With December weeks whizzing by in a blur, I've had a tough time finding my Christmas spirit. Thought I'd get out and do some Christmas shopping. Then thought again. I'd rather not channel my inner Santa Claus on the plane home. Visions of cramming a giant red knapsack full of loot into the overhead bin? Yeah, I'll shop online and let UPS handle the delivery. Plus I've been battling this nasty cold/flu kind of thing. It's hard to be jolly when you've got a head full of green boogs and a hacking cough. And the work Christmas party? Cancelled two years ago due to "the financial strains of a bad economy." (A real bummer considering I'd love to see the show my liquored-up co-workers are capable of putting on). Because I'm not trying to be a total Grinch, I did pick up a poinsettia. (That earns me one holiday cheer point, right?)

Then, (early) Christmas miracle of all Christmas miracles... on my way home from picking up dinner tonight, fat white flakes began to fall from the sky. They danced around in my headlights and made tiny piles in the corner of my windshield. Whaaaaat? Nobody said a thing about snow! My inner-Texan began to flip. It's snowing! They didn't last long, but those few fleeting flurries did more for my Christmas spirit than decking the halls with boughs of holly and jingle bell rocking around the clock ever could. Giddy like a little kid, I had to celebrate. And what better way to ring in Christmas than with cups and cups of sugar? I tried out a recipe I've had my eye on for a while, the best coconut cake in the world. (I'd post a picture, but suffice it to say -- it was the ugliest, most delicious cake I've ever baked). Now is it totally out of the question that I'll wake up to a winter wonderland and an email from my boss declaring a company-wide snow day?