With my daughter having leukemia, my obvious first wish is for her health. I would accept nothing in life if there was a guarantee that she would be cured and be healthy. We are very excited about Christmas this year. Her health seems to be good right now and she's very excited
about Christmas. The Sykesville Freedom Fire Department drove though our neighborhood with a special guest - Santa Claus!!! My daughter was so jumping for joy!
Funny story - my youngest daughter was lounging around in her usual underwear and nothing else. We knew Mr. Claus was coming on the fire truck, so my oldest daughter told her that she had to get ready because Steve was coming to visit. She didn't want to reveal the actual visitor's name. Finally we heard the sirens coming through the neighborhood, so we ran outside. Santa waived. They threw candy canes at us. Everyone was so excited. After they drove by my youngest daughter says, "Is Santa Claus' middle name 'Steve'?
So what to get Eludius, one of Maryland's leading conservative comedic political bloggers? Well, if you MUST get me something, here are some ideas:
1) A Raven's jersey. My Todd Heap jersey is looking a little odd now that he no longer plays for the Ravens. Well, he doesn't actually play right now for anyone as he is injured (again), but his contract is currently owned by the Arizona Cardinals. Any jersey would do. Suggs. Cundiff. Jarret Johnson. Chykie Brown.
2) Since we're on the topic of jerseys, I do not own a hockey jersey. How about a Capitals' jersey? Ovechkin (either in the Latin alphabet or the Russian Cyrillic alphabet). Or Semin. You can't cheer for that guy without chuckling.
3) Finished basement. Everyone keeps telling me I should finish our basement. I agree. However, I try to be as financially responsible as possible and unfortunately that means no finished basement. My wife hasn't worked in 14 months as she's been caring for my daughter, so money is tight(er than normal). My kids are getting older (the oldest is in middle school) and they now want to have friends over AND have a place to hide away from the parents. So in actuality, finishing the basement isn't for me, it's for the kids.
4) Since we're talking about finishing the basement, what's a finished basement without a new entertainment center? My current entertainment center is an eclectic mix of castaway electronics from throughout the house on a prefabricated wood K-Mart TV stand. I bought a digital receiver about 10 years ago when I had grandiose plans to install a surround sound system in my finished basement. It was going to be the ultimate man-cave. Now it looks like something out of Hoarders on TCL. Well, now that receiver seems so antique. It doesn't even have plug and play inputs for speakers. It requires copper wire clips. Boo!! The television is our old 32" cathode ray television from the family room that weighs about 300 pounds. Unfortunately, we have digital cable throughout the house (read as family room and bedroom) except in the basement, so there's no TV reception down there. DVD? It's a travel DVD player that I bought in Ocean City several years ago when the place we were renting had none and I brought a bunch of DVD's to watch in the evening. I even have a VCR hooked up in this state-of-the-past entertainment center.
5) A shed. Seems simple enough. But there's an ulterior motive here. I have so much crap in the garage that I can no longer park the car(s) in there. Bikes. Lawnmower. Broadcast spreader. Wheelbarrow. Bikes. Chairs. Bikes. Fishing gear. Bikes. Junk. I would love to park at least one of my vehicles in there again. It's technically a 2 car garage, but I challenge you to put 2 cars in my garage and open one of the doors of either vehicle. In reality it's a 1 1/2 car garage. So out of the garage and into the shed would go the junk!
6) I'm not much of a handyman around the house. My neighbor can attest to that. But I do use a drill now and then. I would love a new cordless drill. My 1987 Craftsman corded drill looks like a relic every time I pull it out. I'm surprised a designer for TGIFriday's hasn't shown up and offered my money for it so that they can display it on the wall with other antique implements: A Scythe. A Radio Flyer. An Elvis record. My 1987 Craftsman corded drill.
7) And while we're talking about power tools, let's add in a Bosch combination plunge and fixed-based router. When I start my furniture making career, I'll need one of those.
8) I take a lot of pictures, as you would probably guess based on the number of pictures I post. I would be honored to receive an SB-800 Speedlight top-mount external flash for my Nikon D40-X. These are great for taking indoor pictures.
9) This one may seem sort of crazy. No one would consider me a musician, but I would absolutely LOVE to have a banjo and learn how to use it. I could then play Rainbow Connection, the song that Kermit plays at the beginning of the original Muppet Movie.
10) Since this is SUPPOSED to be a political blog, my political wish for this year is a redrawn common sense legislative district map rather than the radical divisive map that O'Malley and his politically motivated cronies created. Should a politician have to cross a river to get to another part of his disconnected district? John Sarbanes doesn't seem to mind.
Finally, and most importantly, I ask for gifts to some of my favorite charities. Donations are always welcome at these charities that provide opportunities for children with chronic illnesses. My favorite charities are Casey Cares, Believe in Tomorrow, and the Starlight Foundation. Help bring a smile to a child suffering from cancer. Help a family struggling with an undiagnosed syndrome to have fun together at a baseball game. Or donate your time. You can always call them and find opportunities.
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to everyone!
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