Mocha chocolata ya ya

My hospitals are trying to make me fat. Tis the season, I suppose. Last week, I got a package at work consisting of a giant box of Godiva chocolates from one of the treatment centers in Tennessee-one that out of network for United Healthcare, but nonetheless, they clearly love me (or just want me to get fat). Then, today I got yet another giant box of chocolates (although not Godiva-cheap bastards), from a hospital in Pennsylvania that I haven't even managed in TWO years. I always loved working with them though, and I guess the feeling is mutual. I've managed to make my co-workers eat with me-nothing sadder than a single girl eating a giant box of chocolates by herself in her cubicle.

How was everyone's weekend? Mine was good, always good when my family is in town. My parents and brother came to the STL on Saturday as my mom and her siblings were planning on taking Grandpa to lunch on Sunday for his birthday. Saturday, the boys (dad, grandpa and brother), sat around in the living room drinking beer and watching sports and my mom and I......were on our hands and knees scrubbing and waxing Grandpa's kitchen floor. I'm thinking we got the raw end of the deal there. Poor gramps really can't do it, so mom and I moved all the furniture out of the kitchen (with very little help from the menfolk, mind you) and were literally on the floor using good ol' fashioned elbow grease. My knees still hurt and Saturday night I couldn't sleep because my lower back was killing me but, hey, it was for Grandpa and, if I do say so myself, the floor looks AMAZING.

I was happy to hear on Saturday that my sis, brother-in-law and niece arrived in St. Louis safely, as did my cousin Clint, his wife Amy and daughter Kira. They got stuck in that massive snow storm when they tried to leave on Friday, but finally managed to make it here safe and sound. On Sunday (as per the pics in the previous post), my sis, brother-in-law and beautiful niece came to church to surprise Grandpa-and surprised he was! I was immensely happy during that church service. I had the people I love the most in the world right there with me. Nothing much gets better than that.

Last night I finally started wrapping my Christmas presents (hey, just because I got the shopping part done early doesn't mean I was gonna wrap them in any sort of timely manner), and watched the movie "Four Christmases" (pretty funny!). It is now officially Christmas week. Sadly, I have to work on Christmas Eve but I'm hoping, like last year, that we'll be able to leave early. We'll be celebrating Christmas Eve with my mom's side of the family, Christmas Day with my dad's side and Christmas night at home in Salem with just the immediate family. Sounds perfect. :)