Christmas this year was spent at our apartment in Valencia. We got our tree in the parking lot of College of the Canyons but the decision was epic. We must have spent an hour going back and forth on who wanted what why. Katie is a Douglas Fir fan while I am a Nobel / Silver Nobel fan. We ended up compromising and getting a . It had the bushiness of a Doug Fir but had the platforms of a Nobel. Because of the height of our apartment ceiling, we went with a modest 6′ tree but were very tempted to get a 12′ tree and just propping up on the patio!
We have probably the worst Christmas etiquette on the planet. We wait until midnight on the 24th and give each other our ‘flagship’ gifts. That’s technically Christmas day, right? We don’t care, it a fun tradition that we’ve now upheld 3 years in a row now! This year we got each other bicycles, nothing too flash, but very basic so we can get on the road and maybe even lose a few LB’s. So far, they are amazingly fun and no one has had an accident yet.
On Christmas day, the Pettit family was gathering at my brother Gary’s house for dinner and gift 
exchange. We couldn’t stay for dinner as Ann was flying in but we did stop by to deliver presents and visit for a bit. Joel was in from Virginia and he and Michelle showed just as we had to leave. It was nice to see everyone and I definitely wished we could have stayed longer.
Katie’s mom, Ann, flew in on Christmas day to celebrate the holiday with us. Originally, I was scheduled to work and there was no way I could get the holiday off. By chance, on Christmas eve a co-worker needed the holiday OT. This was bitter sweet as if I had known a few weeks prior, we could have gone to Seattle for the holidays to see Katie’s family. No worries though, it was a blessing just to get the day off to begin with and with Katie’s mom coming in, this was the next best thing.
Katie and Ann have a tradition of opening gifts from each other on Christmas night in their own, private celebration. With marriage, I was granted access into this inner Christmas circle and wow… what a celebration. A mountain of gifts under the tree that literally takes ours to open followed by a feast of Chinese take out. Some aspects of the Jordan traditions are in fact eyes-only, so I have to leave the meat & potatoes out.
Thanksgiving has become a bitter sweet holiday in out house. The trend has become that I work and Katie cooks all day so that when I get home, the big meal is ready when I get home. This year was a little different. On Thanksgiving day I worked but took a long lunch and joined the Irons family (my mother’s side) for dinner. Each year, the Irons family comes together at a church in Sunland for a late lunch. My office is only 20 minutes down the road, so I met Katie there to rub elbows with the family. There were family portraits taken, plenty of catching up and meal to feed an army! Unfortunately by the time we got to the meal, I had to head back to work. I packed a to-go plate and split back to work. Not much of a Thanksgiving, but it was a fond one.
Katie made our Thanksgiving dinner on the following Sunday and man-o-man what a spread! I honestly believe she has found the secret to cooking a turkey. Perfectly seasoned, crispy skin and moist white & dark meat alike. We ate like kings and I have only my amazing wife to thank. She puts in the extra love & care needed to pull this gargantuan meal off just right. I have put up a few photos of the table and of the Irons family gathering over on our Flickr page.
View all the photos here
When you think of Thanksgiving, what comes to mind? Just a few that come to my mind: Family, turkey, pumpkin pie, pilgrims… and with Thanksgiving 08, I can add one more to the list: theft. My (Josh’s) mom is in town from England and went shopping on black Friday with Katie at the Grove. I had to work so Katie getting a shopping buddy that wasn’t me worked out perfectly. When I got home from work, we all headed over to Aunt Susan’s for a very nice family dinner. We returned home at about midnight and hit the rack shortly after.
When I woke up the next morning, I had planned to make a waffle breakfast, but needed a few supplies from the grocery. I grabbed my keys and headed out the door. When I got down to the parking garage, I discovered that my passenger front window had been smashed in.
The truly ironic part, I had nothing of street value in my car. The thieves took my prescription sun glasses…. that’s it.
I went back upstairs to tell Katie and Mom what had happened and to call the Sheriff. Once the Sheriff was on their way, Katie came down to the garage to wait with me for the deputy to arrive. Katie’s car was parked once space away with a SUV separating our cars, so I couldn’t see her car. Katie went over to see if anyone else was hit.. then she saw her car. Her driver side front window had been smashed!
Katie ran upstairs to get her keys and wallet for the deputy, but she couldn’t find her wallet. The wallet was in the car! We figured that when Katie paid for parking at the Grove, her wallet missed the purse and fell in the crack between the seat and door. When the thieves smashed her window to get her sunglasses… they got an unexpected bonus. Once the officer took our statements and info, he ordered finger prints and split. Katie and I ran up stairs and started the process of canceling all our credit cards.
The thieves charged a healthy amount at a few local stores, but nothing extreme. Now, because they stole credit cards, this is considered a higher crime on the scale of what the police will investigate. They can now pull the surveillance tapes of all the shops the thieves visited.. which puts a face to the crime.
The finger print tech says that our area is being hit hard and they are out here weekly for break-ins. She also told us that our case will enable the Sheriff to go farther now that they have moved up to identity theft. Sting operations and bait cars are in the works… and we now have 4 detectives on the case. I sure hope they catch these jerks.
So… all in all.. not a very happy Thanksgiving, but at least it put alot of things in perspective for us. The rest of the photos of our cars can be found here.
Long time since our last post.. but here we are.
Halloween Party
Tak and Jacob had a costume party the weekend before Halloween… right in the middle of my packing for the move. When I agreed to go, I didnt know I’d be moving the next weekend… so I told Jacob that I wouldn’t be able to make it. I could tell he was let down, but right after I hung up the phone, Tak called me back and threatened my manhood if I didn’t attend. I talked it over with Katie and we both agreed that it was too important of an event to miss out on.
We scrambled for costumes, but did a pretty good job. We went with a blue collar job theme; Katie was a 7-11 worker and I was a Ralphs worker. The party was a pretty good time. We met many new people and Jacob & Tak’s apartment looked awesome. Moe showed up as a Czech rocket troop… always nice to see teammates at social events.
Halloween Hospital Fun
So I was moving in 4 days and was packing at a fever pace. When I got home from work on the 31st, I layed down for a 2hr nap before opening a can of packing whoop ass. When I woke up.. I was felt terribly sick. Fever, nausea, chills… all the symptoms of… CELLULITUS! I had Katie come right over and she made an executive decision to take me to the ER.
Now, the Henry Mayo ER has never been a smooth process. Always over crowded and long wait times. This time, once I signed in we only waited 5 minutes before we saw the triage nurse… and another 30 minutes before I saw a doctor. While I was on the bed waiting, Katie was by my side, comforting me while I was in agonizing pain and having a terrible anxiety attack. I don’t think I could have made it without her there.
The Doctor gave me the final call.. be admitted or do out-patient treatment. I told him he is the pro and needs to make the call. Right? I mean.. what kind of doc asks the patient on treatment? The doc strongly reccommend that I stay so I gave him the call. I was admitted at 9p on the 31st and let out on the 2nd. Fisch was the only one to come visit me other than Katie. Fisch has always made it in every time I have been in the hospital… and that really says something. Granted this stay was short, but still… Fisch really is a life-friend and I am very thankful to have him in my corner.
Thanksgiving
We are at my Dad’s place and guests are starting to arrive… will post more later.
Holidays | Josh | 
December 28, 2009 3:01 am | 
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