gone are the holidays...

well, the holidays are come and gone. my sis got all christian on me, and was somewhat disturbed by my lighting hannukah candles. as if this is some pagan thing or something. anyway, I didn't argue with her about it, but as far as I'm concerned I would point out a few things:

1. Jesus celebrated hannukah, as have all the jews since the founding of the 2nd temple.
2. this is a season to celebrate miracles, so let's just rejoice in that.
3. I respect your religious choices, you should respect mine.

anyway, the day was fun, the kids are getting big. I got my neice her flower girl dress and she looks so fabulous, I can't wait for the wedding.

the drive home was horrid. the grapevine is bad enough on a clear day, but we had this wicked storm, and I had to play 'dodge the tumbleweeds' in zero visibility rain. it wasn't raining buckets, it was sheets with cats and dogs. of course, as soon as I made it home, the weather cleared up. go figure.

I miss the hannukah candles already. such a big buildup, lighting one more candle each day for eight days, and then its all over. too bad we don't light them every week. they really are beautiful. at least I can stop eating sufganiyot. the only problem with this holiday is the enormous amounts of fat that one takes in eating all these fried foods.

I've got three days to clean the house. A tornado hit during finals season, and there are still a lot of boxes yet to unpack. the walls are still bare, but I'm gradually hanging some pictures and making it look a little more 'homey.'

I got some fish for the fishtank. 4 beautiful angels, a tiger plecostamus, and a handful of neons. I think they are settling in, but I'll know in a few days if everything is cool. They need some plants. I didn't want to add them right away because I want to be sure that the temperature, pH, and all is stable. Go slowly, they say. I'm thinking about adding a clown loach. Never had one before, but they are colorful and funny, and they get along with the angels. maybe next week.

looking forward to the new year, so many changes in store. not the least of which is getting married (finally). will do some travelling this summer, hopefully Italy. never been there yet. very exciting indeed.