Hanging Onto Our Hats

Hello, blogosphere! I hope you've all had a wonderful holiday break so far. Here at our Venice stronghold, we're in full visitor mode. This has included:

• seven Midwestern relatives, including three little boys
• my brother looking so incredibly wiped already on the first day that my husband whispered to me, "Is it (child-rearing) really that hard?" 
• my cat getting so ticked at the invasion that he went on a peeing rampage, hitting my laundry, a sofa, and my sister-in-law's jacket
• one wild-eyed trip to Disneyland
• one exhausted toddler in a post-Disney fugue countering the cat with his own peeing rampage
• LOTS of cookies
• two pies
• LOTS of dishes
• daily beach visits
• one multi-dolphin sighting
• and lots of good conversation

My guests are heading back to the winterland tomorrow, so things will slowly go back to normal. I'm looking forward to the return of my critique partner Liz, who's been holidaying in the rain-soaked plains of Great Britain, and to meeting with critique groups and getting back into a creative gear. I'm also starting to think about my resolutions for 2012--which bad habits I've settled into, and what sort of goals I want to work toward.

I'll be back tomorrow for the first day of the YA Superlatives Blogfest, although I won't be able to get my post up until later in the day. I'm looking forward to some good recommendations for an upcoming reading binge!