The Aftermath & Liv Tyler

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Lloyd cheated on me with Liv Tyler.

Well, that was my dream last night.  In that dream he was also a professional football player, so far-fetched is pretty much the order of the evening.

Yesterday was Christmas.  Christmas, Christmas, Christmas.  Never really fully prepared and yet it comes.  Where would I have been without my elf, Ariel??  So we started the tamales on the Eve.  I was humming along as I prepped the masa and soaked the husks.  After a while the novelty of the tamales started to wear off.  I got bored.  She got sleepy.  We retreated to the loft where we watched a boot leg copy of our favorite movie of the season.  We left the masa in the fridge, and the husks soaking in the kitchen sink.  We would put off what we had started.  Typical.

And so Christmas day rolls around.  Dinner was set for 5 p.m.   Around 10 a.m. Lloyd made pancakes and fresh coffee.  My mom and I opted for Chinese take out.  I love the Chinese.  Despite any political or religious differences we have with them, they do make the most beautiful fried rice and wontons.  And they are open on Christmas.  Thank you, Jesus, for dying for our sins (and for Chinese take-out).

We idled a while.  We steamed tamales in my fashionable new steamer, complements of mom.  We prepped.  We must have washed dishes 50 times by the evening's end.  To keep this dragging-on blog short, we didn't actually get to eating until 6 p.m.  

Rather, everyone else but Ariel & I ate.  We stayed in the kitchen.  Still steaming.  Washing pots and pans.  Making way for the plates that would inevitably come.  Siblings shouted gratitide from their tables.  Was I bummed out?   No way.  I love hosting.  And Ariel and I are vegetarians, so it wasn't like the potatoes were just calling our names.  And any effort to help me avoid excess calories are fine by me.  We were content in the sweat-shop.  Washing, rinsing, drying (and steaming) the evening away.

I didn't miss out on a slice of Ariel's "North Pole" cake.  Yum.   The gift exchanging went beautifully, just as I had planned.  No crying.  No mayhem.  Nothing that required battery operation. Perfection.

I was pleased with it all.  Everyone was in such high spirits.  Everyone.  It all felt right.  It was, undoubtedly, one of the best Christmases I have ever had. 

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