Happy Birthday to Jason, who was 31 on Christmas Eve! I don't consider this belated since I saw him in person and wished him happy. That was, of course, before my sickness set in (yep...sick for Christmas is no fun at all-just ask my mom).

And a rousing thank you to my dear friend Elena (the first blog visitor) who was in town for the holiday and joined me for lunch and chit-chat on Christmas Eve. She gifted me with a new book The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. It is a fabulous read and was chosen by Oprah as her 60th book club selection. For those of you who aren't bothered by Oprah's deciding what the nation should read, this is the best I've found. For those of you, like me, who think Oprah's book club is little better than propaganda and wonder what her cut is, do your best to ignore the seal on the cover; this is a great book.

Also, a big thank you to my parents for the gifts they gave me this Christmas. They were very generous and, frankly, perfect. And props to MOM for the extraordinary prime rib dinner on Christmas Day...yum-yum. Also a thank you to Grandma and Emmy for their presents as well.

What else you say? Hmm, I suppose we need to deal with that contest idea. As it turns out, only one person submitted an idea, which is rather a poor ROI. But, kudos to Jason (not of the Christmas Eve birthday...the one who is my second oldest friend) for submitting the "have a who knows Olivia best quiz" idea. In light of the fact it was the only submission, I am taking the liberty of just declaring him the winner. Which may, in fact, bother some of you who think you know me well, but it's my blog and I get to do whatever I want-so I say Jason wins just for entering. Congratulations JJM!  Now, the idea of having an "all about me" quiz is quite tempting...you all know how much I love that concept, but I think I will save it. My birthday is coming up (only 80 days to go!!!) and I think it would be a great way to celebrate me!

Well that's about all the housekeeping I can handle in one day. Aunt Judy would be the first to tell you that I have never been able to do housekeeping in large doses.

Hope all of you had an awesome holiday and that Santa and his minions were kind and generous. Most of you probably even deserved it.