I also recommend ditching the tree in the interregnum between New Year's Day and whenever you have to go back to work. Otherwise you wind up in a horrible, holiday hangover space.

What do you do when you have to work in between Christmas and New Year's? Which, by the way, this year IS NOT ME. I'm already trying to round up plans, so I don't sit in my apartment all week.

Also, I went to CostCo, but must have just missed the rush. It took me a while to find a cart, but my checkout line wasn't too bad.

I decorate sometime durring the first week of dec and then take down the decorations about 12 days after xmas.

today , boys and girls, our word for the day is VENTALATION. As in I put on the self cleaning cycle of my new-to-me range before I went to the store and came home to a house full of smoke. I did open some windows -- but I knew this oven was readly dirty -- Now the entire house is open and I have 4 0r 5 fans going...d'oh. Seriously what was I thinking ?

I don't tend to carry food with me, even for cross-country flights. I eat airport food.

I often bring goldfish crackers and an apple. Also, something of a chocolate nature, Raisinets or m&ms.

Will you let me know if you like it?

Sure. This one is an 11-year Tomatin, the label says it's a bit sweet, not too peaty. I have determined that I really don't like the Islay-style single malts.

The last bottle of TJ's scotch I got was the blended whiskey, which is fine for everyday.

My current fave is Marc Jon and Robbo's Rich Spicy Blend, which I have to get at BevMo. It's very good.

I don't tend to snack, but have specific times I eat. I don't leave until 3, so I'll have eaten lunch. I may grab something to eat on the long leg of the flight, because I just realized it goes through dinner. Fruit or something. Though since it is such a long flight, SW'll give me jerky and cheese and crackers or something.

Eating on the plane feels like a way to waste extra time, to me.

OH, here's a good one: One of my coworkers doesn't eat or drink anything the day she's flying, no matter what time the flight is. We are wondering she has some kind of medical issue, or is just afraid of airplane bathrooms.

My current fave is Marc Jon and Robbo's Rich Spicy Blend, which I have to get at BevMo. It's very good.

I shall have to look for that. I need to go to BevMo soon anyway.

Jesse - outlook is good that it is nothing, but I really won't know until end of this week.

I have no idea what we are doing for a tree this year. Not even sure if we are traveling for Christmas (goes to check flight prices again).

I hate having so little time off around the Holidays. Only Thanksgiving Day, and only Christmas Day. I have 3 vacation days left and hope to use them around Christmas if I can find that elusive cheap flight.

Chicagoistas question: What kind of neighborhood is Dunbar Park in? And what would that neighborhood have been like in the early 1900s? (I found some family history documents that put some relatives of mine living in that neighborhood then. Specifically, they lived on Prairie Avenue around 30th Street, which seems like the block that was razed to create Dunbar Park.)