here.
Thank you for the cards you sent. I got some really awesome ones this year, and I always love seeing pictures of your kids and your families and your cats, and reading the sweet things you write in your cards to me.
I have the best readers EVAH!
And now for this year’s Christmas Card stats (last year’s are here).
Date I started addressing cards: December 6th.
Date I finished: December 18th.
Total cards sent out (not including family): 260
States receiving 10 or more cards: California (18), Illinois (14), Ohio (18), Texas (18).
States who don’t love me and didn’t want a card: Delaware, Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wyoming.
Other countries receiving cards: Canada (16), New Zealand (1), Australia (6), United Kingdom (4), Sweden (1), Portugal (1), Germany (1), Finland (1), Scotland (2), India (1), Belgium (1), Switzerland (1), Norway (1).
Most often recurring first names: I don’t know; I didn’t keep track of first names this year. I do remember an awful lot of Amy/ Ami/ Aimees, though.
Number of cards kicked back as undeliverable: None, so far!
Percentage of probability that I accidentally sent out more than one card to at least one person: 99.99874.
Was I terribly organized about my card sending this year?: I was neither terribly organized nor terribly disorganized. I’m pretty sure that everyone who requested a card got one (or has one on the way to them), and that’s good enough for me!
Did I have a lot of fun shopping for funny cards?: No, actually. I bought all my cards online during after-Christmas sales last year.
What I’ll do differently next year: Maybe get going a little earlier.
Number of cards I’ve received: As of today, 93 109 137. I’m sure there are more on the way, and I’ll edit the number sometime in mid-January to reflect the correct total.
* * *
Currently
reading:
Food and Loathing, by Betsy Lerner (thank you to reader Martha, who sent it along to me. Martha rocks!).
Recently finished:
Twelve Times Blessed, by Jacquelyn Mitchard. Good christ, it’s the slowest-moving book I’ve ever read in my entire life. I don’t recommend it unless you’re in the process of DYING and want to make every minute seem like six years.
Also recently finished:
Better Than Chocolate, by Susan Waggoner. Interesting premise, well-written, and yet I couldn’t force myself to give a good goddamn about what happened to the characters. Another one I don’t particularly recommend.
* * *
It’s a Christmas Meme!
(Which I stole from
Athena)
1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? I love egg nog, but I can only have one or two servings of it, or I’ll end up drinking it all. There’s something in egg nog that makes me want to drink it until my stomach explodes – and no, it’s not the alcohol, ’cause I drink the non-alcoholic kind.
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them around the tree? They’re wrapped. What fun is it to see what your present is without having to rip off the wrapping?
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? I like either, but not together – I very strongly hate the mixing of white and colored lights. It drives me nuts, I think it looks horrible.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nope. It’s poisonous to cats, isn’t it?
5. When do you put your decorations up? Whenever I get around to it. I put our decorations up around the 15th this year, which is a little later than I prefer to, but I don’t like to put them up the day after Thanksgiving, either. I think that’s too early.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Fred’s stepfather makes a kickass oyster dressing. He doesn’t make it every year, but when he does I make a total pig out of myself.
7. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? My cousin – who is a year younger than me – told me when I was 13 or 14. I believed so long because I honest to god didn’t think my parents would spend that much money on us!
8. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? When I was a kid we all got to open one gift on Christmas Eve. Now that I’m an adult, the spud opens presents from her California relatives on Christmas Eve (we had to institute this rule, because she gets so many presents that we were sitting and watching her open presents for HOURS on Christmas Day), and Fred and I open our presents from each other.
9. What kind of cookies does Santa get set out for him? Whatever’s around. When I was a kid, I think it was a couple of sugar cookies.
10. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it, but only because we rarely get it around these parts.
11. Can you ice skate? I used to be able to – I don’t think I’ve been on ice skates for more than 20 years, though, so I have no idea whether I still can.
12. Do you remember your favorite gift? I think I was about ten, and Debbie (who was eight) and I were harassing the hell out of my mother for a kitten. OHHHH, how we wanted a kitten, we needed a kitten, GIVE US A KITTEN! On Christmas Day we had opened all our presents, and my mother said “I think something’s missing…” and looked around, frowning. Then she cocked her head and said “I think I hear something upstairs!” Debbie and I ran screaming up into my parents’ room and found… a cage with two hamsters in it. It wasn’t a kitten, but we were pretty damn thrilled anyway. We named ’em Laverne and Shirley.
13. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Seeing family we never see during the rest of the year, and hearing my favorite Christmas songs.
14. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? I’m not sure I have a favorite. They’re ALL my favorites! Fred makes a
coconut cake that is to DIE for, I’d certainly count that amongst my favorites.
15. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Seeing Fred’s family on Christmas Eve and getting Christmas Day to ourselves.
16. What tops your tree? Nothing!
17. Which do you prefer Giving or Receiving? Definitely giving – especially when you find the perfect gift for someone and know they’ll love it even if they didn’t know they wanted it!
18. What is your favorite Christmas Carol? O Holy Night, Little Drummer Boy.
19. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? I’m neutral. If I really want something sweet a candy cane would do, but we don’t really keep them around the house.
20. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas, of course!
* * *
Do you see what those little fuckers have done to my Christmas tree? They made a HOLE between the branches where they like to hang out and fuck with the ornaments. I keep fixing it, and they keep fucking it up. Bastards.
All of today’s uploaded pictures are
here.
* * *
Previously
2004: Gotta love that Jack Bauer.
2003: When it’s such a noteworthy event that my child stops and stares in wonder, it’s possible I’m just not cleaning often enough, ya think?
2002: No entry.
2001: No entry.
2000: No entry.
1999: That’s my girl!]]>