Merrie X-Mass!

Happy, merry, and joyful Christmas! Today was awesome. I was awakened this morning by my parents giving me the same treatment I used to give them when I was a child: "Wake up, Daddy! Santa's been here! Wake up!"

I eventually pulled myself out of bed and we began unwrapping gifts. Jennifer called in the middle of our ceremonies to wish us a happy Quanza. While on the phone, I had Mom and Dad open their "surprise gift" that I had been hyping them about for a few weeks. Their reaction was exactly what I had been looking forward to for months. They were bewildered that I had taken the time and effort to create the gift I gave them. So, what was it?

Back when I was a child, my parents were always holding a video camera in front of my face. They filmed everything. As I grew older, I liked having that camera around just about as much as I liked having the chicken pox. But you know what? Looking back on it, I'm so glad they captured all of it on film. Well, a few years ago, they had their old 8mm movie reels converted over to VHS tapes. Back then, that was good stuff. But now, with VHS on it's way to the grave, I thought it might be neat to digitally re-master the old home movies. DVD seemed like an appropriate format, and with the recent advances my favorite fruit company has been making with editing and burning video , I figured this was the perfect opportunity. Their 2 VHS tapes came out to be a 4-DVD set: Pollard Family Home Movies, Volumes 1-4. iDVD2 allowed me to create 100% custom DVD menus with animated backgrounds and buttons. I packaged up the final product in America Online CD cases with custom covers. Check out the photo of two of the DVDs.

That really was the highlight of my Christmas: seeing their faces light up in surprise. I received a Sony home theater system in a box with a 5.1-ready receiver, 5 speakers and a subwoofer. It should sound really good. Now, I just need some speaker stands, a cat who won't chew all of the wires, and a residency that will allow me to REALLY see what this system will do. I also got a new set of luggage with a handle and wheels, a cool little set of bendy-socket wrenches, a 12-pack of Code Red, and some new Twizzlers with watermelon filling (weird). Very cool. My parents are so good to me.

Tonight, we picked up my grandmother from the assisted living place and brought her here to eat Christmas dinner with us. We had chicken, mashed potatoes, green beens (from Mom & Dad's garden), and more. It was awesome. I always look forward to their cooking when I come up here. We finished the whole thing off with some pecan pie tonight. Yum!

And now? I'm watching "For the Love of the Game". Great movie.

Tomorrow, we'll be heading out for Vermont at around 6am. The trip should take us about 12-13 hours, which should put us there around 7pm or so. Olivia's flight comes in to Burlington at 11:45pm, so I guess we'll probably stop by there and pick her up, if we think about it.

And by the way, the saying is correct: "Distance makes the heart grow fonder". Yep, I miss her. But we're getting ready to have a great rest of our vacation up in beautiful, snowy (yes..SNOW!) Vermont! I can't wait. Look for lots more photos and stuff coming in the next few days from the arctic tundra! :)

Posted by Jeff at December 25, 2001 10:52 PM