...I stole this from Stacy. :o)

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Hot chocolate, definitely! Egg nog?? Ick!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Wrap almost always - unless it's something huge.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
I'm in between - my lights are red, green and white (I love Target!).

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
Yup - fake, though. :o)

5. When do you put your decorations up?
I start on Veterans' Day weekend - stop screaming! - I have a 9-foot tree that I decorate by myself, usually (unless I con someone into visiting). It has to be done in stages, people! I usually finish the weekend before Thanksgiving but I don't turn the tree on until after.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
Although not, technically, a holiday dish - chicken and dumplings is my favorite, I think. We only seem to have it at a large family gathering of some sort so...

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child:
Hmmm...I'll agree with Stacy on this one. Watching all the TV specials - especially Rudolph and Charlie Brown.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I don't think I understand the question...what truth about Santa?

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Yup! Usually pajamas. LOL

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
Did I mention it is a 9-footer?? LOL It has to be systematic, peeps! Furniture has to be moved, carpets rolled up, then the ladders come in and I'm off!

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
Love it when it starts on Christmas Eve and keeps going all the next day! The rest of the year, no thanks!

12. Can you ice skate?
Well, I have...and I didn't injure myself or anyone else. But I've only been, like, twice. I'm in the South, you know. ;-)

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
At the moment, no...I'll ponder.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
I love going home and hanging out with the family. It just wouldn't be Christmas without all the visiting.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
I love to bake Christmas cookies but I don't eat many of them (I get tired of them while I'm baking)...but my favorite to eat is my mom's sour cream pound cake - Christmas or any other time! Yummy!!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
The big family get-together. It's usually a few days after Christmas - but ever so festive!

17. What tops your tree?
Ariella Angelfrost. :o) Boyd's Bear topper - blonde bear in a red velvet dress with white fur trim and white wings. She's so pretty.

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving?
Both!! Nothing better than finding exactly the right gift for someone - unless someone finds exactly the right gift for me!

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
Traditional - O Holy Night; other - Santa Baby and All I Want for Christmas is You

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?
Yum!

Anyone else want to play??

Labels: holiday, meme

A new holiday look!!
:o)

Edited to say - it's here!!!

o<]:->

Labels: tinkering

Since this has been floating around, I'll play too. :o) It's one of the few things I can do on my PC while the iBook is in the shop getting a bigger hard drive (oh, the pain! I miss it so!!!!).

5 Yummy things:
1. My mom's fried chicken
2. Chocolate mousse
3. French fries
4. Ben & Jerry's vanilla caramel fudge ice cream
5. Sour cream pound cake

5 Songs I Know by Heart:
1. the whole Carpenters' Christmas album (no rudeness about the Carpenters, please - best Christmas album EVER!)
2. Part of Your World from the Little Mermaid
3. No Sleep Tonight
4. Over the Rainbow
5. Sin Wagon

5 things I'd do with a lot of money:
1. Sail around the world
2. Buy a beach house
3. Buy a beach house for parents (well, my mom would like it so...)
4. Buy a flea market for my dad
5. Quit my job and never look back :o) (that should be at the top of the list, yes?)

5 places I would escape to:
1. the Caribbean
2. the Mediterranean (yeah, I just got back...so?)
3. Tahiti
4. Australia
5. Iceland

5 things I would never wear:
1. Daisy Duke's (seriously, no one should wear these!)
2. bell bottoms (see comment above)
3. lame' (have you noticed that without the accent mark it reads LAME??? Do I need to say more?)
4. tube tops
5. platform shoes (I've made peace with my height, thank you)

5 favorite TV shows:
1. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
2. Gilmore Girls
3. Boston Legal
4. Lost
5. Grey's Anatomy

5 things I enjoy doing:
1. reading
2. watching TV
3. traveling
4. baking
5. playing on the internet

5 favorite toys:
1. iBook
2. iPod
3. DVR
4. digital camera
5. PDA

Anybody else who wants to play - have at it!

Labels: entertainment, meme

I believe I may have mentioned how much I love a Jules Cassidy (a character from Suzanne Brockmann's Troubleshooter series). :o) Everybody has a supporting character or two that they love and want to see more of, eventually in his or her own book...well, Jules is one of mine!

Anywho, in Suz's most recent newletter, she had the cover flap copy for her next book "Force of Nature" - coming to a bookstore near you, Summer 2007 - and no, this isn't Jules' book...but his is next! Yeah baby!! Anyway, the important part of the cover copy:

But in the course of his investigation, he comes face to face with
Robin Chadwick, the charismatic but self-destructive, closeted movie star for
whom Jules still feels a powerful attraction. Robin's in town promoting his
latest film --

And a bit more:

With Robin and Jules's help, Ric and Annie (the heroine and hero)
are soon entrenched inside Burns's organization,
surrounded by killers who may already have executed an FBI
infiltrator. Before long they realize that many more lives than just their own
will be at stake if they make a false move. As the heat rises, so do the
risks they're willing to take -- in the line of duty, for the sake of loyalty, and
in the name of something that runs even deeper.

So, not only do Jules and Robin meet up face to face BUT they work together on the investigation! WOOT!! And Suz has hinted pretty heavily that Jules' book will be next...however she manages to get it out. She has said that her publisher is open and supportive of Jules having a book of his own but we'll see when the time comes. I hope she's right...but that's a topic for another day.

So, if you're a Suz fan and haven't signed up for her newsletter go on over to the website (yes, it needs revamping...but I'd rather she write than wrestle with webpage overhauls).

Now, my question for you, gentle readers - who is the supporting character you hope gets a story of his or her own? Cat from "The Windflower" anyone?? Oh wait, that's me again....

Labels: book stuff, squee, Suz, upcoming

I've noticed several people have been posting about the sizes of their TBR piles...so I thought I'd join in. :o) First I had to get caught up on my database of books read this year and clean up my Readerware. Do you have Readerware?? It's awesome! Anyway, my TBR totals up to *trumpets sound*267. Of course, that includes any number of anthologies that I've read part of and keep telling myself I'll finish up eventually.

Labels: book stuff, gadgets, meme

Have I mentioned who's going to be on LOST tomorrow night (and maybe another episode after the break)????



That all I'm sayin'...

Labels: cuties, entertainment, pictures

Since we all seem to be slumping (although I'm thinking The Vampire Who Loved Me might snap mine), I thought it might be helpful if we take turns listing our three favorite authors - one historical, one contemporary and one of your choice. They don't have to be the best authors ever or the most popular or whatever...just the ones that you depend on to deliver the story you want and the ones you re-read when you can't find anything new you like. :o) Maybe this will provide some inspiration or at least some new possibilities to break the slumpage!!

So, me first - and since I can, I'm listing six. :-p

1. Historical: Lynn Kurland and Jo Beverley
2. Contemporary: Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Rachel Gibson
3. Other: Robin D. Owens and Sherrilyn Kenyon (if you don't include the B.A.D books)

Who's next, gentle readers??

Labels: 2 cents, book stuff, meme