Calli, Leifur has been great! He actually came up to me and requested pets today. Last time, it took at least four days of me being his only food source for him to do that. I think we're getting closer.

M. had a cupcake with red icing for dessert tonight, which she smeared all over her face. She looked like the toddler who survived the zombie apocalypse.

I've seen multiple jello salads every day this holiday, and I can safely say that none of them involved blue cheese.

lime jello salad with bleu cheese and horse radish

I think I threw up in my mouth a little, and THEN I got to the eggplant pudding cake! eek!

Oh, good, I'm glad he's being nice. I hope you, C, or J got pictures!

Smonster, that's quite the recipe box.

I keep waiting to hear my mom make some horrible remark about FSIL when she's not here, but instead she keeps saying nice things about her. I just heard her tell a story about how the gods have blessed their marriage and everyone who's met her really likes her.

It's still really, really confusing to me, after all these years. I keep expecting it to all fall apart.

Maybe your father threatened her to play nice? Or your brother has black mail material? Or maybe your mother has been abducted by aliens and this is a clone!

Well, this also means that I am definitely the worst child now.

I wanna see pics of zombie M!

Apologies for any near vomit experiences resulting from recipe descriptions. It was a hoot going through them.

We had a lovely day, all told. No tears, minimal snapping. My brother seems to be kind of testy, not sure what that's about. Everyone got at least one zinger in one someone else. We ended the day snacking on cheese and crackers and apples and cookies, drinking a bit of wine. We read Lucy and Tom's Christmas and watched the Snowman, and listened to my mother read from Luke.

I just heard my brother guffaw from down the hall - he's reading Jenny Lawson's book.

Tomorrow we're going to see the Hobbit and maybe stop by REI, and then I'm having dinner with a friend or two from high school.

Xpost with P-C: sounds like she's rewriting history to suit herself. I wonder if you'd ask her and she'd swear she was in favor from the start.

I keep waiting to hear my mom make some horrible remark about FSIL when she's not here, but instead she keeps saying nice things about her. I just heard her tell a story about how the gods have blessed their marriage and everyone who's met her really likes her.

It's still really, really confusing to me, after all these years. I keep expecting it to all fall apart.

I suspect she has a difficult time dealing with her fears and anxieties for her children, tries to control her children to protect them, freaks out when they don't do as they're told, but is relieved and happy when they are not only okay but doing well.

Just my guess.