baby it's cold outside!

The holidays are upon us and the radio stations are pummeling us with Christmas carols.

I'm not ready for them yet. I know, there are only 18 days between now and Christmas Eve. I know that halls are being decked, sweet treats are being baked, and stockings are being hung...and yet, the Christmas Spirit is eluding me.

Maybe it's because I can't have a tree this year. My terrorists kittehs will destroy it, much like they have destroyed every roll of paper towels and toilet paper I've brought into the house...

Maybe it's because this holiday will be a weird one for me. It's the first post-divorce holiday. It will definitely feel strange. The good news is, I will actually get a gift this year! I guess I've finally been a good girl.

Or maybe it's because I just haven't heard the right song yet. There is one song that always makes me happy, even though it's not technically a Christmas song, it is always played around this time of the year and it works wonders for my spirit.

Today I shall listen to it over and over again until I'm no longer feeling the ba humbug.

Baby It's Cold Outside


Do you have a specific holiday song that always gets you in the spirit?

Land Ho!

No, I'm not calling a person on solid ground with a fast reputation a Land Ho (though, that would be kinda awesome...) I'm actually referring Christopher Columbus discovering America.

Today is Columbus Day here in the USA and it is a holiday for many offices. (Mine is NOT one of them... *grumble*)

In honor of Columbus Day, I thought I'd post some little known facts about El Capitan.

1. Christopher Columbus’ name is not Christopher Columbus. It is Chrisoffa Corombo. Christopher Columbus is the English translation of sorts.
2. The Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria were not the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. Well, the Pinta was but the Nina was a nickname for the Santa Clara and the Santa Maria was known as the Gallega.
3. While Columbus is considered a hero in the U.S., Spain and Italy, he was not well-known during his life.
4. Christopher Columbus never actually set foot on U.S. soil. He landed on an island in the Bahamas.
5. It was not Columbus’ idea to sail across the ocean. It was his brother, Bartholomew’s idea.
6. Columbus was an opium addict, the same drug used in producing modern-day heroin.
7. There is genetic evidence that Columbus and his men brought the sexually transmitted disease Syphilis to Europe.

Syphillis? Gee Chris, sounds like you could be called a Land Ho, too!

Hope you're off work or school today and enjoying something fun!

happy National VCR day!

Seriously, do any of y'all even know what a VCR is anymore? I actually still own one. I'm pretty sure it works. I only own 2 VCR tapes: Bridget Jones Diary (also have the DVD) and the original Little Mermaid with the banned cover.

Other things we can celebrate this week?

June 7th
Daniel Boone Day
Dean Martin's Birthday

June 8th
Upsy-Daisy Day (everyone wake up happy!)
Bill of Rights Anniversary
Frank Lloyd Wright's Birthday

June 9th
Donald Duck's Birthday!

June 10th
Anniversary of the Ball Point Pen (w00t!)
Maurice Sendak's Birthday (let the wild rumpus begin!)

June 11th
Corn on the Cob day (I don't know about you, but I know how I'm gonna
celebrate...)
King Kamehameha I Day (Hawaii)

June 12th
Crowed Nest Awareness Day (when adults move back in with their parents or when grandparents are left to raise the grandchildren.)
Anne Frank's Birthday

So what are you planning to celebrate this week? I'm really going to hit Corn on the Cob day with both barrels. Yum.

an american history lesson

Today is President's Day which is a Federal holiday in America. Many schools, all banks, the Post Office, and other every day offices (like where I work) are closed today.

Did you know that "Washington's Birthday" is the official name for President's Day? During the month of February the birthday of two of our greatest President's takes place. Both George Washington who was born on Feb. 22nd and Abraham Lincoln born on Feb. 12th.

However, Washington's birthday has been publicly celebrated since he was in office, before Abraham Lincoln was even born. Much of the debate over the name of the holiday springs from the fact that state's can follow their own holidays how they see fit and many of them chose to also honor Lincoln, calling the celebration President's Day.

In 1968 Congress voted down the motion to make President's Day the official term for the holiday, but a resurgence of the term by advertisers in the 1980s solidified the name in American culture.

But on the books, it's still officially known as Washington's Birthday.

Weird, huh?

holiday traditions

Every year, we try to catch a couple of movies over the Christmas holiday. (Like most everyone else, it seems...) This year, I saw IT'S COMPLICATED Christmas night with a girlfriend and then the family went to see SHERLOCK HOLMES over the weekend.

Both movies were fun and I would highly recommend seeing them. The kids saw AVATAR as well and they've been dying to take me to see it ever since.

Do you do holiday movies? What movies did you see this year?

Mel's Letter to Santa

Dear Santa,

I know what you're thinking, but I can explain. I really wasn't bad this year, just misunderstood. The good intentions were there, so that counts for something....right? (Please ignore any and all clichés about good intentions and the road to hell. Thanks.)

First of all, I only missed one deadline this year and that really wasn't my fault. I mean, it technically was my fault because I didn't reset the auto save option after we had my computer rebuilt, but in my defense I didn't know I hadn't reset it. So when I lost 3 weeks worth of revisions, I was devastated. Still, despite the odds, I was only a week late. AND I think I should get major points for redoing my revisions in that short amount of time--while I was working and pretending to be a mother.

Okay, speaking of pretending to be a mother--that's just me being funny. I'm really not "pretending" most of the time.

And no matter what my friends tell you, I swear I didn't cheat on that dart game.

I may have overindulged on wine once or twice this year...but that's hardly my fault if someone else keeps refilling my glass!

I'm really looking forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks. I have planned to make my peppermint mocha brownies a little extra gooey--just the way you like them! So please bring me my iPhone docking station, my iTunes gift card, and that winning lottery ticket just like I asked for.

Love you. Mean it.

inquring minds want to know...

WHY are the Zhu Zhu pet hamsters THE MUST HAVE GIFT of the season? Can someone please explain their appeal to me? If not, can you explain their purpose?

Sometimes I'm glad I have teens...because I GET why they want video games, computers, cell phones, music and gift cards. I don't get fake hamsters.

Snow!

It snowed last night. Not the wimpy, little dusting we've already had, but the real deal that we've been waiting for. I don't care how old you are or how jaded you've become. Around here this is special an the kid emerges from the basement of every soul. It SNOWED. It covered everything and we awoke to a sense of softness, sounds made dimmer by the thick layer on the house. Morning light was more pearly and had no sharp angles to it. There as a smell... a slight, softened edge to the air like springwater, but with no trace of green. If you live in New England or a place with a similar climate you know what I mean. You don't need to look outside to know it snowed. You rush to the window because you know already.

And there it is... a thick blanket (the dustings don't count) made for careening down hills, sliding over big back yards, and building monstrosities of white. Snowmen, snow houses, igloos, you name it. The holiday decorations are suddenly magical. Every nativity scene achingly beautiful. The boats in the harbor decked out in ridiculous lights, wreaths, santa hats... nobody embraces the winter like our local lobstermen. I think you have to be slightly insane to do the job anyway.

We deck our lighthouses with holly and bay. We greet N'oreasters with grins and hot cider (usually spiced with something suspiciously stronger than cinnnamon). We build snow-lobsters and snow-forts and have snowball fights with mailmen we've known for years. We're not right in the head, I guess.

Must be all the snow. :)