Well, it’s been a crazy week of Christmas festivities and family visiting and I’ve had a wonderful time but am also so ready to be home.  I miss my tiny apartment with the horrible kitchen and my little cat with the big attitude.  And I miss sitting alone on the sofa in the quiet.  Oh how I miss you, quiet.

Blogs all over the internet are posting years-in-review and so on, so this week there was a lot of fabulous stuff to read.  Here are my top five:

1.  On the power of the Christmas season:  Hannah Brencher’s This Ain’t No Pretty Christian Story.  Runner-up:  Nadia Bolz-Weber’s Sermon on Pirates in the Nativity and How God Incarnates the Impossible Among the Likely.

2. On writing and its healing powers for the writer:  Melissa Tydell’s How Writing Helps Us Heal.

3.  On finding your true identity and really connecting with others:  Peter Bregman’s How to Attend a Conference as Yourself.

4.  On digging into a goal and just getting it done:  This week’s Daily Post Weekly Writing Challenge.

5.  And finally, perhaps the most delicious thing on the internet ever, a big creamy bowl of cheese from Deb over at the Smitten Kitchen:  Fromage Fort, a.k.a. blended leftover cheese.  I’m seriously making this with all of our leftover cheese bits, buying a loaf of delicious crusty bread, and watching seasons series one and two of Downton Abbey this coming weekend.  I’ll be catching up on alone time so I can be a fun person again.  I’m doing it for you, America.  For you.