Muppets, Advent, and Christmas Trees

You know, just spent a Saturday morning watching Muppets Take Manhattan. I've almost gone through the whole Muppet anthology in preparation for the new movie. Muppets in Space and Muppets Christmas Carol are the last two on the list. In other Saturday news, I got my longer run out of the way this morning, and I have since spent a relaxing afternoon planning Advent services/sermons, reading, and taking a sold nap.

For those who are counting, 8 days left until Advent! In related news, we at ResCov have decided to hold an Advent Lessons and Carols service at 7 p.m. on December 18th. If you've never been to a Lessons and Carols service, it's a series of readings from the breadth of the biblical story interspersed with carols and prayers. It sounds like we'll have a bunch of people involved, and I think it will be a solid service. You should mark your calendars and come on out! Now, only 11 services to plan and two sermons to write between now and Christmas!

I think this will be the year where I actually buy a real Christmas tree. In another symbol of passage into adulthood, I'll be getting my ornaments from my parents over Thanksgiving so I can decorate it. Granted, many of these ornaments are homemade, so my Christmas tree could look pretty skeezy. It may surprise you, but the ornaments I made in grade school aren't the nicest looking of the family's. I mean, I was the kid in kindergarten who finger painted a canvas in all black, and then when my teacher (the venerable Mrs. Brown) asked what it was, I calmly replied, "A black hole." I was also famous in my family for "decorating" the tree by sitting on the couch and lobbing my ornaments at the tree in hopes that they would eventually plinko their way down until the hook caught on one of the branches. For some reason, my mom frowned on this practice. Anyway, now I have to get a tree stand and figure out where the best and cheapest place to buy a tree is. I'm thinking Home Depot, but I'm not committing this early. Another question is configuration: where should I put the tree in my apartment? I'm thinking by the door, but I don't want it to be in a major thoroughfare.

Thanksgiving really snuck up on me this year! I don't actually believe that I'll be going to the Twin Cities next week. Hopefully the reality will sink in at a reasonable date prior so that I can pack and get my various work-related projects done before I depart. One nice thing about this trip is a full car! Usually I make this trip alone, drinking coffee and energy drinks while listening to anything that will keep me awake at loud volumes with the window down. This time I will not only be traveling with my brother, but also with Karl and Johann Clifton-Soderstrom! I won't know what to do with all the company and conversation...

I'm now sitting waiting for my brother to call so we can go get some dinner. I'm a bit concerned he has forgotten or will wait until 10:30 and then call and declare, "I'm outside! Let's go!" He should know by now that I turn into a pumpkin at about 9:45.

How have I not seen these before?

Actually, this makes more sense than say her position on the HPV vaccine causing "mental retardation" or her comment that the Solyndra business makes "Watergate look like child's play."

Okay, the kid actually called. I'm out.