The Holiday Spirit

My life lately has become organized into quests. This is why I hate holidays.

But I am going to focus on the positives today:

• I broke my decade-long abstinence regarding latkes. The last few times I ate them, I had gotten terrifically ill, but today I decided that I was ready to try again. And they are yummy.

• I am only six gifts away from done with Christmas shopping. Assuming I can get the one that...damnit. Scratch this bullet. I am not even close, with a week to go.

• I am now the proud owner of The Improvisational Chef, a book I think I remember lusting after in B&N one day. Apparently, word of my insatiable appetite for cookbooks has spread ("Oh, God. You read them, don't you?" my stepfather remarked when I opened it). Now I can impress Nick with my culinary "instincts."

• Speaking of, I am committed to making my first-ever cheesecake for New Year's Eve, possibly followed closely by my second. This is very exciting; it's the first challenge I've taken on since I learned to make those molten chocolate non-souffles a few years ago. The fact that there might be about six pounds of cheesecake per person is something that I am not thinking about right now.

• Hmm...and there's good news that is not yet internet-ready. No, Andrea, it's not what you're thinking. It's not about me at all, in fact: not mine to share, in other words.

• I have a plan for every stressor, even if I have no idea when I will be able to execute any of them.

• I will probably stop wanting to crawl out of my skin tomorrow, when I know more about what my week will be like.

• These bullet points are getting weak.

• I get to see Nick, soonish.

That last one helps, actually.