I got a gorgeous, gorgeous bookmark from Deena, as well. Woot! Thank you, love. Now the trick is going to be able to convince the damned cats to stay away from it, especially the babycats.

Emily, the students are what will sustain you.

Word. The kids are the best thing about the job. Granted I'm talking about wee 'uns, but I reckon it will hold true with the big ones too. And if not, have a crack at the wee 'uns. They're surprisingly fab. And they rarely bite. And they like Batman.

t /Elementary pimpage

Spidra, your comments are entirely in keeping with the spirit of the thread, even if the particular bit of the conversation you arrived at happened to be all "thanks for the pressies!"

Things I want for 2006:

To continue to make progress in losing weight and gaining health.

To find a new and exciting job in a new and exciting place, where I'll make good friends, hone my teaching skills, see interesting stuff and not have Evil Employers/Administrators.

To make good progress with writing the gorram book, already.

To make it to San Francisco for the next F2F.

To make it to San Francisco for the next F2F.

Hey! Fay making it to SF for the next F2F is on my list too.

I had a secret santa fake out.

I thought I had a box from my secret santa. My family would not let me open it until today. I didn't recognize the name on the box, but the way it was packaged made me think it was a secret santa goodie.

Nope, opened it today and it was something K-Bug had ordered from e-bay (well, I had actually bought it, but didn't the name of the seller did not register in my brain). Ah well - means Christmas gets extended for me!!!

Meanwhile, dear, sweet Katie gave me some A's fleece material. I am thrilled. What a lovely surprise!!

To make it to San Francisco for the next F2F.

Hey! Fay making it to SF for the next F2F is on my list too.

Then we need to begin planning to make dead certain you're both here.

Deena sent me one of her handmade bookmarks, all dangly and gorgeous. I held it up to the light, to see through the beads, and both kittens climed my legs, trying to get at it. In the immortal words of Bugs Bunny, "it must be time for a little stragety..."

Need a last-minute gift for that special undead person in your life?

[link]

Mmmmmmmmm....brains........all fresh and minty.......

This started out a fairly typical year, but around July most of the certainties of my life began falling away. People say that the friends you meet on the Internet aren't as good as the ones in real life, but they've never met my invisible friends. You folks are better.

I wanted to thank everyone by name for their comfort and support, then I realized that there were so many I'd be sure to miss someone. From back when I was in the hospital last year to the lovely gifts I've received this Christmas, there are dozens of people around the world who care about me and who make me know I'm not alone.

My only wish, aside from the typical ones for a more secure life for Hubby and me, is that someday I'll be in a position to be faces and voices and three-dimensional presences to all the wonderful people I've met here.

I'm with a lot of you in that 2005, as JZ so eloquently put it, can kiss Tom Delay's ass. This was a tough year, and it involved making a lot of hard choices, such as temporarily moving in with my father-in-law until we recover from financial disaster.

In the end, though, my blessings this year have been huge -- healthy kids, a strong marriage, and a contract to write new books (which really is a priviledge). Add to that wonderful friends, and I have very little to complain about. (Even though I do. All the time.)

Still, I'm hoping for a lot of things in 2006 -- some financial security, a new home. And for everyone here, I'm wishing for health, happiness, and some well-deserved peace.

If this was from my Buffista Seekret Santy, Thank You! It's an awesome poster. I would link to an image of it, but all I can find online is the original.

You're welcome Jon. I thought I had included a "from your Secret Santa" note in the tube, but it may have gotten lost in transit. Or I may have just been too sneaky for clarity.

For those interested, the Simpsons version can be found at thewirelesscatalog.com

And all I can think is -- that's a paying job! Someone got paid to write bios for the Keebler Elves! Where do I apply?

You laugh, but I've been in on brainstorming sessions for the creation of a company's signature cartoon characters. It's not all yummy cookies and milk, there's a huge amount of "How will our target demographic react to x character wearing a skirt rather than jeans or shorts?" waffling. I suspect given the money involved, the Keebler Elves were also designed by committee.