Do you ever get this feeling?  Like there is so much that is pinging around inside your head that you’ve got to let some of it spill out, lest you have some sort of brain blow up/catastrophic memory failure?  No?  Just me?  Anyhow, here’s a sampling of what’s ratting around in the noggin this morning.  I’m hoping that once I share with ya’ll that I’ll free up some room.  It’s worth a shot, right?

• I ordered another diaper last night.  To my credit, I sold a few diapers Evie has outgrown first (I had to, or else I couldn’t have afforded it!) and this is going to be a present under the tree for her.  And DUDE, it was on SALE.  (These particular diapers virtually NEVER go on sale so this was a big deal.)
• All our Christmas packages have left the building!  Which means: They are no longer my concern.  Kile was taking them to the post office but I don’t know if he did it before work or if he’s planning to go after.  Either way, they are out of my hair and I can breathe a huge sigh of relief!
• I think we now have all the presents we purchased for the family that will be here Christmas Day inside the house (minus that new diaper, of course).  Of course, nothing is WRAPPED but baby steps, people.   Thankfully, Santa doesn’t wrap his presents around these parts because I don’t think I have that much paper.
• My fingers are sore.  What the heck?  I figure it’s due to the knitting (I’ve started a scarf for Harry and a hat for Kile.  GO ME!) but it hurts like heck.  I have to focus on keeping my fingers straight as I sleep or they just get more sore and cramped.
• I finally have my lab orders!  Now, I just need to be able to go get my blood tested.  I’m thinking maybe on Friday (mah birfday!) since Kile will be home the majority of the day and hence I will have a ride to the lab.  What a birthday present, eh?  UGH.
• I love Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida” and I think I may be in the minority on that one.  But then again, I’ve never purported to have excellent taste in music here either.
  
  (And yes, I’ve heard about the whole thing with Satriani and yet I still love this song.  I suck?)
• While I’m in the business of selling out, I may as well go ahead and admit that I really enjoy Shia LeBeouf.  We watched parts of “Disturbia” (again) last night and I’m watching “Surf’s Up” this morning (which he voices) and I’m just further convinced of this love of mine.
• I’m really tanking in your estimation, aren’t I?  I’m sorry.
• It’s a Wednesday.  I have to keep reminding myself of that.  Someone wished me happy birthday this morning and I actually had to stop for a minute and make sure that it wasn’t actually my birthday today before a minute there, I wasn’t sure.

Okay, that’s enough.  I have a diaper I need to change.  (What else is new?)  The good news is my head feels a lot emptier now.  (That IS a good thing, right?)

I know I’ve mentioned this (many times) before, but Christmas music is kind of a big deal around here.  We take it very seriously.  And I don’t think a holiday season has gone by on this here blog without me mentioning some of my favorites as well as some of the songs that I loathe with every fiber of my being.  And guess what?  I’m going to do it again.  Because, surely, there are some people reading this year who didn’t read last year and therefore might be under the mistaken assumption that I actually ENJOY Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime”.  And I CANNOT LET THAT BE.  And if you have been around, you may have forgotten.  So here’s a refresher course on acceptable (and unacceptable) Christmas music.

Loooooove these songs!

• The Twelve Pains of Christmas by Bob Rivers.
  
  This brings me such joy.  Particularly the bit about “rigging up the lights”.
• Do They Know It’s Christmas by Band Aid
  
  No song makes me feel as tingly and guilty and sad and happy all at once.  And Bono’s line has got to be best line in a Christmas song EVER.  It’s not Christmas until you’ve heard this one.
• Sleigh Ride by Leroy Anderson
  
  Truly the best version of this song.  It was featured in a Gap Christmas ad several years ago, which is where I first was turned onto it’s awesomeness.  And now, it lives on in our canon with it’s “whip cracks” (which is delightful for slapping my dog’s rear) (oh, don’t worry, she likes it).  Just TRY not to get in the mood with this song on.
• Christmas Is All Around by Billy Mack
  
  Yes, it’s actually Bill Nighy and it’s from the movie “Love Actually” (LOVE that movie!!).  It’s crass and wonderful.  And catchy!  Solid gold shit, maestro!
• Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas by Lou Rawls
  
  I like some of the more melancholy versions of this song too (it’s hard to find a good version of this song) (but I’m sure Paul McCartney could manage it), but this one is my most absolute favorite.  It’s jazzy, swing-y and smokey.  It’s fabulous.  Makes me wanna get my groove on.

And, of course, the flip side of the coin…

HAAAAAAATE these songs:

• Wonderful Christmastime by Paul McCartney.  I refuse to display this song on my precious blog.  But if you simply must hear it, feel free to click the link.  This is a big reason why I don’t like to listen to the Christmas music stations here locally.  Because once they play “Wonderful Christmastime”, the station becomes dead to me.  It’s like nails on a chalkboard.
• Christmas Shoes by NewSong.  This song has NO redeeming qualities.  It’s a pile of manipulative, schmaltzy crap.  HATE HATE HATE.  And if you think I display contempt for this song, I’ve got nothing on Kile.  He positively loathes this one.

Those are the big ones, at least.  So what tops your list?  What is your favorite Christmas song/version?  Your least?  (And do you want to tear your ears off whenever you hear “The Little Drummer Boy”, like I do?)

Warning!  If you are a brother or sister to me (via blood or marriage), I advise you to skip this post.  Unless you really want to have your Christmas gift spoiled.  Turn away now and save the surprise for Christmas morning!

There.  Now that that’s out of the bag, I wanted to share with you the contents of the gift bags we put together for our siblings and their families this holiday season.  Partially so I have a record of the awesomeness we put together this year (direct quote from Harry: “We’ve worked harder on Christmas this year than we ever have before!”), and partially so that if there are any of you who are looking for ideas for homemade, handmade and inexpensive gifts, then maybe this would be an interested read for you.  Anyhow, sorry for the lack of pictures but I was uber-lame and didn’t take pictures of anything before we got it all bagged and boxed up.  Whoops. I’ll try to find links where I can though to make up for it, deal?

• The first thing is the picture of the three kids in wallet size.  We then matted that on some fancy red and white paper and then put it in a wooden frame that we painted white and decorated with little Christmas baubles.  I also painted wooden “phrases” (such as Believe, Hope, Joy, Noel…etc) and those were glued to the top of the frame.
• Chocolate molded Christmas tree pretzel rods and chocolate molded Santa Claus’ on a candy cane.  Wrapped up in little candy bags and tied with a bow.
• Plastic bin filled with homemade peanut brittle
• Plastic bin filled with homemade fudge
• Various and sundry handmade ornaments, mostly made by Harry.
• A Christmas Mix CD compiled by yours truly.  It features some seriously awesome Christmas songs.
• In the bags that are going to houses where there are little kids, we’ve included the appropriate number of craft kits.  One bag includes a ‘Snowman Making Kit‘ and another includes a couple of flower fairies that I made at a craft day event.
• Most of the bags include a book or two.  I got a lot of free books this year, some I barely cracked the spine on.  I sent these on to homes I felt were appropriate for them.
• A fancy-schmancy Christmas card, including our fabulous holiday letter.
• Each of these items were packed into a new reuseable shopping bag from our local Whole Foods store.  As a bonus, Whole Foods had a special holiday edition of their shopping bag so we got those.

The whole thing was then wrapped up in cellophane and tied closed with a golden ribbon.  Voila!  So what do you think?  Will these make nice presents?  Will the recipients appreciate the effort?  A lot of work though it was, it was kind of fun putting these together.  Maybe we’ll do it again next year.  Maybe we won’t.  We’ll see how these go over first!

Stop me if you’ve heard this one.  (On second thought, don’t stop me.) (It’ll only hurt my feelings.)  I found this one through the wonder that is Google’s Reader and it’s so jam packed full of celebrity and comedy goodness that it simply MUST be shared.  ’Tis the season and all that nonsense.   Share and share alike.  

And remember, don’t be naughty.

So in the comments on yesterday’s uber-whiner post, Cagey said she hated posts like that (and so did Michelle, for the record), where I beat myself up (but I’m such an easy target!).  So in an effort to balance everything out nicely, I thought I’d do a post wherein I detail everything that is Totally Awesome about yours truly.   Because while I still believe that in some, way, shape or form that I am a la-hoo-ser, I do recognize that I have some good traits.  Somewhere.  Maybe there in the corner under that layer.  Ahem.  Here goes!

• I have some really cute kids.  As evidenced by the MONDO picture we picked up yesterday from Sears.  Seriously, ya’ll, it’s adorable.  And you should check out my full review of Sears Portrait Studio while you’re at it.  
• I have a fondness for writing that makes up for it’s lack of talent with an excess of enthusiasm.  I may never be a literary genius, but maybe someday I’ll get published.  That’d be awesome. 
• I love animals.  I always have.  When I was little, before the days of Animal Planet, I used to love to watch those wild animal safari type shows on PBS.  I’ve always loved having pets too.  For a long time, I was a big cat person, but thanks to Tiger, we’re taking a bit of a cat-break right now.  We have our hands full with the dogs now anyhow. 
• I like to think that I have a decent sense of humor.  This might not be the funniest blog out there and I’m in no way implying that it is.  But I do know funny when I hear (or see) it.  My dad used to always say I had such a great sense of humor.  I love to laugh.  I love to surround myself with funny people. 
• I love Christmas.  There, I said it.  I know it’s sorta fashionalble anymore to be something of a Scrooge, but I can’t help it.  Tis the Season to be Jolly.  I don’t love the stress associated with the holidays but I absolutely ADORE the wonder.  And I love sharing that wonder with my kids. 
• In a related vein, I love cold weather.  I love snow and rain and clouds.  I don’t love wind (but then, after living in Nevada you realize it doesn’t need to be cold to be windy).  I can’t wait until this mild weather is gone and we get some real good snow storms.  
• I’m loyal.  I’m not the sort to ditch out on someone when a “better offer” comes along.  Once I’m a friend with someone, it takes quiet a bit to shake that.  I give my friends the benefit of the doubt in iffy situations.  This has, in the recent past, led to me getting walked over, but I think it’s an important trait to have.  Because if you can’t count on your friends to back you up in times of need, then who can you count on? 
• I have awesome taste in music and movies.  If I do say so myself.  And I do.  Cuz this is my blog.  And I’m not talking about artsy-fartsy, alternative taste.  Yes, there are some awesome indy movies out there and some fabulous unknown musicians out there.  But I tend towards the mainstream and I love popular movies and music.  It’s the great equalizer.  And look at it this way, I’ll never make you feel bad for loving “Armageddon” (cuz I do too) (but I will hold “The Fast and the Furious” against you because that movie and all it’s spawn are CRAP).  

There you go.  Some of the things that make me awesome.  Don’t you want to be my friend now?