Just bought tickets for The Hobbit for tomorrow. Yay, Peter Jackson Christmas tradition! Without bonus heart attack!

My mom has been sick with a cold, so today I ended up making the chocolate goodies and appetizers, and the traditional family holiday meal that has been passed on for enough generations that we don't know its original name. I also did all the clean up. I'm super tired, but at least it gave me a pass on playing hide and go seek.

Our friend Ed, who spends Xmas with us each year, just arrived from NYC. Yay! We have delicious white chili in the crockpot. We are opening presents tonight, since tomorrow is our Movie Day (I'm sure I've mentioned that we work up a schedule of movies and meals for the day each year and invite friends to join us for any or all of them). Only three this year, as they are all so damn LONG.

Ed and Jason are sitting out in the backyard, smoking cigars and comparing iPad apps. They've been friends for 30 years and I love that we get to share the holidays with him.

back from Christmas Eve service. I don't like being up in the choir for it, or maybe it was just tonight. The service seemed too down and serious, not enough Joy To The World and Go Tell It On The Mountain and Hallelujah. We sang all the lullaby songs and bah, not what I wanted. now I am putting my songs together.

We've watched two episodes' worth of TV on Hulu, and if I have to see another jewelry add that implies or flat-out states that jewelry is the only gift worth giving to women, I will lose my FREAKING MIND.

the local fire department just drove slowly down the street serenading us with Vaughn Monroe and Bing Crosby carols over the PA--cheesy as hell, but I have to admit it's charming, too.

That is awesome.

CJ and I just got back from seeing The Hobbit. Wheeeee. Now a quite evening watching the snow fall. I finally get a white Christmas!

Booze! Booze is a good gift. Or electronica! New gadgetry. Or cars, cars are always a good gift.

Really, I don't mind jewelry--I just don't like the jewelry advertised on tv. Diamonds give me the yawns. Gimme something with color--semiprecious stones, enamel, or textured metal. Something that does more than just *sparkle*!

Ha-ha, David! It doesn't count if you don't hear the music, and I backpedaled too fast to hear the first note!

Here's last year's group shot. Truman's in the crib with the pig, the chimp, and the rest of the bears. Dougal's on the chair with Daniel. There were candle clips last year, too.

Yay for good friends, good music, good movies, and no heart attacks.

I just remembered that I have an unassembled Gingerbread house. That sounds like a good tomorrow project.

I have a ridiculous amount of flannel washed and ready to be cut into PJs. We're really into PJs this year. It takes about an hour to make a pair from start to finish. It's not particularly tedious nor challenging. Just.... tiring.

Here's the only holiday photo I have that I love: Grace at her class christmas party with a friend I. [link] Happymaking to think she has friends, frankly.

Grace with friend is happy making.

I hate those "every kiss begins with Kay" commercials. I like jewelry and kissing, but don't care about diamonds. Also, according to that logic, all my kisses are invalid.