Six Random Things About Me

That British Woman strikes again! You can thank Gil for these six random things about me:

1) I have had 550 stitches in my face and head at one time and over a thousand after the facial reconstructive surgery that restored my face as close to its natural state as possible. Thanks to a brilliant plastic surgeon, I am not a monster.

2) I can still spell supercalifragilisticexpialidocious thanks to a 2nd grade contest for which I won a kite and a box of sweet-hearts.

3) I once did a face-plant in a diving competition held at a lake in Texas and was so embarrassed by my frog-legged face flop that I swam as deep as I could and completely freaked out the rest of the divers, judges, and announcers all of whom were lined up on the edge of the dock anxiously awaiting my resurfacing. (What can I say...I was 16 and mortified. There was a guy I liked in the audience!)

4) I'm a night owl, but manage a regular schedule because I must. Whenever the mood strikes me, I will be wide awake at 2a.m though. I have been known to go to bed with the kiddies and get up at 4am, too. Once you have children the best hours of the day are the wee hours of the morning when you've had a full night's rest and the kids are still sleeping . . .

5) I tend to read a couple books at once. I've been doing this since University and no, I don't confuse the plot lines or characters at all.

6) I'm a natural messy on the outside with an anal-retentive organizer on the inside. You might see piles on every surface in my home, but my cupboards and closets are quite organized. *shrug* (Some people cram their mess into closets, I choose not to hide mine & keep my closets tidy!)

Now -- YOU are tagged! It's your turn!

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Christmas Trees: The Good, The Bad, The Far Out and the Wickedly Ugly

I personally like eclectic, personal trees. Take ours, for example -- ornaments from the kids for the past 17 years, some lights, some garland, a topper and that's our tree. The folks who entered the World Wide Christmas Tree Contest lean towards themes and...well...take a look for yourselves...

In the My Kids Are Going to Need Decades of Therapy Anyway category, we have: I have no idea what all is going on in this scene (these scenes?)


What happens when a poinsettia vomits in your living room? And what is with the crown of fake golden prairie grass sprouting out of the top of the tree?


Poinsettias and bows and what the hell, let's just put out every single Christmas decoration we own and place them on this one side of the room.

And if you really want your kids to have nightmares, just impale Santa to the middle of the tree with a weird fake floral arrangement.

WTF????


Again -- WTF???


And now for something completely different (I like different, unless I make sarcastic remarks in the captions):


I don't know either, but I like it!


Kinda cool.


I like it. I do!


Good use of wall space. Only problem I can see with it is storage when not in use.



I think there's a white tree underneath.

Finally! It's a tree and a place to put all those blasted Christmas Knick-Knacks that build up over the years!


My daughter would LOVE this!

I think I really like non-tree trees.


And in the category of You Just Had to Screw it up, Didn't You? These trees would have been fine if they had just stopped before . . .
...the damned ramp. What the hell is that, anyway?

...the extraordinarily wide purple ribbon.

...putting all that crap all around this perfect little tree. What's with the beer, anyway? Nothing says Christmas like a beer under the tree...

...adding the carousel horse to the stripper's pole. Come on, I'm all for turning the stripper pole that's installed in the living room into a festive Christmas "tree", but the horse just doesn't do it for me.

...ramming the tree upside down into it's base. Is that a wall-eye coming out of the "top" of the tree?

...shoving the silver coloured twigs into the top of the tree. What's with that?


Some classic trees I really like, despite the lack of personalization:






I just wanna hug it!

I love this upside-down tree. Having cats and kittens in our home most every holiday, this idea really appeals to me!




And a couple more on the Wrecktacular Side of things:
This is like the twig tree that I liked, except this one's on acid.

A dentist's Christmas nightmare.

Maybe it's the only way to cover up the crap-mountain in the living room.

Not only is it anorexic, but it's red and black!

I'm not sure there's even a tree under there!


Nothing says "redneck" like a bubble jug Christmas tree.

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Christmas Getting to Know You

Because I'm just *that* bored . . . (and I haven't posted in awhile)

1.Wrapping paper or gift bags? Brown paper wrapping that's compostable, re-usable gift bags & santa sacks.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial....for some reason the annual tree slaughter bothers me. Though real is more environmentally friendly. Before I switch to real (if ever I do) I'll figure out a way to recycle this puppy.

3. When do you put up the tree? Hubby puts the tree up. If it were left up to me, it'd probably get put up sometime around New Year's. Yes, I procrastinate tedious jobs like no one else. Yes, I find putting up a tree tedious.

4. When do you take the tree down? Hubby generally takes it down right after the New Year. Especially if cats or kittens are in the house.

5. Do you like eggnog? I don't mind it once a year...but I'd rather have my own homemade much lighter version.

6. Favourite gift received as a child? I never received a Christmas gift as a child. Though as far as gifts..probably the diamond necklace & ring my father gave to me. I'd still like to know who stole those, though I still think I know.

7. Hardest person to buy for? This year, my daugher.

8. Easiest person to buy for? The littlest kids....

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, but I neither believe it's a depiction of a historical event, nor do I place any religious significance on the scene. Ours is a beautiful hand-carved 30-some piece scene that my husband's uncle made just for us. For that simple reason it will always be featured in our home during the holidays.


10. Mail or email Christmas cards. Email this year. Canada post is scam. If I can't cross the border to mail them, they'll get emailed.


11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I guess lavendar lotions as that's how I learned I'm allergic to lavendar.

12. Favourite Christmas Movie? Can't say that I have one.

13. When do you start shopping? January, February...whenever I start seeing deals to sock away for the next holiday.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I haven't regifted one, but I know a few have been freecycled.

15. Favourite thing to eat at Christmas? Cookies...fudge. If I can talk him into making them, DH's Nanaimo Bars.

16. Lights on the tree? I haven't the foggiest.

17. Favourite Christmas song? Cartman's O Holy Night.

18, Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home. This is immediate family time.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Dasher, dancer, prancer, vixen, donder, blitzen, Cartman, Kyle, Oh wow I think my allergy/sinus pills just kicked in. . .

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? I really really don't like angels. It's a star or a spire.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? One for the kiddies on Christmas eve all the rest are opened THROUGHOUT the day on Christmas.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Just about all of it except for the family togetherness with the kids & hubby. The shopping, the presents, the decorating, the messes, the cooking and cleaning, the marketing, the CHRISTians, the anti-Christians, shoppers, shopping, marketing, stores, traffic, stores, insane drivers, stores, dumbass gifts showing up in every damn store and on every damned streetcorner....it's all annoying.

23. Favourite ornament theme or color? Blue & silver theme.

24. Favourite for Christmas dinner? Really don't do much for Christmas dinner. Busy eating chocolate letters & playing with the kids (new toys lol!)



25. What do you want for Christmas this year? I'd really like a kitchen aid mixer or a digital camera to replace the broken one....but that's not gonna happen. It's moisturizer, socks & mugs for me.

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I Miss Thanksgiving

Oh, it's true. There is a Thanksgiving in Canada. It's really just another holiday Monday. Here, people are having yard sales and washing their cars, mowing their grass, attending craft festivals (apparently a Thanksgiving tradition in these parts) or even catching up the laundry on Thanksgiving. That depresses me. If there's a meal, it's just another meal. No big deal. Families don't come together. It would be too much trouble for just another Monday holiday. And Canadians are utterly baffled by the huge deal that Thanksgiving is in the states.

It's true --- in America, Thanksgiving is a Very Big Deal. It's THE big family holiday in the states. Families go to great lengths to be together. I wonder some if the holiday's popularity is a result of its placement at the end of a week as opposed to the beginning of a week as Canada's is.

If there is one thing I get homesick for it is Thanksgiving . I want so many people crammed into a house that you're bound to step on toes, bump into people, spill gravy on your neighbors and shout to be heard. I want twelve people in a kitchen trying to use 4 burners on a stove to heat 14 things. I want so many children underfoot that you don't even notice when they've stolen a plate full of cookies and devoured them long before the turkey(s) get carved. I want at least three disputes before anyone has left for their own homes. I want at least 4 people snoring in the living room after the meal is done waking suddenly when the football game is turned off to say "HEY!! We're watching that! What are you doing?" In my world, if there are fewer than 30 people or 15 desserts, it's really not Thanksgiving.

In my own rather large family we would all get together at one house. Everyone would chip in with the meal -- helping to prepare the meal or bringing prepared dishes. We had the standards: turkey, dressing/stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy (usually mom made this -- I still can't make it!), a couple different cranberry sauces, succotash, cottage cheese and pineapples suspended in extra-jiggly green Jello, several pumpkin pies and usually a cheesecake or two, along with whatever new recipes someone wanted to try out. One year I was responsible for bringing the succotash (which is baby green lima beans and corn in a milk and butter sauce). I had never purchased this. I had never prepared it. Much to several people's horror, I showed up with mature (white, large, dry) lima beans and frozen corn and nearly ruined the meal!

Many years ago, my father started the tradition of sending around a stenographers notebook to have everyone write down what they were thankful for. There were just too many people to simply announce our gratitude at the table. Gaining full attention from this crowd would have been as easy as keeping my oldest brother out of the turkey later that night! The item most frequently expressed on those pages was family. While my family -- like every family -- has its quirks, I surely am thankful for them. I deeply miss this ritual of excess. Along with the overabundance of gastronomical delights, our homes were filled to bursting with merriment, fellowship, laughter, noise, and especially love. How could I not miss it and all of us together?

We haven't gotten together for Thanksgiving since 2003. It was my father's last Thanksgiving. I don't know whether he was the glue that held this family's traditions together or if the pain of his loss is still so acutely felt that a family gathering would renew that soul-scaring grief. It's true, we are scattered about the world a bit, but I think we could do it. I'm in Canada, my brother's in Colorado, two sisters in Pennsylvania, Mom and oldest brother are in southern Ohio, nephews in various states. I still think we could manage, though we probably need to start planning now.

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Tough Times All Over

You know we're in an economic crisis. You know people are getting laid off in droves. You know the prices of everything have gone up. It's no wonder food banks are reporting that they're running out of food. Usually at this time of year, giving goes way up as people feel the need to give during the holidays. It seems everyone's feeling the pinch as more people are in need and fewer people are giving.

So, while I pinch pennies and stretch my grocery dollar as far as it can possibly be stretched, I'm making it a point to donate to the food banks every time I shop for groceries. If everyone just put one or two items in the donation bins at the stores, can you imagine how far it would go?

Oh, the things we could do . . .

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Veterans Day / Remembrance Day

Today we take a moment to remember those who've either given the ultimate sacrifice for peace or have served beside those who did.

I have a long list of family members who have done so.

My grandfathers on either side served in World War I. Though my maternal grandfather was too old to serve overseas, he took his position in the home guard very seriously.

My father served in World War II in Italy. He was but a boy. Luckily, he survived. As did his brother, who was among the men of the US Army at The Battle of the Bulge. Another Uncle was at Iwo Jima. Uncle Bob (the last one mentioned) left his youth, his health and his vigor on Iwo Jima. He was so severely shell-shocked after that battle that when he was released from the Veteran's hospital in Hawaii after his recovery, the police arrested him for drunk. He wasn't drunk. He was terribly injured, hadn't managed balance yet and would forever remain a bent man. He passed away only last year.
My mother served in the Air Force during the Korean War.

One of my sisters is a veteran of the Army Reserves.

My brother served in both Iraq and Afghanistan and is thankfully safe on American soil at long last.

Two of my nephews have served. One in the Marines during the early stages of Operation Enduring Freedom. He's now in the Army!

We lost a cousin in Vietnam, a man I'll never know.

And to all those who have served and sacrificed, thank you.

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The People Have Spoken

Thank you, America!

Now, let's just get to work.

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