Estoy Nueces

Tonight I have three dogs vying for my attention and trying to get in my lap instead of the usual two. My sister's dog Jules is spending the night with me and trying to become the Alpha Dog. Trouble is, Jules is a tiny white terrier and my dogs are a big spaniel and an even bigger Lab. I believe Jules will sleep in my bedroom with the door closed. I am allowing Alex and Lucky to sleep in the house tonight too. Not because it is exceptionally cold tonight, it is a very nice 50 degrees, but I'm hoping it will help me sleep. Lucky was howling with the 5:45 train this morning and it woke me up and had me up for hours before I fell back asleep.

Today has been such a wonderful holiday day. We got up late, Mom and Dad already had coffee brewing and Mom had read the paper and had breakfast. Mark had to get packed and get on the road to play in Dallas tonight. I heated up the Anasazi Soup I made Thursday night and we had it for lunch, it was delicious. Mark got on his way and Mom, Dad and I spent a typical family afternoon (for our family) eating candy and cookies and watching football we didn't even care about.

Eventually Mom and I made a run to the stores and had great luck getting our last gifts without going to the malls. Our funniest moment was in World Market. Mother was looking at a wooden letter file that sits on top of the desk. Daddy had said he wanted something like that and Mother was telling me how much junk Daddy has piled on his desk and she said, "If he would just clean that off he'd be able to find what he needed..." and a woman standing nearby said, "But he won't." We laughed and laughed with her. Really hightened the holiday mood.

Mother slipped me lots and lots of cash very sweetly "because she loves me." It was much appreciated because I know I've charged over $300 in just groceries in preparation for this weekend. It is a hard job to play hostess to my family in the style to which we have become accustomed.

We made it home and watched more football with Daddy and ate more soup and cheese and crackers and candy and cookies. Running out of TV to watch I found the movie Sliding Doors with Gwyneth Paltrow and we watched that. We were 15 minutes from the end when my sister and her family arrived. It was only eight and we really didn't expect them for hours more. They said the traffic from Dallas wasn't bad and they got off at a good time in the afternoon. They had had a little of their Christmas before leaving Coppell. They are leaving for Holland on Tuesday as soon as they get home from Austin and the boys had complained that they wouldn't get to play with anything they get down here on Christmas morning so they opened some of their presents. Connor brought his new Razor Scooter and was quite proud of it. I even gave it a go but those things are dangerous!

We made Chex mix and drank wine (an addition to our family Christmases only after my European brother-in-law became a famly member) and watched the David Letterman show when he broadcast to Tuzla Bosnia-Herzegovina earlier this week. We laughed at the dogs trying to all get along. We had quite a houseful with seven people and three dogs in this small house. Mark was missed and I hope he comes home early tomorrow.

It was as perfect as a December 23 can get. Now I'm figuring turkey and ham and dressing cooking times so all will come out of the oven hot and ready to go at 6 pm tomorrow night. It will be a challenge.

The clock on my computer now shows midnight. Christmas Eve gift!