Sean, that is good news--and I hope you guys are able to relax and enjoy Christmas. Give S my best, please.

I took our snowblower in to get fixed. Hopefully they will be able to do that sooner, rather than later. Christopher managed to get half of our driveway shoveled out and we did make it out to go sledding.

OMG--the sledding park here is AWESOME! We bundled the kids up and took them down the hill a couple of times. Liv was no sonofabitch for it. I suspect she takes after her dad with her lack of outdoorsiness. Owen had a blast but became obsessed with a little girl's pink, Disney Princess crash helmet and begged for one. I don't know if Santa will be able to fill such a late request.

hey Cash, one trick I learned from my father before I left NY for the warm climate of So Cal. Pam (or some non-stick cooking spray) can be your friend in the snow path sections of the blower. It helps the snow fall off the blades so it can be shot out easier, thus putting less strain on the motor, and less time unclogging the snow from the blades. dunno if that helps now, but thought I'd put it out there.

So, gift of huh #2 was the 8 oz of this: [link] Now, my family has never done the summer sausage thing. So that is just part of the curiosity of why now? But the funny thing was, as I was unwrapping it, before I saw what it was, I was thinking "god I hope its not a wooden pickle with blood on it". This is what you get for watching "Bad Santa" as you wrap gifts.

o_a, we just bought it less than a month ago and the motor seized up on us for some freak reason. It had only been used twice. At least it's under warranty, thank goodness. But we just got 10 inches of snow last night so it made clearing the driveway more interesting than it had to be. But I'll keep that advice in mind when we get it back.

ya, if it was a seized thing, that could be heavy/sticky/slushy snow bogging down the blades. The anti-stick spray could help with that. Snow blowers work best with light fluffy snow that only happens in fairy tales, or when you don't need to clear the driveway.

I don't know if Santa will be able to fill such a late request.

Dude, Owen! Santa is, like, fueling up the sleigh, and feeding, prepping and harnessing reindeer, and loading enough gifts for all the children of the world (which, if you've never seen the inside of a package delivery operation, what with you being, you know, a kid and all, is a logisitical nightmare, let me tell you), and all kinds of stuff like that, right now. The elves running the present request hotline got drafted into package loading duty yesterday, so, if you really really really want a pink Disney Princess crash helmet from Santa, I think it's gonna have to wait until next year. There's a whole 'nother Christmas just twelve months from now, and those helmets will still be available then. And you won't forget about wanting one at all in that time, either. Promise.

Besides, if you wait until next year, your very fervent and sincere request for a pink Disney Princess crash helmet will be at the very top of Santa's pile. Yours will be the first toy request Santa reads. Just you wait and see.

Sean, I'm telling him this, verbatim. Thank you!

The Yule Log Channel really does work great!.

yeah, I'm burning a DVD of it for future use. Background at parties and the like.

Speaking of Santa delivering, etc. Dunno if any of you read this in Wired, or heard it on NPR Weekend Edition, but it very funny, and possibly something to tell the young ones when they start to disbelieve. [link] (make sure to click over the pictures to get info on the different aspects of the system)

The Yule Log Channel really does work great!.

yeah, I'm burning a DVD of it for future use. Background at parties and the like.

Pun intended?

Yay, glad S is feeling better. I was wearing inside pants until about 20 minutes ago, when I finally showered. My sister is now in the shower, and when she is done, we and the BIL will head over to the parents' house for Trader Joe's appetizers and presents.

It used to be Christmas Eve dinner and presents, adn the only thing we did on Christmas Day was go to church. But now that none of us live at home my mother has desperately thrown tradition to the wind and insisted on new traditions, to stretch the holiday out to two days, by making Christmas Eve dinner random appetizers from Trader Joes (?!?) and then making a real dinner on Christmas Day. Um, riiiiight. It annoys, because my sister and I have a tradition of movie-watching on Christmas Day. Her whole dinner plan gets in the way of our timing. Harumph.