Straight No Chaser’s 12 Days of Christmas

I know Christmas was last week, but I found this video when I visited a friend’s blog and I had to share it. It’s from a men’s a cappella group called “Straight No Chaser” based at Indiana University.

Against the odds, we had a white Christmas!

I still find it a little hard to believe. But I guess I have good reason to be shocked. According to the National Weather Service (printed in the Oregonian), the odds of a white Christmas in Portland, Oregon, are less than one percent, and the last time we had more than a dusting here on Dec. 25 was seventy years ago! Yesterday’s snowfall was like the frosting the cake on top of an already wonderful holiday.

On Christmas morning, it was just my folks, my fiancé, me, my brother, and his girlfriend (we’re taking bets on how soon they’ll be engaged too LOL). Mom and Dad made a huge breakfast, we opened stockings and exchanged gifts, and of course, I took as many photos as I could throughout (haven’t had a chance to download them yet but I will soon). And then, just as we’d finished, Dad announced, “It’s snowing!”

I think my brother was the last one to get over the shock … half an hour later, he was still saying, “Look at it, it’s still snowing. On Christmas. I can’t believe it’s snowing on Christmas.”

Claus Chronicles: The Santa Claus Blog

I love blogging. I just checked back in my archives and realized I’ve been posting since the middle of August … wow. But something I love almost as much as writing myself is reading and commenting on other people’s work, which is one of the reasons I enjoy “Blogs of Note“.

I hadn’t checked it for a while … haven’t had the time during the holiday rush … but this morning’s been quiet so I made a visit, and the title that immediately caught my eye was none other than the Santa Claus Blog. I know Christmas was yesterday, but I just couldn’t resist reading a few posts. Okay, more than a few.

The first post of this blog is dated Nov. 19, 2005, and there have been over 150 since then. Of course, the longest and most entertaining posts are during the months of November and December, but 2007 has at least one per month. It’s written by “Santa” himself, detailing his position as Chairman and CEO of North Pole Inc. He talks about the elves, the reindeer, Mrs. Claus, life in North Pole Village, his morning exercise, vacations in Hawaii, sports, and his soft spot for Starbucks coffee.

Santa is also very modern, too (or rather, the author is admirably imaginative). Obviously, he’s got a blog, but he also utilizes satellite communications, watches Survivor, has conference calls, outsources some of the toy-making to factories in China and India, deals with elf strikes, and more. Now can you see how I was hooked?