Family Affairs

Today Mom and I went to my cousin's baby shower. Now, it should be noted that I am NOT a shower kind of girl. Don't get me wrong, I'm always happy for the shower recipient but, damn, how many showers does a girl have to endure in a lifetime? I love my cousin but I was not looking forward to another shower. I was, however, looking forward to seeing my family. My Dad is the oldest of ten kids. (I know.) His sisters are more and more endearing as the years pass. I also adore Dad's Aunt and two cousins. They are hilarious and really know how to live. Dad's aunt was widowed in the early 70's and his uncle left her fairly well off. California real estate, the gift that keeps giving. Anyway, when we all get together there is ALWAYS some fun family gossip to be had. I know it's unsavory but, come on, if you're going to enjoy some juicy gossip it may as well be about your own family.

Today was no different. Today I learned that everyones least favorite family member asked our favorite family member for $500k to pay off his mortgage. What the hell?! I still can't imagine the nerve. This guy is a notorious jerk. I can't imagine anyone wanting to help him out. Can you imagine asking anyone for half a million dollars? Unbelievable.

On a lighter note, a fantastic second cousin is going to Prague to study for six months. I'm incredibly jealous. Her little sister threw up on a plane when she ate a duty free sized bag of m&ms and chased is with two frappuccinos. *gross*

Another wonderfully sweet aunt recently had a long overdue breast reduction. I gave her a hug, looked down and said "So, how are the girls?" She said they were great. The surgery went well and she said she never had any pain. Recovery was a snap. They took "a pound out of each". Good grief! She said she would have liked them to have taken more but that's all they could safely take. *shudder*

Another aunt, the mother of the shower recipient, always knocks herself out to create an amazing spread at family gatherings. She had an amazing kitchen constructed just to handle these celebrations. There were about 40 women at this get together so she had tons of food out. She made about 8 quiches as the main course. I've never been much of a quiche gal but these were amazing. I chose the cheddar and ham option and it was delicious. I've got to get the recipe because it was by far the best quiches I've ever had. We decided the spread was by far the best shower food we'd ever had.

Perhaps my favorite part of the shower was the fact that the games were optional. I really dislike shower games. They're generally boring and take too much time. I'd rather be socializing. These games, on the other hand, were for those who chose to participate. It was great. For one game there were 8 the baby sonogram pictures up on a wall. The game was to identify the body parts. They had an elbow, the bottom of a foot (that I never would have guessed), a nose and so on. The play or don't play thing really worked for me. I didn't play.

My other cousin's wife made the adorable invitations and some impressive paper embellishments for the games and door prizes. When I asked if she was a scrapper she was mortified. "No! Never! I'm no soccer mom. You'll never see puffed paint on my sweatshirts!" she said. She cracked me up. Whenever someone said her name I said "Oh, you mean the scrapper?" She kept on denying it but I told her she had tendencies. I explained that while scrapping was certainly a cult to avoid, but that there are ways to avoid the goofy, annoying scrapbooks. I told her I'd show her some of my pages sometime. When we left the shower we saw her standing at the side of the house smoking and talking on her cell phone. She's a rebel and I like it.

After the shower, I couldn't wait to get mom in the car to tell her about the family gossip. She couldn't believe what I had to tell her. Especially the bit about the money request cloaked in a sappy letter. She didn't have much to report. Christmas should be fun this year.

(Disclaimer: No, I have not personally seen the picture featured above. I just plain love it and thought it did a great job of describing most families I know.)