Christmas was wonderful...I had a fabulous time laughing and crying with Mama and Daddy. Our trip to the movie theater was unforgettable (as are most things this family does...seriously, Sean was right. These things do not happen to other people).

Thank you Monica and Sean for a fantastic, comfortable evening. I am at my best when I am around you! :)

Now, on to the New Year. It's only the 30th, but I'm hard at work on my resolution - getting my debt paid off in 6 months. Anyone have any ideas?

I already had to skip out on a ski trip with Marie (sorry!). I'm going to be quite the budget, uhm, witch these next few months as I try to get out of what feels like indentured servitude (everything I make goes to someone else until I get my debt paid). SIX MONTHS. That's the goal. I'll keep you posted.

It's almost Christmas!!

I'm very, very excited.

Now...the latest topic on my mind when I wander down the hallways at work, usually looking at my shoes: Pink Suede Boots

Yes, I want them.

Not a garish or flourescent shade, more of a mauve, really.

To be honest, I'm not sure if such a pair of boots even exist, but in the after Christmas sales (when not trying desperately to replace my lost computer), I will search for them. It is, dun dun duh, A MISSION.

Ahh, and we know what that means!

Okay, this is my one materialistic indulgence of the holiday season - this very blog posting - this very expression of my desire for an utterly useless pair of pink suede boots.

I can't help it. I want them.

Not brown or black. Not even a nice cream color, which might come in handy on those khaki-kind of days.

PINK.

SUEDE.

Thank you.

I mourn the loss of my laptop.

$513 to fix a two and a half year old computer...gaaahhhh.

I feel like I just agreed to have it put to sleep.

I shall mourn until my savings account says I can buy a new computer.

For Irene, as she experiences another "first,"

Split Screen Sadness

And I don't know where you went when you left me but
It says here in the water you must be gone by now
I can tell some how
One hand on the trigger of the telephone
Wondering when the call comes
You say it's all right
You got your heart right

Maybe I'll sleep inside my coat and
Wait on your porch til' you come back home
Oh, right
I can't find a flight

We share the sadness
The split screen sadness

Two wrongs make it all alright tonight

All you need is love, is a lie cause
We had love but we still said goodbye
Now we're tired, battered fighters

And it stings when it's nobody's fault
Cause there's nothin' to blame at the drop of your name
It's only the air you took and the breath you left

Maybe I'll sleep inside my coat and
Wait on your porch 'til you come back home
Oh, right
I can't find a flight
So I'll check the weather wherever you are
Cause I wanna know if you can see the stars tonight
It might be my only right

We share the sadness
The split screen sadness
We share the sadness
Split screen sadness

I called
Because
I just
Need to feel you on the line
Don't hang up this time
And I know it was me who called it over but
I still wish you'd fought me 'til your dying day
Don't let me get away

Cause I can't wait to figure out what's wrong with me
So I can say that this is the way that I used to be
There's no substitute for time
Or for the sadness
Split Screen Sadness
We share the sadness

I've had my fill of "nice"
I'm going to think twice

The next time

Someone says "you'll like him,"
I'll say, "I want to find my own."

The next time

I hear I'm shallow
I'll say it doesn't matta

'Cause the next time

I fetch a fella'
He's gonna be fine.

I'm tired of being alone
So hurry up and get here


I'll know you, when I see you


(Ah, Mr. Mayer has it so right. He doesn't state the opposite, which is also true: I'll know it's not you right away!).

Trust the gut. The gut is a combination of intellectual, emotional and spiritual knowledge. Mine hasn't failed me yet!

I will recognize you
amongst the many
and claim you
as my own.

~ Jewel ~

I've figured it out. It came to me in a dream. What love is. Not the way you love your parents, or child, if you're a parent, or the way you love your best friend or your pets. Not even the way you love God. Romantic love. I've not yet experienced it, but I know what it is. It's that feeling you get when you see your boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse's face in a room, and your whole chest aches. It's not the excitement of a first date or the nerves you get hoping he/she'll like what you got them for Christmas. It's that aching inside your chest that overcomes you when you see his/her face, and you think, "He's mine. He belongs to no one else in the room the way he belongs to me." (or your own version of this). That's what love is. I hope I get to feel that in my lifetime. I hope everyone does.

Back in Cali - I swear to you that as soon as we crossed the border from Oregon, I felt better - I could breathe, the scenery looked familiar (yes, two feet before, it still looked like Oregon. I'm not kidding.)

I had a wonderful time with my parents (and like my mom said the other day, they fought soooooo much less than they have in the past :) ... travelling with family....ahhh....anyway, I'm GRATEFUL!) and shopping in the tax-free land of Oregon (I'm pretty sure we hit every mall in Portland, not to mention outlets).

Christmas is just around the corner, and I'm looking forward to getting on with some of the holiday traditions. Some of my favorites (in no order):

- Putting up the lights with Daddy
- Hot chocolate and cookies while we decorate the tree
- Baking with Mommy (mmm, cookies)
- Hitting every tree lot between Fairfield and Dixon to find the "perfect" tree that is tall, well proportioned and sturdy enough to last through January (funny how that sounds like a personals ad....)
- Princesses' annual holiday adventure
- Mommy and me carting outselves around town, dropping off plates of goodies
- Planning and finally attending the annual gathering of MASS
- Annual movie w/Daddy
- Getting up before the butt-crack of dawn to start the Christmas Day festivities

Other things I'm looking forward to this year (not quite traditions yet)
- Hanging out with the AOII gang (finally meeting up with Marie, welcoming Miss Irene back from DC, etc.)
- Our new home decorating plan (only put out what we actually LIKE)
- Having a little bit of money to spend at the post-Christmas sales
- Christmas Eve Mass in the NEW church!!!

Ahhh, HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Let the mayhem begin!
-

In a small town in central Washington.
On a brand-spanking new Gateway computer.
In a town so small, it's called a "village."
Yet, they also have DSL.

A-freaking-mazing.

Seriously, Manson, WA is all it's cracked up to me, and I've gotten to enjoy some snow from the comfort of a cozy spot on the couch in front of a toasty fire :).

Travelling is fun, and I continue to collect places (Manson, Chelan, Wenatchee, Seattle, Canada).

I miss home. I miss my wittle ones (aka Claudia, Marley, Timmy, J.J. Bailey) and hope that they aren't too worried about us!

A'ight. Dash all for now...off to the freezing snow and the icy roads. It's time to bunker down in front of the fire!

Hey, I didn't miss turkey at all!