Things I Learned This Week: 12/23/06

Because I want to spare you from experiencing some of the things I endured over the last few days, I post “Things I Learned This Week” each Saturday. It’s educational, sometimes insightful and for some reason, always makes me look pathetic. I hope that at least one item on this list will make your upcoming week much easier. So here are the “Things I Learned This Week” for the week of 12/17/06-12/23/06.

! I learned that my Lucy and Ethel don’t appreciate me quoting every single line verbatim when we watch ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ together.

! I learned that if I am unsure of the secret Santa gift amount at work it means I should double check. There is a slight difference between $20 and $25. Sorry anonymous coworker…

! I learned that even though I already learned to check the flue before having a fire, I also need to ensure that the wind is not blowing. I’m starting to worry that these repeated smoke-outs are going leave a permanent scent in our house.

! I learned that no matter how good my knowledge of Christmas trivia is, the folks at my work party were going to let me win one gift only, no matter how many times I raised my hand.

! I learned that although it has twice as many calories, regular eggnog tastes so much better than the light stuff. It also means I have to walk twice as far every morning to burn it off.

! I learned that you get lots of attention when shopping at Target when they open in the morning. When there is a ratio of 5 employees to every customer in the store, you can get all the help you need.

And lastly,

! I learned that I need to be more careful when weed-whacking around the cords of our light-up Christmas decorations in the front yard (and my wife’s rose bushes for that matter). Thank God for duct tape! Although I hope it doesn’t rain in the next two days.