Merry Christmas ya'll!

Didn't want the day to get away without posting a Christmas wish (looks like I caught it just in time!)... I hope you're all happy and I thank you all for making a difference in my life, large or small, it means a lot. This year has been one wild ride! Who knows what the next one will bring! I am actually pretty excited to see what happens next.

For a little Christmas funny I was going to post a musical number from my favorite Christmas movie, White Christmas. But instead here's my favorite scene from my second favorite holiday flick...


Okay, so if you want to get your musical nerd on, what you really need to see is this spoof of the Saturday Night Live video "Lazy Sunday." This one was done by the cast of the newish stage version of White Christmas. I give you: "Lazy Tuesday."

P.S. I love the outtakes at the end.

Holiday kisses to you all!

All I Want For Christmas...

What do I want for Christmas? My first instinct is to say I want to feel like I've finally caught back up with my life. We adjusted very quickly when we returned from Europe but there is still mail we haven't really dealt with, a big mess in our bedroom from when I was packing, a million hours of television on the Tivo, and I remain behind on Christmas preparations. At a party Saturday night, I was paid a compliment but it also made me worry I've fallen off the weight loss wagon. A nice guy asked me how long it took me to lose the weight, and I asked if he thought I looked like I was done, but then laughed it all off and said, "It's been three years." So maybe this is more of a New Year's resolution, but I have to buckle down asap! Okay, but what I really want for Christmas is some direction in life. I've always just gone with the flow and well, the flow left me hanging a couple years ago. But the truth is I've never known what I really want. Quiet, and not so quiet, rumblings at the store lead me to think it's time now to try to figure out "what's next." I've always felt a little bit silly being the one person working there who doesn't even notice or care when it's pay day, the one person who isn't either in finals right now or wondering how to get back into college, and of course I'm one of the oldest people working there. I knew I didn't fit in, but I bring a lot to the table. I hold that place together at times by thinking quickly on my feet and just being willing to go the extra mile, even though I'm not being compensated for it. I try, and I think I succeed, to be friends with everyone who works there. There's a lot of talking behind people's backs that makes me nervous, I wonder what they say about me when I'm not there.

I've actually gained a lot from this experience. I lost out on an opportunity I was very excited about about a year ago because I lacked customer service experience, and I like knowing I have it now. I've learned a lot about people, human nature, stress, and communication. I've given up things I thought I wouldn't be willing to part with, my Sundays, mainly, and being available for every possible social engagement. I don't make it to the gym nearly as much anymore but being on my feet all day is actually a good supplement to what I do get done. It's nice to know that I can put myself into a really unfamiliar situation and not only make the best of it, but also learn how to really shine.

But it is time to at least start thinking about what will be next. Part of me just wants to do nothing for a while, so I can focus on the remodeling we want to do on our house that no one has any time to research, and for that matter, I'd like to think about the decorating around the house that we never finished. I'd love to be available to drop everything for traveling with CF. However, now that I'm slightly back on my feet and out there in the world, I don't think I should do that. I just wish something would click with me and make me actually want something. That's what I want for Christmas, to WANT something.

Just for the sake of the few people asking and if you want to know what's going on inside my odd little head (er, not so little), here's what I'm thinking might be nice if I can't get that #1 thing on my list (don't worry, I'm not actually expecting you to solve all my problem, or buy me anything for that matter)...

• Pretty coffee table style books (mostly of NYC) to put on my lovely bookshelves we bought earlier this year that remain quite empty. My amazon.com wishlist is full of ideas.
• I'd like a new perfume, I like Aveda's newish higher end scent, but I wonder if it's time to try something different. CF never likes the Jo Malone samples I've had him smell but I think her Amber & Lavender is delicious, even if it was originally designed for a man, it's a unisex scent. And her new scent, White Jasmine & Mint, is also wonderful, I got to smell it several months early because I've made friends with the manager of the nearby boutique (she loves our store).
• This satin clutch is still available in turquoise in the stores, but considering how hard a time I have finding an evening bag I actually like I should probably just go get it. Hmmm...
• There was a cute teapot/cup with a peacock on it at Urban Outfitters, but that design might be gone. I don't need it but you know I want it (thanks Becki!).
  
• Funny how the iPod started out seeming so tiny but now I hate how "big" and "heavy" my 60gig iPod video is when working out at the gym. I wouldn't mind a Shuffle for workout music. Aren't I awful?
  
• They'd be a bit of a splurge but I can't shake the desire for letterpress personal calling cards from Paper Source.
  

But the truth is, there's really very little materials goods that I want that I don't have. So mostly for Christmas I'd like a little taste of direction for the coming year, and to be with the friends and family I love. That's all I really need.

If only all the answers came to me so quickly!

I know I was a big talker Sunday night, eventually the three consecutive days of closing the store at 10pm got the best of me and I came home incredibly cranky. I wish I could stay in bed all day! But there is so much to do and I have to head to the gym in an hour or LT will have my head.

Yesterday morning I woke up late but had just enough time to shower and get dressed before our Christmas tree was delivered. I went and picked it out the day before and paid an extra $10 to have it brought to our house. And of course instead of using the few hours I had before going to work to get something responsible done like putting away the laundry or catching up with the Quicken, I decorated the tree! I got it almost entirely decorated before I had to head down to San Jose for work. I have to admit, I am getting tired of the drive and the amount of gas I'm going through makes me feel awful. Things were crazy at the store when I arrived, but you know I got everything whipped into shape in no time at all! This was our busiest evening so far this week, at least it wasn't boring!

I had a little blast from the past moment... a basketball player from my days at UC Davis came in with his girlfriend/wife (not sure which). I had actually seen him there before but thought we were getting a little bit old for (said with sorority sister voice) "Did you go to Davis?" This time I decided to talk to them. He confirmed that he was indeed who I thought he was and then I told him I was in the band and had gone to Louisville. (I doubt anyone reading this doesn't know but: Davis played the DII national championship in '98 and a group of us paid for our own travel to get there and slept on a dorm lounge floor all week so we could play and cheer at the games. Davis ended up winning the whole darn thing. One of my memories of the evening that followed was this guy throwing flaming paper airplanes out a hotel room window as the band and team partied together.) He got a big smile on his face and the girl with him exclaimed, "You were in the band-uh?" She looked very familiar too, I don't know if it's from Davis or if she's been in the store without him. You never know with my memory. I didn't get to talk to them too much as business picked up in the store but we kept exchanging smiles. I felt like a big goober, band nerd and shop girl... aren't I impressive?

I had two straggling customers at 10pm, I need to remind my coworkers to check in with people and let them know when we're closing soon. People are so oblivious to what time it is, they don't really mean to be keeping us, but at the same time they probably wouldn't hurry anyway. I did my best to stay polite but I was beyond ready to go home. I The first night I was done at 10:05, second night 10:15, last night I was finally there till 10:30. I was probably speeding on the way home, I just wanted to be there already. CF called me and caught me just in time, he had taken the shuttle to work and needed a ride home (he left his car at the shuttle stop in San Carlos). We ended up staying up late watching TV, finishing decorating the tree and having some midnight cranky-mood-reducing junk food. Thanks CF, I can always count on you to cheer me up!

Today is my one day off this week when I will actually be home. I have so much to do! But here's a few things for entertainment purposes:

Footage of the Spring Awakening kids singing during the strike last month:



Then, while clicking around YouTube, I ran into footage from my favorite show from my first trip to NYC this year, the Company revival. The show closed back in July, but PBS filmed the last two performances. I started to wonder if that footage would ever see the light of day on Great Performances. And oddly enough it was a matter of hours before I got my answer! Playbill.com posted an article that says Company airs on February 20!!! Woot! Since it will air soon enough and you're all going to watch it (please tell me they release these things on DVD!), instead of posting a badly shot bootleg video from the show I thought I'd point out this footage of the star, Raúl Esparza, singing a song from quite a different show. You might recognize him from a few supporting appearances on my favorite new television show, Pushing Daisies. I just love that show! And I hope his character comes back!

Tiffany's Not Included

My first holiday season in retail is proving to be manageable and actually rather boring. Today was the first day of holiday hours, Sunday are usually noon to 6pm but we were open from 10 to 10, and basically will be till Christmas Eve. I knew I'd be out late last night (at the DP's holiday party, one of my favorite annual events) so I asked to come in as late as possible today. I got exactly what I asked for (it's true what they say about being careful) and had the honor of closing at 10pm tonight. Thank goodness I didn't have to be there till 2, that was just about the time that I managed to come back to life from last night's festivities. Business was decent but it wasn't all that busy. Between 8 and 9 we made $83.07, and between 9 and 10 we made $83.79. And when I say between 9 and 10, I really mean between 9 and 9:24 because there was no one in the store after that. My two lovely coworkers got the store cleaned and straightened and I let them go home early. I got the drawers counted and most of the closing tasks done and ready for that clock to hit 10. I think I clocked out at 10:05. I have the pleasure of closing at 10pm the next two nights as well. I hope it's a little more exciting than tonight. CF actually went to work today too, and being the nice guy that he is, he drove me to work so I didn't have to deal with holiday mall parking. How's that for service? We came home, ate some ice cream (some of the delicious Bi-Rite Creamery loot I brought home after my haircut in San Francisco on Thursday), watched the Something Wicked This Way Comes episode of Ugly Betty (yes, I am still very much behind on all the television that aired while we were traveling, and also yes, I did love the Wicked footage), and now we're hitting the hay.

Ms. D is coming over in the morning and we're going to walk up my neighborhood hill. I actually am crazy enough that I pondered getting up for 5:30am spin with my favorite teacher since I haven't seen him since before the trip, but I am closing so I really would have had to come home and go back to sleep in order to make it through the day. So instead I will hike our crazy diagonal streets and D has agreed to come with me. What fun to have her around so much lately! Last Wednesday she came over and kept me company while I made Baby's First Christmas cards for my sister, then we went to a matinee showing of Enchanted (I loved the good, cheesy fun, but she found McDreamy to be its only redeeming quality), had a very successful mall run, then we came home and watched 3 DVD's while I finished the cards and CF cooked us dinner. Not a bad life! The three of us had a good time getting dressed up for the party last night. We were as chic and as French as we could manage. We'll all be together again this weekend for another holiday get together. We keep making jokes that we'll be sick of each other soon. But I really just don't see that happening.

I've been back to the gym a whopping two times since returning. Both times have left me quite sore. I returned from Europe around the same weight I was at the beginning of the trip, but apparently somewhat leaner/smaller (the dress I wore to CF's company holiday party used to be snug and now is lose enough that I had to be careful to keep things "in place" during the evening), and getting the muscles lifting what they did a month and a half ago is proving to be a challenge. The day I went back to the gym I brought a Swiss dark chocolate bar and a Belgian bar filled with a cognac creme to my dear friends the trainers. O, a 7 foot tall, buff as can be, black man squealed like a little girl when he saw the sweets. L, my favorite grumpy Italian, played it cool but later called my cellphone and informed me that she didn't care how I did it, if I had more at the house or if I had to go back to Europe, but that I had to bring her more cognac filled chocolate. Uh oh. I guess I have to go back to Belgium! It's nice to have friends at the gym, they keep it fun.

This week I've got to get back on track with going to the gym, getting the house cleaned up and Christmas-ified, and actually buying some Christmas presents and not just the wrapping paper. Today wasn't such a good jump start on that plan, since the whole day was eaten up by hangover and working, but I did my best. What can I say? I tried to do better than I did last year, and I did manage that. There's always next year to try for even better!

Kindred spirits

Things are hectic right now. Thank goodness for two days off! I am going to be making some wonderful "Baby's First Christmas" cards for my sister, they're her birthday gift, and her birthday was in July. But at last they're finally happening. I'm about to push "print" as soon as I finish my coffee. Every time I think about Christmas I start to panic and it gets a little harder to breathe. Hopefully I can put some time into planning today. We're hosting my family here on the day of, which I am so excited about. But the past couple years I have become an awful gift shopper. I just don't seem to make it happen anymore, the ideas just aren't coming to me. Maybe I will brainstorm a bit on gift options and make a post about it later. So if I can make these cards, plan some Christmas gifts, and get myself ready for holiday party madness in the next two day, I will be a happy girl. Speaking of holiday parties, every year I seem to find half of an outfit to wear to one particular party, and then I spend the week before scrambling trying to complete the outfit. This is such a waste of my stress right now!

So I promise to write more soon, but for now I will just share one of my recent favorite Gap photos. Oh, did I mention I just love Gap marketing? Patrick Wilson dancing in his khakis earlier this year almost killed me I loved it so much. But here is Amy Poehler and husband, Will Arnett sharing some warmth. I just love them, his television show, Arrested Development, was just about the funniest thing ever. So no one watched it, their loss. And Amy is hilarious on SNL, and was featured in my favorite sketch of recent years (RICK!). I just love how funny and cute they are together. Not that we're nearly as funny or cute, but I do think we might be able to claim "kindred spirits," what do you think?