I’ve been thinking about programs like the Angel Trees you see all over the place. The concept is that you would take of the paper ornaments off the tree and it would tell you about a “needy” child and the gifts they want this Christmas. Ideally, these are children from low income families or families who have met with misfortune lately.

It used to be that I would pick up one of the ornaments and read that the child wanted clothes and shoes. Their sizes would be provided. Sometimes I would see a request for a modest toy.

How is it that most of the “needy” children enrolled in these programs are now asking for things like Xbox and Wii games? I have not been able to buy my own daughter a game system until his year, when I saved up Amazon gift certificates earned from taking surveys all year so I could put it toward a Nintendo DS. Even then, my relatives bought her the games to go with it.

And yet, when I made a move to help a less fortunately family, I saw a long list of game titles. I can only assume they already own the multiple game systems. Call me nuts, but if I were in a situation dire enough that I would sign my daughter up to receive gifts from charitable strangers, I would be spending my money on clothing and food before purchasing multiple high-priced game systems. I live my life wanting to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, but when I see things like this I lose a little faith in people.

They are two artists I associate with time I have spent in New York City. I remember being at the Rainbow Room when Eartha Kitt was performing and I saw Harold Pinter’s play Betrayal in New York City when Liev Schreiber performed in the play with Juliette Binoche and John Slattery.

Kitt died today in New York, at the age of 81. Pinter died on Christmas Eve. They both died of cancer, as is unfortunately the fate of so many in our times.

Christmas is bittersweet this year.

I have not seen a film in years that was as outright entertaining from the first frame to the last frame as Bedtime Stories!

My daughter and I made it part of our Christmas Day together to go and see Bedtime Stories and I am thrilled that we did. It made the memory of our day together all that more special. This film is as close to perfect as anything I have seen in a long time.

You can read a synopsis of the film on nearly any movie review website. My “in a nutshell” version is that Adam Sandler’s character agrees to look after his niece and nephew while his sister looks for a teaching job out-of-state, due to the closing of her school. Sandler years to run the hotel his father founded, but later sold to a chain. As Sandler tells the kids bedtime stories, he realizes that elements from the stories are coming true.

The special effects are stunning, adding just the right level of fantasy to the story sequences. Bugsy, the pet guinea pig, is aw-inspiring (as in “Aw! How Cute!”) There are also a couple of very delightful, albeit brief, cameo appearances by other Disney Pixar characters. (Also look for blink-and-you’ll-miss-them appearances by Carmen Electra as well as Sandler’s wife and one of his daughters.) I cannot remember even a second when the movie slowed down, but I can remember several times I realized I had a huge grin on my face as I was watching.

There is not a single weak link in the cast. Of course, Sandler is charming and easy to sympathize with, Courtney Cox is Sandler’s perfect foil as his sister. Russell Brand, a British import with a pretty much non-existent profile in the United States, is absolutely engaging. There is, of course, even the obligatory and uncredited appearance by Rob Schneider. Guy Pearce and Lucy Lawless are the ideal villains for this children’s film, as they is never actually menacing and generally bumbling.

The only objectionable material I can even highlight would be some very mildly suggestive flirting between some of the characters near the beginning of the film. Both a horse and a guinea pig pass gas, but even that is in context of the story. Also, a character does say, “Oh My God.” My daughter picked up on that, but not all viewers may be as sensitive.

My daughter is five and was thoroughly engaged the entire time. She did not even ask to use the restroom during the film, and that is generally something I can absolutely count on her doing. In fact, there was a child in front of us who looked like he was about 18-months-old and although he was fussing and crying before the movie and during the previews, we did not hear a single peep put of him once Bedtime Stories began.

Even with skyrocketing ticket prices, this film is well worth your money.

It was about 80 degrees here yesterday afternoon. My daughter and I were out in short sleeves and Capri pants, riding around with the windows down in the car. In fact, at one point I even turned on the air conditioner.

Winters in Florida are one of the main reasons I moved here and why I will stay here. However, I keep hearing about all that snow up north and out in the Midwest. My friends are all complaining about it, saying they have had enough of it. Me, though, I miss that smell of ozone in the air, the look of fresh snow, the cozy way it feels when you are snowed into your home. All I can think about is trying to plan a quick trip up north sometime in the remaining time I have off of school.

When I look at the events being planned this winter in Branson, Missouri I get a tear of longing in my eye. They have an annual ice carving event, a polar plunge, and the ongoing live shows that have made the city infamous. Plus, I cannot say enough that I want to get back out there now that the Roy Rogers Museum has relocated there from Victorville, California.

Both the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel and the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing have something they call their Winter Escape Package. That sounds exactly like what I need. I want to get out of the sun and right into the traditional chill of winter. The entire concept speaks to me more than any of the ads I have ever seen for Florida tourism. Winter is when we get the blues and that’s why we need an “escape”. I assume the folks in Branson are thinking about the miles of entertainment they offer when they suggest Branson as the perfect escape. I’m thinking about the chilly weather, though.

As I did some last-minute shopping this week, I saw that many stores were already offering their holiday merchandise for 30%-50% off. Traditionally, the day AFTER Christmas is when you can count on Christmas merchandise hitting 50% off.

So, since most stores have already priced holiday things at a deep discount, what is in store for the day after Christmas? Consumer and retailing experts are saying that this year the day after Christmas could look like another Black Friday.

JC Penney will have jewelry at 70% off. Sears is going to offer Craftsman tool chests at 50% off and 75% off on electronics. I’m anxious to see how much more places like Target and Pier 1 discount their Christmas décor. Maybe I will even be able to find Black Friday-esque prices on MP3 players and flash drives. The ones I went after on the actual Black Friday sold out before I could get to them.

I’m not sure I will bother to venture out on Friday. I really don’t need anything. Of course, that is part of what is going on with retailers this year. Buyers are looking at want versus need, which is something I have always done. It’s just a more prevalent attitude now.

So, here I am sitting here, writing online, hoping my daughter will PLEASE fall asleep before the clock actually ticks over to December 25. We have been tracking Santa online all day and sadly, she was still awake when Santa passed over Florida and finally moved on to other states. I have no idea what to tell her, because Santa certainly could not have stopped here while she is awake.

Anyway, there is so much to ponder. One of my best friends is miscarrying as I write this. On the other end of the spectrum, I got a call from another close friend this evening to tell me she is pregnant. Life is a mysterious thing, delicate and precious.

I just wrote a little the other day about the company Cryo-Cell and their new C’Elle, where you can bank menstrual blood to use its stem cells sometime in your future. Since I was thinking about Cryo-Cell, one of the first things I asked my friend when she called to tell me about her pregnancy was whether or not she had considered banking her cord blood at the birth of her child.

As I mentioned in my other post, my sister banked her cord blood with Cryo-Cell and I was signed up to do the same for the birth of my daughter, but a miscommunication at the hospital led to us just donating the cord blood.

Cryo-Cell’s U-Cord® stem cell cord blood preservation service is something I am well familiar with. Not only does my sister use the service, but so do at least half a dozen of my close friends. The service walks you through collection of your baby’s cord blood so that the cord blood stem cells can be stored and used to treat over 70 disease processes like Leukemia, Lymphoma and Immune system disorders. These cells are a guaranteed match for your baby and there is even a one in four chance that the blood will match the baby’s siblings.

As precious and delicate as life is, it is a massive feeling of assurance to know that you have planned ahead for your child’s health. I pointed my friend to Cryo-Cell’s website and told her that if she goes ahead and signs up, I will lead the effort to suggest to as many of her friends as possible that they give her Cryo-Cell gift certificates for her baby shower.

I found a pretty great recipe for a low card, sugar-free cheesecake and I made it for our family dinner this evening. Aside from my brother-in-law, who just plain will not touch anything with strawberries, it was a huge hit. And, after a heavy meal it was a semi guilt free way to end the evening. I skipped the heavier parts of the meal personally, eating a VERY large green salad instead of the mashed and sweet potatoes. Plus, I opted for turkey breast instead of ham. I think that is how I justified TWO servings of the cheesecake.

I’m just going to link you to the recipe, since the person who developed it is pretty forward about how she feels about anyone using it on another website. So here you are – low carb cheesecake. Make this part of your New Year’s Resolution.

Are you spending more or less on your Christmas gifts this year? Whether or not you are actually feeling an economic pinch, studies have shown that the panicked atmosphere surrounding the concept of spending in the United States right now is making most people perceive the need to slow down when making non-essential purchases.

However, I also see that when it comes to buying gifts for friends and family, a lot of people tend to make allowances. I know I spend as much, if not more, on my daughter this year. I spent more for my nephew and my father and my one living grandmother. However, to even things out I have a lot of friends and family who all agreed to skip gift exchanges this year. So, it is quite possible that if I add things up, I will find that I spent less on my overall total.

When I do buy a gift, though, I like to buy something significant and high quality. That’s why it was like a breath of fresh air to see that Kmart is showcasing the fact that they have over 25,000 high quality gift ideas that each cost less than $25. And, since most of us can find a Kmart store in our own neighborhood, that means that last minute gifts from Kmart is a convenient stop during these last few crazy days of errands.

In my case, I had *thought* that my best friend and I were not exchanging gifts for our daughters. She called today to tell me she had Gigi’s gift ready and wanted to bring it buy before Christmas. Oops, that means I need to run out and get something tasteful, meaningful and inexpensive for her daughter. Kmart has a great selection of LeapFrog Leapster Learning Games, so all I need to do is add Kmart to my list of places to go this afternoon.

One last thing for all of you who were wise enough to stay home on Black Friday – Kmart is currently running their Black Friday Make-Up Sale. They have a ton of items on sale, like Craftsman tools and Norelco shavers, for prices akin to those you can find on Black Friday. You can only find those prices in the stores, though, so take advantage of their holiday hours of 6 a.m. to midnight.

I think we all knew things for the housing market were only going to get worse, even though we hoped with all our might it would not happen. Hey, believe me, I am one of the people impacted by this mess. I have been divorced over two years now, and we cannot even put our home on the market since we know we will never get nearly enough to cover paying off the bank. We bought at the top of the bubble.

My ex lives in the house and is blessed that he can actually afford the payments. We are not caught in the trap of an ARM, thankfully. Our only headache is that we bought the house for such a high price that if we were to sell it for the going rate right now; we would not be able to cover the cost of the remained of our loan and would have to plunge into our savings accounts to pay it off. So, as much as I want that house out of the picture and loathe the idea that I still own a home with my ex, it would be unwise to sell right now.

On the other hand, those who have never owned a home and are also in a good situation to secure one of the very low interest loans are in a VERY good place when it comes to the availability of low priced homes. If I wiggle a few tings around in my personal situation, I am one of those people. I am heartily considering just signing the house over to my ex and moving along. I can pick up one of the townhomes in the community where I lived when I was first married for nearly the price we sold one for back in 2002.

Still, the overall picture is not good for our collective economy. Everything is so interlinked. More sad news about the housing market only serves as a harbinger about the jobless rate to come and issues like budget shortfalls in city and state governments. Schools are closing, businesses are shutting their doors, and the deep discounts offered by many retailers BEFORE Christmas are all sad signs of the state of our economy.

I keep thinking that I need to get my rear end in gear and put out a massive garden in the yard next year. I want to be as self-sufficient as possible.

When my sister had my nephew, she signed up with a local company to bank the cord blood. When my daughter was born, we signed up with the same company. We had a snafu in the communication process with the folks at my hospital, so we actually ended up donating our cord blood, but if all had gone well we would have been banking the blood with the same local company.

I say local, because they are local to me. However, they are actually Cryo-Cell International, Inc. and used by people all over the world. Now Cryo-Cell has a new program called C’Elle that allows women to bank the stem cells found in the uterine lining. How cool is that? With all the controversial debate going on about stem cell research, there is actually a readily available source of stem cells in something as simple as menstrual blood. And, those calls are a 100% match for the woman donor and may possibly match her first degree relatives – like parents, siblings and children.

Now, some of you who are reading this may be in the same spot I am in right now – in need of at least one last-minute Christmas gift for a family member. Generally, last-minute gifts don’t tend to be the most well thought out or meaningful. C’elle is a phenomenal gift idea for an important woman in your life. You can get the membership set up before Christmas and still end up with what just might end up being the most important gift that woman has ever received.

Can you imagine finding out one day that the stem cells you banked today can cure you from Alzheimer’s or a spinal cord injury in the future?

I’m working on my annual calendar project. I have some of my best pictures of my daughter and my nephew from the past year and design elaborate digital scrapbook pages, then I upload them all to Vista Print and have calendars printed for my family members.

I know! I know! I am cutting it close on this year’s calendar. Ever since I started working, these creative projects have taken a back seat. Since had our last day of school Friday, I’ve been zipping around trying to finish my projects. I just TODAY got my Christmas gifts shipped off to my dad. And, yes, they will indeed arrive late. Good thing I also have some citrus heading his way from one of the local groves.

My images are about the same file size as the pictures from last year, but this year Vista Print is rejected every one of my images from uploading. The error messages say the files are too large. I’m even using the image dimensions THEY recommend.

It might be time to call customer support.

I live in one of the most impressive vacation destinations in the world, and yet I have this to say: I need a vacation! I think I realized a little bit too late that it would be a good idea to get out of Florida for Christmas. I will not have an extended break from school again until Spring Break and I have to split the time I have with my daughter then with her father. Therefore, leaving town with Gigi for even a week is out of the question.

Two years ago my daughter and I went up to the DC area for Christmas. We stayed just about two weeks. I really should have given more effort over to trying to plan some time up there this year. It crossed my mind, but I thought it might be nice to stay here. Boy was I wrong! There is a whole lot of grouchiness around these parts lately and all I can keep thinking is how wonderful it would be if Gigi and I were on a cruise ship right this minute. I’d even fling aside the questions about ship flues and travel insurance if just meant some time for the two of us to relax and enjoy one another without the worried of everyday life intervening.

I lost 6.6 pounds during my first week on my new diet. The doctor did prescribe a diet pill, but I only took one on the first three days of the diet since those days are the most stringent. Once I was able to add a better variety of vegetables to my daily eating, I think the overall feeling that I was able to eat the kinds of things I like eating was enough to help me fight off any renegade hunger pangs.

I’m sure a lot of the reason that I lost such a good amount of weight this first week is that a lot of water came off when I stopped eating as many salty snacks. Salty snacks are my weakness. Sure, I like an occasional piece of chocolate cake or some ice cram, but I’m more quickly tempted by popcorn and chips. So, I am teaching myself to cut that kind of snacking out of my diet. I need to get back to the days when I was naturally prone to go tot eh fried and cut of a cucumber when I wanted something crunchy.

When I was at my best friend’s house a couple of weekends ago, she had her new massive television delivered. Several years ago when they built their house, they had grand idea for the open great room upstairs and they are just now getting around to furnishing it.

We sat there on the couch after she had it delivered and she asked me what I would do with the room. I know she is making built-in shelves to go all around the TV and they are adding some columns to the back of the room to visually break it off from the hallway and the stairs. I think they are also going to have heavy, velvet curtains made in the back of the room that they can use to close off the room.

I told her about some home theater seating I had looked at myself recently. You can buy leather recliner style chairs with one or two arms. I suppose you buy the first with both arms and the others with just one arm, so that when you sit them right up against one another side-by-side, it is sort of like movie seating. I think she had just buying a new couch in mind. ? If had all that room to just use as a room to watch TV and movies, I would make the most of it. They already have a living room and family room downstairs. May as well make this a mini theater.

Every year I order photo greeting cards for my friends and family. Last year I just had photos printed and slipped them inside cards. And, even though I sometimes cut it close to the wire and time them a bit late, I generally get them out the week after Thanksgiving.

Not this year, though. Time slipped away from me and I have not even had time to get a photo of myself taken with Gigi. MAYBE tomorrow night my sister will actually have time to get our families together for some snapshot time.

So, I might skip cards this year. It’s a shame, but with this being the first time I have been back to work outside the home in about eight years, I am all scrambled in my head.