Oooh, how I wish that post title was a typo. Guess what I got for Christmas? Stomach flu! I actually managed to LOSE weight over the holidays, but in a totally not worth it kind of way. We have spent the past few days with my parents in Houston, and they have assured us that it will be the last Christmas in that crowded, hot, sweaty, smelly city with nutjob freak drivers and no zoning laws (there is a preschool next door to an oil refinery a few blocks away from my parents’ neighborhood). Of all the places I have lived, Houston is at the bottom of the list. Yes, even Sherman ranks higher. The parents feel the same way and can’t wait to move next year to a cool, sunny city on the ocean. Mike, Vanessa, and Bob flew in and it was fantastic to see all of them, as usual. I have the greatest brothers and sister-in-law. All very smart, very cool people. I was having a nice time up until about 6 a.m. Christmas morning when I woke up from a nightmare about being queasy. And it was all downhill from there. The entire day was kind of a blur of crawling back and forth to the bathroom, trying to catch brief snatches of sleep, trying to drink fluids (nope, not even water was agreeing with me), shivering under four blankets, and apologizing to Doc for ruining Christmas. He was being his usual sweet self, checking on me every few minutes, going all over the city to find a store that was open so I could have juice and ginger ale (which I wasn’t even able to drink until the next day), and trying to make me comfortable. Meanwhile, I heaved and whined and shivered and complained […]