Little girls love Chuck Taylors; holiday card to grow

I learned a lot this holiday season, but discovering my 7-year-old daughter's fondness for Converse shoes stands out.

Yes, she loves the original Chuck Taylors and apparently so do a lot of her friends. I knew for years that girls have sported the shoes in different colors to match their outfits, but I didn't realize that passion now reaches into the kindergarten and first-grade ranks. In fact, they have Converse in toddler sizes. I also learned you can create and buy your own designs at converse.com. A story from Canada's Globe and Mail calls Converse the sneaker equivalent of Barbie. Crazy. ...

The best holiday card I received came from a friend at Valpak, whose employees sent out an eco-friendly, seed-embedded design that actually can be planted. Yes, you take the whole card, soak it and bury it in soil and in a few weeks it's supposed to sprout — buds not coupons. We'll see how it turns out. …

Another new holiday trend? The text-message greeting. I got a ton on Christmas Day, including a few from numbers I didn't recognize. It's nice to be loved, but I think I would prefer a telephone call — along with some 12-inch vinyl records and a couple of VHS movies. ...

Seen on my daughter's new T-shirt: Brothers make great pets. …

On Christmas night, ESPN aired a special about its comical This Is SportsCenter commercials. I forgot how much I miss Charley Steiner. I hope the special becomes a new holiday tradition. ...

Finally, I want to apologize to my neighbors for a less-than-stellar Christmas light effort. My oldest son will assume complete control next year and promises something spectacular.

That's all I'm saying.