Hodgepodge Questions

(Link in meme-roll)

1. Did you watch The Charlie Brown Christmas special Monday night? Who's your favorite Peanuts character and why?

We didn't watch it (I pretty much never do anymore), but I love Linus deeply and truly, but and Schroeder is just adorable. [ETA: too many buts]

"Most psychiatrists agree that sitting in a pumpkin patch is excellent therapy for a troubled mind." ~ Linus Would you agree?

Yes. Today I need a big pumpkin patch with absolutely no people in it, just dogs, a blanket, and a box of Kleenex.

2. Describe a sound from your childhood. What does this sound bring to mind?

There are times when I really wish we had a piano. The sound of noodling around on a slightly out-of-tune piano ... I miss that. Electronic keyboards are not the same.

3. You've won a trip to a winter wonderland...would that excite you? Which one of the following would you most want to experience (or which one would you dislike the least) - see the Aurora Borealis in Norway, stay in Sweden's Ice Hotel, go dogsledding in Lapland Finland, take a winter wildlife safari in Yellowstone or celebrate Winter Carnival in Quebec?

I would love to see the Ice Hotel, and going dogsledding sounds fun (for about 10 minutes). I'd love to go for another troika ride too; scroll down to Lake Baikal for the one I've been on. It was delightful and having latkes and vodka and doing the Chicken Dance around a blazing fire with Russians was surreal and hilarious.

4. Who or what keeps you humble?

I'm pretty capable of humiliating myself myself, but should I need help my family and friends stand ready to burst my balloon of self-importance.

5. What part of preparing for Christmas do you like the most? Explain.

I do like decorating the tree, now that we have a pre-lit one, but I have a hard time motivating myself to get started.

6. Gingerbread - yay or nay? Is making a gingerbread house part of your family holiday tradition?

Nope. Not a fan. Not at all. I mean, I'll eat some if its offered but I can totally live without it.

7. What's one thing you want to start, do, or complete before the calendar rolls into a new year?

Well, shopping and wrapping needs doing, eh? And it would be nice if Beast could get through a day without crying in pain a few times before 2016 commences.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I am sick unto illness over the latest mass shooting. What the hell? Today is the first day I really feel like I live in Israel, in a police state, in a place where I am eminently unsafe in the world, since 9/11 and that was just flat-out panic and hysteria. I'm not panicking--this happened thousands of miles from me today--but there are far FAR too many ARMED nutjobs out there in the world. I realize that others in this country are in more danger on a moment-by-moment basis than me, but who the HELL shoots up and tries to bomb a disabled adult work-site?! Or, an elementary school? Or a health clinic (oh, wait that's been going on for multiple decades, no news there, really--pay attention people).....or a post office (oh wait...), or a fucking SPA?! Jesus God the world has lost its mind!
Also, hey, all you CC-licensed people: you are not living up to your promises of keeping the rest of us safe. Get with it or turn in your fucking guns, morons*.

__________
*if you choose to engage in pushing a pro-gun agenda in the comments just a reminder that I do delete crazy talk without prejudice

Wednesday Hodgepodge

(Link in meme-roll)

1. Something on your October calendar that makes you smile?

I'm going on vacation!! Two weeks doing whatever the heck we want! We're renting a small(ish) RV and driving through the Ozarks and just hanging out. I need to get the hell out of here, even before the shit hit the fan last week. And I haven't really left town for more than part of a day since January. This is ridiculous!

2. Food for the soul or music for the soul...which camp are you in? Tell us why.

Yes. I need music on a regular basis or my soul hurts. And I do love food. A lots.

3. What are two or three things you've learned recently as the result of an online search?

1) That I'm a bully (because I asked Facebook to remove a photo from someone's Facebook page because it didn't belong to the person posting it). 2) That, holy cannoli!, my entire life is online, but thankfully NOT connected to any of my blogs. 3) That Jimmy Kimmel has a hilarious bit on his show where famous people read tweets about themselves.

4. Share your favorite game day recipe. You can describe it, post the how-to, or add a link to the actual recipe.

I don't make special food for game days, except for Thanksgiving of course. It's all about the burgers and brats, if we do anything at all.

5. What are your five essential steps for creating the perfect morning routine?

1) Setting my alarm for the right time. 2) Not oversleeping on a day I need to be up at a specific time. 3) Having an idea when I get to the closet about what I'm going to be wearing. 4) No tripping, dropping stuff, whacking assorted body parts on door jambs / cabinets / furniture in the bedroom / bathroom. 5) Remembering all the "little" things: deodorant, lotion, perfume, earrings, matched shoes (and socks in the winter), clean glasses, meds....

6. What small thing have you taken note of today?

I'm very appreciative of all my great-nephews and their parents--my Wall o' Kids is all updated as of today with all six boys. There are no girls yet, but these kidlets are awesome!! I'll get a picture tomorrow and post it one of these days.

7. Sum up your September in seven words or less.

Hot, weird, busy, crazy, learning curves everywhere.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

People who assault and badger and harass people from the safety of their computers are evil. They are the Great Evil of the modern age. It is emphatically NOT ok to treat people like they matter less than you in the big world, and it is NOT ok to create the center of the universe around yourself at the expense of other people's freedom and peace of mind. It's NOT ok to impose your worldview on others when your worldview comes from a place of Crazy.

Thursday 13

(Link in meme-roll)
Things Beast & I Talked About Tonight When I Got Home From Work

1. We synced our calendars so that I know when he's got big stuff planned in the next few months, and he knows what I've got going as well. Plus now he has Sparky's school schedule as well.


2. We talked about how Beast is going to get to his parents' condo--still not on the market--amidst his travel schedule from Crazyville.


3. There was discussion of our financial situation.


4. We are going to hire someone to do the preliminary yard prep (at least) this spring.


5. Beast is going to do the taxes this weekend, so then I can do the FAFSA (which should really be called the FFAFSA) because it's due April 1.


6. What are we having for dinner?


7. We talked about this year's vacation. I'm getting a strong feeling that Beast doesn't really want to go anywhere.


8. There was some serious discussion of the medical future of Beast. He has an appointment to see his regular doctor next week to talk about this week's self-diagnosed kidney stone as well as his back. Until he does that, we're in a holding pattern.


9. Sparky needs to find a summer job.


10. I'm going to try to find a cleaning lady/person/wevs to do floors and dusting every couple of weeks for us.


11. The creepy-ass dude cattywampus across the street from us and his bizarro behavior du jour,which, fortunately, I missed.


12. I let Beast know that I used our credit card to register for a conference next month, and also that I'm going clothes shopping tomorrow, and I have a haircut, which is two weeks overdue.


13. What, from our longish list of DVR'd shows should we watch tonight? OK, two I've seen, but Beast hasn't. This is fine, as I wasn't exactly clear on some of the details.

W.T.F.

(Link in meme-roll)
Be sure to load your dishwasher before going to Heaven

1) September, a.k.a. National Coupon Month, begins tomorrow. Do you ever use coupons when you go shopping?

I used to be insane about coupons, spending hours clipping and filing them. Then, about 15 years ago I realized that the healthy stuff we should be eating almost never has coupons. The coupons are for processed foods that we shouldn't be buying anyway. So I stopped. And never went back.

2) What topics do you usually think about on your drive home from work?

I tend not to think. I've usually got a book in the CD player, so I'm thinking about it. Also, trying to let go of work stuff, so I'm not all wound up when I arrive home.

3) According to the calendar on my wall, it's still June because I never changed it to July or to August. Do you still use traditional calendars (or daily planners) or have you digitized your life into some sort of digital-based calendar?

I use Google Calendar, and a Mead paper planner, and a dry-erase calendar on the fridge.

4) What do you hope is in your "welcome basket" when you get to Heaven (assuming you'll be going to Heaven *** insert evil laugh ***)?

I doubt I'll need a Welcome Basket, but I'd take a map so I can find those who got there before me.

5) Today (Aug. 31) is National Trail Mix Day. If you were to create your own type of trail mix, what would be included in it?

I hate trail mix. What a horrible combination of tastes that shouldn't be in my mouth together! So my trail mix would be all nuts, or all candy, or all raisins.

6) Today is also Eat Outside Day. Do you enjoy going on outdoor picnics?

"Outdoor picnics"?? OK, yes, I do, but Beast doesn't. I have to laugh at the concept of an indoor picnic; because Sparky's birthday is in February--not a big picnic month in the Northern Hemisphere--when he was little, I'd throw a blanket on the floor in the living room, bring all the food for dinner out there with plastic plates and cutlery, and we'd eat there for his birthday.

7) Do you have a specific way to load your dishwasher? If so, if someone else loads it for you and does it a different way, do you get upset?

Hey, listen: if someone loads my dishwasher, and it all gets clean, I'm NOT complaining!! It would be great if they'd empty it too...

8) If there were four specific words written on your heart, what would they say?

"Act, Love Mercy, Walk."

9) If you could add an 11th Commandment, what would it be?

"Shut thy mouth and use thine ears."

10) Which of your five senses normally evokes the strongest memories in you?

My strongest memories are probably brought by smell.

Monday Mayhem

(Link in meme-roll)
...months of the year

January-
Many of us are stuck inside during the month of January. What is your favorite indoor activity?

This. lol OK, but really, most of my activities are indoors year round, so: reading, crosswords, internet, knitting (?), writing, etc.

February
Who will be your Valentine this year?

Better be Beast, or he's in some deep do-do.

March
In honor of St. Patrick's Day, what is your favorite green item?

Ahman [two links]

April
What in the funniest April Fool's Day joke that you can think of? It can be one that has been done or one that you'd love to hear about.

I'm not really into the whole April Fool's jokes thing. Sorry. I think it comes from having an older brother, and not liking having jokes played on me.

May
What's the best thing you can say about your mother?

Uhm. She was determined, and set the bar high for her kids.

June
What makes a father a good father?

Being there, in all the important ways. And, setting the bar (not impossibly) high.

July
What do you do to be patriotic?

I defend my country when it is unjustly maligned, and I try to make it better in the ways that it sucks.

August
What do you do when you feel lazy?

This. Which is why I'm online so much.

September
What is your fondest school memory?

Oh, there are just WAY too many of those! There's no way to pick just one, and then I'd have to add in some of Sparky's school stuff too. So, I guess, the moments when I realized teachers are people too?

October
What scares you?

Being unsure of myself. Which, really, is rather a circular answer, isn't it?

November
Describe your ideal family gathering.

Food, laughing till our stomachs hurt, maybe some games, no pressure, no schedule.

December
If you could give a very special gift to someone special, what would it be and who would you give it to?

I would love to be able to give people the gift of peace and contentment in their own skin.