...what?

This week of Christmas also marks the first week of the ominous Third Trimester.

So, far, so good.

Our first overnight in Colorado--December 25th itself--I got up about 4 times in the middle of the night, with my mouth as dry as chalk, feeling as if someone had beat me up. I actually made a trip upstairs to the kitchen (such a long way in the middle of the night!) to fetch a large glass of water--which I finished almost immediately after filling it.

I don't attribute this nocturnal experience to the Third Trimester, though. This year, Doodle and I spent Christmas Eve going to "Midnight Mass" at 7pm, then eating dinner, then packing, then getting a few hours of sleep before waking up at 3am to be at the airport in time for our flights to Colorado. Note that 3am in North Carolina is 1am in Colorado. By the time we went to bed on the night of the 25th, we had been awake for over 20 hours, with just a fraction of time here and there on the flights to snooze. Couple that with the dry mountain air, and you have the ingredients for "mouth dry as chalk" and "feeling beat up."

By the time I awoke to greet the day on December 26th, my body (including my mouth) was refreshed. Doodle and I even took a little hike up the mountain behind my parents' house while the snow was falling.

I suppose the real effects of Third Trimester take some weeks to set in. :)
Meanwhile, we're scheduling a hike-a-day while we have the vacation time this week, in between visiting with family and friends, eating good food and Christmas treats, and catching up on some blogging!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Gift pressure

My dear husband, Doodle, also comes from a large family. Like my own immediate family, his family members choose names every year for Christmas gift-giving. And being a new member of his family this year, I "picked" his older sister's husband, Eric.

I just sent a very long email to Doodle's sister, listing all the various ideas I've had for the perfect Christmas gift. Pleading for help.
Each idea that I think must be "the one" has been met with visible hesitation from my husband. Who happens to be one of the best gift-givers I know. (Number One on his Love Language test results). So I tend to listen to him when he has anything to say about gifts. Besides, he's known Eric for longer than I have. He and Eric get along really well, and Eric was his best man. But even with all of that being said, Doodle admits that I picked a "tough one" for gift-giving. "Eric likes a lot of different things, but they're very specific things."

So far, the idea of which he's been most supportive is a Williams Sonoma Cookbook, on the condition that it be one with a baking theme.

???

Yes, my brother-in-law is a very creative man, and an amazing chef. But a baking cookbook for Christmas? I guess I really don't have the gift-giving knack yet in this family.

First Christmas Pressure!!!