the holidays of 2008: the abridged version

an apology (sorry for not updating) and an update:

the holidays were a whirlwind of parties, dinners, celebrations and an all-around good time.

our builder was in a hurry to fix all the deficiencies after we sent some emails, outlining how long we've been waiting, and reminding them of our initial list of things that needed to be fixed (from june), along with the repairs they've done since that also need to be fixed because they were done poorly. they sent some guys to fix the patch of drywall that rohan did (turns out that while he was very polite, he was not-so-good with the drywall repair - the drywall started bubbling soon after he left). then a few days later, they sent more guys to fix the drywall that the second guy did. they were actually sanding drywall on christmas eve. i had the table set already for christmas eve and was tired of taking everything down to put it back together - i'd already done it twice - so instead i draped plastic sheets on it for protection. how very dexter of me. now it's fixed and finally looks normal.

they also sent a guy to fix some of the cracks in the drywall. this guy ended up breaking a glass thingie in our ensuite (it was garbage anyway), but didn't tell us even though we were home. instead, he cleaned it up and told us afterward that he broke something and offered to pay for it. we told him it was going to thrown out anyway, so not to worry. no big deal, right? later that night, i went to wash my face and grabbed my face towel which was on a hook on the bathroom door. it was hard and shiny. i looked closer - it was hard from drywall putty residue and shiny from shards of glass. he had used my towel to clean up the glass! and THEN the next day when kris was vaccuuming, he found a bunch of glass under the bath mat. apparently this guy cleans up messes like he's 5 years old. actually, i'm sure 5 year olds could clean up glass better than him. then he kicked his ladder to move it instead of picking it up and carrying it, right in front of me! and not just once, but like 800 times! i counted. and scowled at him. he didn't notice.

we got an ikea christmas tree this year, and it actually looked beautiful! totally worth the $1 that it cost, although i have to yet to redeem the $20 gift card i got in exchange for buying it. i keep meaning to post pictures, so maybe i'll do that soon.

we hosted christmas eve dinner with kris' family. because it is supposed to be a traditional polish meal, and because i'm japanese-canadian, kris' mom brought the food. we were happy we didn't have to cook and kris' mom was happy she didn't have to clean. win/win.

we enjoyed christmas day with the fam on the farm. on the fam farm. tee hee.

i threw kris a birthday party and tested the limits of how many people can actually fit in our house comfortably. our neighbours don't hate us even though it was a loud and long celebration, and one of our guests called their dog fat. oops?

we went shopping on boxing day at yorkdale - crazy, i know! got some great deals at crate and barrel, which made the craziness worth it. i waited in line for 15 minutes to get INTO bcbg, and then i wanted an hour to try ON the dresses i found at bcbg. i ended up buying a dress somewhere else. and it was one of the only dresses in the store that wasn't reduced by 50% or 75%. still it was 30% off, a beautiful dress that fits and a fairly good deal so i'm happy.

new year's eve was a blast with friends at a banquet hall. a chance to dress up, a 5 course meal, dancing and open bar - it was a night to remember. if only i could remember it...

and as always, january has jolted me back to reality. "hello, january" (a la seinfeld's "hello, newman" in case you didn't get that - it's hard to type inflections). so we meet again....