o christmas tree, circa 2006

the (in)famous 2006 poo tree, with the start of christmas gifts beneath. it's the first year i've had a fraser fir, and i love it. they last 4-6 weeks in the tree stand (longer than most others), and you know i'll be testing how long it lasts in my backyard this spring! :)

it's been some time since i have posted my random musings, and in honor of converting over to the blogger beta, in which i can now label my posts, here is the first official 'random musings' post of december 2006:

• everything old is new again. this is one of those moments i wish lindsay milasich had been at mass today - i actually saw a gal coming back from communion wearing a frayed acid washed denim mini skirt, leggings, leg warmers and ballet flats. and there was no way she was alive when the 80s were big. i felt old.
• just before that, i was annoyed. when in line for communion, we were stopped by a larger group of people who were cutting out of mass after receiving. (this is a serious pet peeve of mine. that and clapping in church. and gum chewing. especially when heading up for the eucharist. does jesus really want to share room in your mouth with orbit? for the love! but i digress.) if you choose to sit in the front few pews and you're a big group, and you plan on cutting out of mass early - don't make a scene. follow the line to the back of the church quietly, exit in the least conspicuous way possible, and walk around outside...do not cut through two lines of peeps waiting to receive the eucharist! do not hold up 2 lines so that you can make a break for it, you selfish selfish people teaching your kids to disrespect others! off my soapbox.
• it was very cool to see all the shoes and goodies that the kids at st. charles collected for the shoe liturgy. and yes, the two third graders quoted in the story in the news tribune are students in my super fabulous sister-in-law's classroom!
• speaking of my super fabulous sister...guess who's blogging now? kristine and mikey!
• and guess who else? helen, the canadian cancer society version of me! and yes, she is absolutely a high drama mama! ;)
• and today is the official day that my papa turns 60.
• other things that came into existence 60 years ago: the bikini, the first computer, the microwave oven, the first electric clothes dryer, bill clinton, and george w. bush.
• i am still 29 1/2. 29 1/2 and 9 days, to be exact. which means there's less than six months to my 30th birthday.
• i turn 30 on june 1. what else happens on june 1? the 2007 relay for life. two dates that it would make sense not to forget.
• trading places was on all this weekend. i love that movie. it made so much more sense after i studied for the series 7 exam. :) in fact, please keep those who are studying for the 7 in your prayers...mikey and kris.
• santa, if you are reading my blog and you need some more items for my stocking, here are a few things that would make me happy. i have even given you the links so that you may locate them more easily: smashbox photofinish, sephora pink grapefruit body smoother, lexar 512mb compact flash card, lindt white chocolate truffles (my current guilty pleasure), or maybe an arch card for fountain diet cokes? i promise, i have been nice this year...and for when i haven't been, i've been to confession! :)
• costco is a nightmare on weekends. those who go there on weekends are idiots. they don't pay attention to common costco wholesale etiquette (eg: don't stop your cart in the middle of an aisle to randomly stare at the ceiling and hold up a ton of crabby people who are on the run for free samples). today, i was one of the aforementioned idiots. i regretted it from the moment i entered the parking lot.
• thanks to andrea's lloyd dobler fridays, i am now a fan of lloyd's, and have seen say anything three times in the past week. thanks, a! :)
• i am making my famous parmesan artichoke dip four times this week for different events. since i always make double batches, i amazed everyone at safeway by purchasing in ungodly amount of artichokes. so much that i almost frightened myself. an imbalance of vegetables in my cart always makes me nervous.
• this is the second week of advent. here's a sweet online advent calendar from ewtn.