Happy Belated Birthday!

This one is for my baby girl...

Nate's love of his life...

Doobie's "Little Grasshopper"....

Our very own Shamrock O'Neill!

Happy Birthday! We love you!!

Favorite. Christmas. Special. EVER.

My all-time FAVORITE Christmas special is "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". If you haven't watched it every year since you were a kid, you've missed out GREATLY.

It was made in 1970 and is narrated by Fred Astaire ("the mailman"). The Mailman decides to answer some of the most common questions about Santa Claus, and tells us about a small baby named Kris (Mickey Rooney) who was left on the doorstep of the Kringle family (toymakers). When Kris grew up, he wanted to deliver toys to the children of Sombertown. But its Burgermeister (Herr Meisterburger) is too mean to let that happen. And to make things worse, there's an evil wizard named Winter the Warlock who lives between the Kringles and Sombertown, but Kris manages to melt Winter's heart (as well as the comely schoolteacher's) and deliver his toys.

It explains how Santa Claus got his name, how reindeers came to fly, why elves make toys, why toys are put in stockings, why Santa comes down the chimney, why presents are found in the morning, why Santa only comes once a year, how Santa met Mrs Claus, how Santa knows if you're naughty or nice, and all sorts of other Christmas questions!!!!

And it has the best song lyrics EVER:

1. Just put one foot in front of the other.... and soon you'll be walking across the floor. Just put one foot in front of the other... and soon you'll be walking out the door!


2. It's a difficult responsibility.... to accept from the number one lawmaker me....Let it known across the land from sea to sea...That there'll be no toymakers to the king.


3. You better watch out.. you better not cry... you better not pout, I'm telling you why... Santa Claus is coming to town!

And great quotes...

Kris Kringle: You better watch out. You better not cry, you better not pout. Children: Why? Kris Kringle: I'm telling you why. Because I came to town.

Jessica: If the Burgermeister saw you, we would all be in real danger! Kris Kringle: In danger from toys?

Burgermeister Meisterburger: You brats are under arrest. Kris Kringle: Wait don't arrest those children. It was my fault I gave them the toys. Burgermeister Meisterburger: YOU? How dare you! You are obviously a nonconformist and a rebel! Kris Kringle: Have a yo-yo. Burgermeister Meisterburger: [gasps and chokes] A yoooooo-yoooooooooo? I love yo-yos. I used to be able to do all kinds of tricks. Ah-wheeeee [laughing] Grimsby: Excuse me sir, but you're breaking your own law. Burgermeister Meisterburger: [gasps and chokes] Ooooooouuuuuuu, I've been bamboozled!

And of course, Winter the Warlock's heart is melted when Kris Kringle gives him a choo choo train.

It's sweet, fun, warm and fuzzy. This is the one show that always puts me in the holiday spirit. If you haven't seen it -- watch it!!!

Working in a Winter Wonderland

I work for a technology company.
We sell our own communications technologies.
We sell other companies' technologies.
We're all about connecting people with their world, where ever they live or work, and doing it better than anyone else.

Connectivity is awesome. We can communicate over wired phones, cellular, email, videoconferencing, web chat, web video, and Internet phone services.

So why was I risking my life on the roads during a severe winter storm today??

To meet with people from Cisco and AT&T face-to-face.
Three people drove from Chicago to Madison.
One came from Milwaukee, and another from Minneapolis.
Compared to their experiences, my commute from Waunakee was short.

But why did ANYONE slip, slide, risk their lives, and grip their steering wheels with white knuckles today??

We asked the meeting organizer yesterday if the meeting was "still on" for today, and she made the decision to continue. Thus, we all drove. Funny that she called her mom from the road to say good-bye because she really thought she would die in a crash.

We have the technology.
We should USE it.

Good and Evil Combined in One

People have told me that I am....

• an annoying little shit
• a bitch
• mean spirited
• cold and heartless
• insensitive
• stupid
• not listening
• weak

The same people have told me that I am...

• patient
• loving
• kind and compassionate
• giving
• taking care of everyone but myself
• intelligent
• a person with a memory like an elephant
• incredibly strong

I think there is truth in all of it. People are a dichotomy of good and evil, depending upon the day, moment or situation. My goal is to be more good than evil in this lifetime. Most days, I think I'm succeeding... but other days, I feel like a crabby, evil witch.

Snow, snow, and more snow

The local TV station is forecasting snow for five of the next seven days. Yuck!

I couldn't get the snowblower started yesterday.
I better make sure the hubby fixes it before he flies off to work on Monday.
My back hurts.

Snow is pretty when it's fresh.
Depressing and gray when it's old.
Always cold, wet, and unpleasant to be with outside.
I even hated playing in snow when I was a kid.

The only good thing about snow is the joy of using my super duper snowblower. (Mine is big. It makes me feel strong and oh so powerful! :)

PS: Look at the time stamp. Yes, I'm at work. Very bored during a customer demo, thus the boring post.

My new Easy Bake Oven

Cranberries broke my refrigerator.

*Someone* dropped a bowl of cranberries which bounced against the interior door of the refrigerator before landing in a large red puddle on my new floor. If you break off a little itty bitty plastic piece on the door, your refrigerator lights stay on even when the door is closed.

Supposedly, the four interior light bulbs generate enough heat to make the refrigerator over 80 degrees inside. Seems implausible.

The repair guy probably had no clue what really broke down. He replaced the entire control panel (basically the refrig's motherboard) too.

Basically, my refrigerator became a very large Easy Bake Oven. I should've baked chocolate cake.

Thankful for Refrigeration

Yes, that's right.... REFRIGERATION. :)

I could blog about the important things in life that I'm thankful for - family, friends, health, God, work, etc. But it seems rather expected.

This year, I'm especially thankful for refrigeration. You don't know what you've got til it's gone, Baby.

We had 13 people over for Thanksgiving dinner, another 9 for Friday leftovers, and kids staying for the entire weekend. I cooked over 40 lbs. of turkey (2 large birds), 128 homemade yeast dinner rolls, four pies, and all the trimmings. It was delicious. Right after the Thanksgiving dishes were cleaned, my refrigerator decided to vex me and broke down. Not only did it stop working, but it began to blow hot air throughout the inside of the unit. The inside of the refrigerator was over 80 degrees! We unplugged it to avoid a house fire.

My new screen porch became our walk-in refrigerator.... until it snowed on Sunday. Then it became a big, wet mess. One of the best things about Thanksgiving is the leftovers... but not when they freeze on the screen porch. Apple and pumpkin pies do not freeze and thaw well - they just get soggy.

BTW, it was hilarious how often people opened the refrigerator door just to find it empty. We all did it out of habit, and then complained.

I'm finishing my fifth day without refrigeration.
I miss it.
I want it back.
I'm thankful American TV is coming to fix it today.