how much

As a kid, I remember asking my dad why he pulled the plug on our Christmas lights at around 9:00 each evening. He said something that came right out of the typical Midwestern dad phrasebook: "What? Am I made of money? Do you know what it costs to run these lights? Do You?"

Does anyone anywhere really send their "true love" all the items from the song? And considering what would show up if you did--would your true love be happy about it?

If you're one of those organized folks who's spent some time with a calculator figuring out your holiday budget down to the last red cent, congratulations.

I don't remember exactly what my dog Lucy did, but at the time I was so completely exasperated by her behavior that I said something to the effect of "I swear if someone walked by right now and offered me five bucks for you, I'd sell in a heartbeat!!" Well, no one came by with a five spot...and I was just blustering anyway. There's no way I would have sold her for five bucks. Ten maybe..

Last week, I was talking with a friend about the Chicago Cubs beginning the playoffs with the NLDS (National League  Division Series), when he casually mentioned that he had been offered a chance to purchase tickets to Game #2 from a friend. I thought that was really cool...until he told me the asking price.