Santa's off to a good start!

I got a great present for Christmas this year! A new Nikon D40! I got it a few days early so I could capture all the great Christmas moments over the next few days. I LOVE it. I'm trying to read the manual and really get to know the settings so this camera really lives up to it's potential. (and it's price tag!)

In other recent news, I found some Christmas spirit! Several different things contributed to my new attitude. First of all...my mother started dating! Gasp!! Now I'll be the first person to say that the idea of her and another man 'hanging out' is just plain weird. But, it did give us kids something to rally together for. We sort of got used to avoiding each other's lives, so the hot new couple in town gave us a common interest. No one's really sure how they feel about all of it, (except Jackilyn of course...who 'hates' him. *She's 17. ) What she hates is how he reminds her of who he isn't. We talked, shed some tears, and ultimately agreed that we don't want her to be alone forever. Then we let it go. How did I get Christmas spirit from that? I guess somehow I feel like her happiness and sanity during the holidays isn't only my responsibility anymore. She has someone to spend time with and have fun with. And now when we are together, the absence of my dad isn't so strong. That's not to say we ignore that he's gone, his absence just stands there instead of smacking me in the face.

I also got a new hair cut! After some encouragement from Heather (.."it's just hair! Do it!!") I decided to chop it off. I brought a picture of Katie Holmes to the salon and crossed my fingers. It's weird what a good haircut does for a woman. :)

I also went ice skating with a group of ABsolutely PHABulous girls!! Catherine has some great photos from this fun night posted. Heather planned the whole night before she found out she was pregnant, but sitting on the sidelines allowed her to take some great pics, too! I felt like a kid out on the ice and I don't think I've laughed that much in a while! We also created our own sorority that night. Alpha Beta Phabulosa! It's silly...but I can't wait for another great year with my new sorority sisters.

So I feel like 2007 has dug a nice little hole for me to stand in. I never allowed it to swallow me whole, but I always just felt 'stuck'. I'm seeing that hole get smaller and smaller and I'm excited to start a new year. Now...bring on the presents and eggnog!