Say hello to my new T-shirt, which will be ordered online (and, later, received and worn) very, very soon.

Can you tell me what’s special about the phrase on this tomato-hued beauty?

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From: Katie Townley [mailto:ktownley@koce.org]
Sent: Thursday, November 30, 2006 4:51 PM
To: Townley, Wendy (CCI-Omaha)
Subject: RE: Christmas vacation

xo big sis. we only have each other in the war against crazy

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Dear Molly —

I cannot thank you enough for the lovely, lovely bottle of Chance perfume by Chanel. Your gift is beyond thoughtful and my thanks go beyond words.

And while I love the perfume and will enjoy it for months (years?) to come, I’ll treasure our lunch at Qdoba even more. We continually manage to solve the world’s problems in under an hour.

We are that good.

You are the best, doll. The best there is.

Forever “Wendy Townley With The Great Scarves,”
-W.

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To properly prepare for the celebratory feast that takes center stage on Thanksgiving, I did what any health-conscious American would do on Skinny Wednesday (the day before Fat Thursday, a.k.a. Thanksgiving).

I cancelled my YMCA membership.

I said “no thanks” to the Y’s open arms, treadmills, swimming pools, yoga classes and locker rooms. Their fresh towels and free water just weren’t for me any more.

I’d been an active member for more than a year. But when June rolled around, I just quit going.

In that year, I didn’t lose any weight, really. I may have toned up a bit, but nothing I wouldn’t miss in exchange for gorging on fatty, salty and sugary snacks. Now there’s a reward I dig.

So here’s to celebrating those Holiday Pounds, the best gift we could ever receive this food-filled season.

Happy birthday, baby Jesus. It’s all for you.

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If you’re in the mood for new music, look no further than iLike.

When installed in iTunes, iLike will suggest music you might enjoy based on your current music library.

iLike also allows you to view the music of your friends.

Check it out.

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Allow me to send an extra special shout-out to my pal, Barry, for returning my copy of “The Mac is Not a Typewriter” four or five years after he borrowed it while we worked together at KMTV.

I was reminded of how much I adore this slim little book.

P.S. Check out Barry’s new program, “This Is Nebraska” if you’re the slightest bit interested in the Cornhusker state.

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If you’ve got computer speakers and some time to kill, try these hilarious songs on for size.

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While most Americans were thoughtfully spending their Black Friday dollars on Christmas gifts for others, I forked over $79 (plus tax) for a shiny, new iPod shuffle at my local Apple Store.

It was a glorious experience.

I already own a 60 GB iPod, so you can imagine why my sister questioned my purchase last Friday.

“I just need it,” I told her. “Sure, I use Apple’s products. But I consider myself a collector of them, too.”

So to celebrate (and officially christen my new iPod, which I named Tiny Dancer), I created a playlist and uploaded some of my favorite tunes from my complete iTunes library.

Since Friday I have never left home without my shuffle. It’s so small and lovely. I think I’m in love. Again.

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I find it hard to believe that I haven’t posted to my blog since Nov. 12.

Egad. My apologies.

While I haven’t been writing for my blog, I’ve certainly been reading other blogs (including the blogs that follow).

Check them out. You just might learn something.

• dooce {http://www.dooce.com/}

• Mighty Girl {http://mightygirl.net/}

• Mighty Goods {http://www.mightygoods.com/}

• Leavenworth Street {http://leavenworthstreet.blogspot.com/}

• Sue Moon {http://www.suemoon.com/}

• PostSecret {http://postsecret.blogspot.com/}

• zefrank.com {http://www.zefrank.com/}

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While paging through the latest issue of Wired Magazine this morning, I read an extremely interesting article about the birth of the iPod.

In reading the article, I discovered that the first song ever played on an iPod — while the gorgeous piece of technology was still in its development stages, mind you — was “Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love),” a “house-music dance tune with vocals by the British diva Sophie Ellis-Bextor.”

Neat stuff.

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