What I got for Christmas:

• iPod Shuffle case – the lilac one is so cute!
• Trivial Pursuit, Book Lover’s Edition – which, I might add, is really hard, especially for those of us who are quite illiterate…
• Gift cards to Sears, Target, Ann Taylor, and Barnes & Noble (so I can attempt to answer at least one question in that Trivial Pursuit game)
• A beautiful silver necklace and a bottle of white wine
• Lottery tickets (didn’t win a damn thing)

But my favorite gift, hands down, was the doorknob hanger my niece made me. It’s the cutest thing!

Good job, everyone. Now, keep ‘em coming. No reason the gifting has to stop at Christmas!

All I want for Christmas is...

• INXS, "Switch." But only because I can’t get J.D. himself. Oh, if only I could. The things I'd do. Er, um, back to the list ...
• James Blunt, "Back to Bedlam." He’s the next Maroon 5, only with a longer shelf life, I hope.
• "Best of Simon & Garfunkel." That "Bridge over Troubled Waters," it always does me in. And I'm afraid of bridges ...
• Bo Bice, "The Real Thing." Hm, I wonder if his new baby is the realer thing.
• "The Notebook," with Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling, or, as I affectionately call them, McSling.
• iPod Shuffle case, in pink. C'mon, I'm a girl. I need pink stuff.
• Black & Decker jar opener. I'm only (ahem) 31, but even I need a little help sometimes. Hey, it's either that or a Sugar Daddy. And the chances of me getting the latter are slim to none.
• "Freakonomics." I had to put a book in here, you know, just so it would look like I'm into this reading thing.
• An emergency preparedness kit (like a Prepared Pak). The Car Paks are also neat.
• Gift card for Sears.
  

Ok, now get to it. There’s only 11 shopping days left!

(Clockwise, from top left: Dan O., Kimberly, Dan F., Ray, Tasha, moi, Robin, Henretta, Chandra, Rita.)

We had our holiday party at work last week. It also doubled as a sort of farewell party, as we lose some of our co-workers, thanks to the move. Needless to say, it was bittersweet. While we enjoyed the yummy food and the Secret Santa gifts, the thought that this was our last time together as a group was in the back of our minds.

I won’t go on and on about how I’ll miss working with these folks. Ok, I can’t not say it. I will really miss these people. For the last four years and eight months, they’ve made me happy to go to work in the morning. It’s corny, and many people say it without meaning it, but we really have grown into a family. A dysfunctional family sometimes, but a family nonetheless.

I know all things happen for a reason, and I know that maybe a couple of years from now I’ll look back and understand it, but right now, it’s still sad.

Get yourself together, Maria!

Ok. So anyway, if you want to see more pictures of the best office gang ever, click here.

Pics from my trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art: click here

Race Taylor and Yours Truly (Now, seriously, what is up with the rooooound face?!? I'm gonna have to get all Mariah Carey-ish and start traveling with my own lighting people.)

Sigh. Ok, well, as promised, pics from the concert: click here.