Holiday Free For All Friday

No surprise... various holiday related items dancing in my head this Friday...

After my recent holiday "there's not enough time left" freak-out, I've made progress... did quite a bit of online shopping this week and with the exception of getting some gift cards, I think I may be done-ish.  While I am not totally and completely satisfied with the results, it's to the point where it's "okay"... which, if you take away all the media pressure and retail hullabaloo, likely translates to "totally and completely satisfied."

Some impressive shipping -- I have already received two item that I ordered earlier this week... and with standard shipping no less.  I don't know where all these "free shipping" offers are... even for "regular" shipping it seems as if I am paying through the nose... and it's particularly sad/funny when you pay more for shipping than the item you purchased!

Among other things, I decided to send my parents and brother's family gift baskets (they don't read/know of this blog to the best of my knowledge).  Though I just about spit when the two baskets of cookies and other assorted baked goodies (+ shipping!) totaled over $150.   I should go back to see if the cookies contain gold chips or spun with some other precious metal.

Hope to start writing out the Christmas cards later today or this weekend.  Put the final touches on the Christmas letter this morning... but, thanks to my relatively new "work" laser duplex printer, I had to figure out how to position the holiday stationery in the paper tray so it would print correctly.  Flipped over with the top of the paper closest to me.  Only took three attempts.

With the display up for almost a week now, and despite my the mental duress... I am quite pleased with how the front yard turned out... though I just wish it was a tad further away from two insanely lit houses... it's like we're Knot's Berry Farm right next door to frickin' DisneyLand... I know, I know... I need to just let that go!

We are planning to get together for some pre-holiday festivities with Scott & Buckaroo this weekend... so if any of Scott's competition for the 2007 QueerVerve Awards is interested in sabotage outsourcing, I am currently entertaining monetary offers. 

Currently, in my own race, I am hanging on to the #2 spot for Best Entertainment/Gossip Blog... though that's pretty tentative... from what I can tell, I am the only one who is even begging for votes promoting their nomination.  Need another reason to vote for me?!   I'm the only one of the bunch that is free of advertising!  (No offense, to those of you who do... I am just trying to differentiate myself from the competition and distract from the fact that this isn't a full-time entertaintment/gossip blog as proven by this very entry).