The St. Patrick's Day Parade, only a couple of months away, is big in Trenton, New Jersey and it doesn't just happen all by itself. It takes huge amounts of hard work and planning. Tonight, an inportant part of that planning took place, the selection of 2009 Miss St. Patrick.

Emcee extraordinaire Vince McKelvey, hosts the Trenton St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee and Scholarship Foundation's selection of 2009 Miss St Patrick, held at Msgr. Crean Division #1 Ancient Order of Hibernians hall on Kuser Rd in Hamilton Township.

The judges tally their votes...

And the winner is...Margaret Walsh, 2nd from right.

Q: Could godmother be more proud?

A: No!

There she is... Margaret Walsh, Miss St. Patrick 2009!

Once the winners are announced, photographer Dave Schofield makes the official portrait of first runner-up Megan Dunne. At right is second runner-up Meghan Simmons.

Jim and Linda Cochran, of Florence, New Jersey, remove Christmas lights from a tree in front of their home. Consider this your wake-up call in case you haven't undecorated your house and yard for Christmas, Hanukka, Kwanzaa, Festivus, or whatever you celebrate. If You still have Diwali decorations up, you're beyond help.

Marine Staff Sgt. Andrew Robinson, seriously injured on his second tour of duty in Iraq,  looks out onto the patio at his new home in Florence, New Jersey, built from the ground up to be fully wheelchair accessible entirely by volunteers from a group called Homes For Our Troops. Thank you for your service.

Four photographs, made one in each of the four seasons of 2008, of the Mercer Oak on the grounds of the Princeton Battlefield. "The (original) Mercer Oak was named after Hugh Mercer, a brigadier general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. During the Battle of Princeton, Mercer was stabbed by an English soldier's bayonet. According to legend, he was unwilling to abandon his troops, and rested on the tree's trunk while they stood their ground. After the battle, Mercer was taken to the Clarke House where he died from his injuries nine days later. On March 3, 2000, a wind storm felled the oak's last four branches.  In May 2000, an 8-foot sapling grown from a Mercer Oak acorn was planted inside the stump of the former tree." (wikipedia). January 3rd, 2009 is the 232nd anniversary of the Battle of Princeton, fought on January 3rd, 1777. 

First wedding of the new year - New Year's Day 2009.  Rev Lauren McFeaters, of Nassau Presbyterian Church, Princeton, officiates at the wedding of John and Susan Rounds inside the historic Brearly House in Lawrence Township. The Georgian Quaker farmhouse was built in 1761 in the Great Meadow of the village of Maidenhead. 

It was a genteel, understated ceremony befitting the surroundings and at the groom's request, it ended with a group hug.

On the last day of the NFL's regular season several unlikely things had to happen for the Philadelphia Eagles to get into the playoffs. A couple of underdog teams had to do win, which they did and then the Eagles had to beat the Dallas Cowboys, which they did, convincingly.

Here it takes two (Eagles, that is) Quintin Mikell, left and Joselie Hanson, right to break up a pass intended for former Eagle and current Dallas Cowboy Terrell Owens.

Speaking of breaking things up, here safety Brian Dawkins separates Cowboy QB Tony Romo from the ball, which would be returned for a TD by DE Chris Clemons in the third quarter. I think that was the point in the game where you knew for sure the Eagles weren't going to find a way to lose this one.



So now, onto Minnesota to face the Vikings in the first round of NFC playoffs.

It's time for Season's Greetings. Choose one...or both.