Merry Christmas!

First snapshot and no one was crying, balding and I only have a slight black eye. On a happy note my dogs killed a drifter and ate his bones outside while we opened presents to celebrate baby Jesus' Birthday.
Happy Birthday Baby Jesus!

Christmas Eve

The McDonald family tends to be go-getter's. We would hate to rain on JC's birthday by opening presents for ourselves while He doesn't even get a slice of birthday cake. That is why we do not wait for Christmas day to open presents. But rather we go to mass on Christmas Eve come home eat some dinner and then tear into the paper and ribbons.
When I was little, my sisters would make me cry by asking my parents if we could please wait until Christmas day to open our presents. They would all play along until I would cry, which didn't take that long, so really no one had to play along for more than 12 seconds after the first suggestion of waiting till the 25th. It seemed at the height of my crying we would take our Christmas picture in front of the tree. Looking at our family pictures this happened from 1981 up to last year. Now that I'm a big girl and mature in my spirituality, realizing Christmas has nothing to do with opening presents it's a good feeling on Christmas Eve to say to my nephews, "we all took a vote and we decided to open presents tomorrow."
Stay tuned for the Christmas picture to see who won the prize by ruining Christmas this year. It wouldn't be a McDonald Family Christmas Picture without someone crying, freshly bald or sporting a black eye...I don't think we will have anyone bald this year.

Good Times

Poor Dan...

...even though he is almost 7 feet tall he still lost to a girl and a 7 year old at basketball.

At least he can grow a full beard in 2 days...even Santa can't do that.

What's sheep got to do with it?

Did you know:Coronado Edition

Dan's dad likes to dress up like Saint Nick?
I like to take pictures in front of houses with Our Lady of Guadalupe on them.
Dan and I behaved in church so we were offered sloppy Joe's, we said, "no thank" you and went home and ate nuts.
True Story.

A Busy Week

From Anaheim, to Internet Radio to San Diego Youth Day and the snow of Utica New York...it was a long week. I'm glad I could come back to Vista, where it's always sunny and 72.
Except when it's raining and in the mid to lower 50's...oh ya and my eye exploded, who knew nuns could hit so hard!

Radio without Radios

Listen in tomorrow from 11am to 1pm Pacific Standard Time...you just might learn something.

Or not. Either way, I'll have a good time on the Clark & Copper show (every 2 months they switch the show title's order, next time it will be the Copper & Clark show).

http://www.signonsandiego.com/signonradio/

NCYC 2007

Even 7 Year Olds Think I'm Fascinating

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PATCH McDOUGAL!

AKA my day, Patrick Thomas McDonald.
(He really doesn't wear this hat all the time, just for special nautical events and his birthday)

Straight up Vista Ghetto!

We are so tough, we drink our Pepsi from the can yo! Hard core, bag of chips, ya ya, you betcha fool!

I LOVE BRICK!

Sometimes there is just nothing to blog about. In these instances it's best just to restate the obvious.
Yes, I do love brick.

A Message For Mikey

Over 5,000 people at the National Catholic Youth Conference had a message for Mikey.

Bad Dog!

Today as I was pulling my wash out of the machine to throw into the dryer something fell to the ground. At first I thought it was a bug but on closer investigation I saw that it was a small foot. In most houses that would seem weird but right away I knew who's "Left Foot" (ha ha) it was. Fadda Mark doll! I ran to wear I keep my menagerie of dolls I travel with and take awkward photo's of around the world and sure enough he was missing a foot and if that wasn't bad enough, the original doll that started it all, Courtney's hand had been bitten off!
After wrongly accusing my mom blame fell squarely on Chewie's haunches. Since he must have done it sometime this week when my revolving suitcase was on the floor I could hardly get mad at him. But I do feel bad for the dolls. I hope they are not ostracized for being different. If anything I hope they can learn from this experience and perhaps one day give a talk to thousands, maybe at NCYC on, overcoming having one of your limbs being eaten by a yellow lab.
We can only hope.

Things I learned on a Run

1. Enya and Norah Jones do not belong in one's ipod while running. They make you run slower. I bet Enya and Norah can't even sing to themselves while they run because it would slow them down. I wonder if they hang out and do stroller strides together.

2. Horses who like to be pet never hang out by the fence. The horses that do hang out by the fence are the dumb ones who can't tell the difference between a finger and a carrot.

3. While picking up your dogs "business" is required in the county park where I run apparently picking up after a horse is not. I suppose those would be some pretty big baggies you would have to carry around.

4. Coyotes eat something orange in their diet and no one owns them except God so their business is also everywhere in the park. You can't fine God. You can try to sue Him but His lawyer is really good.

5. Running is dumb.

6. I run a slow 5 miles because there are giant hills by my house. Although I run fast down them in the beginning of the run by the end of the run Enya comes over my ipod and it's all I can do just to walk up them and get my finger bitten my a rabid horse.

German Coast Guard

Erie!

Flat Teddy opened for me, I taught a class on fruit consumption in the 13th century. I forgot my slides so I made shadow puppets.

I killed!

Erie at night reminds me of Las Vegas, but different. It was a 2 WalMart trip. 2 different Walmarts...it was VERY special.

First Class Friends

Hello from Erie Pennsylvania! This morning me and Richard Dryfuss flew to Houston together...he must still be talking about it with his friends! Good for him.

Trick or Dwight Shrute

Mikey the Mummy, Aunt "Dwight Shrute" Judy and Tommy "the bucket head" Plunkett.

The CCD Kids Wrote My Name On The Wall

And they didn't even cross the "T"

Shank Your Baby: A Step By Step Pictorial Tutorial

HAPPY 46th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY TO MY FAVORITE MOM AND DAD!

Your kids are cute, well, one out of three ain't bad.

Larry Van Pelt...You Are A Genius!

You are my favorite artist. EVER!

Oshkosh On My Mind

I don't crash weddings, I crash wedding party pictures.

The man in the front row of my show pushed himself backwards until he was safety away from me tonight...I wonder how many letters tonight will generate. We know at least one, I'm going to write an angry letter on front row exit etiquette.

Fr. Carl really needs a Rhoomba.

McGavin and McDonald Ministering to Gods people, more specifically ministering to 1/2 naked homeless construction workers.

What is A Hill-Billy?

Birds Eye

My buddies at Continental flew me to see some of the fires from the sky. Unfortunetley we forgot to land back in San Diego, we kept going to Houston and then they tricked me again and said I was getting on a flight back home but when I got off the plane I was in Wisconsin. Good on ya Continental, so funny!

Hey!

I Thought I Was Performing!
Who's this "world famous comedian" person you speak of?
No pressure.

When Did My Nephew Make This Commercial?

God Can See My House From Here.

This morning, I was one of the last customers through our Starbucks in Vista before they shut it down. When the money grubbing Starbuck Coffee people shut down, it's serious.

Looking outside today it looked like dusk but really it was just after 12pm. It looks like Scotland, but instead of clouds filled with water they are filled with deadly smoke. Same, but different.

I left my house because it sits in a valley and the smoke and ash which sits in said valley just doesn't agree with my asthma. "Sucks to your asthmar!"

The local news (which when I watch it for more than 10 minutes makes me want to gouge my eyes out) said the fire closest to my house won't be contained till a week from Thursday...um, that doesn't work for me. I'm real busy then, real busy, many things planned, like, things, which I am very busy doing.

If I relied just on the graphics from my local news station...I would think I was on fire...not to scale. I also just heard that Pala casino is open...that's my kind of evacuation shelter. Buffets and slots.

I'm going to go do jumping jacks outside now, it's a new way to slowly enter into redemptive suffering.

Trevor Time

We had a Trevor day today!

Said Trevor is a San Diego Padre. Mikey and Trevor's dog, Bubba.

My dad proposing to Trevor and Tommy on base after his totally awesome base hit.

I let Trevor give a message to Tommy...I am the favorite aunt for a reason!

P.S. California is on fire! So far we have friends in Malibu and in Ramona who were evacuated from their homes. Driving back home from L.A. tonight we could see flames from the freeway in Irvine. Instead of snow days, tomorrow is a fire day for many school districts because of poor air quality and the fact that a giant ball of fire being fueled by Santa Ana winds is roaring towards them...what time do the locust get here?