Oh, {{{JZ}}}. Honey. I'm sorry this is all so hard on you and wish there was something I could do.

MM! Aimee! Scary!

And now I must get back to work. On Friday I decided I was making my brother a quilt for Christmas. Must see if I can actually get the top done before leaving for mom and dad's tomorrow morning. Craziness! Oh, but sneak-peak here: [link] Yes. His bedroom is blue and orange. Don't ask.

Oh! And check out the nephew's wonderment of the Christmas Tree: [link]

Gronk. So much to do, but I'm watching Love Actually while I do it, so it's all good.

vw, your nephew continues to be the cutest little thing. Good luck finishing the quilt!

I'm so glad there is a happy ending to your yule-tide fire, MM and Aimee.

I knew I forgot to say something. I'm glad Aimee, MM, and Em are safe.

The Yule log goes in the fireplace and isn't lit till tomorrow, Miracleborns.

Damned over-achieving, first in our neighborhood types.

Congratulations to the Imperial House of Miracleborn on maintaining your state of cuddly rather than crispy.

I'm so glad there is a happy ending to your yule-tide fire, MM and Aimee.

Well, I'm not so sure about the "happy". "Acceptable", certainly.

Aimee and I have both had about four and a half minutes of sleep. Emeline a bit more, but she also has had a cough for a couple days now and was probably up and down half the night with that.

At last report, Aimee had shown up to work but nobody else had...including her asshat Scrooge McGrinch of a boss...and she doesn't have a key to get in. I'm about to call her back to see what's up with that.

And though rumors had it on Friday that we might be getting let go early, my supervisor seems to be one of those "workdays are for working" types. You know it's gonna be rough when she consistently talks about how much work she got done at home on the weekend on purpose without really having to. So gods only know if I'll get out in time to complete the last minute shopping Aims and I need to do for her parents.

I'm tired and disheartened and cranky. Happy Holidays my lily-white cold ass.

I'm here honey!

Also? Not a hero. Big Damn or otherwise.

Also? Not a hero. Big Damn or otherwise.

I disagree. And, being the resident expert on such matters, my Word is as Law.

Accept your Hero status, baby, and glory in it for a time. You done good.

Yeesh. Be careful, you guys.

Did anyone watch the documentary on god last night on CBS? It was called "In God's Name", and while the hook was about terrorism, 9/11, etc, it was primarily cuts of a quite incredible roster of religious leaders giving their personal perspective on god, religion, life in general. The interviewees:

* Alexy II, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Orthodox Church
* Amma (Mata Amritanandamayi), a Hindu spiritual leader
* Pope Benedict XVI, head of the Roman Catholic Church
* The Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso), spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists
* Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, a prominent Shi'ite Muslim leader
* Bishop Mark Hanson, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and President of the Lutheran World Federation
* High Priest Michihisa Kitashirakawa, Daiguji (Shinto Priest) of the Grand Shrine of Ise
* Rabbi Yona Metzger, Chief Rabbi of Israel, Ashkenazi
* Dr. Frank Page, President of the Southern Baptist Convention
* Imam Muhammad Sayyed Tantawi, Sheikh of Al-Azhar and a prominent Sunni Muslim leader
* Joginder Singh Vedanti, Jathedar of the Akal Takht, the Sikhs' highest authority
* Dr. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury and head of the Church of England

It was really fascinating - if they re-air it, it's definitely worth catching. [link]

[Edited to fix link]

Aimee, fast thinking in an emergency situation that result in the loss of life, limb or property qualifies you as Big Damn Hero.

I hope Christmas at Casa Miracleborn is calm and relaxed. And that you guys get off work early and get your shopping done.

The Yule Log Channel really does work great!.

We'll be having a real fire IN THE FIREPLACE this year.