The Modern Christmas Card

This made me laugh.

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Gobble Gobble

Happy Turkey Day!

Free Holiday Music...

Courtesy of Oprah...For 48 hrs, you can download any or all of the following tracks:

1. Faith Hill, "Joy to the World" from the album Joy to the World


2. Tony Bennett, "I'll be Home for Christmas" from the album A Swingin' Christmas


3. Il Divo, "O Holy Night" from the album The Christmas


4. Josh Groban, "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" from the album Noel


5. Brian McKnight, "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" from the album I'll Be Home for Christmas


6. Amy Grant, "O Come All Ye Faithful" from the album The Christms


7. Harry Connick Jr., "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" from the album What a Night! A Christmas Album


8. Aretha Franklin, "Silent Night" from the album This Christmas

Go to http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20081118_tows_holiday/2 and follow the instructions written there. You can preview any track before downloading to decide if you want it or not.

Gettin' Ready

Like most places, DC is getting ready for the holidays. The Capitol Christmas tree arrived earlier this week and as I walked across the Mall yesterday, workers were busy getting it strung with lights and such. It will be lit next week. In addition, the US Botanical Gardens had their wreaths and lights up. One of the Metro stations I was in yesterday also had garland and ribbons and wreaths up. It'll soon be quite festive around here.

Unlike other cities, DC is also getting ready for the innaugural on January 20th. As I walked across the Capitol grounds, the scaffolding out on the steps of the Capitol was already being built.

I'll try to remember to bring my camera with me on Friday and get some pictures of everything. (Should be a quiet/slow day at the office.) I'll try to get some pictures. If I do, I'll post them then.

100 Things

I've seen this popping up on quite a few blogs lately. The rules are simple: copy the following list and highlight the ones you've done.

Here's mine:

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Totally copied a post from someone else's blog to your own

53 out of 100 - I guess that's acceptable. Many more I'd mark as "not yet, but I will"...

I'm Ba-ack

Work is still keeping me hopping, but it's the day before a holiday and they've already announced we're getting out early today, so I doubt much, if any, work is getting done anywhere in the office this afternoon. Given that, I decided it was time to break radio-silence and pop back in. Expect a few catch-up posts this afternoon.

M.I.A.

I've got a gazillion posts running around in my brain, but have been crazy-busy lately, so haven't gotten the chance to make any of them coherent, much less type them out and post them. I'll be back soon.

Thankful Thursday Friday

Traveling this week has left me scrambling to catch up, so I'm a little late, but thankful none the less. This week I'm thankful for:

• Being home -- I like traveling, but I'm always glad to come home.
  
  
• Those things Washington DC has to offer like great museums, wonderful theatre & arts, etc. I'm reminded every time I go away how many nice things this city/area offers.
  
  
• My dogs --it's so nice to see how much they've missed me whenever I go away. Makes me feel special. :-)
  
  
• A great cadre of volunteers --without their help, we couldn't run the dances we offer. This is especially noticeable this week since I was gone for much of it and couldn't have managed the details even if I'd wanted to.
  
  
• My dance partner -- who did keep things running while I was gone. Teaching classes or filming a partner-based dance show is not easy to do solo and he had to do both this week. Thanks, darlin', you're a gem!
  
  
• Making 2 new friends at work -- this trip, I was paired up with 2 ppl I'd neither met nor worked with before. Given the nature of the trip, one spends long hours (14-16 hr days, or even longer) as a team, most of the time in one car, so there's no getting away from one another if personalities clash or you just aren't a good fit. I was paired with 2 wonderful people with great senses of humor. Within a very short time, we were laughing and joking with each other as if we were old friends. It made the very long work days a lot nicer than if we hadn't really clicked.
  
  
• Being healthy -- Last time I had to do this type of work assignment was a couple of years ago. I was not well, so those 16-hour days really were trying. This time around was a MUCH better experience.
  
  
• Our veterans. And the troops currently serving our country. They deserve our thanks & more! Take a moment or 2 this upcoming Tuesday to at least honor them, if not doing something to actively thank them.

Props to Tiburon for the great new autumnal graphic & the original idea for the Thankful Thursday posts. Feel free to take the idea and the graphic and play along.

A Chicken Krispy Kreme in every pot

In case you haven't heard, there's an election taking place today. If you haven't yet done so, don't forget to go vote. Even if you don't do it because you care about the election or doing your civic duty or for any of those good reasons, go do it because if you go to Krispy Kreme today with an "I voted" sticker, you'll get a free donut.

On the Road Again

I'm outta here bright and early tomorrow. Or, actually, dark and early tomorrow since I'll be up and out before sunrise, even with the time change.

I'm supposed to have internet access at the hotel. If it works, I'll hopefully be able to pop in & say hi from Texas, but in case either it doesn't work or the 16-hour days I'm expecting leave me too tired to remind you:

Go vote on Tuesday if you haven't already!!!