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Just heard this and had to share it with you -

Jennifer Hudson and Michael Buble singing “Baby It’s Cold Outside”

Stay warm, y’all!

Be blessed,


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Not only was this past Thursday Thanksgiving, it was also my youngest daughters birthday. She turned 9! The last year in single digits! That means, next year, I will have THREE kids in the double digits. I *AM* getting old – don’t try to tell me otherwise.

She worried all week that it was going to snow and we wouldn’t get to celebrate. See, the last 3 years we’ve tried to have a party for her on her birthday, it HAS snowed and nobody showed up. So she was really worried that since it was Thanksgiving AND her birthday, not only would it snow and nobody would show up but she’d be stuck without presents and cake and turkey and all that good stuff! LOL

It turned out well, though, and for that I’m thankful.

And since it’s a long weekend, we decided to put up the Christmas tree yesterday. So it’s up! But it’s not decorated. LOL Well, except for lights and that’s only because it’s one of those fake, pre-lit things. I love real trees but they make me sneeze mercilessly and my allergies just can’t handle it.

Of course, the Christmas music is in full play. I have 9.7 hours of Christmas music loaded in iTunes and it’s streaming through my stereo. It makes the gray days seem a little brighter.

You know, the holiday season is often stressful and painful for a lot of people. I think this year, it’s especially hard for folks all around the US due to the recession. Maybe even more so than usual. The past few years have been depressing for me, though I’ve not really figured out why because I’m not one prone to depression and I don’t get what is termed “seasonal depression” or whatever. But anyway, I’m trying to leave that behind this year and keep things simple.

This year especially with so many out of work and other hard situations we going on, we need to remember to be mindful of others, be courteous, share. We need to have empathy and compassion for our fellow man. For no other reason than the fact that we are ALL one race – the human race. And each of us deserves love and acceptance.

As I mentioned earlier on a friends blog, sometimes just that one smile or friendly wave can turn the world around for someone is who lost and hurting.

This holiday season, I encourage you to be the light in the darkness. You never know what impact it may have on someone else.

In the arena,

I’ll leave you with this today – lyrics to one of my favorite Christmas songs by Casting Crowns -

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play
And mild and sweet their songs repeat
Of peace on earth good will to men

And the bells are ringing
Like a choir they’re singing
In my heart I hear them
Peace on earth, good will to men

And in despair I bowed my head
There is no peace on earth I said
For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men

But the bells are ringing
Like a choir singing
Does anybody hear them?
Peace on earth, good will to men

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.

Music, TVand a Video

If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you likely know that I love music. And you may also know that I don’t really like nor watch TV. But what I do really like – and don’t admit too readily in public – is the TV show “American Idol.”

I know – it’s kinda cheesey.

And Simon is the King of Twits but it’s inspiring to see young hopeful musicians and singers get a chance at living their dream. There are some truly talented young people out there. It’s one of the few shows our entire family will sit down to watch.

So last night was the beginning of the new season – Season 8 – and I must say, the new judge Kara DioGuardio (I’m not sure I spelled that correctly) seems like a good fit so far. Her tiff with the “bikini chick” was pretty funny. We’ll see how long Miss Bikini Bitch lasts. I don’t know. I think she has a decent voice and perhaps some talent . . . but her attitude is going to be her downfall.

I’ll tell you – the guy to keep your eye on is Mr. Oil Rig. Can’t remember his name but wow! He has a very powerful voice. I think he’s going to go quite far. There’s also a 16 year old girl that I think will do very well. I was surprised at how powerful her voice was because she’s so tiny. Not as small as Ramielle Malubay from last season, but close, I think.

And speaking of AI, my favorite American Idol of all time also released her newest single yesterday. I just listened to it about 4 times and even though the beginning sounds similar to “Since U Been Gone”, I think it’s going to be a great hit. If the rest of the album is as good as this, I think it could be her best album yet.

Kelly Clarkson – “My Life Would Suck Without You”

The song is catchy, has a nice, fast vibe to it and here it is. Have a listen! Enjoy! And I’ll be with you again in a few.

I think it’s pretty good for a pop song.

I don’t listen to much contemporary music but Kelly is one of the few I do enjoy. She has great control of her voice, great pitch and a wide enough range to not be the same ol’ same ol’ on every song. And she doesn’t sing cutesy crap either.

Because if it’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s cutesy pop music. Like that one song Barbie something or other. I have no idea what it’s called but it mentions Barbie about a million times and I hate that song.

I don’t hate Wednesdays, though.

You know why I like Wednesdays? It’s because it’s AWANA night. And that means not only do I get 4 hours of quiet time in the morning while everyone is at school, but I also get 3 hours of quiet time in the evening while the kids are at Church. Yay!

That’s very good indeed.

What’s not so good, however, is The Teenager isn’t going to be able to switch schools at semester like we’d hoped.

We had a meeting with the director last Friday after school and found out that the school she wants to transfer to is still full for this year. But the good news is she CAN switch for next year AND she is finally going to get the help she needs in math. It only took us half the year to get it straightened out.

The director had some great ideas on what we can do to get The Teenager’s math to a more manageable level and I think it’s going to work out fine. Hopefully she gets everything sorted out and the new placement done by next week when 2nd semester starts so The Teenager doesn’t have to change classes AFTER the new semester is already in session. Even if it’s only a few days, sometimes changing classes like that is a difficult move. I’d rather she be able to start off the new semester already in the right classes. I’m sure she would too.

I’m also sure this day is going by way too quickly, that morning came way too early today and that it’s way too cold in here for comfort. Why is it that some days 68 degrees seems perfectly comfortable and other days, it feels like an arctic blast?

Must mean it’s time for more coffee . . . Right?

In the arena,

New posts on customer service do’s and don’ts coming in the next few days so watch out for those. And I’ll have a Shrinking Jeans report sometime today as well.

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.

I’ve got lots to talk about today so let’s dive right in!

First, the weekly weigh in for Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans because I should have posted it Wednesday but it’s been so busy around here, I’ve hardly had time to sneeze.

And the answer is – I have no idea! LOL. The scale is still broken and I have yet to replace it. But I don’t think I’m going to. Anyway, I haven’t really noticed any changes this week. My clothes are still fitting the same. We’ll just call it good.

The other day, I mentioned it was The Teenager’s Birthday this week – yesterday, actually. Grandma surprised her with a trip to Jazz Alley to see Peter White – a jazz guitarist. We had a great time although we were not impressed with our server. He was not very attentive and never came around to take our dessert order. It was a bit disconcerting and incredibly unusual – the service is usually above and beyond at jazz Alley.

Nonetheless, we enjoyed the concert. About halfway through when Peter White came out into the audience – we couldn’t have planned it better if we’d tried – he sat down next to me at our booth in the middle of his song. I told him it was The Teenager’s 15th Birthday and we were there celebrating. When he got back up on the stage, he said “Well, I had the opportunity to meet (The Teenager). Today is her 15th Birthday so let’s all sing Happy Birthday to (The Teenager).” And he got the entire place to sing!

It was very cool!

Even though we didn’t get dessert.

We did, however, have some birthday cake when we got home.

A very chocolate birthday cake that I spent the day making from scratch. It was D E L I C I O U S! I’ll post the recipe later for both the cake and the frosting. They’re very simple and the cake is nice and moist. Actually, I think it’s the moistest cake I’ve ever baked.

It was supposed to be a double layer cake but one of the layers had trouble coming out of the pan and cracked. I wasn’t able to salvage it for the cake so we only ended up with a single layer cake. The good news is . . . everybody LOVED it! The cake really turned out great and it’s most definitely one I’ll be making again when we have need for another cake.

Probably in a couple weeks since MY birthday is coming up.

So, now that I’ve spent entirely too long writing this post (I got interrupted for a couple of hours!), it’s nearly time for bed. I’m very tired and looking forward to getting a good sleep. I spent nearly the entire day at one child’s school or another in meetings with teachers, directors and other support persons trying to straighten out a few issues The Short Dude and The Teenager are having. (Maybe I’ll write about those soon.)

And now I’m beat.

Night, y’all!

In the arena,

A quote from one of my favorite authors. “If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn’t part of ourselves doesn’t disturb us.” ~ Hermann Hesse – Swiss (German-born) author (1877 – 1962)

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.

Today is cookie day!

We are going to do some holiday baking today including:

Chocolate chip cookies
Spritz cookies
Pumpkin cheesecake
Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
Pumpkin pie
Pumpkin whoopie cakes
Cranberry jam
Buttery bread machine rolls

And we’ll see what else we have time for. Some of these, we’ll be giving away to neighbors and friends and some we’ll be saving for ourselves.

It promises to be a day of fun! I’ll post recipes later and update this post when I’ve done so.

In the arena,

Merry Christmas!

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.

Well, I just found out that G-man prefers classical music. How interesting is that?

This past weekend, my mom and I went to Jazz Alley in Seattle to see “Guitars & Saxes Christmas” with Paul Brown, Richard Elliot and Jessy J.

It was a great concert but not nearly as “Christmassy” as I was expecting. While they did play some Christmas tunes, there were more non-Christmas songs than there were Holiday songs. On that note, it was a bit disappointing. Other than that, it was an awesome concert.

First, Jessy J and Paul Brown did several songs together. Jessy is a beautiful sax player. A real up and coming powerhouse. I think she has the potential to be in the ranks of Kenny G and Dave Koz some day. We met her after the show and she is incredibly kind and generous. You can find out more about Jessy J and her music at her website as well as listen to some songs from her new CD.

Paul Brown is a legendary guitarist and producer (he produced Jessy J’s album, in fact) and it was a treat to see him. He did some of his best songs as well as a tribute to Luther Vandross.

Finally, Richard Elliot came out and really showed off. I like his music – he is a phenomenal saxophonist – but watching him play is a bit of a turn-off. He’s so flashy, strutting all over the stage and trying to be cool, it’s annoying. I wish he’d just play and have a good time.

All in all, it was a fun concert and I’m glad I went even though I was still feeling rather ill. This time, we actually had dinner at Jazz Alley instead of eating somewhere else beforehand. Since I’d been sick, I didn’t eat much – just a bowl of Curry Carrot soup – which was fabulous! – and some bread. Although my mom did try to share her chicken with me and I did have a couple bites of that but food really wasn’t on my agenda. It’s just so hard to eat when you’re sick.

Like I said in my last post about Jazz Alley – if you’re ever in Seattle, you owe it to yourself to see a concert there. Really. Just go. It’s one of the best small venues in Seattle.

In the arena,

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Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.