Christmas lows and highs

I'm getting ready for work and I'm in a great mood. Finally finished writing Christmas cards, have made (somewhat) of a dent in my shopping and I feel slightly ahead of the game at work. I dial around the radio for uplifting holiday cheer to hum along to and what do I hear? No, "Jingle Bell Rock." No Barenaked Ladies singing "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." No Springsteen and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." Nope, I hear what has to be the most DEPRESSING Christmas song of all time. It's about some poor kid who has scraped up all of his pennies to buy shoes for his dying mother. I got sucked in listening and soon I was in tears. Poof! there went the great mood. I just did a google search and found out this song, "The Christmas Shoes" came out 7 years ago (!) and even inspired a CBS TV movie starring Rob Lowe and Kimberly Williams. Sorry, not watching that one. Nor am I ever listening to that song. Ever. Again. Brian Setzer Orchestra - stat!

On a much, much more uplifting note, check out my story today on the 30th anniversary of La Casa Pasta.

I admire anyone who runs a business - and 30 years in the restaurant industry deserves a standing ovation.

Congrats to Giuseppe and Anna Martuscelli. I loved the story from their son Gianmarco that the family's first year in business they didn't have one customer on New Year's Eve.

They hung in there and three decades later Anna is still working the front of the house and Giuseppe is supervising the kitchen.