Christmas/December

This must have been a "say cheese" shot!

Better.

A Lion's jersey for the team's biggest fan ( which may be an understatement ;) Tim.

A t-shirt for Lipuma's biggest fan!

Here's a nod to wearing attractive lounge wear on Christmas morning. But I was very happy with my gift!

Dad fiddling with doll clothes. A task he hasn't had much experience with recently.

Al is 100% excited about being up before 9 am on Christmas morning.

Zak intently studying a gift.

Everyone's a comedian around here.

Ditto.

Excitedly waiting to open gifts on Christmas Eve.

The mayhem begins!

A happy customer!

We couldn't forget our birthday girl. 4 years old on December 20th, just shy of the big day. (In birthday dress from mee-maw and papa that she was ga ga about!)

Outside my window: Ridiculously cold.

I am thinking: "There is a privacy about winter which no other season gives you. In spring, summer and fall people sort of have an open season on each other. Only in winter, in the country, can you have longer quiet stretches where you can savor belonging to yourself. " ( need to find author)

From the schoolroom: It both seems heartening and discouraging that we are nearly half-way through the school year. Heartening because half- way is great, discouraging because it seems like we should be farther along than half-way. :)

Read/Watched/Listen to:

Well, I finally got around to watching "Inception".

This was a big hit with my teens so I thought I'd give it a try. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy it.

I think one problem might be that I tend to get hung up on details. For instance when conversing with someone I will be distracted by something said that doesn't make sense to me even though it isn't germane to the discussion. An example:

Noah "I saw Alan at the store today and he was telling me about his trip to Tahiti"

Me "What was Alan doing at the store today?!?"

If you've seen the film you will know that it is not a good way to view it, but there were just TOO many moments like that in it for me. My mind got twisted up in the "why's" of each scene to the point that I was actually angry at the film at the end. Ha! (No, it's not that I didn't "get it" , it's just that there were a plethora of unexplicable things...even for a fantastical film)

And it seemed to me ( although I appreciate the director was trying to do something clever) that they were making things up as they went along. And I don't particularly care for action films, since all 3 that I have ever seen appear to have the same formulaic scenes ( ie: person A being chased down narrow streets and alleyways, person B being chased in the car during a traffic jam, etc etc). Ok- to accentuate the positive....some of the acting was good (I like Tom Hardy). You can't deny there were some spectacular special effects ( even though that isn't high on my list of attractions in a film) and like I said, I do appreciate someone trying to do something unique in film, or writing for that matter. I just don't think it was executed well.

Next of note was "Creation" with Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly.

This was a period drama about a particularly difficult time in Charles Darwin's life. I didn't realize his wife was a devout christian and that his scientific findings were something they had to "work through" as a married couple with opposing beliefs. From that standpoint, I thought it was a well done film. It also sort of "humanized" Darwin, who is often so maligned in certain circles, while idolized in others. I'm not completely sure how much of this story was fiction or non fiction ( I know the *story* is true, just how much license was taken with it is what I wonder about) since I am not a student of Darwin's life :) but it was aesthecially a very pretty film and emotionally engaging. ( His crisis of conscience also came at the time his young daughter was dying).

On my nightstand:

Larkrise to Candleford ( 1/3 done)

Too Close to the Sun ( A biography of Denys Fitch Hatton, the adventurer in "Out of Africa") 1/4 done

In Defense of Food ( haven't started)

The Ghosts Stories of Edith Wharton ( am losing interest...although I had another anthology of her work that I was enjoying, but had to get back to the library)

Suite Francais by Irene Nemirovsky ( two cd's down ;)

Around the house: Well, this week saw the demise of our full size van. Dyl was borrowing it to get some supplies for his trip to Washington D.C and slid off our wonderful icey back roads. He is ok, but the van is totaled. And funny the emotional attachements you have to things like that, even though we barely drove it lately. It was sad to see it all crunched up and broken....never to be filled with the Vrazo clan again. It was one of those things that REALLY came in handy when needed, but for the most part we drive around our 7 passenger SUV without no space issues these days.

Upcoming this week:

Well, my 46th birthday for one. I will be closer to 50 than 40 once that day arrives ( although, in reality, I suppose that's been the case ever since I turned 45 :) I have all sorts of resolutions for that day, ones I left off at the New Year. I don't know why this particular age is the impetus for that, but since it is, I will go with it and hope it works! I guess I don't want to hit 50 and be obese or very unhealthy or extra cranky ( which all seems to be the direction I am heading) so I reckon now's the time to get serious! ;) Other than that....soccer, basketball, 3 teens in Washington D.C for the March for Life, and on we go....