Hello Penguins!

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Happy Xmas Eve! Happy Holidays!

I have worked very hard on this Music Vid! It is made just in time for the holidays and I thought I would like to share some Christmas Spirit!

The song is, “Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!” by Frank Sinatra. It is a classic song and I hope you guys like it!

Here it is:

Comment your thoughts and embed this video on your blog too if you would like! The embed code is in the vid. Spicy!

Today started out with my husband having to spend the day preparing the roads of Kansas City for the winter storm rolling in, so sadly he was absent for our day.  This morning the kids & I frosted our Christmas cookies!

The Grandparents & Aunts, Uncles, and cousins came over and we had a wonderful dinner.  Then Emma got an idea to “sell candy”.  Promptly, everyone lined up!

Then it was time for pictures by the tree

Oldest brother, youngest brother

Sean with his cousins

Shannon’s 4 boys, Andrew, Alex, Adam, & Brayden

Missing 2 of us

Then on to the presents

Hoping your Christmas was joyful!

Hello Penguins!

Yay! The third Coins for Change is complete! We donated over 4 billion coins! WOW! Here’s a video from Club Penguin showing everyone where that money is going to:

We have proved we can truly change the world!

Merry Christmas Eve and Happy Holidays! What are you guys wishing for Christmas? I am wishing for a new Chilli bowl and some new hot sauce! *Blushes” even some new pajamas!

Notice: Some very cool changes are coming to the blog today! So keep your heads up!

TO ALL MY BLOG READER’S

And a huge thank you to you all for your interest in my daily moans and groans, I will only be uploading a limited amount of blogs over the Xmas period because I will be busy Ho Ho Ho’ing, so I have put together a Christmas Special to fill the gaps

I Hope you, Your Loved Ones and Your Families have a wonderful time and a great New Year

See You All Very Soon

Blank Canvas

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That’s the Ender Archie, then! Albert Square villain dead after being hit over head with Queen Vic bust (but who’s the killer?)

This is EastEnders villain Archie Mitchell lying dead on the floor of the Queen Vic.The evil character is certainly not the first to meet his grisly end in the famous pub – and probably won’t be the last.’Dirty’ Den Watts met his maker there in 2005 after being hit over the head with an iron doorstep by jealous wife Chrissie.

But the question now is who murders Archie, played by actor Larry Lamb, with the Queen Vic bust?Suspects include ex-wife Peggy (Barbara Windsor), dodgy Phil (Steve McFadden) and Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks), who recently seduced Archie. Even his daughters Ronnie and Roxy (Samantha Womack and Rita Simons) are in the frame.Fans of the show will have to wait until Christmas day to see the dramatic scenes – which one again proves Walford rarely enjoys a happy festive day.Even Larry has no idea who kills off his scheming character, as producers have filmed various scenarios with different cast members.

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But who did it? Suspects include his ex-wife Peggy and former son-in-law Phil

He said that BBC1 soap’s writers gave him the option of discovering the murderer, but he decided he’d rather find out when the show is aired.Larry – who also plays Mick Shipman in Gavin and Stacey – said his character also has a soft side, however.He told Digital Spy: ‘There’s something very dark and dangerous within him. But that’s not entirely his character – that’s what makes him interesting, though. He’s such a contrast.’The 62-year-old has previously confessed he based the character on his abusive real-life father.

But he said he has since reflected on what his father was like and realised, like his character Archie, he had two sides to him.He added: ‘My father wasn’t entirely dark – he was a very, very funny man and could be riotously comical.But it could all turn ugly and he could become a horrifying, terrifying demon. That’s what Archie’s all about.

‘You didn’t see so much of his lighter side. Now and again a little of something else came through, though.’After almost two years on the show, Larry admitted Archie’s tale is coming to its rightful conclusion.The only way to deal with a real villain is to bump him off,’ he said

Let Me Entertain You! Robbie Williams turns cheeky choir boy for Ant and Dec’s TV Christmas special

Robbie William joins friends Ant and Dec for a Noel’s House Party-style TV show this Christmas – and dresses up as a choir boy.Entering into the festive spirit, the singer struts his stuff with the telly double act for their Christmas Special, which will be screened on ITV1 on Boxing Day.Robbie, 35, who has been pals with Ant and Dec for years, has agreed to sing a number of songs on the programme, plus take part in Morecambe and Wise-style sketches.

Robbie Williams joins Ant and Dec for their ITV Christmas Special, all seen here dressed up as choir boys

The singer is also set to perform some songs and take part in some Morecambe and Wise-style sketches

It’s not the first time the Angels singer and the telly duo have teamed up. The star also joined the pair for some comical hi-jinks on Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway back in 2004.Other guests who are set to drop by include Piers Morgan and Amanda Holden, two of the judges on Britain’s Got Talent which is also hosted by Ant and Dec.

Britain’s Got Talent judges Piers Morgan and Amanda Holden drop by…

…and then dress up as giant snowmen

Piers and Amanda arrive for some banter and then end up dressed up as giant snowmen.Geri Halliwell also lends her support and is transformed into a living doll while the boys become action figures.With the help of a bit of camera trickery and some clever props, the trio stand in boxes and appear to be miniature versions of themselves.The show is promising to be a mixture of comedy skits, performances and interviews with some star-studded appearances.

Geri Halliwell lends her support and is made to look like a doll in a box while the presenters turn action men

Pop group The Saturdays add some festive glamour to proceedings

Ant and Dec meet their match when double act John and Edwards stop by, with their trademark quiffs in placeOther famous guests include The Saturdays and Ant and Dec meet their match when X Factor twins John and Edward Grimes drop by, with their trademark quiffs firmly in place.Viewers will also be entertained with a panto performance of Cinderella. Ant turns on the glamour, taking on the role of the Fairy Godmother in a resplendent puffball dress.Dec takes on the role of Buttons while celebrity interior designers Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan, who appeared on this year’s I’m A Celebrity, play the ugly sisters.

There is also some panto fun to be enjoyed, with Dec playing Buttons and celebrity interior designers Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan doing a good impression of the Ugly Sisters

Ant, meanwhile, looks resplendent in a puffball gown as he magically transforms into the Fairy Godmother

Corrie

Is Betty Coronation Street’s next killer?Coronation Street has had its fair share of crooked killers.

But we never suspected legendary Rovers barmaid Betty Williams would become one of them.
Betty (Betty Driver) is set to get a fright when someone is poisoned by one of her famous hotpots.The ‘victim’ is 91-year-old new character Enid Crump, resident pint puller at the Parsons Arms and Betty’s rival for the title of Manchester’s Oldest Barmaid. Enid storms into the Rovers furious when Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson) boasts that his pub is home of the city’s oldest barmaid to the Weatherfield Gazette.To make amends, the hapless landlord offers a free dinner but ends up microwaving a two-month-old hotpot from the back of the fridge.

When the unsuspecting duo later find out that Enid is at death’s door with food poisoning, Betty panics: “It’s murder. I’ll have killed her. I’m too old to go to prison. I’ll never come out alive.”Steve reassures her: “You can’t murder someone with a hotpot. The police will understand it was an accident.”And look on the bright side, if Enid dies, you can then officially call yourself the undisputed Oldest Barmaid in Town.”But Becky (Katherine Kelly) puts a spanner in the works when she reveals that, if Enid pops her clogs, it’ll be Steve that gets sent down.Fingers crossed that Enid pulls through.
The storyline will air in February next year.

Hilda could make a Corrie comebackCoronation Street’s 50th anniversary looks set to be a corker.

Soap bosses want to bring back a host of legendary Corrie faces to spice up the fiftieth festivities.As well as cleaning lady extraordinaire Hilda (Jean Alexander), Mavis Wilton (Thelma Barlow), Curly Watts (Kevin Kennedy) and Karen McDonald (Suranne Jones) have also been mooted for a Corrie comeback.

The revelations came during a live web chat between fans and show executive producer Kim Crowther. And she let slip that another famous Manchester face may make a guest appearance. Noel Gallagher is being set up to (Roy’s) roll with it.

Kim said: “There may well be some exciting returning cast in the new year.“We are planning lots for the 50th anniversary, it will be must-see television. It would be fab to see Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford) back wouldn’t it?”Oooh, yes it would. Kim went on: “I would love to bring Hilda back – and Mavis. Noel Gallagher would be great. There are also plans for some new faces in the factory.”
Exciting times.

The saucepot will get a boob job, just as her mum Sally is diagnosed with breast cancer.

Rosie (Helen Flanagan) plans to become a glamour and promotions girl and thinks that an increase in her cup size will lead to an increase in her wages.  Her plan is rumbled by sister Sophie (Brooke Vincent) who realises something is up when Rosie rushes to the post every day to intercept a letter from a company called Desire Solutions. Sophie thinks Rosie is up for botox and liposuction until the elder teen confesses she’s having her breasts done.
Mum Sally (Sally Whittaker), who’ll confess to her family she needs a lumpectomy to remove a malignant tumour on Christmas Day, is devastated.
Unlike Rosie’s boss at the agency she works for, who agrees to foot the bill for Rosie’s op, seeing it as an investment in ‘their’ future. Oh Rosie, Rosie. What are you thinking?

Simply Because I Love The Photo

Captured in nature, the perfect Christmas card

It is the perfect winter image that usually appears only on Christmas cards or in our imagination. But this is the real thing. Perched on a snow-covered twig yesterday, a robin proudly puffs out his chest in the back garden of award-winning nature photographer Andy Rouse. Mr Rouse travels thousands of miles every year photographing animals, but was able to capture this image without leaving his house in Caerphilly, South Wales. ‘I saw this one perched in a tree,’ he said. ‘He had been eating off my bird feeder.’

Nature photographer Andy Rouse didn’t need to venture beyond his backyard for this perfect winter image

Former Playboy model Louise Glover found guilty of vicious nightclub attack

A former Playboy Model of the Year was found guilty today of attacking a woman in a nightclub toilet cubicle in a jealous bust-up over her husband.

Louise Glover, 26, struck Maxine Hardcastle’s head against a toilet rim up to 10 times and tried to push her head down the lavatory during the attack.Miss Hardcastle – the daughter of 80s musician Paul Hardcastle, famed for his Vietnam-inspired dance hit 19 – was left covered in blood with facial bruising, scratches on her arms and legs and hair loss.Hove Crown Court heard that the model launched her vicious attack after accusing her of looking at her husband during a night out in Brighton, East Sussex.Glover, who has made semi-naked appearances in magazines and newspapers, turned on Miss Hardcastle after telling her and her friend, “I know what you Essex girls are like.”The glamour model fainted and sobbed in the dock after being found guilty of causing assault occasioning actual bodily harm following an hour’s deliberation.Glover wailed loudly in the dock after recovering from her period of fainting, telling the judge: “My whole life’s in limbo.”

Sentencing will take place on February 4 after reports have been prepared, Judge Charles Kemp said.The judge had to tell her to be quiet at points and warned her she could face jail.Judge Kemp told her: “All the court’s sentencing options have to be open.”The trial heard that Miss Hardcastle and her friend, Nancy Stillwell, had been invited by Glover to a personal appearance she was making at a sports bar in Brighton, East Sussex, on December 15, 2007.The 10-strong party moved on in the early hours of the following morning to the Oceana nightclub in the city where Miss Hardcastle and Miss Stillwell went into the same toilet cubicle together.Glover was heard outside the cubicle and was let in by the other two women, but became agitated and accused them of looking at her husband, from whom she is now estranged.

Miss Hardcastle said during her evidence: “One minute she was really angry and saying she knew what Essex girls were like and, ‘I can see what you are doing’. She then told us not to look or talk to him.”She added that one minute Glover “flipped” and the next she showed warmth to them, saying: “I might be being paranoid” and “I don’t have many friends”.It was really strange, one minute she was trying to befriend us and the next she looked like…it was scary,” said Miss Hardcastle.Miss Stillwell told the court: “We explained to her we hadn’t got any interest in getting to know her husband other than on an acquaintance level.”

At that point, Glover lifted up her arm and forcefully brought it down on Miss Hardcastle’s nose, causing her to hit her head on the back of the cubicle.”I knew that my nose was broken because there was blood everywhere,” said Miss Hardcastle. “But she just picked me up by my hair and pulled my body weight by my hair and did exactly the same thing again.”She punched me on the nose and the same thing happened – I fell straight on the floor.”Miss Hardcastle said she “pleaded” with Glover to stop but she continued her attack.Holding her by her neck, Glover repeatedly hit her head against the rim of the lavatory and afterwards tried to force her down the toilet bowl.Miss Hardcastle added: “I couldn’t breathe through my nose because I had blood coming from it. I thought that if she put my face down the toilet I wouldn’t be able to breathe.”I did my best to keep my face away from the water.”

The attack stopped after Glover’s husband was heard outside the cubicle, telling her to stop. But Glover replied: “Tell her to get off me first.”Describing her injuries, Miss Hardcastle told the court: “My nose was on the other side of my face. It wasn’t in the middle of my face any more. It was completely on one side.”Glover told the court she acted in self-defence after Miss Hardcastle became emotional about apparent problems within her family and gripped her arms tightly.She claimed Miss Hardcastle became “hysterical” after accusing her of not listening to her problems.Glover, whose last UK address was Audley Gardens, Loughton, Essex, claimed the further injuries Miss Hardcastle sustained were as a result of the cubicle door being kicked in.She was released on conditional bail.

It’s a ho-ho-hold up: Armed bank robber dressed as Santa demands money so he can ‘pay his elves’

When Father Christmas strolled into the bank holding a sack, customers thought they might be in for a few surprise presents. But this sinister Santa felt it was better to receive than give  -  whipping out a gun and demanding cash. The 6ft robber, pictured left on CCTV, escaped with an undisclosed sum after claiming he needed the money because he had to pay his elves. Just in case anyone was worried, however, that the real Father Christmas had turned criminal, his getaway vehicle proved to be a grey car rather than a sleigh pulled by reindeer.The bank robber said that he needed the money ‘to pay his elves’

The man entered the SunTrust bank in Nashville, Tennessee at 10am yesterday dressed from head to toe a Santa suit and dark sunglasses and demanded money at gunpoint.Eyewitness Richlyn Jones said: ‘He took his little red sack and pulled out a gun and told everyone to be still.

‘He went to the front of the teller line and started asking for money and putting it in the bag.’It was a little unbelievable. He was actually jovial, which is scary. He explained that he was robbing the bank because Santa had to pay his elves.’ After loading up his sack with money the man fled the building.’He had the whole outfit on – even the shoes,’ said customer Jimmy Edwards.’I laid down as soon as he walked in and pulled that gun out.I was just wondering if he was going to be stupid enough to hurt somebody, but once he started getting what he wanted, I could see he was going to leave.’

The SunTrust bank in Nashville, Tennessee where the bizarre robbery took place

No one was hurt during the robbery and police have not released how much money was taken.The FBI has confirmed they are investigating the robbery.FBI agent Scott Augenbaum said: ‘An individual about 6ft tall dressed up as Santa Claus robbed the SunTrust bank.’ In 2003, Billy Bob Thornton starred in the movie Bad Santa about a conman and his partner who dress up as Santa and his little helper to rob department stores.

My Christmas Present

Thank You Santa…I Must Have Been A Very Good Boy This Year

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Why doesn’t Santa suffer from claustrophobia when climbs down the chimney?
Because has had his flue jab.

Note::: These Jokes Will Get Worse The Further You Scroll Down

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It’s Christmas Day, it’s 9.58 in the morning

Must be time for the first family argument

‘Tis the season to be jolly. At least that’s the idea.But the average family, it seems, can’t quite manage a whole Christmas Day of it.After rising just before 8am (no doubt a bit grumpy from all the last-minute present-wrapping the night before), they have their first argument at 9.58am.But that, according to a survey, is only the start of the festive fallouts.

The parental desire to tidy up the house is the trigger for most Christmas Day rows, along with frazzled emotions and arguments over what to watch on TV.The study of 4,100 people revealed the average family gets out of bed just before 8am on Christmas Day and is ready to open presents minutes later at 8.19am.

AN HOUR-BY-HOUR GUIDE TO THE BRITISH CHRISTMAS

Once the floor is a sea of torn wrapping paper, the family sit down to breakfast at 9am.However most will have nibbled a bit of Christmas chocolate before at 8.39am.The strain of cooking Christmas dinner sees the designated chef sip his or her first alcoholic drink at 11.49am.Several slurps and a lot of sweat later, dinner is finally served at 3.24pm.The majority of families (85 per cent) will enjoy traditional turkey with all the trimmings.Almost a third said this was their favourite part of the day.The next thing on the Christmas Day must-do list is a post-lunch snooze.The first person in the average household falls asleep at 4.59pm –and Dad is the most likely culprit.For those who manage to keep their eyes open, the family board games are brought out at 5.46pm.

The study, commissioned by Jarlsberg Cheese, also found that 13 per cent of families go to church on Christmas day.A rather larger proportion of 27 per cent sit down for the Queen’s Speech.Almost 40 per cent said spending time with the family was the best thing about Christmas Day.The knitted patterned Christmas jumper, followed by a dustpan and brush and the dreaded socks were voted the worst presents.And Britain, Germany and Norway were regarded as the countries with the most festive spirit.’Family flare-ups are bound to happen, particularly as there are lots of people together and tensions can be running high,’ said a spokesman for the cheese company.’There is so much excitement, high expectations and lots going on, but it’s important to remember that Christmas can’t always be perfect – not everything may run to plan.’After all the early Christmas morning stresses, it’s great to see that food shared round a table with the family is still described as the best bit of the day.Parents shouldn’t put too much pressure on themselves on the day – it’s your day too, so relax and be realistic.’

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Christmas puzzle all you have to do is find 72 bands and 12 movies

Put Your Answers In The Comments Box

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What did Adam say to his girlfriend on December 24th?
‘It’s Christmas!  Eve.’

(I Did Warn You)

Unwrapped: The Queen’s secret chocolate, delivered in time for Christmas

The Royal Family enjoy specially made chocolates every Christmas

As chocolate bars go it is fit for a queen – The Queen, in fact.Made to a secret recipe by royal warrant holders Cadbury, several small boxes of the dark chocolate are being delivered to Buckingham Palace for the monarch and her family to enjoy at Christmas.Pictured here for the first time, the Daily Mail can reveal the bars are made by a team of three on specially reserved equipment at the firm’s factory in Bournville, Birmingham.Cadbury – which was given a royal warrant by Queen Victoria in 1854 – refuses to divulge how the chocolate is created but sources say it has been tailored to the Queen’s taste.The recipe is said to contain more cocoa solids than many other dark chocolates, making it ideal for both eating and cooking.Only three or four small batches of the bar are made each year and, when not being used for the royal chocolate, the production equipment lies dormant.One batch is made and delivered just before Christmas to Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Sandringham.

Each bar is wrapped in gold foil and encased in a red wrapper stamped with the royal crest and the ‘By Appointment to HM The Queen’ wording that the Cadbury warrant allows it to mark on all its products.

Below the crest, in gold and black lettering, the bar is labelled Cadbury’s Superior Culinary Dark Chocolate, although it is known by staff at the company simply as ‘Royal Household chocolate’.While many of the bars are used in the royal kitchens to make fine deserts for private consumption and state banquets, some are also eaten as a sweet treat, according to the chocolate maker.

Cadbury spokesman Tony Bilsborough confirmed: ‘We do make the Queen a bar of dark chocolate. It’s not for sale to the public. We make this for her, under the terms of the royal mark.’We’ve been providing chocolates to the Royal Family since Victorian times but I cannot discuss the recipe.’Cadbury was founded by Quaker John Cadbury in Birmingham in 1824.The firm is currently the subject of a hostile takeover bid by U.S. food giant Kraft, which could threaten 5,000 UK jobs. Shareholders have until January 5 to reject the £10.1billion offer.The firm has described the bid as ‘inadequate and unwelcome’ and The Mail on Sunday has launched a campaign to Keep Cadbury British. If it is taken over there is no guarantee Cadbury would continue to make the Queen’s chocolate.

Uncovered days before Christmas: Is this the Nazareth home where Jesus prayed?

The remains of the first dwelling in Nazareth that has been dated back to the time of Jesus have been unveiled – just days before Christmas.The find that could shed new light on what the hamlet was like during the period the New Testament says Jesus lived there as a boy, Israeli archaeologists said.The dwelling and older discoveries of nearby tombs in burial caves suggest that Nazareth was an out-of-the-way hamlet of around 50 houses on a patch of about four acres.

A residential building from the era of Jesus Christ being exposed near the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth

It was evidently populated by Jews of modest means who kept camouflaged grottos to hide from Roman invaders, said archaeologist Yardena Alexandre, excavations director at the Israel Antiquities Authority.The place was so small Jesus would almost certainly have known all the houses – and might even have prayed there.Based on clay and chalk shards found at the site, the dwelling appeared to house a ’simple Jewish family,’ Alexandre added, as workers at the site carefully chipped away at mud with small pickaxes to reveal stone walls.

Nazareth holds a cherished place in Christianity. It is the town where Christian tradition says Jesus grew up and where an angel told Mary she would bear the child of God.’This may well have been a place that Jesus and his contemporaries were familiar with,’ Alexandre said. A young Jesus may have played around the house with his cousins and friends, she said. ‘It’s a logical suggestion.’The discovery so close to Christmas has pleased local Christians.

Jacques Icaram, a priest at the Church of the Annunciation, stands at an excavation site of an ancient house in the northern Israeli city of Nazareth

‘They say if the people do not speak, the stones will speak,’ said a smiling Rev. Jack Karam of the nearby Basilica of the Annunciation, the site where Christian tradition says Mary received the angel’s word.Alexandre’s team found remains of a wall, a hideout, a courtyard and a water system that appeared to collect water from the roof and supply it to the home. The discovery was made when builders dug up the courtyard of a former convent to make room for a new Christian center, just yards (meters) away from the Basilica.It is not clear how big the dwelling is – Alexandre’s team have uncovered about 900 square feet (85 square meters) of the house, but it may have been for an extended family and could be much larger, she said.Alexandre said her team also found a camouflaged entry way into a grotto, which she believes was used by Jews at the time to hide from Roman soldiers who were battling Jewish rebels at the time for control of the area.The grotto would have hid around six people for a few hours, she said.

Israel archaeologists work at the excavation site, built on the ruins of three earlier churches on the site where Christians believe Mary was told by the angel Gabriel that she would give birth to Jesus

An Israeli archaeologist works at the site: The home dates to the time of Jesus in the town of Nazareth where he is said to have spent the better part of his lifeHowever, Roman soldiers did not end up battling Nazareth’s Jews because the hamlet had little strategic value at the time. The Roman army was more interested in larger towns and strategic hilltop communities, she said.

Alexandre said similar camouflaged grottos were found in other ancient Jewish communities of the lower Galilee such as the nearby Biblical village of Cana, which did witness battle between Jews and Romans.At the site, Alexandre told reporters that archaeologists also found clay and chalk vessels which were likely used by Galilean Jews of the time. The scientists concluded a Jewish family lived there because of the chalk, which was used by Jews at the time to ensure the purity of the food and water kept inside the vessels.The shards also date back to the time of Jesus, which includes the late Hellenic, early Roman period that ranges from around 100 B.C. to 100 A.D., Alexandre said.

Father Jacques Icaram walks in the excavation site. Archaeologist Yardena Alexandre says remains of a wall, a hideout and a cistern were found after builders dug up an old convent courtyard in the northern Israeli city

The house was discovered in a dig carried out ahead of the construction of the International Marian Center of Nazareth by the Galilee city’s Chemin Neuf community next to the Church of the Annunciation

The absence of any remains of glass vessels or imported products suggested the family who lived in the dwelling were ’simple,’ but Alexandre said the remains did not indicate whether they were traders or farmers.The only other artifacts that archeologists have found in the Nazareth area from the time of Jesus are ancient burial caves outside the hamlet, providing a rough idea of the village’s population at the time, Alexandre said.

Work is now taking place to clear newer ruins built above the dwelling, which will be preserved. The dwelling will become a part of a new international Christian center being constructed close to the site and funded by a French Roman Catholic group, said Marc Hodara of the Chemin Neuf Community overseeing construction.Alexandre said limited space and population density in Nazareth means it is unlikely that archeologists can carry out any further excavations in the area, leaving this dwelling to tell the story of what Jesus’ boyhood home may have looked like.The discovery at ‘this time, this period, is very interesting, especially as a Christian,’ Karam said. ‘For me it is a great gift.’

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Ever had a present from a far-flung aunt or an over-enthusiastic colleague that you really didn’t like but were socially obliged to pretend otherwise? One economist is on a mission to stop this wasteful category of Christmas giving. How often have we given them? Many times, no doubt. And yet, how often have we ever really wanted to receive them ourselves? Whose every waking moment is filled by a craving for a pair of half-size martini glasses, holding unpleasantly perfumed gel candles, embellished with a decorative vine? Who has stepped lightly through January, buoyed by the Christmas joy that is a purple glass bowl filled with silver spray-painted pebbles?

Ornaments may be over-represented in the forlorn ranks of the unwanted gifts that mysteriously fail to make it to our new houses when we move, but they are far from the only offender. If we were being honest, we’d repudiate those Brandreth-style jumpers, the biographies of 18th Century admirals and the coasters with scenes from the Lincolnshire countryside. We know our auntie meant well, but still.
Joel Waldfogel takes this feeling of dissatisfaction further. For 15 years the economist has been studying the giving of gifts. The results do not make for happy reading. “When other people choose for us they do a poor job compared to when we choose for ourselves,” explains Mr Waldfogel. He will present a public lecture on the subject at the London School of Economics on Thursday evening.

20% discrepancy
His new book, Scroogenomics: Why You Shouldn’t Buy Presents For The Holidays, released just in time for the Christmas gift market, explains why we should turn our backs on the Christmas gift market. It’s all a big waste, he believes. Over the years, Mr Waldfogel’s surveys have asked people how much they would have paid for gifts had they not received the items. The average the recipient would have paid comes out at nearly 20% less than was actually paid. This is the kind of thing that economists don’t like. The ideal in economics is that surplus value is created.

DEADWEIGHT LOSS
Situation in which no party benefits An example is a highly competitive market in which even more companies enter the marketplace driving selling prices down further “The seller gets a price that exceeds his costs and the buyer gets an item he values above the price,” M Waldfogel explains. In the Christmas present market, the second part of the equation often fails. And with people spending $145bn (£87m) a year worldwide on festive items, that could be more than $25bn (£15bn) of waste, says Mr Waldfogel. It’s what’s known in economic terms as a deadweight loss. The economist emphasises that he isn’t advocating the end of Christmas presents as a concept. “We do pretty well in buying things for people we know well. And children would be devastated if they didn’t get presents.” But when it comes to buying for people who live far away or who we don’t know well, he thinks we might give gift vouchers a try instead. Of course, this does throw up a problem or two. Anyone who has seen the episode of Seinfeld where Jerry commits a major faux pas by giving Elaine cash for her birthday, would be wary about doing the same. And gift vouchers do seem a little close to that. Mr Waldfogel disagrees. “Gift vouchers are unlike cash in that they avoid the awkwardness.” But gift vouchers also often lie dormant in dark recesses of the recipient’s cupboards, never to emerge. “10% of the value isn’t used – it ends up being transferred from the giver to the retailer,” says Mr Waldfogel. He wants retailers to accept a measure that allows vouchers to expire and trigger a donation of the value to charity. And, Mr Waldfogel suggests, a present of a donation to charity, or charitable goat purchase, should be acceptable. Some gifts may seem perplexing when reviewed at a later date “I’m finding people are very sympathetic to the idea of charitable giving. There is a real fatigue about giving that people know is producing unwanted results.” Gary Davies, a professor of corporate reputation at Manchester Business School, and lead author on the forthcoming paper Gifts and Gifting, is not a fan of abandoning gifts for people we don’t know that well. “[It's a] typical economist’s view of an issue where it isn’t the economics that are driving the issue. It’s the social side, the symbolism of the gift.” And the kind of gift scenario where the protagonists don’t know each other well can be a social minefield, with the giving of cash or vouchers being seen as plain odd. “It would be seen as a bribe,” says Mr Davies. “There are lots of business gifts. I will give my secretary a bottle of champagne. Am I supposed to give her money? I think she might be taken aback. It would be seen as inappropriate.” And of course, that’s at the root of gift giving – it’s a social transaction, not an exchange of useful items.We may not relish the receipt of the LP of a singing Irish monk, the electric blanket, the nylon, teal, lace thong or the gaudy mock Faberge egg – all real examples gleaned from BBC News website colleagues – but we must recognise that it is the thought that counts. “What we like is the fact that our nearest and dearest have thought about it,” says Mr Davies. “One of the main social aspects of gifting is building a relationship.” A couple at the outset of courting are a good example of people who might not be fully au fait with each other’s present priorities yet.

Economic benefit
And there would also be economic consequences if people suddenly stopped buying presents. Typically half of retailers’ profits come from the fourth quarter, notes Mr Davies.But in opposition to the economic benefit, there is also the sheer waste of unwanted presents. “One can imagine a market for green gifts, buying people experiences that don’t involve tangible products,” says Mr Davies. Underlying the glut of unwanted gifts is a problem with social norms. These are the obstacle to us telling Aunt Agatha the truth.Mr Waldfogel won’t reveal the worst present he’s ever had.”I’m not allowed to say. One of the reasons that it persists is that we can’t give feedback.”If we ever want to get another present, we keep schtum.”A friend of mine gave his wife an electric piano,” says Prof Davies. “She really didn’t like it and about three years later she gave it away. He still hasn’t had the courage to ask her why she doesn’t like it.

Xmas Illusion

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CHRISTMAS…THE FACTS

• The common abbreviation for Christmas to Xmas is derived from the Greek alphabet. X is letter Chi, which is the first letter of Christ’s name in the Greek alphabet.
• Oliver Cromwell, in England banned Christmas Carols between 1649 and 1660. Cromwell thought that Christmas should be a very solemn day so he banned carols and parties. The only celebration was by a sermon and a prayer service.
• In 1643, the British Parliament officially abolishes the celebration of Christmas.
• The Puritans in America tried to make Thanksgiving Day the most important annual festival instead of Christmas.
• Silent Night was written in 1818, by an Austrian priest Joseph Mohr. He was told the day before Christmas that the church organ was broken and would not be prepared in time for Christmas Eve. He was saddened by this and could not think of Christmas without music, so he wanted to write a carol that could be sung by choir to guitar music. He sat down and wrote three stanzas. Later that night the people in the little Austrian Church sang “Stille Nacht” for the first time.
• St Francis of Assisi introduced Christmas Carols to formal church services.
• Telesphorus, the second Bishop of Rome (125-136 AD) declared that public Church services should be held to celebrate “The Nativity of our Lord and Saviour.” In 320 AD, Pope Julius I and other religious leaders specified 25 December as the official date of the birth of Jesus Christ.
• 26 December was traditionally known as St Stephen’s Day, but is more commonly known as Boxing Day. This expression came about because money was collected in alms-boxes placed in churches during the festive season. This money was then distributed during to the poor and needy after Christmas.
• Melbourne, Australia has a sporting Boxing Day tradition. The Melbourne Cricket Ground hosts a Cricket test match. Sometimes this attracts 90, 000 spectators. Cricket is Australia’s premier Summer sport.
• The first printed reference to Christmas trees appeared in Germany in 1531
• In 1836, Alabama is the first state in the USA to declare Christmas a legal holiday.
• In 1843, the first Christmas card was printed in England for Sir Henry Cole. He was busy man who wanted to save time in his own Christmas letters, but was also interested in encouraging the expansion of the postal system. 1000 copies of the card were sold at one shilling each. It was not until the 1860s that the production of cards accelerated, with cheaper printing methods. Then in 1870, the Post Office introduced a half penny stamp for sending cards.
• In 1856, President Franklin Pierce decorates the first White House Christmas tree.
• In 1907, Oklahoma became the last USA state to declare Christmas a legal holiday.
• At midnight on Christmas Eve 1914 firing from the German trenches suddenly stopped. A German brass band began playing Christmas carols. Early, Christmas morning, the German soldiers came out of their trenches, approaching the allied lines, calling “Merry Christmas”. At first the allied soldiers thought it was a trick, but they soon climbed out of their trenches and shook hands with the German soldiers. The truce lasted a few days, and the men exchanged presents of cigarettes and plum puddings, sang carols and songs. They even played a game of Soccer.
• In 1937, the first postage stamp to commemorate Christmas was issued in Austria.
• In 1974, the Australian city of Darwin is devastated late on Christmas Eve and in the early hours of the morning by Cyclone Tracy.
• In 1834, Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert brought the first Christmas tree to Windsor Castle for the Royal family.
• 6 December is St Nicholas’s Day – the first of the gift giving days, especially in Holland and Belgium.
• Some priests in Australia advise you to say “Happy Christmas”, not “Merry Christmas”, because Merry has connotations of getting drunk – which brings its own problems. One should say “Happy” instead.
• The actual gift givers are different in various countries:
• Spain and South America: The Three Kings
• Italy: La Befana (a kindly old witch)
• England: Father Christmas
• France: Pere Noel (Father Christmas)
• Russia: In some parts – Babouschka (a grandmotherly figure)
• Other parts it is Grandfather Frost.
• Germany: Christkind (angelic messenger from Jesus)
• She is a beautiful fair haired girl with a shining crown of candles.
• Scandinavia: a variety of Christmas gnomes. One is called Julenisse
• Holland: St Nicholas.
• Every year since 1947 the people in Oslo have given a Christmas tree to the city of Westminster. The gift is an expression of goodwill and gratitude for Britain’s help to Norway in the 1939-1945 war.
• The first American Christmas carol was written in 1649 by a minister named John de Brebeur and is called “Jesus is Born”.
• Mexicans call the poinsettia “Flower of the Holy Night” – the Holy Night is the Mexican way of saying “Christmas Eve”.
• Tom Smith who owned a sweet shop in London was the originator of the cracker. In the 1840s Tom found that people like sugar almonds, but while he was in France he discovered a variety of sweets wrapped up in a twist of paper. These bonbons were popular, so Tom decided to copy them. When Tom noticed that young men were buying them to give to their sweethearts he began to place “love mottoes” on small slips of paper inside the sweet wrapping.
• In 1846 Tom’s thoughts turned towards Christmas – instead of sweets he thought he would place toys and novelties inside the twisted wrapping. He experimented with this and the idea of producing a wrapping that could be pulled apart – just like the cracker as we know it today.
• The word carol is derived from the old French word caroller which derives from the Latin choraula. This itself was derived from the Greek choraules.

Xmas Street Art

Brussels sprouts ice-cream, anyone? Two mums set out to restore the hated veg’s image with new recipe book

You may detest them steamed, boiled or even panfried with pancetta.But perhaps you’ll take to sprouts if they are frozen and served in a cone.That is the plan cooked up by two mothers who are trying to make Brussels sprouts more popular.

Deborah Kershaw and Rachel Peck have published a recipe book devoted to the vegetable.Dishes range from sprouts bubble and squeak and sprouts masala to a cake with sultanas and coconut – and even Brussels sprouts ice-cream.

Mrs Kershaw, 46, from Doncaster, said: ‘Other people couldn’t understand why I was getting all passionate about sprouts – but I think they’ve had a raw deal over the years with people just steaming them and boiling them to bits.’There is a more serious reason behind the book, however. The two women became friends after their daughters spent months having cancer treatment on the same ward at Sheffield Children’s Hospital last year.Mrs Kershaw’s 12-year-old daughter Megan won her battle for survival, but Miss Peck’s little girl Lauren, who had been diagnosed with a kidney tumour, died aged three in June last year.The book is dedicated to Lauren, who loved her sprouts.

All the profits will go to fund the parents’ association at the hospital.Miss Peck, 28, from Sheffield, said: ‘People either love sprouts or hate them, it’s the one vegetable that seems to divide opinion very strongly.’But it’d be great if we could encourage more people to give them a try this Christmas for Lauren’s sake, if nothing else. I’m sure she’ll be up there looking-down at me and laughing at the idea.’Mrs Kershaw credits another friend, Rachel Duckers – whose family run a farm shop on the outskirts of Sheffield – for inspiring the two women to press ahead with the project.She said: ‘The two of us got to know Rachel as a friend after she became our outreach nurse at the hospital, and something just clicked when she mentioned the mountain of unsold sprouts at the farm shop last Christmas.’Mrs Kershaw added: ‘It’s been a difficult couple of years for the two of us, but the project has helped us cope in a way, and if we can raise money for the hospital, and alter people’s eating habits as well then all the better.’

Births on 25 December:

• W C Field (1946)
• Alice Cooper (1945)
• Princess Alexandra (1936)
• Paul Borget (1935)
• Charles Spencer Chaplin (1889)

Deaths on 25 December:

• Conrad Hilton (1979)
• Humphrey Bogart (1957)
• Dorothy Wordsworth (1855)
• Sir Isaac Newton (1727)
• The biggest selling Christmas single of all time is Bing Crosby’s White Christmas.
• In Switzerland during the Reformation, al instrumental and choral music was banned from churches. In Germany, disapproval of carols resulted in some being converted into hymns.
• Tinsel on the Christmas Tree is attributed to a woman whose husband died. She was left to bring up a large family of children herself. She was left to do everything working so hard and she was determined to make a happy time for them at Christmas. She prepared a Christmas Tree to surprise them on Christmas Day. Unfortunately spiders visited the tree, and crawled from branch to branch, making webs all over it. The Christ Child saw the tree and knew she would be devastated to find this on Christmas morning. He changed the spiders’ webs to shining silver.
• The first church the Dutch built in New York City was named in St Nicholas’ honour -St Nicholas Church.
• Many Christmas customs are carryovers from pre-Christian celebrations. Hanging gifts on trees is supposed to stem from tree worship of the Druids, and the belief that the tree was the giver of all good things. The Druids are also partly responsible for the use of mistletoe at Christmastime. They regarded the mistletoe as sacred, made certain that it never touched the ground, and dedicated it to the Goddess of Love, which explains the kissing that goes on under it. Originally, when a boy kissed a girl, he plucked a berry from the cluster and presented it to her. When the berries were gone, so were the kisses.
• In Christmas tree decorations, angels are usually portrayed as wimpy blondes in girl’s blouses and sandals. In the Bible, however, angels are muscular bullies who frequently goad humans into fistfights. Life isn’t all harps and heavenly choirs for angels; there’s a strict career structure. The only angels mentioned by name in the Bible are archangels, the eighth-ranking order of angels.
• Visitors to Bethlehem rarely exceed a few thousand at Christmas. In 1995, there were rowdy celebrations of the first Christmas in a Palestinian-controlled Bethlehem. The Christmas Eve service televised on 25 December is celebrated not in the Church of the Nativity, which stands over the place where Jesus was said to have been born, but in the nearby Franciscan Church of St. Catherine.
• The largest functional Christmas cracker was 45.72 metres long and 3.04 metres in diameter. It was made by Australian international rugby player Ray Price in Markson Sparks of New South Wales, Australia and was pulled in the car park of the Westfield Shopping Town in Chatswood, Sydney, Australia on 9 November 1991.

• A goose was customary Christmas fare until Henry VIII took it upon himself to tuck into a turkey. Mince pies were once shaped like mangers and are thought to date back to the sweetmeats formerly presented to the Vatican on Christmas Eve.
• The freedom-fighter and religious activist thought to have been born between 6 BC and 30 AD, by the name of Jesus Christ from the Greek christos, “the anointed one”. He was born in a stable in Bethlehem. He started out as a carpenter, but became a missionary following his baptism by a cousin, John. After proclaiming himself the Messiah, Jesus was betrayed by a disciple and crucified. He is later said to have risen from the dead.
• If you’re wondering why men may have not flocked to kiss you under the mistletoe, the answer may be that it was said that it will only work if the person you are kissing is a virgin. On the sixth day of the new moon, a Druid priest used to cut mistletoe from an oak tree with a sacred sickle. A passing virgin was called upon to catch the falling plant, which was not allowed to touch the ground.
• The first commercial Christmas card, produced in 1846, featured a drawing of family members happily toasting each other with glasses of wine – a shockingly decadent portrait that was immediately condemned by temperance advocates. In New South Wales, Australia, the average daily mailbag of six to seven million items of mail can triple over Christmas. The heaviest day ever was on 23 December 1997, when a record 23 million items were delivered in this state in Australia.
• Santa’s Reindeers are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen.
• Saint Boniface is said to have substituted a fir tree for the pagan oak in the eighth century as a symbol of faith. Martin Luther fostered the Christmas tree cult by using a candlelit tree as a symbol of Christ’s heavenly home, while trees decorated with candles, fruit and paper flowers were introduced into Britain soon after Queen Victoria’s marriage.
• The Celts used to bring a large log indoors as a tribute to the sun god. In Cornwall, revellers would chalk a symbol of a man on the log in a cheery reference to the human sacrifices who used to be thrown on the bonfire.
• Ancient Roman observances of the Natalis solis invicti and the Saturnalia occurred in December and involved much feasting, singing, parades and other forms of celebrating. Not to be outdone, when the Church adopted Christmas it introduced a major Christian celebration and feasting became a part of the festivities. As the centuries wore on, depending upon the country, a Christmas goose, turkey or other animal was adopted as the main course in the Christmas feast.
• The Christmas tree was first decorated with lights in the 16th century. It is believed that Martin Luther, the Protestant reformer, was the first to add lighted candles to the tree. He was so taken with the Christmas night sky that he wished to bring “the lights of the stars” into the home of his family. From this, decorating the tree with ornaments, messages and notes, and small gifts emerged in later centuries leading to our customs today.
• Hanging the Christmas stocking on the hearth on Christmas Eve in the hope that it will be filled with presents the next morning is a custom that goes back about 400 years. It derived from the custom in Holland of children placing wooden shoes next to the hearth the night before the arrival of St. Nicholas. The children would fill their shoes with straw and food for St Nicholas’s for the donkey that carried the gifts. In exchange he would leave them a small gift such as small cakes, fruits and other gifts. Stockings were substituted for the shoes in Britain, most of Europe and in North America.
• A wreath with holly, red berries and other decorations began from at least the 17th century. Holly, with its sharply pointed leaves, symbolised the thorns in Christ’s crown-of-thorns. Red berries symbolised the drops of Christ’s blood. A wreath at Christmas signified a home that celebrated to birth of Christ.
• On Christmas morning since medieval times, church bells have been rung to announce to the world the coming of the saviour. It was customary from the 18th century to wear clothes and carry a small bell to signify the birth of Christ. The ringing of the bells was to signify the importance of the His Birth.

A Politically Correct Christmas Story

‘Twas the night before Christmas and Santa’s a wreck…
How to live in a world that’s politically correct?
His workers no longer would answer to “Elves”.
“Vertically Challenged” they were calling themselves.
And labour conditions at the North Pole
were alleged by the union to stifle the soul.
Four reindeer had vanished, without much propriety,
Released to the wilds by the Humane Society.
And equal employment had made it quite clear
That Santa had better not use just reindeer.
So Dancer and Donner, Comet and Cupid
Were replaced with 4 pigs, and you know that looked stupid!
The runners had been removed from his sleigh;
The ruts were termed dangerous by the E.P.A.
And people had started to call for the cops
When they heard sled noises on their rooftops.
Second-hand smoke from his pipe had his workers quite frightened.
His fur trimmed red suit was called “Unenlightened.”
And to show you the strangeness of life’s ebbs and flows,
Rudolf was suing over unauthorised use of his nose
And had gone on Geraldo, in front of the nation,
Demanding millions in over-due compensation.
So, half of the reindeer were gone; and his wife,
Who suddenly said she’d enough of this life,
Joined a self-help group, packed, and left in a whiz,
Demanding from now on her title was Ms.
And as for the gifts, why, he’d never had a notion
That making a choice could cause so much commotion.
Nothing of leather, nothing of fur,
Which meant nothing for him. And nothing for her.
Nothing that might be construed to pollute.
Nothing to aim, Nothing to shoot.
Nothing that clamoured or made lots of noise.
Nothing for just girls, or just for the boys.
Nothing that claimed to be gender specific.
Nothing that’s warlike or non-pacifistic.
No candy or sweets…they were bad for the tooth.
Nothing that seemed to embellish a truth.
And fairy tales, while not yet forbidden,
Were like Ken and Barbie, better off hidden.
For they raised the hackles of those psychological
Who claimed the only good gift was one ecological.
No baseball, no football…someone could get hurt;
Besides, playing sports exposed kids to dirt.
Dolls were said to be sexist, and should be passe;
And Nintendo would rot your entire brain away.
So Santa just stood there, dishevelled, perplexed;
He just could not figure out what to do next.
He tried to be merry, tried to be gay,
But you’ve got to be careful with that word today.
His sack was quite empty, limp to the ground;
Nothing fully acceptable was to be found.
Something special was needed, a gift that he might
Give to all without angering the left or the right.
A gift that would satisfy, with no indecision,
Each group of people, every religion;
Every ethnicity, every hue,
Everyone, everywhere…even you.
So here is that gift, it’s price beyond worth…
May you and your loved ones, enjoy peace on Earth.

REMEMBER THIS AT CHRISTMAS TIME

According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, while both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer each year, male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter, usually late November to mid-December.
Female reindeer retain their antlers till after they give birth in the spring.
Therefore, according to EVERY historical rendition depicting Santa’s reindeer, EVERY single one of them, from Rudolph to Blitzen, had to be a girl.
We should’ve known……  ONLY women would be able to drag a fat-ass man in a red velvet suit all around the world in one night and not get lost.

A MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!!!!

Christmas Queue Folly

Just before Christmas I was shopping at a toy fayre in Nottingham’

I glanced to my left and caught sight of a queue at the doll counter; they were waiting for the shelves to be restocked with Mattel dolls.  As I looked I realised that in the queue was a good friend of mine.  Knowing Ernie well I was sure that he had no daughters nor did he have any nieces so I wondered why he should want to buy a doll at Christmas time’

‘Hey, Ernie,’ I cried, ‘I hadn’t realised you collected dolls.’
‘I don’t,’ he replied laughing’

‘Really,’ I queried, ‘then you must be buying a Christmas present then?’
‘No, not at all, my friend,’ responded Ernie, his eyes twinkling merrily’

‘If you don’t mind my asking then Ernie,’ I said, ‘Why exactly are you standing in this particular queue?’

‘Oh that,’ he giggled. ‘It’s like this, my mate,’ he mused, ‘I’ve never been able to resist a Barbie queue.’

For The Guys

For The Ladies

For Those Who Cant Decide

Almost everyone knows, these days, that Santa Claus came to us over the centuries from Saint Nicholas. But why do some people still insist on calling him Father Christmas?

The truth is that there is a huge case of mistaken identity happening here as both names have distinctly different origins.

The Transformation of Saint Nicholas

Saint Nicholas was a popular figure in Turkey in the 3rd and 4th Centuries. As the Patron Saint of children (and, surprisingly, the Patron Saint of pawnbrokers) Saint Nicholas became popular amongst the Dutch as Sinter Klaas, but this was further transformed to Santa Claus when the Dutch brought this tradition with them to the Americas.

Famously, Santa Claus underwent his final and biggest make-over in the 1930’s when a hugely successful Coca-Cola advertising campaign gave him the red and white outfit and appearance we recognise today.

Alternatively, the origins of Father Christmas go back even further still and predate Christ, despite the name he would come to be known as.

Old Man Winter, Knocking at Your Door

Originally called Father Winter or Old Man Winter, he was a popular part of the Midwinter festivals that took place in the British Isles and Northern Europe. An elder of the village would dress up to personify winter and would visit each house within the village or community. The family would provide him with food and drink, thereby appeasing the winter elements and providing luck for the coming year.

The Midwinter festivals were full of these superstitious traditions that all seemed to rely on pleasing the spirits to reduce the severity of the winter elements and Father Christmas was just one more of these.

Renamed after the adaptation of the Midwinter festivals into the Christmas celebrations in the fourth century, the tradition was too popular to disappear and continued in a similar form for the following hundreds of years.

Two Traditions Become One

It wasn’t until the Nineteenth Century and the arrival of the Santa Claus tradition in England that the two characters began to become merged as one. As both characters were said to visit all houses at Christmas, the merging was an obvious one.

For some British and Europeans, the distinction of Father Christmas over Santa Claus is defended, but many now use the two names interchangeably. Even so, there can still be seen traces of the original Father Christmas if you know where to look.

In certain parts of the British Isles, for example, Father Christmas is often not depicted as the popular Coca-Cola Santa Claus of today, but as a thinner, long cloaked and hooded old man more in keeping with the old tradition. Sometimes, the colours may be the same in a further merging of traditions, but he may also appear in all manner of bright colours and accessories, distinguishing Father Christmas even more from the commercialised Santa of today.

Obesity warning as children eat up to 6,000 calories on Christmas Day

Young children can consume quadruple the daily recommended amount of calories on Christmas Day alone, research revealed today. Childhood obesity experts at Leeds-based Carnegie Weight Management found that Christmas dinner, treats and other meals contained up to 6,000 calories – nearly four times what a five-year-old should eat in one day.

The study by the weight management programme, based at Leeds Metropolitan University, found that an average Christmas dinner can contain 956 calories and 48g of fat, while assorted desserts and treats add another 3,336 calories and 169.7g of fat.

Added to breakfast and any other extra meals or snacks and children are soon eating far more than is recommended in one day.

The 6,000-calorie total is around four times the 1,550-calorie limit recommended for a girl aged between four and six and is even more than twice the 2,775 daily allowance for teenage boys aged 15 to 18 years old.Adults are also in danger of over-indulging, with daily recommended limits of 2,550 calories for men and 1,940 for women.Carnegie Weight Management is now warning parents to recognise the dangers of such over-eating after a further study found that many wrongly think their children will grow out of obesity.The research found that more than 40 per cent of parents are not recognising weight problems in their offspring – with 16 per cent blaming it on puppy fat, 14 per cent claiming it is genetic and 11 per cent thinking it is down to low metabolism.

The statistics have prompted experts at Carnegie, the longest-running programme for the treatment of overweight and obese children in Europe, to warn parents that not recognising weight problems in their children can lead to obesity levels continuing.Paul Gately, director of Carnegie Weight Management, said: ‘Puppy fat is no longer relevant to our children; they just don’t grow out of it any more. In fact, half of overweight five-year- olds will grow up to be obese adults.’I urge parents to seek advice early in order to understand the classifications of overweight and obesity and access services.’

More than 25million boxes of crackers are sold in the UK each Christmas with most still containing the standard ‘jokes’ inside.A poll of 4,000 people for Christmas decorations retailer www.mrschristmas.co.uk have voted on the best and worst of the festive rib-ticklers.

The Top 10 were

1. Doctor: What seems to be the problem?

Santa: I seem to have a mince pie stuck up my bottom!

Doctor: I’ve got just the cream for that!

2. Why did the scientist install a knocker on his door?

He wanted to win the no-bell prize

3. What goes oh, oh, oh?

Santa walking backwards

4. What do you call a bunch of grandmasters of chess bragging about their games in a hotel lobby?

Chess nuts boasting in an open foyer.

5. What did Adam yell on the day before Christmas?

‘It’s Christmas, Eve!’

6. What do you call a penguin in the Sahara Desert?

Lost

7. What kind of room has no windows or doors?

A mushroom

8. What do you call a man with brown paper trousers?

Russell

9. How did the human cannonball lose his job?

He got fired

10. Why don’t ducks tell jokes when they’re flying?

Because they would quack up

Top 10 worst Christmas cracker jokes

1. What’s purple and yells help?

A damson in distress

2. What do you call the fear of getting stuck while sliding down a chimney?

Santa Claus-trophbia

3. What happened to the turkey at Christmas?

It got gobbled!

4. How do you know when there is a snowman in your bed?

You wake up wet!

5. What do you get if you eat Christmas decorations?

Tinsilitis!

6. What’s the fastest thing in the water?

A motor pike

7. Why did the skeleton go to the New Year’s Eve party?

He had no body to go with

8. What do reindeer hang on their Christmas trees?

Horn-aments!

9. I’ve just bought a dog with no nose

How does he smell?         Awful

10. What’s the most popular Christmas wine? ‘I don’t like Brussels sprouts!

Xmas WTF !!!

Just Dont Ask…Im Not Sure !!

And On That Note…Have A Sexy Xmas…..Goodnight…See You All In 2010

Boy, two, is snatched by social workers after mother refused doctor’s advice to feed him junk food

By Chris Brooke
Last updated at 7:50 AM on 03rd December 2009

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Like many toddlers, Zak Hessey was a fussy eater who refused his mother’s healthy home cooking.

Concerned about his falling weight, his parents sought the advice of doctors. That simple act triggered a shocking chain of events that led to the youngster being put into foster care for four months.

Paul and Lisa Hessey believe in the long-term benefits of healthy eating and rejected advice to feed their two-year-old son high-calorie snack food such as chocolate, crisps and cakes.

Taken into care: Zak Hessey was placed in a foster home for four months because his parents refused advice to feed him junk food

To their horror, social workers put Zak into foster care ‘to assess his needs’ and allegedly threatened the couple with the loss of their parental rights if they fought the decision in court.

‘I was absolutely devastated, I broke down in tears,’ recalled Mrs Hessey, 48. ‘I was scared out of my wits. I phoned Paul to tell him and he just broke down on the phone.’

But they went to court and, after four months, Zak returned home with the blessing of social services, who accepted he had good and caring parents.

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Zak is now putting on some weight, but his eating problems were not cured by his time in the care of ‘experts’ and, much to the annoyance of his parents, he has acquired a taste for junk food.

Mrs Hessey, of Bolsover, near Chesterfield, said: ‘I thought I was doing the right thing going to the best people for advice when Zak began to lose weight.

Heartbroken: Lisa Hessey was told she would have her parental rights taken away in court if she opposed a decision to place Zak in care

‘Instead they basically accused me of neglecting him and implied it was all my fault. I have four other children and they are perfectly healthy, it was just that Zak was refusing food for some reason. They said I should just feed Zak chocolate, cakes and junk food just to get calories into him. But I objected, saying that was only a short-term answer and not a proper solution.

‘The Government and doctors are always drumming into parents the importance of healthy eating – yet they were telling us to feed Zak all the wrong things.

‘That is obviously what they were doing when he was in foster care so now it is hard to get him to eat anything else.’

Mrs Hessey and her 48-year-old husband, a lorry driver, took Zak to see a paediatrician at Chesterfield Royal Hospital in July. He was 20 months old and weighed 1st 3lb.

Mrs Hessey, whose four other children are under ten, said she was happy for Zak to be admitted for a two-week hospital assessment and was hit by a thunderbolt when she went to collect him on July 24.

She was taken into a room with a nurse and social worker who apparently told her: ‘We would like Zak to go into foster care to assess how he feeds. You have legal rights but be warned if you oppose this we will go straight to court and have all your parental rights taken away.’

Mrs Hessey said: ‘They kept saying, “If you love Zak and you want the best for him then you’ll agree to this”. They said we had been negative about eating. That was because they had been telling us we should feed Zak crisps, chocolate and cakes to get calories into him.

‘I was questioning that approach. We eat proper home-made food at our house and just have chocolate and cakes as a treat.’

Fussy eater: Zak Hessey, two, has now acquired a taste for junk food after social workers tried to make him gain weight

She agreed to Zak going into care after hearing to the possible repercussions if she objected. Initially she and her husband couldn’t see Zak for six days.

After hiring a solicitor, they were allowed three hours a day with him during the week in the company of a social worker.

The first hearing before the family court in Derby was on September 2 and the case was adjourned for two weeks. Interim care orders were imposed and Zak returned home following a third court hearing on November 18. By this stage social workers had lifted their objections – and he had put on only 1lb.

Mrs Hessey said: ‘Social services did a complete about turn. They admitted that in foster care Zak was exactly the same with his food as he was at home.

‘They said we were very good parents. I still find it hard to come to terms with how we have been treated.’ Derbyshire County Council said: ‘We only take a child into our care either with the consent of the parents or following very careful consideration by a court.’

A spokesman for Chesterfield Royal Hospital said: ‘While we understand Mr and Mrs Hessey’s distress, Zak’s welfare was paramount and we believe we acted in his best interest.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1232611/Mother-boy-snatched-social-workers-refusing-doctors-advice-feed-chocolate-crisps.html#ixzz0Ybys0SPN

We had a very enjoyable Christmas Party. Our special guest singer, Carolynne sang for just under 2 hours. Many residents danced and enjoyed the event. Our Chef (Stacie) laid on a lavish buffet.

Below are videos and pictures of the event. (More will be posted soon).

Who needs the respect and admiration of your coworkers when you can clumsily grope the boss’ wife, thrown up in the office ficus, photocopy and subsequently send out copies of your junk to the company’s biggest clients, and pass out on the couch in the break room?

Tis the season to be drunk and tacky.

We {jacki, jaimeson, julie, sara lain, buffy and susan} would like to wish each and every one of you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

We wish our newlyweds a wonderful year of Firsts … {first christmas tree, first family ornament, first christmas morning  and much, much more}

We wish our married couples a continued love and support not only for each other but for their whole family …

We wish all the wedding professionals a time to be with their loved ones and stop to smell the eggnog … {as they are so busy most of the year}

Jacki and I have the honor to work with such great ladies day in and day out, that we wanted to treat them to something special.  With 2009 came lots of change and growth for our company, so everyone that is with us, has come on board since last Christmas – so we wanted to treat them to our tradition.  There is a little place in Nonesuch, KY that you may have heard of called Irish Acres - a fabulous antique store that resides in an old schoolhouse.  Well, in the basement is an amazing restaurant called The Glitz.  Jacki and I have been going ourselves for over 10 years, but have been taking our staff and interns there for three years, and we just can’t get enough … it’s become our tradition.

Below is a picture of us in the “black and silver” dining room {they have three different rooms with three different looks – each very fabulous on their own} …

left to right … susan, julie, jacki, jaimeson, sara lain, buffy

celebrating Christmas and all of its meaning …

Hey, everybody. Every year, for some time now, I’ve written a new Christmas short story as my “card” to my friends and family. (And don’t forget, you can download all those previous stories for free from Smashwords.com!) But now, in this age of social networking, podcasting, MyFacing and Tweetbooking, I’ve expanded my scope to bring these tales to everyone out there. And this year you’ve got two ways to take it in. You can read it right here at Evertime Realms, or you can download the audio version. How’s that for convenience?

This year’s short story is a tale of love, understanding, and what happens when the two may not go together. Please enjoy Turn Right at the Sign… and Merry Christmas!

Turn Right at the Sign (Evercast #11)

It had become a ubiquitous sight in New Orleans over the past few years – the yellow signs with  a big black arrow, always accompanied by a short word or initials. Mark remembered several of them he’d seen as he drove around the city or the outlying areas. The tax breaks and incentives the state and city offered had turned Louisiana into the third biggest state in film and television production, and guessing what each set of initials stood for had become one of the regular pastimes of locals. “BD” was for some cable TV show that was filming down there, for example. “CE2” was the sequel to a horror flick that Carrie had found particularly scary. “VEX” surprised him when he found out what it was – he didn’t think it would be possible to film a western in the moist Louisiana climate.

The signs he and Carrie saw on Christmas Eve had the legend “2NDC,” floating over a black arrow that urged them forward. The cast and crews of these films, usually from out of town, used the signs as a guide to the set, but locals just loved playing the game.

“2-N-D-C. Second… Second Coming?” Carrie suggested.

“Second Christmas,” Mark countered. It was a tradition with them, to drive around town on Christmas Eve looking at the decorations set up in the houses and businesses all over the region. Invariably, though, their drive wound up turning into a minor argument. Carrie was perfectly happy following the road wherever it happened to lead, but if Mark didn’t know exactly where he was at all times, he got terribly uncomfortable. Last summer, Carrie had driven halfway to Mississippi, and driven Mark halfway insane because she had no destination in mind. He didn’t know it, but she hoped the GPS she was giving him for Christmas would quell some of those terrors.

“Second Class?” she threw out.

“Second Corndog?”

“Are you still hungry?”

“A bit, yes.”

They drove quietly for a few moments, headlights cutting through the cold air, occasionally sending up a spray of water as they drove through a puddle. It was New Orleans, where it rarely snowed, although there had been more frequent scatterings of powder in the last five years than Mark remembered when he was growing up. That wouldn’t be happening tonight, though. It was cold for New Orleans, but still only down into the 40s, and there was no precipitation forecast until the day before New Year’s Eve.

“Second Chance?” Mark suggested.

“Oooh, I like that one.”

The next sign they approached was different. Still yellow, but the thick black arrow, instead of pointing forward, now directed a right turn. “Follow the sign,” Carrie said. “Let’s see what it is.”

“On Christmas Eve? They aren’t going to be out there tonight.”

“So? That doesn’t mean there won’t be anything to see.”

“I don’t know that part of town, Carrie. It’ll be closed off anyway.”

The car coasted past the sign and Mark immediately felt the temperature drop. She was mad, he could tell, but what was he supposed to do? Go wandering down God-Knows-What Boulevard and cruise past slowly? This was New Orleans. That was a good way to get yourself killed.

“Carrie–”

“You never want to do anything new!” she snapped. “This happens every time!”

“I just don’t think it’s safe.”

“So what? Do you think life is safe? God, Mark, take a chance once in a while.”

“Hey, I take chances.”

“Oh yeah? What was the last one you took?”

He almost said, “ Asking you out,” but decided against it. For one thing, he didn’t think she was in the mood for him to be sweet. The other problem was that had happened over two years ago, and wouldn’t exactly be conducive to proving his point.

“Why is it such a big deal? We’re going to be in Uncle Teddy’s neighborhood soon, they always have a hell of a lightshow.”

“And they’ll have a hell of a lightshow 20 minutes from now. Damn it, Mark, I just want to look. Is that so wrong?”

He hated when she got like this, and when he spun the wheel and tuned around at the next intersection it was all he could do not to snap “Here! Are you happy now?” at her. They drove in silence back to where the sign had indicated, and this time Mark made the turn into an unfamiliar street. This didn’t relieve the tension, of course, he could still feel Carrie sitting there, mad at him, but it wasn’t getting any worse.

The road was particularly dark around here. There was a heavy blanket of trees overhead and no moon or starlight was trickling through. There were no street lamps here either, and no houses bedecked in Christmas lights. It was as total a darkness as Mark had ever driven through.

“I’m freezing,” Carrie said, breaking the silence. Without saying a word, Mark reached down and turned up the heater. Warm air blew across his knuckles, clutching the steering wheel, and next to him Carrie settled a little.

“What’s that?” Mark asked, seeing a structure to their right. She shrugged, and they both leaned over to look. It was a pair of white Roman columns flanking either side of a gate. As they approached it, the tree cover overhead broke and they could make out what it was. The gates opened the way to a cemetery. Moonlight cast a dim blue pallor across acres of headstones and statues, with several mausoleums in clear view. Carrie, who had lived in Indiana until she came to Tulane to go to college, had been surprised when she got here and realized in this part of the country, the water table was too high for traditional burial. She loved the New Orleans cemeteries, just an extension of what made the city so unique.

“See? If we hadn’t taken the turn, we never would have seen this old cemetery. Oh, look at that angel statue. It’s beautiful.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“Are you even looking?”

“Of course.” He wasn’t, though, his eyes were trained firmly on the road. There were no white lines here, and he had to look carefully to see where the pavement ended and the water began. It had been raining for weeks, and the ditch here was still swelling over its lips. There was no shoulder to speak of on this road.

They watched the cemetery coast by, white columns separating the sections of black wrought iron that made up the gates, the rolling tombs beyond. Another statue, a saint of some sort, dropped Carrie’s jaw. “Mark, have you ever seen anything like that before?”

“Nope, never.”

She scowled at him. “Mark, look!”

Sighing, surrendering, Mark glanced up at the statue. It was beautiful, he had to admit, with the beams of moonlight flickering through the cloud cover and shining on its face. The same moonlight touched Carrie’s face as well – her slim nose, her rounded eyes like a doll, her lips glistening – and she was beautiful.

“Carrie, I’m–”

The apology was cut short as he turned his attention back to the road just in time to see something darting through his headlights. It was big, way bigger than a rabbit or an armadillo… a deer, maybe? It wasn’t out of the question in an area like this. Whatever it was, it made him hit the brakes of the car. He slammed them too hard for this sort of rain-slick road, and it began to skid. Carrie screamed, which didn’t help things in the slightest, and the back end of the car started to slide to the right, spraying ditch water into the air. The back of the car slumped into the muddy water and the front rose up. The whole thing rolled onto its side so fast that Mark completely lost his senses, and when he heard the crunching sound coming from behind, he blacked out.

*   *   *

When he could see again, he had no idea how much later it was – a minute, an hour? There was no way to tell. He hurt everywhere, and a bruised feeling across his neck indicated where the seat belt must have cut into him as the car flipped. His eyes opened to a cold night sky, ripe with more stars than Mark had ever seen before.

No, not stars, he realized. Stars didn’t move. He was looking up into a snowfall.

The flakes drifted down towards him, lighting on his face and hands and, he assumed, on the rest of his body as well. He just couldn’t feel them through his clothes. The feel on his face was remarkable, though, like being lightly brushed by feathers made of ice. He almost never saw it, but he loved the snow.

He sat up, finally realizing he was no longer in the car. He must have been thrown free during the crash somehow. He was sitting in maybe a half-inch of snow, and he wondered just how long he’d been out. He pushed himself to his feet, looking around. He was in the cemetery. Had he actually been thrown over the fence? He rushed to the iron bars, looking out to the car. It was sticking up out of the ditch, the roof and hood crunched and the back end underwater. Seeing it like that chilled him, but not as much as the further realization that he didn’t know where Carrie was. He looked across the area where he’d landed for any other sign of where she could be. There was no sign of blood in the snow, not even where he landed somehow, but neither were there any tracks. He couldn’t see, from this angle, if she was still in the car, but it was the only thing that made any sense.

“Carrie! CARRIE!” He screamed at the car, hoping for any sign of movement, any sign of life, but there was nothing. In his life, he didn’t think he had ever felt such an all-encompassing terror as he did in that moment. He grabbed at the bars, tried to pull himself up, but his ungloved hands slipped right through them. He and the metal were both wet from the snow, and there was no way to pull himself over.

“The gate,” he said. “Where’s the gate…”

“If you’re looking for the girl, she’s not there.”

He spun around to see a man sitting on one of the tombs. A cigarette dangled from his lips, and the soft ember at the end reflected in his dark eyes. Calling him a man was actually rather generous, he was no more than a boy, couldn’t have been older than 19 by Mark’s estimation. His black hair was plastered to his tight skin, and he wore a purple and gold high school letter jacket buttoned up to the collar. He didn’t wear gloves either. In this part of Louisiana, there was rarely a need for them.

“What did you just say?”

“The girl that was in the car. She’s not there anymore. I saw her a little while ago wandering off.”

“Is she okay? Was she hurt?”

The boy scoffed. “After a crash like that? She wasn’t in top-notch shape.”

“Well which way did she go? Was there anyone to help her? How long was I out?”

“That way,” he said, pointing into the cemetery. “No. And I don’t honestly know about the last one. Time and I have had kind of a falling out.”

Mark tried to shake that off. “Fine, whatever. I’m going to find her.”

“Hey, wait up,” the kid said. He hopped down off the tomb and flicked his cigarette into a snowdrift. “I’ll come with you. It’s been a while since I had anybody to talk to. Name’s David.”

“Mark.” He responded mainly out of habit, but didn’t proffer a hand. He stumbled off in the direction David had indicated, wishing there were footprints for him to follow through the snow. The powder must have filled them as quickly as Carrie left them behind.

“What are you doing out here anyway, kid? You’re going to freeze to death.”

David laughed again. “Let’s say it wasn’t cold when I left.”

“Fine. So why are you still out here?”

“Same reason you are, I suppose. Because of a girl. Rose and I were out for a drive. She wanted to look at Christmas lights. I just wanted to see how fast I could go with the top down. She kept yelling at me to slow down because she couldn’t see anything.”

“Sounds like a sensible girl.”

“Right until she yelled at me to get off the road. Then she grabbed my arm, and…”

*   *   *

“I told him he was going too fast, but he didn’t listen. Guys never listen.”

“Right,” Carrie replied. “Guys never do.”

Carrie’s experience upon waking up was similar to Mark’s. She was lying in the snow, feeling it fall down upon her face… tickling, but not freezing. She actually enjoyed the sensation for several seconds until she began to wonder just what she was doing there. She was already on her feet, stumbling through the snow and totally lost before she remembered the crash and began to panic about where Mark may be. She was blind, the white pelting her eyes. She wasn’t sure just how long she stumbled around, lost, calling Mark’s name, before there came an answer. But it wasn’t him, it was the girl. She was a teenager, wrapped up in little more than a windbreaker, with bare legs leading down to bobby socks. It seemed odd to Carrie, even then, but she had other things to concern herself with at the moment. The girl introduced herself as Rose, and began to follow Carrie around. She couldn’t quite bring herself to abandon Rose in the snowstorm, but as the girl began to ramble on about how she wouldn’t even be here if her stupid boyfriend hadn’t driven off the road, her sympathies began to evaporate. He wouldn’t slow down, he wouldn’t pay attention, he took all kinds of stupid risks… the girl was sounding like Mark on his worst days. Whoever this David of hers was, he was probably the interesting one in the relationship.

“When did you get here, Rose?”

“I’m not sure… it’s been a while.”

“Well let’s get out of here before we’re both frozen.”

She forged ahead, looking through the snow for Mark, for a gate, for anything other than the rows of white graves that were quickly getting piled upon by the blanket of white snow.

*   *   *

“Look, kid I’m really sorry that your girl got you stranded here, but don’t you think you should be a little more concerned? For that matter, why haven’t we heard any sirens yet? I know this is kind of a remote road, but with two different car crashes down here in the same night you’d think someone would have called an ambulance by now.”

David stopped in his tracks, looking at Mark incredulously. “Really, man? Are you serious with that?”

“Of course I’m serious! How could you not be worried?”

David shook his head and laughed, walking ahead of Mark. “Wow. I wonder if I was that dense when I first got here.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Follow me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Follow me.”

As he followed him, it finally started to dawn on Mark that the young man leading him was leaving no trail of footprints in the fresh-fallen snow.

*   *   *

“If he could just shut up and listen for once, we’d be safe at home right now… drinking hot chocolate, listening to a Bing Crosby record… we’d be okay.”

“Sure you would, kid,” Carrie said. Bing Crosby? Was the kid serious? What teenagers in 2009 even knew who Bing Crosby was?

Carrie had managed to pick out rows among the tombs, and she was following them now. If she stayed going along a row, she reasoned, eventually she would reach the fence at the edge of the cemetery. Once she found the fence, she could follow that to get to a gate, and hopefully find Mark in the process. She inched along, bending into the wind, trying not to let it slap at her face as she went.

“How long did you say you’ve been here?”

“I told you, I don’t know.”

Time to try something different. Carrie looked back at the girl, who was clutching her arms to her chest, but not in a way that made it seem like she was cold. “What year is it?” she asked.

“What? Are you nuts?”

“Humor me,” Carrie said. “What year is it?”

“It’s 1953,” Rose snapped back. Carrie just nodded, turned around, and marched on.

*   *   *

“What’s going on here?” Mark shouted. ”Why don’t you have any footprints?”

“You’re pretty dense, aren’t you bucko?” David said. “Take a look around. Where do you think you are?”

For the first time, in the onslaught of snow, Mark started to feel cold.

As they cut through the snow, it was hard to pick out any real movement in the storm. The snow itself was spinning and whipping around, twirling through the air so quickly that Mark couldn’t tell if any motion was the snow itself or something moving through it, but as they marched through the blue-white night, he was certain he could make out something larger, darker against the snow. And right behind it was something else, something smaller, but not quite as substantial. He didn’t really look too hard at the smaller thing, though, because he could tell the larger thing was Carrie-shaped.

“CARRIE!”

He screamed her name and broke into a run. As he said it, she snapped her head towards him and started running too. They both jumped through the snow and dodged graves until finally they had their arms around each other. She was crying, he was too, and neither of them could later remember which had said they were sorry first. In truth, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was they both said it, and they both meant it.

When they broke away, Mark looked up at David, who was glaring at the young girl that had been walking with Carrie. He looked over at her, squinting through the snow. “Rose?” he said.

“Yeah, that’s her.” David reached into his pocket and took out another cigarette.

“Well… what are you waiting for? She’s here! Go to her, man.”

“What have you been telling this guy?” Rose shouted. “Just stay away from me, you creep!”

“Hey, the feeling is mutual!” David tried to blow a smoke ring at her, but the wind whipped it away. “I don’t need you! I never did!”

Mark looked back and forth between the two of them, flummoxed. “I… I don’t understand. I thought they… Aren’t they…”

“Yeah, they are,” Carrie said. “But I don’t think they’re the way you think they are, baby.”

They watched as the teens stared at each other, turned on their heels, and stormed away into the night. Mark’s jaw remained open, not comprehending what he was seeing. She squeezed his arm. “I think ghosts are supposed to learn something. And I don’t think they ever did.”

*   *   *

The two of them refused to let go of each other, and Mark immediately latched on to Carrie’s very sensible idea of following the rows of graves to the wall. Using the direction he’d been coming from as a guide, they found their way to the car pretty quickly. What they saw when they got there, however, didn’t make any sense at all.

The snow they’d been wandering through seemed to end, abruptly, on the other side of the fence. Outside, there wasn’t so much as a flake of the white stuff. It was very wet, however, and the rain-slick road reflected brightly in the lights of the ambulance and the police cruisers. The car doors had been pried open, and the inhabitants were being removed.

They… Mark and Carrie… were being removed.

Each of them was on a gurney – bloody, beaten, and in as bad shape as Mark had ever seen. They looked at each other, both with a look of confusion on their faces, then Mark looked back behind them.

“We don’t have footprints,” he said.

“Are we… are we…”

They could hear the voices of the police and paramedics softly through the wind, and Mark grabbed Carrie’s hand, pulling her through the bars. The metal was no barrier for them, and the ditch may as well have been filled. Within seconds, they stood beside their own bodies. Carrie finally forced out the question they were both trying not to ask.

“Are we dead?”

Mark shook his head. “I don’t think so. Look.” He pointed to the paramedics working on Carrie, one of them putting a tourniquet on her arm. They were talking, shouting even, but Mark couldn’t understand what they were saying.

“They don’t work this hard for people who are already dead, do they?”

“I guess not.”

They walked around to their respective bodies, letting go of each other for the first time since they saw each other in the storm. He looked at her and smiled. “I love you,” he said.

“I love you too.”

They sat down on the gurneys. They lay down in their bodies.

And until some time later, on the morning of Christmas day, things were black.

is going on now!!!!!!! and dont forget to go to my youtube: TheCamden1

As has become my tradition, with the last Everything But Imaginary before Christmas, I’m running down all the Christmas comics I could get my hands on this year… and this year friends, there are a lot of them! Take a look!

Everything But Imaginary #334: Ghosts of Christmas Comics 2009

Inside This Column:

On the 19th it was the club Christmas party. There were 8 of us on, including Emma Butt and Samara Sands. We had a local radio DJ come in to do the disco and we had a caterer do the buffet. The new cinema room was open, as was the BDSM playroom. I love the cinema room – it’s tiered with porn projected life-size onto the wall. The two upstairs gangbang rooms now had sparkly starlight headboards fitted and new red lightbulbs in the chandeliers. There was tinsel everywhere and we were all in our sexiest Miss Santa outfits.

The party started with us all dancing as alluringly as possible in the lounge and then 6 of us leading the men off to 3 separate locations for the start of the gangbang. There was a raffle all night where the two winners would win 15 minutes 1on1 anal. I was one of the first 6 girls on the beds. And, because we’d had to dance, I was already drunk. I can’t dance sober. I’d had to drink some of Samara’s vodka and then a pint of white wine before I could even start to move like I was a sex goddess not a groovy granny. So when it came to guys fucking me I’m sure they were getting away with being far rougher than normal because I was pretty much numb to their cocks penetrating me deeply!

By the time it got to midnight with an hour and a half left to go we were all, literally, well and truly fucked. We’d used lube right from the start because we knew it was gonna be a long night but our pussies were still closing up. They were telling us ‘no entry’ and we had to listen. So when it got to the buffet we decided we’d all try to make the break a bit longer than it should have been! We succeeded without a single word from the management which bought our dying vaginas a little time.

For the last spurt (as it were) of the night, Emma and I hid upstairs chatting with clients for as long as possible. When slowly other girls were added to our number we all went downstairs and starting giving lapdances instead of shags. When the guys asked us to go to the bed, we make up our own rules and said, ‘blowjobs only’. We felt quite powerful, with us in charge and not the management, and we felt proud to have survived so long being fucked by every type of cock you can imagine. We definitely deserved our £200 each… it made it all worthwhile!

Merry Christmas to you all xx

This image, by Grant Siedlecki, was too good not to repost.

I almost forgot about this cherish-worthy track The Walkmen released an X-mas or two ago. It starts with a wistful recap of the day’s festivities a la Charlie Brown’s Christmas, leap-frogs into some tom-totalling drumming, sleigh bell ringing, parlor piano, that same ol’ guitar presence and Hamilton Leithauser’s croon I can’t seem to get enough of these days.

A few years ago a free Walkmen track generated a lot of buzz, and I have a feeling this tune would garner even more attention if it were released in 2009, as You & Me has attracted a lot of attention.

Well, just trust Gumshoe to bring you the goods and stop reading those other damn sites. 

Here’s a link to the MP3, free for download:

The Walkmen – “Christmas Party” 

Holy ball dropping batman. I feel like a divorced dad with weekend visititation rights and an addiction to Oxycottin. With the blizzard going down I wasnt able to upload any myspace rappers thus the 12 days of Shits-mas was ruined. You hit the winning home run in your little league game and are sitting on the bleachers looking at an empty field afterwards thinking dad is going to show up with his myspace rappers and he’s NOT! all kidding aside, I will make it up to you with more $hitty myspace rappers on the way. For those of you still in town and want to party, Its… A Reed Rothchild christmas is going down tonight at Heaven and Hell in Adams Morgan. Drop me a message via facebook or twitter for guestlist action. Its the final Christmas party of the decade, lets make it count with dancing and an indecent exposure violation in which you MUST appear in court.

I’d been planning on wearing this short, sleeveless number from JJ Park in Camden Market for my Christmas do, but the freakishly cold and shiver-inducing weather made me change my mind! London is too cold for small frocks right now – or am I just easily defeated by the London winter weather? Where do you draw the line between being insufferably cold and looking good?

We had a £5 budget for Secret Santa, and I bought this reusable shopping bag from Museum of London. Its cute design plays on Cockney Rhyming Slang, it says ‘London is a lovely place for a bit of Lollipopping’ (shopping). How true, and perfect for carrying your shopping – I have to confess I bought myself one too!

Merry Christmas!

“Janet, let’s have a Christmas party in the office! My wife can take care of the turkey. She’s very good with that!” my senior IT manager suggested enthusiastically.

No surprise that the suggestion came from him. He’s the ultra sociable type and loves company.

“I’ll bring drinks. Can’t cook, sorry,’ said another. “Sure, and I’ll bake the fruit cake!” I chipped in. I have the recipe for an incredibly irresistible rum fruit cake and now’s the time to show it off.

The thought of festive goodies distracted us for a while. While everyone started to get excited over the party planning, I surfed for lamb recipes.  Turkey has never been a favourite of mine, it being dry and tough most of the times. In fact, most people I know eat turkey as a celebratory gesture more than the fact that they really enjoy the taste.

Most looks better than it taste, or is it just me?

Most traditional Chinese families do not take to lamb. My family is no exception. My recollection of having the best lamb dishes was that of first class, after the meal service of course.  The generous and succulent slabs still leave its lingering aftertaste in my memory.

The sprig of rosemary (in the photo) reminds of the time when the crew were rushing during the service and the elusive rosemary could not be found. Plating (airline term for arranging food on large dinner plates in premium class) is an art. The various herb garnishes adds the visual ‘height’ to the main course and final touches.

When an artist loses the final stroke, it’s panic time! It’s just a garnish, you might think but to the airline, this visual effect that rounds up the overall aesthetic appearance is but a must.

This reminds me of the unforgetable roasted lamb I had onboard many Christmas ago

The thought of Christmas goodies has obviously gotten many drooling.  So where will you be during Christmas?  Many of my friends have reserved seats to pig out at the buffets.  Honey baked ham with honey sauce, rack of lamb, Christmas pudding; roast turkey stuffed to the max, eggnog, apple cider … major slurp at the smorgasbord!

Eating out is a major obstacle for all healthy eaters because it’s so easy to go overboard in the calorie department.  When party invitations start flooding in, parties mean alcohol and with the best will in the world you will want to enter the party spirit and enjoy a drink.

The dampener is that we all know that alcohol is high in calories (1g = 7kcal).  Of course, some choose to ignore it, especially after one too many.

Know any of the tips below? Do practise them!

* Try alternating alcoholic drinks with low calorie non-alcoholic drinks or water

* Use low calorie/diet mixers – it can make a big difference

* Make wine into a spritzer (adding a low-calorie soft drink) – a longer drink means you will drink less

*Don’t Skip Meals to Allow for Drinks

*Don’t be tempted to skip meals to allow for drinks – you’ll feel the effects of alcohol much faster

In fact, eating a proper meal before you go out will line your stomach and slow the rate at which alcohol is absorbed into your bloodstream. This will keep you in control of how much you eat and drink.

My personal method is to suck on a really sour preserved plum as it works well for me. Do you have any to add to the list?

From time to time, we see young people drunk to the world and being dragged out parties and clubs by their friends – not a pretty sight at all. Surely, the pretty girl I witnessed, who left with a trail of pee as a grand exit would not be visiting the same club for a long time to come.

What every you do, watch your intake and don’t get carried away by the festive mood and end up doing something you might regret thereafter. Yes, we are not talking about calorie-counting here. Have sensible fun and you’ll wake up post celebration morning with wonderful memories and zero hangovers!

Have a great time everyone!

Club Penguin is featuring this igloo. Now that’s the Christmas Spirit! Is everybody ready for Christmas? CP posted today to remember that the Christmas Party only lasts till the 28th. So let’s partay!

We can thank this lovely Christmas season for my inability to do as many postings on my blog as I’d like to. It seems like it’s one Christmas party to another, shopping for gifts, and moving my home-base (with everything that entails!), to friends visiting. It just seems to never stop! I’m actually quite surprised with Christmas this year. I’m starting to feel like a woman on the verge of having business to attend to. It’s a strange feeling for me, but I have to admit, I’m really starting to enjoy it. I guess some would call it… maturing? Growing up? Getting a life? I don’t know. It is what it is, haha.

For example, tonight- Chris and I went to the Gates’s house for a “Welcome Home/Christmas Party” for their youngest daughter, Janelle, who is normally away in Georgia at school, and their older daughter, Melody and her husband Derek, who now live in California. I’ve known the Gates for a little over 10 years now, and they are a family I would consider my own. It was a lot of fun, and so so so great to see Melody again. I’d really love a chance to get back over to the West coast again and visit her in California. Who knows- I might just fall in love with it all over again and move back. That would be splendid.

Anyhow, I just wanted to update you all and let you know that I’m still here, I’m still alive, and things will get back to normal probably some time after Christmas (one can only hope!). In the meantime, I want to take a poll…

And of course, naturally, when I say “Track St. Nick as he flies around the world” I simply mean the NORAD Santa Tracker.  If you haven’t seen this yet, I highly recommend checking it out. It’s great with kids and so much fun to do on Christmas Eve. It’s a website that actually tracks Santa’s stops around the world, and keeps an update of when he’ll be coming to your town, down to the second! They now have options for you to follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Picasa Web. I absolutely love it. My nephew, Mekaih and I tracked Santa last year. He was so excited, he couldn’t wait to fall asleep so he would come sooner.

And speaking of sleep… it’s now time for me to get some. I’ve got yet another full day tomorrow planned. Merry early Christmas, everyone, and good night!

d.

By: MPDC Edipolo A. Mosquito, Jr.

            For the first time in the history of LGU Alegria Christmas party celebration among municipal officials and employees, the December 21, 2009 Christmas party was full of excitement and joy where every office had shown presentations in various ways to fill the spirit of Christmas and camaraderie. Despite of different political affiliations of local elected officials headed by Mayor Dominador G. Esma, Jr., they were in unison to provide extra funds for additional Christmas bonuses ever to happen for the past 41 years. These added the strong interest of active participation in joining the party because they did not expect of receiving extra bonus except always of receiving regular benefits every year ends.

            During the occasion, the following activities were shown:

1. Talents presentation of local and national offices
2. Changing gifts
3. Awarding of prizes to winners of talent presentations
4. Awarding of plaque of recognition with cash incentive to performing local offices

A. Winners of the talent presentation were the following:

• Best performer went to MEEDO Office headed by Mr. Joselito Y. Madelo with cash prize of P1,000.00
• Second prize was awarded to Municipal Health Office headed by Dr. Michelle Gloria S. Mola with cash prize of P750.00
• Third prize went to merge presentation of MBO, Assessor’s Office and Accounting Office with cash prize of P500.00

Non winning presentations were given consolation prize of P200.00 each to: DA/MPDC presentation, Police/COMELEC/Popcom/DAR presentation, MSWDO presentation, SB presentation and Mayor’s Office presentation.

B. Awarding of plaque of recognition with cash incentive of P5,000.00 to best performing local offices 2009 search as judged by the Civil Service Commission, Surigao del Norte Field Office of which only 2 out of 13 local offices received the Program on Awards and Incentives for Service Excellence (PRAISE)  Award:

•  2009 PRAISE Award went to Municipal Planning and Development Office headed by Mr. Edipolo A. Mosquito, Jr.
•  PRAISE Award for 2009 went to Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office headed by Mrs. Arlyn Pasia-Gabeligno.

            In his Christmas message, Mayor Esma challenged every local office to do and perform well in the next years to come. He meant performance oriented employees and not just be contented of what we are now because according to him, LGU Alegria 5 years from now is aspiring to become one of the progressive town in the Province of Surigao del Norte, of course, with divine help and guidance. As the local government unit of Alegria progresses, it means increase of privileges and benefits to local officials and employees, he added.

            The lively Christmas party was held at the fully air-conditioned Municipal Development Training Center that can accommodate as much as 300 persons with audio-visual facilities and a live band owned and operated by MEEDO Office of the Local Government Unit of Alegria, Surigao del Norte.

Check out more  LGU Christmas 2009 Photos
 

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Tips for finding Aunt Arctic

1. Using this tracker

2. Usually found in the Town, Plaza, or Ski Village areas

3. Look for big crowds

4. Populated Servers

Don’t trust the penguins saying stuff like “Aunt Arctic is at Frozen!” because they are lying. Why else would they be in the sever you are in if they know Aunt Arctic is in another server?