Party time!

Last night, Ray and I went to his company Christmas party. We had a very good time. It is always fun putting faces with names and descriptions I’ve heard before. I was most impressed with Ray’s supervisors. They all seem like great guys to work for. One even said, “Hi Tish!” and introduced himself to me before Ray had a chance to. And as I have at other work related functions, good things were said about Ray and his work. I met a girl that Ray works with who is due on the exact same date we are! Now tell me that isn’t funny! One of the guys who works under Ray also approached me and said, “Hi Tish! Nice to meet you!” I said, “Hi! What is your name?” He said, “Albert!” Of course, at that moment, I knew exactly who he was. He is a very nice guy. He asked how I’m doing and what we’re going to name the baby. I told him I’m doing good, and that we’re not revealing his name until his born. He said, “AH! So, I have to wait until February to find out?!” I was impressed that he knew when we were due. Throughout the night, Albert sipped on more “alchie” until he left. I don’t think he was drunk, but he was definitely buzzing good. Ray asked him if he was okay to drive. He said he was. Hopefully, he got to his next destination okay. But the funniest thing was what he said to me before he left. He said, “Tish, it was so nice to meet you. Take care. Incase I don’t see you, good luck with your baby boy!” I found that odd that he said “good luck”, rather than “congratulations” or something like that, but I knew he had been drinking. But with a big smile on his face, Ray said, “GOOD LUCK with our baby boy?! What does that mean?” Poor, tipsy Albert smiled and lowered his head as if to say, “I’m sorry. You know what I mean”. :)

The theme of the part was "Casino Night". There were tables of blackjack, poker, roulette, craps, etc. While Ray was playing blackjack and I was looking on (I know NOTHING about any of those games), we started smelling something burning. It got stronger and stronger. I wondered what it was, but I wasn't concerned because this was a restaurant. You would think one of their personnel (the manager, one of the cooks, a waiter, a bartender, or someone) was already tending to it. A few seconds later, the dealer stopped dealing her cards and said, "Something is really burning!!! I wonder what it is!" We turned around and saw a that a bouquet of flowers in a vase had caught on fire from a candle below! Ray jumped up, ran over, and worked to extinguish the flames while every other idiot in the place (including myself) watched wide-eyed. He got the fire put out without the situation getting worse. However, he did get quite a burn on his finger. Last night, it looked charred and even smelled a little singed. I felt so bad for him. My glass of ice water became his treatment while he continued to play blackjack. Earlier that day, Ray and I found some unique gift boxes at a local party store while in search of something to put his work party Christmas gift in. They were various building designs, such as a post office, a church, and a firehouse. After a few minutes of contemplation, we decided that the firehouse definitely looked the coolest. I thought it was funny that his gift box matched his heroic act for the night!! Incase you are wondering, Ray's finger is feeling a little better today. It is just a little tender and now looks like a bubble. But after some aloe vera treatments, he will be a-okay.

After the food and casino part of the night was over, they played the White Elephant Christmas gift exchange game. Everyone was impressed by the variety of gifts everyone brought. There was a Desperate Housewives board game, a remote control Mercedes, a Bass Pro Shops gift card, a Polaroid camera, etc. Ray brought a jump drive, which was a very hot item that was stolen until it finally became “dead” and someone lucky was able to keep it. Someone brought a huge pack of Quilted Northern toilet paper. Of course, Ray loudly joked that he should steal that gift because his wife is pregnant! ;)

The White Elephant game with a large group of people is usually loud and quite lengthy. Everyone “oohs”, “ahhs”, and laughs at the gifts being open. Since the room we were in was pretty small for the number of people playing, I sat in a chair with another wife in the back. Since I wasn’t able to see that well, Ray commentated for me. He would turn back to tell me who just opened what, and one time, he held up a gift one of his coworkers just opened so I could see it. I thought that was sweet. Usually, I would’ve tried to stand up and show more interest, but I had something to tend to – our child! He was still when a gift was being open and everyone was just looking on. But as soon as the gift was revealed and everyone started getting loud, Baby T would kick and punch me like crazy! I was happy because to me, that was an indication that he is hearing and responding to what is going on outside! But considering the game lasted about an hour, it got to be almost as uncomfortable as it was exciting!! ;) Finally, the game to an end, and our little guy settled down. Just when I thought he wore himself out and fell asleep, I felt those familiar steady jerks. He had excited himself so much that he got a case of the hiccups! :)

~T.T.