Wisconsin wrap-up

Yes, I realize that DJC and I came back from the frozen north last Tuesday, but it's literally taken me that long to recover from what just might be the strangest trip I've ever been on. Here are the highlights:

Last time I blogged was Christmas Eve, and DJC and I were preparing for the HUGE dinner party at his dad's house. I met more extended family than I could possibly imagine, some good (loved cousins Nic and Danielle!) and some very, very bad. I witnessed an all-out, drunker than drunk, dead serious screaming yelling match between two people who, according to DJC's stepmom, have been friends since they were born, and found myself REALLY coveting the Slankets that stepbrother Dr. B gave several people during the gift exchange. I drank, I ate, I nibbled, and as the night progresses, I drank more, continued to graze, and did my best to fight off the endless clouds of second-hand cigarette smoke. This will become a recurring theme throughout the rest of the trip...

The next morning, we all awoke and made the two-hour trek up to the lake house, or as I like to call it, "you're trapped here with all these sucky people and there's nothing to do but drink, watch movies, and play the four Wii games available AND you can't leave because its snowing and none of the roads are plowed". That's right...no TV, no internet, no Cal bowl game, no Sharks hockey. Let's just say that the house was too small for 10 adults, 6 kids and 4 dogs (three Boston terriers and one Husky). Three of those adults smoked incessantly without a care as to who their second-hand smoke was bothering (their kids). As for the dogs, have a look at this:

As soon as three of the dogs were together in the same 10 foot radius, barking and tussling ensued and didn't stop until the dogs were separated or were moved to the cold garage. Instantly, they calmed down (guessing because they didn't like the cold) so that the adults would let them back in, only to resume the barking and tussling two seconds later. It was all so very tiring. Plus, one of the dogs peed on me, jumped on my lap during one of the tussles, scratched my arm and SPILLED MY WINE!!! Hello!?!?!? The wine was my only buffer!! The most annoying part was that all the barking and activity would really rile the kids up such that they added a whole 'nuther level of noise and mayhem to the whole circus event. And no one seemed to care all that much. For me, it was just another reminder that choosing not to have kids is indeed the right decision for me. I almost lost it more than once. Going outside to get away from it all was not an option, but I managed once or twice.

And the people, well, let me just say that if I ever see some of them again, it will be too soon. MUCH too soon. Thank goodness we live on the other side of the country. I never thought that I'd ever look forward to going back to DJC's mom's house, but as we drove back to semi-civilization, I actually breathed a sigh of relief. At least it would be quiet and we could shower there. At the lake house, we learned that no one showers (for fear of overflowing the septic tank) and that's just a generally accepted thing. DJC and I showered twice without knowing this and received a warning about the overflow. Then we noticed that no one else had showered...FOR FOUR DAYS. Thank god that the smell from the cigarettes covered up everyone's funk, because DAMN, that's nasty.

Feel free to check out some of the pics I took during the trip. There's also some pretty awesome stories that I couldn't fit into the blog post:

The Frozen Tundra

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you all had a great time! I'll be back soon with some other random stuff. Until then...