It's that time of year again. When the weather outside is so frightful. Your mom's got the heater cranked up to hell. And Uncle Joe thinks it's cool to crack walnuts with his bare hands. "Ho! Ho! Ho boy!" Then Grandma Sophie makes her move. She walks over to your "new fangled" CD player with a stack of what she calls "delightful holiday classics." You call 'em cheesy. So what's a Betty to do? Get into Jewel - again! Joy: A Holiday Collection is a compilation of Yule-tidings from the multi-talented singer/songwriter from Alaska.

In addition to loads of holiday classics, the album also features several new and reworked songs from the 25-year-old songbird. And while December is a busy month for most of us, for Jewel it's been insane. In addition to releasing her new album, she recently finished taping a holiday version of the TV special "Sessions At West 54th" for PBS.

If that wasn't enough -she's also making her acting debut in Ride With The Devil opposite Skeet Ulrich and Tobey McGuire. So what the heck was it like for Jewel to work on her first film? I asked about her new career move and how she tamed the showbiz beast in Ride With the Devil. Here's what she had to say.

BBB: First off, the name "Jewel." Unless you were born in a spiritual commune, I know you had to have had a last name.

BBB: So what kind of surfer are you? Are you pretty good?
Jewel: I'm a long boarder. I used to be okay at it, but I haven't done it in awhile. I miss it.

BBB: It's been said that you were looking for a movie role. Is that true?
Jewel: I'd been looking at scripts and meeting with directors and all that since the beginning, but my music career was never in a stable enough position that I could take time off from it. It always needed nurturing. By the time my career was at a point where I could actually let go of it for awhile, this Ang Lee project came up, which is actually a dream come true. I've always been a huge fan of Ang's and James Sheenes is a really great writer and he did a great job with the script.

BBB: Did you have any inhibitions about the things you did in this film like your sex scenes or breast-feeding scenes?
Jewel: The less I thought about it the better I was. All of a sudden it was the day of the breast-feeding scene, and I was like, all right. It was definitely a little embarrassing. It was some other woman's baby you know, and it was crying the whole time. I just felt terrible.

BBB: We know you're not surfing lately, but what are you doing in your spare time?
Jewel: I don't have any. I've been on the road since I was eighteen. I did the film right after touring. I did a record right after the film. You know maybe I had three days in between things. I'm home maybe two weeks a year and that's not all together. That's like two days here, one day there - things like that. I figure I'll do that for another four years and then layback.

BBB: Are you happy with that schedule?
Jewel: It's an adjustment for me. I come from a place that's just open. Alaska, it's like, open space. I let my mind wonder and I create by going really deep inside myself and being really quite and watching. I haven't been able to do that for years and I'm very productive on top of that, so I feel there's a large harvest and very little time for me to get back into myself. I miss the quiet, there's so many changes in my life, that it definitely takes pause, and I think one should.

BBB: Do you go home to Alaska much?
Jewel: I don't. You need time to get up there. It takes two days to Homer, you know, and I don't have a week off or anything like that.

BBB: Is it weird to be approached by your fans?
Jewel: It depends. Some chase you through the airport calling you a whore 'cause you won't sign their autograph. Others are very nice.

BBB: They actually chase you?
Jewel: Yeah they do, people are funny.

BBB: Ha. Ha. Well, I won't chase you down for an autograph. Maybe for a surfing lesson! Thanks for taking the time to chit-chat and good luck on your film debut in Ride With Devil.