Ok, it's time to take down the lights

As I drove through town this evening on my way home from work at twilight, I noticed that a lot of homes still have Christmas displays up with lights on.

Really, people, it's time to take down the lights. Christmas was three weeks ago already.


Of course, even though the holidays are over, that doesn't mean we have to give up on the Christmas Spirit, which should last all year through anyway. And there are those people who enjoy Christmas so much that they have an entire room decorated in Christmas paraphernalia.

This house in the Phillippines is a tourist attraction.

Then there are those places that sell Christmas items or have Christmas fun all year long.

I guess I can't really complain. Here's a picture of my mantel. Yes, those are Father Christmases, and an Effanbee Christmas Patsy doll. :)

















And then there's this one, who stands alone by the tv:

Qs 1-49

THE 5000 QUESTION SURVEY Version 2.0
The entire survey is available here.


1. Who are you? a person

2. What are the 3 most important things everyone should know about you? I don't like stupidity, I'm loyal, and I'm intelligent.


3. Who did you take this survey from? (the entire survey is available here.)

When you aren't filling out 5000 question surveys, what are you doing? Working.

4. List your classes in school from the ones you like the most to the ones you like the least (or if you are out of school, think of the classes you did like and didn't like at the time). English, History, Science, Math

5. What is your biggest goal for this year? Blog daily and clean the house.

6. Where do you want to be in 5 years? Debt-free

7. What stage of life are you in right now? mid-30s, still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.

8. Are you more child-like or childish? childish

9. What is the last thing you said out loud? I laughed.

10. What song comes closest to how you feel about your life right now? "Who Knew," by Pink.

11. Have you ever taken martial arts classes? no

12. Does your life tend to get better or worse or does it just stay the same? stay the same

13. Does time really heal all wounds? Yes, thankfully.

14. How do you handle a rainy day? sleep

15. Which is worse...losing your luggage or having to sort out tangled holiday lights? losing luggage

16. How is your relationship with your parents? decent

Will you miss them when they are gone? yes

17. Do you tend to be aware of what is going on around you? not really

18. What is the truest thing that you know? Dogs love you no matter what.

19. What did you want to be when you grew up? a teacher

20. Have you ever been given a second chance? yes, many second chances

21. Are you more of a giver or a taker? taker

22. Do you make your decisions with an open heart/mind? I try to.

23. What is the most physically painful thing that has ever happened to you? childbirth

24. What is the most emotionally painful thing that has ever happened to you? not answering this one

25. Who have you hugged today? my DD

26. Who has done something today to show they care about you? DH warmed up my car for me this morning

27. Do you have a lot to learn? probably

28. If you could learn how to do three things just by wishing and not by working what would they be?

A knitting

B violin

C piano

29. Which do you remember the longest: what other people say, what other people do or how other people make you feel? how they make me feel

30. What are the key ingredients to having a good relationship? COMMUNICATION

31. What 3 things do you want to do before you die?

A see the Grand Canyon

B watch DD get married

C publish a book

32. What three things would you want to die to avoid doing?

A paying bills

B having elective surgery

C ????

33. Is there a cause you believe in more than any other cause? adoption

34. What does each decade make you think of:

The 19..

20's: flappers

30's: Depression

40's: World War II

50's: Leave it to Beaver, Ozzie & Harriet

60's: Free love

70's: Disco

80's: Yuppies, big hair, metal bands

90's: grunge rock, college days

2000 (so far): technology, internet

2010's: more people will want to return to simpler times

35. Which decade do you feel the most special connection to and why? 1990s. I graduated from HS in 1990 and college in 1994. I spent my twenties in the 1990s.

36. What is your favorite oldie/classic rock song? "Old Time Rock and Roll" by Bob Seger

37. What country do you live in and who is the leader of that country? USA, the moron

If you could say any sentence to the current leader of your country what would it be? You're a moron.

38. What's your favorite TV channel to watch in the middle of the night? Food network

39. What Disney villain are you the most like and why? ??? Maleficent

40. Have you ever been a girl scout/boy scout? nope

41. If you were traveling to another continent would you rather fly or take a boat? fly

42. Why is the sky blue during the day and black at night? Day = reflection of sun off of atmosphere; night = absence of sun

43. What does your name mean? it has no meaning

44. Would you rather explore the deeps of the ocean or outer space? neither!

45. Word association

What is the first word that comes to mind when you see the word:

Air: plane

Meat: popsicle

Different: ideas

Pink: pepto

Deserve: me

White: socks

Elvis: lives

Magic: rocks

Heart: shaped

Clash: band

Pulp: fiction

46. If you could meet any person in the world who is dead who would you want it to be? ANNE FRANK

47. What if you could meet anyone who is alive? any holocaust survivor

48. Is there a movie that you love so much you could watch it everyday? "Tremors"

49. You are going to be stuck alone in an elevator for a week. What do you bring to do? Plenty of books to read and my journal to write in and an extra pen or two.

Still Eating Christmas Candy

It's time to put away the decorations. It's time to clean up the wrapping paper and leftover boxes. It's time to find room for all the new toys and clothes. Out with the old and in with the new...
I wish it were that simple. Let's see, to start with, DD's room is a complete and utter disaster area. Tomorrow evening or this weekend, we will start by attacking her closet. Closet must be cleaned out so that stuff will fit inside. Then we'll attack her bedroom floor, and put away all the toys--we will also separate what she has outgrown or doesn't play with from what she does play with. I hope we can pare down the toys to one big Rubbermaid container.

Next, I have to do something with all the dolls I've been collecting lately. They are large and take up quite a bit of room. I basically just need to rearrange them.

We need to vacuum and dust the upstairs bedrooms and clean the bathroom.

Whew. I'm already exhausted, just from writing this down.

Maybe I should save some of that leftover candy as a reward. :)

Happy New Year!

"Re-Create in 2008!" is my goal for the year.

Although I did accomplish some things in 2007, I still managed to drift through the year. As I reflect on 2007, I wonder where the time went. What do I have to show for it?

I'll be 36 in June, and 35 hit me hard: where am I now and where am I going? Is this where I want to be? If I died right now, would I die happy? In some respects, yes, but in other respects, no.

So, as I come out of yet another depressive episode, I am going to make a conscious effort to turn my life in the direction I want it to go. What direction that is, I'm not quite sure yet, but to get there, I actually have to DO something, not just sit back and wait for it to happen to me. If I wait, life will just keep drifting by.

Here are the first ten goals I want to be sure to accomplish in 2008. [I also have started a list of 101 Things in 1001 Days (I actually started in 2006), but I still have to type up the whole list.]

Ten Goals I want to accomplish in 2008:

1. Write letters or send postcards to different friends monthly. (0x12)

2. BUY absolutely NO MORE books in 2008, until I have read my entire To-Be-Read pile, unless I get birthday or Christmas money. :)

3. Return library books on time to avoid fines.

4. FACE finances: quit impulse buying and frivolous spending.

5. Blog daily and journal daily. (1x366; 2008 is a leap year.)

6. Save $15 per week (1x52)

7. Organize two bedrooms, living room, dining room, and computer room by the end of Feb. 2008, or else pay DH $1 for everything not done. If I win, he will give me half his paycheck for two months. :)

8. Pay off new computer (which is still sitting in a box in the dining room).

9. Pay bills on time.

10. ????