The (Sick-Ridden, Worry-Filled) Holiday

Oh yeah, another holiday where I end up sick. At least the snow's thawed out. But that's only where it starts.

The Day Before
Prior to Christmas, I found myself rather listless. Instead of rushing out to seek work, I set myself to keeping the kids from getting into mischief while my wife sought out her training. It was a short bit, but my those kids do keep you on your feet.

My baby girl quickly figured out how to take steps, and was cruising a bit when I could give her the time to move about. Guess all that walking practice paid off in the long run. You ask what our walking practice is? It's where she grasps a pair of towels or my fingers and toddles about as I walk with her. It works pretty well, and with the towels there is a delay between when she loses her balance and where I arrest her fall. It may seem a little rough, but having a point of reference helps when you're trying to learn something.

My oldest troubles me a bit though. Her appetite has been a bit slack of late, even more so after a stomach bug made her puke. It wasn't until a couple of days after that she would reveal something of why...

Christmas Eve
It was a relatively simple day. All was relatively quiet, and it seemed everyone was well. We had our traditional dinner of Irish Rarebit (Irish Rabbit with Ham instead of Rabbit) and Sparkling Cider. It was exceptionally well done this year, my mom being quite the cook, but it was prepared about 2 hours later than anticipated. As a result, we were unable to head out and look at Christmas lights as we wanted.

I suppose that's what I get for relying so much on others who's reputation for sluggishness is now quite plain. I know Linda won't stand for it much longer, my mom's slowness being thought outright laziness rooted in depression. I find myself agreeing more and more with that opinion with each passing day, coming to the additional conclusion that somewhere she just cares less and less about herself and the effects of her decisions on my daughters' outlook of both herself and themselves.

Ahh...we struggle on, the horizon being closer than last year. I guess I won't be expecting this tradition to continue after our move out by next Spring or Summer. I will miss the rarebit, but the time is coming soon that we move out of this place and into our own digs. But Linda and I beat that dead horse enough outside of the virtual world...

Christmas
Well, the big day comes with a few surprises. The stomach bug strikes again, this time against my wife and our wee one, and I. Expecting to pick it up myself, I ate little more than a few crackers and braced myself...I did finally get it at the end of the day. My parents also took a hit, both picking up the colds that have been circulating.

But it wasn't all bad. Despite the downturn, things were rather cheery. Some extra clothes, a couple new video games - including Wii Music which I have been anticipating and we are rather enjoying (see Game Time) - and some neat little treats for the kids from both grandparents and ourselves.

My oldest got her first CD Player this year, something she's been wanting for months. I'm grateful for that, because now our room will again be pre-teen-pop music free. My baby got a number of new playthings that she can experiment with, but she's more inclined to pitch them every which way instead of try to keep things together. That's what babies do, as I've observed many times before. Indeed, they both have some additional toys that I can almost sit on, step on, or otherwise injure myself on. Let's see how that works out, eh?

After the Holiday
Not much to say about Friday, as I slept through most of it ill with the flu. Today though, I had a round of self-induced idiocy. I forgot to get some things cleaned up, and when I went to exchange something I forgot to pick up another storage tub for our new Christmas knick-knacks. But at least the girls and I had some fun at the fast-food joint, having a nice lunch to ourselves. The stomach illness left me with half the appetite I usually have, so I left my meal unfinished. But I found it odd that my oldest's fries were barely touched. Was it the bigger burger she ordered, or was there something else...

It was later at dinner that she let us know what was going on. She told me that she was trying to take off some weight. A 7-year-old, worrying about her weight! I don't know about Linda, but I took it as quite a shock. I tried to relay to her that she shouldn't worry about it, that she's a growing girl that needs the energy from food to grow. It didn't weaken any of her resolve, my comments discarded with such a flippant attitude.

I have been told I worry to much, but this has me discounting that outright. My daughter's health is at risk the longer she worries about weight loss. I mean, she's at a healthy weight now, and I'd like it to stay healthy. Letting herself go without the food she needs is going to harm her in the long run. I just hope I can convince her of this fact without sounding entirely overbearing.

Game Time!
Alright, enough of the worries around me. Being sick has taken some of the wind out of my sails, but it hasn't kept me from trying out my new games.

Wii Music
The critics have been quite unkind to Shigeru Miyamoto's latest creation, but my wife picked this one up for me this year, and it has been a sheer joy. The controls have been oversimplified, allowing the player to control any instrument with unparalleled ease, with the hopes that you'll use the program to create your own arrangements of up to 50 tracks. Among these tracks are a mix of genres, ranging from classical and rock, pop to reggae, hip-hop to Japanese; and it includes a few of Nintendo's own game tunes.

The wide variety of instruments available - including some off-the-wall choices - three interesting, fun minigames, and a highly customizable part and instrument selector makes this a fun introductory step into music arrangement. Next week I'll have updates about this game, and what I've been able to mix together.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Yes, I finally picked up this late 2007 FPS. Sadly, I had to trade in the game my mother-in-law sent me as a holiday gift. Oh well, I had Super Smash Bros. Brawl already. Bring on a new challenge!

I just had enough time to play through the first couple of hours, but it's whet my appetite for more. I knew the Wii would be an excellent platform for an FPS game. Control was tight and responsive, even at low battery power. The fighting's intense as ever, and now that I have full movement control, it felt perfect. And once again, Retro Studios also loaded the game with an extensive lore collection waiting for a scan-crazy kid to have at it. I can't wait to get back into the fray.


Alright, that's the week. Be safe out there, and watch your backside. You never know when the ranger is watching.