Lighting up the Coke rewards with a cold.

I've basically lost my hearing from this cold. It sounds like I'm listening to everything and everyone through a wall with a glass pressed to my ear.

It's horrible.

In other news, I received another reward in the mail yesterday from MyCokeRewards.com: the official soundtrack to Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. It is a good CD, and I'm quite pleased. My iTunes reports that I've now listened to the entire CD five times. :-D

We've got our roof lights up for Christmas. Philip and I worked on them yesterday afternoon, and then finished them up today. Now I just need to do the stakes, the reindeer, the train and the window lights, but I probably won't do them until after Thanksgiving.

Christmas Wish List.

I've never done a Christmas Wish List - that particular meme that circulates around LiveJournal about this time each year. The reason for this is simple: I really could not make up my mind enough to list ten things that I consistently would want throughout the holiday season. I change my mind daily about what is "OMG-the-best-most-perfect-gift-idea-for-me-EVER!" as I see the niftyness and knick-knacks about the web and world. I'm no good at making concrete decisions, you see.

That being said, I do believe that if - hypothetically - I were actually to make a Christmas Wish List, I'm certain that my #1 item would never change: Christmas cards. I do absolutely ADORE Christmas cards, and if there is any doubt in your minds as to exactly how much I love and enjoy Christmas cards, you need look no further than my handy-dandy 'Christmas cards' tag to read about the holiday love from years past.

In particular, I'd like to point you toward pictures from last year's 'Card Wall,' as well as a summary of my feelings at the end of the season:

"I pulled all my Christmas cards down two nights ago, but I still need to go through them and figure out which ones I will keep from this year. I always save all the photo cards - that's a given, but I also save a few handfuls of really unique cards to put in my scrapbooks as well. I love the kitty card and special signatures on the card from laurushka. Then's there the super-sweet message to just me inside the card from hermioneluna. irishphoenix711 has the most joyful handwriting, and the card from tjoelyn was handmade. Then little Korben helped tabbyfoo make their card, and he even signed it. The card from curledfries was my first ever from Thailand, and the most adorable card came from xellegirlx. I loved the non-traditional colors and the 'floating' feature of the card from kataclysmic, and Jack was enamored with the little moving star on the card from mionemione. The card from little_liebchen was the smallest - yet very elegant - card, and I can't bear to throw it away. And I was most touched to receive the card from heartrot, so afraid that I would never know where to send his own card to him.

And that's what makes Christmas cards so special to me. Each one has a memory, a story, a laugh, a smile, a tear - an emotion - connected to it, and I cherish every single one I receive. It's so tough every year to decide which ones make it to my scrapbook, and I always end up putting in more than I'd planned to, but it's a labor of love."

And so, as I hope is clear, my one wish would be for each person who finds themselves sending out holiday love in the mail to send one my way. I'm happy to do the same in return, as postal love should be reciprocated. Who doesn't love getting mail? Most of all, don't forget who loves receiving Christmas cards - me!

And if you'd like a card from me, or if you've posted your own holiday cards "roll call" and I've missed it (I am still woefully behind from my week without internet), please point me toward the post(s) where you need my input or participation. Thanks!

(For those of you who need it, you can find our brand-new address in this locked post.)

Our new address.

Philip, Nicole, A.J. and Jack Cleghorn
11812 S. 32nd Street
Bellevue, NE
68123-1411
USA

An epiphany.

I can tell that I really love our new house. How? Well, for the first time in memorable history, I actually prefer to be somewhere in the house other than in the office and on my computer.

:-)