"Up on the rooftop/ Reindeer pause/ Out jumps good old Santa Claus"

I may have done something awful to my kids today. But I may also be absolutely brilliant.

Between the freezing weather and their specials (spanish, science, music) being cancelled, the kids and I are spending A LOT of time in our room. I understand that Christmas is coming and they are getting a little stir crazy and being in a 16x16 foot room is finally taking its toll. That being said they have been OUT OF CONTROL these past few days. I hit a desperate moment earlier today. And the following ensued:

One of the other teachers walked by the door carrying some jingle bells for a craft. All of my kids backs were turned so they didn't SEE who was the cause of the jingling. And I may have gasped and said "I just saw Santa peek into our room!" All of the kids may have gotten whiplash as they turned to see if he was still there. But unfortunately he wasn't. But then I took it a step further and said I saw him write down on a list the kids who were being nice and listening and sitting criss-cross applesauce and being good. He also wrote down the kids who were being naughty and flopping around on the floor and talking while the teacher was talking and not being on their best behavior. They could hear still the jingling down the hall. I definitely saw some doubt on the kids' faces but there was a glimmer of "What if she is telling the truth and he saw me being naughty?" Let's just say they were all sitting criss-cross applesauce from that point forward.

Brilliant or cruel? I'll let you decide. Then if you vote cruel, I will gladly let you come into my room and take the reins for a few hours and we'll see what tricks you have up your sleeve.

My only regret is not coming up with this in November. Have my assistant jingle some bells outside the door a couple times a week when things were getting rough. I'm a genius.

"I did it/ do you think I've gone too far/ I did it/ Guilty as charged"

I did it! I did it! Thirty days of blogging! DONE! I may have quit ballet, gymnastics, the violin, that one art class I took, majoring in advertising, and trying to run long (really any) distances but I did this!!! Didn't think I could but I did. This gives me new hope and confidence that I can post more often on here even when I'm exhausted from being surrounded by kids all day. So I'll try to post more regularly. Maybe twice a week. A tiny little thought in the back of my mind says try to do it every day for a year but I don't think I have enough to say. I know, hard to believe. But I promise to try to write more often. Thanks for being along for the ride. It was fun slash stress inducing when I realized my bedtime was drawing near and I hadn't written anything that day. Still. Fun times.

P I'm an idiot. It was a month on the 8th. Oh well. Two bonus posts on top for good luck. Or one step closer to the year long goal?! Nahhhh, just don't think I can. But we'll see.

"Baby you gotta know that I'm just out here/ ... I'm taking these chances"

I hate to say it, but the quality of The Office has declined in recent seasons. I don't know if they are just running out of ideas or steam or what but it just has not been the same. I've read people blame the union of Jim and Pam but I don't agree. I LOVED when they finally got together. But it's like the writers no longer knew what to do with them so they just made them unlikeable. Pam... I mean whatever. She was an idiot with the whole not choosing Jim for years thing. I could take her or leave her. But Jim! Jim! I love him. And sometimes I just cringe for what they are making John Krasinski do on the show. Who knows? His movie career is increasing so maybe he wants off. But most certainly Steve Carell does. Especially in tonight's episode (Classy Christmas) I noticed how much older he looks; so drained like he is over this whole deal and can't wait to get out the door.

I'm not saying I am giving up the show. I saw glimpses of the old goodness in tonight's episode. I just want Jim and Pam to likable again. And Andy to be hilarious (talk about an evolution! I hated that guy and now he might be my ultimate favorite). And why are they trying to make everyone hate Oscar all of the sudden? Just find your old stride, Office writers, please. Don't have a good thing go to waste.

PS If you didn't hear the Lil Wayne/Office theme song mash-up that was circulating a few months ago on the internet, you are missing out. Gold-den.

"Why do you do this to me/... Every time I wind up back at your door"

Sometimes I'm awkward. I don't deny it. Sometimes I don't know what to say. Or I say the wrong thing and beat myself up over it for hours afterwards. Or I feel the need to clarify myself which really just involves saying the same thing again and again until I am sure the person understands me.

But there are other ways to be awkward in life than saying stupid stuff. Like holding the door open. Don't you hate it when you pull open a door and you notice someone is behind you but they are just far enough away that you stand there dumbly like a doorman or doorstop until they get there and realize you didn't really need to stand there. Yesterday I had this happen with one of the moms (that I love) at work. She was just far enough away that I felt obligated to hold it open so it didn't smack in her face but then she had to rush cause she felt bad that I was holding it open and all of this freezing cold air was getting inside. We acknowledged that the situation was awkward. Which really just made it more awkward. Good thing she's awesome.

And this seems to happen all too frequently at work and Starbucks. Maybe that's cause those are the main two places I go. And other places like Target have automatic doors. But we all know I am awkward with those too. Sigh.

So yes. Sometimes I'm awkward. Like in this post.

And yes, my boss did have me as her secret santa. She got me a super cute purse that I may or may not have just stared at for five minutes cause I love it. Hint: I did.

"I will never stop until you're mine/ ... Don't you understand/ I'll never stop"

I thought of a good topic to blog about today on the drive home from work. Now I cannot remember. Curses.

This is my 100th post of 2010. Woop woop!

I baby-sat for my three nieces and nephew tonight. I changed the almost-two year old's diaper and was not expecting a poopy. So I exclaimed "AJ, what is that?!" and she simply said "Poop." hahahaha. I laughed so hard. Then she also said humidifier. She is only 21 months people! And my 4 month old nephew was a little grumpy so I was holding him and trying to get him to calm down. I started narrating his thoughts to my 8 and 7 year old nieces and they thought I was hilarious. MG told me I was so funny. Yes. The kids at work think I'm funny too. Clearly I appeal to those under 4 feet tall.

Tomorrow is my work Christmas party. I'm such a fancy adult. Going to work Christmas parties, bringing appetizers, and my secret Santa will be revealed. Even though I am about 99% sure, it's my boss. I don't know why I feel pressure because of this. It's not like I have to give her an awesome gift or I will be fired. I just have to have a good reaction. Fingers crossed.

And that's all. What a random post. But I am NOT giving up now. Go me!

PS That's two N Sync lyrics in recent days. Such a shame since the Backstreet Boys were always superior. Gotta get them in there. But what is with me and the early 2000s pop. Mandy Moore and N Sync. What is wrong with me?

"I come back to December all the time"

I always check the weather on my phone when I wake up in the morning so I know how to dress for the day. Much to my dismay, it said it "feels like fifteen degrees" when I woke up this morning. That should be illegal. Sidenote: I totally used to think that it was "windshield" and not "wind chill"; as in they used a thermometer on a windshield to see how cold the glass was. I'd like to say this was in elementary school but it went far beyond that. I'm dumb!

Anyway, you just always want what you can't have. I remember earlier this summer sitting on the playground in the blazing sun, trying to find the one square foot of shade and sweating while doing absolutely nothing, praying for it to cool off. Now it definitely has cooled off and I want nothing more than for it to be warmer. I'm sick of my eyes watering from the cold and my lips being chapped and having to wear four layers to work (winter coat, wool sweater, long sleeved shirt, and tank top) only to still be freezing. Unfortunately they still haven't turned the heat on at work so I am freezing inside too. I can just never win. But it makes me appreciate spring and fall that much more (you know, all two weeks that we get during the year in Georgia).

But now maybe it finally snow tomorrow and answer my kids' prayers/guesses every morning when we decorate Sam the Weather Panda. Funny enough, they always predicted it would snow "tomorrow" in September and October. But these days, where snow is actually a possibility, they just keep guessing cloudy. But one of the kids did say it was "blustery" the other day. Impressive.

"Would you be so into me/ If I wasn't a celebrity?"

I've read People magazine pretty much since I could read. Okay, most of the time I just looked at the pictures. But we've had a subscription forever and I always remember looking forward to the best dressed issue and the most beautiful people issue. But I have to say, I won't be sad if my mom doesn't renew the subscription this year.

It's funny how the magazine does flashbacks to 25 years ago and you see how cover stories were about stories that captured the nation like Baby Jessica or the Oklahoma City Bombing. They mattered. Extraordinary stories about ordinary people. Then it slowly evolved into being about the A-listers: Brad, George, Meg, Julia, etc. Then somewhere along the way it started to seep into the gossipy magazines genre. If I see the Kardashians, Kate Gosselin, The Real Housewives, Heidi Montag, Paris Hilton, pop stars like Britney and Jessica and Christina, or some other reality tv "star" on the cover, I am going to scream (along with the 14 weight-loss issues a year. I DON'T CARE). Stay on In Touch or Life&Style covers, buckos. But seriously? When did it credentials go down? I know it is still the magazine willing to shell out big bucks for the top stories and it seems like it is still the most "trustworthy" in its genre but my goodness, I am so over it. It takes me 10 minutes to flip through the entire issue because I just don't care.

I know, I know, why bother complaining about it when you can just ignore it but it just makes me wonder what forced the change? Is it just the internet and how everyone has a Facebook fan page and Twitter and blog so their writers can just pull from those sites for their stories. Although whoever wrote the cover story about Kate Gosselin fourteen stories ago right after the divorce was announced deserves a raise because it almost, almost, made me feel sorry for her. Almost.

But seriously, People doesn't have to go all deep and gritty on me. Just maybe toss some A-listers on the cover instead of D-listers, please.

"Who me?/ Yes, you/ Couldn't be/ Then who?"

When I was little, I LOVED the WeeSing videos. Sillyville, WeeSing Together, The Best Christmas Ever, and Old King Cole's Party (we actually lost that one or gave it away on accident; I'm still mad about it) and of course Grandpa's Magical Toys. My sister found a dvd of Grandpa's Magical Toys at a garage sale and got it for me for old times sake. Luckily I threw it in my bag one morning before work since it was raining and it was a saving grace when the kids didn't get to go out on the playground.

My mom warned me that she had put on one of the VHSs for my nieces a long time ago and they weren't interested. Let's face it, these movies were made in the late 80s/early 90s; the special effects are not up to par with this Pixar and DreamWorks generation. But I remember I how much I loved them and wanted to at least try it (and at the very least not have to watch The Letter Factory for the billionth time). They sing old school songs and nursery rhymes in this particular one and my kids LOVED it (well not one little girl who was freaked out by the clown Punchinello but she came around). They sing "Who Stole the Cookies from the Cookie Jar" and at the end the cookie jar talks in this deep, rumbly voice and says "No one stole the cookies from the cookie jar. You ate them all yesterday". This has been the number one quoted line. And now every day, at the end of the day, we sing the song. They are obsessed. The Pre-K kids were in my room and they wanted to learn the song. The kids in the other class wanted to learn the song. Basically I am now a hot commodity because they all want to learn in and since none of these kids are exposed to anything beyond Dora, Hannah Montana, Spiderman, and Toy Story (I actually pitched Grandpa's Magical Toys as a "like Toy Story but with real people!" This may have been what caused the little girl to freak out. And also all the kids to ask if Buzz and Woody were in it), they thought I was the sole person with insider knowledge.

I'm just saying, if you have a three or four year old, give WeeSing a chance. My siblings still block it out because apparently I made my mom play WeeSing in Sillyville every morning. Hey, Sillywhim was the shizz.

"A world that's fun of happiness that I have never known"

So... close... must.. keep... going.....

When I first started this blog, I decided to do song lyrics for every post. Most of the time they are related to the content, others it is just the song I have stuck in my head. I kind of always have a song stuck in my head. The one most frequently is "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" even though I only know like three lines. I use it on my family when I am sad and change the words to "Do cry". Now, imagine my glee (pun) when it was used on the most recent episode of Glee! Now I can learn all the words!

The same thing happened when the song "On My Own" from Les Mis was stuck in my head thanks again to Lea Michele. That one was stuck in head ALL day for, not exaggerating, three days.

Oh Broadway shows. Legally Blonde and Wicked also do this to me. As does Glee. Sigh.

"Ayo/ I'm tired of using technology"

I'm typing this on my brother-in- law's iPad. I can already say the full keyboard isn't that easy and contractions are about to get eliminated from this post. But still... I will probably be fighting the urge to purchase in a few months.

I am sort of a hypocrite. I will denounce something only to own it a few months later. When the iPhone first came out, I was so sick of the commercials ALL THE TIME. But sure enough, I got one three months after it came out.

I thought the same thing about UGG boots only to get a pair from my sister's friend when I was freezing and desperate for warmth. While I still think UGG boots are not attractive, they are comfortable. In the words of michael Ian black: it's like sticking your foot into a sheep's butt.

Also skinny jeans; why would anyone want that? Aren't jeans supposed to be comfy not constricting. Then I got a pair of boots I wanted to tuck my jeans into (another fad I initially scoffed at) and the bootcut just wasn't cutting it. Hence my purchasing of two pairs that I now long and perhaps wore with ballet flats today when I originally resolved to only wear them with the boots. Oops.

I'm sure there are million other examples but those are the three off the top of my head.

Okay the typing got bit easier. So we might be adding the ipad to the list.. Christmas is coming up. Wink wink.

"I am so ashamed of all these unopened doors/ I am so ashamed of what I have become"

I'll admit it: I scare pretty easily. Not just in the like "I don't do haunted houses or watch horror movies" way but the if I turn around and my co-worker is standing there, waiting to ask a question, I give a little start. I can't help it. I'm skittish.

My sister's family is staying with us until their house is ready. They also brought along their dog, Remy. Remy has added a whole new element of startling to my day. His little paws are so quiet. And I turned around and he's just there. I open my door in the morning to leave for work, it's practically pitch black and what do I see? A little furry brown and white face staring at me. Just now I walked out of a room and he was sitting on the couch. Every time I yelp and jump a little. Remy is a rather scaredy-cat himself so I am sure I am scaring him as well. I can't help it. I'm not used to it. He's just there. All the time. But I do love him since I haven't seen him for 2.5 years! Welcome home Rem-Rem!