Washtenaw County preps for New Year's Eve

As Frank Loesser asked: What are you doing New Year's Eve?

We were curious to see what Washtenaw County was talking about for the celebrations, and we rounded up some postings on Twitter, which you can see below.

What are some of the big events happening around town? (And do you care to invite any of us? :))

Story of Ann Arbor businessman shared through the White House

We published a guest column from Mark Hodesh, a businessman who owns Downtown Home and Garden in Ann Arbor, Friday about some of the tax credits in the new health care law. He talked about how the act is going to help his small business by receiving a $15,000 tax credit.

Fast forward to today: A tweet from the official White House Twitter account gets sent out, and looks like this:

Mark Hodesh, small business owner from MI on how tax credits from the Affordable Care Act help mom-and-pop businesses: ow.ly/8447a

— The White House (@whitehouse) December 19, 2011

Being the curious person I am, I think, "I wonder where in Michigan he is. Could be cool if he was in our area." Sure enough, the tweet provides a link to the same column posted Friday. It's a very cool feeling to see.

A curious coincidence: the Supreme Court also set oral argument dates for the health care law right around the same time. Arguments will take place March 26, 27 and 28.

In Manchester Community Schools They Still Call It Christmas

Christmas shopping

Christmas shopping. Some people love it, others despise it. Some get it all done on Black Friday, others wait until the last minute.

I'm in between, I usually don't wait until the last minute but I don't really get into Black Friday. It's a little too crazy for me but with 11 nieces and nephews, the shopping has to get done, one way or the other.

For the last few years, I've been on a mission to make things a little easier. This year, I've decided to go with a theme. I chose boardgames in an effort to get the kids (they range in age from 3 to 16) away from the television and tp interact with each other. Wow, what a mean Aunt Amy I am! :)

In my effort to make things easier, I'm wondering about deals available on the Internet. Maybe I'm a little behind the times but I've never really taken advantage of online shopping during the holidays.

How many of you take advantage of all the Internet deals? Where do you do a majority of your shopping, in stores or online? Should I be adding this to my repertoire of ways to find bargains?

By the way, I'm proud to say that I'm almost done with my shopping, and the first week of December is not even complete! And I'm almost done wrapping! Happy Shopping!