Bleah

It's the holidays, and my work days are slow.

I was only down .2 of a pound last night at WW.

I owe my friend B two brief articles in exchange for the work he did on my website, and need to get them done. I should use some of that free time at work for some of the research.

On the plus side, I was on the treadmill last night for 30 minutes for the first time in forever.

Hello, Muse!

This afternoon at work I suddenly found myself writing myth.

A new one -- or at least, a brand new variation.

And, true to form, the creative juices weren't the only ones flowing.

I was almost sorry when my dad called to say he had my daughter downstairs and it was time for me to go home.

Prezzies from the Boss

Jeannie returned to the office today, bearing gifts. She'd already given me a birthday present -- a lovely water-like pendant from Chico's (my favorite clothing store), and today she gave me a much larger package as a Christmas present.

"This," she told me, "Is the only individually selected gift, and you can't open it here. You have to wait until Christmas morning."

It kind of feels like an oversized book. . . but it's hard to tell.

I'm dying to know what it was that made her think of me, what it was that inspired a personalized rather than a generic office gift.

She gave me another watery birthday present!
(My Great-Women-Blessed-Bowl was her birthday present to me last year.)
I don't think of her as an intuitive type, but she definitely seems to be tapping into something about me.

Thanks to dancingchaplain for animating some of my favorite holiday images!

It's just NOT Christmas until I hear Linus explaining to Charlie Brown about the True Meaning of Christmas.

"Knowing" It's Christmas

QoS's Signs of Christmas

1. "Christmas in the Northwest" playing on the radio, a Seattle tradition.
2. Linus reciting the story of the shepherds and angels.
3. Getting out my sparkling holiday sweater (which I only wear between Dec. 14 and January 1st).
4. Listening to Handel's Messiah (preferrably at my hometown church).
5. Decorating the tree.
6. Setting up the Three Kings figurines which have been a family fixture since my childhood.
7. Watching the Grinch's heart grow three sizes and the Bumble putting the star on the top of the Christmas tree.
8. Eggnog
9. Grandmother's krumkake cookies, now made by my mother (Scandanavian rolled cookies, made with a hinged iron).

What about you?
What traditions capture the essence of this holiday season for you -- whichever holiday you celebrate?