Did you send out holiday cards this year?

So instead of receiving paychecks (Where arrrre you? It's effing Christmas time!!!) or Crate & Barrel catalogs in the mail yesterday, I got like 50 (ok, five) Christmas cards from my friends--all of which included a recent wedding photo or baby picture. That is some grown-up shit right there. I love receiving mail (even if it does make me feel inadequate), so why I hardly ever send any is puzzling. Maybe I'm just a lazy asshole. In all of my adult years, I don't think I've sent one Christmas card to anyone. This year, the only two people receiving cards from yours truly will be my boyfriend's parents who live in London.

If I did send out holiday cards, this is most likely what they would look like. No one wants to see my face on a card--you see it on this blog enough as it is!

I thought this was pretty funny, too. Man, if I could send cards like this to all my relatives without offending them, I totally would. It would make things so much more fun! Maybe these negative feelings have something to do with the fact that my mom made the three of us wear matching outfits every year--until we were 14--for our Christmas card pictures. It was a total pain in the ass. Hmm, looks like I know what next week's Photo Shoot Friday will be!!!

What about you guys: Who's a mature adult that sent out holiday cards this year? And who's a big loser like me?? ;)

Hi, my name is Ellen

So I must say, giving back to the community certainly beats spending a Saturday afternoon on the couch with a hangover, watching episode after episode of Tough Love. I had a really good time volunteering today--it felt nice to do something that actually meant something, ya know? I was still feeling nervous about making a damn gingerbread house once we arrived at the school, so I was relieved when Liza and I got paired with the same "buddy." Liza is much more crafty and artistic than I am, so I figured whatever I lacked in that arena, I'd make up for in personality.

Even though I had my name tag on all day, our buddy could only manage to remember Liza's name. I made a lot of effort to ask lots of questions and crack jokes, and it didn't even freakin' matter--Liza was still the favorite! Typical. Anyway, so we decided to tackle the gingerbread house first to get it out of the way, and it turned out to be the project I enjoyed the most. And no, I didn't eat even one piece of candy! I didn't want to give our buddy a "don't spoil your lunch" speech staight out of the gate, so I kept my mouth shut as she popped Tootsie Rolls into her mouth, one after the other.

Next we made wreaths (my least favorite), then a puppet, then a clay sculpture and lastly, a picture frame. Our bud had quite a lot of um, spirit, and there were several times we had to chase after her in between projects. It was all good though--I wore my comfy black leggings and Converse sneaks for that very reason.

When it was all over, I knew it was something I wanted to do again. A lof of these kids probably won't get any presents for Christmas (some come from homeless shelters), so it was great to do these fun holiday projects with them and see the smiles on their faces.

If anyone wants to learn more about the Free Arts Day program in NYC, let me know and I can hook you up! So how did you spend your Saturday afternoon? Don't worry, I won't judge you if you watched reality TV all day long.