Look at me, up all early in the morning. Part of the new resolve, I guess.

Why is it that I feel like I've spent the last two days cleaning and the house still looks a mess? Is it just that we have some much new "stuff" for which we have no room? We just keep moving it around until we can make it a home.

CoWorker Friend came over yesterday to exchange gifts with Little Boy and me. He got a magic kit (very excited), a couple of books - How Children Lived and How Things Work - which he dubbed "very useful", and an Uncle Sam nutcracker. (Little Boy being a real live nephew of his Uncle Sam, born on the 4th of July!) I got a funny little book about a trailer trash Christmas and a Dremel rotary tool! The latter of which I have always, always wanted.

I have no clue now what I'll do with it, but the possibilities are endless.

Little Boy had given her a candle holder and candle, by far the best gift of all his Holiday Shop gifts. I had put together a little basket full of goodies: a picture of LB near the ocean in a heavy silver frame, a goofy little candle that says "Best Friend Forever", a tiny teal-colored leaf shaped bowl for tea bags or rings or just cause it was pretty, a bottle of Scottish bath soap for her to take on her trip abroad next year, two pins and several containers of Orange Tic Tacs.

She seemed to really like it. She - like my mother and me - isn't all that good at pretending to like something when she doesn't. She said she found it amazing that I always give her presents that she loves and her family - who has known her all her life - can't seem to manage anything remotely useful to her.

I think it's just that with friends you try a little harder.

After opening presents, we watched the "Baby Carrie Christmas" tape so she could see that I really haven't changed all that much in 34 years. Then we enjoyed a nice leisurely lunch at IHOP before parting ways.

LB and I returned home to grab the Nana, then went to see "Harry Potter...". The movie was very good and didn't seem at all too long. I was kind of glad we hadn't finished the book because the ending had a little twist. If I were a 12-year-old girl (and sometimes I think I still am) I would have such a crush on that Harry Potter. What a lovely little English lad.

I think Nana was a bit bored and a bit jealous that LB kept snuggling up to me and ignoring her. You have to know the women in our family to understand how deeply envious we all are of each other. But LB was very involved in the movie, front to back. He seemed genuinely spooked by some of the scenes, though, so I wouldn't recommend this movie for young kids at all.

Hubband is still illing, so he spent most of the night in Big Boy's room hacking up a lung and sleeping fitfully. I watched "Bridget Jones' Diary" and slept on the sofa so as not to disturb him. (Plus our room gets very, very cold in winter and we had temps in the teens last night.)

Today is wide open. I have more cleaning to do. LB wants to go spend some of the Christmas change that's burning a hole in his pocket. I promised him I would play Rumble Robots with him and help him use his "chemistry" kit for making homemade gummy worms.

Mostly, I would just like to curl up on the sofa and read and watch tv because Aunt Flow's in town and I just feel the need for pampering.

I think I will commence the pampering now!