just haven't been in the holiday spirit this year yet. We had our annual Christmas concert (4th CD) and it went well with a huge fellowship afterward. My extended family ALL came and I felt warm all over. The materialistic nonChristian capitalism and all the stress in bussiness this time of year just turns me off. I am trying to keep the spirit by doing things in a level and pleasant manner. Traffic here in ATL sure is worse now and oh so many ugly faces, not to speak of the accidents. The weather has been super though. Been in the mid 70's and maybe down in the upper 30's at night where I live. Supposed to get cold just before Christmas. Puters been down due to connection problems and my bro @ Pratt & Whitney has convinced me to go with the High Speed. Mom's at home and doing better but not much improvement in her tumor so she knits alot and stays in bed much of the time. We did get a 24hr aide so she could remain in her home though. School is going slow but hope to pick up the pace in the New Year. Hope ya'll are well and your families also! Very, Very busy so not much time to chat lately. God Bless each and every one of ya'll. Hope to see everyone in June!

What if I get into the holiday spirit by reading all the blogs here?!!!

Karen, we don't do much for Hanukkah anymore besides light the candles every night--though even that I forget to do sometimes. When the kids were little, we did buy presents, but now we just give them some money to buy themselves something. So I don't really have much holiday spirit! We don't decorate or anything. I have a friend who converted to Judaism, and she does more than us--presents, decorating, etc. We are having Avi's family here tonight, but even that has dwindled down to a small group. There's always a lot of "politics" going on in his family. Someone always seems to be mad at someone else, so a few have stopped coming to these Friday night family dinners. I'm okay with any size group, so that's okay. Actually, for me, the smaller, the better!

Lori, Happy Hannukah to you! I would like to hear what traditions are in your family and how you celebrate. Do you think it has gotten as commercialized and out of hand as Christmas? Are you having a huge crowd tonight ... cooking?

On the other hand, Patti, if our minds are still clear enough at that point to remember if we're regular or irregular, maybe that will be a good sign!