Exceedingly Mundane

Shamelessly swiped this from Dawn… thanks Dawn! 🙂

Hot Chocolate or Egg Nog? Hot Chocolate

Does Santa wrap the presents or just set them under the tree? he just sets them out, same with the stockings. Nothing is wrapped. Santa is way too busy to stop and wrap presents for all the kids. Heck, he can barely get around the world and deliver them all on Christmas Eve as it is.

Do you hang mistletoe? only if Tim shoots me some down from the trees at his family’s house

When do you decorate? We usually start right after Tim’s birthday, hopefully always by the first week in December

What is your favorite holiday dish? hmmm, hard to pick. Fudge, probably! 😀

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Head to toes

1. What’s on your feet? My favorite new socks (chenille ones from Target). They’re pink!

2. Turn to your right — what do you see? Lots of papers that need filing, notes about Christmas stuff, bills that need to be paid

3. What is the last thing you ate? Yogurt Burst Cheerios

4. What can you smell right now? Nothing really, I’m a little stopped up

5. Do you wear hats? Only when we go walking and it’s really cold out, I have a couple of warm knit hats to wear. Oh, and baseball caps when we walk or I work out in the yard.

::Seventeen Shopping Days Left!::

Onesome: Seventeen Shopping– Malls? ..or one Internet? Are you doing more online shopping this year? The polls say we are, but I’m curious about what the real people are doing. Well… I had planned to do more online, but so far, I’ve only ordered a few things. I have gone during the day, during the middle of the week, to do some shopping, when it’s not as crowded. I am not, I repeat, NOT getting out on Saturday or Sunday afternoon to go Christmas shopping.

Twosome: Days– …or “Daze”? Are you finished with your shopping? Do you still a few things to go? What? Not even a game plan? …or is there just one person you’re having trouble finding something for? Well, I’d guess that I’m about 60% done. A week ago, I hadn’t really started, but several concentrated trips have helped. I have to do at least one or two more, and then get busy with the wrapping. Haven’t started that at all.

Threesome: Left!– What’s left to do at your place (or where you are going)? Is the tree up? …or maybe you’re just happy you found the Christmas coffee mug and are calling that good? I haven’t started Christmas cards yet, haven’t started wrapping, and both of those need to get underway soon. The baking and stuff will only start a week or so before the big day, with most of it the last couple of days before Christmas Eve.

Today’s Ten on Tuesday’s topic is…. Ten Household Chores You Hate.

{OK, note: I started this on Tuesday, but didn’t get it finished… so I’m posting it a day late. And still unfinished, but maybe some inspiration will hit me later!!!}

1. Dusting
2. Mopping
3. Cleaning white sinks, countertops and toilets (white always looks dirty)
4. Filing receipts, statements, paperwork
5. Ironing
6. Cleaning Windows (easy, I rarely do this one!)
7. Watering flowers in the summer (the pots dry out every single day)
8. Cleaning out the refrigerator (again, I rarely do this, just wipe the shelves periodically)
9.
10.

This week’s questions are all about moving… Have fun, and thank you so much for playing! =)

1. When is the last time you moved? 12 1/2 years ago

2. How many times in your life have you moved? Not counting to and from dorms in college, probably about 6 or 7. All of those were to and from different apartments after college, before I was able to buy this house.

3. In your opinion, what is the worst thing about moving? The whole thing, really, is a pain. The packing, moving, unpacking, changing utilities and phones, etc, billing addresses, etc. Just a lot to do and usually not a lot of time!

4. What is the most exciting thing about moving? Cleaning out stuff and going someplace new and fresh and usually cleaner!

5. If you’ve lived in the same place all your life, do you plan to move in the future? Depends on Tim’s job

6. Do you WANT to move somewhere else; if so, where? I’d love to live in the mountains in a big (I mean big) cabin. 😀

Yet another meme/ set of fun questions from this site. 🙂 Enjoy!

1. What kind of pillow do you like? (Thanks Heather!) To sleep on, something fluffy and plump and preferably hypo-allergenic. To just laze around on and toss about :), there’s nothing better than chenille.

2. Do you wear slippers? (Thanks Heather!) When my feet are cold, I do. Especially this time of year.

3. Do you sleep with socks on? (Thanks Heather!) Not normally, but this time of year, if it’s cold, I’ll go to sleep with them on. Inevitably, during the night, I wake up and take them off and toss them on the floor.

4. What were you doing a year ago today? Probably the same thing I’m doing today! 🙂

5. Do you send out Christmas Cards? Yes

6. Do you like to wrap? Not really. The OCD in me likes to make nice creases, straight cuts and use lots and lots of scotch tape though!

7. What are your plans for the weekend? Not sure. Tim and several friends/family members are planning a trip to our new Bass Pro Shop that opened this week. I might tag along (I think I’ll be the only girl), or not. Haven’t decided. I hope we get our outside Christmas lights put up, the inside stuff is done.

Park it

1. When is the last time you rode the bus? Hmm, don’t take public transportation… really – ever! I don’t think we rode on a bus in DC, just took the Metro. So, the last one that I can remember was in Atlanta 3 years ago, we took the metro then a bus to get to Turner Field to a Braves game.

2. Describe the last time you stood up for a cause: Probably never, I don’t like to cause a stink or push my opinions on other people.

3. Have you visited Alabama? Of course! Helps that it’s “right next door”! We’ve been to Birmingham to the Titanic exhibit, I’ve been shopping in Boaz and Foley and also been to Gulf Shores. We want to go to Huntsville to the Space Center, and also want to go to DeSoto State Park and do some hiking.

4. Have you ever attended a rally? Nope.

5. Have you ever been arrested? Heavens no. 🙄

Got a couple of memes to catch up on! Here’s a good one from yesterday…

::Christmas Elf Gifs::

Onesome: Christmas– “Christmas is coming; the goose is getting fat…” Nope, I’m not going there, not by a long shot! How about: Even though we just finished up the Thanksgiving meal, what dish are you looking forward to most at Christmas time? …and yes, Christmas cookies count! Hmm, we have the same type foods at Christmas normally that we do at Thanksgiving (turkey, dressing, etc), and I look forward to that, because it’s really the only time of year I get it! I also look forward to some of the sweet stuff I make – fudge and my reindeer food 😀

Twosome: Elf– Who is your favorite Christmas Elf? Mom? Dad? Will Farrell? That guy who helps you at the tree place each year? Definitely not Will Farrell! Tim would be my pick. He helps me put up the outside decorations and shop for the guys in the family, so he’s a good elf.

Threesome: Gifs– How about your favorite bit of Christmas artwork? Is it a painting? …a cartoon? …your special ornament? …the tree in the town square? All of the ornaments we have on our tree from our vacations. I love opening them up every year and going, “ooh, do you remember when we went here and got this ornament?” 🙂 This year, we added a Mount Vernon Homecoming ornament we got this summer. It describes how George Washington returned home to Mt Vernon after 8 years of serving the Colonial forces. He arrived home on Christmas Eve! 🙂

Did someone say Decorations?

1. Do you decorate your house this time of year? if so… how? ( a photo or description. ) Yes, I do. Probably too much. I like to put it up, love enjoying it, but oh how I dread taking it all down! We do outside lights (icicle and net, well, not “we”, but my worker bee Tim), garland and lights on the deck, one tree, my Snow Village and misc other decorations around the house.

P.S. I might try to put up some pictures later on in the week or month. I put up my Snow Village today, and we’re going to work on the tree soon, then the outside lights. I have plenty of pictures of years past and will (as always) take pictures this year. Same every year, but I still take the pics!

2. Have you ever been in a decoration competition? No way Jose

3. How much is too much? Well, too much is too much! If it’s overdone or “gawdy” it’s too much. Can’t describe it, I’d have to point out what I think is too much. This is actually a running discussion Tim and I used to have. We’d be driving along and I’d see something I didn’t like in someone’s yard (mixed colored lights, a pet peeve of mine, too many decorations, etc) and I’d say something not-nice like, that’s sorta tacky. Tim would (deservedly so) point out that they just have more Christmas spirit than I do and everyone has their own idea of what they like and want. So, I better just back off and take the 5th on this one!

4. How do you celebrate this time of year? I’m afraid in more commercial ways than I should. I try very hard to remember what it’s all about, why we celebrate, and try to do things in that spirit. But, I’m ashamed to admit that most of the time I get caught up in the $$ aspect of it, and how much shopping I’ve done and what I’ve got left to do and on and on, and I get stressed about it. Not what should happen or what I want to happen, but alas, it usually does. I would like to do more in the future to remember the “reason for the season” and celebrate our Lord’s birth and not so much what present to buy for someone.

P.S. Oops – just went and read Kryss’s answers to this question (she does this meme) and realized she meant where and who you visit kind of “how do you celebrate” !! Oops! We go from house to house. One of the things I like least about the holidays and not being able to have kids. Then we could stay home some. Sigh. We go to the in-law’s (normally on Christmas Eve), then to my sister’s house (normally on Christmas Day), but this year they may be swapped due to a recent divorce and custody agreement on the in-law’s side of the family. That’s being worked out, so not sure yet. In the middle of that, or the tail end, I always insist that we carve out a small niche of time for us to open presents at home, and do stockings and have my “world-famous” sticky bread for a Christmas breakfast. 😀

1. Stuffed:: like on Thanksgiving!
2. Armstrong:: Lance
3. Bruise:: purple
4. Content:: stuff, like on Hambones, we have lots of content!
5. Musical:: Broadway
6. Assistance:: help
7. Scrambling:: eggs
8. Battle:: royal
9. Extended:: family
10. Discount:: save

More fill-in-the-blanks this week! Thank you for playing Monday Madness! (Invite your friends to play along…)

1. I’ve always been afraid of snakes .
2. People should not talk on cell phones while in movie theaters or restaurants .
3. The one thing I look forward to every day is being with Tim .
4. My first meal of the day usually consists of cereal and orange juice .
5. It seems like dusting is a never-ending job.
6. The last time I painted a room in my house/apartment was repainting the bathroom .
7. The next time I paint, I’d like to paint my computer/scrap room (room) a soft green (color).

Feast Seventy-One
Friday, November 25, 2005

Appetizer
What did you look like when you were a teenager? Um, a little like I look now, except I was a lot thinner. Probably 25 pounds lighter and my legs looked better (no cellulite, varicose veins or big purple splotches).

Salad
Whose advice do you listen to? Tim’s. Especially when it’s a judgement call on other people, he sizes people up really well and can tell if they are being true or really insincere. I can’t tell. I’m very naive and tend to believe what people tell me.

Soup
Name a book you would like to memorize. Umm, none. Unless it was really, really short.

Main Course
How often are you sick? I don’t get “big” sick very often at all. I get “piddling” sick a lot – tummy aches, sinus congestion, headaches, general aches and pains. I’ve only thrown up twice in the last 10 years, and I haven’t had the flu in at least 15.

Dessert
Do you like or dislike change? Dislike. I don’t do change well. Unless, of course, it was my idea, which it’s usually not.

Found this one today… it’s new to me! From this site:

BBRRR… Did someone say winter?

1. Do you like the colder weather, or are you into the hotter weather? I love, love, love winter. My absolute favorite time of year is fall and winter. I hate summer and sweating and being hot and even wearing shorts (hate my legs). What’s weird is that I’m very cold-natured and hate being cold, but go figure – I love this time of year!!

2. What is your favorite thing about winter? Making homemade soups and stews, homemade bread, drinking hot chocolate and coffee, curling up by the fire with a book, burning all my wonderful Yankee candles, etc

3. Do you have a favorite comfy, cozy lounging around outfit? Any comfy old sweats and sweatshirt

4. What’s your favorite warm drink when it is just too cold out there?
My homemade hot chocolate

10 Things You Like Eating at Thanksgiving Dinner

1. Turkey – white meat only, please
2. Gail’s squash dressing
3. cranberry sauce, preferably canned
4. Broccoli Cheese casserole
5. sweet potatoes (casserole or roasted)
6. leftover turkey sandwich, with lots of mayo
7. anything sweet for dessert
8. Gail’s green bean bundles
9. rolls with butter
10. more dessert 🙂

It’s that time of the week again! Enjoy! =)

1. I have little or no patience when it comes to terrible drivers, people who talk on their cellphones in restaurants, movie theatres, etc. People who are chronically late. And the list goes on and on!
2. I wish I could spend more time reading.
3. The most productive thing I accomplished this past weekend was trying to catch up on the laundry.
4. The most enjoyable thing I did this weekend was started reading a Christmas book.
5. I’ve always wanted to learn how to play a musical instrument.
6. If money wasn’t an issue, I’d buy a big house with a huge kitchen and a theater room.
7. I blog because I enjoy it, and it hopefully entertains my sisters!.