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Yep, I survived the holidays. Barely. I’ve been severely congested in both nostrils, which, oddly enough, makes breathing incredibly difficult.  I’ve been taking several different OTC remedies in an attempt to (a) thin the mucus and/or (b) knock me out so I could get some rest, to no avail. The OTC nasal spray helped for a while, but the instructions state clearly that it should not be used for more than 3 days, and yesterday was day 4. So I caved and made a doctor’s appointment for later on today.

Joe got called out of state, and had to catch an early morning flight today. It kind of jacked up his holidays, since he spent half the day on Christmas Eve and much of Christmas Day preparing for the trip (making travel arrangements, packing, studying up on the system he’ll be working on). So he’s been really stressed. The combination of his stress, and all the chocolate he ate, and my being sick made for a rocky Christmas.

Saturday with the incomparable Izzybella, L-squared, and Jehara was just lovely, though. They came over around 3ish, and we had a LOT of fun. A couple of pictures will be posted as soon as I get them uploaded. We feasted on turkey and all the trimmings, courtesy of my office, and played a game, and blabbed and opened gifts and just generally had a great time.

I went to do a bit more shopping on Monday, and also ventured out at last to see Sweeney Todd. Spin Doc wanted a review of the movie, so here’s my stab at said review: You’ll probably want to wait quite a while before eating a pasty or a meat pie again, for starters. The scene where Mrs. Lovett sings about the worst meat pies in town was just disgusting, and it got worse from there. The sets, costumes, and makeup were utterly delightful. Everything, with the exception of Mrs. Lovett’s fantasy about life by the sea and the lovely Johanna, is grim, dirty, and very unpleasant. The acting was fantastic, as was the singing. Johnny Depp–wow!  And Helena Bonham Carter was made to play this role, so I’m glad she got the chance to do so. Alan Rickman was as yummy as ever, despite his sleazy domineering character, and Timothy Spall was as ratlike as ever. (On a sidenote, I wonder if I’ll ever be able to see him without thinking of Wormtail/Scabbers.) The young woman who played Johanna was so poignant in her role, particularly when she was expressing her sure knowledge to the naive innocent Anthony that life doesn’t go on happily ever after. So if you’ve got a strong stomach, go see the film. You’ll enjoy it, in a twisted sort of way. It was just amazingly well done, so Tim Burtonesque, and I really am glad I saw it.

And Izzybella came over early on Christmas morning for stockings and gifts, and, again, it was truly lovely. We had a great time. All the gifts were a great hit. Dinner with Dad and the Monster yesterday was nice, but we had to leave sooner than usual so Joe could continue preparing to leave this morning.

So all is well in my corner of the world–or will be, once I can breathe clearly again–and I hope it is well with you.

By the way, kudos and many thanks to Izzybella for seasons 5, 6, and 7 of Buffy! Woot! I watched Once More With Feeling and Tabula Rasa last night, and once I get home from the doctor’s office, I plan to fully immerse myself in every episode of Buffy that I’ve been hungering to watch. Expect lots of Spike-y goodness. Rrrorwl!

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