Aimee, do you and MM eat/like ham? Get one of the pre-cooked ones. All you have to do is throw a glaze on it (brown sugar and O.J. will suffice, as will orange marmalade, and brown sugar) and bake it.

We're having roast beast tomorrow, unless I get impatient and decide to have it today instead, because one of the joys of not really doing holidays is that you don't have to do them on schedule. (We gave each other gifties a couple of days ago, because neither of us could wait any longer to see the other open them. They were cleverly wrapped in a patchwork of brightly-colored post-it notes. Such is life in casa ADD.)

And you're not going to the 1950s house?

Lasagna's all done. I maybe said that earlier. Brownies, which I'd forgotten to make, are in the oven. Everything is wrapped that is getting wrapped, and everything that has to go out to the car, is already in it, or on its way. I still have to make a chocolate cream pie (my mother made the lemon meringue (sp?)), and prep my featherbed egg dish, for the morning. My feet hurt. I was standing for too long wrapping and cooking in either bare feet or flimsy slippers.

Dh and I don't get presents this year, because we need to replace the car, but there's so much for the kids I almost feel a sense of relief over not having to think about ourselves.

My feet hurt. Did I mention? Also, my feet hurt. Mostly though, my feet hurt.

Nope, no 1950s house until later in the week.

To continue the completely random festive mood, I've just ordered a roomba. Look out, kitty!

Mmmmm....I had a lovely Hannukah brunch with my parents and younger sibs this morning (latkes, bagels, bialys, challah knots, whitefish salad, cream cheese, lox), then went to the gym and then took the most wonderful bath with a Butterball and a Blackberry bath bomb. It was uber-luxurious and I am now all soft and scented. And warm and dry.

This could only be a better day if the !@#*%!#$% post office had delivered the package I'm waiting for like they said they would. (Honestly, it's be so much better if they just said, "Yep, the holidays are a really busy time, so we're not going to be able to get this out," and I'd go pick it up. It's a 5-minute bus ride. Being assured that it's on a truck and out for delivery when it's clearly not being delivered is just rude.)

I just got back from my mother's because she bought me a skirt that she wanted me to wear tonight. It's a very pretty velvet peasant skirt with a line of beads at each tier seam. I'm letting go of the idea of baking anymore brownies or making oreos tonight. If the red and green chocolate does not get used it won't be the end of the world. I might do some more baking after the festivities tonight with Dave's help. For now, I'm just going to change into my Christmasy outfit and wait for him to get back from work.

Hec, I have been gradually downloading songs from Buffistarawk, although I've not downloaded all the JazzyFay ones yet. (Got seduced by some of your Halloween and Christmas things too, y'see...) They're all fabulous, and the Jazzy stuff is fabulous.

Yeah, we got suspended for 24 hours because we were all downloading the xmas tunes. We hope that once we get away from the seasonal downloads we can get back to our usual nefarious practices. But I'm glad you're getting music - it's tricky to send stuff to Egypt.

Emmett and I are back from Yum. He got his annual Jolt Cola and a two whole six packs of hand selected boutique sodas (Root beers by Sprechters, Hanks and Virgil, cream sodas, blue sodas, black cherry sodas, Bubble Up). I got a sixer of the Dublin (TX) Dr. Pepper (orig. recipe, w/ cane sugar) to take over for boxing day, as well as some weirdass undoubtedly non-sweet British sodas for Emmett's anglophiliac Godfather. (He does make a great, and authentic Yorkshire pudding.)

We've managed to cram nine plates onto our dinner table. JZ is taking a tiny nap. Emmett and I are about to make a bike excursion. The stockings are stuffed to capacity. I've got about half my wrapping done. Emmett got a cool present for JZ.

We're ready for Christmas!

For now, I'm just going to change into my Christmasy outfit and wait for him to get back from work.

Good plan! I decree that now is a good time for everybody to take a breather.

::raises glass of xmas cheer::

Non-sweet British soda? What the heck is that about?

Though if anyone has tried "Grown Up Soda", it's very yummy--they have Meyer Lemon, and Cranberry Lime, which I like a lot (and others, which I haven't tried)

We got a tiny, pre-cooked ham for the three of us, tomorrow. It'll be easy-peasy, I hope. I'm also doing DH's favorite cabbage dish (if his mother's recipe will work for me!).

Right now it's pre-cut Toll House Christmas cookies in the oven and I'm getting busy wrapping the boy's gifts. Oh, and EGG NOG!

I wish all the Buffistas joy and peace.

Merry (almost) Christmas to all!

I'm on dial-up at home. I'm sure I don't have to explain the awfulness of that to anyone here.

I've all my presents bought, all the food that can be prepared in advance is prepared, the bathrooms have even been cleaned. So now it's time for me to curl up on the sofa with some mulled wine and do the holiday super-sudoku that's been calling me all day. Here's hoping everyone's Christmas is as stress-free.

My shopping is done. 2 Scarves aren't. I had to go home and stop freaking out about presents becuase I was about to go into a spending frenzy of "omigod! I didn't spend the same amount on everyone and my presents are lame and small and my family will hate me!" Which they won't, I just do this to myself every year.

Mom came over and helped me clean house so it will be nice when brother and his new gf are here. I have a present for her, spent a bit more than I planned on but it's a nice gift. It was hard to shop for her because, well, he says they are getting serious, but then again this time last year he had just proposed to his ex Fiance.

Now I have to go over to Mom's and get some wrapping. THere was a family Open House to go to , but Dad never called me back with details. I'm a bit worried about him and I'm thinking about running over to his house and making sure he's okay and make sure he hasn't had another heart attack or something.

Tomorrow Dad and I are going over to Mom's for breakfast and token present opening. Then later lunch with the extended family. Monday my brother and GF should be here, sometime in the evening. so we'll go over to Dad's and have Xmas there (his place is decorated). Which means I actually do have one more day of shopping available. If needed. Which it won't be.