Just the roadie...

Oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. on Thursday posted the largest annual profit by a U.S. company -- $39.5 billion -- even as earnings for the last quarter of 2006 declined 4 percent.  The 2006 profit topped Exxon Mobil's own previous record of $36.13 billion set in 2005. Revenue at the world's largest publicly traded oil company rose to $377.64 billion for the year, surpassing the record $370.68 billion Exxon posted in 2005. ...can anyone NOT be furious about this?

Okay, I'm excited. Within a couple weeks time, my niece (in Detroit) has gotten engaged and my niece (In Buffalo) just had a baby boy!  No details on the one niece's marriage yet (maybe in the spring of '08?) but the bouncing baby boy details are as follows (from the very proud Grandma), "It's a boy! Lucas Jeffrey Geraci, 7 lbs. 5 oz. born at 9:00 p.m. January 8, 2007 to Jeffrey and Jennifer Palmer Geraci." I couldn't have said it any better myself!

Okay - it's a YouTube link (click here ) but it is one of the most amazing "renditions" of this song I have ever seen. Serious caroling skillz at work here - no doubt! Enjoy! (P.S. Who says church has to be boring?!)

Even more angels made her way to heaven this week. One of my best childhood friends lost his mom - a  sweet lady from my childhood went home to a better life - and one of the most tender hearts I know all left their mortal coil this week. One quick read of Julia's obit and guestbook (click either the post title or on the "guestbook" link to view) shows the amazing spirit and courage she had within. Even though I am living 500 miles away today, I still miss her smile and laugh from the brief time I was lucky enough to spend with her. She will be missed...

Sorry I'm so slow in writing but I'm still nursing a turkey-day C 11 H 12 N 2 O 2 (otherwise known as tryptophan) hangover. At least I'm not physically beat up like I've been after past Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl "touch" football games.  I learned a few years ago that the body doesn't heal like it used to. Those days are long gone! Uggh, here's a quick tip for you. Don't fall asleep (like I just did) while watching Discovery Channel's Mythbusters. Especially when they are dealing with rate of rotting food and flying machines. It can lead to some weird, weird dreams...

I really hate that show, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition". I hate it because of what it does to me. It always tugs at my heart because of the crud the featured kid, parent, or adult has to deal with. To see all that goes on during the week (yeah - I know it's built up for TV, but c'mon...) and the families reaction to all that has happened during the rebuild is amazing. This week the family had to deal with the loss of their Dad less than six months after being diagnosed with cancer. The dad had a saying about worrying about things that was pretty cool. Plenty of things to think about - nothing to worry about. To see the town show up the way they always do is a great tribute to the human spirit and man's willingness to do what is ultimately just the right thing to do. It doesn't make the loss of a loved one any easier to handle. I know some of those feelings as I lost a roommate less than four months after he "didn't feel right" one...

After reading over that last post a few times, I think I am the whiny one, not the Dems or Republicans. They both have enough poo on their plates to worry about being whiny. I've heard from a few friends and my "depression" is worth monitoring but it may have been more a combination of missing my midwest friends, working double time to get up to speed at work, not being able to properly tell my friends and family what they mean, and most importantly the bad calzone I ate earlier in the day. Who knows, but I'll be watching what I eat for a while...