It's what everyone does

So now I'm going to do it. My Christmas wish list for this year, in no particular order:

For us to stay healthy: my family, friends and I have managed to stay (for the most part) relatively healthy, and I have seen how illness and injury can cause a host of other problems. I would like to say thanks for keeping us strong and hope that we'll be able to stay that way.

For Patty Griffin to sell more albums: I have only recently discovered Patty Griffin, but upon doing more research I learned that, while incredibly talented, has never been a real chart-climber, I would like for her to experience a measure of the success she really deserves. I know she's probably too much of a real artist to gauge herself by how others receive her; but at the same time, if she makes more money, she can make more music. So really, this is a selfish wish.

For stability: I would like to avoid the old Chinese curse ("May you live in interesting times") and ask that my family, friends and I be able to rock along in our little boats, until such time as we are prepared to take what the world wants to throw at us.

To find a place to settle: I have not yet figured out my post-graduate situation, and the sooner I do, the better I will feel. So please, Santa, if you could somehow work out some administrative/bureaucratic changes in the state I'm shooting for, that would be great. Thanks.

These are my real wishes. However, since I feel like many of these have to do more with luck and self-help than anything else, let's just toss in the material things I would like as well.

--Flaming Red by Patty Griffin.
--A lip balm that will keep me from getting chapped.
--A running watch/heart-meter/calorie counter that I can use when I go to the gym.
--A swishy winter skirt.
--A DVD copy of Star Trek.
--Under the Dome, by Stephen King.
--Socks.

T., take note! ;)