Wednesday HodgePodge

Wednesday HodgePodge is hosted by Joyce at From This Side of the Pond!  Come on over and have some fun!  :o)

1. Share your Christmas Eve traditions.

Honestly, we really don't have any.  Getting together with both sides of the family at Christmas has morphed into it being spread across Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so the tradition at this point is to just spend it with someone!  Hubby and I usually do our gift exchange on Christmas Eve because going here and there for Christmas can be hectic.

2. What was the best book you read in 2010? (we're not going to include The Bible here)

I'm actually working on a list of my top 10 books of 2010, which I'll post some time next week, and there's no way I can pick just one! 

3. Do you have pets and if so do you allow them on the furniture?

We have 2 dogs--Dasher and Bella--and boy, can they be a handful!  Dasher is a male Chinese Crested Powderpuff that came to live with us July 2007.  It was really a fluke how we managed to get him, too.  See, hubby's parents also have a CCP (her name is Dancer), and she and Dasher were both part of the same litter of 8 dogs (all named after the reindeer) born December 21, 2005.  Hubby's parents have had Dancer since Christmas 2006, and by that time, the breeders had found homes for all the dogs.  So, when summertime rolls around the next year, hubby's mom gets a call asking if she knows anyone that would want one of the dogs from the same litter.  Hubby and I didn't have any pets at that time, and they were giving Dasher away, so we said we'd take him.  That dog just wormed his way right into our hearts, and he is definitely part of the family!

Bella is our other dog, and she's what we call a chug--half pug/half chihuahua.  Fall of 2008 we decided that Dasher needed a buddy, so we got in touch with one of the pet rescue organizations in our area, and she was available.  We had a trial run with her for a week, and my initial thought was that she and Dasher were never going to get along.  By the end of the week, I was honestly ready to send her back.  Dasher decided that last day that he liked her....so we kept her, too!  :o)  And no....she was not named after the Twilight movies (don't know why we get asked that all the time).

As for the rest of the question....  No, we don't let them get up on our furniture unless there's a blanket or something for them to lay on.  We got new living room furniture last year, and I'd like to keep it looking nice (and free of dog hair) for as long as possible!

4. What event from 2010 are you most thankful for?

I'm thankful that hubby made it through his appendectomy with no complications.  Neither of us has ever had any kind of major surgery, and that was an experience that I don't want to go through again any time soon!

5. What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before.

Bought a brand new car.

6. Brussel sprouts...friend or foe?

Foe!

7. Who would you nominate for man/woman of the year?

I haven't the slightest idea.  I can think of a few people that shouldn't be nominated....does that count? 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I'll be cooking a ham for the first time this weekend, and I pray that I don't screw it up!!  I wouldn't feel quite so stressed about it if the directions hadn't disappeared somewhere between my grocery cart and my house.  (Seriously, they were there attached to that netting stuff when I put that ham in my cart, and the netting and price tag were gone when I unloaded my groceries...how does that happen!?!?!)  I'm also cooking a turkey and a chicken, but I have experience with those, thankfully.  :o) 

If you'd like to help me out with my ham predicament, please visit this post (link).

Wednesday Hodge Podge

1. What does it mean to have the 'holiday spirit'?  For me, it means that my life would be so very different if Christmas did not exist.  I know scientists have proven all this mumbo-jumbo that Jesus was not born in the winter, but still, we celebrate his birth this time of the year.  If he had not come into this world to save me, there would be no reason for me to have the "holiday spirit" and celebrate Christmas each year.  Sure, it's nice to go shopping and exchange gifts, eat 'til we can't eat any more, and decorate 'til the cows come home, but all of that is show and fluff.  Jesus really is the reason for the season.


2. What sits atop your tree(s)? Why?  Well, right now it's a beautiful blue angel reminding me that the Angels came to announce the birth of Christ.  When my husband has his way on Christmas day when his parents come to visit, the angel will (unfortunately) be replaced by a Yoda tree topper that his mother saw fit to give him last year.  I'm tellin' ya...there is just no escapin' Star Wars in my house.

3. When was the last time you gave yourself a pat on the back?  Probably after I finished putting up the tree!

4. Which of your senses is most sensitive this time of year?  This year?  My sense of sight since I just got over a case of pinkeye last week...most miserable thing I've ever been through in my life.  It wouldn't have been so bad if it had just been the pinkeye because I had that under control.  But no, my eyelids saw fit to swell up to (at least) triple their size, and it was very uncomfortable.  Thankfully, that was over by week's end, and all is well again. 

But if we're talking about which sense is hightened normally, it would have to be smell.  I love all the Christmas potpourri options--the cinnamon, vanilla, pine (on some occasions)--not to mention the scents of everything cooking (well, baking, mostly). 
5. What do you have too much of in your kitchen?  At the moment, flatware.  Hubs and I just bought a new service for 8 which was 53 total pieces, and we haven't yet cleaned out the drawer of the old flatware that needed replacement....I don't even know how many pieces are in there!

6. What do you do for meals on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day? Big meal? Breakfast tradition? Open the cookie tins and have at it?  Lately, it's been something different every year.  Usually, I cook for Thanksgiving, and have everyone over to our house from my side and hubby's side of the family.  That didn't happen this year since we went out of town, so my Thanksgiving spread will now be on Christmas Eve with my family coming over.  Christmas Day will be spent with hubby's folks, and who knows when or what we'll eat.  If it's brunch like we did last year, I may have to start up the oven for some homemade cinnamon rolls....something that I seem to have become known for this past year.

7. What is the best thing about winter?  Clothes!  Well, for me, at least.  :o)  Most of my really cute clothes are for cold weather, so I love when I can pull out all my sweaters, and go to town for 3 to 4 months!  And thankfully, where I live, we don't really get the full winter experience with snow and such regularly....just the cold temps....so, me and my closet full of warm clothes get along just fine!  :o)

8. Insert your own random thought here.  Can't wait until later on today when I get my BBQ on!  It's our Christmas lunch/party today at work, and I love me some BBQ!  I think there might be some pecan pie off to the side somewhere, too...... We ladies also do an ornament exchange every year, and it's always lots of fun.  :o)

Wednesday Hodge Podge

Wednesday Hodge Podge is weekly meme from Joyce at From This Side of the Pond.  First time for me.  ;o)

1. Have you ever been on a real sleigh ride? How about the warm weather version-a carriage ride?

No, never been on a sleigh ride, but I would love to go on one!  We don't get a lot of snow in my area, so I'd probably have to go up north for the opportunity.  :o)  I went on a carriage ride once when I was in high school.  Nice experience, but way over-priced.

2. What's your policy on 'chain mail'...you know, the emails you receive that are often some sort of poem/blessing/good wish that ask you to send it on to 10 or 12 friends? Do you delete without opening, read and trash, read and trash and then worry you won't be blessed/lucky/protected? Do you delete the sender from your contact list or just go ahead and send the love onward?

I delete them every single time.  I've even told the senders that I don't read them, but it doesn't stop them from showing up in my inbox.  I think deleting the sender from my contact list is a little extreme, especially if they send other things to me that I'd like to know about. 

3. Who is your favorite character in any of the Christmas movies and why? 

Lately, it's been Joseph's character from The Nativity Story.  I do not think they could've cast anyone better for this movie because the way he shows his love and care to Mary takes my breath away.  Here's a clip from the movie that I love, and if you haven't seen the movie yet, I highly recommend that you do!

4. Share a favorite quote.

Shoot for the moon. If you miss it, you will land among the stars. 

5. What's your favorite holiday scent?

Oh, there's a lot to choose from!  This year, I have a particular fascination with cinnamon scents.  :o)

6. Does the Christmas season stress you out? In what way?

Sometimes it does, so I really have to watch myself that I don't get frustrated!  It seems like everyone's REAL personality comes out during the holidays, so I remind myself to just go with the flow.  :o)  Last year was particularly stressful for me because my aunt was planning a wedding for Christmas Eve, and she decided to sign me up to help!  Oh, and to be the maid of honor!  What a crazy day that was...not only because of the wedding, but because of the car accident I had on the way.  You can read more about that here.

7. What's the best thing about your life right now?
That this case of pinkeye I've had this week will not last forever!  I'm on the downhill slide of recovery, I think.  :o)

8. Insert your own random thought here.

It won't be long until the Inspy Award winners will be announced, so stay tuned to find out which author won for the Amish fiction category...there were some really great books nominated!