ok.

i realize that

dorky pictures week: the grand finale

was supposed to involve me and a mullet. thankfully, mom seems to have destroyed our copy of that picture. so if you're truly interested, swing by my grandparents' house sometime, or just ask casey, who laughed for a solid 10 minutes after seeing it at thanksgiving.

after spending some time carefully pouring through our photo albums, i discovered our runner-up. kristin, conqueror of the tricycle.

anyway.

two days of holiday, and i am ready to be back in norman.

it was a fun couple of days though. my birthday was excellent. everyone was a little bit worn out from the sheer fun of finals week, but we managed to see lord of the rings 2 and go out to eat. thank you so much to everyone who sent warm wishes my way.

and i've finished up every last bit of my christmas shopping. most everything is even wrapped. i know, i'm impressed too.

not that it's been easy. the majority of my christmas shopping has turned into kristin shopping. i've managed to make exactly one trip to the mall in which i did not buy something for myself. i walk into the limited looking for a nice scarf for mom, i walk out of the limited with a nice sweater for kristin. i live for shopping perhaps even more intensely than an alcoholic lives for liquor, and this time of year, my disease is in full bloom.

my one successful shopping trip, i had casey and lauren along to distract me from all the pre-christmas sales. we did manage to stop in virtually every store in the mall, pushing casey to the very edge of his shopping limits. lauren was on the hunt for presents, and though we ended up buying a charming assortment of unmentionables for her girlfriends, we did stop to admire these furry slippers.

i've also been working on the madpony christmas gifts, which will hopefully be mailed by tomorrow. the madpony post-christmas gifts. if you live outside the US, your present could very well be a post-new years or post-valentine's day gift, depending on how long it takes me to figure out international mail. and if you sent us an email requesting a *special* picture of us for christmas, don't hold your breath, first 75 or not.

so good luck on your shopping and, if you sent us your address, keep an eye on your mail. i hope everyone is enjoying their holiday.

and if you're one of those who tends to spike the eggnog, just be careful to keep it away from the elephants.