Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without “A Christmas Story.” The 1989 comedy officially reached classic status when TBS began playing it as a marathon beginning on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Day with the family is spent watching this holiday favorite on direct.tv. Not only is it family-friendly, but everyone can identify with the dysfunctional, flawed Parker household, even if the movie is set in the 1940s. Dad is a grouch, Mom is sweet until pushed, and the kids are, well, kids.

Anyone who was ever a kid can identify with Ralphie’s obsession with the Red Ryder BB gun he hopes to get for Christmas. His disappointment is palpable when he thinks his parents decided the gun is too dangerous for a kid his age. Of course, he can’t be too surprised after hearing the constant warning that he’d “shoot your eye out.”

Even a ruined turkey, a substitute dinner of duck as the sole diners at the local Chinese restaurant, and Dad’s tacky leg lamp can’t ruin Christmas for the Parkers.

The holidays rarely go as planned, but one thing you can count on is having a good time watching “A Christmas Story” for 24 hours straight during the Christmas holiday.

Ice hockey has to be my favorite thing to watch in High Definition. All sports are better in HD, but hockey is the best. Trying to follow the puck on television can be really frustrating, but in high definition it’s much easier to spot.

The players faces are more distinct and the numbers really stand out on the jerseys. The colors are bold and you can see the skates cut right through the ice. The picture is so clear and close up that you can read the players lips when they are yelling at each other.HD television let’s you see what’s going on while it’s happening, rather than waiting for the commentator to catch you up.

I could never go back to watching hockey without high definition tv. It would feel like I was watching from one of those little old black and white televisions. You know the ones with the rabbit ear antennas that you had to adjust every five minutes. The picture was so bad that you hardly ever knew what was going on.

Our family loves to watch hockey and all our High Definition programming on Direct TV deals. We figure if we’re going to watch something we enjoy, then we might as well have the best picture available. We deserve it and so do you.

My wife and I just had our 20th wedding anniversary this past weekend, and we celebrated in style in the City. We went to an excellent restaurant, had some great adventures. In all, I think everything went really well. We had some really memorable moments. Of course, there was a gift involved. I put a good amount of thought into this one, and while unconventional, I thought it was a great fit. When you reach your 20th anniversary, it’s hard to give your wife a gift that will really surprise her.

At first, I thought of jewelry and vacations, but then I looked at our house and received a good amount of inspiration. She’s wanted to fix up the kitchen for years, so I told her that I hired a service to give her the kitchen she’s always wanted for our anniversary. She was thrilled! I found some California sears home improvement bargains and the kitchen is going to look amazing in no time at all. I’m proud of myself this year. I think I found the best possible gift for her this time around.

I have the same game plan every New Year’s Eve. I eat dinner with my wife, get dressed, enjoy a glass of wine, set my home security alarm (click), and walk down the street to Pauly’s house.

Pauly is an interesting character. Even though he’s 40 years old, he still thinks he’s in the mob. I thought that act was cool in high school, but not anymore. That said, he’s still a riot. Every New Year’s Eve he tells these crazy stories that if they were true, he would either be in prison for life or in the witness protection program. One story was about how he impersonated an undercover police officer in order to pull over a UPS truck a few days before Christmas. He said him and his buddies unloaded the truck and put all the boxes into a U-Haul truck they rented. Supposedly, they then sold all the items separately online. I know this story isn’t true for a few reasons. One, Pauly loves to be the center of attention. Two, if the story were true, he wouldn’t tell everyone about it. And three, when I asked him where this happened, he said it was on the LIE in New Jersey. We both live in Seattle and he thinks I’m originally from North Carolina. I lived in NC prior to Seattle, but I grew up on Long Island. The Long Island Expressway (LIE) is on Long Island; it’s not in New Jersey. But I still smile and pretend to believe his stories. Why not?

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But the Cole Haan shoes don’t just look good, they are super comfortable too. They are usually very true to the size measurements (if you’ve got a big foot, you know what a pain this can be when buying shoes!). And another bonus is the Cole Haan shoes are also very easy to break in…on average, it shouldn’t take more than a day or two to break your new pair of shoes in.

Why am I bragging about Cole Haan today? Because I want to dispel a myth that’s floating out there. Cole Haan isn’t just for men. Yes, you heard that right. Cole Haan actually has a ladies’ line of shoes that includes sexy air pumps and stylish boots. So ladies,whether you do a lot of walking or simply want to look great in a comfortable pair of shoes, you just can’t go wrong with Cole Haan women’s selection.

I don’t recall when exactly my obsession with nurse uniforms started. I think it’s when I started dating a person who worked in the medical field and he always looked so great and professional in his scrubs that I could barely keep my hands off him. There’s something so appealing about those medical scrubs. They are so polished and well ironed and they automatically trigger an aura of trust in the person donning them.

Unfortunately my relationship with Mr. Medical man didn’t last long but I got to keep a souvenir from him and you’ll never guess what it is – a scrubs top and super comfortable scrubs pants. They are dark blue and they still look really good despite the fact that they have been worn and washed over and over again. When I’m alone at home, I slip them on and just lounge in the house and for just one second, I drift of and imagine myself running around a busy ER saving lives. A girl can dream, right?

Will things out with the new guy…who knows?It’s too early to tell but I know for sure my relationship with Due West is just starting and as long as they keep releasing good music,I’m in this relationship for the long haul and I’ll keep supporting them!!

Here’s the band performing my favorite song – “Tell Her” (they have so many awesome songs but that right there is my absolute favorite!)

For the longest time I avoided reading The Butterfly Effect because I wrongly believed it was some complicated scientific mystery but fear not,it is a very simple theory and the author does a very beautiful job of breaking it down in the simplest form possible.There is absolutely nothing scientific about this book but it will have you thinking real hard before you make your next move.