I know I’m supposed to be disgusted with the commercialization of Christmas. And I agree it should not detract from the true meaning of the Season. DEFINITELY NOT! But I love the special displays in department store windows, the extra-magical swirlsand sparkles on website storefronts, and garland draped across massive grocery store parking lots.

I was just browsing the web (as a break from fighting insomnia), and saw an animation on the eddie bouer site which reminds me of this.   http://www.eddiebauer.com/home.jsp

My silliest triumph of 2008 was determining the EXACT number of seconds to nuke a mini-bag of popcorn in my microwave  to maximize the number of popped kernels without burning it – (2:25). I have no idea why this is so satisfying.

Commenting on John McCain’s concession speech, a radio guest on NPR said he believes a person can learn the most about a man’s personality by how he articulates defeat. He explained a man’s character can best be measured in hard times.

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.” – Mary Anne Radmacher.

I’m not feeling particularly courageous today. Perhaps that’s why I enjoyed this quote.  There are a couple of things I will wake up and ”try again tomorrow.” I like the idea that those little undertakings are in themselves a form of courage.