"Remember this December: love weighs more than gold"

I feel like Christmas truly started for me on Tuesday. Maybe it was because that was the first day I began feeling better (sore throat). But, I got my hair rehighlighted and cut, and it just felt fabulous when I kicked off the day. I went to CVS to get pictures printed, and there was this Salvation Army guy who had down syndrome standing outside. I gave a dollar on the way out, just because I was in the Christmas spirit. On the way back to CVS to pick up my pictures, I listened to the burned cd, and I just smiled brightly and sang along the whole way there. I saw the same SA guy when I walked into CVS, and he went, "Back again!" I don't know, for some reason, it just made me happy. He remembered me. On the way out, he was talking with someone else, but he made sure he waved to me, the kind of wave you give a friend you've known for a while. A "I'll be seeing you around" kind of wave. It just made me feel really great. We decorated our tree that night. And then I watched my all-time favorite movie: It's a Wonderful Life. George Bailey, I'll love you til the day I die. God, I can't get enough of it; it gets me every time! AND on top of it all, my entire house smelled of kielbasa, which pretty much screams Christmas for us. Ahh, love it.

For Christmas Eve, I went to Larry's, which was so fabulous. I was so happy to see him. I wore a sophisticated blue dress and I thought I looked really nice. He gave me my one gift early: matching topaz earrings & necklace. The family party was fun; Lar, Dylan, & I hung out the whole time. It was great. Then we all went to midnight mass (my first time doing that ever), and it was...different. When we got back, I gave Lar his gifts: the homemade picture frame, the burned cd of our songs, the Clash dvd, and a little ornament. He loved everything; I was happy. It always makes me feel so great when I give someone else a gift that I knew they'd love. I swear, it was the best Christmas Eve ever.

Christmas, Lar crawled into bed with me and woke me up, my favorite. We went downstairs and opened gifts with his siblings. I still can't believe I got my own stocking; I'm so glad that I'm basically part of the family. Then just watching Horton Hears a Who and falling asleep together at the very end of the movie was perfect. Couldn't have asked for a better moment. When I got home, my parents and I opened gifts; got some good stuff, not too shabby. Aunt Jeanne's was alright, but now mom's pissed at me and dad, and neither of us care. Dad's asleep on the couch and it's 7:35. I'm not really sure what I'm gonna do yet, but I just wanna curl up, watch a movie, and get to bed.

Good holiday, though. Very, very good.