See ya, Christmas.

That time has come and gone, and I'm glad.

As I said in a previous post, Christmas for my family was to be significantly "scaled back" and it certainly was.

we still went to my grandmas in Toefield on Christmas eve and my aunts on Christmas day. I ate far too much at both places.

It's always good to see the extended family even though I tend to start looking for an escape after about 3 hours. Sometimes you just want some quiet, is all.

My family talked to each other about not buying gifts, but I obviously still ended up with a few things, because that's how parents are.

I got:

- A Garmin GPS navigator that I'll probably mount on my bike this summer for some exploring. I thought about trading it up for one with bluetooth so I could use it "in helmet" but then realized I don't really care and for a first GPS, it'll probably do all I want it to do and more.

- some sweet Oilers slippers with $100 crammed inside.

- A sandwich maker/toaster. I have made numerous grilled cheeses already.

Of course I also got some gift cards and money.

Considering I asked for nothing, it was a nice surprise to get anything.

I bought myself Silent Hill: Shattered memories on the Wii as a gift for myself and it is great so far.

Overall it was a good few days more about family and being together than anything else and I am glad for it.

I was still sort of stuck with that disconnected feeling though. I guess that's natural as you grow up and begin to realize it's just another day (in reality, let's be honest) and that you could really just celebrate it whenever you wanted and however you wanted and it would be just as "special"

See you next year, Christmas.