Dear Reader:

'Twas the Night before Christmas and all through the house, I was typing in my stats on myfitnesspal.com and writing this blog entry.   Given that I went out to lunch (Mexican - left half of the meal on my plate) and made Hershey's Kiss Peanut Butter Cookies with my kids this afternoon (I ate four during the day - somebody's got to taste test for Santa), it's a Christmas miracle that my calorie count was as low as it was.   It helped that I only had time to eat some grapes and string cheese for dinner before heading out to the Christmas Eve service rehearsal.  I also hit the treadmill for 35 minutes this afternoon.

All in all, not bad for Christmas Eve.

Calories consumed:  1760
Calories burned:  207

I had a delightful visit from the cutest baby on the planet, who then decided to pull himself up to standing without holding on to anything while at my house.  Brilliant child.   And, his mother's not too bad, either.  Also brilliant. :)

Had lots of Christmas fun with the kids today.   There's really no way to not enjoy Christmas with two 5 year olds in the house.

So, all in all, I am feeling grateful and happy.   I look forward to sharing Christmas morning and Christmas dinner with my good friends tomorrow and to seeing my Mom, brothers, nephews and niece in the days following.   My life is surely full of love and joy.   I do love Christmas, but it is, after all, just a day upon which we have decided to lay some ritual significance and observation.  My hope is that I remain conscious of the good things in my life (which are MANY) on every day of the year, even while I try to work on the things that need work.   Life is full of complexity, isn't it?

Peace and love to you, dear reader.   Merry Christmas Eve!

Thanks for reading.