Audra Jennings

Christmas Eve was about as uneventful as it could get. Not even a photo to share.  After some morning chores and straightening my hair which has kind of become a special occasion, I headed over to my parents' house by noon.  In years past, there would have normally been a discussion about if anything was on at the movies. Dad asked a day or two ago if I knew what was on, but I said I wasn't so sure the theater was even open in town. When I drove by one night, it looked closed. We're not eating out in restaurants currently, so there was no going anywhere after discussing who was and wasn't open until what time.  We did go to Golden Chick for fried chicken. Unless you call corn nuggets festive... What I did do was dig out a couple of decks of cards and made my dad play Canasta. He doesn't exactly love to play, but since he normally spends his days playing some form or another of solitaire on the computer, he played. The way I beat him, he may not play with me again.  ...

It just wouldn't be Christmas without trying to finish one gift for someone at the last minute.  I decided a couple of days ago that I would make my sister-in-law something to go in her classroom since I needed something else for her gift. I haven't made anything for anyone this year, and I didn't have to make stockings this year. I usually have something going up to the last minute. So, I started this at 11 PM on December 23.  Amanda decorated her classroom with cactus this year. I thought the phrase was cute. It took Dad a minute to get it when I showed him the picture. His response was, "Interesting." Mom said he was sleep deprived. His latest excuse. My brother got it quicker. This is the sign I made a few months ago for her: Most of today was like the day before Thanksgiving, cooking cornbread, picking apart the turkey, etc. That's what you do when you eat Whataburger for Thanksgiving. We did go out to Brian and Amanda's for...

I successfully lobbied for Saving Mr. Banks rather than Madea for our annual Christmas Eve dinner (Applebee's was open until 2 AM) and movie. Dad thought it was going to be a silly comedy, but it's actually a drama. A sad one at that! But, oh-so good! He really liked it, but said watching Tom Hanks made him think Forrest Gump. He looks nothing like Forrest Gump anymore. That's his mental hang-up. The trailer below has more of the lighter-hearted moments. The movie is actually two-fold. One aspect of the story is about Walt Disney trying to convince the author of Mary Poppins , Mrs. Travers, to sign over the rights to make her books into a movie. She's very stubborn and is afraid of the spectacle he might turn her story into (NO ANIMATION!). The other half of the movie is a series of memories as to why Mary Poppins (never just Mary) is so close to Mrs. Travers heart--why Mary is family. Very serious. The movie is PG-13 mainly because of this part. Afterwar...

Although I am sure to have the kind of guilt trip you are thinking of tomorrow, today, my parents and I went to our annual Christmas Eve movie. This year, our selection was The Guilt Trip. Dad was worried becuase the critics had given it bad reviews. All I can say is that the critics had never traveled with their parents, or they were parents who couldn't see the humor in how they really act. We all found it hilarious. A few awkward moments. Some language could be cut. In the restrooms, a guy who had also seen the movie said that he didn't think he could travel with either of his daughters. I'm not really sure what my dad said in return.