the morning bull pen

The bubbly will be flowing along with other adult beverages on New Year's Eve. The next morning can be a struggle for some of us, while some of us swear by hangover cures.

This time of year we start to think about New Year's, which means all those New Year's resolutions. Many of us will make resolutions, but a majority of us will fail by the end of January.

My niece and her fiance are visiting from Texas. When they get the chance to visit during the winter they love the snow and going sledding. There's just one problem: finding a good place to do some sledding.

This time of year is supposed to be full of cheer filled with happiness, but for some of us it can be stressful and worrisome. How do I pay my bills and still afford gifts? How am I going to get everything done?

Help! I'm looking for a new Christmas dessert to serve this Christmas Eve.

You're out Christmas shopping, wandering through a store searching for the perfect gift when out of the corner of your eye something shiny and blingy catches your eye. You veer straight toward the item. When you reach it you discover that while it would be the perfect gift for a certain person on your list, it would be great for someone else: YOU!

Standing in line waiting to check out while the person standing next to you in line is chatting on their cellphone can be annoying to say the least. But during this crazy, busy time of year, it's easy to forget to put our phones down!

Putting lights on the Christmas tree -- for some this is a planned-out science.

A recent survey reveals that most of us don't care whether a store employee wishes us a merry Christmas or happy holidays. Sixty-six percent of customers said it was appropriate for store employees to say merry Christmas while 61 percent said it's perfectly OK for them to say happy holidays...

Holiday time means family time, and it's perhaps the greatest joy of the season. But most of us have at least one family member who just isn't that easy or fun to be around.

Do you have co-workers you chat with about each others family and life events? You seem to be friends -- at work anyway. Then that co-worker gets let go by the company and all of a sudden you get unfriended on Facebook! Huh? You weren't the one who let them go or had anything to do with it.

We hear stories about them ... they are quietly among us. They appear when needed then fade back into obscurity. No, I'm not talking about superheroes, although you could call them modern-day superheroes. They are good Samaritans. A couple of those good Samaritans helped my son recently.