Future Fashion

Just saw a couple of minutes of Star Trek:The Undiscovered Country on tv. By the looks of what the space dudes were wearing I'd say we can look forward to a lot of chenille style robes and tunics! I am super excited! Happy New Year y'all!

Who can I tell this to, except my Dear Diary (aka 'Blog - stupid word) and my awesome peep who is following me. High five, peep, right up top!

I know this is rather down talk for this time of yera, but frankly Christmas is bumming me out. We're having the relatives over on Christmas day for dinner for the third year in a row and no matter how much effort I put in it will be wrong. I seem to suffer from two problems: I do too much/spend too much/make it "unnecessarily fancy" and at the same time I don't do enough/don't have enough craft activities available for the kids to do/make it too casual. It's a difficult pair of problems to overcome. I try hard to be chipper and stay above the fray, but inevitibly I get down about some remark from one of them that strikes me as particularly unkind, and I can always count on my husband to tell me I am being "too sensitive".. Do not fall for that on e, dear Peeper, it's just the modern day, less vulgar way of saying "she's on the rag" and they can use it all year round. I love men!

Earlier I asked my son to finish up what he was doing (like 5 mins) and then come and help me clean a little. I haven't seen him for three hours. Junior man!

And then the bumming me out part is that the years just seem to be going by so fast now, and it feels like just months ago that I put the damn Christmas decorations away and now here I am doing it again. Shopping and cooking and decorating for an entitled group of people who will come over, eat, roll their eyes about how long the turkey is taking, or the fact that the coffee pot is empty, believe me when I say, "No, no that's fine I don't need any help cleaning up!" and then head out the door about five minutes after I am finished working.

Aren't you supposed to end these things with some cute thing about how despite all that you're so glad to do it because it's Christmas and it's all so great!? Well I am not ending it like that.

Julie and Julia

I just finished watching the dvd version of "Julie and Julia". And I am a little sad to say that I expected to like it more than I did. I think it was because I found the Julie Powell character rather unlikeable. I didn't like her for a bunch of reasons, but here's a good example: When Julie made her "pilgrimage" to Julia's kitchen in the Smithsonian, and she pulled out the pound of butter and laid it in front of Julia Child's picture, as though it were a shrine, and said "I love you, Julia!" (You know, all plucky and hat-in-hand sincere and she seems to add, in that spunkly, plucky li'l look "I know you don't like me, but goll darn it I am going to like you anyway!...I momentarily softened. And then that moment passed as quickly as it came and I thought, how goddam contrived! My heart shrank two sizes that day.

And that was the nicest thing she did in the movie!

I feel mean saying that, but it is the truth.

Demoted!

I just got a group email forward wishing me a Merry Christmas and a happy new year. Not to be a nit picker here, but I think New Year's Day has acquired enough cultural significance as a holiday that it now deserves to be capitalized, but whatever, it's Christmas!

My point here is this is from a friend who was once a really close friend -- like best friend close. We've grown apart to be sure -- we haven't spoken in a year or more, and before that our frindship had been fading fast, but still, it bugs me to get this group forward. The email itself seems like the kind of thing one sends to the co-workers who don't warrant even one box of candy out of the 20 dollar multi-pack box of chocolates one buys at Costco.

It's not even a personalized message -- it's group forward! It seems kinda half-assed, frankly it seems kinda one quarter assed to me, but it's Christmas time and I am being generous of spirit!

Inevitably someone will say something like maybe you should be glad to have been remembered at all! But I don't feel that way; I feel a little slighted by the conscious degree of non-effort that went into the greeting.

And that's really all I have to say about that, Forrest Gump.

Yes!

Went to a Christmas party last night where there was "entertainment" put on by some kids. Who doesn't want to watch a bunch of kids they don't know butcher "Frosty the Snowman" in song and then proceed to act out a three act play about said snowman that they have written themselves. Written themselves! No editing! Really needed editing!

Tell me who because I'd like to know where they got the guts to admit that.

I honestly didn't know time could move that slowly; and I have had some really boring profs in my time.

Shout Out to My Peeps, Peep!

I just found out I have a follower. I cannot tell you how awesome that is, _______ (don't want to use your name in case that's not cool, but you know who you are!). High five! Let's come up with a handshake! Shriner style!

You, dear ________ have totally made my day! Thank you.

But seriously, get working on the handshake.