Boxing Day... In which Wendy has eaten too much, drunk too much and just generally enjoyed herself....And blog giveaway winner - ShopwithM

I certainly hope you all had the most fantastic day yesterday!

We had a lovely day. 

Barry woke up at 5:30 and insisted that we all get up at 6:00 am!  You can't take the Christmas out of the boy, I guess!

Up we got, did our stockings, had a big breakfast, and then opened our gifts.

I did just the right amount of well - some good books, a couple of nice pair of earrings, a white and warren cozy cashmere cardigan and a fabulous picture I will show you in a moment.

The early hour was too much for my son, who immediately conked out after opening his presents!

The big gift for our children was that we are taking them to Disney World and to Universal Studios (most specifically the Harry Potter part) over their winter break at the end of February.  This was a big surprise to them, as we told them no trip this year. 

In reality, it was the last gift from my dad; we wrapped up his estate a couple of weeks ago and divided the last little bit of his money amongst my brother, sister and I.  We decided we'd like to do a family trip, as my dad used to travel with us all the time after my mum died.  His favourite trip was when we took him to Disney World for the first time when he was 72 and he was thrilled.  So back to Disney we will go, but it will be a very different trip with a 19 and 22 year old (and a girlfriend too), though perhaps even more fun - who knows? 

We will also go out to the Gulf while we are there to see my uncle, so we will have touristy time as well as down time.

It was fun to surprise the kids and last night at dinner we had lots of fun planning which parks we would do when (the resort reservations and plane tickets have long been purchased).

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One of the presents I liked best was a photograph that Barry had framed for me:

The picture is of my mother and her brother, also named Barry (who died tragically at age 16) posing with friends at the end of a marionette making class in the late 1940s.

The picture is interesting on many levels: my grandmother taught the course and took the picture,

and between my Uncle Barry and my mother is one Donald Sutherland, who was a close friend of theirs growing up.

 It is great to have this picture of them framed, and will be something I will cherish.  Thanks Barry!

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The great thing about the excesses of Christmas and seeing photos of yourself with double chins is that it is the perfect incentive to begin the post-Christmas diet, so one can look thinner when one finds oneself posing beside Winnie The Pooh at Disney.  A gal has got to have her priorities straight!  Will try and take a couple of photos of myself in my new frippery today, but only if we can achieve perfect lighting and photoshopping that eliminates the - ahem- excess...  sigh...  Well I did need a kick to get going!

So yes, we had the most wonderful Christmas and today is all about relaxing, reading, leftovers and maybe a movie.  We will go see Barry's family on Saturday, so on to round 2!

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I have an update on the blog giveaway: in my scatterbrain December 24th shenanigans, I mistakenly entered Cate in the giveaway, though she advises she did not enter the giveaway and she is indeed correct about that!  Thanks Cate for catching that and being so honest! ;-)

Luckily, I had all the names still and after another draw, ShopwithM is the winner of the $25 J Crew Card!

Have a lovely Boxing Day!  And of course - stay safe out there!