Thanks, Austin

The citizens of Austin gave me a great early Christmas gift today -- light traffic! (no, this is not a picture of me, my stuffed bears, or my ferrari)

I actually was able to take the most direct route to work today without wanting to hit myself in the face with a large brick! So, Thanks Austin! It'll be a Christmas to remember without broken teeth and one eye swollen shut! (Well, hopefully anyway!)

Speaking of severe facial injuries, I (finally) went Christmas shopping yesterday. I actually had a really great time. No hints on the exact location of my shopping trip, but I did see Dick Cheney there. I still have a few items to get this afternoon. The area beneath our tree is starting to resemble a subway car during rush hour. Um, well, I guess a subway car when the transit workers are not on strike. And, er, the people would have to have silver, red, and green bows on there heads. And be covered in paper. M tells me that Raider is particularly interested in finding his gifts in the pile. She had to re-wrap one gift already. Silly Raider, Gifts are for Kids!

Several of the shop keepers on my trip were quite festive. I assume this is a form of retail-delirium that sets in before the big day. One lady literally sang every word to me to the tune of Jingle Bells. I popped her in the "one-horse-open-sleigh".

M is spending the day at the spa. She has a full day of pre-holiday pampering planned. Have fun! She definitely needs it after performing an emergency lasagna-nose extraction procedure yesterday.

The Christmas Music station has completely lost it. I was listening on the way home last night. I think non-stop Celine Dion and Barry Manilow has melted a few brains. The guy kept saying it was Friday and refering to tomorrow as Saturday. Then he had an open-mic phone conversation about the "prize list" over Bing Crosby's White Christmas. Hang in there guys - only a few more days.

OK -Off to work. I'll leave you with a quote from the Muppets singing "Wish you a merry Christmas"...

All: We wish you a Merry Christmas We wish you a Merry Christmas We wish you a Merry Christmas And a Happy New Year!

Gonzo: Now bring us some figgy pudding, now ...
Miss Piggy (spoken): Piggy Pudding?
Gonzo (spoken): No, FIGGY pudding, it's made with figs.
Miss Piggy (spoken): Oh, sorry.
Gonzo (spoken): And bacon.
Miss Piggy (spoken): What?!