That Time of Year

I have taken an informal survey among friends, and found that many of us are having moody -- if not down right cranky -- days during this run up to the holidays. So if you're feeling a little blue or irritable, your misery has plenty of company to love.

I've at least temporarily taken care of my own moodiness by going to beautiful Kaua'i. Tim and I went to celebrate the wedding of our friends Toni and Billy, who are also Tim's bandmates in Down Tight. We had a great time there and enjoyed the company and kindness of new and old friends.

You may not be able to fit a trip to Kaua'i into your plans, so I'll offer a reminder that another Christmas season tradition is available to make you laugh: the Chicago Tribune's annual "Scared of Santa" photo collection. Enjoy!

Listen in -- and watch, too

If you're online at 9 PM Pacific Time (GMT-8) tonight (11/26), you might want to wander over to the livestream for the bands playing at BB King's Live -- that is, if you aren't actually going down to BB King's at the Universal City Walk. One of the bands my husband, Tim Burke, is in will be playing there tonight -- the band is Downtight, and they'll be on right after Lisa Tucker, who was an American Idol finalist.