Eek!

DISTURBING THOUGHT. THERE IS NOT QUITE A WEEK LEFT IN 2010.

And the Grinches Small Heart Grew Three Sizes that Day

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight!

vrrrrrrrrrrrrrnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

I have had a terrible time recently with vacuums. My little vacuum has developed a tendency to overheat and the bigger one got clogged. Not with pine needles, as one might expect, when you are cleaning up after your Christmas tree, but no, it got clogged with little plastic tips you cut off of those popsicles that you freeze in the tubes. Like Otter Pops. The weird thing about this is that I haven't had those popsicles in some months, even though I vacuum at least once a week. Which means these things have been floating around in the tube of my vacuum, waiting for just the right dust bunny to come along so that they could all join up and converge into one massive clog. How is that even possible? It's so weird. I finally got it unclogged, but not before I completely covered myself in dust from the stupid thing. At any rate, At last, I can finally vacuum things on a flat surface. I might even get the little one fixed so I'll be able to clean the stairs again. Until that happens, I'll just keep borrowing my sister's mini-vac.

But the ultimate solution to this situation? HARDWOOD FLOORS.

Rental agencies of the world. Please do away with the beige carpet that forever looks stained and dingy even when new and clean. What is the motivation for this crap? It's horrible. Easy to clean, easy to care for hardwood and laminate! No vacuums needed.

Cold Toes....

Socks. They are warm and fuzzy, sure, but they are oppressing my toes! I hate having to wear socks when I am all cuddle up inside. My toes like to be free! Free to wiggle underneath my blankets that I am snuggled down under. I will tolerate pants under chilly circumstances, and I am trying to keep my heating bill low and myself warm....but SOCKS! This is an affront to my barefoot agenda!

Something to Crow About

So tonight I watched the Sing-Off Live finale. While I love the show, there were a couple of things about tonight that made me cranky.

The first thing is that the group I was totally cheering for, Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town, didn't win. I didn't really expect them to, even though they were totally the coolest, most classic sound, they were also the oldest group, with no "vocal percussion" and they were much more interested in using their sound and bringing that to the masses than in adapting their sound to be what the other groups were putting out, which is basically a modern sound with acapella influences. I think the other groups were much more saleable, from the popular perspective, even though I don't think they have the talent of Talk of the Town.


That said, I think all of the groups that made it to the finale were very talented. I was happy to see Committed win, and while I was bummed that Jerry Lawson's group didn't win, I was happy that the Backbeats didn't win. They weren't a bad group, and they had a fun vibe, but personally, I felt that they didn't have very strong soloists.

One of the other things that bothered me was the guest performers. Boyz II Men did an excellent job, as did Ben Folds. Even Nick Lachey made it work, as you might expect from a former boybander, he had was able to hold onto the harmonies beautifully. However. Nicole Sherzinger did not have the vocal chops to hold up her duet with Jerry Lawson. And WHAT was the deal with Sheryl Crow? An entire show about acapella groups and she can't put down the dang acoustic guitar for five minutes? That was ridiculous. If she doesn't have what it takes to sing acapella, get someone who does, but don't ignore the whole entire premise of the show to accommodate one moderately talented hippie dippy chick who can't hold it together. I mean, truly.

Actually, I was not tremendously impressed by the singing from most of the guest stars. In a show when the only music is coming from the people and not the instruments, performers who don't quite make the cut really stand out.

In conclusion, congrats to Committed, bummer for Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town, and come on already, if you're doing acapella, do it and do it well.

Let's go the mall!

Or not. Y'all. Last night I was full of delicious food. I went to an all fondue restaurant yesterday and it was quite scrumdillicious. We also went to the ballet....that actually came first. And conveniently, the restaurant was only two miles from the restaurant (the <a href="http://www.meltingpot.com/"> Melting Pot</a> exists in several states, and you should check it out!). It took us 45 minutes to go those two miles. Why, you ask? Because we had to go past the mall. There were a total of three accidents, one of which happened directly in front of us (don't worry, we didn't need to stay and witness, our view was blocked by an SUV) and involved three cars.

FORTY-FIVE MINUTES.

Y'all. I know there is only a week until Christmas. And I understand that there is shopping to be done. Well, for other people. I'm finished (neener neener). But honestly? It's time to take a deep breath, and learn how to use the internet. 45 minutes. That's insane! And it's a fairly crappy mall!

Anyway, I hope everyone has finished their Christmas shopping now, because I have to go to Wal-Mart tomorrow to buy tissue. a Fairly nasty cold forced me through my backup supply rather quickly and I can't do without them, especially this time of year. That said, if I run into the kind of nonsense at the store tomorrow as was going on at the mall yesterday? It will be hard to resist making with the punches.

ALSO. What is up with the post office? I was trying to decide between shipping my only two Christmas packages priority vs. non. The difference was only 17 cents and if I sent it non-priority it would have taken over two weeks. THAT IS RIDICULOUS. For people wondering why the post office is failing? See the above. That's as ridiculous as going to the mall at this point. Honestly.

Fondue...

Fondud...I am full of it. Cheese and meat and wine and chocolate...who can be cranky in these circumstances?