further evidence of warmth!

december 29

as noted, it is dec. 29th. even the date sounds chilly, doesn't it?

be that as it may, i am on my front porch, in my jammies (not even the warm, wooly sack!), with my bare toes sparkling their christmas pedicure (alternating red & green - so fun) into the humid air. it's overcast, and will probably rain again, but it is so glorious out you'd think it was spring! it's a gift today, this balmy weather, and i intend upon soaking it up...even if it means i have to walk in the rain.

what'cha up to for new years eve? we are invited to 4 things, but i think we'll keep it simple... go to the pj party and chill with friends. but thanks to everyone else for asking! :) it's nice to be invited!

if you live here, go outside! if you live in the cold, well, sorry 'bout that.

love actually

i just stayed up past my bedtime to watch 'love acutally' - for maybe the 5th time. i love this movie... love the breadth of it. yes, it's romantic, but it's about the real stuff of love, too, and not just between lovers. sisters & brothers, parents & children, the hard places husbands & wives find themselves, the choices we make, and the people we make them for. it's got enough silliness to make me laugh, and in the end i'm smiling from ear to ear with warm fuzzies all over in my heart.

the truth is, real love - the powerful kind - is a choice as much as anything else...not just the goose bumps & big moments. that's one of the bravest statements the movie makes, particularily in the story of the sister whose brother is institutionalized & the wife who finds the necklace her husband gives another woman.

"If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not celebrate injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. "

most satisfying present

if you know me, you know i'm a chilly girl. always cold fingers, always looking for a blanket or filling the tub with hot, hot water. so look what my lovely husband bought me for christmas! it looks like this..

and is shaped like this...

as he says "it takes leopard print nighty to a whole new level." :)

meg amazed me...

she just brought down the Christmas card she wrote for her dad, and this is what it says. (she crosses her heart & promises that it came out of her own head...)

(outside) "life just never turns out the way i want it to every day!"

(inside) "but on Christmas, the love, the joy and the family fills my heart with Joy all because of the hugs you give me!"

and someday they will be running things...

(the car passes BB&T - a local bank)

meg: what does BB&T stand for?

kyra: (without pause) "best barbeque & tootsie rolls"

meg: (long pause) you know, you've got a 95% chance of being right.

me: (smiling) how do you figure that, meg?

meg: (without pause) because what else could it be?!

i'm with dorothy....

there's NO place like home!