Santa Baby

After a whirlwind Christmas "break", the husband and I are now finally settling back into reality. We visited friends and family over the holidays, and Santa was very good to us indeed. One of my gifts was a brand new digital camera given to me by my husband! Look below to view some of my handywork over the holidays.


Jason's grandmother and her Peek-A-Poo dog Maggie.


Maggie enjoying the Christmas rawhide bone we gave her for Christmas (she was very protective of her new bone).


Our 2007 Christmas tree.


Sydney enjoying her Christmas rawhide bone.

Time Disappoints

Sigh...If you read this blog on a regular basis, you probably know how I felt when I saw the cover of Time magazine.

I was literally stunned when I saw that Time had chosen Vladimir Putin as man of the year. Our relations are not really good with Russia at the moment and Time - an AMERICAN magazine - chose to put Putin on its cover and declare him man of the year.

Time states that Putin has stabilized the Russian government and taken strides to make it a strong country. Of course the magazine doesn't go into exactly how Putin accomplished all this - by imprisoning and poisoning dissenters of the Russian government and Putin's policies. And Russia is against sanctions against Iran that would disclose their nuclear weapons program. And on that note, there is no way that I believe for one second that Iran does not have a nuclear weapons program. So, lets see...Putin's tactics would get him arrested in America AND his government is in cahoots with Iran. Yes, I think that is the absolute most perfect reason to name him man of the year. Thanks, Time, for showcasing this upstanding world leader. Maybe next year you can choose Hugo Chavez as man of the year.

What about a true man of the year? One that has actually done some good? What about Moses Mathis of Fayetteville, NC who gave away 700 bicycles today to children of need in Cumberland County, NC. And he has been doing this for the past 16 years. What about LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers, who is 28 and spends his time off the field coaching youth football camps, handing out toys to inner city children and telling kids to work hard - it pays off. What about honoring Dustin Jerome Lee and his German Shepperd Lex, the 20 year old Marine who was killed in Iraq, and Lex (himself injured) stayed by Lee's side as he lay dying. Lex today was adopted by Lee's family even though Lex still had two years left of service. What about a school teacher, an animal rescue worker or a nurse? What about one of the Virginia Tech student who tried to save other students during April's massacre.

There are so many OTHER men and women of the year that Time could have chosen. So many other real, and deserving people that could have been on the cover, or at least named in the magazine. But these are the unsung heroes, the ones that you don't hear about because Time is too busy profiling people like Putin. While I am thoroughly disappointed in the magazine's choice, I'm not surprised. A runner up was Al Gore. And the other week Barbara Walters declared Hugo Chavez as one of the most fascinating people. It's the way our liberal media runs these days - highlighting and idolizing people that should not deserve their accolades. Maybe next year Time will actually profile a deserving person.

Christmas Frazzle

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

And the busiest time of year. And the coldest (depending on where you live - tonight the temperatures are suppose to get down into the 20's). My husband told me that today was the busiest shipping day of the year for the post office, and Wednesday is suppose to be the busiest delivery day of the year. I'm glad I'm not out driving a brown or white truck in 30 degree weather.

Side note - I just heard on TV that Jessica Simpson may be to blame for Tony Romo's poor performance in yesterday's Eagles v. Cowboys game. Damn you Jessica Simpson and your over sized sunglasses in an indoor stadium and your bleach blond hair! How dare you distract Tony from his game!

We just finished writing, addressing and labeling all of our Christmas cards. We have only done a little Christmas shopping, and we still have no idea where we are going to spend Christmas day. We know that Christmas comes the same time each year, yet every year it's a rush to get everything done! But, that is part of the charm of the season (in my opinion). I do love the holiday hustle and bustle.

Speaking of bustle, my husband picked up my wedding dress the other day from being preserved. It's in a box, with one side of the box having a clear plastic window so that one can gaze upon the dress. Except the dress is stuffed and formed in such a way that the bodice of the dress looks like it is being worn by someone. So, it's kind of creepy looking. Kind of like looking at a body. My husband and I only looked at the dress briefly, because it kind of weirded us out.

Needless to say, we are on the go everyday and Christmas is only getting closer with every passing minute! I'm hoping that come January, North Carolina will see some snow and we'll have a couple snow days to relax in the comfort of our home.

BFFs: Presidential Candidates and Hollywood Stars

If you have been keeping up with the news at all regarding the presidential race, you'll notice that most of the presidential candidates have some heavy hitters backing them up. And these heavy hitters aren't just other politicians; they are Hollywood heavy weights who are putting their money and their name behind the candidate they believe in.

Since the days of Frank Sinatra and John Kennedy, Hollywood and Washington have been close friends despite the geographic distance. Money, power and fame go hand-in-hand with being a movie star and a political star. Hollywood actors and actresses who become stars want more influence, credibility and name recognition outside of the movie business. Political figures are drawn to the glitz and glam of Hollywood and the sex appeal of being associated with a hot actor or actress. It is only natural that these two worlds have collided on so many occasions.

Barack Obama has Oprah Winfrey. Oprah has been supporting Barack for quite some time now, having Barack and his wife Michelle on her show at least a couple times. Oprah has even hit the campaign trail with Barack, giving speeches on why she believes that Barack is good for our country. I find it not surprising that Oprah chose to support a Democrat and the only candidate that is African American. It almost makes me tune this duo out completely. Now, if she had chosen to back Edwards or Richardson, I might have said to myself, "What? Interesting. I wonder why" and then I probably would have tuned in to her show. To me, she chose the obvious candidate to support, and thus I really don't give any credibility to her decision.

Hillary has Barbara Streisand. And Bill Clinton. Let me first address Bill, who is a political rock star in his own right. As much as I am NOT a Democrat and don't support Bill or Hillary, I can't deny the fact that Bill is the "come-back kid" and is a super star in American politics. I am convinced that Bill could run for president now and destroy all the other candidates, including his wife. The public loves Bill, and this bodes well for Hillary. And Barbara Streisand has been longtime friends of the Clintons for years. Babs is an icon in American music, and she is going to belt out her support of Hillary all the way until November.

Mike Huckabee has Chuck Norris. Now, I like me some Mike Huckabee. He is a good, Christian man who I think has the best interest of the American people at heart. Although the more I learn about his political stances on important issues, I'm not quite so sure his politics are in line with true conservative principles. But that is another post for another day. Mike has Chuck. If you are a YouTube connoisseur, you'll see the ads featuring the duo, and I think they are great! And Mike is smart. Chuck is a super star on the Internet, and we all know what group is savvy with the Internet - the coveted 18-34 year olds, the group who doesn't have a very high voting percentage but a group who is desirable nonetheless.

Check out other Hollywood heavy weights supporting presidential candidates. You'll instantly notice that the Dems have a lot of stars backing them up. Not surprising. Hollywood is so liberal and out of touch with reality, it makes sense that they throw their weight to the Democratic party. (list courtesy of TheHill.com):

Clinton
Candice Bergen
Christie Brinkley
Chevy Chase
Hugh Hefner
Christine Lahti
Barry Manilow
Marla Maples
Rosie O’Donnell
Jerry Springer
Barbra Streisand

Obama
Jennifer Aniston
Jackson Browne
Morgan Freeman
Tom Hanks
Dennis Haysbert
Tobey Maguire
Barry Manilow
Branford Marsalis
Eddie Murphy
Ed Norton
Ben Stiller
Gene Wilder
Edie Brickell
Michael Douglas
Steve Martin
Lorne Michaels
Paul Newman
Elisabeth Shue
Paul Simon
Joanne Woodward
Edwards
Larry David
Seth Green
Don Henley

Kucinich
Mark Ruffalo

Richardson
Michael Douglas
Rosie O’Donnell
Rob Reiner

Giuliani
Kelsey Grammer
John O’Hurley
Adam Sandler
Ben Stein

Who Are You Like?

Take this quiz to see which presidential candidate your views are most aligned with.

Candidate Quiz

My result? Tom Tancredo