Christmas Eve Day, Early Morning

I was awakened dodging kitten kisses at around 4:30 this morning.
My 4-month old kitten James has gotten into the habit of licking my face awake when he's ready for some kibble action.
I noticed about a dozen brand new kitten toys shoved to the side in favor of his new favorite toys, pecans. He likes to play pecan hockey on the kitchen floor.
Now he's precariously perched on the headrest of my computer chair, helping me groom my hair with his tongue. He's cute, but that's gross no matter who is doing it.

I was thinking about driving up to Austin today so I could spend Christmas Eve with my family. I probably won't though, we aren't that traditional and we'd just end up watching TV and nodding out early. We used to go to midnight mass when we were little and Catholic, but now my Catholicism has been reduced to collecting religious kitsch, like saints who have pinpoint laser lights flashing around their silhouettes, a 3-D holograph that turns Jesus into the Virgin Mary, a nun in a snowglobe, and a host of other heavenly doodads.

The family was supposed to have a wonderful dinner tomorrow, roasted beef tenderloin and Yorkshire pudding, but the last I heard we've switched to tamales. I am not rushing anywhere for tamales.

I would like to stay in a peaceful frame of mind today and tomorrow, so I am willfully refraining from reblogging on this idiot's blogsite, where she complains about not passing a computer test, all the while telling us how brilliant she is and how stupid the test was. People who intentionally throw in lots of technical jargon and multisyllabic, industry-specific nomenclature to seem smart just seem like blowhards to me.
This chick actually said now that she blew the test, we could consider her mortal like the rest of us. If it weren't Christmas time, the words know-it-all and asshole would spring to mind.

Also denting my Yuletide serenity is my worrying about a friend whose relationship is hitting the skids. She's not allowed to e-mail or call unless her girlfriend is away, so I remain concerned and unable to lend any support. It's really none of my business, but still I am concerned.