sweet sweet virginia

last weekend, i was back in virginia, enjoying time with the fam.  our adventures included a trip up to the creek on the blue ridge parkway, where we picnicked and splashed around like old times.

merry christmas from the family

this year's family christmas vacation included:

12 pounds of turkey

11 bottles of vino

10 types of dessert

9 sweet potatoes

8 rounds of game time

7 human beings

6 rowdy dogs

(+ 1 reclusive cat)

5 harry potter movies

4 inches (leftover) snow

3 christmas eve servies

2 grocery trips

and a partridge in our pear tree

"For to us a Child is born, 

to us a Son is given ...

and His Name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Isa. 9:6

weekend update: attack of the stink bugs

to fully understand this story, i'll give you some background history: it starts in high school.

junior or senior year, i started noticing a odd rash on my hands-  little bumps, like bites, maybe, or a weird allergic reaction to i had no idea what.  the bumps wouldn't last long, but they never fully went away; they'd disappear only to be replaced in new places, changing patterns every day.  i couldn't figure it out.

at the same time, i'd notice little bugs- tiny, flat, and brown- crawling on my bed.  not a lot, just a few every day or every couple of days.  i think i showed them to my mom one time, but neither of us recognized them for what they were.

then, it happened.  i woke up in the middle of the night.  something was crawling on me.  i turned on the light and stifled a scream.  the bugs were EVERYWHERE.  i slept in the hall that night.

until this point, i believed bed bugs to be a mythical creature than could be warded off with a shoe.

boy was i wrong.

i finally convinced my parents something terrible was happening.  (since bed bugs only come out at night, this took a few days to prove.)  one new mattress and an exterminator later, the bugs were finally gone.

fast forward to a few years ago:  my parents' house was invaded by a plague of stink bugs.  because i wasn't home at the time, i thought it was really funny.  now, as they linger, i find them extremely annoying.

saturday, i took a quick trip back home.  as i was turning back my covers that night, i realized that my bed was once again overrun- by stink bugs.  i lost it: i screamed bloody murder.  at which point i had to explain to my parents that i was okay but there was "an unholy number" of stink bugs on my bed.  and on my window shade.  i had a mild panic attack when two fell out of the blinds.  one by one, two by two, i flushed them down the toilet.  it's the only way to get rid of them.  and the whole time, i was re-living that night i woke up to find myself and my bed CRAWLING.  i thought i was going to faint.

thankfully, the trip was bookended by much pleasanter experiences.  i loved being with hsBFF and her new baby.  then, advent in rivermont and decorating the tree with hot chocolate and christmas carols.  as i said before, i always need a little christmas, and i can't wait to be home again for the real thing.

(hopefully, with no more bugs.)