We picked up a couple plates from the series on clearance after Christmas last year, and that started us down the horrible road of addiction and suffering that is collecting "Mr. Snowman" articles. We drove to several Target stores in our area (okay, eight of them) and picked up a lot of him in after-Christmas sales. We picked up a few more items in post-Christmas eBay auctions (to catch some items we couldn't find in stores, like a salt shaker to match the pepper shaker).

We got all of the stuff from last year (and a couple of items that we've picked up so far this year) out and arranged them, taking an inventory and deciding what we want to add from the 2006 season. I can't really post any links to the items we're looking for, since most of them aren't on the Target site. They've expanded to a bathroom set with an adorble squat, fat little snowman waste can, and I've got my eyes on a three foot tall beverage dispenser w/ a tap coming out of the snowman's belly.

I like the Sleddin' Hill Mr. Snowman and his companion snowmen so much, I think, because his little smile is reserved. He's happy, but not unnecessarily exuberant, like me. We, of course, dislike the other Sleddin' Hill characters (the polar bear, the penguin, and the evil, evil Santa). Mr. Snowman, however, is alrght with us.

In February, I neglected to call my oldest sister for her birthday. The die was cast for the year, at that point. If I didn't call Elizabeth, I couldn't call Lauren, and then I couldn't call Catherine either. So, I didn't call anybody.

I'm a bad brother, but, at least, I'm consistently bad.