Sorry folks.

Besides spending a wonderful couple of days running back and forth between my family and Sweetie's family, getting ready for Christmas, enjoying Christmas, eating food, and wrapping and opening presents - I've gotten sick.

Today was a great day, but I had the energy level of a slug.  I could barely help get things ready for Christmas dinner at Sweetie's aunt and uncle's house.  I even crashed for a while in his cousin's room in the afternoon, but was still a slug this evening.  Thankfully, everyone was nice about it, and I wasn't the only one feeling sick.  But now, I'm exhausted, I ache all over, my head and ears feel like they are going to explode, and my nose alternates between dripping snot and feeling completely dried out. Pretty fun huh?

I know people will argue that you can't get sick from being cold, but I would point out the empirical evidence that I have not been sick once in Maui, and after I spend three days here - boom! sickness.  It's not right. 

I hope you all had a warm, merry, and healthy Christmas.  That's about all I can manage right now, but I mean it sincerely.  Despite my fat, fluid-filled head, I had a great day. Tomorrow should be good too.

This is a bit of a cheating non-entry.  I'm tired.  Just picked up Sweetie at the Oakland airport.

And there, I saw a wondrous sight.  Something not to be believed.  More incredible than a jolly fat man being pulled on a sled by flying reindeer.  I told my Sweetie and he said "I don't believe you."   But it's true. 

THEY'VE FINISHED THE $&*#(&$*# CONSTRUCTION!!! 

They've been working on this airport for years.  Years.  But tonight, no blocked roads, no blocked parking lot, no winding, crazy, twisty, longass route to the terminal, no construction equipment, no construction workers (oh wait, I never ever saw anyone actually WORKING), no pulled-up pavement.  Nothing.  It's a true blue Christmas miracle.

Of course, that doesn't mean that his luggage could possibly show up in less than 30 minutes.  But really.  Who gets two miracles for Christmas?

And by the way, on the drive home, we saw the biggest shooting star in a long time.  Sweetie said it was the biggest he'd ever seen.  But I've seen one fall, split in two, and continue falling during the meteor shower in August.  Anyway - it was a cool star tonight.  I thought it might be space junk because it seemed to be kind of blue and white while it was falling, not the normal flamey color.  Who knows?

It is my turn to steal this from Saturn.  Thank you Saturn!

I filled this survey out last year, and it's a fun little way to look back at the goings-on of 2007.

1. What did you do in 2007 that you'd never done before?

Well, I got married.  That was a new experience.  Also visited Oahu.  Alas, I have not tried surfing yet.

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Ug.  I normally never make resolutions, but I think I need to remind myself to keep in better touch with people in 2008. 

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Yes.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Yes.  Can I please have one year with no funerals?  Please?

5. What countries did you visit?

Mainland USA.

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?

The ability to digest food in a non-painful manner.
 
7. What date from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

My wedding.  For obvious reasons.  Also, the day Sweetie proposed.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Pulling off a fantastic wedding in California while living in Maui.  Whew!  In nine months.  Egads!

9. What was your biggest failure?

See Question #2.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Not serious, no.  Thank goodness.

11.  What was the best thing you bought?

erg.  I don’t know.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

I hate to repeat myself, but I really love hanging out with my nephews because I think they are pretty great.  It’s amazing to watch them grow up and mature, but still have that wonderment of kid-ness.  There are so many times I am just so thankful to be able to witness the most simple things with them. 

Also have to say - my Sweetie for putting up with me so well this year.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Some really crappy drivers here on Maui.  A whole lot of elected officials who did next to nothing productive this year.

14. Where did most of your money go?

Ha! That’s easy.  See Question #1.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Our honeymoon to Yellowstone.  Of course I was excited about the wedding, but there were a few things to worry about related to the actual event (weather being one).  But every time I thought about getting away and enjoying the beauty of Yellowstone and just relaxing and hiking with my Sweetie, I was pretty excited.  And it was a fantastic trip.

16.  What song(s) will always remind you of 2007?

Probably EBTG’s “Get Me.”   Oh, and The Muppets’ Mahna Mahna, which is the song we used for our wedding recessional. 

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

i. Happier or sadder?

About the same.

ii. Thinner or fatter?

About the same.  I’ve actually lost weight, but I think I lost muscle mass since I’ve been a slob and not exercised much since the wedding.

iii. richer or poorer?

Probably a little poorer. 

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Watched sunsets.  Jeeez - that’s exactly what I said last year.  *sigh*

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Badgering my Sweetie.  And does anyone ever answer "Gee.....I wish I'd done MORE worrying last year." ?

20. How will you be spending Christmas?

Relaxing, eating, and opening presents with Sweetie’s family.

23. How many one-night stands?

We still have one night stand, yes.  We tried to buy a new one at the hotel renovation sale in Lahaina, but we couldn’t fit it in the van with the patio furniture.  And by the next day, the night stands were gone.

24. What was your favorite TV program?

Still stands at Battlestar Galactica.  Insanely good show.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

Nope.

26. What was the best book you read?

I think I have to agree with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?

I have a list of good new songs I found on Pandora.  I made my own iPod playlist.  From that list, my favorite artists are probably Skye and Sonique

28. What did you want and get?

A sunny wedding day!  And a healthy family.

29. What was your favorite film of this year?

May have been Transformers.  What else came out this year?

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

36, and I think I just spent a normal day.  I’m old.  I can’t remember that far back.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?

Same as last year - Maui casual.

34. What kept you sane?

Who said I’m sane?

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Seeing the Dalai Lama give a public teaching here in Maui was pretty powerful.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?

The war still gets me thinking. 

37. Who did you miss?

Dad.

38. Who was the best new person you met?

I met a lot of new people at the wedding.  Don’t know if there is a “best.”

39.  Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007:

Even a couple of procrastinators can pull off a pretty good wedding in nine months.  Also - never go all in with pocket 6s.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

......have to get back to that.

Well, since today’s Holidailies writing prompt was supplied by me, I guess I better step up to the plate and use it!

 What are a few songs that would provide the soundtrack to your life and why?"

Hmm.....given that this question came from me, you would think it would be easier to answer.  I think I'm having trouble narrowing it down to just a few picks.

I am a musicaholoic.  I’m not the only one, I know.  Music is constant in my days and nights.  I don’t have nearly the collection that my Sweetie has.  But I prefer it that way.  I like to savor my music.

Now, for my soundtrack, I want to avoid the obvious picks.  Songs such as “Highly Strung” by Spandau Ballet, or “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Cindy Lauper.  Or even the accolades of “Unbelievable” by Diamond Rio. 

Yes, most of these songs are dated.  But it’s because they have been in my Stone Girl playlist for a long, long time.  They are on the soundtrack to my life because they have, in the past, present, and future, spoken to my psyche.  They say what I have felt.  And they have, quite literally, played for hours in my rooms, depending on where I am in my day.....my life.

These songs don’t necessarily represent a specific point in time in my life.  They don't tell a narrative such as "When she was young, Stone Girl did this....."  then ".....and Stone Girl did this."  Rather, they contain certain themes, moods if you will, that have consistently been part of who I am my whole life.  Or at least - my whole music-appreciation life.

I've narrowed down the core list to three songs.  There are several that get honorable mentions, and they are listed below.  I will try and explain these three.  In a nutshell, the songs are:

“Live Happy”  - C & C Music Factory

“Fear” - Sarah McLachlan

“Speaking Confidentially” - Cowboy Junkies

Live Happy is obvious.  This is for the optimist me.  The me whose favorite Far Side panel is a penguin among a sea of penguins singing "I gotta be meee!"  The me who wants to live for today and appreciate all I have.  I'm not always this person, but I try to be.  I can't seem to find the lyrics on-line, so I posted my own version below.

The next is Fear.

This is a biggie for me.  For the unhappy me.  For the insecure me.  For the part of my life where I question my own direction and contribution.  Not the favorite part of my soundtrack.  But an important one.  And I love this song.  You can read the lyrics here.  One of the most thrilling moments for me was seeing this live.  How good is it?  How powerful is it?  Check it out:

 And then, there is "Speaking Confidentially."  I don't know if I can explain this one.  This may be one of the best-written songs ever.  This song says a lot.  A lot more than I can say.

Speaking Confidentially Lyrics

Honorable Mentions

Dream into Action - Howard Jones

Footsteps - Alison Moyet

Nothingness - Living Colour

That's it for now.  I have more, and perhaps I'll add some posts in the future to introduce you to more songs in my soundtrack.  If you've stopped by to read this blog, from Holidailies or elsewhere, I'd love to hear others' songs.  I know non-Multiply folks probably can't comment without signing up.  I'll try and add a Linky here.  If you've been lurking, de-lurkify!, drop a note and let us know what's playing in your soundtrack!

Can't seem to find a link to lyrics for this one, so this is my best guess. 

"Live Happy" by C & C Music Factory.

Gotta live happy.

Some people say how can you live this way,

Living only for today

Tomorrow may never come our way

So I’m gonna try to live happy

Living happy, happy.

living happy, happy.

Gotta live happy.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fool

I know there are things that I must do

I’ve got my responsibilities

But still I can try to live happy

Living happy, happy,

living happy, happy,

Gotta live happy.

Some people say I’m full of myself

but that is nothing I can help

because I was taught to believe in myself

and the right to be ____ and happy.

Gotta live happy

I'm sitting here trying to think of what to write about that won't take too much brain power.  Not that I've used a lot today.  Sweetie and I went out to buy milk and Christmas cards.  We are trying to back up my laptop so we can wipe it out in an attempt to get the poor thing to run a little more smoothly.  We watched some World Series of Poker on TV.  He worked a little.  Not much going on.

He said "Write about our thank you cards."  Nothing to write about.  We are behind in finishing up our thank-you cards for the wedding.  Not a huge surprise if you know both of us fairly well.  I could talk about the perils of procrastination.......but maybe I'll save that for later.

I have lots of deep thoughts running around.  Could talk about holiday stuff.  Could talk a little more about my NaNo writings, which would be talking about Dad.  I want to talk about the Mother Teresa book I am reading that makes me think about all sorts of things.  Could write about friendship.  Or my favorite Thai restaurant on Maui (that does deserve it's own entry).

I am so unmotivated right now.  My insomnia is acting up a tad bit.  Not too bad.  Not awake until 5 a.m., so I'll count that as good.  But still tossing a bit into the a.m. hours. 

None of which really adds up to a good blog entry today.  But maybe I will be more thoughtful tomorrow.  Remember - you don't normally get a blog a day from this gal.  I am motivated by my Holidailies commitment.  Just not very creative tonight.

So, to add insult to non-blog injury, I shall end with a quiz....

You Are Socks!

Cozy and warm... but easily lost. You make a good puppet.

For those of you joining this blog from Holidailies, I’d like to take the time to introduce you to my new home - Maui, Hawai’i.  The pictures are all from my first trip a few years ago when Sweetie gave me the full tour.

I have lived here since August 2006, when I packed up everything I owned, quit my job of 9  years, left my family and friends, and moved across the ocean to be with my Sweetie.  And, did I mention, my father had just died in June?  Yeah.  It was a crazy year for a Taurus gal who has absolutely no problem living her life in a rut.  But then, I had waited 35 long years to find the perfect guy, and I would have gone to the ends of the earth to be with Sweetie.  All in all, I lucked out to land in Maui.

Known as the Valley Isle, Maui was formed by two volcanoes with a long isthmus in between.  Maui is the second largest of the Hawaiian islands and is a fairly young island, in the chain.  Our big volcano - Haleakala - is not a completely dead volcano, and could erupt in the next million years.  Just to warn ya.

Maui has a constant warm weather pattern.  I grew up in the central valley of California - were we only had two seasons a year - winter and summer.  We had a couple weeks of spring-like or fall-like weather, but it was usually either cold or very very hot.  Now, I live in Maui and I have gone from two seasons a year to one.  Warm all year long.  The house we are renting here in Maui has no central heat or air.  None.  We don’t really need it.  It rarely dips below 70 degrees in our house.  It does get warm during the summer, but I don’t mind warmth.  I learned quickly after moving here that I didn’t need to bring but one pair of long pants, one sweatshirt, and no socks (ok - I do wear socks when I go on my walk, but I don’t need them for warmth).  You don’t need them.  Even on a day like together - it has been windy and raining all day long this December 2.  But what am I wearing?  Shorts and a tank top.  Pretty much sums up every day over here.

One advantage of that? I haven’t been sick one day since I’ve lived here.  Pretty nice.

Maui has a windy side - the north.  This is where you go if you want to see a plethora of windsurfers and surfers.  You can go to Paia town and see the relaxed hippie part of the island.  (you can also eat at The Flatbread Company...yummmm). 

Maui has a dry side - Kihei in south Maui.  This is where I take my visiting friends and family to the beach when they come visit (you can also eat at Alexander's across from the beaches).  It is almost always dry there, with an average of about 16 inches of rain a year.  Now, a lot of visitors choose to stay and beach in the Ka’anapali and Kapalua areas.  These are great resort areas.  Nice golf courses, posh shopping, a zillion resorts, nice beaches. 

Maui has a wet side - the east.   The east side of the island can get from 200 to 360 inches of rain a year.  If you’ve read up on Maui, you’ve read about the road to Hana.  A long, twisting road along the tropical lush coastline, you can stop to see waterfalls, lookout points, and tropical gardens.  You can travel past Hana to the Pools of Ohe’o.  Now, to be honest, this is not my favorite thing to do on Maui.  This tends to be the trip I send my guests out alone on.  Could have something to do with the car crash Sweetie and I experienced on one trip.  I would rather drive up to Haleakala. 

Which leads me to upcountry Maui.  Lovely area.  Haleakala National Park with views of, and hikes into, the crater.  Lots of other hikes on the way up.  Maui’s only winery past Keokea.  The Kula Lodge.  Nice scenery all around. 

There is so much you can see and do here.  We don't have a big metro area, or all the history of Oahu, but there is plenty of whale watching, snorkeling, and sunset-watching you can do here.  Or sunrise - if you want to get up at the crack of dawn and make the trek up to the top of Haleakala (this would be the time to carry that one sweater you bring to the island - it is always freezing cold at the top).

Or, you can just pick one of the beaches and laze around for days  Keep in mind the sun is pretty intense over here and a little beach exposure goes a long way. 

Food - those of you who know me know I could go on for a long time about food in Maui.  I could write several blogs.  Oh!  I already did.  Check out Mauifood tag for my food discoveries.

I’ve also blogged about Maui Time.  There is definitely a more relaxed atmosphere on this island than most anywhere else.  More relaxed than my (short) experience on Oahu.  Certainly more relaxed than California.  Nice to experience.  Also means you have to be pretty patient when waiting for things like.....oh.....landscaping.......or...... maybe.......oven repairmen. 

This is just a small summary.  There are some good tour books you can pick up - through you might want to be careful about leaving that sitting on the front seat of your car while traveling around the island.  Many locals are not happy with tourists discovering their old hidden hot spots.  Last time a friend of mine tried to visit the Blue Pool, they realized locals had let the air out of tires on some other cars.   I try to blog about things as I experience them here on Maui.  For the most part, I’m a homebody.  I don’t go to the beach until people visit.   But I definitely have my favorite spots.  Sweetie and I do want to hike more.  And I’m always up for a new place to eat. 

Well, what's a gal to do after she's written a little over 50,000 words for November?

Yes!  She signs up for Holidailies for December!

Same as last year, I am taking the Holidailies challenge.  The site is taking sign-ups until December 5, so if you want to join the fun, check it out at:  www.holidailies.org.  ....opps.....update - they are closing sign-ups on December 2.  Although - you can still take the challenge unofficially:

Holidailies is a free community writing project. All Holidailies 2007 participants promise to update their personal web sites every day from December 1 to January 1. Portal participants post summaries of their entries 

The first writing prompt is "Introduce Yourself."  So, who is that Stone Girl chick anyway?  (yes, I’m stealing a bunch of this from last year’s intro)

Environmental analyst, writer, work-at-homer.  Wife (as of October), daughter, sister, friend.  Tree-climber, occasional insomniac, Aunt, inquirer.  Laugher, crier, worker, player.  Hiker, music-lover, piano player, seeker, student-of-life, traveler, homebody. 

Not a huge fan of organized sports, I will however root for my Aggies (not the Texas ones!).  Lactose intolerant.  A well-adjusted open-minded Presbyterian who counts the Dalai Lama as one of my only heroes.  Comic book collector.  Professional when I need to be, goofy by nature.  Grew up (mostly) in California's Central Valley, living now in beautiful Maui. 

Addicted to all food competitions on TV.  I believe in helping others and self reliance.  My cube was opaque and slightly iridescent. 

Who are You?

Well, this ranks right up there.

Few things can make me cringe as much as the sound of squealing brakes on the road.  I brace myself for the potential Bang! of metal on metal.  OK, that may be the worst sound ever.  Dane Cook may laugh at the sight of nearby smash-ups, but I do not likey.

Would you believe I've heard it twice in the last 12 hours?  Ug.  Our house is right behind a two-lane expressway out of town.  Considering the speed limit is 35 mph, I'm pretty sure most people are speeding when they see a green light at the stop-light intersection on the corner. 

First was about 5 a.m. this morning.  Deep in sleep, I woke up to the Scrrreeeech of brakes, followed quickly by a loud "THUNK" of metal on metal.  I took a peak out the window but only saw one car pulling over to the side.  After a while, the car was gone.  It took me a good long while to go back to sleep.

Then, this morning around 11:30, I never even heard the slightest sound of brakes.  Just the BLAM! of another accident.  I went to the window to see a jeep behind a truck.  Two guys got out of each car to stare at their respective vehicles.  Everyone looked ok, but they must have called it in because two police patrol cars showed up about 30 minutes later.

I've now seen more accidents in four months here than I did in my 5 years at my previous home.  Those were a couple of major smash-ups that ended up in everyone in the neighborhood calling 911.  Luckily, no major injuries.   Let’s hope these two today are the last ones.  Drive carefully people!

That's it folks!

December is almost over, and I have managed to post every day this month and, Whew!. That was harder than I thought it would be. Little did I know it would be so hard for a blabber mouth like me to blab every day. Sorry for the snore-inducing posts. Speaking of which, this is really another non-entry because I'm about to leave the house again and won't be back before January 1, 2007.

January 1, 2007. How did that happen?

Before I leave, let me just wish everyone and safe and happy New Year. If you had a great year, may it carry on to 2007. If you had a bad year, then the turning and ticking of the clock may not matter much to you. And January may look to hold nothing better than today. And I know that nothing magical can clean a bad slate at the stroke of midnight tonight. But I hope that you can remember that the good things about 2006 will also continue on, and even if your sorrows and troubles will not go away after tonight, you are not alone in facing a new year. None of us know what may happen in 2007 and, in that, we share a bond. I can only hope the best for the people I know and care about. Heck, even for the people I don't know.

Good luck in 2007!

This is one of those days that would definitely not see a blog entry if not for Holidailies. I spent most of the day with my Sweetie and his family, celebrating Christmas all over again. It was a great day all around. I swore once, long ago, that if I ever married someone, I was going to find a guy with no family. I'd heard so many in-law horror stories. But somehow I managed to find a guy with a family even more caring than him.

OK, that didn't sound right. They are not individually more caring than him. But there are a bunch of them who are each really good people, so collectively, that's probably more caring. Anyway, the point is, I take back all my former vows, for I totally lucked out in this department, and what I ever did to deserve that, who knows.

And we got back late to Mom's place, and I think I'm fighting off a cold, so I'm about to tip over. But it was a good day.

Argh!

I finished this entry but took too long and got timed off the site. Now I must re-type.

I went bowling today with Big Sis and my two nephews. A good thing to do on a cold and overcast day. We ate some hot dogs and french fries. Picked out shoes and balls. Except Big Sis - she has her own, so you know you’re in trouble playing with her.

Except, I won both games. Woo hooo!! Well, it’s not too hard to do when you’re playing with bumpers in the gutters. Yes, it is embarrassing, but I’ll take my victories where I can get them.

You see, my sister’s bowling tends to stay in the lane and she’s pretty consistent with her aim. So consistent, she would miss the remaining three pins or so because her second ball would go down the same path as her first. My aim is a little more wild, which means what was looking like a gutter ball ended up close to the center of the pins, with some decent scores for me. (and by “decent” I mean, more than one pin). On my behalf, I did manage to get a couple of spares with a good aim. And I managed one strike. In two games. *sigh* I know - it sounds pathetic as I write that. I always say - it just proves I am adopted because our father was a semi-pro bowler. Used to tour the country playing. But I seemed to have not inherited the skill.

Anyway, it was fun, no matter what the score. The boys did pretty well, and we had a good time cheering each other on. With a little more practice, I may be able to take those bumpers off next time I play.

OK, I have a new favorite from Mackenzies Chocolates. The Santa Cruz Crunch has it all. Peanut butter, a little rice crisp, and caramel, all held together in a chocolate coat. Man alive! If you like any of those things (or perhaps all four like me), then try these little treasures. I wonder how much it costs to ship some to Maui. mmmmmmmm........

Yesterday I wrote a few Christmas Haikus. As part of the December Holidailies challenge, I post my blog entries with a little summary. I looked at the Holidailies page yesterday after I posted and discovered that the person who posted right after me *also* posted Christmas Haikus. What are the chances?? GreenTuna noticed it also and wrote the following:

I can't believe the person right before me just posted something called "Christmas Haikus." I swear I didn't copy off her paper!

And the entry immediately following GreenTuna was labeled "Potato Leek Soup" with the summary of "This has nothing to do with Haikus."

Cracked me up. I was sitting at the dining table behind Mom who was watching TV on the couch, and I just burst out laughing. I think she looked at me as if she thought me insane. But that was totally random and hilarious.

As hard as it sometimes is to write something new every day, it has been fun participating this year. Quite a challenge! And today, I shall write about.......ummmmm......about........... errrrrrrrrr......

Let me think about it a little more.

My guy and I did a little last-minute Christmas shopping today in Santa Cruz. He did most of the shopping. I'm happy to say that most of my gift-getting was done already. My favorite stop of the day was to Mackenzies Chocolates, for what should be obvious reasons. Holy yummy, Batman! They have some delectable treats at this shop. They also have a variety of chocolate banana slugs, including some bright yellow ones. Must be pretty popular with the UCSC crowd. I love that their website has a search function all its own. Heaven forbid someone shopping online cannot find their treat of choice.

I bought some English toffee, which I use as my litmus test for chocolate makers. I bought some to share with my family for Christmas. In the interest of not feeding my family second-rate toffee, I broke into the box tonight to try. It was so good, I don't think I can subject my loved ones to this treat - it will just make them crave more and, since they don't travel out this way too often, it would just be some sort of unrequited chocolate-love. I care about them too much to make them suffer so.

We shopped at Palace Arts and Office Supply, Paper Vision, Zoccoli's Delicatessen, and a bunch of antique stores on Pacific Avenue that were fun to walk through.

We are now watching Sound of Music. We caught it about half-way through. It's been a few years since I've seen it all the way through. Before my family bought the movie (on VHS), I would watch the TV version every year. It's just that good. I'm pointing out to my guy the point where I would start to get scared while watching the von Trapps try and escape the Nazis. I don't know what age I was where I started to understand exactly what was going on. I like to think that the sort of complicity, even accommodation, that Herr Zeller and other Austrians provided to the Nazis would not be so easy today. That people who are aware of history would be more quick to stand up to tyranny and fear. But what is it they say about history? How many people remember? How many times has humankind repeated? And where is Julie Andrews when you need her?

Arggh.

I am too tired to blog. Alas, my Holidailies commitment requires an entry of some sort.

Let me just tell you that, as I was driving back here tonight after 11:30 p.m. on the chilly freeway, I passed a caravan of double-trailer Fed-Ex trucks on the road. They were merging onto I-5 from I-80 - - huge identical trucks in a row, at least four of them with one more a little farther in front of them down the road. They reminded me a little of Santa's reindeer all in a row. On Dancer! On Blitzen! Drive down the freeway in the middle of the night to deliver toys and packages to good little elves and bad little vixens alike. Who says there is no Santa Claus?

Thank you Fed-Ex drivers!

p.s. - I don't mean to cheat, but my laptop is still on Maui time so, according to my inner clock and my friendly Dell, I managed to post this blog entry on Thursday. Woo hoooo!

I flew back to California today, and can I just say "BBRRRrrrrr!"

I was smart enough to change into long pants before I left for the airport this morning. I even put socks on my feet. Smart thinking as I landed into winter. My thin blood is thinning even more by living in constant warm weather. So, forgive me if I whine a little about the cold - I've been spoiled.

The flight was a typical Maui to mainland flight - lots of children. Lots and lots and lots of children.

I had the mostly-happy-giggling baby in front of me. Across the isle was her not-so-happy-and-when-I'm-not-you-will-ALL-know-it little sister. And behind me was mostly quiet punctuated by the ear-splitting-lung-busting screeching of the truly inconsolable baby. I was lucky that right beside me, the 10-year old with his younger set of twin brothers were so quiet and well-behaved, they were a joy to sit next to. Not that I would complain about babies crying. I know how hard it is to console a baby in the middle of a screech-fest, and I usually feel sorry for parents who are stuck on a plane when their child reaches that stage. I even managed to catch a nap in between wail-fests. The kids that bug me are the ones old enough to know better and who act atrociously bad. On a long, long flight back from England, I sat in front of a young boy who rocked and rolled in his seat and constantly talked back to his mother. At one point when I was trying to stretch my legs in the back of the plane, I saw him across the galley with his father. Apparently, his father said something he didn't approve of, so he turned around and kicked his dad in the leg a couple of times. His father didn't even react, which made me want to run over to their side of the plane and kick *him.* Later in the flight, the giant of a man sitting next to me (who was getting the brunt of the chair-kicking) finally looked at me and grunted something like "Can we just open up a door and throw this kid out?" Now *those* kids are hard to take on a long flight.

And with that, I am going to unpack my bags and settle in. Hope you all are staying warm tonight.

Well, I thought it didn't really matter what kind of TV I own and watch.  Up until yesterday. 

Wow!  We bought a 42-inch plasma at Costco and.......wo!  That's a big television!  The picture is so BIG.  The colors are so BRIGHT! The clarity is a little off, but that is not the fault of the plasma - it's our slightly crappy cable signal.  We put in a DVD (Monsters, Inc.) and...... ...wowza! Those are some gorgeous colors on that Sully monster.  I have to say, I am pretty impressed with this thing.  And now I'm just hopping with excitement to re-watch my Lord of the Rings Extended Version DVDs.  Kewl.  And I should go out and buy Winged Migration.  Not that I didn't see it on the big screen, but I've been wanting to own it and this plasma will do it justice, I think. 

Ever see Winged Migration?  Stunning documentary on migrating birds.  Took about three years to shoot. They used regular gliders, remote-controlled gliders, helicopter models, ultra-light motorized aircraft, and balloons to shoot the film.  The website is pretty fun to browse around.  You can hover on the birds on the "Migration Patterns" page and see their migration route on the map.  It tells you how far they travel (18,000 kilometers for the Arctic Gull!).  Click on the bird, and you get all sorts of detailed information.  The whole project was just a fantastic idea and beautifully executed. 

And that's the news for today (which is still December 11 here in Hawaii time). 

Well, I thought it didn't really matter what kind of TV I own and watch.  Up until yesterday. 

Wow!  We bought a 42-inch plasma at Costco and.......wo!  That's a big television!  The picture is so BIG.  The colors are so BRIGHT! The clarity is a little off, but that is not the fault of the plasma - it's our slightly crappy cable signal.  We put in a DVD (Monsters, Inc.) and...... ...wowza! Those are some gorgeous colors on that Sully monster.  I have to say, I am pretty impressed with this thing.  And now I'm just hopping with excitement to re-watch my Lord of the Rings Extended Version DVDs.  Kewl.  And I should go out and buy Winged Migration.  Not that I didn't see it on the big screen, but I've been wanting to own it and this plasma will do it justice, I think. 

Ever see Winged Migration?  Stunning documentary on migrating birds.  Took about three years to shoot. They used regular gliders, remote-controlled gliders, helicopter models, ultra-light motorized aircraft, and balloons to shoot the film.  The website is pretty fun to browse around.  You can hover on the birds on the "Migration Patterns" page and see their migration route on the map.  It tells you how far they travel (18,000 kilometers for the Arctic Gull!).  Click on the bird, and you get all sorts of detailed information.  The whole project was just a fantastic idea and beautifully executed. 

And that's the news for today (which is still December 11 here in Hawaii time). 

Well, this ranks right up there.

Few things can make me cringe as much as the sound of squealing brakes on the road.  I brace myself for the potential Bang! of metal on metal.  OK, that may be the worst sound ever.  Dane Cook may laugh at the sight of nearby smash-ups, but I do not likey.

Would you believe I've heard it twice in the last 12 hours?  Ug.  Our house is right behind a two-lane expressway out of town.  Considering the speed limit is 35 mph, I'm pretty sure most people are speeding when they see a green light at the stop-light intersection on the corner. 

First was about 5 a.m. this morning.  Deep in sleep, I woke up to the Scrrreeeech of brakes, followed quickly by a loud "THUNK" of metal on metal.  I took a peak out the window but only saw one car pulling over to the side.  After a while, the car was gone.  It took me a good long while to go back to sleep.

Then, this morning around 11:30, I never even heard the slightest sound of brakes.  Just the BLAM! of another accident.  I went to the window to see a jeep behind a truck.  Two guys got out of each car to stare at their respective vehicles.  Everyone looked ok, but they must have called it in because two police patrol cars showed up about 30 minutes later.

I've now seen more accidents in four months here than I did in my 5 years at my previous home.  Those were a couple of major smash-ups that ended up in everyone in the neighborhood calling 911.  Luckily, no major injuries.   Let’s hope these two today are the last ones.  Drive carefully people!

My sweetie, his mom, and I went to see the new Bond movie over the Thanksgiving holiday.  Good flick there.  Without giving anything major away, I was stunned by one of the opening chase sequences where Bond and his prey are jumping, climbing, and leaping around a high-rise building construction site.  I was thinking "That is so cool to watch, but that is *so* impossible!"

Apparently, it's not as impossible as you may think.  Would you beleive that there is an extreme form of the human steeplechase, where such moves are made?  It's called parkour, and it is described thusly:

Parkour is a physical discipline inspired by human movement. It focuses on uninterrupted, efficient forward motion over, under, around and through obstacles (both man-made and natural) in one's environment. Such movement may come in the form of running, jumping, climbing and more complex techniques. The goal of parkour is to adapt one's movement to any given obstacle.

Out of sight!  Now, the fantastic shots in Casino Royale may not be par for the course for a regular parkour course.  But it was quite fun to watch, and I was impressed to read that people practice these extreme movements, like a "tic tac", "cat jump", and "roulade".  Who'd of thunk it?