Today the Christmas season rang in with the hugest gong sound ever gonged. There’s no doubt that December is my favorite month. It is the month of lights and snow and food and my birthday. Although I will stop celebrating that last part next year.

This particular first day of December was maybe the greatest one yet. First off it snowed and is still snowing and will continue to snow until who knows when. I like this cause the grass has turned brown and there’s no more leaves anywhere so it makes things a bit prettier. I went to work today. I got there at at 7:30 am. On the weekends at my job we are required to wear pajamas. I am not so sure as to why, I just do as told. It started snowing about halfway through my shift. I parked a couple blocks away. After work on my way to my car, I was talking to one of my co-workers and all of a sudden we saw hundreds of Santa Clauses running down Nicollet Avenue. Of course I whipped out my cell cam and took pictures of some of them .


One Santa stopped as I was taking pictures of them and said, “I bet we look pretty ridiculous, don’t we?”
Well. Kind of. But I was in pajamas downtown at 4pm, so I had no place judging.
Then I got to where my car was parked:

Of course the plows had trapped me in pretty good by this time. But is was OK. Do you ever notice when it snows a bunch people outside who are walking around are in the most terrific mood? Well I noticed that.
Other great December 1st occurrences are that XE begins it’s Advent Calender. I cannot explain it well enough here, but click on this link if you want to be entertained daily until Christmas. This is the 6th year Matt has been doing the advent. I suggest reading up on the previous years before starting this one.
Also, my dad and mom called to let me know that they put up the tree this weekend. Then they email me pictures of it. Because that’s totally normal. When I grew up we had this crocheted and starched weird angel for the tree that my mother made while in her crafty phase. One year when I was about 14, the cat we had-who was around a million years old and senile as can be-peed in one of the boxes of decorations. So, my mother got this new one:

I received this picture in an email today followed by the following, (sans MS Paint):

The subject of the email was “Can you tell what’s different?” I could tell what was different. New Angel. I could also tell what was the same. All those decorations are from my childhood. The picture ornaments from when we were kids. The handmade ceramic ornaments, once again from the crafty period. AND my baby shoes hanging at the bottom of the tree. When I was little, m sister and I used to lay down with our heads under the tree, looking up and stare at the lights. And when we are at the parents house for Christmas we still do that and get sappy and nostalgic. This year my family is coming to Saint Paul to see me this year. So, it’ll be different and strange, but I am going to love it as well.

December, I love you.