J and I are going to get all crafty and make our gifts this year. For the women, I want to make bath bombs and lip balm; for the kids, fleece hats and matching mittens; for the men, some savory snacky things and something-else-but-I-don�t-know-what. Everyone is getting yummy baked goods too�I�ve been eyeing a recipe for little tarts in the latest issue of G_ood Homes. They have a dab of marzipan in the bottom and are filled with mincemeat, but I think they would be yummy with cherry filling. Cherry-almond tarts, yum. I think I�ll make some chocolate-walnut rugelach, too. I know it's not, like, hard-core crafty . . . but ya gotta start somewhere.

I�m starting to think about Gemini�s gift, too. For him, I need a gift that says, �Being with you makes me feel like I�ve won the freakin� lottery. Kiss me, baby!� Or something like that. I would love to get creative and make a gift that somehow incorporates the places we went/things we did while we were figuring out that we were sweet on each other. Sounds sappy, I know. I don�t care!

Wednesday night he came over and we made empanadas. You know, I�m just not good at making pastry dough, and I should remember to stick to the ready-made stuff from now on. Of course people who know how to do this sort of thing always say, oh, it�s a snap, you just whirr it in your food processor and make sure not to overwork the dough, anyone can do it! As it turns out, I managed to mess it up somehow even though I�m a fairly competent cook. It is possible to walk into any grocery store and purchase a damn fine crust, so really, why bother? Hmph.

Anyway, we had a lovely evening, cooking and drinking wine and being all lovey-dovey. And then we got to snuggle up for the night. I love that part�it�s so, so, SO nice. And now�ah!�it�s almost the weekend, and we can spend two entire days together doing nothing in particular and enjoying each other�s company. The only plans we have are (1) our favorite retro-80s dance club and (2) the M_ichigan Avenue holiday lights parade. And I think he might be bringing his Play_Station to my house, so yahoo! I love that he's a guy with toys.

Uh, yeah, I�m yammering on and on about absolutely nothing. I�m just, just, what�s the word . . . oh yeah: HAPPY.

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