i'm in love.

so i put this little "fortune telling fish" on my hand, and it has told me that i was in love. thinking that it was mistaken, i tried again.... so it told me that i was passionate. therefore, i am passionately in love. and, thinking about it now, i would tend to agree. i will tell you all of the things that i love on christmas:

people who i feel especially affectionate about this christmas:
i love my daddy, my mommy, my noodle (nick, my brother). i love yuko, the hamelinks, and david and summer, ellis and william vunga. (especially william, who is the most adorable baby in the world and ... well i might actually be in love with him.). i love the whole jones family, who are really my second family.
i love the people who couldn't be here, like my granny cukoo (who died this year) and my beloved sister, kerry, in germany, who was kinda with us via skype for most of the day... [sidenote: i look SO much better when i'm in an overexposed skype camera. i've decided that if i ever make a wish on a genie lamp, i will wish that i will eternally look overexposed. hahah.]

things that i have enjoyed:
i love giving presents, even if they were cheap or kinda lame. i love being completely surprised by the things that i got. i love my new black and white rain boots. i love my new fur-collared sweater. i love me new grey loafers and my socks and scarf and stamps and cards and my tremendous twenties hat. i love the christmas crackers with corney jokes and silly gifts.

i loved watching summer unwrap her present from david, her husband, because she was so completely surprised and excited and bashful at the cute little things he got her.

food that was delish:
i love making sweet potatoes. and eating them. mmmm.
i love the duck, stuffing, gravy, and...yes, mom, even the green beans.
i can't wait to eat the apple crisp sitting in the oven.

now, the men are reclining by the fire and talking about man things or sleeping, or drinking beer, or somehow managing to do all three, the women-folk are gathered at our extended dining room table drinking tea and talking about women things like babies and relatives and people's last names....
nick is upstairs sleeping after a strenuous day of cooking,
yuko is in the basement sleeping because she has a headache,
ellis (20months) is crying about going to bed,
william(3months) is being as close to an angel as is humanly possible,
and i decided to check my email for the first time in two days and got distracted with this silly thing.

oh i love christmas, yes i do.

they are calling that it's dessert time. mmmm.

so that, ladies and gents, is my christmas. it's a fairly typical christmas, too. and perfectly lovely.