Here comes Santa Claus

I had to make a visit to the 9th circle of hades last night, also known as Wal-mart, to take my mom grocery shopping, and as we walked in the doors right smack in the middle of the walk way was a Christmas Tree.

Thanksgiving hasn't even made it yet and stores are already pushing sleigh bell door knockers and blinking lawn deer.

Last year my sister informed me that I was being placed in charge of making sure Santa sent a letter to my niece every year. Santa, of course, being me. Well my handwriting sucks and I have no idea what Santa would say to a kid so I hopped online to see if I could find a service that specialized in such a thing.

Lucky me there is. It's a neat idea really. They send a hand written letter on 'official' Santa stationary, and the envelope has a North Pole post mark. I know as we get older we eventually lose our child like believe in Jolly Old St. Nick, but I still think it's important to keep the dream alive for kids as long as we can.

Last year I didn't find the site in time to order, but this year Marley will definitely be getting a Letter From Santa.

Penny for your Thoughts..

I found this neat story in the news this morning and wanted to share.

NEW YORK - One hundred million pennies for your thoughts on the latest display in Rockefeller Center. New York first lady Silda Wall Spitzer joined hundreds of public school children on Monday to unveil a mass of $1 million in pennies collected for charity. The display, called the Penny Harvest Field, includes an estimated 100 million pennies — plus a few nickels, dimes and quarters that slipped in by mistake.

The exhibit, 30 feet by 165 feet, as long as a city block, is the culmination of the nonprofit organization Common Cents' 17th annual Penny Harvest, a national educational program designed to teach children about their value as contributors to society. Hundreds of thousands of city students from more than 800 schools spent the weeks between Oct. 22 and Thanksgiving going door to door and collecting the pennies, which will be donated to organizations of their choice for causes such as protecting the environment and helping the elderly.

The exhibit was designed by architect James Polshek and will be on display in Rockefeller Center, near the famous Christmas tree, through the end of the year.