Right now, my college roommie Diana is vacationing in Australia, where it’s apparently daytime, cuz she sent me this not long ago from her cameraphone:

I am extremely jealous, as she appears to be doing what Dwaine and I have only dreamt of doing long before. I don’t know whether Mr. W was trying to make me feel better or just being a poo-poo head when I showed him the cameraphone picture and he said, “Pssh, she’s probably visiting a zoo.”

Meanwhile, in my life right now, I am hosting my first stepmother duty event: Mr. W’s daughter’s 18th birthday shindig at our house. We ordered food from the Newport Rib Company, got a giant chocolate coma-inducing cake from Costco, decorated the back yard into a winter wonderland, and let the teenagers entertain themselves. Right now, we handed out hot chocolate, lit a fire, got the music going on our outdoor speakers, and they’re cozy and content.

Here they are again from the opposite perspective.

The great thing about chilly weather is that outdoor fires become a very nice thing. This is the first time we’re lighting up our outdoor firepit, and earlier in the week, we lit our living room fireplace for the first time, too. Even Dodo has been permitted to cozy up to us on the bed. Not a flattering photo of me right before bed a few days ago, but it’s a great one of Dodo.

Tonight, I expect to go to bed to the same thing. A sleeping fuzzy boy in each corner of the bed, with a space in the middle just for me.