It wasn't lit, Perkins. Maybe because of the rain, but when we drove by it didn't even look like there were lights/displays out.

Bummer!

Libkitty, I'm sorry you had to deal with such emotional ups and downs. Very glad you found some joy, too.

I'm in a weird place, gift-wise. I've never had a lot to buy since I'm an only child and my parents never remarried, but I used to shop for them, my grandmother, my mom's small immediate family, and one member of my dad's huge family via lottery. Then the huge family stopped exchanging, then mom's family went to a lottery, then that family stopped exchanging, and last year my parents decided none of us really needed to spend the money. So now I might buy Mom and Dad some little thing, but that's it. Drew and I usually exchange, but we are trying to save for the wedding, so I'm just buying him one small-ish thing. It's nice not to spend the money, but I kind of miss exchanging presents. I liked finding nice things for the people I love.

first Do They Know Its Christmas of the season - still makes me cry. Now I have to go kiss mac's sleeping head.

I just watched episode 5 of this season's FNL. It made me cry. TV does not make me cry, but this did. A lot.

Kat, it looks like maybe you were a day too early for Balians.

From here: [link]

Holiday: Christmas

When is this viewable?: From: 12/13/2009 To: 1/1/2010

Public or Private?: Public

I've been too busy working on Christmas shows to do Christmas shopping. Tomorrow is my last day on Nutcracker, thank goodness. Today's double header was a little too full of adventure.

Oy, looks like my first free time slot is Tuesday afternoon. I hope I'm in a shopping mood.

Told you, Perkins. And ditto. Except for the "A lot" part.

Timelies all!

Still need to get gifts for my friends. Thank goodness for Amazon wishlists...

Not-so-tiny Jewish not-Santa.

Nilly, are you trying to tell us something?

Minimal presents chez Zmayhem this year, as per usual over the past couple of years. My mom has actually forbidden me to get her anything at all, but, like Kristin, I just miss giving things to the people I love. If Christmas week is quiet enough, I'm going to at least attempt some beer bread variations for local family. If food and bread and beer aren't love, I don't know what is.

And, catching up from stuff I stupidly neglected upthread: OMG, Dylan skating is AMAZING.

And, Kat, the current preschool plan is to put Matilda in my uni's program when the new facility opens; the opening date has been pushed back and back and back from this past September 1 to January 4--but we haven't gotten any updates in over a month, so I suspect it's going to be pushed back again at least a couple of weeks. But she's finishing up with her current daycare at the end of this month no matter what. If she has to spend some time puttering around the city with Daddy before the facility opens, well, then, at least we'll save a bit of money because they'll have to prorate the first month. And it'll only be until September at the latest, possibly May or June, because the neighborhood elementary school's associated very low cost preschool will have openings by then and we're already on that waiting list.

So, in short, things will be financially pinchy for the next few months, but only for a little bit, and Matilda's got not one but two decent within-walking-distance places in the next few months.

eta: Hec's question above was exactly my very first thought when I saw Nilly's post. We definitely need some clarification of the tiny/not-tiny question, stat.