Good Will Toward Men

Sunny Hi 76 Lo 54 for Baghdad, Iraq
Morning Snow Hi 32 Lo 22 for Northern Kentucky, USA

Song of the Week: Little Drummer Boy, David Bowie and Bing Crosby. This is for you, JoAnna.




South Park rendering of JoAnna
courtesy of her husband

Thanks to Diane @ Diane's Stuff, Ann @ Spiced Sass, My honey @ Scootertrash Conservative, and Cherry @ The Book of Secrets for stopping by here and leaving a comment for Mike. If you have not left a comment of encouragement, please do...OUR guys are being pummeled by crap they don't need to worry about... This time of year far from home in harm's way feeling unappreciated... They need to know we have their back... Please go now.

OK... now I need you to send some cards to these injured soldiers... (I know... demanding today, aren't I?)

Something wonderful has happened... My two favorite beverages have merged to form one...

"NEW YORK (Reuters) - Coca-Cola Co. (KO.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's No. 1 soft drink company, on Wednesday said it will launch a coffee-infused soft drink called Coca-Cola Blak in various markets around the world in 2006"
more here...

Michael and I had our Annual Power Shop Til You Drop Day...Michael hates to shop-- and I mean with a capital H.... hates it. Because of this, we have figured out a way to get it over with in one clean swoop. It is a carefully orchestrated event. It takes a lot of prelimary planning and decision making-

1) a list of everyone and a few "fill in the blanks" for those "unexpected" folks.
2) a theme for each person- if a specific item is available, we'll go with that. These ideas are typically kept in my head and not shared with anyone.
3) a list of stores to visit and the order that makes the most sense. (Michael and I hate malls so we avoid them whenever possible)
4) Michael is the the coat and bag holder.
5) I am the check writer (no credit cards... cash only)
6) a generalized budget...

With the advent of the wonderful world of the internet, I already completed a lot of shopping... What a wonderful thing... So, anyway, Michael and I set off at 11:30AM- I wanted to get started earlier... but that didn't happen...we don't push things on this day... there isn't a set time (something that I can get weird about)... We have 3 simple rules that must be followed to make this "power shopping event" a success...

*Rule# 1 - Be patient while driving, this includes highways, back streets, and parking lots.
*Rule# 2 - Be nice to everyone - sales help and other patrons- even when they don't deserve to be treated nicely.
*Rule# 3- Be nice to each other - the most important of the rules.

All 3 rules can be extremely difficult to follow, but because we have done this for a number of years now, it is something we both look forward to. Michael's version of the rules can be found here........please go check them out... So anyway, we left home about 11:00AM-ish and got home about 9:00PM-ish. This included a trip to Jungle Jim's... the only place Michael loves to shop... other than Lawrenceburg Motorsports.
(Wonder Woman: Jungle Jim's is in Ohio, Lawrenceburg Motorsports is in Indiana.) We have completed our Christmas shopping with the exception of my Grandfather, but we know what we are getting him and Michael will pick it up on Monday. So as far as I'm concerned, we are finished! Wahoo!

We had a lot of fun today, including a late lunch at P.F. Chang's. Mmmmm... lettuce wraps....
After reviewing the events of the day... we accomplished our mission: Shopping complete, good will toward men...

I'm pooped... Now... we still have to finish decorating the house...1st floor still needs to be finished. Last year I made our Christmas cards and had them mailed right after Thanksgiving. This year, they are store bought and I haven't finished all of them... Now I have wrapping to do. I'll wait until I get everything I ordered via the internet before I start on that. Michael wants to make cookies....

I hope you are in the Christmas spirit. It is the season for giving. 2005 has been a year that has been trying for so many folks. There are so many people that Michael and I know, that have suffered loss this year... loss of good health, loss of loved ones, loss of personal possessions, loss of faith, loss of hope... We as Americans must persevere... This is what we do best... we give of ourselves...we reach out with a helping hand... Give of your heart, give of your time- so as you are fussing over there not being enough time to get everything done before Christmas, take a moment. There is no such thing as the Christmas blues, even if you are lonely... give of yourself to someone who needs more than you and you'll see... you will feel better...

I'll watch these while wrapping gifts...

How the Grinch Stole Christmas
The Little Drummer Boy
Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Santa Claus is Coming to Town
Spongebob Squarepants Christmas
The Powerpuff Girls, 'Twas the Fight Before Christmas

I have a couple of additional items that I want to post because I value my own opinion, I'll be putting up a separate post of my picks for the 2005 blog awards...

In addition, I now have the added pressure to get my 5 weirdo personal habits posted because of this man.... Actually, it should be fun... Rob feel free to make suggestions...

So... with that said... I bid you all good night and I'll see you in the morning with a cup of java in hand... look for additional posts from me... in between decorating and Christmas cards, that is...


"It came without ribbons!
It came without tags!
It came without packages, boxes or bags!"
And he puzzled three hours, `till his puzzler was sore.Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!
"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store."Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"