A Quiet Holiday

It's 10pm and I just put on my jammies.....I'm pleased to be in my old flannel pants with its strange little baseball motif plus a warm soft thermal top.

This week is Chanukah, Solstice, Xmas....everything...... and we are fine and at peace and celebrating every day.

We went to a Chanukah dinner early in the week, I lite a candle on Solstice mid-week and started a new project ( studying for my bat mitzvah)....and today we had our traditional Christmas Eve meal....of Eastern European food....Kielbasa...red cabbage....latkes....green beans.....and for desert....a totally non-Eastern European treat (which we consider very Southern)...banana pudding.

Last year I tried to come up with a different name for our Christmas Eve meal....calling it Ancestor Day (cause we celebrate our Eastern European heritage) and Remembrance Day (because we remember where our families originated )....but this year, I decided to call it what it is: Christmas Eve Dinner...a fabulous Eastern European meal we eat on Christmas Eve.

Tomorrow, we will have a pleasant family brunch.....followed later in the day....by a Christmas Dinner of roast Turkey with all the trimmings and plenty of left overs....maybe we'll take in a movie or pull out one of our Cheesy Chick favorites like :Wall-E or Sleepless in Seattle.

I thought of renaming Christmas too....but I decided to call it what it is: Christmas Dinner.

I've totally accepted our family origins are complex...Christian stock/Jewish stock....and our families at one time or another ...practiced different religions.....and sometimes switched religions and communities as they moved or blended into other families....or nations. I just realized the other week that with my father's Mongolian DNA we may even have a Muslim component.....so rather than worrying about anything during this holiday period....we've simply blended and added ....and now we have more calender days of joy and good eating.

On Monday....we'll add Chinese food this year....and I'm happy to incorporate Chinese food even if I'm 24 hours late on that tradition.

My boys who grew up with Christmas seem pleased to get small Chanukah gifts each night....a favorite candy, a gift card for Arby's.....a pair of funny underwear......and they'll be pleased after brunch to open a few small Christmas presents.

Really....I see no need for getting jiggy. I totally understand and honor the way people see this time of year.....whether they choose to spend it at Temple, or Church or somewhere else.....I guess I've accepted we are of mixed backgrounds and rather than pretend we've never celebrated Christmas or pretend we've lighted menorahs forever when our experience is measured only in a few years.....we've decided to be relaxed and let the days and celebrations drift through our house.

Everyone is old enough to understand religious beliefs and what we do and do not believe.....what I have decided is the most important part of our holiday season ....is to be sane.....kind.....enjoy good food....and throw in some gifts for the ones I love ...to add some fun and expectation to the season.

I think I'll head down stairs after I type this....a see if there's any egg nog left or crack open the new bottle of Irish Cream....

I'm pleased to announce I have nothing to rush around for tonight..... and just hanging out without my to-do list dangle over my head is a very nice self present for a day or two.

A big kiss to y'all........

My Happy Interesting Hanukkah-Christmas-Latke-Kielbasa Holiday Week

I said the prayers the best I could tonight....it wasn't the right time...and I'm sure I mangled most of the words.

You simply can't take a girl from the south side of Chicago who omits the "th" in words and expect her to say "shehecheyanu v'kiy'manu v'higianu."

No way.

I listened to the audio on the net 100 times...but what I hear in Hebrew...what I see on the paper and what I say....are not related.

But it is the last night of Hanukkah and I'm in Jew School....so I did my best.

This week my family celebrated multiple times in multiple ways ....being together....and being attuned to something beyond ourselves.
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We started celebrating last Sunday when I took my entire family to the Temple for the Hanukkah celebration. They were wide-eyed and I was nervous.
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In Jew School I'm about as knowledgeable as a pre-schooler and yet here I was taking everyone to Temple as if I knew what I was doing.....which I didn't...but people who knew me there ....kissed me... shook hands with my family....and smiled.
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The Rabbi came over hugged me and chuckled....another complicated multiple faith/belief family situation...so what's new? There are many stories in the Temple...and mine is just another strand in the weave of this community.

As we walked back to our car after chicken, latkes and live music....we planned the rest of our week:

a dinner at a Mexican restaurant for my daughter's birthday....

latkes and beef brisket and candle lightening the following day....

Kielbasa, sauerkraut and pierogies to remember our Eastern European heritage on Xmas Eve

and finally Xmas.....which we would celebrate like we always have....with a special brunch....a family walk in the afternoon....presents... a turkey dinner....and watching movies together....including the infamous Pee Wee Herman Xmas special.

Mu daughter (on the right) watches my friend light the candles.


My impromptu candle holders for the Hanukkah portion of our week


Latkes from heaven...crisp hot crunchy....

The traditional Xmas celebration....with gingerbread houses and a glorious dinner of champagne, turkey, sweet potatoes and The Green Bean Casserole....plus cheesecake from the bookstore.

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We even tossed some movies into the holiday brew....my daughter and I watching our favorite movie...Sleepless in Seattle....caught Slumdog Millionaire at the theatre...and everyone watched Wall-e.

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It was a rich and full week....the house full of kids....dogs...an angry cat.....the smell of roasted turkey and fried potatoes and fresh buttermilk biscuits.....pots and pans clanging....the dishwasher swishing through load after load of dishes....and the garage door going up and down a thousand times as 5 people got in and out of cars and ran errands and shopped and dashed to friends' houses.

In a few hours.....Monday morning....our regular life will begin again....my daughter returns to Ohio.....I go back to work .....and my youngest son will play video games late into the night till I remind him he has to go back to college.

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It's been a special week....a good week....

and now I turn towards remembering my friends......letters... emails....little presents....

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it's about connections.....it always was....and still is.....

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Ohhhhhh.....Santa was Good to Me......

Giving my new phone a kiss.

I must have made the NICE LIST for Xmas....cause Santa gave me an iphone.

The elves (otherwise known as the menfolks) warned me the phone would be in Santa's bag. I had a few anxious thoughts about getting the electronic wonder of the year....I'm not exactly a geek.....but ohhhhhhhhh.....I can tell this is the start of a beautiful relationship.

Can you possibly think of a better gift for a maven than her own portable mini computer??? ( Okay smart toy boys were not on the list of possibilities)

And.... bye bye Porkchop (Blackberry) envy....you business types can have your Blackberrys .....I can phone and dance at the same time! Whooo hooo.

Steep learning curve in the next week.... I'll have to brush up on my tapping skills.......but moms are natural tappers....... I've tapped on my kids heads and shoulders forever... tap tap....pick your clothes up.....tap tap.....did you brush your teeth?

Well now its tap...hello text messaging......tap tap....enlarge text. What's hard about this?

The only problem>>>>>so many functions ....makes me wonder......who are these Apple designers? They certainly lead busy lives...and they want to keep me busy too. Last week....I flipped opened my phone and called someone. Today I "woke" up my phone... checked the weather, the time in Casablanca AND watched an old Queen video on UTube. By the time I did all that.....I forgot who I was going to call!

The big disappoint with the iphone....there's no function for laundry or dog walking....perhaps some day the phone will have little legs....and long arms....and pictures to press of dirty clothes, anxious pets and big dustbunnies.

Well I've got to exit my office......My family told me I have only 5 minutes left before.... they storm in here and kidnap me away from the iphone, manual and computer....and they look serious!!

Now.... all of you who are near and dear to me and in my phone address book....send me a pic for my phone....otherwise I'll be forced to bond you with pics of my own choosing....and you know how devious I can be ...lol........(Yes, I was real surprised I made it off the NAUGHTY LIST too)

Blessings on all of you today...whether or not Xmas is part of your family tradition or not......

snuggle up and love each other up....'tis the season.

xxxxme.
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A Toy Boy for Xmas

Yes...finally a most useful gift....a toy boy for xmas....thanks to some funny guys at my bookstore who felt I deserved to take none other than Josh Groban home for the holidays....and though there is a slight problem (his personality is a bit flat).... I think he's cute enough to overlook that particular flaw....I placed him by our tree so he could enjoy a care-free night of festivities before becoming my personal slave in my computer room the day after Xmas.

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Early this morning, I came downstairs and was horrified to discover that either Santa or the bearded man I live with had obviously messed with my baby.....(and hey.... that's my new Victoria Secret's bra!) .....the changes appear to be temporary but Josh was visible shaken....(his cardboard knees were askew from his stand)....poor thing....I'll have to run my hands all over him and rearrange his parts....and then I'll take him to our little nest....yes...Josh and me together at last.....

I Don't Think Someone Liked My Baby

My shocking discovery Xmas Morning