Thanks to those of you who answered my poll. I enjoyed reading your responses! 🙂 Here are my personal faves:

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (original animated TV version, thank you very much. I refuse to watch the Jim Carrey movie on principle) I cry every time the Grinch’s heart grows three sizes.
A Charlie Brown Christmas Again with the tears. During Linus’s speech, and when they all sing around the little tree at the end.
Rudolph because who doesn’t like Rudolph?

And interestingly, Rand and I were just talking about the one that I believe is called ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. It has to do with some mice and a clock tower, and there’s a song that goes “Christmas bells are ringing, Santa, Santa.” Anyone else remember it? 🙂

I’ve dug out the holiday music, and in fact, just bought a copy of the Barenaked Ladies’ Barenaked for the Holidays. I really enjoy most of it, but could probably do without a few of the tracks. There’s a short little track called “Deck the Stills” which had me rolling on the floor.

Also, I listened to Collin Raye’s Christmas album today, which really deserves a listen if for nothing more than his version of “O Holy Night.” I like it for a lot of reasons, his voice not being the least of them, but also because it includes this verse:

Truly he taught us
To love one another
His law is love
and his gospel is peace
Chains shall he break
for the slave is our brother
and in his name
all oppression shall cease.

I don’t usually hear that verse in other people’s recorded versions, and to me, it’s such a perfect statement about what it should mean to be a Christian. When I’m in a particularly emotional mood, it makes me a little bit weepy.

Oh, and this was so funny, I just had to share.

I have a burned CD marked “Tony Bennett Xmas”, so I put that in on my drive down to PA today. The first track was indeed Tony Bennett. But the second? Shania Twain. Any Man of Mine. The huh? Track 3 was Tony Bennett again, but track 4 was Shania. (If You’re Not in it For Love) The rest of it seemed to be safe, but no….track 14 was No One Needs to Know. I don’t know what the hell I was doing when I burned that one.

Ok, enough…I’ve got pies to bake. Happy Thanksgiving!

I have no original words today.

Not true…I have no time for the original words I do have.

Awesome bumper sticker I’ve seen several times lately:

Awesome quote from Henry Rollins, seen in Traveling Pants book:

When life hands you a lemon, say “Oh yeah. I like lemons. what else ya got?”

(Haven’t updated book post, but I read The Second Summer of the Sisterhood today. Cried more. These are great little reads.)

A poll:

What’s your favorite holiday special? I have a few favorites of my own, which I’ll share after you’ve posted yours. 🙂

Happy Monday!

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(Possible Lost spoilers below)

If I work on a Tuesday or Thursday, it’s always at the same school. This is because they’re finished at 2:03, getting me out of the building at 2:15 and to the college before 3. My first class is at 4:30, so I like having that bit of time to prepare.

Of course, the day ending at 2:03 means it starts really really early. Homeroom bell is at 7:28. Ack. I have a really difficult time leaving the house before 7. It takes about 20 minutes to get there, and in a perfect world, I would arrive at 7:15, giving me a little bit of breathing room.

Today, I almost made it.

What I failed to consider was that my car would need to be cleaned off.

There wasn’t a significant amount of snow, but since it had changed from rain to snow, there was that coating of icy crud on the windows underneath the snow that had to be scraped off. Ugh. There’s nothing I hate more than scraping ice off my car. This is the kind of morning when a remote starter would be heaven.

A couple of quick notes on Lost (really the only show I’m watching on a regular basis. I kind of gave up on Alias, and my West Wing viewing has been sporadic. I hate that it’s on Sunday night. Generally, the idea that shows will soon be out on DVD has made me less concerned about missing things.):

I liked getting the back story of the other survivors. I completely forgot about the freaky radio transmission!

Hey, it’s that guy from Ed! Totally not one of the Others, but it was a nice fakeout, I thought.

How freaking creepy are The Others? And when do we get their story?

I didn’t like having to wait another week to see what happens with Shannon. (Although, let’s be honest…we all know what happens with Shannon. Just when I was starting to like her.)

CRUNCH N MUNCH STRIPPERS

I wish I were making that up.

I joined frappr. Go, add yourself to the map. It’s fun!

🙂

I had a “me” day today. Yay!

I already have work tomorrow, Thursday and Friday, so I decided I could afford to shut the phone off and be unavailable today. I went to David’s Bridal to try on the dress for my brother’s wedding. Here’s what mine’s going to look like:

Separates. The color is fantastic. Also, I really like the top, although they did not have it in the store in my size in ANY color. I tried on a different top in a 6, and it seemed to fit. I tried on this top in a 4, which nearly fit (much to my surprise) except that it wouldn’t quite zip at the top. So the 6 should be fine, I think.

Women’s sizes are so strange. There is no continuity. The dress I wore for Susan’s wedding was a 10. I typically wear a size 8 in pants and skirts, and usually a 6 on top.

Since I was already out and about, I decided to take my little laptop and go to Barnes & Noble. There was a sign on the front window that said “High speed wireless here!”

Yay!

But what they don’t tell you is that it’s not free. Boo.

I had to pay $3.95 for 2 hours, but I decided it wasn’t worth packing up and going somewhere else. So I got an Asiago Cheese Pretzel, plugged in my headphones and listened to my music, chatted a bit with Eden, and got to writing.

I think Tall Mocha on Wheels, the current story I’m working on for Woman’s World, is nearly ready to submit. I also started on another project that I’m not talking about just yet, but I am having a lot of fun with it.

I’ve abandoned NaNo. I was wasting my energy. But oddly enough, I seem to have funnelled it into more productive areas. So yay for me. 🙂

I also did some other not-so-interesting things like grading and laundry.

Random thoughts:

That cute, happy, Brit-poppy song I keep hearing on the radio and liking so much? That one that goes “No matter what you are, I will always be with you/Doesn’t matter what you do, girl, ooh girl, with you” is DEF LEPPARD. Covering Badfinger. I was dumbfounded.

I understand there’s a new Goo Goo Dolls song out, although I haven’t yet heard it.

Also, I hate Bon Jovi’s new single, Have a Nice Day. HATE it. And you know how much I like Bon Jovi. I hate it so much that I don’t even want to hear the album.

And that’s me today.

Dear fashion industry,

Gaucho pants? Really?

Sincerely,

erin-go-blog

Not that this really needs to be said, but Pat Robertson is crazy.

Every time he opens his mouth, I just want to hurl things at him.

Oh, and I heard this little tidbit on the radio while in the car…apparently, there is some backlash over oil companies’ record profits. Yeah, that’s right. Record profits.

Excerpts:

The scrutiny intensified after Exxon Mobil, the world’s biggest oil company, posted a profit of 9.92 billion dollars for the third quarter — the biggest in US corporate history.

Democratic Senator Charles Schumer said the 29 major oil and gas firms in the Standard and Poor’s 500 stock index are expected to earn 96 billion dollars this year — up from 68 billion dollars last year and 43 billion dollars in 2003.

“It’s become perfectly clear that the big oil companies are cashing in while average American families are being bled dry,” Schumer said.

Schumer and other Democrats are pressing for legislation to tax the “excess” profits of oil firms to fund heating assistance programs, recovery from Hurricane Katrina and other programs.

I was screaming at my radio. Ugh.

I got my hair cut today…nothing crazy…but I just love Lynn at Papillon Salon so much. She always makes me look fabulous. Yes, I pay too much, but the fabulousness…

I have been named a Blogging Cutie. Jen too. In fact, we are the inaugural blogging cuties.

You like me. You really like me.

😉