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World’s Best Santa

Those crazy Swiss have done it again…

How does one determine who is the world’s best Santa? Well, they go to the Santa Claus World Championships, of course.

I don’t consider this taste-free. It sounds like fun to me. I mean, there’s a Zipfybob Race for gosh sake. I’d be all over the Santa Creative event. And there’s even SANTA KARAOKE! Karaoke!

If you would like to register to participate in next year’s event with me, visit the the official Web site for more information.

By the way, how do you like this year’s December Blog header (that image at the top of the page)?

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Not-So-Great Christmas Gifts

ToadMama’s Taste-Free Christmas continues with really crappy, tacky, ugly Christmas gifts. Not all are Christmas-themed, but all are, well, just plain weird.

Like this NUTCRACKER, which is, um, closely related to this CORKSCREW.

Here’s a gift that KEEPS ON GIVING. And it’s a gift pack, so you can share the love with four of your friends or loved ones. I’m not sure why SANTA isn’t part of that gift pack, but you’ll have to buy him separately. If you are into those kinds of Santas, that is. And if you really dig the reindeer, pictured at left, you can buy yourself A WHOLE HERD.

Here’s something that really taste-free… a Talking Naughty Farting Santa. If you know someone who will like that, they would probably like a BULLSH*T BUTTON, too.

Looking to add some culture to your celebration this year? Try Pancho the Singing Chihuahua.

Are you thinking about remodeling your bathroom in 2010? If so, there’s a great SOAP DISPENSER you might be interested in.

Ladies, here’s a gift for the man in you life who is WAY too buff. His own BEER BELLY.

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All-New Taste-Free Christmas 2009

Last year, I thought it would be fun to collect Christmas-related stuff that’s ugly, gaudy, tacky, etc., to feature on my Blog. Because what’s more fun than seeing the crazy stuff people think of to decorate with, give as gifts, sell, eat, etc.

I figured this video, which is one of my favorites from last year, would be a great way to kick things off.

I like this little game (sort of), too, which I think is actually more fun than tacky. For about 27 seconds.

If you come across any taste-free stuff worth sharing, do let me know. You can send me an e-mail at toadmama_space_@_gmail.com. (Yes, you will need to type that address in. If I actually posted my e-mails address, I’d get lots of spam.)

If you’d like to buy some taste-free stuff of your own with which to decorate your home this holiday season, look no further than good ole Walmart.com.

That’s where you can find stuff like this 7′ Pre-Lit Paradise Red Tinsel Artificial Christmas Tree, Red Lights. It was on clearance for just $88, but it’s all sold out. Sorry.

And nothing says “Christmas” like some holographic palm trees and pink flamingos. Even if I lived in the desert, where it NEVER snowed or felt even remotely Wintry, I still don’t think I would EVER think light-up palm trees are appropriate Christmas decor.

When it comes to taste-free, nothing beats some of the lovely inflatables you see nowadays. Like the 8′ Tall Inflatable Penguins Mailing Letters to Santa. Or the Animated Air-blown Mickey and Minnie Candy Cottage. (As the one product reviewer noted, the size on this one is not listed. If it were, said reviewer “wouldn’t of paid 99.00” if they’d known it was only five feet tall.) They also have an Air-blown Inflatable Skiing Santa. Ew.

If I’m being honest, which I always strive to do here on ToadMama’s Web Abode, I have to admit when the inflatables first came out, I thought they were cool. Especially the snowmen…

… but only when used properly. You know, like one snowman, or even one snowman family like this one, in the middle of a yard.

Not like this. Many large inflatables crammed into one small space.

Seriously, how could someone think this looks nice?

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Waking Up is Hard to Do

This, my friends, is your conventional alarm clock. Sort of. More on that later.

Most days, I don’t need an alarm clock. Unless I want to wake up before approximately 7:15 a.m.

It’s not that I’m one of those old people that says, “I don’t need an alarm clock. I wake up at 6:23 every single day.”

I do need to be woken up, I just don’t need an alarm clock to do it.

Confused?

Yes, I did just say I don’t need a clock, but I do need to be woken. I don’t need a clock to wake me because I have a natural alarm Belle.

THIS is my natural alarm Belle…

And it’s the cutest little alarm Belle ever.

Belle’s small for a Brittany. Not just in girth, either. She’s vertically challenged.

My bed is about 6 inches shorter than this birdbath. When Belle stands beside the bed, like she’s standing beside the birdbath, all you can see are her feet, forelegs and cute little face. When she’s ready to get up (rarely later than 7:15), she comes and stands beside the bed. If I move or make a sound, she gets all excited and starts beating on the bed with her forelegs (picture a dog playing bongos) and wiggling her whole body. I can only actually see her cute little face moving, but I know her whole body is moving because it’s a typical Brittany wiggle.

I could be upset, especially on weekends when it would be nice to sleep in. But she’s so darn cute I can’t ignore her. Once I pet her, she gets even more excited. She even smiles. And I am such a sucker for a cute little Brittany smile.

As for the alarm clock not being conventional… as I was looking for alarm clock images to adorn this post, I discovered this clock, which actually holds and plays MP3s. Cool, eh? I was all excited until I visited the store that supposedly sells it (ThinkGeek.com) only to learn that they no longer sell it. I’m guessing it was way popular. I’ll have to search for another merchant.

I was disappointed, yes. But while there, I couldn’t resist looking around. They sell fun stuff like this coaster.

Got a geeky kid to shop for? Try this cool Jr. Astronaut Helmet.

How about a new t-shirt for your geeky Hubby? Um, you may need to be a little geeky yourself to get that one. If you do have a geeky Hubby, you should buy one of these. Just to make him feel good, know what I’m sayin?

Got a geek who likes chilled shots but hates that they get watered down? These little doohickeys are quite ingenious. I think they’d be a fun gift, too.

How about a spouse that is fascinated by gadgets and LED lights? This is the ultimate kitchen gadget.

OK, I think you get the picture.

I’m off to get more coffee…

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Recuperation Day

Christmas is over. Thank goodness. Meg agrees with that sentiment. I think she’s tired of playing dress-up to entertain me. Though she’s been a really good sport about it.

It’s been a busy holiday time. But good. I took lots of pictures over the course of the last few days. I posted some of them (only 170!) on my Flickr page.

Today is recuperation day. I’m either plain tired or getting the flu. I’ve been pretty achy these past few days. And there’s some sinus stuff going on. I’m hoping it’s just a cold though.

“Tired” can’t be ruled out completely, however. We’ve been on the go for DAYS. First, there was all the Christmas preparation. Then, on Christmas Eve, all of the kids and grand kids gathered at our house for dinner.

On Christmas day, after opening our gifts, Mike and I headed for my parents’ house. We spent some time there visiting, then headed to my mother in laws. Conveniently, my parents live quite close to my mother in law. That is one thing at least that makes holiday visiting slightly easier.

After visiting with my mother in law for a while, Mike headed home and I headed to my Aunt Kathy’s house to visit with my mother’s side of the family.

Are you wondering why Mike went home? ‘Cause he could. He’s tired of traipsing all over creation visiting people on Christmas. I am, too, honestly. But I wanted to see my family.

We’ve both agreed that next year, we’re staying home on Christmas. It’s time for the younger generation to do the running. We’re passing the torch, so to speak.

I got home around 6:00, I guess. And I was bushed. The day after Christmas, I rose early to take advantage of some of the post-Christmas sales. I bought some last-minute gifts, too. After I got home, Hubby wrapped the gifts. Then we headed to his Mom’s house to celebrate Christmas with that side of the family.

The holidays are all about family, right? It really is nice to visit with everyone. It’s something we should do more often throughout the year. But everyone is pretty busy. Not to mention the geographic spread. Although Mike’s family are all relatively close, scattered on the east side of Baltimore. It’s my brother that’s furthest away; he lives in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Anyway… after we left there, we headed back to our place. Our good friends Kathy and Barry Spice (below image, rear center and rear right) were meeting us at 6:00 to go out for a nice Mexican dinner. They brought Max (below image, front center), their Yellow Lab, to keep Meg company.

That brings us to Saturday. Yesterday. We pretty much chilled all day. Then we went to my parents’ house for dinner with my brother Tom and his family (wife Sharen and son Josh).

That’s my Mom, aka Mawsie, and brother, Tom, pictured above. Below is my favorite shot of Mawsie with my nephew, Josh, and son, Eric.

I didn’t get any great shots of my sister in law, Sharen, so I’ll spare her the embarrassment of posting a not-so-flattering pic just for the sake of posting an image here.

I did end up with a couple good shots of Mawsie and Eric, one of which is posted below.

And because I never, ever seem to end up with any decent shots of Mike and I, I’m posting one here, which was taken by Shannon at Mike’s Mom’s house, that actually turned out good.

So, that’s how we spent our holiday. That’s why today is recuperetion day.

I hope your holidays were just as happy!

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Christmas 2008

From my family to yours…

Merry Christmas!

The shopping is done (mostly). And so is the wrapping (sort of). The cookies are baked (thanks to Mike). And Christmas is finally here.

This is the first Christmas Eve in many years where all of the kids were at our house. It was a bit hectic, but quite nice, if I do say so myself.

Pictured from left to right, there’s me; our youngest child, Eric (19); our oldest child, Shannon (30); our oldest grandchild, Brianna (8); our son-in-law, TJ (27); our youngest grandson, Joey (17 1/2 months); our middle child, Amy (27), and mother of our grandchildren; Mike (aka “Hubby”); and, front-and-center, our middle grandchild, Gaige (5).

It really was a very pleasant evening. I got some nice gifts tonight, and I’m sure I’ll get more gifts tomorrow. But the biggest and best gift for me is having all of these wonderful people in my life. I love them all dearly and can’t imagine life without them.