Most nights, Music Man is in bed before I get there–for a variety of reasons. He occasionally watches TV, but more often will work on a NYT crossword puzzle (not in ink, though).

Oftentimes, when I get to bed if I don’t feel like reading, I’ll put on a DVR’d episode of some TV show that we’ve been watching–at this time, we’re on a Monk kick and watch one or two if it’s not too late.

So, I’ve been trying to train Music Man to get in on my side of the bed and warm it up. Then, when I come to bed, he can scootch over to his side and I’ll have a warm bed to get into! Makes sense to me.

It’s actually even more convenient for him, because, control-freak that I am, my side of the bed is closest to the door.

But for some reason…he won’t do that. He says something about having to warm up under the covers twice if he does that.

Hmmph.

This isn’t so much a rant as a…well, I don’t know. I’ve been saving it up since I started receiving Christmas/Holiday cards from people the day after Thanksgiving (eep!).

I think it’s more of a scratch-my-head, Colleen’s Personal Preferences (aka, Pet Peeves) sort of thing. With a healthy dose of Grinchness. So bear with me.

And please don’t be offended if you, uh, well, do this. It’s just my humble (very) opinion.

So here it is: my Grinch-like, Ebenezer-ish bother relates to Christmas/Holiday cards.

I love to get them, particularly from people that I only hear from once a year–at Christmas. I love to see pictures of them and their kids, and to get news and updates, etc.

But I don’t get the purpose of sending a card without any of that stuff! Especially from someone that I see regularly, and who will likely offer me Christmas wishes in person. Yanno?

Okay, yeah, I admit it. It sounds a little mean or nasty to be rebuffing holiday wishes. I understand the intent and the thought behind it. It’s not that I don’t appreciate it! I just want more. So I’m greedy, maybe?

In this world of excesses–of too much of everything–for me to receive a generic card from someone that has a stamped or imprinted impersonal Christmas wish on it, followed by a set of signatures…and nothing else, no pic, no note, no update…it just makes me scratch my head and wonder why.

Why waste the money on the card, the stamp, the cost to mail it. What’s the point? It’s going to go in the recycle bin as soon as I look at it. Exactly ten seconds after receipt. (I don’t keep my cards unless they’re pictures.)

At the very least, I want a family photo. Or even a new address/email. That’s fine too. But I prefer to have a newsy letter along with it, and even–gasp!–a handwritten personal note!

Which is why this was the first year in the last four that I actually sent out cards. They weren’t Christmas cards (because I sent them out on New Year’s Day), but they were New Year’s cards. They had a photo pic of my kids and a printed update/letter on the back (not really long, but enough to give the updates)…and then on each one, there was a place where I could jot a note–albeit brief–to let the recipient know that I wasn’t just stuffing cards in an envelope and putting their address on it.

Now, I didn’t send a card to anyone from church or any of my kids’ friends or families–people that I see all the time. (Except for my mom, because she’d be mad if I didn’t.) I only sent to people I haven’t seen or heard from in awhile, or people who would like pictures of the three kidlets.

So. There it is. It’s my shameful rant on this first Tuesday of 2009.

What do you think? Am I a grouchy Grinch or a pragmatic Tree-hugger?

Happy 2009!

By the reports of the number of people celebrating the ringing in of the New Year, I don’t think I’m the only one who is ready for 2009. Someone told me that the number of revelers in Sydney Harbor in Australia was greater than even for the ushering in of 2000…about 30% more.

Apparently, we’re all hoping for a better year. Goodness knows, things aren’t great right now, but they could certainly be worse. I’m praying for the pendulum to swing the other way and for 2009 to brighten up a bit. Well, a lot.

I sincerely wish all of you who hang here (lurking or commenting, or just passing through) a healthy, happy and prosperous year. Thanks for being part of my blog, in whatever form you participate. It makes it a lot more fun for me to write these entries, knowing that there are actually people reading!

What are your hopes–personal, professional, global–for 2009?

Share!

So, I flipped my “Studs in Spurs” calendar (a gift from a friend of mine–in fact, the brilliant owner of Austin DesignWorks, who manages my website and blog) to the last page for 2008.

(Well, this was awhile ago–about three weeks ago, to be exact, because I almost always flip my calendars late.)

And my eyes rested upon the Stud in Spurs who was Mr. December, so to speak. And I did a double take. And a triple take and then I nodded in satisfaction.

Yep, I’m pretty sure it was the same guy…one of the Mr. Romance candidates from the Romantic Times Convention that I attended last April.

So, do you agree? Was I actually hugging Mr. December-Studs-in-Spurs last April? You be the judge.

A nice little Christmas present from my German publisher, Blanvalet…the release dates and covers for the first three Gardellas. (Thanks to my dear friend Jan.)

The first book will be released in June, titled Bleicher Morgen, which basically means “pale dawn.” Here’s the cover:

The second book will come out in August, and will be called Schwärzeste Nacht, which means “darkest night.”

And the third comes out in October, and is titled Blutrote Dämmerung, which translates as “blue-red dawn.”

Aren’t the covers cool? I love them! I’m so excited!