Meneely Christmas

Meneely Christmas began with Flat Jason and I dusting off my bowling shoes at a different bowling alley, Fast Lane in Chillicothe. (I still say it should have been Chilli Bowl, Justin.) We bowled a couple games with some of the cousins, though not everyone made it to the bowling alley for the little pre-party fun.

Next, we joined the rest of the family at Uncle John and Aunt Marilyn's for dinner at 5. There were more people than usual and there was much discussion about the seating arrangement. At one point in the evening, Steve abandoned his wife and fetus to pretend to enjoy very odd stories from the family patriarch at the adult table. Another highlight was explaining to poor Casey, our family's newest addition via Marissa, what gooseberries are and daring him to eat gooseberry pie. Ah, what are holidays without a little family torture?

I presided over the white elephant gift exchange once again this year and was pleased to see several good steals, including John stealing a lava lamp from Lauren and Grandpa stealing a stuffed animal from his great-granddaughter. (He gave it back after it was over.) Perhaps the most disheartening steal of all was when Aunt Dorlene stole the African mask from Jason that he had stolen from Grandpa. He so had his heart set on it. I'm sorry, FJ.

Don't add a bonus to Grandpa's cookies!

And don't think for a minute that you can leave Flat Jason alone in the kitchen.

Lauren, Flat Jason and I traveled north to Chillicothe early for the Meneely Christmas. We had taken it upon ourselves to make chocolates for the gathering and to make sure there were plenty of Grandpa's cookies to go around.

We started sort of early. It wasn't any later than 9 p.m. But we made peanut butter balls and Oreo truffles AND Grandpa's scotcheroos. By the time we finally got around to putting the topping on the scotcheroos, it was midnight and we were getting tired.

The topping was supposed to be made of butterscotch and semi-sweet chocolate chips, but someone got the bright idea to add some leftover caramel/milk chocolate chips, a little bonus, if you will. Just a few, but the chocolate started getting thick. That's when the second mistake, adding the milk, occurred. The topping was barely spreadable; we know because we tried it. And then Lauren had to scrape it all off while I made another batch of topping. Lauren was none too pleased.

Merry Christmas!

Flat Jason posed in front of the sparsely decorated (ahem...Lauren...) Christmas tree before we opened presents Christmas morning.

Real Jason called while we were opening presents, so he was put on speakerphone for all to hear. He said everyone got the day off and not much was going on. And he said that his Christmas will have to wait until he gets back in the spring. Then he can use all the presents he got that Flat Jason opened.

At the Schad house, he got a Kung Fu Panda DVD, a Starbucks ornament and a box of games, to which he will probably challenge me and try unsuccessfully to beat me. Game on, Jason!

Not so silent night...

My favorite part of Christmas Eve is singing Silent Night by candlelight at Hopewell Union Church. Flat Jason and I managed to make it from Columbia in time for the service.

After church, "us kids" went home, watched movies and talked into the wee hours of the morning. This was the first year I ever remember being allowed to stay around the Christmas tree. We all fell asleep in the family room.

All I want for Christmas is you!

I got Christmas flowers from my real Jason!

Flat Jason looks for a new home

Flat Jason and I took Jamie, my roommate, with us on Saturday when we traveled to Oak Grove, Mo. We were looking for a new place for Jason to live when he gets home in the spring. We met Norm, who showed us a couple of duplexes. The first one was awful, full of stained carpet and cut-up linoleum. The second one was a lot better. In fact, we decided, while the real Jason was on the phone, that it would probably be a good place for him to live. So we started the paperwork.

After Norm left, Jamie, FJ and I drove around Oak Grove to get a feel for the town. We checked out the gym and talked to the girl working the front desk. Mariah was about our age and she gave us directions to the park we were looking for and answered our questions about Oak Grove and the surrounding area. Nice girl. Hope she's still there when we move.

Sunday, snow day

After church on Sunday, Flat Jason and I decided to take it easy. We curled up on the couch to watch back-to-back-to-back Hallmark movies and eat cookie dough.

Don't judge me.

Super Amanda and Mr. Fix-It

When Jason is gone, I like to think that I'm Super Amanda and that I can do what needs to be done and take care of things when they break down. But when Jason came home, he turned into Mr. Fix-It.

Vacuum, truck, computer. It seemed like everything was going downhill. The vacuum smelled like it was burning when I used it, so I quit vacuuming. The truck was having problems not dying, and I was tired of coordinating rides to and from the shop and trying to keep an extra vehicle running in town. And my poor computer...I don't know what was wrong with it, except it kept giving me error messages on a blue screen.

Then, Jason swooped in. He replaced the belt in the vacuum. He helped take the truck in to the shop to get it fixed, and we bought me a new computer because mine was on its last leg.

Sometimes I forget how handy he is to have around the house - my Mr. Fix-It.

I hate airports

I hate airports. I really do. Fifty percent of the time you're there it's sad. Someone leaving, going far, far away. And that 50 percent that's happy never seems to quite make up for the sad.

We arrived at the airport early, checked Jason's bag and figured out the location of his departure gate. And then the waiting began, the awkward waiting where you want to savor every moment you still have together, but you're in a big impersonal airport with this feeling of impending doom. He's leaving again.

That's the worst part of the deployment, the leaving. Jason left for training at Ft. Wood. He left for training at Camp Atterbury. I left him at Atterbury before he got sent to Germany. Three times gone and now he's leaving again.

We bought a magazine and grabbed some desserts from a bar in the terminal. I did my best not to cry, not that it did any good. Every time it gets a little harder. Jason just keeps reminding me that the longest part of the deployment is behind us. And when it got close to time for him to go through security, he sent me on my way so I wouldn't be hanging around.

Thank goodness I took the next day off.

Dinner with the fam - Part 2...and other things...

No visit to Columbia would be complete with out a trip to Huhot's, especially after they were so nice to Flat Jason on Real Jason's birthday. We ate lunch there before heading to see the three-hour epic Australia, which Jason and I both enjoyed.

Later, Jason's parents, Tom and Ann, came over to the house to visit and exchange Christmas gifts. We gave Ann the teapot that we'd made recently. See how beautiful Jason's obsessiveness is?

I suggested that Jason put on his Santa hat to hand out presents and everyone insisted that if Jason had his on, I had to wear mine, too. Thanks for the gifts, Tom and Ann!

Our small party continued at G&D's Steakhouse where we feasted on...what else?....steak.

After dinner, Jason and I went downtown for the Living Windows display. I've lived in Columbia for five years and never made it to this fun event. Many of the shops in the District design holiday-themed window displays that include people doing things. My favorite was at Poppy, the art gallery. I was drawn by "Santa Baby" blaring from the open shop door. Two girl nurses were dancing and singing in a window on one side of the door and a boy playing baby Santa on the other side. All the shops on Broadway were open later and we visited several. We even stopped in to get cookies from the new Hot Box Cookies. If you haven't tried it, you should! It's a college venture by a group of friends, and it looks like they're going to be pretty successful.

When we got home from our busy day, Jason tore another link off the paper chain. Now the chain is too short to be hooked in the middle. Hooray! Another Friday down, 23 to go.

Trim-A-Tree

I feel very fortunate that Jason was able to visit at Thanksgiving and that we got to do some Christmas-y things together, including putting up the tree.

We got our tree from the MU Forestry Club like we have for the past three years. It didn't take us too long to find a tree. They still had a pretty good selection, and we had size constraints. The tree had to fit beside the TV AND fit into the antique tree stand that I stole from Mom and Dad when they got a new one. Jason took our tree to the counter, and they put it on that thing that shakes out all the loose pine needles. I love that thing! I don't know why, but it makes me laugh every time!

The nice guy helping us cut the trunk so it would fit in the stand, which is a good thing because I don't have a hacksaw, and the last time a tree wouldn't fit, Jason attacked it with a very large kitchen knife. Jason put up the tree when we got home. I was very excited to decorate, but we had to put Christmas on pause to watch "Bigger, Faster, Stronger," a movie about steriod use.

While the movie was very interesting, I was ready for Christmas when it was over. I brought all of my Christmas CDs downstairs, and we began unpacking the decorations while we listened to Bing sing the holiday classics.





My favorite part of decorating the tree is the ornaments. Every one has a memory attached to it: the baseball for the time that Jason lost the car at a Royals game, the recliner for our love/hate relationship with the old ugly chair that resides in the corner and even the jingle bell ornaments that we made together that we have to fix every year because they get smashed in storage. And we topped it all off with the angel that Grandma Mary used on her tree.

This year, we even put up a nativity scene. The stable looks pretty full. I had to look at the layout on the box to get everyone to fit right. If I were Mary, I would have been overwhelmed by the number of guests. Thank goodness they didn't really all come at the same time!

Dinner with the fam

Since we didn't do Thanksgiving with family, we decided to have dinner with each side.

We met Mom, Dad and Lauren at Chili's in Jefferson City and had a nice visit.

Chipotle virgin no more

We ate at Chipotle one evening, which was another first for Jason.

We went to the new one, the one where Flat Jason and I went and took photos with the Chipotle-worker-dude named Jason. We sent that photo in to the Chipotle gods, and they sent us some coupons for free burritos, which Real Jason and I used when we went for dinner.

When we got there, we discovered that Chipotle Jason was working that night! Unfortunately, he was busy and Real Jason didn't want to bother him for a photo.

Coincidence that Real Jason got to see Chipotle Jason? I think not!

Mud Room...where everyone knows your name...

Well, I'm not sure if the Mud Room lady (her name is Erin, I think) knows my name, but she definitely knows who I am when I come in. She's trying to get a special bowl so that Jason and I can make a bowl to match the one that we made when I visited him at Ft. Sill. And she knows that Jason is in the military and that he is deployed and was very welcoming when we came in to make some Christmas presents.

One present we made was for Jason's mom, Ann. She collects teapots, so I thought it would be nice to paint a teapot. She decorates in Americana, so Jason thought it would be nice to paint it red, white and blue stripes. It started out simply. Jason would design it and paint the lid, and I would paint the big portions on the teapot. But no painting project with Jason is ever simple. Jason likes to put a lot of love and effort into the pieces he works on...so much love that I eventually had to take the teapot away from Mr. Perfectionist so we could leave the Mud Room.

Ice skating at Crown Center

After checking out some stores on the Plaza, we went ice skating at Crown Center. Jason had never been ice skating before and was very scared that he would fall. He didn't fear the impact of his bum hitting the ice; he was afraid that someone would skate across his fingers while he was down and slice them off. I assured him that would not happen.

We got on the ice right after they resurfaced it. Jason refused to hold my hand because he didn't want me to take him down with me if I fell and quickly warmed to ice skating, leaving me to hug the wall alone. Mr. I've-Never-Been-Ice-Skating apparently grew up on rollerblades and was skating circles around me, literally, dodging tottering children and wobbly adults. My "ice legs" came slowly, and upon proving myself, Jason joined me for a few passes around the rink. By the time the great Zamboni appeared again I was ready to call it a day.

We played around on the wooden objects before we left. There were tons of people out, so we had to wait our turn like good kids, which was hard because neither one of us is incredibly patient.

Thanksgiving night on the Plaza

I tricked Jason into going down to the lighting ceremony a little early...and by "a little" I mean a whole hour, even though it only took five to 10 minutes to walk there from the hotel. It would not have been necessary to use such trickery to get Flat Jason to the ceremony; he would have gone willingly. However, the Real Jason is a much more complex character, one who does not enjoy waiting or large crowds. Bribes of money and food work best...

No, Jason was a good sport. We had a pretty good view from the far left and largely avoided being crushed by the monsterous crowd. We walked around and looked at the lights after American Idol winner David Cook and his niece flipped the switch.

Then we headed to McCormick and Schmick's for Thanksgiving dinner. Jason feasted on his beloved turkey while I enjoyed prime rib. And while it seemed quite odd not arguing with cousins about whether they should be allowed to sit at the adult table (ahem...Steve) or avoiding people spooning on the couch (shall remain nameless to avoid awkwardness at family events), it was rather nice to spend the holiday together as a couple. We are our own family.

Thanksgiving Day on the Plaza

Jason got bored of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade long before Santa appeared (I know what you're thinking, but yes, he really is American.), so we headed down to the empty (and seemingly closed) Country Club Plaza. We finally located an open coffee shop, Scooter's Coffeehouse, and grabbed some java to enhance our window-shopping experience.


Later, we caught the new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace. Nothing better than watching 007 next to my own blond hunk!

Really thankful this Thanksgiving

It was a crazy busy day that I thought would NEVER come, but at 5:30, I picked up my real husband at the Kansas City International Airport, full of plans for a mini Thanksgiving vacation on the Plaza and spending the rest of Jason's 10-leave in CoMo.

Too bad Flat Jason doesn't get to tag along...hope he enjoys the closet...

Victory was within my grasp...

...and then snatched from under my nose!

In the first game, I was ahead until the last frame. Then, Brian decided he should try to get a turkey...in the last frame. In the last frame, Brian decided he would bowl a turkey. He would have done it, too, if it were not for one obstanant pin. He only failed by one pin, but it was enough to take the game.

Then, Nate decided to steal the next game. Perhaps not as impressively as Brian did, but he stole it nonetheless. And in the last frame, too. BAH! Twice in one day...I was crushed and so was Flat Jason.

Two good things of the night: I significantly broke 100 in each game, and Flat Jason and I ran into Ted from high school.

4-H Day at Arrowhead

We headed to Kansas City on Nov. 23 for 4-H Day at Arrowhead Stadium. Neither Flat Jason nor I had ever been to a pro football game before, but FJ wasn't impressed. He opted to stay in the car, something about playing sports being more fun than watching.

But I was pumped! I even wore my fuzzy red socks in support of the Chiefs. I ran around during the game trying to locate 4-H members and their families for photos. I got to meet a lot of neat people and had a pretty good time, considering how cold and windy it was.

The Chiefs ended up losing to the Buffalo Bills, 54-31.

Wwwwwwwwipeout!

The Eldon High School drama department's fall play was a musical comedy called Wipeout. It's about a family who is about to lose (foreclosure, how appropriate!) The Shack, a hovel of retail on Avalon Beach, and the local raggamuffins try to win a surfing competition to raise money to save it. Of course, there's a love story in there, too. Both leads performed well, but for me, it's always the secondary, My-job-is-to-make-you-laugh characters that get my attention. EHS has a German foreign exchange student with a lovely voice (I would argue she should have been the lead.) and due to her acting, her character was more zany and charming than annoying like the other girls' characters. My other favorite was the tall boy who sported a dark mohawk and can be seen in the middle in this video:



But top honors for backstage help goes to my sister, the best stage manager ever!


Flat Jason gives it two thumbs up, but reminds everyone to bring earplugs...just in case!

Sunday night = bowling night

Sweet, starry bowling shoes...two plates of seasoned fries to mooch...talk of getting the soundtrack to Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog...ahh, it's bowling night!




This time Flat Jason and I made a new friend. Her name was Shaylene. (I don't know how to spell it, but that's what it sounded like.) She offered to share her 6-lb. bowling ball and all but forced me to use it. We did pretty good, she and I. I got close to 100 the first game and broke it the second game.

Mizzou Collegiate 4-H invites Flat Jason to dinner

Mizzou Collegiate 4-H recently hosted the North Central Region Collegiate 4-H Conference at the University of Missouri. College students from several states came to Columbia to participate in workshops, hear speaker Patty Hendrickson, volunteer at the Central Missouri Food Bank and just have fun...and they invited Flat Jason to attend the Saturday evening banquet and dance.

At dinner we heard from a few speakers, including MU Chancellor Brady Deaton. He recognized Flat Jason and his service and managed to tie-in that the university was completing a new veterans facility. The evening's entertainment was a hypnotist. Mildly amusing, but definitely a creeper. After dinner, Brady and his wife, Anne, posed with Flat Jason and me. And even though the photo would suggest otherwise, I promise I am not a giant, even if I tower over the Deatons.

Later, it was time for the dance, which was interesting. Flat Jason and Kelli Jo got the party started, even though the DJ got off to a rocky start and never really recovered. Then some drunk women from the bar crashed the dance. I totally tattled on them and either Ina or Melissa kicked them out. Ha, ha! I realized that I only know the dance to the music video version of Thriller. And I realized that I have a lot of friends in town that like to dance...sounds like a dance party at KC Country is in order!

One Day at Forum

On Sunday, Flat Jason and I went to One Day at Forum, which technically was at the Columbia Performing Arts Center. It was the first time all three services of Forum had worshipped together in more than 30 years. I was amazed at all the people. It's so different than my home church, Hopewell Union, a country church where a good day sees 30 people in the pews for one service. At Forum, there were so many people, they even handed out pre-packaged communion!

Even though the service was in a different place, with way more people, it still felt like Forum to me. And that was the point. Scott reassured us that as Forum expands to another campus on the north side of town (by me!), it will still be the same, just in another location.

And worship was awesome! Here are the last few minutes of the service:

Rock the Vote! Flat Jason hit the polls on election day.

Flat Jason celebrates Real Jason's Birthday

Sunday, Nov. 2, was Jason's 26th birthday. Flat Jason celebrated by staying busy. After church, we went with AshLee and JR to Shryocks' Corn Maze. None of us had ever been to a corn maze before so we didn't really know what to expect, but it's just like how it sounds: people wandering around a big cornfield.

This year's theme was Race for the White House - oh the elections! Will we never be rid of them? Shryock's made the maze more interesting by adding checkpoints with trivia questions that we had to find and answer. We started the maze by just choosing a path, left or right, but after unsuccessfully locating checkpoints, JR developed a systematic approach to the maze. We thoroughly covered the maze, located all of the checkpoints and turned in our sheet in good time. Masterful job! It's a good thing, too, because someone (I'm not naming names) on the team was getting a little hot and tired of the game.

After the maze, Flat Jason and I went out to eat birthday dinner at Huhot Mongolian Grill. We had a coupon for free birthday dessert, but our lovely waitress Sydney told her manager Jim that we were there and he said that Huhot would pick up the tab. What an incredible gift! Then a Marine came over with some money. "Here," he said. "When he gets home, take him out and buy him a beer." Another lady also came over to say thank you for Jason's service. On the verge of tears, I thanked everyone as best I could. I hope they realized how much their kindness and generosity meant to me. I felt incredibly blessed.

We met the Sunday evening crew for some birthday bowling goodness around 9 o'clock. I beat Brian both times with scores of 101 and 90. He'll say he was injured if you ask him, but the point is I beat him twice. It was the shoes...and Jason's birthday magic.

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Real Jason didn't have as much fun on his birthday. He actually had to go into the office for a little bit, but it was ok because he had decorations to remind him how special he is! Real Jason also wants to tell everyone thank you for the birthday cards and packages.