A lot of stuff has happened in the past month. I still don't have my car back, Tiff and I got some new living room furniture, and my family had their Christmas get-together. Well, that's probably not everything, but it's a good start.

You might have seen some pictures of the "pre-existing damage" that was on the left side of my car (the last picture is the best to see it). Unfortunately, I had never seen any damage before. Since I couldn't find anything at the accident site and there weren't any scratches in the area, I didn't have anything to link it to the accident and the insurance company wouldn't pay for it in this claim. Looked like I would be paying out of pocket for this (about \$390) - at least I didn't have to pay for the \$3700 to repair the right side, right? Turned out H&H was able to convice the insurance company to pay, so I didn't ask too many questions. And hopefully they'll have the car done this week - would be nice to have it back within a month :-/.

Tiff and I got a nice small sectional to replace our loveseat. It's big enough for me to lay down on finally :-D. It's a corner sectional w/ a loveseat that's kinda like a chase lounge - khaki in color w/ microfiber upholstry. We got a decent deal from Unclaimed Freight - but don't bother with the UltraShield - it's definitely a ripoff. We were sold on the "it lasts forever and we'll replace your furniture if it's permanently stained" which turned out to be 5 years and lots of exclusions. Not surprising.

Early Christmas at my Parents' was very nice. My sister and her family came up from Virginia and we were able to have a nice Ham & Potatoes supper and exchange gifts. Of course, everyone likes watching Logan open presents, but the highlight of the evening for me was getting a Fisher Price Alpha Probe (descr.). This was a toy I had when I was younger and loved to play with - it was lost when we moved from Tuscon, AZ to PA in 1988. It got packed up on one side, and never made it to the other. Mindy and my Parents were able to find one on eBay. Lights and sounds still work on it, and I think it's even more complete than the one I had. And the sounds still annoy Mindy as much now as they did then (the dreaded "middle button").