Happy Christmas to All!

Hoping you and yours have the merriest of holidays! See you in 2008!

xo,

TCP

Fa la la la la....

Finally got my hair done Sunday and love it. I went back to being more blonde. I was trying to be practical and go darker, given my inability to get to the salon regularly, but I just feel happier when I am blonder. So yay for that.

TPP asked for an update on the Etsy sitch...well, it is still up in the air. Basically, after my last post I sent another email to the seller, saying that if I didn't hear from her by last Friday, I was going to report her to etsy. She emailed me and said that she had sent me a message earlier, but I never received it. She forwarded me the message, so she obviously had sent it, but no idea why I never got it. I felt terrible! But since then we've been back and forth a few times over the quality of the photo and whether it will work, etc. I haven't heard anything since Sunday, and at this late date I can't imagine that there is any way in hell that I am going to get this portrait by Christmas, even though it's something that I really wanted to give Mr. TC and was so excited about. So I'm not planning on giving it to him from Christmas anymore. Maybe it will just be a random surprise gift one day. [Note to Mr. TC, if you are reading this, stop now!! Seriously!!] My new ideas (to be bought this weekend, because there is nothing like waiting until the last minute) are either this or one of these.

My office Christmas party is tomorrow. Not very excited about it, but who am I to say no to free booze in the middle of the day? Friday, my mom and I are going to see The Nutcracker. It's an annual tradition. I think we've gone every year since I was three years old! I love it and still would like to be a ballet dancer when I grow up.

So far, TCP Baby is ignoring our Christmas tree, which makes me very happy. He is obsessed with snow globes, but scared of the snowman that he and the nanny built in the backyard. (Until we took out the eyes--that made him much less scary, apparently.) It seems that snowmen, Santa, and giant Rudolphs are all part of a holiday axis of evil in TCP Baby's mind. The holiday axis of evil for me? English toffee bars, Starbucks peppermint mochas, and Spritz Christmas cookies. I am on sugar overload here!

TCP Traditions: The Chicago Christkindlmarket

Every holiday season, there is a Christkindlmarket in Chicago, just down the street from my office. My grandparents love it, and at least once during the holiday season, we'll meet to have lunch and stroll around Daley Plaza. I just got back from our lunch and am completely stuffed. Also, the Glühwein we drank with lunch has definitely taken the edge off my grinchy-ness. Not that I have heard from the evil etsy girl, but the lovely, warm, spiced wine has made me not care anymore. I highly recommend it.

TCG (Third Coast Grinch)

Kids, I am not feeling the holiday spirit this week. It is cold and icy and I am getting stressed out by the number of gifts that I have ordered online that have not yet appeared. In particular, one gift for my sweet grandparents and Mr. TC's "big"gift. You may remember the debacle of his birthday gift, so I really wanted to make sure that he had a good gift that was actually here for him to open on Christmas. I ordered a portrait to be done of TCP Baby, but I haven't heard even one thing from the etsy seller. And now I'm getting nervous. I paid right away(11/30), I sent in a picture even when I hadn't heard anything back, and still nothing. How long would you all wait before seriously freaking out? And--what in the world can I buy as a back up plan??? And I am one gift short for TCP Mom, because stupid Blueprint magazine has apparently gone out of business. But don't worry, they still were able to cash the check that I sent them for a gift subscription for TCP Mom. Grrrr.

Also, I am in desperate need of highlights. Dark roots do nothing to improve my mood. But I'm looking for a new salon, one that is open on Sunday, because that is the only time I can ever go, given various scheduling issues.

So yeah, today I'm as cuddly as a cactus and as charming as an eel.

Bad Santa!

No, not the movie. (My love for Lorelai Gilmore cannot overcome my hatred of Billy Bob Thorton and my general preference that Christmas movies be sweet and heartwarming.)



This weekend, I took TCP Baby to see Santa twice. The first time was at the tree farm, the second at the mall in my hometown.* TCP Baby was deeply traumatized by the second visit: tears, red face, wailing, reaching for me...the works. I'm amazed that the 15 year old kid working the photo booth was able to get a decent shot. Of course, I was tempted to get a wailing picture, but managed to restrain myself.



I, however, was more traumatized by our first visit to Santa at the tree farm. Because when I leaned in to get in the picture? Santa. grabbed. my. ass.



The perpetrator, moments before the crime:



You can see TCP Baby is totally skeptical about this shady guy. Only 14 months old and a better judge of character than I am!





*Sweet jebus, if you could have seen the outfits that the fine citizens of R-- put on their innocent children for the big photo shoot with Santa. My personal favorite was the pair of sisters in matching red velvet dresses with white ribbon sashes. The younger had bare legs and gym shoes, the older (and by older I mean about 11 years old) had lace stockings and hooker heels. Sigh. I did not grow up in a particularly preppy town.

A TCP Tradition: O Christmas Tree

This weekend, TCP Baby and I will be making the trek out to grandma's house. While we're visiting, one must-do on our list is a visit to William's Tree Farm, near my home town.

Back in the day, my family would always cut our own tree. (This invariably led to familial fights between the taller, narrower tree contingency and the shorter, bushier tree contingency. I won't say which side I was on, but I will ask why you would want a shrub in your living room when you could have a tall, stately tree??) These days, TCP Mom has a :shudder: artificial tree, and we live too far away to transport a tree home from the farm. But we still make a point to visit every year and buy fresh greens for garland and wreaths. This year, maybe TCP Baby will visit with Santa and his real, live reindeer!

Our tree usually comes from one of the ubiquitous city tree lots, although we did pick one up at...shhh...Home Depot last year. What can I say? I had a newborn, it was freaking cold, and I just wanted to get one quickly, no muss, no fuss! That's one the agenda for this weekend too. December has been flying by!

Because the weather outside is frightful...

...you might feel like curling up with a quilt and watching some holiday tv. Here's a list of when some favorites (and some I've never heard of) will air.

The snow is still coming down here on the third coast. It looks lovely, but is best experienced from indoors!