i figured i should add one last entry for the year 2000. so here it is. woo-hoo. i have resolutions, but i don't think i want to discuss them -- in order to prevent my embarrassment when i break them. :)

anyway, happy new year.

my parents got a slide/negative scanner for christmas, so today i played around on it a bit. here are some photos i took of my brother's (steve) new kitten. his name is tux and is about 3 months old. and he's a firecracker.

i'm about 80 percent recovered from my christmas hangover, as i call it. i doubt i'll have a new year's hangover since i'm planning on staying at home by myself and forgetting about the whole celebration.

my family is going on a trip without me for new year's actually. they're going to orlando to see the big mouse and go to the citrus bowl. i never had any intentions of going and am glad i won't be dealing with those crowds.

one book i got for christmas is called "The Paranoid's Pocket Guide" by Cameron Tuttle. it's an informative, interesting and just plain odd, read. here's one that i'll share for all those holiday travelers.

"The people who screen baggage at airport security checkpoints get only eight hours of instruction in the classroom and four hours of on-the-job training. Even so, security guards daily find at least eight Americans attempting to board a plane with a firearm or explosives."

well, i guess at least it's good that they caught them right? in the birmingham airport there are little boxes located before the metal detectors with a sign declaring to drop your weapons in the slot. i have a friend who once joked with a guard (who was asking to search her purse) about having a gun in her purse. it was something like "yeah right like i've got a gun in there." well, they didn't note the humor and they took her aside to be searched and questioned.

anyway... hope everyone is having a lovely holiday. be safe and remember to buy your liquor before sunday if you're here in alabama.

so, just kidding about 15 cars being broken into around here over the past week. it was 15 cars just last night alone in our neighborhood! and apparently they target suv's. nice.

tonight i went to a semi-unofficial 5 year high school class reunion party thing. it was lame at first. (and random -- they had a keg out back) but once we got past all the bull shit chit chat with those people i haven't talked to in 5 years, it was okay. i found the little gang of friends i hung out with back then and we laughed about old memories.

i guess the strangest part of the evening was when an old classmate offered me a job. i don't know how that makes me feel... but it was strange.

afterward, i drug some friends out to a bar to see my favorite band who just happened to be playing in huntsville for what i think was their first time. the covergirls! i haven't seen them in about 9 months or more probably.

welcome to my web site. coming straight to you from the south-east huntsville ghetto. yes, the ghetto. what used to be my regular old neighborhood is now the hood. i'll attribute it to the shady apartment complex about a block over. two years ago, a day or two after christmas, my car was broken into and everything was taken out of it. including, stupid me that left it there, my purse. things had been fine out in our driveway until today. my dad's truck was broken into this time. "they" smashed out the entire back window, but we don't think, fortunately, anything was there to be taken. i called the police and they came over to make out a report. we then found out that we are about the 15th house to be hit in our area in the past week or two.

all criminals are stupid, right? we want to think that dad accidentally left his car unlocked last night (since it was this morning), but the criminals still broke out the window. they could have easily looked in the back window to find no presents or things worth stealing. skip over the car, right? go to the next one parked in the same driveway -- my brother's. his had a laptop computer and various other things sitting plainly in the back seat of his car.

yesterday morning i was laying in our back room on the couch. the blinds were open and all of a sudden i sat straight up and turned my head to the window -- all for no reason other than "a feeling." well, to my surprise, there was a random truck with a very random guy sitting in it parked on the street. he just sat there staring into the house. i got up and asked my mom if dad had sent anyone over to house or was expecting someone. she said no. i came back to the back room and he was still just parked at our curb staring at the house. i kept watching over the next half hour and then finally he drove off. it was very suspicious to say the least because where he was parked made no sense at all -- it wasn't like he was going to our neighbors' houses.

i had a feeling this was going to happen. i had a box to mail with a rather expensive present inside it sitting in the very back of my truck. i just pulled the cover over that area and left it in there all night. but i kept thinking i better go back out and get it in case someone tries to break into my car. but i didn't. anyway, i kept thinking about it, even this morning. maybe it's that women's intuition thing.

tonight i met a man who raises reindeer here in huntsville. and i petted an eight month old reindeer and its mother. i asked him all about the animals. and i learned some really interesting things. they loose their antlers each year. when lined up in santa-sleigh formation, the babies are stood next to their mothers for two years in order to learn the proper way to stand in line. they eat plain old reindeer mix. and, here's the shocker -- they don't like carrots!! they prefer a banana, as a matter of fact. and to think all those poor carrot sticks that go wasted at xmas time.

which brings me to my favorite xmas story: how i found out the truth about santa.

i'd left out my note with cookies, milk and a carrot for santa and rudolph and headed for bed. but for some reason i came back through the den one last time -- and to my surprise found my brother standing over my santa goodies, with pencil in hand. he was responding to my santa letter! and to make it authentic looking, he says, he squiggled the lines to his letters to forge the effect of santa's cold, shaky hand. i don't remember the year or how old i was, but i'll always remember finding my sneaky brother trying to surprise me. maybe he's just santa.

oh and here's some stupid, random note: huntsville was shown on the national news tonight. since the south has been pelted with this weather storm it was mentioned. but randomly huntsville was shown as proof or something -- we didn't get much of anything. just some flakes and icy patches here and there.

the snow looked like little bits of glitter falling to the ground. i stood in the opened doorway, in my pajamas for at least 15 minutes watching it. it reminded me of those terrible junior high dances we used to go to. that angel hair stuff they'd decorate with -- but if you got too close to it and it got on your skin you'd itch. the tacky dresses our mothers made and our big permed hair. i remember sitting on the bleachers with my friends gagging at the little couples pretending to be in love. what was that about anyway?

the temperatures here are insane. last night in the teens. twenties. you'd think i lived up north. but what is so annoying is that all this snow that keeps falling doesn't stick or fall long enough to amount to anything. and now those weather men are predicting the "real thing" thursday and friday. yeah right... i'll take that one with a grain of salt. but it's still so incredibly cold outside.

finally, i think i've finished my xmas shopping. this has been the worst holiday season in that regard. typically i'll go out for one to two days, get everything accomplished and not have to worry about it until the 25th. but this year it's been one trip, one present. second trip, second present. and so on... i almost had a mental outburst last night, while dealing with the crowds at the mall. my claustrophobia and patience are really getting tested. and not to mention, my experiences with online shopping has been less than pleasing this year.

dad had another blocked artery -- in two spots. one spot was 95% closed and the other 70% i think. so, the doctor went ahead and placed two stents (the little things that open the artery back up) in. the before and after photos are always so interesting to look at. i could stare at them for hours. it's just amazing that a little camera can be inserted into your vein and travel to your heart.

so dad is back home after a night at the hospital. and i'm semi-calmed now. hopefully he's fixed for awhile now. but while he's unable to get out in the cold, lift anything over 5 lbs., etc... i'm having to make it up. so, i won't be surprised if i get sick from being out in the cold with the dog or something.

today was the worst day weather wise. it was one of those days that i'm on my toes, ready to take cover from the tornado. i sat in front of the tv for a couple hours watching all the storms cross alabama... worrying about my friends in tuscaloosa and birmingham -- where some tornados touched down. everyone is fine thankfully. it rained tons here. and the temperature is wacky... earlier today it was in the high 60s and now it's down in the 30s.

i had to drive to birmingham yesterday in order to try on bridesmaid dresses for my friend's wedding. a hot trend right now (and what i'd always planned on using in my wedding) is different styles in one color. kristina chose separate tops and bottoms which is also popular. the color is periwinkle, and we get a choice between two of the four tops and two skirts. we were both satisfied with the final dress, and i love the color and style of my dress. now how many bridesmaids can say that?

today my dad is going into the hospital for tests on his heart. last year he had an angioplasty done. the doctor goes in through that major vein in your leg, around your thigh, and goes with a camera up to your heart. a little tube like thing is placed where a clogged artery is and in turn, opens the artery up. this time though, they aren't putting any little tubes in his artery -- just looking around. but the procedure is the same.

dad has been complaining about a pain across his back at the shoulder blades. they hurt when he exercises and stops when he quits. what we have learned is that cold weather is one thing that attributes to this if you have bad circulation in your veins. hopefully after tomorrow morning we will know what's exactly going on and how to fix it.

well, today my dad and i managed to complete the christmas decorations on the front porch. it looks ok, but not great. i don't particularly like the fact that we have two different santas in our front yard... but i'll get over it. my impression is that it's not true to have two santas and is confusing to kids. but honestly, i'm only doing the decorations for my benefit because it reminds me of growing up -- and seeing our traditional decorations that have been used since before i was born reminds me of that.

in unrelated fashion of xmas, i took a sex & the city personality quiz i read about in entertainment weekly. you answer a list of questions and it tells you which character you most resemble. i'm a "carrie." most of it i can agree with:

"Carrie most resembles you. You are quirky and creative, with a keen eye for life's subtleties, and a flair for insight that often dazzles your friends. This innate intuition applies equally to your savvy sense of style, where you always seem to be a little ahead of the biggest fad and the latest trend. Mainstream is a dirty word in your vocabulary, instead its all about the twist; the minor variations that give it your unique flavour. Your habit of analyzing all things big and small is both your saviour and your nemesis. While it may help you gauge the craziness of the world around you, it can lead you in futile circles of self-absorption. And it will all work out in the long run, just as that bright-eyed, soulful spirit keeps trying to remind you."

tonight i stood in the cold on my front porch putting up christmas lights for my parents. this is usually the job of my oldest brother, steve, who traditionally puts them up over thanksgiving holiday. but due to unforeseen circumstances, called nintendo, steve was unable to complete his job. therefore, i attempted to do it. i got the lights up on one half of the porch then tried to plug them in. no way to do that... i had put the lights up in the wrong direction (i.e.: the plug i needed was on the wrong side of the porch). so i had to take the lights back down and do over. then the other half of the lights kept going out. i think that problem is finally fixed, but if you happen to drive by for some odd reason and only notice half of the porch lit up, it's steve's fault. :)

i wonder how many people get away with shop lifting during the holidays? i could have gotten away with it today at best buy. i was leaving and the security alarm sounded as i walked through the exit. i stopped, turned with my receipt in hand to show the security guy standing there. i knew the routine b/c it never fails that i always make the alarm go off when i leave that place. but this time the guy said "it's okay, go on." ok. thanks, i just lifted a couple dvd's off your store, but i guess i looked trusting today. now i really didn't steal anything but i wonder if i'd actually take advantage of not being stopped, if given the chance?