Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Words, words, words!
Our holiday greetings and CD were co-branded this year with a neato graphic. It was a conglomeration of holiday words (Christmas, manger, jingle, bells, gift, noel, star, angels ... you get the gist) all typeset close together in different sizes, in bright reds and pinks. I tried to post the graphic here but it kept going wonky, appearing sideways. (Technology! Hrumpf.) Fear not, lovely blog readers! For unto you this day exists a website known as wordle. Check it out and be prepared for some serious time wastage. Just enter text or a website URL and - voila! - this way cool graphic appears. You can change the font, colors, and general layout to suit your needs, or on a whim. Enjoy!
And, yes, wordle is responsible for our holiday graphic. Thanks, wordlers!
1/5/09 UPDATE - Hooray! I finally figured out how to get around the technological gremlins and was able to post the image. Better late than never. Enjoy!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
The Gift
Simple, emotional, timely, elegant and gorgeously performed. My gift to you this Christmas is a melodic reminder to give AND receive:
The gift we deliver in the gift we receive
Is the giving spirit Mary did conceive,
The royal gift of love in the desert plain
Is given to all mankind in His name.
Joy. Joy. It is our true delight
To give and receive on this wondrous night.
The boy child who Mary has borne
And his light will shine on beyond the dawn.
Drew and I wish you many shining moments as you exchange gifts on this most wondrous of holidays. Merry Christmas!
The gift we deliver in the gift we receive
Is the giving spirit Mary did conceive,
The royal gift of love in the desert plain
Is given to all mankind in His name.
Joy. Joy. It is our true delight
To give and receive on this wondrous night.
The boy child who Mary has borne
And his light will shine on beyond the dawn.
Drew and I wish you many shining moments as you exchange gifts on this most wondrous of holidays. Merry Christmas!
Friday, December 19, 2008
A little Christmas music
I had forgotten about a wonderful choral group known as The King's Singers until my cousin reminded me about them this fall. Said cousin should be on their payroll because I have since purchased multiple King's Singers recordings, placed not one but TWO of their pieces on our Christmas CD, and am now blogging about them. My latest King's Singers obsession is on YouTube. Check out this piece of Christmas cheer with, of all people, John Denver and Julie Andrews:
Please enjoy some other King's Singers videos while on YouTube. They are well worth the 3 or 4 minutes. Oh, and twelveoclockbroccoli, your CD is in the mail. Enjoy!
Please enjoy some other King's Singers videos while on YouTube. They are well worth the 3 or 4 minutes. Oh, and twelveoclockbroccoli, your CD is in the mail. Enjoy!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
I may have momentarily lost the jingle in my bells, but you'd never know it by looking at my office. Look up. There. See the snowflakes? There are some glittery snowballs - oops - snow SPHERES there, too. And if you look at the gorgeous pressed wood particle desk you'll even see heaps of snow on the desk, um, ground. Grab a shovel - we're gonna need it to get through this mess! Do you think there will be a 2-hour school delay tomorrow?
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Our Christmas letter
Jess and Drew are still in Maryland, still working, still single, still finding lots to laugh about. While we may have stayed put, we have been anything but still in 2008.
The year began with Jess as a wanna-be blonde. Another bout of vertigo left her dizzy instead of the usual ditzy. She headed to the salon and asked to BE blonde instead of just acting like one. It didn’t last long. She does, however, have a fab new ’do!
Spring break was spent in Niagara Falls and Toronto. It snowed. We froze. See “ditzy” above. Isn’t one supposed to go someplace warm for spring break? Seriously. We have great photos of the Falls and two frozen statues looking suspiciously like Jess and Drew.
Drew graduated from middle school in June and promptly ran away to Turkey. He was supposedly there to study physics. Right. Sure. He came back after 11 days to do laundry and then departed for another exotic locale. In all, Drew had five – count ‘em, FIVE! – trips this summer. Jess spent the time funding the teenager’s summer excursions and stocking laundry detergent for when he came home.
Customs in Turkey and the US were no problem for Drew. However, he was almost detained by the TSA going to another foreign country – Texas – for not knowing his name. Seems he forgot if his mom put “Drew” or “Andrew” on his ticket. Next spring we’ll change his name and really throw him for a loop! What do you think of Archaimbaud? Or maybe Homer?
In July, during one of Drew’s irregular weeks at home, Jess hit the big four-oh. She’s still suffering from knuckle damage and swears she’ll return the punching bag as soon as she can find the receipt. On the other hand, Drew had no trouble with the big four-teen.
Drew started high school this Fall. Wait. High school? Already? (To which the teenager replies, “Hell-lo? You’re old. See “four-oh” above.)
About the same time Drew started high school Jess began a new job as a chauffeur and ATM in addition to her regular work at the university. Evenings and weekends are spent doling out money, driving a teenager to and from activities, doling out money, waiting for the “it’s OK to pick me up” phone calls, driving some more, and doling out money. The job has no vacation or sick leave so she is relying on the occasional emotive responses from the aforementioned teenager as remuneration. Or she’ll win the lottery.
Halloween. Veteran’s Day. Thanksgiving. National Flossing Day. We celebrated them all and are looking forward to Christmas and New Year’s around the corner. We send warm wishes for wonderful holiday celebrations with your loved ones and the not-so-loved-ones-but-gotta-act-like-you-love-‘em-anyway ones. May you find much laughter in the new days of 2009! ☺
The year began with Jess as a wanna-be blonde. Another bout of vertigo left her dizzy instead of the usual ditzy. She headed to the salon and asked to BE blonde instead of just acting like one. It didn’t last long. She does, however, have a fab new ’do!
Spring break was spent in Niagara Falls and Toronto. It snowed. We froze. See “ditzy” above. Isn’t one supposed to go someplace warm for spring break? Seriously. We have great photos of the Falls and two frozen statues looking suspiciously like Jess and Drew.
Drew graduated from middle school in June and promptly ran away to Turkey. He was supposedly there to study physics. Right. Sure. He came back after 11 days to do laundry and then departed for another exotic locale. In all, Drew had five – count ‘em, FIVE! – trips this summer. Jess spent the time funding the teenager’s summer excursions and stocking laundry detergent for when he came home.
 |
| From Turkey Trip June 2008 |
Customs in Turkey and the US were no problem for Drew. However, he was almost detained by the TSA going to another foreign country – Texas – for not knowing his name. Seems he forgot if his mom put “Drew” or “Andrew” on his ticket. Next spring we’ll change his name and really throw him for a loop! What do you think of Archaimbaud? Or maybe Homer?
In July, during one of Drew’s irregular weeks at home, Jess hit the big four-oh. She’s still suffering from knuckle damage and swears she’ll return the punching bag as soon as she can find the receipt. On the other hand, Drew had no trouble with the big four-teen.
Drew started high school this Fall. Wait. High school? Already? (To which the teenager replies, “Hell-lo? You’re old. See “four-oh” above.)
About the same time Drew started high school Jess began a new job as a chauffeur and ATM in addition to her regular work at the university. Evenings and weekends are spent doling out money, driving a teenager to and from activities, doling out money, waiting for the “it’s OK to pick me up” phone calls, driving some more, and doling out money. The job has no vacation or sick leave so she is relying on the occasional emotive responses from the aforementioned teenager as remuneration. Or she’ll win the lottery.
Halloween. Veteran’s Day. Thanksgiving. National Flossing Day. We celebrated them all and are looking forward to Christmas and New Year’s around the corner. We send warm wishes for wonderful holiday celebrations with your loved ones and the not-so-loved-ones-but-gotta-act-like-you-love-‘em-anyway ones. May you find much laughter in the new days of 2009! ☺
Friday, December 12, 2008
Oh, happy day!
Happy National Ding-a-Ling Day!
(insert applause. cue confetti and balloon drop. celebration tunes ...go...)
I know you've been anxiously awaiting it all year. Yes, it's finally National Ding-a-Ling Day. It's the perfect excuse to celebrate your inner ding-a-ling! (You know you have one.) Or, for those -lings who have already been outed, party on! Just ding it!
(insert applause. cue confetti and balloon drop. celebration tunes ...go...)
I know you've been anxiously awaiting it all year. Yes, it's finally National Ding-a-Ling Day. It's the perfect excuse to celebrate your inner ding-a-ling! (You know you have one.) Or, for those -lings who have already been outed, party on! Just ding it!
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Sir Mathalot
We hosted the calculus club Saturday night. It was a cozy event in our small house. To make enough seating, we imported a card table from my parents' basement. The boys quickly ditched all other options in favor of the imported round, littering it with calculators, graph paper, pencils and a textbook that could (should?) be used in a gym for weight lifting. Seven heads were bent over the small table, debating how to work the problems and arguing over the final answers. It was hysterical! We started calling them the Nerds of the Round Table! Just picture Sir Mathalot leading the charge, summoning the others to sharpen pencils and march on the next equation, mapping out the battle on graph paper, consulting Calculator Merlin for advice.
All hail, Derivatives!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Come and help me, Obi Wan!
Drew is currently obsessed with a YouTube video tribute to John Williams. There are many worse things to be obsessed with, so strains of "kiss a wookie, kick a droid" echoing through the house from time to time are totally acceptable. I can handle Drew singing the ENTIRE song at seemingly inopportune times. I can even get behind him serenading my boss with it -- which he did tonight as we left the basketball game. Uh huh. But if ya'll thought I was bad with Christmas songs, you ain't seen nuthin yet! Seriously. So check out the song continually playing around our house. Just stay clear of the wookie. I hear they have rotten breath.
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