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Good times .. good times. I managed to finally finish all of my Christmas shopping. I have a bit of baking to do, but other than that, it's good to go. Tried out the new jelly roll pan yesterday and it worked really well. Not sure that it was worth the insane price it costs, but it was a damn fine cookie sheet. Today it's off to Richmond for a Christmas dinner. Byron's mom is cooking her World Famous Lasagna (tm) and we're doing a tiny gift exchange. Should be fun. Then I have to finish some baking and grocery shopping in the morning and wrap presents like a mad woman to have them all ready for Christmas. I really do love wrapping gifts. It satisfies that anal-retentive part of me while being festive and fun all at the same time. What's not to like?

Mom and Dad have a Christmas tree this year. Mom found a fake one on the trash when the neighbors moved and they have set it up in the front yard. As Mom said today, "I think it's the prettiest tree we've ever gotten off the trash." I'd have to agree. It is rather fine (the neighbors were moving so it must have not made the cut). And it even has ornaments on it. The front porch looks rather fancy chez Mere and Pere.

We're all supposed to have Christmas breakfast and dinner at my place. Holy crap, I have a lot of cleaning to do. Ah, well, it should be a real treat. So now I'm having the anxious feeling of wanting to get out of here so I can hurry up and get home so it's that much closer to fun gift opening and giving time!

Sarah was having a dream last night on her little doggie bed. She was all curled up like a deer with her head tucked under one paw. And she would occasionally yip in dreamland like she was chasing bunnies in the snow. It was just so cute one might fall over from the sweetness.

Speaking of cute, we played Hello Kitty Astrology Rummy last night. Whew, the pictures are so sweet you just feel like they're dipped in chocolate. Between that and the Simpsons Uno game, it was a cartoon cornucopia. I also found I'm a lousy loser. I never thought I was that competitive, but when Sideshow Bob's Draw 4 screwed me over I really did get a sour face. Good thing there wasn't any money riding on these games.

DLand - All I Want for Christmas

... First things first. Yes, Jeremy, I saw you on T.V. last night at the Bruins v. Caps game. Sorry they couldn't win for you. :) But those were very good seats.Rich and I were discussing bits of pop culture the other day. Specifically, it came up because I have never read the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I know. I read the Hobbit in sixth grade and that was about all I could handle. But the real discussion came from Star Wars toys. I was only a baby when New Hope came out, but I still remember my older brother's toys and land speeders. And the ewoks were very cute. But I was having a hard time thinking of similar icons for my age and gender. I have talked to so many guys who were nearly scarred for life over the neighbor who had the Death Star or when their mom threw away their Wookie doll. But I can't remember many toys from my youth that were that strong in popular culture that I had to have. At first, I chalked it up to being the youngest in the family and the only girl; assuming I was overly influenced by my older brothers. But I think my memory has just faded. I do remember having a Barbie dollhouse (or some knockoff version) that my kitten would sleep in. And I remember having a Lite Brite and stuff like that. I was devastated when I accidentally washed the butterflies off my Butterscotch My Little Pony with nail polish remover (but man, her butt was clean). And I had a fair number of Strawberry Shortcake gadgets. I just can't think of things that I would have died for at the time. I think time has just faded it all. A Christmas Story is one of my favorite holiday movies. And all Ralphie wants is a Red Rider BB Gun. I am just trying to remember the equivalent from my youth. I think I'll have to ask my parents tonight. So what was the one thing you wanted more than life itself for Christmas as a kid?

DLand - Crabby Day at the Office

It's after lunch and I have stone crab claw bits in my hair.John brought back stone crabs from Boca Raton today and that's what we had for lunch. Well, that's what everyone but Bossman had (he's not a big seafood fan). It was tasty but very very messy. Mrs. Bossman managed to hammer her claw a bit too enthusiastically and covered me in crabby goodness. The UPS delivery guy showed up while we were in the middle of eating and was kind of taken aback at our spread. He said we must be doing well as a company if we were eating this well for lunch. I suppose that's true. We've got a training class here in the office tomorrow so everything is spruced up for it. It's looking pretty good around here. Granted, most of my stuff is crammed in a lateral file out of sight, but to the untrained eye, we look organized and tidy. Muahahahaha. I'm hoping to get some holiday shopping done tonight and tomorrow. We'll see how that goes. The office party is on Saturday night and I have to finish my shopping. Wish me luck. I'm going home soon to wash my hair.