Ah, another holiday come and gone. Frankly, I'm relieved. I enjoy my loved ones, and I enjoy food, but the trouble here is TOO MUCH of everything. I must psych myself up to almost any social gathering, and then spend time after it decompressing. This past weekend will require at least two solid days of sleep. Yeah, good luck with that, sweetie.

The blessing was my niece. She reminded me to love with all of myself, to live in the moment, to play with my toys and try on all of my clothes. To give kisses. To say "Merry Christmas", and to laugh. Without her, we'd all be in mortal peril of losing any clue as to what the holiday really means. Thank goodness for her.

I also got some truly wonderful gifts from my beau. A mini Zen water garden for my desk, some relaxation CD's but best of all, a beautiful book called "Dreaming of Tuscany". I've been to Italy before, but this book shows where to go, what to do, how to eat, how to find a villa, recipes....And more importantly, reminds me to dream. I hadn't realized I'd put my dreams on the back burner until I started to look through that book. Thank You, my love.

Now, if I can work up enough energy to work out and work OFF all these calories, I may have a chance at turning the scales back down!!!