Marley Is In The House!

Okay, first off, I am completely giddy about this holiday season. Giddy, I tell you. I love the holidays every year, but this year has both some new things and some simplicity compared to last year.

Last year was special and good, and having Tony enjoy December in the States was a blessing. But I won't deny the challenge of it all, especially since four days into his three-week visit, we knew we would not continue pursuing a romantic relationship. God knew the amount of time he had planned for Tony to be here and all the people Tony would meet, which was wonderful and I am very grateful for the opportunities he had while he was here. Hosting any guest always has some surprises, and if you toss some cross-cultural differences into that, it means my filters were never really all the way down, plus we had a crazy schedule to keep, so I didn't really relax into my family time in California. I had also just bought my house and moved in, and I was TIRED! (My parents should have been exhausted, too; they helped me move and then hosted guests in addition to all the usual fun.) Basically, the holidays flew by and I felt like I hardly got to experience them.

This year...I am giggling at every bit of garland and lights and big snowflakes on the lampposts throughout the city, tickled pink every time I see a house adding fall or Christmas decorations, dancing in the car with the steering wheel when the Muppets and Miss Piggy sing "The Twelve Days of Christmas" ("ba-dum-bum-bum!") on the CD Corrina sent me, and skipping with the shopping cart in the grocery store as I buy ingredients to make fudge and things to munch, munch, munch for dinner and snacks with Granny and Bud and Mom and Dad for Thanksgiving!

I am giggling while I grab the cute flannel sheets to make beds for my guests, buy Thanksgiving Blend Coffee at Starbucks, pick up my first free range, antibiotic-free turkey (thanks for the idea, Wendy!), realize that my bright idea that I don't need a cart when I am picking up only one item at the Boise Co-op is not a bright idea if the one item is a 17.5 pound frozen bird (brrrrrr!), put away more groceries than I have ever had in my possession at once since I moved to Idaho, arrange my fall decorations that my parents drove up this summer, and make sure there is Bailey's in the cupboard so Daddy and I can have Irish coffees in the evening.

Thus, Marley has arrived and is the freezer, the sage is in the cupboard, there are breakfast and lunch goodies in the house for my grandparents who are arriving this weekend (hooray!!!), the Mexican train dominoes are ready to go, and Duffy the car is ready to pick Mom and Dad up at the airport next Tuesday...I am the luckiest girl on the planet.