Christmas Meme, Thanks to Liz

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Gift bags. Paper is wasteful and too much work.
2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial - easier to convince the dogs not to pee on it and the cat not to climb it.
3. When do you put up the tree? When I figure out where in my clutter I have room for a tree...
4. When do you take the tree down? The weekend after New Year's.
5. Do you like eggnog? No.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? My brittany spaniel Lady. It was the typical puppy with the bow on her neck. Perfect. As an adult, Simon proposing to me at Manchester Airport.
7. Hardest person to buy for? Simon.
8. Easiest person to buy for? No one really, a lot of thought goes into all of them.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Not at home, no.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Email except for the card exchange with my greyhound group.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? My ex husband gave me a chain for my glasses so I wouldn't lose them one year for Christmas. No joke.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Love Actually.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? After second payday in December. Not terribly organized, I know.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yep.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Little Debbie Gingerbread Cakes.
16. Lights on the tree? Yes please.
17. Favorite Christmas song? I'm not that into Christmas music.
18. Travel at Christmas or stay at home? Travel. None of my family can stand my animals for very long so I have to go to them.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Yes.
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Nothing to open until Christmas morning really.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Radio stations that play nothing but Christmas music from the first of November onward.
23. What theme or color are you using? Isn't red and green the theme?
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Honey baked ham.
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Simon and me in the same country.

That's Her Uberness, to You.

Via Email and Amy

Liz, Sooz, and the other one or two readers of my blog, you're up!!

1. Coolest birthday you remember: Probably last year's birthday, because the first person to wish me happy birthday was Simon...even though he was five hours ahead of me when it struck midnight and became my birthday.

2. Do you prefer hosting parties or attending as a guest? Oh totally attending as a guest, just don't make me talk to people I don't know.

3. What color is your bedroom? Off white with a dash of dog and cat hair for color.

4. Do you and your man have a song? What tune makes you swoon? We do in fact, several. "My First, My Last, My Everything" by Barry White, "All I Want for Christmas is You" from Love Actually (NOTNOTNOT the Mariah version, bleh), and "Run" by Snow Patrol.

5. What were/will be your wedding colors? Would you change them? First time around the bridesmaids were in navy blue and the flowers were yellow/white roses. Probably would keep it the same if we were having a big wedding, but I think it will be just whatever folks want to wear this time...except for short sleeve Tshirts, Mr. Dunne!

6. Ever sneak out of the house or host a wild bash while the 'rents were away? What's your wild child tale? I was a pretty tame kid really. Hard to be wild when everyone in the town not only knows you're the preacher's daughter but also knows the preacher!!

7. You just won the lottery! Do you stash your cash or pass the bucks? What are the first 3 things you'd do?

1. Pay off my debt.

2. Buy a house in Athens, Georgia.

3. Start a savings fund for my future kids' future plans.

8. You oughta' be in pictures...which actress stars as you in a movie of your life's story? When I was younger it would have to be Molly Ringwald (when she was younger). Come to think of it, she could still play me now if I'd remember to get hair dye when I go to the grocery.

9. What's your go-to meal for quick comfort? A nice curry with chicken on a pile of basmati rice...or a rainbow roll from a real sushi restaurant.

10. Everyone has ups and downs. What's your hardest learned lesson? That you shouldn't see the extra money in the bank as an opportunity to spend.

11. What advice would you give to 18 year-old you? Double major in something like English or History or Education and if someone offers you a car built by Renault say NO.

12. Favorite board game: Trivial Pursuit. I am a font of useless knowledge.

13. Dish it! What's your "me time" guilty pleasure? Sitting at the computer, playing...World of Warcraft. What? Shut up, it keeps me from killing people in real life.

14. What's one thing you'd like to learn to do in 2008? Belly dance. Seriously.

A Holiday Meme...a HoMe? MeHo?

(because Liz told me to...)

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Gift bags. My parents used to have to help me cover my books with grocery bags in high school so if you think I'm able to wrap a gift alone you're insane. Oh yeah, and they're green too...

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial. The dogs are less likely to wee on it.

3. When do you put up the tree? The weekend after my birthday...and Mary Catherine's birthday.

4. When do you take the tree down? Generally just after New Year's but this year it will be up until 8th January or longer because I'll be in the UK till the 7th.

5. Do you like egg nog? No. You shouldn't drink eggs and what on earth is nog? Relegated to the fruitcake category.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Probably Lady, a brittany spaniel that I got instead of the parrot I'd asked Santa to bring. Interestingly enough, Santa replied to my note in my Daddy's handwriting explaining why I didn't need a parrot. He is magical, I tell ya...

7. Do you have a nativity scene? My parents have one. It's a tradition for my sister (the minister, mind you) to put Baby Jesus on top of the stable. She's not right, that one...

8. Hardest person to buy for? Dave and Sooz.

9. Easiest person to buy for? The dogs, because they would love an old shoe!

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Thank you for reminding me! They will make it by Easter at least...

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? That's a hard one to answer...

12. Favorite Christmas movie? National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. "Pass me some of them potatoes, Clark, they are gooooooooo-ooooood!"

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? After my second paycheck in December.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes indeedy.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Those little white mints with the green and red sprinkles on them that my mother always has in abundance all over the kitchen...

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Colored but it was an accident.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Wizards of Winter by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra at the moment. But I think for traditional ones O Come, O Come Emmanuel is a favorite.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Well, they aren't going to come to me, so...

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star, compliments of Mom, Daddy, and Target.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning, of course...Santa hasn't brought anything Christmas Eve, silly.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Not being able to spend Christmas with my furry family. I miss them so much when I travel. But when everyone I'm visiting is either allergic or doesn't allow animals in the house (or both), I'm stuck.

23. Favorite dessert after Christmas dinner? Coconut cake. No kidding.

24. What do you want for Christmas this year? To see everyone that I love.

25. Old fashioned lights or icicle lights on your house? I would have just white lights around the columns and in the bushes (with some garland around the columns) but I ran out of Decorate The House Money.

Because I haven't done one of these in awhile...

What Classic Bombshell Are You?

Audrey Hepburn A Classical Beauty, thats what you are!

How do you compare? Take this test! | Tests from Testriffic

Not to mention the fact that she is my idol...that didn't hurt a bit!

She's Home and So Is My Heart

There was a huge hole in my heart when Profile died. He was such a big part of my life. I wanted to just curl up in my bed and never get up again. But something miraculous happened the first week of March that has given me back my Home and taped up the shattered bits of my heart. Two somethings actually.

Just in time. Thank you Daisy for filling the hole in my pack and my heart that Profile left gaping. I'm sure he would have loved playing with you. And Simon? Well, ta. Just ta.

Reflections on a Month

For the past four weeks, I have been the only interpreter at the hospital. (Now to be fair, I was gone for five working days in the middle, so technically it's only been three weeks.) Today, in honor of surviving that month without a single fatality or screamingly huge contract interpreter bill (well, other than the week I was gone but I digress), I wore a striped shirt and tennis shoes along with my jeans for Casual Friday.

For those scratching heads at the moment, interpreters tend to NOT wear stripes or plaid or anything other than solid, non-distracting, colors that contrast with one's skin tone.

There were days that I didn't sit down but once or twice all day. There were days that I was literally ready to fall asleep while actively interpreting just because I was so tired. Some days I could spell trazadone but couldn't spell my name. But it's over and Brian will be back on Monday.

I've learned that I know myself pretty well when it comes to my job. My flat out refusal to interpret anything longer than 45 minutes without a team interpreter does not come from laziness, as I'd feared, but rather from the fact that the message DOES indeed suffer when my brain and hands start to tire.

I've learned that I'm not as afraid of my job as I thought recently. It's hard to be worried that you're going to get socked in the teeth when you're running 90 to nothing all day long. Just doesn't occur to you.

I've learned that I really love interpreting and really don't want to do anything else. Ever. I don't want to be a teacher or a psychologist or a social worker or a secretary or anything...I like what I do, I know how to do what I do, and I feel that I do it pretty darn well.

I think I've earned a sick day next week...

A Christmas Meme from Gracious Light

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Hot Choc, specifically the hazelnut kind from Tar--jay. Yum.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Yes. :)

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
White for both, but colored is quite festive.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
Nah, too much pressure. I'm more about the sneak attack.

5. When do you put your decorations up?
Um, this weekend, hopefully?

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?
Either my mom's homemade Andes Candies or my Aunt Mary's fudge.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child?
All of it, from Thanksgiving till New Year's.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
Some kid in I think fourth grade told me, so on the ride home from school I asked Mom point blank and she didn't lie. She said that Santa was a creation of the good feelings that we have toward each other all year that manifest at Christmas and that he reminded us of the gift God gave us in Jesus. All that wisdom, so eloquently stated, and all I could manage to think was how fast I was gonna tell my sister so that I wasn't the only one whose Christmas was ruined. Mom knew me well enough to remind me to let my sister ask for herself and not tell her just yet...

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
No, I'm generally at home with the dogs alone so it's kinda anti climactic.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
White lights and colored lights and ornaments...each of which has a significance and a story. Just ask my ex husband. He heard every one of them for 7 Christmases.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
Love it if it's real snow and not the icy wanna be we get in the south.

12. Can you ice skate?
Yes and did I mention there is an ICE RINK at the MALL here? Wooooooooo!

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
My puppy called Lady.

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Being able to show the people I love how important they are to me since I'm one of those that can't remember to do it all year long.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
I have to pick one?

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
My sister putting the baby Jesus from the nativity on top of the barn.

17. What tops your tree?
An angel.

18.Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
Giving.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
Carol of the Bells or Silent Night by Manheim Steamroller.

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?
Yum.

Happy Monday

Daisy
Originally uploaded by NanLassiter.

This picture, taken probably two years ago now, is one of my favourites of Daiz. She looks like such a happy puppy. I need some of that happy for today. How do you get going on bleary Monday mornings?

Checklist for Procrastination

1. Sew the patch on Kim's shirt.
2. Mail the shirt with the patch and the shirt from Mountain Hounds to Kim.
3. Mail a copy of Blind Faith to Suzie.
4. Pick up leg quarters at Publix for the dogs.
5. Pick up toys off the guest room floor left by the dogs.
6. Pack for my mad overnight crazy trip to Montgomery tomorrow.
7. Pack for my awesome wonderful trip to the UK coming up in a week and a half.

Holy Smack, a week and a half.

8. Pack my house up to move to Montgomery.
9. Take lots of naps.
10. Return the Frontline plus for dogs up to 22lbs to the vet in exchange for the 50-100lbs variety...or for 11 more tubes because one of those might cover one of my dogs' legs.
11. Pick up the third interceptor tablet from the vet that they didn't put in the bag yesterday.
12. Take Franny and Hunky to the vet on Saturday after the mad overnight crazy trip to Montgomery is over.
13. Pray really hard that Franny will come back home with me from the vet on Saturday.
14. Breathe, and then take more naps.

Man...

Counting Down...

In 19 days I will leave my precious hounds with my friends, then kiss my kitties on their furry noggins and beg them not to make craft projects out of my carpet and drapes.

In 19 days I leave Greenville to go to Austell, GA, to my sister and BIL's house.

In 21 days I will board a plane for London (overnight flight).

In 22 days I will land in London and board another plane for Edinburgh.

In 23 days I will fly back to London from Edinburgh and spend the next 6 days there.

In one month I will be spending my last day working for the SC Department of Mental Health.

In one month and two weeks, I will be starting my first day with the Alabama Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation.

In the 30 seconds required to post this, I've realized that if I make it to September 18th alive, it will be a bloody miracle.

The 11th thing out of the Top 10

...things that suck about insomnia...

Being wide awake and realizing that you've run out of your nightime/sleep meds...

I do have a new vacuum cleaner, however, so maybe some light housework is in order. I'm not giving up yet though, it's not even midnight. The night is still young.

My inner sagittarian is intrigued...

Horoscopes For Today: 6/17/2006
Any discouraging signs you've been seeing lately shouldn't get you down -- the road you're on has quite a few twists and turns, and you need to be ready to take them as they come. Things are way better than you think right now, so what's with this cloud of gloom and doom? Flush it out with a healthy dose of good humor and you can get back on track with a brighter attitude. You are much closer to your goal than you realize, so keep on going.

A bit of fun, stolen from Mary's LJ

1. Pick 25 of your favourite movies.
2. Then pick one of your favorite quote/s from each movie.
3. Post the quotes in your journal(or in my case, blog).
4. Have those on your friends list try to guess what the movie is (or just post it in comments).

1. "Do you know what an older woman does for me?" "Changes your diapers?"
2. "I know this is detention, but I don't think I belong in HERE."
3. "You could just hang with me and my dudes, and just be you." "Sounds major."
4. "Oh, come on, ladies. God wouldn't have given you maracas if He didn't want you to shake 'em!!"
5. "Why did you have to be so wonderful?" (that one's for mah Thug)
6. "I ask for so little. Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave."
7. "I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tommorrow."
8. "Oh, double doo-doo! One of my diamonds just fell in the macaroni!"
9. "That's it, the nose goes. Bandstand, here I come!" (that one's for Sooz)
10. "We made a deal when I was seven and a half and night life was The Muppet Show!"
11. "He's gonna be a fry cook at Venus!"
12. "Prepare ship for ludicrous speed! Fasten all seatbelts, seal all entrances and exits, close all shops in the mall, cancel the three ring circus, secure all animals in the zoo!"
13. "Listen, strange women lyin' in ponds distributin' swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony."
14. "Well, obviously it's not meant to be taken literally; it refers to any manufacturers of dairy products."
15. "I'm afraid I have no choice but to sell you all for scientific experiments."
16. "My darling girl, when are you going to understand that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage!"
17. "You can't just buy me a guitar every time you screw up, you know." "Yeah I know. But then you know there's always drums, and bass, and maybe even one day a tambourine."
18. "The story its happening to us now. We're living it. It's alive, its real, its breathing. And we could give it a happy ending."
19. "Uhhh... were you robbed?" "Funny really, yes, but at the same time a huge resounding no. It's more of an... involuntary vow of poverty... really."
20. "Cindy, this is a skeleton, this is bones! Would you run from Callista Flockheart?"
21. "Uh, is there a little girl's room in the hall?" "Oui oui, Madame." "No, I just have to powder my nose."
22. "What's that sound? You hear it? It's a funny squeaky sound." "You couldn't hear a dump truck driving through a nitroglycerin plant."
23. "Are you happy now, Clark? She's dead!"
24. "Wow dad, we must have gone like 50 yards." "Nothing to be proud of Russ..." "... 50 yards..."
25. "Now you take that diaper off your head and you put it back on your sister!"

"I've learned something today..."

I am the queen of useless worry. It's almost as though I think that through worrying over something I can change the outcome of the situation. Seriously. I think maybe it's because I watched so much sit com television growing up...everything works out by the end of the half hour, so maybe subconsciously I think that if I worry for 29 minutes that everything will work out in minute 30 and I can relax.

Case in Point: my bank account. I never have enough money...I know, who doesn't? But I've had a lot of trouble since separating from Scott managing to have enough money for everything that I need money for (see application that has been sent to higher paying job in Alabama...) at the time that I need it AND being able to save any money. Couple that problem with my overabundance of worry genes and you can see the storm on the horizon.

Lightning strike number one came when I got home from Tennessee last night and checked my bank balance. I ADORE the online banking option with my bank...it really has done a lot for helping me manage my money because I can see how much I have at any given time, including how much will be left when pending transactions clear. I checked last night and there was a charge in the pending column that was almost $300 that I had NO recollection of making.

Now before you start thinking that I bought some outrageous pair of shoes or a new outfit...I don't do that. I buy my clothes at Walmart and Target. I balk if the tag says anything higher than the $10-15 mark, and at that mark it had better be a two piece suit or a buy one/get one free. I recently got a purse from Walmart.com and when it came today I considered sending it back because I still have life in my old threadbare back-killer that looks like a saddlebag AND it would be $22 that would be back in my account in case I need dog food or gas or cat meds or something.

I used to be absolutely AWFUL about spending money. Ask my soon-to-be-ex-husband, he'll tell you. I'd get things just because they were on sale. Not so much anymore. I'd spend hours on eBay and feel so stoked that I'd "won" the right to give someone else my hard earned money. I barely visit eBay these days.

Anyway, back to the mystery charge. I sent an email to my bank this morning flipping out that the charge was still there AND that I couldn't see who would be getting 1/3 of my paycheck. All I could imagine was how my rent check was going to bounce...that I only had enough dog food for 3 more meals in the freezer...that I had only enough bottled water for about another day for me...that I would need gas money by Thursday...that I didn't get paid again until the 16th...it was bad, y'all. So bad, in fact, that I did what all those suffering from what my groovy one-time therapist Neil called "situational depression" (the kind that isn't really treatable by meds, but more effectively by ridding oneself of the thing or person causing it) do in lieu of being able to change the situation at hand...I took a two hour nap.

When I dragged myself out of bed and fed the poor puppers their unfortunately still frozen dinners, I realized that it was Profile's birthday. Number 11. I sat with him on the sofa and held a Frosty Paws doggie ice cream for him to eat, not telling him that I'd had it in the freezer since Jeany's birthday in April. The old thoughts started coming back...I can't afford these dogs...I'm not being fair to them or the cats...he should have fresh ice cream on his birthday...and yes, I know that they don't know the difference...

So I finally did something proactive...the bank hadn't emailed me back so I called their customer service line.

Did I mention that I love my bank?

The charge in question is from the hotel where I stayed last weekend. They charge the card used to make the reservation when you check in, and if you don't make changes as you check out it just stays as is. Well...we made changes and split the bill, and that charge showed up as well. The wonderful person I talked to said that they would settle up the account tonight, and if when they checked with the hotel the charge was not removed that they would dispute it. "We will get this taken care of and off your account, Ms. Lassiter," she assured me. I wanted to hug her.

So what did I learn? That I can be proactive, and that I can take care of myself. My animals have food in their stomachs. I have a check on the way from a free lance job I did last month that will help some. I won't be negative (at least I don't think I will) before payday. It will be okay, even if the job in Alabama doesn't work out.

I learned that I need to work on my patience, and that if I do, everything will work out at the end of the half hour.

Another BlogThing Quiz and a Bit of Nostalgia

Arty Kid

Whether you were a drama freak or an emo poet, you definitely were expressive and unique. You're probably a little less weird these days - but even more talented!

Who Were You In High School?

This quiz struck me because last week I got a phone call from one of my dearest friends from high school, Sean...fellow Artsy Freaky Kid.

Remember Pretty in Pink? Sean was Duckie to my Andie. In fact, I still call him Duckie. He is probably one of the most sentimental men I know, and he remembers EVERY minute of high school like he had some kind of betamax recorder running in his head from 1984-1989. The reason he called, though, was to see if I remembered something from the years right after high school and I am mortified to admit that when he asked me, I couldn't remember.

My freshman year of college Sean joined the Air Force. Shortly thereafter he was sent to the Gulf as part of Desert Shield. I still remember my mother calling me at Camp Glisson where I was working to tell me that Sean had been sent overseas. Suddenly everything was too real and too bright and we were adults and high school was over. Everything was not going to go back to being okay at the end of the half hour like it did on TV. My Duckie was on the other side of the world, and there might be people shooting at him.

One night, in the middle of the night, my phone rang in my dorm room at Young Harris. It was Sean, calling me from the Persian Gulf somewhere! Bless his heart, he had to listen to me cry for the first few minutes, I was so happy to hear from him. We decided that at night, even though we were so far apart, that we would look up at the moon and look for the closest star that we saw and that would be our star. That way it wouldn't seem so far away. Bless his heart, he was trying, I think, to calm down his hysterical friend who was not dealing with his deployment with any kind of grace or sanity...

And THAT is what he asked if I remembered last week when he called. And I didn't. And I am mortified and embarrassed that something that wonderful had slipped my mind. I am so proud of Sean now...he is still in the Air Force, thank GOODNESS he's still at home and not deployed again. He has a wonderful wife that he worships and two beautiful children.

So to my Artsy Fartsy Friend Duckie...thanks for reminding me...I'll be looking for that star and remembering that I'm not alone...and that somewhere out there, you've got a chicken salad lid ready to put in a prop box, a Levi's 501 commercial to sing in four part harmony, and a little yellow pickup truck just waiting to give me a ride around to the front of the school. See? I do remember some things...

What Kind of Soul Are You?

Thanks to Kalyne for the linky...

You Are a Visionary Soul

You are a curious person, always in a state of awareness. Connected to all things spiritual, you are very connected to your soul. You are wise and bright: able to reason and be reasonable. Occasionally, you get quite depressed and have dark feelings. You have great vision and can be very insightful. In fact, you are often profound in a way that surprises yourself. Visionary souls like you can be the best type of friend. You are intuitive, understanding, sympathetic, and a good healer. Souls you are most compatible with: Old Soul and Peacemaker Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?