and down came the amazon fairy

So it's the week before Christmas. Thankfully, I'm just sitting here waiting for the last box from Amazon to arrive, and then I'm all set. I spent the weekend wrapping presents, so now things are not only organized, but the house looks especially festive and Christmasy. Love it.

The anticipated weekend of holiday parties got downgraded a notch as I was unexpectedly under the weather on Saturday night. Instead, I curled up on my bed and watched Akeelah and the Bee. It was a nice, feel-good movie for the holiday season, even if it wasn't a true holiday film (and, sadly, no Jude Law to gaze at). If you need a movie to watch with the fam over the holidays, this might be a good one to consider. It reminded me in some ways of Bee Season, except for the absence of the whole idea of Jewish mystecism (a notion that didn't quite transfer to the film version -- I've yet to read the book, but I've heard it's much clearer there). The way Akeelah tapped her leg for the rhythm of the word reminded me of the way Liza could almost envision the words which she was spelling. I'd say Akeelah gets the nod on content, but that Bee Season gets the nod for overall visual and aesthetic appeal.

Sunday was my church group's holiday progressive dinner. I thought this was something many people had done, but seems it may be something that isn't quite so common. Growing up, I remember countless neighborhood progressive dinners where my sister and I had a baby-sitter and would try to sneak in whenever possible to swipe some of whichever course my parents happened to be serving. I remember thinking I was mighty sly and stealth, but I'm sure many of the neighbors caught me as I snuck in and out with the stash of baked goods. Seems like such a short time ago...

Anyhow, the dinner was amazing. TXDem made some amazing jalapeno poppers. We had the main course at the church, where ES and DH had gone all out with pork tenderloin and fresh carved roast, followed by some absolutely immaculate desserts at RM's. The dessert line up included homemade eggnog (for a former eggnog free holiday goer, this has TRULY been the season o'nog), homemade sweet potato pie, and a fruit and poundcake trifle. What a feast to end all feasts! Hmmm I'm thinking maybe it'll be soup for lunch today, after all the food of yesterday!