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  Monday afternoon it was raining cats and dogs when I got home. And speaking of dogs, “My Lady” was soaked because she didn’t stay in her covered area. I ran to get a stack of towels to dry her off and end up wetter than her, trying to hold her down.

  To warm up, I decide to build a fire in the fireplace and go retrieve a few wet logs. I turn on the gas and get flames, then proceed to make a cup of hot cocoa. That’s when I notice a little smoke. I’m thinking it’s just the moisture in the wood. Then there’s a lot of smoke. An ear-piercing alarm follows. Before I can open the front door to air out the smoke, the second alarm goes off. My son starts running around, holding his ears and screaming. Then “My Lady” starts running throughout the house. I tell my son to hold the dog so I can open the front door. He doesn’t and the dog darts out and runs down the street in the pouring rain. I send my son to chase her down.

  In desperation, I call the husband. He asks if I’d opened the damper. Embarassed, I say “Uh, no. I didn’t think about that.” Once I opened it, things started calming down. The alarms finally go off. We get the dog back inside, who immediately races to my bedroom and jumps on the bed. Great. Now my sheets smell like wet dog. The house smells like smoke and my nerves are shot. Frustrated, I say “screw it” and go finish making my cup of cocoa. Might as well enjoy a few minutes of calm before the next comedy of errors begins.

  Ever had one of those days?   �

  Simplicity is good.

  Don’t get me wrong. I absolutely love the Christmas season. I go all out decorating, cooking, shopping, going to parties, the works. But once Christmas and New Year’s are over, I’m ready to pack everything up, clean house, put everything back in place and just let life get back to normal. As ‘normal’ as life can be.

  The icing on the cake? The kiddos have gone back to school. They need a familiar routine just as much as we do. Yes, getting back to the basics can be as good for the soul as Mama’s chicken soup.  Are you as glad to restore some sense of normalcy?

  Perhaps you got the email that circulated during Christmas about stores expected to close in 2009, warning you to beware of buying gift cards from them. Well, folks, the new year is here and we’re about to watch it unfold.

  While we already know KB Toys and Linens ‘N Things are going out of business entirely … and other retailers like Circuit City have filed for bankruptcy and are closing scads of stores … there are others we’ll be reporting on soon. Especially after the dismal holiday shopping season of ‘08.  Ann Taylor, Talbots and Foot Locker have announced they’ll shut down dozens of under-performing locations. Even Dillard’s, Saks and Nordstrom are scaling back. 

  Now analysts are estimating 2,000 to 3,000 shopping malls will go bankrupt by June 2009. Have you been to our local malls lately? There are some vacant storefronts. And many of the retailers that have moved in are … well, downright cheesy.  Malls used to be the place to shop in the 80’s. But large malls are expensive to maintain and that means high rent, making it tough for retailers to make a profit. Service Merchandise pulled out of Pierre Bossier Mall years ago. It’s still empty.

  While there’s no indication from local mall managers that there’s anything to worry about, it still concerns me. South Park Mall pretty much died on the vine before Summer Grove Baptist bought it. Remember how long it sat pretty much vacant? I hope we won’t see that again around here. But if the local scene is anything like the national one, I fear malls are going the way of the dinosaur and we’re going to get stuck with some big empty buildings.      �

  I can’t think of many — okay, any — New Year’s Eve resolutions I’ve ever kept. But I’m seriously going to strive to do better in ‘09. Here’s my list. What’s yours? Or do you say “to heck” with making resolutions?

  Have New Year’s Eve plans? Mine are exciting — not! I have to get to work an hour early the next morning, so I’ll be in bed by 8:30 p.m. if I want to be bright-eyed rather than bleary-eyed. I’m such an exciting woman!

  So let me live vicariously through you. Where’s the party? How will you be ringing in the new year? And do you do the whole black-eyed peas and cabbage thing the next day?

  Lots on my mind today — since I’ve been out of the loop for the last several days.

  First of all, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and Santa was good to you! I got my Shark steam mop and flat iron, so I’m a happy camper. It’s the simple things in life …

  Now, how ’bout them DAWGS! Lord knows Louisiana Tech was overdue for a bowl win and we got a belated Christmas present Sunday night when the Bulldogs beat the Huskies 17 to 10 in the Independence Bowl. Did you make it to the game or watch it on ESPN? What did you think? What a way to end ‘08.

  Speaking of 2008, good riddance! That’s what a bunch of New Yorkers said over the weekend. They’re starting what they hope will become a New Year’s tradition. People were invited to bring bad memories from 2008 to Times Square and feed them into a paper shredder. Some people wrote “the stock market” or “cancer” on pieces of paper. Others shredded bags of bank statements. One woman shredded a print-out of her boyfriend’s e-mail, breaking up with her. And my friend Ed can appreciate this one. A Yankees fan destroyed a Boston Red Sox poster.

  So what would you shred from 2008? At the present moment, I’m thinking mine would be the speeding ticket we got over the weekend from a state trooper! Yikes! It’s gonna cost a bundle! �

  Most every family has its own unique Christmas traditions. Mine? I pull out all the stops and host a Christmas Eve brunch. Then I frantically cook Mexican food the rest of the day for a big dinner and presents with my side of the family. We then go to the in-laws, where we read “A Cajun Night Before Christmas” and I read about Jesus’ birth — the ‘real’ Christmas story — to my son.

  The next morning, Santa has arrived and need I say more? Wrapping paper will be flying! So what are your special traditions? Any quirky ones or any near and dear to your heart? Let me hear ‘em! And by the way, Merry Christmas to you and yours! I wish you a wonderful Christmas and will be back next week to blog on!

    We’ve all heard the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. So is the way to a woman’s heart through a meat-scented body spray? That’s what Burger King is hoping with its new fragrance, “Flame by BK.” No lie. If you drool at the smell of a broiled meat patty on the grill, you can buy the fragrance in a bottle and spray it on your man’s neck.    Seriously, did they really ask a woman what smell would attract her to a man? Obviously not, because I’d say bleach and Pine-Sol would win out any day. That means a man who’s not afraid to do housework and get his hands dirty!

  As for BK’s mascot here … as we’ve never seen him before … I’m seriously thinking of going vegetarian. �

  Good friends are what make growing another year older tolerable — even ‘great’ in my case! First of all, with a birthday six days before Christmas, it’s easy to be forgotten in the hustle and bustle of Christmas. But my morning show buddies didn’t let it go by without a surprise. Ed Walsh baked me a cake — even with homemade buttercream icing. My favorite! Is that not sweet?

  And my friend Amanda really pulled a fast one! She had arranged for Chef Saul Williams to cook on our morning show, which I was aware of. What I didn’t know was, behind the scenes, he was preparing a special breakfast for me after the newscast.  Stuffed french toast, fruit, eggs, sausage … the works! Let me me just say if you ever need someone to cater a party, Chef Saul is the man!

  Thanks to all my friends who made my morning wonderful! And no, Ed, it’s not the BIG one yet as you like to tell people!

  It’s funny how, when you get older, there really isn’t much we truly ‘need.’ Even our wants are oftentimes simple. Mine? Pretty funny – and a sign of age. The Shark Steam Mop (although I’m told I won’t be getting it because I’d never use it!) and a straightening iron, because I’m too cheap to shell out the money to buy my own.

  So what’s on your list to Santa this year? Other than world peace.

  �