It’s hard to believe Christmas has already come and gone and we’ve entered that funny holiday limbo in between Christmas and New Year’s.

We’ve had a really nice break so far here in chilly Arizona. Christmas morning kicked off with stockings filled with funny foodstuffs (as is tradition in our household), and then we gorged on Mexican cheese and egg casserole before tackling a mountain of presents.

My aunt and uncle came over in the afternoon, at which point I ensconced myself in the kitchen and—with the help of Jeremy, my mom and Jamie Oliver—cooked up an English Christmas feast: roast beef, onion gravy, roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, Brussels sprouts, and mince pies for dessert. Though I’d never cooked a big dinner like that for so many people, I felt remarkably un-stressed-out about it; in fact, I enjoyed it immensely—and since everyone seemed to enjoy eating what I had enjoyed cooking, it was a joyous feast all around.

The day after Christmas, we went to my aunt and uncle’s house for snacks, and then Jeremy, my brother and I nipped off to a very busy cinema to see Avatar—in 3D, no less. It was my first 3D experience, and I found the use of the technology occasionally distracting but often clever and sometimes quite beautiful (and, like a dork, I did actually flinch back into my seat when a grenade got thrown out “into the audience” at one point). The movie itself was predictable, simplistic and thoroughly entertaining. Perfect holiday fare, in other words.

Since then, we’ve mooched around, played Wii, watched TV and eaten lots of stuff. In fact, as I write this, I am watching TV and eating lots of stuff: I just devoured a piece of chocolate pecan pie smothered with vanilla ice cream, and I’m currently drinking eggnog heavily laced with bourbon while watching Good Eats on the Food Network. I love the holidays.