Here's To A Very Happy 2007

Dear ever-lovin' cousins, Natural Blonde and family, and all other family that checks into RTTB, may 2007 bring peace, happiness and good health to you all.
Love,
ELC

H ours of happy times with friends and family
A bundant time for relaxation
P rosperity
P lenty of love when you need it the most
Y outhful excitement at lifes simple pleasures

N ights of restful slumber (you know - dont' worry be happy)
E verything you need
W ishing you love and light

Y ears and years of good health
E njoyment and mirth
A ngels to watch over you
R embrances of a happy years!
~ Author Unknown

And they say Bambi is traumatic!!!

Ok, so I'm totally hooked on the Family Channel for the holidays. I wish they were not so Harry Potter crazy - even though I love him - because he doesn't seem to be part of the classic holiday collection. Anyway....tonight I watched Nestor the Long Eared Donkey for the first time. It's in the same vein as Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus is coming to town - part of the ever popular Rankin Bass stable. HOWEVER, Roger Miller narrates it and sings (yes, the song is called Nestor the Long Eared Donkey!), and Nestor is subjected to all kinds of horrors (slave beatings, sandstorms, being bullied in the farmyard) before he has a christmas epiphany (if you will) that his giant ears are good! Instead of putting me in a good mood, I may have to go sit in a dark room and rock back and forth. Wow - that's a bit dramatic, but I'm still Nestor-disturbed!!! Watch at your own risk!

What will THIS year hold?

Repost from last year:

Low-Singing Christmas Decoration Tour NEVER disappoints!

Let's see --
Starbucks trying to pawn off the MOCHA peppermint cocoa, AGAIN!
"Oh no! Not the blue lights again."
"Look! Its waving Santa! Hi Santa!!"
"Look, its waving Santa again. Hi Santa."
"Oh no, not waving Santa again. Turn the other way!"
"That's the creepy creche."
"Didn't you like that inflatable tree last year?"
"Creche on a picnic table!"
"The end of Chris's street is creepy."
"The albino creche." (we're definitely going to hell!)
"Where is the creepy street from last year?" "Why did we think this was creepy?"
"Remember where I thought it was a drug deal going down? Let's go there!" "Its a park -- AAAHHHHH!!!"

ahhh, the fun. Can't wait until next year!
(when I spellchecked this, it wanted me to replace "ahhh" with "ahoy." Isn't that excellent?! AHOY!

And the winner is.....

CARIDEE!

Here is her winning CoverGirl shot.


America's Next Top Model crowned its 7th winner last night. ELC and I watched together by phone and enjoyed it thoroughly. Twiggy called her a "loose cannon." Miss Jay said she was crazy. But the judges clearly thought she was better than the dead-eyed, phlegmatic Eugenia and the calculating, overconfident, annoying Melrose. Congratulations Caridee!


Here's Caridee as a circus freak (of course!)



Our two favorite moments? When Eugenia was eliminated halfway through, she and Caridee, who had become close friends, shared a sad hug. Then Melrose, hated by ALL the contestants, awkwardly tries to join in on the embrace. The other two girls COMPLETELY ignore her. And the camera stayed with it to capture the delightfully uncomfortable nature of Melrose's awkward embrace. EXCELLENT!

Look at those dead eyes! Isn't this a dreadful photo?

The second best moment was at the end when Caridee is announced the winner and we see how bitter and graceless Melrose really is when she turns away from the winner and basically just walks out. EXCELLENT TIMES TWO!!






Pretty, but annoying. A little too pleased with herself.

Wishing Star

Today in my kindergarten class we did a project where the kids made a Wishing Star. They traced a star on wrapping paper, cut it out and wrote their wish for the world. Well, when we were sitting on the rug to hear the directions beforehand, Kathy asked the kids to tell us what their wish for the world was. There were some wishes about not littering and polluting as well as a couple for being nice to each other, and even one for everyone to become superheros! But one boy said,

"Well because a lot of people in the world get hurt. They get hurt because the world is hard. I wish the world was more soft."

Isn't that the most beautiful thing you've ever heard? I think he actually may have meant it literally, like "when i fall on the playground it hurts because the ground is so hard." But, of course, I thought of it more metaphysically, and I agree. Sometimes the world is too hard! It took a little effort on my part to hold back the waterworks, but I did.


And one of the things that makes the world a little easier? THE SEASON FINALE OF AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL!!!!! TONIGHT!!! Woo hoo! Don't miss it!

I'm Crabby!

I was in the lovely community of Baltimore this weekend. I was there for a job interview for a counseling position at a school outside of London -- their U.S. headquarters is in Baltimore. The woman I met with was delightful and, of course, very British! So they won't know anything until after Jan 31, when their staff has to give notice. So I don't know -- it would be an amazing adventure but being away from family would be TOUGH! Anyway, I don't have to think about it until/unless they offer me a job.

So I treated myself to a harborview room at the Hyatt on Baltimore's Inner Harbor. I'm so glad I did. The room was comfy and clean and this was my view:



Nice, eh? So after my interview, I walked around the harbor a bit. It was cold and crisp, but sunny. I went to Phillip's for lunch, where I had Crab Soup, a Crab Cake and a Chesepeake style Cosmopolitan. I know, the cosmo sounds weird, but basically its a regular cosmopolitan with a little pineapple juice -- because of all the pineapples that grow in the Chesepeake Bay area?!?! -- I don't know. I'm just glad it didn't have crab or bay seasoning. It was, in fact, quite yummy! As was the soup and crab cake. Here is the soup and my delicious, though strangely named, cocktail:



So last night was also the Baltimore Boat Parade of Lights, where boats with holiday lights go around the harbor. So I also had a great view of that, although it moved a little slow, which I suppose is a safety precaution. You can't have all those boats cruising fast and close around a small body of water -- although it WOULD be a LOT more exciting that way!!