Bah, Humbug

Hope over at Oil City Station tagged me with the following meme. I must admit, with it nearing 90 degrees today, it's hard to imagine that Christmas is only a few months away.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Which ever I find in my cup.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree? Santa is far too busy for wrapping, so he lays them out neatly for me, just after he fills my stocking.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No, it would smack Cynical in the head each time he walked through the door.

5. When do you put up your decorations? We do a real tree, so typically it's not until early December, then we spend the rest of the month sweeping up needles and pouring water all over the presents underneath the tree.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Green bean casserole.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? I think the year I got a Big Wheel with a little trunk on it. Inside the trunk were Hershey bars.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I suppose I was around 9. I had my suspicions that he was imaginary, but I was trying to hold onto the myth. Then my mom, in her usual fashion, cleared it up in one statement. The two of us were shopping and she started picking out stocking stuffers for my brothers. I remember saying, "What about Santa?" and she said, "Oh, Ragged, there is no Santa." That ended that.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? My dad absolutely forbids any opening until Christmas morning. So we torment him the entire night pretending to let each other open gifts.

10. What kind of decorations are on your Christmas Tree? I hate to use an over-used word: but ecclectic comes to mind. It's fairly traditional in reality. Some are handmade, some are of the Hallmark variety, but most are sparkly glass balls; the vintage type with bursts in the center are my favorite and when Target came out with reissued ones, I bought them all up.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread? I do so love it, Cynical adores it.

12. Can you ice skate? I can, not well, but I can.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? It's a toss up between my dollhouse when I was eight and a collection of Laura Ingalls Wilder books from Cynical when we first started dating.

14. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? Getting together with friends. It's often the only time we see each toher.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Butter cookies!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? On Christmas Eve Cynical and I arise and pretend it's Christmas Day. During the night we have each laid out the other's gifts and filled the stockings. We rush downstairs as if Santa has come, open our gifts and dump our stockings. Afterward we eat Chinese food and sing "Deck the Halls" in much the same was as it is sung in "A Christmas Story". Oh, and I so love stockings. I love tiny little gifts.

17. What tops your tree? A bow that I made.

18. What is your favourite holiday book? Christmas in Plains: Memories by Jimmy Carter

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Song for a Winter's Night or O Holy Night.

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yummy? Mmmmmmmm, especially in my coffee.

I tag Madretz!

Meme'd again

I let her down when I didn't respond to the last meme. I decided you knew I was strange enough without me listing seven more reasons for you to think so. However, this time I am gonna play along with Madretz's meme tagging.

Instructions:Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone else up one place. Then, add you name to the bottom spot, like so:

1. Mike's Homefront

2. What I Know for Sure

3. green butterfly

4. Willow Grace

5. Ragged Around The Edges (Write On)

What were you doing 10 years ago?

I am still trying to remember. . . Let's see, it was 1997, I had been out of college for 6 years. I suspect I had just started the worst job of my life. I am certain that I didn't realize that at the time.

What were you doing one year ago?

(My blog archive saved me here.) We were returning from a weekend of mayhem up north, part of what has become an annual trip.

5 snacks you enjoy:

1. Chips and salsa
2. Butter cookies

3. Peanut butter and crackers

4. Strawberries

5. Ice cream

5 songs you know all the lyrics to:

1. Hotel California by The Eagles
2. When It Don't Come Easy by Patty Griffin

3. Ice cream by Sarah McLachlan

4. Love Shack by the B-52s

5. Theme song to Green Acres

5 things you would do if you were a millionaire:

1. Pay off all debt

2. Quit my job

3. Travel, travel, travel

4. Send my niece and nephew to college

5. Hire out my yard work, mowing and laundry

5 bad habits:

1. Driving eratically

2. Biting my finger nails

3. Overstocking toiletries

4. Procrastinating

5. Not saying "no"

5 things you like doing:

1. Road tripping

2. Knitting

3. Listening to music

4. Spending time with those I love

5. Watching "Veronica Mars"

5 things you would never wear again:

1. Stirrup pants (Stole this one from Madretz)

2. Long striped Esprit sweaters

3. Jelly shoes

4. Big plastic earrings

5. A prom dress

Favorite toys:

1. Camera

2. Yarn winder and swift

3. Laptop

4. GPS device

5. Ugh, I don't have five toys

Tag. . . you're it, go meme, young man, go meme.

Summertime and the living is easy

I have been neglectful in thanking all of you for the wonderful birthday wishes. You guys make birthdays fun.

I also owe a huge thanks to Phin and Madretz for the beautiful handmade cards and the adorable "It's A Small World" snow globe. (I am struggling with photographing it, but I assure you, it's too cute for words.) In addition, I have already received my portion of a trade with Phin, and I promise to show you my big score whenever I finish my end of the deal.

I have been tagged by Cynical, who apparently is part of a long line of tagees. So, here are eight random things about me:

1. My obsessive-compulsive number is 4. (Meaning I count things in multiples of four whenever I am nervous.)

2. I love cheese. I mean LUV it.

3. My favorite place in the world is our bedroom. It's peaceful, uncluttered, quiet, well lit, tucked away in one corner of the house and a wonderful breeze blows through this time of year.

4. I do not have an athletic or rhythmic bone in my body, meaning I suck at team sports and dancing.

5. I am addicted to organizational shows. I even use the DVR to record them for my viewing pleasure.

6. I nearly broke into tears when I heard that "Veronica Mars" was cancelled. I also refer to situations she has encountered when talking to my friends, which always results in an eye roll and a very sympathetic look.

7. I sleep soundly each night, falling into slumber immediately and rarely moving.

8. I look like my grandmother.

Now, if you just read this, assume yourself "tagged".

Emily should apply for a job with 60 Minutes

Barbara Walters, Ed Bradley and Oprah have nothing on Emily. When she presented the offer to provide interview questions, I took her up on the offer. She's tough.

1. Was there one moment when you knew Cynical was the one for you?
One summer Cynical and I took a little hiatus from dating. This was very early in our dating life and the long distance part of it was killing us, so we decided to be big and brave and take a break (not the kinda break that Rachel and Ross took, mind you). We weren't very good at this hiatus thing and we were both miserable as a result. And after that break was thankfully over, he said to me, "I always knew you'd be in my life." I had known it all along that he was my lobster, but this solidified it for me: this was forever.

2. You're organizing a benefit concert. You have five slots for bands/singers to fill and if they are invited they will perform. Who will you invite?
Lenny Kravitz, Sarah McLachlan, Cowboy Junkies, Barenaked Ladies, and The Dave Matthews Band.

3. It's a beautiful day. You and Cynical are meeting for a picnic. Where do you meet, what do you eat?
We'd drive to St. Meinrad, Indiana and picnic beneath the huge tree along the bank of the lake there. Ideally we'd pack a very cliche' lunch including strawberries, grapes, cheese, wine, butter cookies, pepperoni, oh, and Diet Coke.

4. If you were a dessert, what would you be?
Ice cream. Cool, smooth and everyone's favorite. (If only that were true.)

5. The President of the United States comes to you and offers you any position in his administration (other than his), and you accept. What job do you choose?
Commissioner for the Improvement of Daytime Television Options

Calling all reading nerds:

1. A Book that Changed Your Life
Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Houston

2. A Book You've Read More Than Once
My Antonia by Willa Cather

3. A Book You'd Take onto a Desert Island
Pride & Prejudice (I am embarrassed to admit, I have never read it.)

4. A Book That Made You Laugh
The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club: True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life by Laurie Notaro

5. A Book That Made You Cry
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

6. A Book You Wish Had Been Written
Lost on this one.

7. A Book You Wish Had Never Been Written
Crime & Punishment by Leo Tolstoy

8. A Book You're Currently Reading
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

9. A Book You've Been Meaning To Read
A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve

10. Now Tag Five People You Want to Hear From
All of ya!

Continuing with the music theme

1. Of all the bands/artists in your cd/record collection, which one do you own the most albums by? It's probably a toss up between Counting Crows, Cowboy Junkies, Dave Matthews Band.

2. What was the last song you listened to? Mat Kearney, Nothing Left to Lose

3. What's in your record/CD player right now? OK Go

4. Do you know what music the person before you is into?I lifted this from Emily, and I suspect our tastes are pretty similar.

5. What's your favorite local band? Nada

6. What was the last album you bought? I went through a bit of a music spree recently, so I think it would be G Love: Lemonade; The Decemberists: The Crane Wife; John Legend: Once Again; The Killers: Sam's Town; Mat Kearney: Nothing Left to Lose.

7. What was the greatest show you've ever been to? This is a tough one. I should be good and say "Hootie in the Blowfish" because I had just started dating my beloved and we danced barefoot in the rain at this one. However, I think I was most pumped about Lillith Fair, 'cause of it having such a diverse group of performers; I don't want to leave out James Taylor, I couldn't have been more relaxed.

8. What's the worst band you've ever seen in concert? Lucinda Williams. Sorry, Lucy.

9. What band do you love musically but hate the members of? Hate is a strong word.

10. What is the most musically involved you have ever been? I took piano lessons.

11. What shows are you looking forward to? I'd love to see Lenny Kravitz.

12. What is your favorite band shirt? B-52s Love Shack Tour.

13. What musician would you like to hang out with for a day? Lenny Kravitz

14. What musician would you sleep with in a heart beat? Lenny Kravitz (He's on my "list" of 5, so it's ok.)

15. Are u a stalker?Nah.

16. Sabbath or solo Ozzy?Ozzy.

17. 80's Madonna or Kabbalah Esther? 80s Madonna

18. Punk rock, hip hop or heavy metal? A little bit of each

19. Name 3 timeless records or artists?Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Rolling Stones

20. Name 3 artists that suck?Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion.

21. Did you know that filling out this survey makes you a music geek? What about it?

22. What was the greatest decade for music? I love it all, but of course, the 80s are near and dear.

23. How many music-related videos/dvds do you own?Grease and the Sound of Music

24. Do you like Journey?Maybe.

25. Don't try to pretend you don't!

26. What is your favorite movie soundtrack? Grease or maybe Elizabethtown.

Who me? Weird?

OK, so I am not sure whether to be flattered or offended that Emily actually thinks I am weird enough to be able to list 10 things as proof, but here goes:

1. I don't step on cracks. I also like to take an even number of steps on each slab of concrete. It's tricky, but possible.

2. There is only one thing that can make me gag: dog crap. If I step in it, I literally go insane. It is making me sick to type this.

3. I have literally no memories of high school. I didn't drink in high school and I took Nancy Reagan seriously, so I can't blame it on an alcohol or drug induced haze. It was just uneventful it seems.

4. Four is my obsessive-compulsive number. Whenever I get nervous or upset, I count things in multiples of four (ie tapping my finger, breathing etc.)

5. I slept for nearly 25 years with one foot outside the cover. All of a sudden I just quit doing it.

6. When I get nervous or scared, I literally shake and shiver from head to toe uncontrollably. I did this on my first date.

7. I know all of the words to "Lola" by Barry Manilow.

8. I have every single letter and card ever sent to me. I cannot throw them away.

9. If I think I have hurt someone's feelings, I can't sleep at all. Not even if I have one foot outside the cover.

10. I really, really, really don't like talking on the phone. I dislike it so much that I tend to use my professional voice in hopes that the call will end soon. It has nothing to do with who is calling.

Now, that's not weird, is it?

Tag, you're it.

PS: Have been trying to post about our geocaching weekend, but blogger won't cooperate.

May I have a word (only one word) with you

I borrowed this from Emily. Your answers are limited to one word and one word only. No explanations.

Yourself: Different
Your Lover: Understanding
Your Hair: Light
Your Mother: Bitter
Your Father: Tired
Your Favorite Item: Babe
Your Dream Last Night: Disjointed
Your Favorite Drink: Dietcoke
Your Dream Home: Open
The Room You Are In: Fresh
Your Pets: Warm
What You Are Now: Lost
Who You Want to be in Ten Years: Found
What You Want to be in Ten Years: Kind
What You're Not: Alone
Your Best Friend: Afar
One of Your Wishlist Items: Peace
Your Gender: Girl
The Last Thing You Did: Write
What You Are Wearing: Blue
Your Favorite Weather: Breezy
Your Favorite Book: Joy
The Last Thing You Ate: Pita
Your Life: Accepting
Your Mood: Vulnerable
Favorite article of clothing: Shoes
Favorite color: Green
School: Ago
Song: Easy

I was never very athletic

so forgive me if I fail at this game of tag. Apparently FarmWife has tagged me and me being the joiner that I am, I am gonna play along. Here goes:

4 Jobs I Have Had:
1. Librarian (Explains my penchant for cardigans and thick rimmed glasses. Actually this was my college job, paid for shampoo, Slim Jims and my musical obsession.)

2. News Editor (My first post-college job. I actually found a job in my major, can you believe it?)

3. Summer Program Leader (For the local parks department. I played outside all day with kids each summer, who could ask for anything more?)

4. PR/Communications (What I do now. Enough said.)

4 Goals I Have Made for This Year:
1. Finish major renovations of the house including refinishing of floors, tiling of back entry and scratch the surface on the bathroom rehab.

2. Read, read, read. That is alot more time for relaxing reading.

3. Be a kinder, gentler person. It's something I want to set as a goal each and every year.

4. Write, write. write. Write more letters. Write more online. Write more essays.

4 Movies I Could Watch Over and Over Again:
1. Grease (Who doesn't love Grease?)

2. When A Man Loves A Woman (Come on, who can resist Andy Garcia weeping?)

3. One True Thing (There are so many messages in this movie that touch me. So many moments and lines that I replay in my mind over and over again.)

4. The Bourne Identity (Who doesn't love a little action in their life?)

4 TV Shows I Love To Watch:
1. Flip This House (Throw enough money and men at a house and of course it comes out shiny and new.)

2. Grey's Anatomy (Nothing like watching overly attractive people dealing with non-realistic daily drama to escape from your own daily less-interesting dramas.)

3. Lost (Cute doctors, scary things in the jungle, human nature at its best? I gotta watch that.)

4. My Name Is Earl (I cannot explain it. I just love it.)

4 Websites I Visit Regularly (Outside of the blogs I read regularly)
1. Postsecret (As Emily mentioned, this site is updated each Sunday, you really should stop by.)

2. Knitty (It's an addiction. I know it. I admit it. I am not ashamed.)

3. Yahoo (To search for other sites to visit regularly.)

4. Blogger (To post to my site.)

4 Favorite Foods
1. Hello Kitty Snacks

2. Pizza with extra cheese

3. Spinach salad with Feta cheese and raspberry vinagrette dressing.

4. Anything with sugar or cheese

4 Places I'd Rather Be
1. Camping

2. In the guest bedroom at my grandmother's house, the one with the flowery wallpaper on the ceiling and bunches and bunches of pillows on the bed.

3. A coffee shop sipping Chai Tea Latte.

4. Asheville, North Carolina

Tag, you are it. I am gonna run and hide now before I am tagged again.