hectic holidays

this is just going to be a quick summary of my holidays so if that bores you, click here instead, this is damn interesting.

My friend Melynda came to visit from SC, and after V & I went to pick out the new awesome beautiful ginormous TV we went to the cheescake factory with her bebehs and mine, hung out all day at my pad and AGAIN she teased me with talk about wanting to move back to the area, though I think she was scared away by real estate prices around here!! I told her Catonsville is way more affordable and we should both buy houses there next door to eachother!! keep dreamin. As usual the visit was too short and not enough time for catching up and talking about REAL stuff without the kids around! But she does have 3 beautiful adorable girls. One of them is almost the same age Melynda and I were when we met--- GULP!

Then Friday the hannukah party at my mom's with V, monica, and aaron G. from way back when.
<--aaron & i singing hannukah songs! haha Went to V's mom's in Culpepper for Xmas, then Xmas day to his aunt's house where his dad and cousin played some guitar which is always nice and inspired me to pick up my ol' guitar too when i got home! Sat. night we went to Federal Hill with V, Aaron & my bro who hated it because of the smoke (In NY they banned smoking everywhere, not so in Baltimore--yet.) We went to a regular bar, then a gay bar called the Eagle where V's neighbor Matt bartends. It reminded me of the Blue Oyster Bar from Police Academy! Later on Mo came to visit on his break from officer school and we went to the always delish and highly recommended Iron Bridge Wine Company for dinner then home to watch 'Invincible' with Marky Mark on the new big telly with the kids. The next day Mo, Jojo, kids and I went to Balt to visit Edgar Allen Poe's grave which in all of my years living in this area I've never gotten around to, then pizza at Matthews with V, dropped the kids off with their dad and then we all saw Apocolypto, which despite the gruesome and emotional beginning that made me feel like I was going to have Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, was really good and so different from all of the other movies out there - very refreshing to have no big actors in a movie for a change, no tom cruise or brad pitt headlining.
Next movies I want to see: Children of Men and Pan's Labyrinth

Anyway, all in all a very busy, stressful, fun, company-filled holiday! Hooray for having friends and family, which makes one feel rich indeed.