TMC

I am suffering from Too Much Christmas. It can happen to anyone, but especially those who have multiple families due to divorce and remarriage. But it has been a great one, and I am so lucky to be part of a family that has such nice (though a tad exhausting) Christmases.

Rory-girl is definitely part of our family. Look at her stealing that mic.

Happy Birthday (yesterday) Liz!

Trying really hard...

not to click on the celebrity news updates about Britney Spears and K-Fed. Just like I try not to click on the ones about Jessica Simpson and Katie Holmes. Usually I fail.

As the Shopper comes home with her presents...

I agree with everyone who says Christmas is too commercial. My sisters and sister-in-law say their kids have enough toys...don't go crazy. It's true; they do. I watch commercials and think there are some ridiculous things out there. And yet...

I think I am brainwashed. I LOVE to Christmas shop. If I was a millionaire the first thing I would do was act like Oprah and go on a crazy spending spree and buy people what they have always dreamed of. (Which is, perhaps, the reason I will never be a millionaire.) I love to think about the most creative thing to buy someone and then I want to out-do it the next year. Joel told me to calm down this year. "We just bought a house," says he, "you can't go crazy like you usually do." And yet...

Am I a victim of the commercial culture? Probably somewhat. I think we all have been marketed to death, but it is so fun to give someone exactly what they wanted.

A few years ago my mom had this nice idea. She asked us to stop buying her presents because she felt that she had more than everything she needed. Instead, she asked us to do one good dead in her honor, write it up, and present it to her Christmas morning. Nicest thing ever, right? Yet for some reason I find this harder to do every year than all of the presents I have to buy. My sisters and I, on a few occasions, have totally bitched* about her behind her back because we forget to do the good deed and then we are left scrambling the week before Christmas. This should be all the proof I need that my Christmas traditions have gotten too commercial. Perhaps I should tell people to give me good deeds instead of presents. And yet...

NKB

*I think that is my first curse word on the blog. Bad.

Over Thanksgiving weekend I saw Shopgirl with Steve Martin, Claire Danes, and Jason Schwartzman. I really enjoyed it. The acting was great; a huge departure for Steve Martin. I had also read the book and thought it an interesting read. One reaction that is worth mentioning though, was that it was quite jarring at a few points in the movie to watch a relationship between Steve Martin, who is, I believe, sixty, and that girl from My So Called Life. Luckily the acting is moving enough to let you deal with that and get past it. Still, a bit embarrassing to watch with your father in law. All in all, however, a very sweet and touching film.

NKB