I am so so so glad to be home. Not that I didn't like being in Pennsylvania with my family, but it's just not home anymore. I was there for a week, that should hold mom over for a while. And I know I'm going back again in the spring, so it's okay.

This is what my man got me for Christmas...I love him so. Now I just need a house to remodel. He knows I love watching Trading Spaces and While You Were Out and all that stuff. I've also started watching HGTV a lot. Fun stuff.

It's funny, though, because my dad also got me a drill for Christmas:



It's a very manly drill. Not really one you would expect a girl to have, and I kind of like that. So, I now have two drills. I can't get rid of either because one matches my other tools (and is super cute) and the other my daddy gave me. I'll just have one for small projects, and one for larger projects (like hanging drywall - you never know).
I love Christmas.

Morning After' Pill Gets Nod From FDA

Okay, first of all, if everyone is so opposed to abortion, wouldn't this be a better option? There would never be an egg to be fertilized, which would solve the problem of "murdering a human life" (according to some).

"...opponents decried the prospect of over-the-counter availability as a triumph for the 'playboy lifestyle.'" Now, any woman that has had to take 2 regular birth control pills in one day (because of forgetting, or whatever) knows that it makes you feel like shit. I can't imagine that taking Plan B would make you feel any different. It's an intense amount of hormones you're putting in your body, therefore not making it something that you would want to take on a regular, or even semi-regular basis. I mean, hello! Maybe if all these so-called opponents/idiots actually believed in birth-control and would actually take some, they would realize this.

*steps off soapbox*
Thank You.

Shoe Factory Hands Out Huge Holiday Bonuses

PITTSFIELD, Maine (Dec. 15) - Workers at a shoe plant were feeling more than a little tickled when they got their Christmas bonuses that, for some, totaled nearly $20,000.

Instead of receiving typical end-of-year frozen turkeys, the 200 employees of the SAS Shoemakers plant here were handed envelopes when they were called together Friday afternoon.

When Lawrence Wyman opened his, he found a check for $19,000. His wife, Charlene, got a check for the same amount.

The company this year awarded its employees with bonuses of $1,000 for every year worked at the company. Even those who had worked less than a year got $500 each.

The bonuses were particularly uplifting given that most news in the manufacturing sector this year has been about plants closing and employees being laid off.

"They called us all together and said we would each get $1,000," Lawrence Wyman said. "Everyone started clapping and then they said it would be $1,000 for each year worked."

And that's when the tears flowed. Some estimated that the bonuses totaled $200,000 or more.

SAS Pittsfield is a division of SAS Shoemakers in San Antonio. The corporate offices were closed Friday afternoon and company officials could not be reached for comment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I guess sometimes it pays to be a shoemaker, even without elves.

So Dave's little sister is married now. It was a nice wedding, despite the fact that A) it was in podunkville South Carolina, B) they had fake flowers, and C) the church was hardly decorated at all. There was also a lot of praying and scripture reading, which is okay for some, but incredibly boring for most people, including myself. And some guy sang the Lord's Prayer. Can't we just chant it like normal people? Come on. It took like 5 minutes, and he was singing way too loud. There was a bagpipe girl playing the recessional, though, so that gets an A in my book. She was also in full regale. Kilt and everything.

Now I'm thinking about all the things that I would do differently at my wedding. For one thing, there would be real flowers, no question about it, and lots of them. There would also be alcohol at the reception. I want people to be able to toast me. Dancing, I could take or leave, since I'm not a dancer. We'll have to see about that. There wouldn't be as much singing in the service. It just takes up too much time. The ceremony itself doesn't take long at all, it's all the extra crap that makes it long. I think I'll just have it short and sweet. But I'm not even engaged at this point, so it's all moot, I guess. I do know that Publix is going to make my wedding cake. Yum.

mmmmm....cake....I think Publix may quite possibly make THE best cakes on earth. Really.

So we just had this belated baby shower for a girl here in the office. Everyone contributed a little bit, and she got an American Express gift card for like $200. That rocks. I'm just wondering, if/when I get married, will I get the same thing? I want a Publix cake, cheap decorations, and a gift card, too! I'm going to get married one day. Really I am. I swear...

Ah, damn. I guess I lost the last post I made on Friday before I left. Maybe it was because I was so mad when I left I just shut everything down without saving. That's not good. I wonder what else I may have lost. Oh well. I don't know why I still get mad every Friday when we're supposed to be able to leave and then all this last minute shit comes in that has to be done right now. It happens every week. I should be used to it by now. "That's the nature of the news business, blah blah blah...". Yeah. Whatever. Like I really care. Just get me my paycheck on time.

So Molly had her first experience at puppy playcare this weekend. I just know she loved it. When she got home she crashed on her little puppy bed, and that was it. That's a good sign that she played and played all day. She was really happy to see us, though, it was cute. Hopefully she'll be okay next weekend when she's boarded there, with all her new little puppy friends. hee hee.

My head feels like it's on the verge of explosion. My sinuses are just aching to drip, or do whatever it is that they do to make you feel miserable. That's the one thing I hate about winter. Or, at least cold weather, now that we're actually having some. I lit the pilot light on my lovely gas heater last night all by my little lonesome and was quite proud of myself. So now it feels less like the Arctic in my apartment. That is, of course, an exaggeration, as I live in Atlanta, and it rarely, if ever, feels like the Arctic. The temperatures have been dropping, though, so maybe we'll actually see some snow. Heh.

Ack. I think I gained 20 pounds over the last 4 days. Okay maybe not quite that much, but healthy diet be damned! I ate like there was no tomorrow, so I guess I better hit the gym this week. A lot.

So now it's officially the Christmas season. I do love this time of year. Or at least I would if it weren't for the blatant consumerism being shoved down everyone's throat. Whatever happened to the days when people went caroling, and didn't have things thrown at them, weren't shot at, and were invited into people's homes for hot chocolate? I think we should go back to those days, and enjoy each other's existence, instead of condemning it. I'll get off my soapbox now. Maybe I'll go shopping.