I still have 6 birthday cards, 3 birthday gifts, and 10 Christmas gifts to get. Yet what I want to do is sleep. I wish I felt hungry. Food might provide some shopping energy.

I am such a loser today. All I've done is take care of the kids, two loads of laundry, and dishes.

two loads of laundry, and dishes.

I haven't even done this much.

Yeah, taking care of kids is nothing special.

I, on the other hand, have gotten quite a bit accomplished, inbetween staring dazedly at whatever.

I've made nagging phone calls, sent "Keep me in the loop" emails a million times, and am wrapping up the status meeting in which I was told I'd have to discuss the project in more detail with my boss tomorrow.

God forbid I should also do laundry and dishes.

But... but... I NEED to do more or I am slowing going to drown in housework. And Christmas will pass me by with no decorations--or gifts--to show for it.

Plus the babysitter just cancelled for this afternoon.

Phooey.

All I've done is take care of the kids, two loads of laundry, and dishes.

t sarcastic mode

Oh, is that all?

t /sarcastic.

I remember how exhausting nannying for one toddler was.

But... but... I NEED to do more

Just because you need to do more, doesn't mean you haven't done a bunch already, and are therefore not a loser. Sorry. That's just the way it is.

Christmas is passing me by this year, but I never got the hang of it without my blood kin around. It's not like it meant anything to me other than having my parents and sister around for a big meal and a token passing around of gifts. Oh, and an excuse to listen to "Feliz Navidad" and "Do They Know It's Christmas." Both very important.

And I'm getting hungry. Which may be the reason for my suddenly becoming so dang whiney.

Oh, and an excuse to listen to "Feliz Navidad" and "Do They Know It's Christmas." Both very important.

Christmas carols! Best part of Christmas and I don't even need to decorate. Turns out "Silent Night" is a perfect lullaby.

Thanks, all.

The TV I'm looking at is HD-ready rather than full-on HD. (Which just means it doesn't have a built-in tuner, which only really matters if you're planning on using standard antenna, AFAIK, but is about $500 cheaper. With cable [and I think Satellite] you need to get an HD converter from your provider anyway, so having the built-in tuner is redundant.)

HD from Comcast, my cable provider, is an extra $5 a month.

I don't currently have a DVR. However, I can get one from Comcast for $10 a month that will do 60 hours of regular TV or 15 hours of HDTV if I want one.

I use my X-Box and PS2 almost as much as I watch TV. From what I've been able to suss out from the net, tube-based TVs still work the best for video games.

My savings have been erratic, so I can't really make a projection. Last year, my two car accidents and the waterbed exploding took a huge chunk out of my savings. I've saved back up 75% of what the accidents and waterbed cost me, 14 months after the first accident. Most of it due to my tax refund and stakeholder's bonus from work. This year, my insurance rates almost tripling due to the accidents, and higher gas and electricity costs have made my savings a lot tougher to build than last year.

The smart thing to do is to probably just wait, but all the being "responsible" is making me impatient and I worry that I'll be passing up a really good deal.