Happy New Year!

No plans to go out and "celebrate" tonight, so just chilling out at home ... waiting for all the celebrating to happen ... so I can go to bed and get some sleep.

I guess it's good to see 2004 go ... with War, Insurgents, Terrorists, Famine, Politics, Hurricanes, and Tsunami's grabbing the spotlight in 2004. But will 2005 really be much different? It's possible, I suppose, that in an hour all these problems will disappear, and we'll find new things to talk about ... but I doubt it ... so don't see much reason to celebrate. But ... if you're one of those who resolve to quit smoking or lose weight in 2005 ... good luck to you! Hope it works out.

Anyway ... have a Happy, Safe, and Healthy New Year ... and let's hope for the best. Think I'll go watch an "Old Navy" commercial to cheer up.

What I miss about Christmas ....

... are the Old Navy TV commercials, or more specifically, the Blonde from the Old Navy commercials! OK ... so they may be lame and annoying ... but there is just something about the cute blonde that made me stop and look everytime one of those commercials came on!


Cute Old Navy Blonde - Lauren Hastings

But ... I find that I'm not alone in thinking there's something captivating about her! While doing a Google search on her, I found a Blog "devoted to the blonde cutie with the impish voice who sings in the Christmas 2004 Old Navy commercials".

If you've seen the commercials ... you know what I'm talking about! If you haven't, here are links to the ads. (There were a couple I hadn't seen before!)

The Attic
The Bakery
The Bowling Alley
The Cafe
The Grocery Store
The Pantry

Enjoy ... and hope we get to see more of this cutie soon!

ABC News: People of the Year: Bloggers

Tonight, ABC News ran a segment on Bloggers, naming them one of the "People of the Year". Check out the story
here.

Christmas in Tennessee

Spent a chilly week before Christmas and Christmas Day on a family vacation in Tennessee. We stayed in a cabin in Pidgeon Forge, and spent a little time in nearby Gatlinburg and took the tram up the mountain to Ober Gatlinburg. Didn't do a lot of sightseeing, but did get a chance to check out the Aquarium in Gatlinburg ... which was very nice. The rest of the time, was mostly spent with 9 of us in our cabin, shooting pool, playing video games, watching movies, or in front of the fireplace to try and keep warm.

On our trip in, we did run into some snow ... which, after a few years, was nice to see again. My niece and nephews did enjoy seeing and playing in snow for the first time.


Snow at a Rest Area in the Smoky Mountains

All in all, it wasn't too bad. It was nice to get away for a change of climate ... and scenery. And speaking of scenery ... lot's of cute women! I overheard a comment someone made while walking down the street in Gatlinburg ... "a lot of hot ass chicks here". My sentiments exactly!

PC gone too far?

This time of year, for the past few years, I've gotten into the habit of wishing people "Happy Holidays" ... to be politically correct and to make sure no one feels offended.

Feeling a bit daring and wanting to live "on the edge", today I wrote someone an e-mail, and wished him a "Merry Christmas"! He wrote back and said "thanks" for wishing him a "Merry Christmas" instead of the PC "Happy Holidays"! Thought that was rather interesting!

So ... whatever your beliefs ... let me take the time to wish everyone a Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, or Happy Kwanzaa ... and in order to not offend or leave anyone out, Happy Holidays to you!

Until Then ...

A friend of mine just passed along this link. Just wanted to pass it on. (Make sure you have your sound on)