And LZChick, I don't know what your mom's tests were for, but if they are what I think they are, I am happy for you too. I know how hard it is to wait and wait for news like that... it's the one thing that I wish oncology labs could get figured out. It almost takes more of a toll on the patient and their family to wait weeks for results than it does to actually begin the battle. Faster turnarounds sure would ease a lot of suffering all around.

Today I was happy that I got all the rest of my office packing done so that I am now ready to move into the basement while our floor is being remodeled. This has been an ongoing thing where we were told to be ready like 4 months ago and are just NOW getting to move on Monday. I'm just very happy that we're finally moving forward with the whole thing and no one has to feel like they're being left in limbo anymore. And I'm really thrilled for the people who've been stuck in the basement for almost 6 months that they get to be going back to their floor with everything all done and brand new!

It's actually been relatively pleasant here.. daytime highs in the mid-40's for the past couple of days, and lots of sunshine. I'm glad, I really needed a break from the clouds and the cold. Hey, at this time of year, as long as it's above absolute zero, I'm happy!

It was a whopping 2 degrees F when I got up this morning, and I believe it got down to around -5 last night. Yesterday was miserable- I think it reached 15 degrees F during the day, but we had a very stiff NW wind that probably brought the windchill down to very near 0. But we're supposed to warm up over the next few days, maybe even reach 45 or higher Sunday! I can hardly wait for that... it will feel like summer...

Ha ha, I agree! Joel, I really have meant to say that I have been enjoying your pictures from this time of your life. It reminds me a lot of the pictures my mom has of her and her brothers in childhood... and oddly, you and my uncle Mike very much resemble each other as little kids, but not these days. And your mom looks beautiful, by the way- very statuesque!

Me too! Chicken, looking cute as a button as always- and WTF, Nick's taller than you?! I really haven't been around in awhile...

Well, that definitely sounds like my kind of event!

Absolutely. I'm pretty darn tired of this cold already... seems like it got and stayed cold earlier this year than normal, so most of us are already really sick of it. I'm thinking it sounds like a better and better idea to sock away that money for a trip somewhere tropical next year...

I was made an Honorary Canadian during a geology conference I attended with my master's adviser, an honor so bestowed by a group of lovely people from the University of Waterloo. And I've wanted to move to Canada pretty much since 2000... Does that count?

It feels like it will be a little warmer today, and the forecast calls for it to be in the 30's, but a chance of snow beginning tonight, into tomorrow.

Lookin' better all the time, neutral. Though I have to say you're looking more like Heath Ledger these days than Jim Morrison. Not that that's a bad thing...

Sunny today, but it has been SO cold the last few days. That sort of cold that just sinks right into your bones and you can't get warmed up again until you've had like a whole pot of coffee. It sucks. I am SO ready for spring, and we haven't even hit our worst winter month yet. January is usually the coldest, and also has the most snow.

I just received the copy of Tab Benoit's new one, "Power of the Ponchartrain," that I ordered from Amazon. Alas, it is a Christmas gift for my friend Kim. I don't think she'll mind too much if I crack it open and give it a listen before I mail it to her. 'Course, she said she was mailing me my Christmas gift and that it would fit in my mailbox. I'm going to laugh if she got me the same thing.

Scratch, you ol' devil.... lookin' handsome as ever, tryin' to turn me on with your tattoos! Don't have any current pictures of myself at the moment... will have to see if I can dig some up. I know there was photography on Halloween, and my birthday... I just haven't seen any of the photos yet.

Hey you!!! Tell her "hey" for me! And yeah, I know... I don't know where I found that even, but it cracked me up from the get-go, so I had to keep it around

Carrie Underwood's new CD... but I make no claim on that. It was for my niece. For me, I most recently purchased the Timbaland track, "The Way I Are" from iTunes. I know. Despite the horrible grammar and the fact that it's POP for godssakes, I admit that I like it. Can't help it. I've been infected.

She's just peachy, thanks And as wild as ever. Still the light of my life.

We have another really good one in Nebraska. In the town of Blue Hill, it is illegal for a lady wearing a hat to eat an onion in public. I actually had to do some work there once- my coworkers dared me to wear a hat and eat an onion in public to see what would happen. I didn't do it... 'cause eating an onion just doesn't sound all that appealing to me... but I'm still curious to see what would happen. And where the hell that law came from in the first place.

What made me happy today... Getting some advice from a friend on a sensitive topic, and it was a sensitive response. Texting all of my friends in 3D-land to tell them I hope they're having a good holiday, and having most of them respond in kind and wish me a happy birthday as well. Willow's silly bouncing around and racing all over the place at feeding time. And oddly, having both my mom AND my sister call me with requests that I stop by and pick things up at the store before we get together tonight. Feels good that they count on me to do little things like that for them.