"Home is where they have to let you stay."

Hmm... not nearly as sentimental a title as my previous post, but hey. Gotta give the big brother credit for his contribution... thanks, Bob!

I have received criticism of late from my good friend Adam... apparently, the only time a Blog is truly beneficial is if you actually make posts... at least, more than one. (Once a month isn't going to cut it?) So, I am shamed into Post Number Two - which is nearly half as many as my FIRST blog, the one about India (where I lived for over 8 months...) So I'm ahead of the game, right? Right!

Well, in my defense, this whole process is a heck of a lot easier with the newest addition to the family... my new Dell computer! Kinda hard to explain to the employer when posts occur during working hours, and my home PC (ok, Adam's PC!) was stolen during the move to my new house. (Don't ask.)

(Is this a good time to mention that I sometimes have to double-check myself on whether you spell defense with a "s" or a "c," and have to resort to a high school cheer to confirm? And what was that about your high school principal is your "pal," so you don't refer to him/her as your high school principle? I digress...)

So, after a mere two and half hours of set-up (okay, I did get distracted ripping all my CD's to my hard drive first, so I could test my new speakers!) I find myself online from the comfort of my own home! (Thank you, Earthlink!) It's like Christmas all over again!

I am enjoying a glass of Reisling, a little Nickel Creek (thank you, Eva!) and Death Cab for Cutie, (thank you, Sarah Vowell and Bumbershoot 2005!) and a warm, cozy Tuggles snuggled up next to me, enjoying the ambience of my home office. (Granted, the smallest room in the world, dimension-wise, but that just adds to the coziness, right? RIGHT?!)

(The photo to the left is a tribute and partial explanation for my current obsession - it is a shot of a fund raiser at Bumbershoot 2005 with Sarah Vowell discoursing on the Battle Hymn of the Republic, accompanied by Death Cab for Cutie!)

This is a real treat... it's nice to feel connected. The holiday season was tougher than I had anticipated. I thought having my own house would eliminate any homesickness or nostalgia for Christmases past... but it actually exacerbated it.

Putting up a tree was fun - I only got choked up once... I am in the fortunate (?) position of having been my mother's only daughter... so I inherited all the family Christmas ornaments. While I totally appreciate that my younger friends have to supply their own ornaments because their parents are still using the family ones, I am willing to gloat that I have the most colorful and sentimental tree in the world because I realize those ornaments came at a high price. So I put the Santa Claus ornament made of felt and sequins that Mom and I made the year we were too poor to buy any presents front-and-center, and tucked the one from Damon that said "Kathy-n-Travis" in the back! No uni-color ornaments hung on a fake silver tree for this girl!

Ok... so Christmas is over. New Year's Eve was... about as fun as can be expected. NOT to dismiss spending quality time with girlfriends (thanks for the New Year's kiss, Bonnie!) but I'm tired of the bar scene... time to start planning a house warming party! (Brings to mind that "Sex and the City" episode where single Carrie finally starts to cash in on all those wedding and baby shower presents she bought her friends! Is that terrible?!) Nah... presents are not necessary... spending time with quality friends? Priceless.

Speaking of which... the "winter blues" probably aren't being helped by the absence of two special people... Kim decided to follow her dreams (who KNEW dreams could lead you to South Dakota during December?!) and Eva decided to follow her Joe to Memphis... within a month of each other. OUCH. Keep in touch, Ladies... you are missed.

That's enough rambling... MUCH LOVE to Wendi after her baby shower... you look great, Girl! What an adventure! Enjoy every minute... even the aches and pains! You are very happy - and it shows. I'm glad... you deserve it.