The Review

And once again I've made it through another year. 2011 was . . . what?

Good? Fun? Scary? Tumultuous? Exciting? Upsetting? Lovely? Disappointing? Survivable? Blessed?

Yep.

Here's to 2012, a very {hopefully} happy new year.

A Very Carson Christmas

Here's a delightful video with a taste of Carson to tide us over until Downton Abbey series 2 begins next month.

Merry Christmas

I love thee, Lord Jesus; look down from the sky
And stay by my cradle till morning is nigh.

Be near me Lord Jesus; I ask thee to stay
Close by me forever and love me, I pray.

Bless all the dear children in they tender care,
And fit us for heaven to live with thee there.

The Boss Man

Have I ever told you that my boss is a real bear?

Sheesh.

A Berry Happy Birthday

How much do I love my little nephew, Jackers? Enough to dress up as his favorite cartoon character and surprise him at his birthday party.

Sure love this kid.

A Very British Christmas

A couple of my previous posts had me thinking:

• It's good to know what you want for Christmas.
• And Britsh men are pretty fabulous.

With that in mind, I have decided to put together my list of who I wouldn't mind seeing under my tree Christmas morning.

{Yes, a gratuitous list of gorgeous men follows. No apologies}

Dan Stevens - My new current favorite. Dan is, of course, part of the ensemble of Downton Abbey. And if you haven't watched the first season yet be forewarned - he'll break your heart with how incredible he is.

Bradley James - Oh, Bradley. If only you would gaze at me like this. Bradley currently portrays Prince Arthur on "Merlin," and he's brillant. He's funny, he's fit, and the writers often have him shirtless. Yes to all that.

The Knights of Camelot - And while we're in that vein, let's also celebrate Sirs Leon, Gwaine, Lancelot, Elyan, and Percival, some of the men who sit around Arthur's round table. Such good, noble and fiercely hot men.

Luke Evans - A new discovery who I quite enjoy. I've only seen him in the new "Three Musketeers" but there was plenty to like. He definitely has the whole British, brooding, beauteous voice thing down. More please.

Richard Armitage - And I can't do a list like this and not include an oldie, but a goodie. I look forward to seeing him as Thorin, the dwarf, in the "The Hobbit" next year. It would be even better to see him wrapped up as a gift for me, but I won't hold my breath.

So, who are your new {or old} favorite British delights?

What's a Weekend?

Oh, yes. It's back. On January 8, we'll get to peak in again on the lives of the Crawley family and their staff at Downton Abbey. PBS has a promo that you can watch here. But I have to say that I enjoy the tone of the ITV promo much better. Either way, I get to enjoy Dan Stevens. Lovely.

A Gentleman

And now I love him even more.

The Anti-Gift List

I know this time of year many people are thinking about gifts - What should I buy my loved ones for Christmas? What do I want for Christmas?

As a selfish singleton, I think about this stuff a lot. But this year I thought I would take a different approach. Why? Well, why not? Instead of making a list of the different kinds of fun goodies others could give me, I thought I would make a list of things that I most definitely do not want for Christmas.

1) A boyfriend husband pillow

Yes, I'm single. Yes, I'd prefer not to be. But having this headless, half-torso, muppet-handed pillow in my bed would be more depressing and disturbing than comforting.

2) A copy of the newly released "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" dvd

Now, this may be a confusing one since many of you know that 1) I love the original "Planet of the Apes" with Charlton Heston and 2) my boyfriend, James Franco, is in this reboot. However, even with these wonderful things, there is a key element to consider - the monkeys {all-over body shiver - ewww!}. I am not so much a fan of monkeys, and so I think it's safe to say that a movie that not only features them {quite realistically, as opposed to Mr. Heston's film}, but also shows how they take over the planet, no thank you.

3) Any black hills gold jewelry

If I have to explain this one to anyone who would be buying me a gift, then I am worried about the state of my current relationships.

4) A kitten

I do not dislike cats. I think they can be very cute. I know that they are very smart. I think in the right circumstances they can be lovely companions. But the last thing I need in my life right now is a pet {or anyone}who has no strong feelings about whether or not I'm around. And with my luck, I'd end up with the one cat who doesn't care if I feed it or not because it's just so utterly annoyed with me.

5) A canister of pepper spray

I am all about being cautious and careful and prepared to defend yourself if needed. But. Let's take into consideration that it would be me using it. How well could I defend myself from an attacker if I've just sprayed myself in the face? Not very well. So for now, it would be best for me to stick with my ninja skills or ability to run away very fast.

Hopefully this list will help as you prepare to shower me with Christmas gifts. And perhaps if you've been good this year, you'll not see any of this under your tree either!

Merry Christmas!

Yep, Still Here

Yes, I'm still alive. Life has just been fairly hum-drum for the past couple of weeks, and I haven't had any bursts of creativity or odd ideas to share. Thanksgiving was good. I made some cornbread stuffing {almost with cilantro instead of parsely} that turned out pretty good and enjoyed many other wonderful dishes while dining with part of my family. I got a much-needed haircut. I replaced many expensive things on my car. And I got to hang out with sister #2 and Gator for a lovely girls' night of pasta and "Parenthood" {maybe I should write a post on how I am in love with that show . . . and Joel}.

Maybe things will pick up this month. But maybe not.