CHRISTMAS QUESTIONNAIRE

Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Either. I do love hot chocolate, but never turn down egg nog. I do like to dilute egg nog just a bit with either milk or sprite.
Colored lights on the tree, or white?
White is really nice, but all of one color can look nice on a flocked tree, so I guess it depends....... but none of the multi-colored strands.
When do you put up your decorations?
Well, I don't have any up yet. I know, I know......It is just me here at my house and everytime I think about it it sounds like a lot of work and then if I don't put them up, I won't have any to take down and put away. Can we say LAZY! I usually do put them up although I only have one box. If it doesn't fit in that box, too bad. I don't have much room for storage. It really varies quite a bit from year to year, but I don't think they should ever go up before Thanksgiving.

What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
Cheese balls and egg nog. (Does that count?)
Favorite Holiday memory as a child:
Oh, there are many... but this one was memorable. There are 4 girls in my family and I guess that one year my dad was really tired of always shopping for barbies, dolls, etc. so they decided to switch things up a bit. We had a "boy" Christmas. Among other things we got 4x4 stompers, a racecar track & video games. We LOVED it, but we were not happy that my dad kept stealing all of our toys to play with. That had never been a problem in the past.
When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I don't remember for sure, but I think I was over at my grandparent's house and my older sister slipped and accidently said something that confirmed it. But I don't think that I was really surprised. I think I had suspected something.
Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
We used to have the family party for my mom's side of the family on Christmas Eve or a day or two before. All the cousins drew names for presents and we got to open that present and any from my grandparents, etc. No I pretty much save them all for Christmas Morning.
How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
What tree?
Snow! Love it or dread it?
It depends.... I love it when it snows a bunch and then the sun comes out and dries up the roads. I think snow with sun is beautiful. I don't however enjoy driving in white knuckle conditions, but I don't know that I dread it. I do like my winter wardrobe better than that of the summer. I love layering with turtlenecks, sweaters, etc.
Can you ice skate?
I am going to go with a "no" on this one. If my life was dependant upon me straping blades to my feet and making it across a frozen lake, I could probably manage it, but no graceful triple toe loops or anything.
Do you remember your favorite gift?
Two that stand out were my two Cabbage Patch Kids......

I had (still have) a boy with curly blonde hair (Timothy Spencer) and a preemie girl (Jeanie Jerri).

I also received a pair of white Girbaud jeans one year. No only did I think I was cool wearing Girbaud jeans, but they were the best fitting pair of jeans I have ever had!
What's the most important thing about the holidays for you?
Spending time with family and remembering the birth of the Savior.
What is your favorite holiday dessert?
Pomegranate/Cinnamon Jello salad with real whipping cream.
Candy canes! Yuck or Yum?
YUM!
Ever recycled a Christmas present?
Guilty.

"THE FORGOTTEN CAROLS"

Years ago I was given a CD of Michael McLean's "The Forgotten Carols." Although there are a couple of songs on the CD that I always skip (they kind of bug me), there are many that I love! I LOVE Christmas music and it was nice to have some "new" songs to add to my music library.

I also believe that music can bring a spirit that often words can not bring, try as they may.

Every year I kept telling myself that I was going to got to the performance of "The Forgotten Carols" and year after year, I got busy, never got around to finding someone to go with, etc. and I never went. So this year I was bound and determined to make it even if I even if I had to attend by myself.

This year I found a friend to go with and we went this last Thursday. It was a lot different than I had anticipated, but it was really good.
I am soooo grateful for people in this world that are blessed with great talent and that choose to share that talent with the world for us to enjoy. I would LOVE to be able to play the piano like Michael McLean.

GO UTES!! WE'RE GOING "BOWL"ING

Growing up I was never much of a football fan, I think it was mostly because I didn't understand the game; downs, rules, penalties, etc.

Then after 2 of my sisters got married, Debra & I were often the only ones at home with the parents on holidays. My dad and Debra seemed to always be watching football. At that point, I decided that if I didn't want to be left out, I needed to learn all about football, so that I too could watch and enjoy the sport. I apologize to all of those that I have annoyed by asking so many questions, often times in the middle of some intense plays.

FLASH FORWARD - 2008.............For a couple of years now I have really enjoyed watching football. I still don't think I can tell you who is a tight end and who is a wide receiver out there on the field, and I don't know all of the penalities etc., but for now, I know enough.

So the big game (BYU/Utah) was on Saturday and I had been invited over to a friend's house to watch the game with some other people. I showed up all decked out in my Utah red with my "red" licorice, but unbeknownst (I think that is a word) to me, I was the only Utah fan there. Everyone else had there BYU Quest t-shirts on and were all talking smack about how the Cougars were going to win.

I don't talk smack......I have been served some humble pie one too many times, so I just sat there and watched the game. I was definitely cheering when the Utes scored, caught some interceptions, etc., but I tried not to be too obnoxious. Needless to say I was thrilled with the outcome! 48 - 24

FAMILY BONDING

Last Wednesday my sister Debra flew in from Minneapolis to attend a friend's wedding down in Southern Utah.

I picked her up at the airport and we had a "sleep-over" at my house and then drove down to Richfield on Thursday. It was great to see her and we always have so much fun together. Spending time with family is the best!

I LOVE to play games (with the exception of "dating games" Ü) and do puzzles. My family will usually play games with me, but it is rare occassion if I can find anyone (other than my 6-year old niece, Carlee) to work on a puzzle with me. Well, this weekend, my parents introduced me to a new game, BLOKUS. It is very fun. It is unfortunate that while online getting a picture of this game I discovered a free online version. www.blokus.com. It is pretty addicting. There goes my productivity!

"I TOLD YOU SO"

For those of you that have not been with my blog from the beginning......one of my very first posts was a disclaimer/warning that alerted readers of this very thing. Not only is my life not exciting enough to provide enough material for frequent blog posts, but I am not creative enough to fill in the gaps when life is boring.
I apologize to all of you who check up on my blog and are tired of seeing the same thing day after day with no new updates. I want to say that I will try to do better, and I will try, but I know myself well enough that despite my best efforts, it will most likely not happen.