Holiday Wrap-Up!

Well, we survived another one. The tree (for the moment) is still standing, despite Chiquito’s best efforts. He has managed to dislodge several ornaments, however. He also likes to take naps under the tree. I think it reminds him of being outdoors on his own.

I had a lot more trouble with the holiday baking this year than normal. Several things did not turn out, and I was worried that there wouldn’t be enough to give away. Happily, that wasn't the case. Still, it's a little frustrating that so much went wrong, and I can't figure out why. Three batches of fudge got tossed before I decided to give up and move on. Sigh!

I’ve about taken the holiday feasting as far as it can go. I’ve picked up enough weight to start feeling uncomfortable, even though I’m no where near regaining everything I’ve lost. Once the New Year starts, it’s back to healthy eating and exercising. Keith has already joined the Y. I’m really proud of him for that!

Keith really seemed to like his presents, which was great. I felt like I did really well this year, so it was nice to be right. I might regret giving him the harmonica, however. He gave me some pretty awesome books this year, which was a little different. Keith tends to shy away from getting me books, because he’s afraid I may already have them. This time around though, I got several, including a nice Frida Kahlo collection and the companion book to the March of the Penguins movie, which I also got on DVD. Keith likes to pick one item each year and get everyone on our list one. This year’s item was MoP on DVD. Honestly, I was getting a little jealous watching him wrap all those DVD’s for other people, when I’m the penguin nut in the household! I should have known better! So, all’s right with the world now. My mom gave each of us gift cards to Barnes and Noble, and my Secret Santa at work gave me one for Half-Price Books, so there’s going to be plenty of new reading in the house for a while!

I hope everyone had happy/merry/ho ho/whatevers and that 2007 will be very very good for you!

Hey Mr. Turtle!

Destroying my childhood memories, one by one....

Bleah!

I hope you had a happy/merry/ho ho/whatever! I'm a little under the weather today and am heading back to bed. Hopefully, I'll get more posting done this week.

In the meantime, two post-holiday treats:

Sign up to win a nearly complete run of Strikeforce Morituri!

And for your viewing pleasure...Superpoderosas!

Linking Around

Looks like the new Emmylou Harris boxset won’t be available until next Spring. Bummer!

Happy blogiversary Progressive Ruin!

Read about Bully’s Xmas Adventures. Plus, gift giving guides!

Meanwhile, Dorian’s at war with Christmas. And he’s keeping track of where everyone stands!

Yes, he’s making a list. And given how thorough Dorian can be, he’s probably checking it carefully. I wouldn’t be surprised if he even checks it twice…

Hmmmm…..That sounds kind of familiar….Let’s see….


They both seem to have this “beard and silly hat” thing going on, too… So is this a case of “Know thine enemy” or is it more like “We have met the enemy and he is us”? More importantly, which list is this stunt going to put me on?

CBR’s Pipeline offers a plan to revive Wizard. And some folks want to see it happen.

Hey! Lefty moved me up a slot on the “musical guru” list. Wow! I was convinced I’d been a pretty crappy guru, so I was pleasantly surprised. (But he didn’t ask me any questions…)

Speaking of music, Thor’s been sharing the contents of his jukebox with Beaucoup Kevin.

Dammit! Botofest 2007 has been cancelled. What is it about cool music festivals in this town? Bluesky Jamfest lasted one year as a multi-act festival. Now Boto has done the same thing. Damn! Damn! Damn!

Maybe it’s good music in general in this town. Homefront has lost their performance venue. This just SUCKS!

As if it couldn't get any worse, it also looks like we could be on the verge of losing the Rud, too. When it rains, it pours... (That's a Courier-Journal link, so it's only going to be available for free for seven days.)

Random Thoughts About This and That

Gotta love pay day! My insurance premium went down, so I’ve got a few unexpected extra dollars. Of course, that will correct itself when my increase in flexible spending for 2007 kicks in.

If blogging about blogging is a sin, then what is blogging about not blogging? I seem to do more of that…

I’m a bit concerned about how Chiquito is going to handle the Christmas tree when it goes up.

I’m supposed to be Santa for our office Christmas lunch on Friday. (Seriously!)

Can anyone recommend some hip-hop/rap music that I might actually like?

Had the first snow of the season last week. Not sure whether to be excited or bummed. It was only flurries, after all. And not that long ago, we had temps in the 70’s! And it’s been in the 50’s this weekend. On the one hand, I totally hate the cold and mess of winter weather. On the other, there’s the romantic vision of sitting on the couch with peppermint hot chocolate, a warm blanket, the one I love, and a cat or two.

Getting ready to start my holiday baking today.

Trying to blog while balancing a laptop and a kitten on one's lap is difficult.

I'm convinced that the Post Office is a bit like church. There are people who only go there at Christmastime. And, consequently, they're pretty damned annoying because they have no clue how things are supposed to work. I never thought that the PO was that hard to navigate, but it seems to be beyond an increasing number of people. It can be pretty aggravating to those of us who go there several times a week.

But rather than grouse about it, I've decided to be proactive instead. Here are Eddie's tips for the PO-challenged:

1. Get your stuff ready beforehand. Address everything. Pack your boxes. Tape them shut.

2. If you don't have the supplies to do this, go get them, go home, get your packages ready, then go to the Post Office.

3. This includes the priority and express mail supplies that are available at the Post Office. Take them home and get your stuff ready.

4. If the idea of making two trips to the PO bothers you, take your supplies out to your car and get your stuff ready.

5. If you haven't figured out what I am trying to say yet, try this: The Post Office is NOT the place to get your packages ready!

6. If this sensible approach is beyond you, at least have the decency to not try getting your stuff packed up while you are in line at the Post Office!

7. Most PO's have counters where you can do that. Step out of line and use them.

8. If you step out of line to use them, please don't expect the line to hold your place.

9. And for God's sake, don't try to hold your place in line while you're at a counter doing the stuff you should have done at home.

10. Know how you're going to be sending your stuff: which rate you want, insured or uninsured, with delivery confirmation or not. You can look all this stuff up at the USPS web page.

Following these simple steps will get your holiday packages on their way with a minimum of wear and tear on both you and the other people using the Post Office. Since I'm likely to be one of those people, I'd certainly appreciate your cooperation.

If that seems to be too much for you to handle, I have just one thing to say: UPS.

And, taking a page from Mike, for reading all that, here's my favorite animated Christmas short ever!

But What Did Lois and Batman Do?

Action 417, artist unknown.

Jimmy's crime, at least, is obvious: those pants!

Image courtesy of Eddie's Great Pile o' Unread Comics!

Sinning Boldly*

Unless and until you hear otherwise, consider this your December post.

Well, I guess I owe it my three or four regular readers to actually post something at least once a month or so. I think I’m just going to go ahead and add the word “occasional” to my blog description, just for the sake of truth in advertising. Maybe “infrequent” would be better still.

Seriously, I’d hope that I might get some new posts in this month, but this is me we’re talking about, so who knows? Just in case, let me go ahead and wish everyone a Happy Yule, Blessed Kwanzaa, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year, just in case you don’t hear from me again for a while. Best to keep one’s bases covered.

*Thanks to Lefty for the Luther quote.