Holiday greetings to all of my 100 loyal readers around the wide world full of 7 billion souls.

I hope those who celebrated Christmas and Hanukkah had a wonderful time with family and friends, and that those who celebrate Kwanzaa (starting today) will enjoy this special time of year as well. I say HAPPY HOLIDAYS because it’s my wish for you; not because I’m trying to be PC or that I wish to downplay Christmas. I love Christmas! I love the symbolism and the message, having been brought up in a Christian home, but I am not at all offended when someone wishes me a happy holiday. (And I’ll not even start on the “keep Christ in Christmas” thing today, or this happy post will degenerate into an unhinged harangue…)

Conversely, I cluck at people who feel it their duty to point out the ubiquitous “Jesus was not born on December 25th.” So what? Biblical scholars have researched the story, and while many agree that there is no hard-and-fast scriptural proof — indeed, the evidence leans decidedly away from December — that the Nativity took place in the dead of winter, it doesn’t bother me in the least. We don’t know when Remy or Pax were born, so we chose a day to commemorate their birth. Does that make their birth any less important? Psh. Who cares? Let’s celebrate it, and all naysaying negative Nancys can move to the back of the train. Away from me.

We had a great family Christmas celebration at our house on Christmas Eve (although there was a huge absence because Helen and the A’s were all down with the flu, ugh), followed by a trip to Cleveland. We came home and relaxed with a movie, and I read myself to sleep. It was a good day, and I hope yours was, too.

Strangely enough, even though I have a metric ton of work (I won’t mention what it is, but its initials are d-i-n-n-e-r-t-h-e-a-t-r-e) staring me in the face, I’m on the web this morning, searching out fun baking recipes. This, after spending a half hour on the treadmill at 6 a.m. Rat Fink, Rat Fink…

What do you think of these? I might try them, then forswear dinner so I can have a couple.

The Thriller and I are going to watch The Interview this weekend. A review will be forthcoming.

For those of you in the private sector, it’s Friday, yay! Enjoy the weekend. I’m off to try to get something accomplished today.