Fast Days and Impending Snowfalls...

Today was a busy day. It was a good type of day but one that just got away from me. I don't mind days like this. They make time fly at work and they make me feel like I'm doing something right at work.

Of course, not everything is always right at work. I discovered today that not only do job candidates lie but so do employers. I've been working with a super nice candidate for a while and he's this close to getting a job. Then, today, the night before his third and final interview, they want to pay him a lot less than they originally said. He's a candidate who needs a job. Badly. He's been out of work for a while and he really, really wants to work. Yet now it seems that all my hard work and his hard work may be in vain because he's got another job offer that he's been stalling on accepting because of this job I've been working so hard for him to get.


Still, this happens. I've been told. I just hate when it happens to me and to someone who is just generally a nice person who deserves a break.

Ah, well, 'tis the nature of this business, I'm told. It's not all like this but for every good opportunity that arises, there's badness too.

Keep your fingers crossed for my candidate that he falls on his feet. It's the holidays. Everyone deserves a break. I just hope he gets his, even if I'm not the one able to give it to him.


Nevertheless, good or bad things, my day went fast. This meant that I got to go home, hang with the pups and spend the evening very festively writing Christmas cards while watching, "While You were Sleeping"- one of my favourite 'Christmas' movies. It's nice to drink a glass of wine, take in a movie and address Christmas cards. As long as I don't drink too much wine. I wouldn't want a Bridget Jones-esque situation on my hands where I drink too much and send absolutely everyone I know a card with how I feel about them in it. My post-traumatic work disorder from my breakup with my ex-boss is still fresh enough that I can just see myself sending him a card that says, "Dear X- thanks for being such a miserable sod and not wishing me well in my new job. Just so you know, I'm doing great and my new boss is FABULOUS!!!! (Way better than you, anyway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)." This is why I simply have ONE glass of wine while addressing Christmas cards. It's safer. Also, my handwriting is better.

I love nights like this. I also love that tomorrow is Friday. I have a weekend planned with my parents and doing some festive things with them.


The only thing is that there's supposed to be some significant snowfall on Sunday with the possibility of freezing rain on Saturday. I don't mind the snow, obviously- just look back on my blogs or simply search for the word "snow." You'll soon see- me and snow are best friends. I don't even mind driving in snow provided the roads are plowed and I can see the asphalt beneath my tires.

The problem with Indiana and Ohio is they don't always plow. They do eventually get around to it but there are times when there is no plow to be seen but plenty of snow on the road. I'm hoping Sunday isn't going to be a problem. The pups and I will simply head home earlier than normal and hopefully avoid the worst of the weather.

Still, that's the thing with the time of year. It's a trade off. For every wonderful snowfall I get, there's driving to be done. For me, for the most part, I don't have to go far but every now and again there's a bit of stress involved when there's a distance to be travelled and the roads aren't great.

Nevertheless, when I and my family don't have to travel, life is good. It's the best excuse in the world to slow down and appreciate the season. Sometimes it's just nice to slow down.

And sometimes, it's just nice to slow down.

Happy Friday and have a great weekend.

Time Goes Fast Around the Holidays...

I find December a hard month to work. Even when I enjoy my job, as I do now, I still feel like it would be an absolute luxury to have the whole month off. This way, I could do all my shopping, bake, cook and generally let the holiday season pass by slowly instead of at the mad speed it seems to go when you do have to work.


I manage to squeeze in a fair amount of festive activities. I've been shopping since October so I get to avoid the mad dash of last-minute shopping for gifts. I've got my tree up. The Christmas cards are bought but just not written. I've managed to squeeze in a couple of Christmas movies.

But it'd still be nice to have the month off. It's such a buildup to Christmas, if you celebrate, obviously that it would be nice to have it come in the form of blocks of time to enjoy the season rather than the more likely little snippets of time we actually find.


Still, I can't complain. A year ago I was working for a company that didn't even bother to have a holiday party never mind give us any form of 'gift'. We didn't even get the mini candy cane in our mailboxes that we had the year before. This year, my company actually celebrates the holiday. Not only are we having a holiday happy hour for all of our consultants but my office is having a private party for just us employees at my boss's house. We are doing a secret Santa gift exchange. We also get a little bonus in the form of a gift card from our company.

It's nice. It makes me appreciate the fact that I got fed up and I found this job. Even though there are days like I had yesterday, there are also many, many good days where I realize that my boss actually wants me to have fun at my job and enjoy what I do.

This is still a new thing for me. I'm still waiting for someone to jump out and tell me its all a mistake, that I've been punk'd. I think I'm still suffering a little from post-traumatic-boss-disorder. To have a boss who makes sure he lets me know he appreciates my hard work at least once a week and who, when we've not had the best week, takes us all out for a beer and closes the office early...well, this is the type of job I've always wanted. It makes me feel like I'm part of something, that I'm a person and not just a body who is supposed to come in, do a job and not be allowed to have an opinion.


So, even though I can't take the entire month off, I'm lucky enough to work for a nice company who is perfectly content to let us leave a little early if we need to, provided we still get our work done.


It makes it a little easier to get errands run that are hard to do over lunch. Going to the post office, for example. I've mentioned before, I'm a big fan of the post office. I love letters. I love stamps. I love that sense of completion you get when you drop a package or bundle of letters off to be mailed. It makes me feel like I've done something productive.

It's just that sometimes, well, actually, almost always, the lines at the post office are long. They took away the stamp machine so if you want to buy stamps you either have to wait in the very long line or you can go to the automatic postage station. I like this station because it lets you mail out everything from an envelope to a large box just by hitting a few buttons. However, I don't like this station when all I want to do is buy some stamps and I'm stuck behind a person who has an entire bag full of packages to be mailed all over the world. Each one has to be entered, weighed and labeled properly. That's a long time to wait but it's still quicker than waiting in the post office.

So it's nice that I have a job that allows me to go to the post office before it closes. It makes the fact that squeezing in holiday activities between work and life a little easier.


Of course, if I found a way to take the whole month off and still get paid and still have a job, I wouldn't sniff at that either.

But since that's not likely to happen, I'll take what I can get.

Happy Thursday!

The Peril of People...

There are some days when I think it's best to not be around too many people. For me, today was one of those days.

This is actually somewhat ironic since one of the many reasons I left my last job was because I missed working with people and found interacting with my computer and our software to be soul-sucking and dull.

So, I found a job where I could work with people. Most of the time, I enjoy working with them. People are fun. I like nice people. I've met quite a few nice ones in my short time in this job. I have a new buddy down in Kentucky who is just the sweetest lady ever and I'd love to find her a job but unfortunately, the market isn't cooperating. There are other nice ones too. The ones I like most are the ones who take job searching seriously. They know I can help them and they're willing to cooperate with me.

Unfortunately, they're still people. People lie. It's a sad fact but it's probably one of the truest statements ever. I think Dr. House would agree since that's his personal motto.

Everybody lies.


It's true. I'm learning it on a daily basis. I don't think there's any malicious intent in them. They don't lie because they're mean people. They lie because they don't want to tell the truth for whatever reason. The reason can be as simple as not wanting me to know they're working with other recruiters in case I take it personally or as complex as them wanting a new job that fulfills them but, when it comes down to it, it's all about the money.

It's often about the money. I find that fascinating. As a recruiter, it's my job to find out why someone sent me their resume or they're on the great wide interweb looking for a new position. They all want to be more fulfilled by their jobs. It's common sense. We, as humans, are looking for happiness and soul-satisfaction.


Yet, it very often comes down to the money.


I try to match people up with jobs. I take into consideration the commute, the amount of hours required off-the-clock, the salary and their background. I like to get to know them, find out if they have young children which might prevent them from wanting to work too far from home or if they've been out of work for a while, what they've been doing to pay the bills.

It all helps. I like getting to know my candidates personally. It's fun.

It's just that they lie. What they don't tell me is it's not really about job satisfaction as it is about that big paycheck. I try to get them the highest salary possible but more often than not, they hear a high number and they start to wonder if they can go higher so they look elsewhere as well.

Then they tell me they're not close to getting another job or they're not really looking. Thus, I do what I can to make sure I find them something. I have a soft spot for the desperate. It sucks to not have a job, especially this time of year. I work harder for those candidates than the ones who have a job but want to do something else.


So, often, my candidates get submitted to positions. They get interviews. They get second interviews. Then, just when I know they're going to get the job, they phone me to say they've accepted another position.


It's happened more than once. It's very, very frustrating because, all along, I asked them to let me know where else they were interviewing. Not only does it let me know where our company stands in their job search but it makes sure we don't submit them somewhere where they've already been submitted. I don't take offense if they're working with other companies. It's sensible. I just hate when they lie about it.

It always makes me feel cheated. I've worked hard to get them to the point where they're going to get a job and boom! They no longer want it.

I understand the knee-jerk reaction, particularly for the unemployed. A job is a job. Yet when you have a candidate who quit his last position in protest of them laying off half his staff, you don't expect him to take another position where the same thing is going to happen.

How do I know the same thing is going to happen? It's my business to know. We know which companies are in the process of outsourcing to India and which ones are going to be cutting jobs. As cutthroat as it sounds, we have to know this because we can help the people getting cut find new jobs. You have to be quick.


I sound bitter. I'm not. I'm just a little tired of getting my hopes up that I've succeeded in getting someone a job. It's not about the small commission I earn on each placement, it's about me feeling like I'm a success. I've had three candidates in the last week get close enough to be offered a job but before we can get final confirmation, they've taken another position.


It makes sense. Panic sets in, the automatic response is to accept whatever comes your way. It's a bad economy. Jobs are scarce.

I just wish it wouldn't come as a shock each time because my candidates have told me they weren't close to getting another position so, therefore, I don't expect it.


It's not all like that. When I do work with a candidate and he gets a job and he's happy, it makes everything worthwhile. It makes me happy that I work with people.

Overall, I love my job. I love the idea of helping people find satisfaction in life. It's just that sometimes I wish it wasn't so much about the money as finding the right job for the right person. Still, there is enough of that on somedays to make up for days like this when I feel a little like a failure because I've lost a good candidate to another job.


It's all a learning curve. As I said before, it's the side-effect of working with people. They're not automated software that can be rebooted if it crashes. They're walking, talking living creatures with their own minds and opinions.

It's what makes the job fun.

Mostly.

Now, about those lies...

Happy Wednesday!

Complicated Hat Situations...

It was a very cold day today. By cold, I mean it's the type of cold in which the formerly beautiful, fluffy festive snow has been turned to brittle, hard ice. It started to melt yesterday so it lies on the ground in a mottled patchwork quilt of green and white.

It's the type of cold that you feel before you even get out of you warm nest of a bed in the morning and know that the minute your feet hit the ground, they're going to get cold.

When I let the puppies out this morning, they started to do their usual mad tear from the back door, all the way across the vegetable patch where they generally stop and inspect for squirrels and bunnies. They usually then proceed to the toolshed where they see if, by any miraculous chance, my blockades to stop them getting underneath the shed have somehow evaporated and they can now get underneath. Fortunately, this is not likely since I used cement blocks and bricks. They can move the bricks but the cement blocks aren't budging. This doesn't stop them from trying to dig but the most they can do is create a furrow that isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

This morning, however, they started their mad tear. Then you could see them stop, look about and stare at one another as if to say, "dude, it's COLD! What's up with that?"


They promptly did their business, looking horribly offended at the frozen snow-mottled ground as they did so and then came in. They did not, as they normally do, run in and out multiple times before I finally made them come in for good. This may have been because I usually leave the back door open a crack since the family room which holds the back door is not heated but today, that was not happening. When you can see your breath before you even expose your breath to the outdoors, you know it's cold out there.


The puppies are seemingly fans of snow but not of bitter cold. They actually jumped into their crate of their own free will after coming in this morning for the final time. This is normal for Sookie who knows when it's time but Rory is my little rebel and I usually have to show her the 'crate treat' she's going to get before she's actually in the crate.



Still, winter is upon us and we'll all get used to it. It's technically only been a couple of weeks since it became full-on coat weather. We were still having balmy enough days that it was feasible not to wear a coat in the mornings because it'd be warm enough by lunchtime that a coat was irrelevant.

Now it's not only coat weather, it's scarves, gloves and hat weather. I don't actually own a hat. I want to own one because I find them very practical and they warm the ears. However, I think I'm one of those unfortunate creatures that doesn't do well in hats. At least, I don't think I do. This is because everytime I try on a hat when I'm shopping with someone, they tell me to 'take it off, it looks silly.'

This makes it rather hard to know what type of hat to wear. No one wants to be told they look silly in a hat, after all. I've tried a beret style which ended up not so beret-like and more like a fabric flop on my head. I tried a simple wool hat on but my sister said I looked silly. I'd try one of those earflap hats which, while warming, really aren't my style. I don't think I can pull off an earflap hat.


I'm not sure what other type of winter hats there are, honestly. When I was a child, a simple bobblehat would suffice and no one thought twice about you wearing one. Nowadays, it's all about trying not to look like a doofus while simutaneously trying to keep your ears warm. I obviously shouldn't care that I look like a doofus but, alas, I do. I blame the catalogs. They show these beautiful women in classy hats and coats marching across parks and things. They make everything seem so glamourous. In actuality, if the weather were actually appropriate for the hats and coats that the models are wearing, the models would also probably have bright red noses, shiny eyes because the cold brought tears to them and far less neatness to the newness of the coats.


Of course, this might just be me. Try as I might to be catalog-model worthy in my winter wear, I never look that...neat and tidy. If it's snowing, my coat will be covered with melting flakes. If it's raining, my hair will be stringy around my face because I don't have a hat of any type, doofus-making or not. If it's cold, I don't have time to saunter across a park. Does anyone? Pretty much, when it's cold enough for the full winter wardrobe- hats, scarves, gloves and thick coat- there is no sauntering. There is only bustling around trying to get from warm point A to warm point B.



Still, cold or not, I love winter. I love winter coats, scarves and gloves. I'd love to like hats but, well, there's the doofus-factor. I'd use another word but there's just something amusingly juvenile about the word doofus. I heard it for the first time when we first moved to the U.S. from the U.K. but it's just a fun word to use.


Anyway, on cold days like this, a hat is sort of a necessity. Fortunately, aside from getting out my car to bustle to my building (no sauntering here!), I'm not exposed to the elements that much. It would, however, be nice to have a hat so I could do things like walk the dogs in a fashionable and trendy manner, ala the catalog models but, well, frankly, I'm guessing they don't walk their dogs when it's 23 degrees outside with a windchill of 15 degrees. Perhaps this means I shouldn't walk the dogs either. That would be the sensible thing.

Nevertheless, I'd still like a hat.

Provided it doesn't make me look like a doofus.


Happy Tuesday

Festive Snowfalls...

Sometimes there are days which seem so right that you wonder if they're real.

I had one of those days this weekend. It was Saturday. I woke up to a gently prompting puppy. Specifically, it was Rory. She has this way of licking my ear when she needs to go outside in the mornings. It's quite gentle but it's her way of saying, "Hey, mummy, I quite need to go out but you seem like you're sleeping so I'm trying not to jump on your head and say, "HEY! I NEED TO PEE."

So I got up and let Rory and Sookie outside. To my delight, I realized it had been snowing and the ground was covered with a layer of white. The pups, confused at the change in landscape, did their business then promptly came in and wanted to go back to bed. Given that it was only 6:30 a.m., I was happy to oblige.

When we got up properly at 8 a.m., the snow had continued. The puppies went out again and this time explored the snow. They came in, their noses covered in white, soaked to the skin but seeming excited.

I ran what errands I had to run that morning so I could spend the day at home. I'm glad I did because it continued to snow, non-stop all day. To my delight, the puppies seemed to love the snow as much as I did. They spent ages outside, rolling in the snow, burrowing in it and just having a great time.

They came in periodically. They warmed up by getting under their blankets. As soon as they were warm and dry, they wanted to go out again.

Naturally, this made me rather happy. You have to understand, my last dachshund, as effective as he was in the snow dance, hated snow. He looked at me as though I'd betrayed him whenever snow fell and he got wet. Thus, it was to my great delight that I discovered both Rory and Sookie seemed to genuinely enjoy the frozen white stuff.

We went for a couple of walks. Somehow, we seemed to choose the time when the snowflakes were falling heaviest and thickest. We got soaked but it didn't stop me from turning my face up to the sky any more than it stopped Rory and Sookie from exploring snowbanks and divebombing into them.

By the time we got home, we were all soaked. I put the girls coats which, by now, were wet and mucky, into the washing machine. I made myself a cup of peppermint hot chocolate.

I can say, there's no finer way to see in the first real snowfall of the season than a mug of peppermint hot chocolate.

Unless, perhaps, it involves putting up the Christmas tree while drinking peppermint hot chocolate.

This turned out to be our Saturday. I put up my Christmas tree, decorated the house and drank peppermint hot chocolate while listing to the very festive sounds of the Tran-Siberian Orchestra. The puppies, meanwhile, watched. They were a little alarmed at the tree. They're not happy that I hung bells on the lower level of branches to deter them. They don't understand why a large, fake Christmas tree is adorning our living room.

I'd much rather have had a real one. I'm sure they would too. However, it's hard to manage a real tree when you're a singleton. Also, as much as I like the smell, the dropping needles are a bit of a pain. Also, I hate having to put the tree out to be recycled at the end of the season. It's just plain sad.

So I put up my 6 ft, pre-lit tree every year. I make up for the sparse areas by decorating those areas more heavily. I have a lot of decorations. I have so many that next year, I'm hoping to be able to get a second tree for my family room.

Still, real or fake, there's something wonderfully festive about getting ready for the holidays, especially while the snow is falling.

By Saturday evening while the snow was still falling, we had a very festive house. We celebrated by watching "Elf," wrapping gifts and being happy that I'm doing well on my Christmas shopping.

That's the best way to celebrate in my opinion. I usually spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my parents so it's nice to be able to squeeze in the festive moments at home while I can.

It's especially nice when the snow is falling gently but firmly outside and it really feels like Christmas. I'm a sucker for tradition and when the snow comes down during the Christmas season, it makes me feel exponentially more festive. I don't need an excuse for loving snow but this snowfall was perfect. It fell on everything but the roads and sidewalks. It was the type of snow that makes everything looks like a Christmas card.

Sunday was less snowy but we had a few flurries. Each time, the pups ran out as if to embrace it. During one of our snowy walks, I realized I might have been slighly crazy to be out and about it such a heavy snowfall but given that the pups were with me, turning their faces upwards, I didn't feel quite so alone.

Sometimes, that's just a lovely feeling. Whether the company is human or canine, to celebrate something as wonderful as snow with another creature is just the most rewarding feeling in the world. It's nice to see the puppies outside, embracing the twirling, swirling snowflakes and then have them come in to be cuddled with a blanket and to watch out the window with me.

Even if I'm a little crazy to love snow the way I do...at least I have company!

Happy Monday!

Good Ideas are Not Always Good (But They do Sometimes Lead to Interesting Sandwiches)

It was a very cold day out there today. Temperature-wise, it wasn't that chilly, according to the thermometer. However, there was a very cold wind chill that made the temperature feel 20 degrees colder.

Naturally, this was the day I decided to try to be quickly festive after work. Generally, when I get off work, it's getting dark, thanks to Daylight Savings Time. On days when it's been cloudy, rainy or snowy, it's pretty dark by the time I come out of work. On days when it's been sunny, like today, there's still a smidgen of daylight left.

Tonight, I got home with that smidgen shining enough that it didn't feel later than it was. Normally, after work, I try to run errands. Last night it was the library, the night before it was the dollar store. Tonight, however, I had no errands to run.

Thus, I thought I'd take advantage of the waning daylight and finally take down my autumn leaves that are wrapped around my little lamppost in my front garden along with the scarecrows that have been outside since mid-October. I managed to do that and, not thinking too hard about it, I decided there was enough light to replace my leaves with my faux-pine garland that wrapped around the lamppost. I managed to do this although by the time I was done wrapping the garland and getting it to stay in place, my fingers were suspiciously numb.

Meanwhile, all the time I was outside, I could hear the yipping of Sookie from inside the house. Rory isn't as much of a yipper. Sookie, on the other hand, likes to be on alert for any alien movement outside. She sits on the back of the sofa and watches out of the window. I always know when someone's walking their dog by our house or Son of Dog Whisperer is playing in the street with his friends.

So tonight, as I wrapped my garland, I had a soundtrack going on. Sookie was clearly alarmed that I was outside not inside with them. Also, I'm sure she and Rory were both wondering what bizarre thing I was doing to my lamppost.

The wrapping didn't go as well as I'd have liked. My fingers, growing number by the moment refused to cooperate as I tried to secure the garland in place with the plant wire I normally use. I managed to get it wrapped around the post, slightly haphazardly. I even managed to clumsily stick a bow on the top. I couldn't get the second one on the opposite side of the lamppost because my fingers would no longer cooperate.

I suppose the moral of my story is that sometimes, what I think is a good idea may not really be one. It seemed smart to put my outdoor holiday decor up this evening but, really, I should have waited until the weekend like I'd originally planned.

Then again, sometimes good ideas that may not seem wise to others do turn out to be good. For example, a few years ago, I invented the brussels sprout sandwich. It's quite simple. You get some of those frozen brussels sprouts by Green Giant that are microwavable and in a low-fat butter sauce. You microwave them and then scoop the sprouts out, put them between slices of bread and, voila! the brussels sprout sandwich.

Personally, I find it quite a tasty invention. Others seem not to agree. I suppose it does take some affinity for brussels which I personally have. I adore the things. Other people, I know, think they taste like feet. How people know they taste like feet, I have no idea. However, it's probably along the same lines as my thinking that chysanthemum tea tastes like dead ladybugs. I've personally never eaten dead ladybugs but that's what I think they'd taste like.

Anyways, what I'm getting at is that sometimes, bad ideas turn out to be good. Tonight, my good idea turned out to be bad. Still, I do now have some semblance of Christmas decor outside even though it will need to be adjusted to make it look properly right.

Still, I'm hoping that when I go out to fix them, it's not quite so cold. I'd rather my fingers didn't go numb.

Of course, I could wear gloves. Now there's a good idea. Why didn't I think of that before.

Ah well.

Happy Friday!

The Mystery of Penguins at Christmas...

I got my wish today. I woke up just as daylight was starting to creep in only to see that it was snowing.

Needless to say, this made me quite happy. It didn't please the pups quite so much, however. I made them wear their little pink coats since it was cold out and they didn't like that very much. They went out but then they came in and sat still, sulking until I took them off. They promptly ran outside again. I'm hoping they get used to them since it was cold today but not as cold as it's lightly to get.

As the day past, the snow fell a little faster and a little heavier. I had at least three people ask me if I'd done the snow dance with Sookie or worn my snowflake necklace. The answer was, in fact, yes. Hey, it's December. Now is the time on Sprockets when we dance for snow.

It was good snow. It fell enough to put the thinnest coating on the ground but not enough that the naysayers could complain that the snow was a problem. It was nice to come out of work, turn my face up to the sky and let the flakes fall.

It's still snowing a little out there. When I came home from work, I decided that even though it was cold, the puppies and I were going to celebrate the first official snowfall of winter by going for our walk. This time, I made them wear their coats. I think they look adorable. They have twin mock-Burberry pink fleece coats that cover their middles which, being dachshunds, are quite long. They walk side by side down the street and it's just plain fun to watch.

They didn't seem to mind the cold although it occurred that their feet might be cold. The pavement had to be pretty frigit. Yet, does that bother dogs? I don't have a clue. I know they make shoes for dogs but to me they've always seemed like a vanity thing rather than a practical thing. I mean, there are some dogs like huskies that are made for cold climates and you don't see them wearing boots or shoes. So I'm hoping that the puppies feet acclimate to the colder temperatures. I don't fancy putting shoes on each of their four feet. It's hard enough velcro-ing Rory's coat closed as she wriggles around.

Still, we enjoyed our walk. With my gloves, comfy shoes and coat, I stayed warm except for my ears. The puppies didn't seem to get too cold. They liked to sniff at the little dollops of snow that had accumulated on the raked piles of leaves. This time of year, it's nice to walk because everyone's putting their Christmas lights up. I like to see whose decorations I think are the best. I am not, sadly, a fan of the giant inflatable...anything. It might be a giant train with penguins on it, a giant snowglobe with blowing snow and penguins in it, a tree with a mini Santa hanging from it, blowing in the breeze...I don't care. I find giant inflatable holiday decor to be, uh, tacky.

Also, I find much of it involves penguins. Why is that? I mean, I rather like penguins. They're cute. They're comical when you watch them at Seaworld and the zoo. They're fun to watch on the nature channel.

But why are they really associated with Christmas and the holidays? I mean, ok, so they live in a snowy climate and, Christmas, typically, in this hemisphere is often associated with snow. However, there are also other creatures that live in the artic...walruses for example. Do you see giant inflatable walruses? How about musk oxen? Wolverines? Whales? (yes, I googled "arctic creatures" in case you were wondering.) Do you see giant inflatable musk oxen? Nope. So why penguins?

So, these are actually the things I ponder as I walk the puppies and look at the Christmas decorations. The puppies are a little puzzled by the giant inflatables anyway because their air pump thingies make a strange whirring noise. Also, if they flap in the breeze, that tends to make the puppies jump.

We prefer the classically decorated houses with their lights, wreathes, pine, bows and snowmen. There are a few on our street that are beautiful. It's nice to walk by and see them up close because it's never quite the same when you drive by.

On nights like this, with the Christmas lights and snow, it makes me happy I moved back to the midwest. California for all it's balminess and prettiness was never the same in the winter. I could never get used to the palm trees being decorated with Christmas lights.

Never mind it never snowing. That...I could never get used to for all the years I lived out there. Snow, how I've missed you. Welcome back!

Happy Wednesday!