Thank You

I was moved by the Christmas spirit today and thought I'd send out some heart-felt thanks...

TO GRANDMA DEA
For never hesitating to say yes when I ask if you can watch the kids for me, or for rearranging your work schedule so you can say yes; they adore you and love to spend time at your house (as evidenced by Ryder's obsession with "DD!").

TO LEVI AND AMBER
For making time in your lives and schedules to do fun activities with my kids, like taking them all swimming or to the movies; and for taking an interest in the boys' hockey games, finding out their schedules so you can attend games, even if the game is not in Sylvan (and bringing the little ones timbits!).

TO TRAPPER
For being interested in me, in my life, what I'm doing, how I'm doing; for the hours-long phone conversations we've had; for the quick little visits just to chitchat and catch up.

TO GRAMMA HAG
For calling me whenever I am on your mind, even if its just to torment me with a ZZ Top song blaring in my ear.

TO CHRISTINE
For not holding it over my head that I didn't see baby Carleigh until she was over four months old; for giving honest, thoughtful advice when I need it; for being my BFF for twenty years.

TO KELLY
For keeping in touch with me from half the world away, for always being the one to call; for accepting and encouraging my inner freak, because we are soul-mates that way (LOL).

Thank you, everyone, for being who you are. I love you!

Now that's some serious talent

System of a Down fans, violin fans, electric violin fans, and fans of hot girls, this one's for you...

A much better Santa visit

No crying, no fussing, no refusing to sit on his lap. Looks like that second visit a couple weeks ago, just to "chat" with Santa, really paid off. Plus, this is the real Santa. That other guy, he's just Santa's brother Fred, don't you know.

(Lena put me on the spot and asked how there can be two Santas, one at each mall, so I frantically improvised and explained that sometimes Santa's little brother Fred helps him out. Lord please don't let this be a Roy Orbison thing when she's older.)

Hothothot, entertain me Adam

So here we have Adam Lambert's video for his song "For Your Entertainment" from his new CD (which I will be getting for Christmas, right Amber? Right?!) and as you probably guessed, yes, I am completely obsessed with it. OB-SESSED.

I couldn't stand to wait until Christmas so I got the song from iTunes and its on about 24/7. My poor kids complained that they were "being tortured every day because of this obsession" but I just turned the song up louder, put my hand to my ear and mouthed, "Huh? What?" When Ardan dared to say he hated Adam Lambert, I let out this huge loud theatrical gasp, clutched my chest and exclaimed, "How dare you talk about your next father that way?!" You should have seen the eyes rolling from that one, haha.

So what do you think about the song and video? Do you have a dirty devious mind like I do and immediately understood the meaning behind the lyrics? I always knew, I just knew!, that Adam would be like this, that he would be into this. There was just a vibe I got, that dark powerful sexy goth vibe, that gave me a clue as to what he'd be like, shall we say?, behind closed doors. Still don't know what I'm talking about? All right, here's the lyrics from "For Your Entertainment"...

"So hot out the box, can we pick up the pace? Turn it up, heat it up, I need to be entertained. Push the limit, are you with it? Baby, don’t be afraid. I’m a hurt ‘ya real good, baby. Let’s go, it’s my show, baby, do what I say. Don’t trip off the glitz that I’m gonna display. I told ya I’m a hold ya down until you’re amazed, give it to you ’til your screaming my name.

No escaping when I start, once I’m in I own your heart. There’s no way you’ll ring the alarm. So hold on until it’s over.

Oooh, do you know what you got into? Can you handle what I’m 'bout to do? ‘Cause it’s about to get rough for you. I’m here for your entertainment. Oooh, I bet you thought that I was soft and sweet, a fallen angel swept ya off ya feet. Well I’m about to turn up the heat. I’m here for your entertainment.

It’s alright, you’ll be fine, baby, I’m in control. Take the pain, take the pleasure, I’m the master of both. Close your eyes, not your mind. Let me into your soul. I’m a work ya ’til your totally blown. No escaping when I start, once I’m in I own your heart. There’s no way you ring the alarm, so hold on until it’s over."

Oooooo baby, he can entertain me anyday. Too bad I'm lacking a vital appendage and a Y-chromosome. Although there was a definite bi vibe in the video, am I right? He probably had to do that to keep from offending some people (there was a male butt-grab in there though).

I was scrolling through the comments from the original youtube vid (that I embedded) and found this, its quite insightful and really makes you think:

"Lambert said "sexy is sexy." Feel the pleasure; feel the pain. Orientation does not change human response. Everyone feels the heat. He pushes many sexual buttons, thus becoming society's sexual Rorschach test. People are surprised by the fisson of their responses. Fixed ideas of sexuality are expressed as fear, outrage, even hate. More fluid notions of sexuality prompt confusion, attraction and infatuation. His performances are honest explorations for us to react to and react we do."

What do you think about this?

Anyway, this is taking way too long and I'm going through withdrawal. Need to listen to the song again, need to watch his sexy face.

PS. Did anyone see a Britney influence in the vid? The snake, the cane, the dancers' group-grope with him in the middle. Imagine a duet between those two?

Bdsm to the max, even his fingers are into bondage, ha.

I love this commercial

The tradition continues...

Remember these?

Aren't they so cute and adorable? They bring back so many memories of my childhood Christmases. I'm hoping they'll do the same for my little ones.

Grandma DD bought these cute little Santa mugs for us three kids back in the early 80s. I can't even remember how old I was. Was Levi even born yet? It became a Christmas tradition for us kids to drink our hot chocolate out of these tiny mugs (seriously, they hold maybe like half a cup, so cute and little!). When Christmas was over, Mom would wrap them up ever so carefully in tissue paper and box them up, putting them away with all the Christmas stuff until next year. And it wouldn't truly feel like Christmas for us Simcoe kids until we saw these mugs being unwrapped from the tissue. And, of course, until we had that first mug of hot chocolate! It just seemed to taste so much better.

A few years ago, Mom unearthed the mugs and passed them along to me, figuring that I would take better care of them, and appreciate them more, than my two bachelor brothers. And so I've carried on that tradition with my own kids, of making a big spectacle of bringing them out and unwrapping them from the tissue while the kids ooh and aah. And I tell the story of how Grandma DD bought them for the three little Simcoe kids many, many years ago. Lena wanted to know how old the mugs are. I looked on the bottom and here it said '1982'. "Whooooaaahhhh," the kids were awed, "they're almost as old as YOU, Mom!" Gee thanks.

But it does kind of boggle the mind, that these little mugs are 27 years old. Still in mint condition, still bringing joy and cheer to the little ones. And who knows, in 15-20 years time it might be my grandkids drinking hot chocolate from these little Santas!

Of course, because there are only the three original mini-mugs, poor Ryder got this one (sucks to be #4, I guess!). A much bigger, less breakable, more toddler-friendly mug, you could say.