Farewell, 2008

It's hard to believe that twelve months have past, but today we say goodbye to 2008. You gave us a year that we will never forget, and things that we never expected.

We never expected that we would be have to pay over four dollars a gallon for gas during this year. And we still have a hard time accepting the fact that we're in a deep recession right now.

We never expected such zeal and enthusiasm for a Presidential election, but you gave us quite a race this fall. You showed us that anything is possible if you believe hard enough; that was proof positive in the Presidential election as well as the summer Olympics in Bejing as we watched Michael Phelps and Dara Torres.

We never expected that a hurricane down at the Gulf Coast could have an impact on the 'Ville, but it did back in September, and parts of our city were without power for over a week.

We never expected jobs to be taken away from us, but as the recession continues, and not only do we see our friends and family affected, but ourselves as well.

We never expected our friends and family to be taken away from us. I still mourn the passing of my best friend in the world's mother, but at the same time, I celebrate her life and legacy.

Personally, I never expected such a change in my life during this past year. Last New Year's Eve, I would have never expected that in the coming year I would have a life-altering change, and would eventually lose over fifty pounds and would be riding my bike over ten miles every day of the week.

But for all of these unexpected things, I thank you, 2008. You made us stronger, and gave us hope for 2009.

Top Searches Of 2008

January - Heath Ledger

February - Moon maps (due to the fascination with the lunar eclipse)

March - American Idol contestants

April - Stimulus checks

May - Suri Cruise, Big Brown

June - Barack Obama, George Carlin's Seven Words

July - Montauk Monster, Dara Torres

August - Underage Chinese gymnasts, Michael Phelps

September - Hurricane Ike, Sarah Palin

October - Tina Fey, Joe the Plumber

November -Presidential election

December - Caylee Anthony, Bailouts

Just Another Manic Monday

I'm usually very happy and the one that people turn to to help them when they're feeling down, but this day started out very dark and gloomy for me, even though the sun was shining and the sky was blue. Editors note: this was not related to the Dark Place mood a few weeks ago, unfortunately; it was a totally different dark and gloomy mood. Technically, it was dark when I left for work, but you get the point. I had some things that I needed to face and sort out last night, but I was unable to get them sorted out last before I went to bed. Needless to say, I didn't sleep much last night. But thanks to a good dose of some tough love, I got things sorted out this morning at work, and all is well now.

There was one ironic twist to my dark and gloomy mood. This morning, I hooked up my iPod in the car, clicked to my current favorite play list "80's Ladies" and the first song that played was the Bangles "Manic Monday." Need I say anymore?

Link Of The Week

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that our family cut out gift giving this year, and instead made a donation to the American Diabetes Association on honor of my Mother, who is a diabetic. It was a bit odd not to have presents to open on Christmas morning, but I felt good about our donation going toward research to find a cure for diabetes. Sure, Christmas is over, but it's not too early to start thinking about next year. I found a website that deals with this very thing -- donating to worthy [and legitimate] charities instead of giving gifts at Christmas. It's called Redefine Christmas. You can find out more about it at http://www.redefine-christmas.org.

Walking In A Winter Wonderland?

It's very hard to believe that Christmas was just two days ago when the temperature outside is humid 70 degrees. Yes, you read that correctly. Here in the 'Ville today, the temperature is 70 degrees. It's extremely humid, too, and very windy. I just got back from the salon from getting my hair cut, and I told my stylist to just blow dry it instead of my usual big hair styling, because I knew as soon as I stepped foot outside in the humidity and wind it would be all over.

It's just not right - it's not supposed to be 70 degrees two days after Christmas in Louisville. I could see it, if it were in Phoenix or Los Angeles, but it's way hotter here than in Las Vegas today. It's just not right. Take last week, for example. On Friday, the high was 68 degrees. Two days later on Sunday, the high was 18 with a wind chill of -15. That's just not right, either.

I guess I'll stay inside the rest of the day so my freshly cut 'do won't get all messed up.

Friday Funnies

Ralph and Edna were both patients in a mental hospital. One day while they were walking past the hospital swimming pool, Ralph suddenly jumped into the deep end. He sank to the bottom of the pool and stayed there. Edna promptly jumped in to save him. She swam to the bottom and pulled him out.

When the Head Nurse Director became aware of Edna's heroic act she immediately ordered her to be discharged from the hospital, as she now considered her to be mentally stable. When she went to tell Edna the news she said, "Edna, I have good news and bad news. The good news is you're being discharged, since you were able to rationally respond to a crisis by jumping in and saving the life of the person you love. I have concluded that your act displays sound mindedness . The bad news is Ralph hung himself in the bathroom with his bathrobe belt right after you saved him. I am so sorry, but he's dead."

Edna replied, "He didn't hang himself. I put him there to dry. How soon can I go home?'

Merry Christmas

It's early afternoon on Christmas Day. By now, the presents have been all unwrapped and Christmas dinners are starting to be prepared. Even though it's just the three of us here at The Compound, it's been an awesome Christmas. We're healthy and happy and that's the main thing. This year, I asked for only one thing this Christmas, and as always, Santa came through. I asked to sleep in on Christmas Day. It sure was sweet getting up at 9:00 this morning. And I went to bed at my normal weekly time last night, too, so I sure did have a great long winter's nap. But I digress.

If you need to have some alone time today to get away from the relatives and all of the festivities, I've got a bonus Link Of The Week that I think you'll enjoy. Visit http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=5q0TO&m=8YnL_UiFQ_Pzs&b=_FbS7ldyKy7YElHHvPmWsg and you can learn about the history of Christmas. I'm hoping that you all already know the real reason we celebrate Christmas, but our friends at the History Channel will tell you more than you ever wanted to know about how Christmas has been celebrated throughout history, as well as telling us about the history of the Christmas tree and other holiday traditions.

I hope everyone has as great a Christmas as we did at The Compound.

Happy Christmas Eve

As I type this, I'm sitting here in front of the computer trying to dry out. We've had non-stop monsoons since yesterday evening. The winds have been about 20-30 mph during the continuous rain, and I didn't sleep at all last night for the rain hitting my window. So as Grandma would have said, I didn't get my nap out. But it's Christmas Eve today - and for me that means an annual trip to an old friend's house for coffee and cookies with her family. It's a Christmas Eve tradition - I go over at about noon every Christmas Eve and the adults have coffee while the kids have hot chocolate, and we all have a blast listening to the kids talk about Santa coming. Well, for their sake, I hope Santa wears some goggles tonight and has windshield wipers on his sleigh, because we've got storms, wind, and lots of rain in the forecast for this afternoon and tonight. To and from my friends' home, there was water covering roads, and in two locations MSD had closed the road due to high standing water. Great. And we're heading downtown later this afternoon for the Christmas Eve service at church. We probably should take the boat instead of the Odyessy.

On my way home from my friends' home, I called The Compound to see if they needed anything. Unfortunately for me, Mom said she would like some bananas for another holiday tradition: fruit salad. Only for my Mother would I brave the grocery store on Christmas Eve afternoon in the middle of a rain storm. The store was packed, but I was able to get my bananas and a bottle of Christmas Red nail polish and get in and out of the store in less than ten minutes -- that's a record for Christmas Eve.

I have an hour before I need to get ready for church, so I'm going to partake in yet another holiday tradition at The Compound: a nap. I deserve it.

More Christmas Song Oddities

The only time of the year that we can listen to the radio in our department at work is the week or two before Christmas; our boss would let us listen to a channel that plays all Christmas music. Well, with the boss out on medical leave leaving me the wannabe boss, of course I let us all listen to the radio for the past three weeks. And for the past three weeks, we've had more then our fill of Christmas songs. If you think they play the same song over and over again on top forty radio stations these days, you ain't heard nothing till you heard this channel that plays nothing but Christmas music until midnight Christmas day. During our few weeks of listening, we quickly became bored with the songs, and decided to start keeping track of some statistics. Here's what we found:

In "Feliz Navidad" by Jose Feliciano, the term "Feliz Navidad" is sung 21 times.

In "Santa Clause Is Coming To Town" by Bruce Springsteen, the phrase "Santa Clause Is Coming To Town" is sung 24 times.

In "Jingle Bell Rock" by Bobby Helms, the word "Jingle" is sung 26 times.

In "The Little Drummer Boy" by a big choir and orchestra whose name they didn't mention, "Pa Rum Pa Pum Pum" is sung 30 times.

In "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow" by Dean Martin, the phrase "Let It Snow" is sung 26 times.

In "Here Comes Santa Clause" by Elvis Presley, the phrase "Santa Clause" is sung 18 times.

In "Happy Holidays" by Andy Williams, the word "Holidays" is sung 26 times (by Andy Williams and the background vocals.)

I don't know about you, but that made me tired.

Mullet Watch

Just when I thought the mullets were all hibernating, yours truly has spotted not one but TWO mullets - at the same time and place, even. The sighting occurred last night at a 'hood food and beverage establishment. I stopped on my way home to pick up something for the the 'Rents and I for supper, and while I was sitting there waiting for my food, I spotted the two mullets. The thing that really caught my attention was not the fact that I spotted two mullets; it was the fact that their mullets and their clothes were almost identical. Both mullets were dyed jet black and long, and their hosts were wearing jeans, fake animal skin boots, and black leather jackets. Mullet #1 host had a goatee and mustache, and talked with a gravelly voice that really annoyed me. Mullet #2 host was clean shaven and a bit smaller than Mullet #1, and his mullet was thinning on the top. I was eavesdropping on their conversation, and apparently Mullet #1 was telling Mullet #2 about the Food Network show "Semi-Homemade With Sandra Lee."

Mullet count: 33

Link Of The Week

A couple of weeks ago at work, a co-worker and I decided to undertake a pretty big project: cleaning our keyboards. We got a thing of canned air, some Q-tips and our trusty Windex and went to work. We do a lot of erasing in our department, and unfortunately the eraser shavings collect in our keyboards, along with our cracker crumbs, dust and other gunk. But I digress. This week, I found a product I am going to order -- a washable keyboard. Sure, they cost a bit more, but it they work, I'm all for it. You can see for yourself at http://www.wetkeys.com. And I saw on the site that Rachel Ray just loves her Wetkeys washable keyboard. Hey - if it has her approval, then it must be worth buying.

Lines In Christmas Songs That Make No Sense

Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
"Scary ghost stories" - this just makes me say WTF? As far as I know, there are no scary ghost stories about Christmas. Are they talking about something Biblical, or are they possibly referring to Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol" when Scrooge is visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future?

Little Saint Nick by the Beach Boys
"He's the little Saint Nick" - what exactly is a "little Saint Nick"?
"Christmas comes this time each year" - all I can say about this line is duh.

Do They Know It's Christmas
"There won't be snow in Africa this Christmas time" - once again, all I can say is duh.

Winter Wonderland
"Later on we'll conspire" - what are they conspiring about? Committing some heinous crime?

I'll Be Home For Christmas
"Presents on the tree" - I don't know about you, but in my 45 years of celebrating Christmas, I've never once seen a present on our Christmas tree.

No Place Like Home For The Holidays
"The traffic is terrific" - all I can say about this is WTF?

Do You Hear What I Hear
"A child shivers in the cold; let us bring him silver and gold" - A kid is shivering in the cold; don't you think a coat or a blanket would be a more appropriate present then silver or gold?

Oh Tennenbaum
What in the world is a tannenbaum?

Flashback Friday

In and of itself, this picture alone is worthy enough to get Flashback Friday status. FYI it was taken on Christmas Day 1964. Yes, that is yours truly all decked out in her Christmas red leotards and saddle oxford shoes. And for the record, I don't look a whole lot different today, except bigger. But I digress. If you look close at the picture, focus in on the awesome silver Christmas tree. Look a bit closer and you can see the base of the tree where the very cool color wheel was. In case you don't know or have forgotten, back in the day most people had aluminum trees with a color wheel in the stand/base that would shine different colors up on the tree. In this picture, you can clearly see the red disk that shone up on the tree (it's at the far left of the picture).

I remember laying on the floor under the tree, looking up as the colors would change and shine on the aluminum branches, and thinking this was the prettiest Christmas tree in the world. Back then, I thought that the blue and silver ornaments were all that. I'd give anything if we had that same tree today. Who knows? I would maybe put it up on the roof of the house for everybody to see.

A Christmas Miracle

I haven't mentioned this before, but for the past few weeks I've been in a very dark place; let's call it my Dark Place Mood. It was caused by a number of things -- first of all, the possibility of a strike at work was heavy on my mind, not to mention dealing with my boss and another co-worker in our cube being out until March as they deal with cancer. Add to that the fact that the 'Rents announced a few weeks ago that they were anti-Christmas this year, and you've got a recipe for a Dark Place Mood. Let me explain the Rents' anti-Christmas feelings. Let me preface by saying that we are Christians and we celebrate the birth of Jesus, and everything else surrounding Christmas is secondary. That having been said, the 'Rents said with money being tight this year with the crappy economy, and the fact that the three of us really don't need anything, we would tell relatives and friends that we normally exchange presents with that we were giving a donation to the American Diabetes Association in their names. They also said that we needed to cut down on the shopping that we do for each other. At first I was fine with it, but then the more I heard people talk about shopping and presents and other Christmas traditions, the more it bothered me. My Dark Place Mood was at it's peak over the past weekend and the first of this week. It was so bad that every day I would silently wish that we could just fast forward to January 2 and start the new year.

On Tuesday afternoon, a co-worker from the marketing department came down to tell me that we have some mutal friends, Harold and Mary. The 'Rents and I had become close friends with Harold and Mary while at Fourth Avenue Baptist Church. But when the church closed and merged and we all went our separate ways, I'm sorry to say we lost touch with each other. Then we all made the mistake of listening to the wrong people; rumours went around our circle of friends that Harold and Mary were mad at the 'Rents and I because of this and that, and in turn they heard the same thing about us. Because of the rumors, we never contacted each other. But I still thought of them a lot; hanging on the wall in the back bedroom is a framed painting that Mary did for a charity auction about 10 years ago and I was the winning bidder. But I digress. On Tuesday the co-worker said that he had dinner with Harold and Mary the night before, and when she saw his coat with our company logo on it, she asked him if he knew me, and the co-worker said they talked for twenty minutes about the 'Rents and me and how much they loved us and thought about us.

I thought about Harold and Mary most of that night, and realized that I needed to put all of the rumors aside get in touch with them. Yesterday, I left a voice mail message for the co-worker asking him to give me Harold and Mary's number so I could break the ice and call them. But I wasn't quick enough. Yesterday afternoon, the phone rang and lo and behold it was Mary. The only thing I heard at first was her say "Puddin!!!" and then I heard her big, happy laugh. We talked for ten minutes, catching up and laughing over silly inside jokes; it was as if we hadn't even lost touch for 5 years. She also told me that they had adopted a baby. Before we hung up, we promised that we would get together within the week, and we also promised each other we would never listen certain-people-who-spread-rumors again.

I guess I don't need to tell you that after the phone call from Mary on Tuesday afternoon, I was out of the Dark Place Mood. I told my two co-workers about the phone call and they were almost as happy as I was. I joked with them about how this was a Christmas miracle just like the forwarded email story about the little boy buying the Christmas shoes for his mother, or the story about the boy not getting a rifle for Christmas because his parents used the money to buy shoes for some poor kids and their widowed mother. But the more I thought of this, the more I realized that this in deed was a Christmas miracle.

Let Them Eat Cake

After much anguish, stress, anxiety and a dozen other emotions I won't even mention, I'm happy to report that a few hours ago the factory workers at work voted and finally accepted their new three year contract. So barring any unforseen problems, us office people are safe from having to work in the factory during a strike. It's been a rough three weeks, let me tell you. We've all been nerved up at work, and unfortunately have had to endure comments and being grilled almost daily by factory workers. Not just because it's my department, but us Production Scheduling folk had more than our share. Mainly it's because we work more closely with the people out in the plant than other departments, plus we're physically out there walking through the factory more than other people in the company, too. But it's over for another three years thank goodness. And the truth be told, I think we have my Mother to thank. For you see, she made a cake for me to take in and give to the guys out in the factory that work on the assembly lines that I schedule. And she said today would be the perfect day to let them eat cake. While they were still disgruntled over their new contract, they all were happy that I brought them cake today. Who knows? Maybe it sweetened them up enough for them to vote to accept the contract. Anyhoo, Mom said she'd keep on cranking out the cakes every so often for me to take in to keep them in a good mood. Whatever it takes, right?

Our First Real Taste Of Winter

I'm happy to report that the weatherazzi was bigtime wrong in their forecasts for today. They were calling for 1-4 inches of snow with a half inch of ice on top of it. We ended up with maybe an eighth of an inch of ice and no snow, thank goodness; today's commute home was Mr. Toad's Wild Ride even with no precipitation going on. But I digress. Last night and today, the weatherazzi was calling for sleet, freezing rain and snow. Some faithful readers contacted me and asked if I would do them a favor and explain the difference between sleet and freezing rain. As always, I was happy to oblige.

Actually, it's pretty simple. Freezing rain is rain that falls from a cloud as a liquid but turns to ice on contact with a freezing object. It forms a smooth ice coating, referred to as glaze. Usually, freezing rain only falls for a short time, because as the air temperature changes even slightly, freezing rain either turns to rain or to snow. Freezing rain falling with enough power can result in ice storms. Freezing rain starts out as falling snow that hits a layer of warm air on the way down, that causes it to melt and become rain. Then it passes through a thin layer of cold air that super cools it. When the drops hit frozen surfaces they freeze, forming a layer of ice.

Sleet is frozen or partially frozen raindrops, in the form of ice pellets. Sleet forms as rain passes through a layer of freezing air above the ground. The rain freezes to form hard, clear, tiny ice pellets. These pellets hit the ground fast, and bounce off with a clicking sound.

Now we know the difference between sleet and freezing rain, and we'll be able to decipher the forecasts of the weatherazzi.

Mullet Watch

It's been cold, so I guess that the mullets have been stay indoors away from our watchful eyes. But just days ago, I spotted not one but two mullets at the same time. After doing some quick research in the TWIT archives, I'm proud to report that we have another first in Mullet Watch: I spotted a mother and daughter mullet duo. They were spotted Thursday night in the parking lot of our local 'hood Wal-Mart putting groceries in their mini-van. It was dark, and I saw them from a distance so I couldn't get a real look at the color of the mullets, but just from looking at the age difference of the mullets hosts, I reasoned that they were mother and daughter. Plus, they looked a bit alike. They were equal opportunity local sport fans - the daughter was wearing a U of L coat while the mother was sporting a UK coat.

Mullet count: 28

Note: we've just got a couple of weeks left before the year ends and we start over on the mullet count for the new year. Last year in 2007, we spotted 32 mullets. We're just a few away, faithful readers. Everyone be on the lookout for the mullets in the coming days while you're out shopping. I know we can find some more.

Link Of The Week

I know that there are a lot of "The Simpsons" fans out there; unfortunately, I am not one of them. Sure, I've watched the show now and again over the years, but it's not on my list of favorites. With the popularity of the show, it seems like I'm in the minority, so this week's Link Of The Week is just for "The Simpsons" fans. I found a website where you can listen to every episode of "The Simpsons". Yep, you can listen to every "The Simpsons" episode ever aired - you can listen to it at work in your office without having to worry about your boss coming in and catching you online. Just visit http://www.listentoamovie.com and check it out. You can also listen to every episode of "Arrested Development" as well as movies, too. So "don't have a cow, man" and check it out.

Way To Go, Work Friends

TWIT would like to publicly congratulate three of my work friends (WFs) for a job well done in their college courses. First of all, let me reiterate calling them "work friends" instead of "co-workers" because, well, they're more than just co-workers to me - they're my friends. That having been said, on with the accolades. I'll list them in alphabetical order, as to not purposely give one top billing instead of another.

First of all, way to go AK for getting an A in your Psychology class. You worked hard this semester and you busted your ass with your heavy class load. I tried to help her when she asked me to explain a few things, but I admit I was a bit rusty on my cognitive development theories. But she got an A in the class anyway.

Second, TWIT would like to congratulate JW for only missing 4 questions out of 100 on his final in Astronomy. It was a challenging class for him, with class one night, followed by a lab the next night and that followed by a night in the planetarium. But he endured and aced the final. After looking through his textbook before his first class, I told him he was SOL if he was counting on me to help him through this. I think I did more harm than good when I helped him get ready for his first test, but he made it through. Things are looking up for next semester - he's taking Microeconomics - a class that yours truly happened to get an A in (in undergrad and in graduate school, I proudly add) and I might actually remember a few things if he needs some help.

Last but certain not least, way to go KB, aka Krazy K (I'll give an explanation later). She got a perfect score on her research paper in International Business. When we talked with her a few weeks ago, she was still trying to come up with a topic for her paper -- she had to give a recommendation on something that could be imported to Italy. Well, she talked to the right people - we gave her a suggestion to import pumps to Italy, and it was a hit. She did the research and found out that Italy has major flooding, drainage and sewage issues. We're going to see if we can talk the Marketing department in to sending she and I to Italy to drum up some pump business. I'll let you know how that works out.

Now for why we call her Krazy K - on Halloween, she and the rest of the ladies in the Accounting department were dressed up as a gang. But not just any gang, mind you - they weren't dressed like the Bloods or Crips; they were dressed in green and were "Gang Green." Get it? Gangrene? So since then, we joke about gangs and gangstas, and JW gave her the gang knickname Krazy K. And while we're talking about her, I'd like to welcome her as my newest faithful reader. Thanks for taking the time to read TWIT.

Let me say once again how proud I am of you three. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I commend any adult that goes back to school while holding down a full-time job. I commend them even more for going back to school and having a spouse and kids to deal with, too. I was single and went to college and it was hard to do it while working; I cannot imagine how you three do it while dealing with spouses and kids. But you do, and TWIT and I are very proud of you. Keep up the great work.

Flashback Friday

Last year, I vowed that this year, I would make it a mall-free Christmas. I've cut down my shopping list drastically, and unless there's something that my Mother absolutely has to have for Christmas and the mall is the only place I can get it, this year will be my first mall-free Christmas. And it feels awesome. But I digress. As a kid, going to the mall during Christmas was almost as exciting as Christmas itself. In fact, it was a little bit like going to the fair -- at the mall, you would get to ride the Christmas train.

The small train would be in the middle of the mall where Santa Clause sets up shop, and the tracks would wind around the Christmas displays with fake snow and animated characters. The train conductor almost always wore a very cool train conductor hat, and he usually looked like he was so uncomfortable sitting in the under-sized engine car driving the train.

Sometimes the wait to ride the train was almost as long as the wait to see Santa, but believe me it was worth the wait. If it was available, I would always sit in the very back in caboose, and would wave at everybody as we rode around. Once in a blue moon, there would be nobody waiting to ride the train and I would get to be the only kid on the train as it went around the track. Talk about a thrill. Now at the malls during Christmas, the only thrilling thing for the kids to do is the bungee-jump trampoline thing. How sad for them.

New Product Review

Since I now like tomatoes, I'm always on the lookout for a good tomato soup. But I'm pretty picky when it comes to tomato soups - I don't like Campbell's nor Progresso because they taste too sweet. To me, I think that tomato soup should be basically a bowl of crushed tomatoes with tomato juice. When I saw that V8 has a line of new soups, I got all excited when I saw that V8 has a Tomato Herb soup. I couldn't wait to try it. I thought for sure it would taste pretty much like warmed up V8 juice, except with chunks of tomatoes. Boy was I wrong. It was nothing like V8 juice, nor did it have chunks of tomatoes. It only took one spoon full to find out that the V8 Tomato Herb soup was just like the other tomato soups I've tried -- sweet and with teeny tiny pieces of tomato.

Ordinarily I try not to salt my food, but I had to use salt and a bunch of pepper today to get this soup down. And I could only make it through about half of it before I poured the rest in the garbage. It just didn't taste like I think tomato soup should taste. As much as I love V8 juice, it hurts me to announce that TWIT does not give V8 Tomato Herb soup the Seal of Approval.

Note to faithful readers: if you try a tomato soup that is not creamy, not sweet, and has big chunks of tomatoes in it, please let me know the brand name so I can try some. Or better yet, if you have a recipe for good Puddin-approved tomato soup, please send it to me.

The 2008 CPI

The recession has affected us all, and it's hit the Christmas Price Index pretty hard. In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, the Christmas Price Index (CPI) is brought to us by the good folks at PNC Bank, and it's the total price tag for all of the gifts mentioned in the Christmas carol "The Twelve Days Of Christmas." For 2008, the total is $21,080 - up $1,573, or 8.1%, from last year.

The Seven Swans-a-swimming had the biggest increase with a whopping 33.3 percent increase due to their scarcity. True Loves will have to peel $5,600 this year for the Swans compared with $4,200 in 2007, accounting for $1,400 of the total $1,573 increase. Other large percentage increases were also seen in Turtle Doves (37.5%), Partridges (33.3%) and Pear Trees (33.3%). With gas prices at $4 a gallon this summer and fall, shipping costs for the birds and trees had to be passed along to the customer. There is good news, though - True Loves will pay less for the Five Golden Rings this year. Their price dropped by 11.4% as retailers are trying to move luxury merchandise this season.

As the only unskilled laborers in the Christmas Price Index, the eight Maids-a-milking received a raise for the second straight year, due to another increase in the federal minimum wage. Before 2007, they hadn't received a raise since 1997. In the last two years, the Maids have seen their wages increase by $1.40 per hour, an increase of 27%. Still, the Maids will cost the True Love $52.40 this year, only $5.60 more than a year ago -- a bargain in the PNC CPI. Most of the performers in the index - the Drummers Drumming, Pipers Piping and Lords-a-leaping - jumped a modest 3%, which was approximately the cost of living. The price for the Ladies Dancing remained the same.

For the True Loves that prefer the convenience of online shopping, PNC also calculated the cost of the gifts if purchased online. This year's total cost of the gifts if purchased on the web was $31,957 - almost $11,000 more than in the traditional index. But that's the price you pay for convenience. Personally, this is the route that I would take. One of my mantras is "the older I get, the more I'm willing to pay for convenience." And the more I'm willing to pay for Seven Swans-a-swimming.

Unanswered Questions

After yesterday's riveting article about a 70-year old Indian woman having a baby, I received a few requests for more information on this. I was as shocked as you were, and in fact, I was so freaked out that I couldn't bring myself to delve into the subject. I've had time to think about this and do some research, so here are some of your Unanswered Questions.

Has the woman gone through menopause? Yes, Rajo Devi went through menopause twenty years ago.

Is it possible for a woman who has gone through menopause to conceive, carry, and give birth? Yes to all three thanks to Invetro Fertilization (IVF). A donated egg is fertilized with a donated sperm and once it is fertilized the zygote is transferred into the woman's uterus and it becomes a growing embryo. In this case, the baby was conceived through the use of a donor egg that was injected with Devi's 72-year old husband's sperm. The embryo transfer took place on April 18, and the baby was delivered by a C-section on November 28.

I Still Don't Believe It

70-year-old in India gives birth to IVF baby
Elderly woman and her first child are both doing well, newspaper reports.
updated 11:43 a.m. ET, Mon., Dec. 8, 2008

A 70-year-old woman in India gave birth to her first child, a girl, after undergoing infertility treatment, according to a report in the Daily Mail. The mother, Rajo Devi, had been trying for 50 years to get pregnant with her 72-year-old husband, who had failed to become a father in two prior marriages. It was undetermined whose egg and sperm were used in the treatment, the newspaper reported.

Devi became pregnant through in vitro fertilization at a clinic in the northern Indian state of Haryana after doctors determined that she was healthy enough to survive a high-risk pregnancy. The mother and her infant daughter are reportedly both doing well.

Devi is the second 70-year-old in India to give birth this year. In July, Omkari Panwar, a mother of two daughters — and grandmother to five — gave birth via Caesarean section to twins, a boy and girl, after undergoing IVF. At the time, Panwar — although she had no birth certificate, so her age couldn't be verified — became the oldest woman to give birth. In 2006, a 67-year-old woman in Spain gave birth to IVF twins.

Although advances in fertility procedures have increasingly enabled older women to give birth, some medical ethics experts question whether clinics should accept a 70-year-old as a patient. The doctor who treated Devi said he didn't expect any medical problems for the elderly woman and her child, except for the likelihood that the child could be orphaned at an early age because of her parents' old age, the newspaper reported.

OMG is all I can say about this. I don't know what freaks me out more -- the 70-year-old woman having a baby, or the fact that she and her 72-year-old husband had been trying for over 50 year to have a baby. Another thing about this article freaks me out -- the subtitle of the article says "first child" - are they implying that they're going to try to have a second or third child? Yep, that freaks me out. OMG is truly all I can say.

Link Of The Week

I've mentioned before on many occasions how much I love eBay. In fact, hardly a week goes by that I don't bid on something. I know that's a bit much, but I'm being honest. I don't always win what I bid on, but I am a very frequent eBay bidder. Even if I don't bid on something, I'll check out different things on eBay just to keep up with what's hot and what's not.

I found a cool site this week that takes the guessing out of trying to figure out what's hot and what's not on eBay. All it takes is a few clicks and you can find out what the most watched items are on eBay. Just visit http://www.watchcount.com and you can find out. For example, as of Sunday evening, the most watched item on eBay is a self-help CD titled "How I Work In My Pajamas."

Silly Saturday

I don't feel like I've had a day off. I was up at my normal time this morning at 6:45 and headed in to work. Yep, I had to work today. It's the end of the year, and that can only mean one thing for us in the manufacturing gig -- inventory. Believe me when I tell you I did not want to haul it out of my warm bed this a.m. and go out in to the cold and blowing snow to go to work. Well, the blowing snow didn't come until a few hours later, and we only had a dusting, but it did snow today nonetheless.

I ran a couple of errands on my way home this afternoon, and then I just wanted to come home and take a nap. But first, the 'Rents and I bundled up and headed to our friendly neighborhood Wal-Mart to find a present for the California Relatives. I won't tell what we picked out, in case the California Relatives are reading this, but let me just say it's extremely cool, and it's something that I would use if they gave it to me.

After our quick shopping trip I was able to take my beloved nap. It was sweet getting to sleep in the middle of the afternoon - something that you ordinarily don't get to do when you work during the day. But then again, that doesn't stop some of my co-workers. But I digress. My nap was nice, albeit short, but I did get to sleep for awhile before we bundled up once again and headed out to our favorite Italian restaurant for supper. Now we're in for the evening as it's getting colder, and hopefully the most stressful decision I'll have to make the rest of the night is what flavor of tea I'll have later.

Flashback Friday

1. O Come, All Ye Faithful

2. The First Noel

3. On A Snowy Christmas Night

4. Winter Wonderland

5. The Wonderful World Of Christmas

6. I'll Be Home On Christmas Day

7. It Won't Seem Like Christmas (Without You)

8. If I Get Home On Christmas Day

9. Holly Leaves And Christmas Trees

10. Merry Christmas Baby

11. Silver Bells

12. Blue Christmas - (From the 1968 NBC Television Special)

More Thanksgiving Shenanigans

Man Accused Of Throwing Sweet Potato Pie In Girlfriend's Face
Arrest Report Says Hobe Sound Man Didn't Like Food She Fixed For Him

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Martin County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested a Hobe Sound man who threw a sweet potato pie in his girlfriend's face because he didn't like the food, according to an arrest report.

Christopher Ford, 46, was charged with one count of domestic battery for the Thanksgiving Day incident, and was being held on $5,000 bond. According to the report, Ford came home and asked Valencia Rose, 37, for something to eat. But Ford was upset about the food his seven-year live-in girlfriend fixed for him and they got into an argument in the kitchen. So Ford picked up the sweet potato pie his girlfriend had recently removed from the oven and threw it in her face, according to the report.

Ford ran out the back door after Rose's three teenage children heard the argument and came out of their rooms to see what was going on, according to the report. When deputies arrived, Rose's face was covered with sweet potatoes and she had burns on her neck as a result of the hot pie having been thrown in her face, according to the report.

Awww, man. What a waste of good pie.

For fans of The King, today is an historic day. Today is the 40th anniversary of the original airing of Elvis Presley's 1968 Comeback Special. Officially, NBC titled the show "Elvis" but it's more commonly referred to as Elvis' 68 Comeback Special.

Elvis' manager Colonel Tom Parker wanted the show to be basically an Elvis Christmas special, but the producers of the show convinced him that the show was an opportunity to re-establish the singer's reputation after years of cookie cutter movies and mediocre records. The broadcast combined big, choreographed numbers, lavish sets and informal "live" sessions, and was a huge success. The show was the highest rated television special of the year, and was the first one-man TV special to appear on commercial American television.

The reviews of the special said that the informal live jam session was the most popular part of the show. It showed Elvis wearing the awesome black leather jumpsuit, jamming with just a few musicians in front of a small audience is regarded as a forerunner of the "Unplugged" concert concept, later made popular on MTV. The structured portions of the speical were filmed on June 24 and 25. On June 27 and 29 Elvis taped the informal jam sessions, performing two sets on each day; he took a one hour break in between sets to shower and have his leather jumpsuit drycleaned .

Two versions of the Comeback Special were initially aired by NBC. The first included Elvis singing "Blue Christmas" - the only Christmas song the producers agreed to use. When the special was rebroadcast the following summer, it was replaced by "Tiger Man."

The Comeback Special did in deed start Elvis' big comeback. After the special he began his stint in Las Vegas and toured across the country. The hit records returned, including one of my favorites "Suspiscious Minds" in 1969.

Recession, Here We Come

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there's something I need to tell you: in case you didn't know, the U.S. is in a recession. Yep, it's true. The official announcement was made yesterday. In fact, the government said we've been in a recession since the end of 2007. Thank you Capitol Hill for that breaking news, but I think this is one thing that us working people already knew. I had a couple of requests from you, faithful readers, asking if I could try to explain a recession and depression. Always eager to please my faithful readers, I consulted my college and graduate school microeconomics textbooks and here's what TWIT has to say about a recession:

The media's definition of a recession is a decline in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for two or more consecutive quarters. Before we go on, let's define GDP -- it's the value of all final goods and services produced in a country in one year. The folks at the NBER (National Bureau of Economic Research) take things a bit farther with their explanation. They look at unemployment, industrial production, real income and wholesale and retail sales, and they define a recession as the time when business activity has reached its peak and starts to fall until the time when business activity bottoms out. When business activity starts to rise again, it's called an expansionary period. The NBER defines a depression as any economic downturn where GDP declines by more than 10 percent.

The Great Depression of the 1930's was actually two separate depressions -- an incredibly severe depression lasting from August 1929 to March 1933 where GDP fell by almost 33 percent, a period of recovery, and then another less severe depression from May 1937 to June 1938, where GDP declined by 18.2 percent (the last depression in the U.S.). The worst recession in the last 60 years was from November 1973 to March 1975, when GDP fell by 4.9 percent. The last recession (not counting the current one) was November 2001 to November 2002.

All that having been said, an old joke among economists gives probably the best definition of a recession and depression: a recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose your job.

Are They Trying To Tell Me Something?

I believe our spam filters aren't working very well at work - over the past few weeks, my in-box has been jammed full of emails about buying penny stocks, fake Rolex watches and skin care products that are guranteed to eliminate blemishes and erase wrinkles. Amid all of these emails, one spam email in particular caught my attention. In fact, I've received this email three times in the past week. The subject line reads "Do you know all your birth control options?" and goes on to ask the riveting question "What birth control methods are okay for a woman in her mid-forties to use?"

I know that spammers use cookies, spyware and other methods to ensure that their spam gets to your in-box, but how in the world did they know that I am 1) a woman, and 2) in my mid-forties? Should I feel vioated? Should I worry about my identity being stolen? More importantly, should I worry about not knowing all of my birth control options?

In case you're wondering, the email said that women in their forties can use any form of birth control. Whew - I feel better now. Believe me when I tell you that the form of birth control that I am currently using is truly 100% effective. In fact, if I do become pregnant, you can start looking up in the sky for the star in the east.