OK, I haven't watched Little People, Big World in a little over a year. Why is the TVPG rating in huge white letters filling the entire screen for about a minute and a half at the beginning of the episode now? It's annoying. This isn't the kind of series where the content is a big issue with potential viewers and you really need discretion. And what's TLC's obsession with people with dwarfism now? First it was Little People, Big World, then the Little Couple and now The Little Chocolatiers about a dwarf couple who run a chocolate shop. I love little people (mainly because they make me feel tall and there's few people who can do that when you're 5'1") but they're just normal people with normal jobs and normal day-to-day business. They just happen to be 3 or 4 feet tall. I will give the Roloffs credit for giving other people with dwarfism inspiration that they can do anything and everything they desire and their size won't make it impossible. But I think some of the other dwarves in these newer series are just jumping on the bandwagon. Another thing that I wonder is why so many dwarves prefer the term "little people." I think that's more condescending than dwarf or midget. Well maybe not midget, midget can be pretty derogatory. But I don't see anything wrong with dwarf. I mean the condition is called dwarfism so it's more of a technical term if anything. Maybe it's because it's also a term for a fantasy species and they don't want to be compared to faeries and orcs. But I think little people calls more attention to their height. Calling them little is, well, belittling...Plus it compares them to the famous toys from Fisher Price. They're not individuals, they're choking hazards. If I had dwarfism, I wouldn't mind being called a midget, but that's my preference. Obviously everyone has their preferences. I mean, I'm the kind of person who doesn't mind being called a guinea. It takes a lot to offend me. I mean, they're just words. Words only have power if you let them. Some words, some epithets, have a darker and sinister origin than others but in this day and age they are just words and they only hurt if you let them hurt you.

Sory about that. There's a Little People, Big World marathon on right now and it reminded me of those things that have been on my mind before. Anyways...

Yesterday I got to go to a Christmas party at Wig's uncle Kevin's house. They've invited me to many different family get-togethers and parties in the past but it's always on a Sunday and I always work Sundays and I'd always hear about it last minute so I couldn't request it off. But this time around I'm working overnights so I got to make it this time around. Kevin lives literally 2 blocks away too so it wasn't out of the way which was good because of the snowstorm. This was finally the first time I met more of Wig's family besides his grandparents, although I went to school with his cousin Joey from kindergarten to eighth grade so I knew him and I had met Kevin and his wife because of their volunteering at the school when Joey was a kid. Wig's aunt goes "I remember you, I had to send you to the principal's office in 2nd grade when I was a lunch mother." Everyone remembers the negative LOL. Wig has 5 uncles and 1 aunt on his father's side, then of course their spouses and then cousins. So I was one lone guinea in a sea full of Fitzpatricks LOL. Wig's youngest cousin Aidan, his uncle Brian's son, looks a lot like Wig did when he was that age. But everyone in that family looks like everyone else. They got some deep-running genes. But now I have a pretty good idea of what my son's going to look like. They did a Yankee Swap and I ended up with a Snuggie LMAO. If you're not familiar w/a Yankee Swap, basically everyone pitches in a surprise gift, then you pick a number and everyone picks a gift in numerical order. You can keep what you end up with or trade with someone before you. The first person gets to pick from everything at the end since there wasn't anyone before them to pick from the first time. Wig ended up with a 2-pack of stainless steel water bottles, and I've been wanting one so I made him give me one LOL. Well, I said I'd never pay for a Snuggie, but if someone were to give me one I'd use it. It is useful for knitting or crocheting or playing DS, and it's warm. A lot of people say to just wear a bathrobe backwards, but the Snuggie's got the length of a blanket with the sleeves of a robe. A bathrobe only goes to like, your shins or ankles, you can cover up your feet with a Snuggie. But they do look retarded. But it came with the book light! Now when I want to read in bed I won't go blind and die of radiation using my ultra-violet super bright desk lamp!

Now I'm trying to unravel a huge knot in a skein of yarn (y'know, I keep buying Red Heart and I NEVER learn) so I can finish the scarf for Wig's sister. I have 4 days! Thank God Christmas is almost here. I'm working overnights the next 3 nights and then I have Christmas Eve and (obviously) Day off. I'm working overnights Saturday for recovery but I don't know about next week yet. Basically, my manager Rob told me last Tuesday to only do overnights for the next 2 weeks because it'll be better for everyone. This Season hasn't been too kind for me stress-wise. I don't know what set me off but I kept having panic attacks. I should be used to this, this is my 8th Season, and although it was noticably worse this year compared to the past, I should've still been able to make it through. But basically for my sake so I wasn't going through weird sleep schedules and having panic attacks or getting sick and for the store's sake so no one had to put up with me stressing out and yelling anymore I haven't worked during opening hours since last Tuesday. I just wish he would've thought of that sooner. Because after Friday, it won't matter! Sure it'll still be busy with returns and kids coming in with their gift cards and Christmas money, but it won't be as busy as it has been. Ed said they might have one or 2 more weeks of overnights. It'll be nice to have the differential for another 2 weeks but it won't be necessary for restock and all that.

On the one hand I'm glad the new year is starting soon because it's an opportunity to start new things and hopefully things will go better this year. But on the other hand, it's another year gone. Time's moving too fast, and I feel I have less and less time to acheive my goals. But I'm going to remain positive and work harder in 2010 and pray that this year I'll actually get married!