December 19, 2002 | 9:57 AM

My mom is taking me to a very VERY fancy hotel in Niagara on the Lake, Canada (no, no�not Niagara Falls�Niagara on the Lake is a Fancy Community where the Shaw Festival is held) for New Years. It is so fancy that the British Royal Family stays there when visiting. We are going to get spa treatments (I�m having a mud wrap�Woo hoo!) and drink too much Dessert Wine and gorge on tea cakes and see plays and shop for rare books.

It�s sure to be delightful.

I am leaving for Rochester on Sunday and shan�t be back in Boston until January 3rd. At times like these home is a safe island in my sea of confusion�which is funny, because as a teenager, home was the confusion while everything else was OK.

Isn�t it ironic dontcha think?

I am so looking forward to two weeks worth of psychic readings, wiccan spells. acupuncture treatments, daily matinees at the cinema (nobody goes to the movies more than my family), long walks in Highland Park, sledding, baking chocolate chip cookies with my sisters, singing show tunes at the piano, decorating the Christmas tree, having my Uncle do my astrology transits for the next year, going out to breakfast with my grandparents, watching TV (YAY!!!! Guilty Pleasure!), snuggling and petting my two lovely cats, staying up late and giggling with my Mom, and just not having to be a grown-up.

My family is like The Cleanse�divine and healing, but only in small doses. Two weeks is a goodly amount of time.

In January, my sister Beth ois coming to live with me for two months while she does her internship at a certain Boston school of jazz. I am very excited about that and plan on throwing a large soiree chez moi in her honor.

I haven�t had a big party yet, and that seems like a good reason to throw one.