Warms the Body and Soul

This has become somewhat of an icon of the Christmas season in my life. No so much because I drink a lot of these, but because I am a professor at a university where a majority of students and faculty can be seen carrying various sizes of these around. When you see these red-and-green paper cups start to appear, you know the season has arrived. Everyone seems to have their favorites. Eggnog latte, tall, whip. Non-fat mocha, no whip. Skinny vanilla spice chai latte. Tonight, the desire to have one of these colorful cups of creamy warm liquid overtook me, so I ran through the Starbucks drive-through on the way home. My choice was a nonfat decaf. Gingerbread latte with whip. Just sounded like a cup of Christmas to me. It's funny; I like the IDEA of these special coffees, but I usually end up enjoying a first few creamy sips before letting the rest of it get cold and ultimately throwing it away. Let's see....at over $3.00 a pop, that is the equivalent of a dollar a sip. Good thing that I only get 1 or 2 per season. I'll stick to my vanilla spice chai, and I like my at-home version much better than the too-spicy version at Starbucks.

I just discovered the movie "Miracle on 34th Street" that is just now starting on TV. While I have seen pieces and parts of this movie many times, I can honestly say that I don't think I have ever watched it beginning to end in its entirety in one sitting. Maybe I'll watch it tonight. I love black-and-white photos, because of the emphasis on the face, skin and eyes, but I'm not sure that I have the same appreciation for black-and-white movies. I'll give it a chance....maybe it's an acquired taste.

I had an interesting discussion with my students today surroudning blogs and whether they are a positive or negative thing. I think that my students were seriously though pleasantly shocked that I have a blog. Maybe I'll share this site with them on Thursday.

Well, I broke down and bought that Fisher Price camera from E-Bay. Interesting that you cannot find one anywhere in a store, but there are over 1,000 of them for sale on E-Bay. Some of these people must make a full-time job out of projecting the "hot item" of the season and buying them out to sell on E-Bay. Nevertheless, thanks to "hipChicagomom", my son will be getting the camera with case for Christmas. And let's just say that I will be paying for several manicures for hipChicagomom! It's amazing to me that with one click of a button, I could find something that I have driven to several stores and searched high and low around several towns for. The advantages of the technology age. This is the first Christmas gift that I have ever purchased from E-Bay so, assuming that I receive the merchandise and all goes well, maybe this will be a part of future holidays. Now, back to my movie and cold Gingerbread latte........