Whew.

Back from Chicago. The party went over well. My brother, sister and I got a cruise for my mom's birthday present. She and my dad will be visiting the eastern Carribean in Februray aboard Celebrity Cruises. Apparently, my mother really didn't know that was going to be her gift, but you can never really know with my mother. She's like the CIA. My father has known about the cruise for quite some time because he had to arrange for his vacation time. Anyway, I hope they have a good time. It's the first time either one will be on a cruise.

I'm pretty wiped out right now and I cannot wait for Christmas vacation to start. The university closes from Christmas to New Year's and I am really feeling the burn this year. I really need a break. We are hosting an open house on Saturday so I've got to spend this week cleaning. Then my parents and brother and sister-in-law come here next week, which means I have to do major, major cleaning. My mom notices every single unclean thing and will proceed to clean it herself when she discovers it. It's annoying but the only way to avoid it is to make sure there's nothing for her to clean. I am talking about things like the stove and the refridgerator. She'll do the laundry if she sees it. Stuff like that. Anyway, I'll talk later. I've got stuff to do right now.