Christmas!!!!

Okay. I know there's stilla while to go. It's only the 19th. But I, for one, am thrilled nonetheless. I'm not Christian, nor am I religious in any way. The appeal in Christmas, for me, is (corny as it sounds) the feelings. The feeling of happiness at watching someone's face light up over a gift you gave, hearing everyone unconsciously singing along to the ever-present music, the smells of baking and cooking and... Well, you get the picture. I don't care if you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa (like we do, too), there's still holiday cheer.

Today, Mama and I are baking coconut bread. Coconut bread is a recipe and a tradition passed on from woman to woman in our family. It's our most closely guarded secret and our most widely shared gift. The recipe, on average, makes about 20-25 loaves, and we give one to everybody. On the other hand, it's always the matriarch that bakes it, and no one else. Gramma only gave Mama the recipe when she was near-death, but Mama's being a little more lenient and teaching me it bit-by-bit over the next couple of years. Yum! Anyways, I have a feeling the last loaf is ready, so I'll BRB.

Back. Am I good, or what? The bread was just about to burn, but perfectly cooked. On the other hand, the dishwasher was steaming. I kid you not. It was shooting steam out. Is that healthy? Somehow, I doubt it. Most of the built-in appliances in our kitchen are kaput. The oven? good for show. The stove? don't make me laugh. The dishwasher? should have been buried in the eighties. Not a day goes by where my mother does not lament over the beautiful, professional, fully functional appliances in our old house. That and the beautiful cork-thingie floor. I swear, we have the ugliest kitchen this side of Miami. But it works (to a point), so I guess we can't complain too much.

Ryan and his parents are coming over to dinner tonight. Ryan Logan, in case I've been remiss in my introductions, is a friend of mine whom I met at Becs' clown course graduation last year. We've become fairly close friends, and lately the whole meet-the-parents thing has been happening. Kai, loser that he is, came downstairs this morning crying and saying that he didn't want to cook. A little irritating, since he agreed on Thursday and spent all of last night choosing a meal with me. He's actually a most excellent Chinese Chef, in the style of my grandfather. Too bad his maturity doesn't match his prowess in the kitchen. Luckily, Mama agreed to step in and make dinner in his place.

Oh, yes. I nearly forgot. OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! MY NOVEL! MY NOVEL! IT'S... IT'S...

A BOOK!

I kid you not. My novel is no longer just a novel. It is a book, complete with cover, back cover, about the author, and even back-cover blurb!

I printed it out two-to-a-page, cut them in half, and bound them with keychain rings, laminating the front and back cover. It's... so real. *sniffle* I feel so... proud. I really truly accomplished something. My novel still needs editing, but it's fully readable and comprehensible in the format I made into a book. It's amazing. people are already signing up for copies. All I need is more keychain rings and a lot more paper.

Anyways, that's it for now. possibly I will update more after the Logans' visit. Speaking of which, they'll be here in a couple of hours and I need to finish wrappng all the coconut bread, get cleaned up, and tidy up my room and the hall in case Micheline (Ryan's mother) insists on seeing my room again. Ugh.

MistWeaver