Finals are over… let the vacationing begin. Most of my gifts have been taken care of, my Christmas cards have been printed, there are cookies in the oven, and Peaches is taking me out to breakfast as soon as I wake him. It is cold and crisp outside, a nice reprieve from the constant rain. It even almost looks like snow.

Over the weekend I saw The Golden Compass. It was gorgeous — not half bad — but my standards are amazingly high. I expect stories to inspire me, no matter what the production value, and this movie just didn’t cut it (though the books did). Avatar, on the other hand, threatened to jump the shark during the first half of Book 2, but returned full force as soon as I had given up on it. I’m still being impressed, episode after episode, now that I’m on Book 3. However, since Avatar isn’t in theaters, The Golden Compass is certainly not a bad way to spend an evening out on the town.

Happy holidays, everyone!