O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum!

So now Thanksgiving is over, making it officially the most wonderful time of the year!!!!

We went back and forth on what to do about a Christmas tree this year. Last year we got a real one, but it just seemed so sad that first week of January, sitting in the gutter. So then we thought of an artificial tree, but found out that they're made of PVC. Ummm ya. That's not biodegrading like EVER.

So Mr. Johnson had the best idea! Getting a live tree! Per TreeHugger (and you know they got the tree love), "if you’ve got the space for it, getting a tree with roots and replanting it is obviously the most eco-friendly solution". Well we don't have a yard, but the nice lady at OSH told me it well be good in a pot for at least 5 years. Then we may need to think about transplanting it.

I loooooove my little tree! And we've picked out the perfect place for it on the patio once Christmas is over. Now let's just pray I don't kill it.

Thanksgiving is for Lovahs.

Well, Thanksgiving is over, and obviously from my lack of posts, I've been quite busy. So thought I would bring ya'll up to date!

First, Mom & Daddy came on Wednesday. Mom and I went for a hike, and came back to find Daddy nugglin' with the grandkids.

Then we had sushi for dinner. Daddy recognized that the server was Korean and started spittin' some Korea geography knowledge (No, my dad isn't Korean. He just knows everything about everything). He must have made an impression, as the husband and Daddy got some Kirins on the house. Not that this surprised me. Things like that happen to Daddy all the time.

Next day, Thanksgiving at Sissy and Keith's in Oakland.

First I made Tristan pose for me.

Renee made super yummy apps. Yum. Yum. YUM!

Keith took pictures. I took pictures of Keith taking pictures.

And Brother got kisses from Tristan.

Sissy did a Martha-riffic job of setting the table.

And here it is folks - the piece de resistance. Our first Tofurky!

Isn't it gorgeous??

Well it smelled like ass and tasted like nothing. Neither of us really cared for turkey when we were meateaters, so it was kinda destined for failure. Oh well. We tried. Next year just straight "tofu" minus the "rky". Thank goodness we had lots of these:

But everything else was wonderful, and I ate waaay too much. Dur.

So then the sun started to set, and made some bitchin shadows on the wall. Keith was jealous he didn't have his camera close by (and apparently walking up a flight of stairs is impossible after a Thanksgiving binge).

Game time! YAAAAAAAAAAAHTZEEEEEEEEEE!

Ahhhhhhh yaaaaaa. That was me biotches.

How my sister-in-law slept while we played Yahtzee I'll never know. Girlfriend was tired (or maybe drunk, but we'll just say she was tired).

And then Marie Claire proclaimed it was time for all of us to leave. "Out thee minions!"

To quote the great Ice Cube, "I gotta say it was a good day."

Friday was more eating and drinking and a 6 hour marathon of Rock Band. Papa Bear - AKA me (on vocals and bass), Mr. Johnson (on lead), Brother (on vocals and drums), Sissy (on vocals and bass) - made their first appearance in Campbell and rocked it. Keep an eye out. We're going to make it BIG. In our imaginary Rock Band world.

And then it was game night at our house Saturday night. Fun times. Lots more drinking and eating. Brother and I put together a puzzle of the Biltmore Estate - one of our NC summer vacation stops. Cat was not helping.

Mr. Johnson, Miguel, Chris, Steve, Amii, Nay, Jackson and Sarah all played Yahtzee. And apparently doodled.

Sunday was laying on the couch recovering. All day. It rocked.

And now here I am back to work and blah blah blahdiddy blah. Sad.

Amen.

"If you want to be happy, be."

-Lee Tolstoy

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. And wish you didn't have to take out the garbage.

I have always considered myself a feminist. I have always thought a woman should NEVER depend on a man.

Well it's been about nine days now since my beloved husband has been out of town, and it made me (sadly) realize how much I do depend on a man. <sigh>.

So with him leaving, naturally I was left with a to-do list. We don't have a set list of chores, but over the years we have kind of fallen into responsibilities. I pay the bills, get and sort the mail, plan our meals and make the grocery lists. He takes out the garbage, cleans the cars, maintains the fish tank. And then we have our shared duties - feeding the cats (this tends to be more him than me), cleaning the litter (this tends to be more him than me), watering the plants (this tends to be more him than me), and of course cleaning (this tends to be more him than me).

Okay, so now I have to all all those things?

Oops. I forgot to feed the fish one day, on their every other day schedule. What do I do? Do I feed today and start a new cycle?

Do I have to pull the car out before I put the garbage cans out, or is there enough room?

And then there was the issue of moving heavy things. We had the deck redone and all of our planters and furniture need to be put back in place. I'll need help for this one. Hey - I am just a little bit of a thing after all. (Thanks Adam and Amii!)

So here I am, nine days later, the night before he comes home. I can't wait. CAN'T WAIT! I've cleaned the house. Put out the garbage cans twice. Fed the fish. Did all the laundry. Watered the plants. Paid the bills. Moved the outdoor furniture around (wasn't quite right). I even changed the battery in the fire alarm.

So maybe I'm not a sad excuse of a feminist. Just tiny and lazy with the memory of a fish.

And excited to not have to take the garbage out anymore. <smile>.

The Greener Google Alternative.

Ideal Bite had the best tip today!

Can you help the planet just by searching the web?

The Bite
We don't just think you can. We know you can. Little search engines that could support your fave causes and save energy - and are as free and as easy to use as Google.

The Benefits

• The same good results. These search engines pull their results from the Google or Yahoo databases.


• Donating to charity. Get on the donation train - each search you do via a charity search engine generates about $0.01 for good causes (the money comes from the ads on search-engine sites).


• Saving energy. Some engines have a dark background color instead of white, which when viewed on older, CRT monitors - consumes 20% less energy than typical engines.

Wanna Try?

• GoodSearch - powered by Yahoo, it donates 50% of revenues to a charity you choose each time you search.


• Blackle - an unofficial black version of Google that uses less energy than the white version on some screens (for a more colorful option, try The Green Spider).


• CatchTomorrow - customizable news, weather, and search options; donates 50% of revenues to the public school district of your choice.


• Green Maven - though it's not for charity, this Google-based search engine yields results from green-related websites only.

If 10,000 people use GoodSearch just twice a day, in a year we'll raise $73,000 for good causes!!

Shameless BlogHer Plug.

Hey ya'll (Mr. Johnson leaves for Charlotte tomorrow, so I felt the need to speak in a Southern accent).

So BlogHer is a finalist in the 2007 Weblog Awards for Best Online Community. Of course we're against Daily Kos, Little Green Footballs and FARK, but it would be cool to at least have a good showing.

So vote for us here.

You can vote from one computer once a day. So log onto every computer in site and vote. Even that guy next to you at Starbucks. He won't care.

Why I love Japanese People So Much.

This is FANTASTIC.

I love how serious they are. They mean business.

And you have to watch all the way until the end.



You know that second guy is badass.

I watch too much TV.

There I said it. The first step is admitting you have a problem, right?

As if I didn't already have a long list of shows, this season has added on even more. One of which has topped my list. You have a list? Yes, of course. Duh.

So drum roll please....

JOY'S ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO ESSENTIAL T.V. WATCHING:

1. Pushing Daisies: Oh my God I LOVE this show. A refreshingly original plot line, amazing characters (as well as acting), beautiful wardrobes, and top notch cinematography. The vibrant colors and unique set designs make you feel like you are watching a gorgeous photograph (or as a dear friend of mine once said, moving picture on film. Give her a break, she was tipsy. "Video" is a hard word to remember). Rarely does a show make me *SMILE*. If you have not seen this show, you should not be allowed to watch television.


2. Life Very smart, clever show. The story of a cop who spent 12 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Each episode is a new case, but solving his setup is the ongoing storyline. Just the right balance of quirky humor and drama.


3. Moonlight I wasn't expecting a whole lot from this one, but thought I would check it out. I love me some Anne Rice, so a show about a sexy hot vampire peaked my interest. I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised with this one. Really interesting, unique story line. Being is though its on Friday nights, and I am such a socialite (if playing Guitar Hero at my brother's counts as socializing), I tend to not watch until Sunday afternoon. I'm finding myself looking forward to watching this weekend treat. Oh, and I must have his apartment.


4. Dirty Sexy Money I was a HUGE fan of Six Feet Under, and such a fan of Peter Krause. He definitely carries this show (although having Golden Globe winner Donald Sutherland helps a bit too). For a nighttime "soap", it never takes itself too seriously, in fact quite the opposite. Fun, brainless television.


5. Bionic Woman As a child of the 70s, who didn't love Bionic Woman? And the preview for this remark got me pretty excited. I'm still kind of on the fence with this one, though. I started out really enjoying it, but not sure if it will keep me engaged...

Well since I noted my favorite new shows, I thought I should list those shows that are already on the DVR season pass list:

1. Dexter Probably my favorite show on TV. If a story about a serial killer sounds morbid to you, well it is. But with such fantastic story lines and clever dialogue, it never disappoints. Almost too good to be on TV.


2. Weeds Another great Showtime drama. Although its pretty dang funny too.


3. The Office I like to laugh. This show makes me laugh. Out loud.


4. 30 Rock I like to laugh. This show makes me laugh. Out loud. And hit my husband (I'm a laugh-hitter)


5. Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations You might think this is an odd choice for a vegetarian. After all, most of the countries he visits count some form of meat as their staple food. But I only have to close my eyes for a few minutes, which is worth it to watch the rest.


6. Hereos This was one of my favs last year, but this season has started out a bit slow. I guess it has taken a bit of time to introduce us to all of the new characters (why so many?). I'm just happy Peter cut his hair.


7. CSI & CSI:Miami Still one of my favs. And I think the writing on both shows are as compelling as ever. On a side note, as a student of electronic music, they always have such interesting sounds. Anyone else notice that?


8. Survivor, Amazing Race, and Top Model I hate to even admit I watch these shows, but I do, so shut it. I always root for the "good guys", so if they get kicked off, I tend to stop watching. I can't stand the yucky people winning.

And on that reality TV note, there are some that I watch religiously that are not currently on: Project Runway (love, love, LOVE this show), Top Chef, American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, and Top Design.

Phew. I think that's it.

I told you I watch too much TV.

Some Friday Enlightenment.

"Live your life as though your every act were to become a universal law."
- Immanuel Kant

The iPhone vs. The Peebs.

The iPhone has changed my life completely. I cannot even tell you. I love it.

But I didn't realize how much my cats would hate it. Because now, whenever they are doing something even remotely cute, I have to take their picture and send it out to everyone I know won't care. I think the picture clicking sound has effected them in some kind of crazy Pavlovian way, but does that stop me - of course not!

This is how I was forced to leave Monsieur Peebs today. His eyes either say:

"No mommy, don't go to work! Stay here and nuggle me all day"

or

"Get out of my face you stupid stupid Neanderthal. Get to work and make that money, biotch. And don't forget my treaties."

Seriously, you know this is one of the cutest things you have ever seen. Don't fight the feeling.