Christmas is Coming (or just breathing heavily)

Christmas shopping is highly overrated.  For such a “joyous” time of year, the preparation, rushing around and overspending brings out the worst in people.  Truly, the Grinch is an appropriate metaphor for most of us.  I’m not preparing the typical Christmas meal this year.  Instead of turkey or ham, I’m making Braciole – a Sicilian stuffed beef roll, pasta, tomato sauce, and lots of red wine (one must tolerate one’s in-laws somehow).  One of my goals for the holiday is to cook great food as often as possible.  I really enjoy cooking; it’s delicious and much cheaper than golf or controlled substances.  My two favorite cuisines are French and Italian, although I’m notorious for my Greek salad.  Last Friday I went to a wine tasting party, which was fun, but I pissed off my wife by talking to another woman for an extended period of time.  The fact she was a lesbian made no difference.  Marriage is a beautiful thing, no?