Eggnog or hot chocolate? Meh. Hot chocolate if those are the only two options, but mulled cider or mulled wine would be much better.

Does Santa wrap the presents or leave them open under the tree? He wraps them in special paper that only he uses.

Colored lights on a tree or white? White. Only white. Ever.

Do you hang mistletoe? I haven’t, because I don’t have any, but now I want to! I hate the thought of missing out on a chance for another holiday tradition.

When do you put your decorations up? As soon as the Halloween crap is put away. Thankfully I’m Canadian so Thanksgiving doesn’t hog my Christmas time.

What is your favorite holiday dish? All of them. Is that cheating? It’s all about the traditions and the way it all fits together. If I had to choose (which, duh…) it would be tortiere, an Acadian meat pie made by my mom using a variation of my Dad’s mother’s recipe. My Dad grew up on it and we have it every Christmas Eve night and Christmas morning with breakfast. It was my Dad’s fave – loaded with ketchup. Mmmmmm. It’s what Santa gets at our house!

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Just one – everyone gets new pajamas which are freshly washed and ready to wear to bed.

How do you decorate your Christmas tree? White lights, silver bows, silver and white balls, pinecones. I plan to add white flowers when I have some money to spare.

Snow: love it or hate it? Mostly hate it. I live in a country where it’s winter for half the year so it gets old fast. It’s pretty while it’s falling and fun to play in, but a few days would be enough for me.

Can you ice skate? Yep. Figure skated for ten years.

What is your favorite holiday dessert? Grasshopper pie and ice cream with Teddy Bear sauce.

What is your favorite holiday tradition? Tradition is what I’m all about – there isn’t one I don’t love! Building a gingerbread house, looking at lights, eating meatpie, going to my mom’s, and a new one this year – my annual pajama party!

Candy canes: yum or yuck? Meh. Whatever. I like them but haven’t had one in a few years. Don’t care either way, and not what I’d care to waste my calories on.

Favorite Christmas show? The Polar Express

Thanks Swistle for the easily pilfered inspiration!

I’m at my mom’s – and sick. I’ve had a cold for a week and thought I was just about better but now it’s in my lungs and I have laryngitis. But at least I’m home! I hope you all are able to spend the holidays with those you love most and enjoy whatever it is that you enjoy. Even if you have coloured lights.

Thanks, Chelle, for making it easier for me to get something in this poor, lonely space tonight!

8 THINGS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO:

1. December 18 – Christmas vacation time with my family!
2. Getting to my Mom’s place and finally relaxing.
3. Having my friend shave our dogs before Christmas. They’re super shaggy & my clippers are broken.
4. Moving our mortgage in a few years and no longer paying double what everyone else pays.
5. My mother in law getting here tomorrow so I can have a break and go out with the Big Guy.
6. Finishing Primo’s family tree project tomorrow and getting it mounted. Inspired by his new subscription to Chirp magazine.
7. Sleeping in Saturday. (Did you hear that, Big Guy?)
8. Retirement.

8 THINGS I DID YESTERDAY:

1. Played with playdough with my kids at 6:30 am.
2. Made my family their daily green smoothie.
3. Watched more than one old PVR’d Rachel Ray & Dr. Oz show after the kids were in bed.
4. Laundry. What’s new?
5. Made a dairy-free broccoli salad so the Big Guy could enjoy it.
6. Read a chapter of my current book – The Shack.
7. Was grateful for such amazing childcare. When I announced that it was time to leave in the morning they ran to the door and said “Yay! We love (her)!”
8. Ate chips after supper when I shouldn’t have been eating at all.

8 THINGS I WISH I COULD DO:

1. Keep my mouth shut.
2. Sleep in at least once a week.
3. Be chipper & energetic on 3 hours of sleep a night.
4. Have money left at the end of the month to save.
5. Find a reasonably priced house cleaner.
6. Win a lottery so I could stay home with my kids until they’re in school and not need a house cleaner.
7. Shop at a better & less expensive organic grocer.
8. Retire

8 SHOWS I WATCH:

1. Dexter
2. Survivor
3. Desperate Housewives
4. The Office
5. Parks & Rec
6. The Amazing Race
7. Dr. Oz
8. Rachel Ray

8 FAVORITE FOODS:

1. Anything my mom makes.
2. Fresh, sweet strawberries.
3. Pineapple.
4. Cheese and anything with cheese on it. My husband’s new dairy allergy just may kill me. Recipes please!
5. Chocolate milk.
6. Mocha latte.
7. Any fresh fruit that’s perfectly ripe.
8. Celery with cheez whiz. No, I’d never let my children eat cheese whiz.

8 PLACES I’VE TRAVELLED:

1. Las Vegas
2. Cuba
3. Prince Edward Island
4. Bathurst & Fredericton, New Brunswick
5. Niagara Falls
6. Vancouver & all of it’s bits & pieces & Whistler
7. Fairmont, Radium & Kimberly, BC
8. Everywhere, Saskatchewan

8 PLACES I’D LIKE TO TRAVEL:

1. The UK to see old friends
2. Prince Edward Island again, and hit all 4 maritime provinces
3. Disneyland
4. Montreal, PQ
5. Quebec City
6. Hawaii
7. Italy (and I’d have to hit France too. And Germany. Might as well make it a gooder.)
8. The Oregon Coast

I’m blogging this at nearly midnight after enjoying a lovely glass of wine with a couple of girlfriends. We have a dinner club that meets approximately every couple of months and recently decided that the girls need to get together before for a “planning night.” Which is really just an excuse to drink wine and get out of the house. Hey, whatever works. I feel better than I have all week just having that break.

It’s been a great day, actually. My sister (in law) was here overnight and joined Primo and I for Kindermusik this morning and then we went out for lunch (after ditching the kids with the huz for their nap/quiet time) and she took me shopping to pick out my own birthday present. I totally recommend that method of shopping. It was great! I got a new clear silicone spatula (no colourings to leach in to food), new baking sheets and a cookie scoop I’ve wanted for a while. Then she bought us some shiraz-blackberry-chocolate sauce on a whim when we hit a cool little local shop. Can’t wait to try it on baked pears. Mmmmm.

We’ve had a few milestones this weekend:

Primo conquered the last of his nemeses…the child safe doorknob cover. It was the only thing keeping him in his room at night and at quiet time. So how the hell do the rest of you get your kids to stay in their room without duct tape?

Bella said ‘I love you’ for the first time tonight. “Wuffoo!” (That smooshing sound? Me melting.) She also said a two word sentence with no signs that didn’t involve food or sign language. “Mommy…pretty!” As if that weren’t enough, she even rubbed my cheek as she said it, and then kissed me with a big baby open mouth.

I can’t believe how much she’s talking for only 14 1/2 months old. I just looked back at Primo’s vocab at 15 1/2 months and I think she’s learning from the pro. She may even talk a little more, but most of it’s still just repeating after us. It’s tough to remember to never compare them…I have to work on that.

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I got tagged for this meme on facebook and am doing it here instead because I can’t follow directions. It’s just a mental block I have.
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My husband: is my best friend. (and is very tired. Poor guy.)

Maybe: I will win a lottery and not go back to work.

People would say that: I’m happy. And they’d be right!

I love: my family, more than anything in the world.

I don’t understand: people who suck.

When I wake up in the morning: it is because a child is screaming for me. I don’t get out of bed just for kicks.

I lost: one out of every pair of earrings that I really liked. I need new earrings.

My life is full of: love & laughter. And lots of coffee. And some screaming.

My past taught me: that smart people like me learn from our mistakes instead of wasting time regretting them. That life is too short. That all that matters is love & laughter.

I get annoyed when: it’s a day of the week that ends in ‘ay.’ I’m easily annoyed.

Parties are: fun and a great chance to catch up with old friends & meet new ones.

I wish: I had more money, and that I could see my mom more often.

Dogs: are annoying on every day that ends in ‘ay’ but I love them anyway. They’re my furbabies. Good thing they’re cute. Especially when I’m cleaning a pissy carpet.

Cats: are are super easy to care for & I’m so glad I have the chance to share my life with one.

Tomorrow: is a brand new day, and I’m going to enjoy it & appreciate it no matter what.

I have low tolerance: for stupidity & lack of common sense. And laziness. And procrastination. And unmotivated people. And…

If I had a million dollars: I would pay off our mortgage, invest wisely and never “work” again.

I’m totally terrified: of losing the people I love, or dying and leaving my babies.

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Let me know if you do this so I can come read it!
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Thanks Janice!

Type in the following and choose from the first page of search results:

1: Type in “[your name] needs” in the Google search:

Nicole Needs a Boob Job Now that’s the one thing I DON’T need.

2: Type in “[your name] looks like” in Google search:

Nicole Looks like Your Grandma I hope she’s hott.

3: Type in “[your name] hates” in Google search:

Nicole Hates Valentine’s Day More Than You Actually, I have no strong feelings toward Valentine’s Day, positive or negative.

4: Type in “[your name] goes” in Google search:

Nicole Goes Blonde I did once. It turned orange. Not pretty. Highlights are my max.

5: Type in “[your name] loves” in Google search:

Nicole Loves Her Jamba Juice I’ve never had a Jamba Juice. Is that like Booster Juice?

6: Type in “[your name] eats” in Google search:

Nicole Eats Poop Darwinism will kill her eventually. (video link)

7: Type in “[your name] has” in Google search:

Nicole has turned into a full-fledged mom. They were referring to Nicole Richie, but it applies to me too!

8: Type in “[your name] works” in Google search:

Nicole works out and brightens up. If I made time to work out more, I’m sure I would brighten up. As it stands, I’m rather dull.

9: Type in”[your name] lives” in Google search:

Yo, dudes, my friend Nicole lives around here…

10: Type in “[your name] died” in Google search:

There was nothing on this page that wasn’t about Anna Nicole Smith.

11: Type in “[your name] will” in Google search:

Nicole, Will You Marry Me? Sorry, I’m happily married. But thanks for asking.

Alright, now it’s your turn! Go have some fun with Google!

The rules:

1. Leave me a comment saying you want to be interviewed. (I’ll take the first five or so, if there are that many of you interested.)
2. I’ll email you five questions of my choosing.
3. You update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions. They will answer the questions on their own blog and carry on the process.

My questions are from Beth.

1. Remember the movie Brewster’s Millions? That happens to you, except on a smaller scale. You receive a million dollars that you must spend in 30 days. However, you cannot have any assets to show for the money at the end of the month (and you can’t buy something and then destroy it), you cannot waste the money, you cannot give it away, and you cannot tell anyone what you are doing. How do you ditch the dough in a month or less?

I’m not sure I even understand. Is there anything left that I can do? I guess I’d buy a million dollars of really expensive food and invite everyone I know over to eat it. Is that allowed?

2. You are locked in a toy store overnight, with no way out until it reopens in the morning. What do you play with all night?

There are books in toy stores, right? The Big Guy always says I read kids’ books anyway (Twilight, Harry Potter, The Golden Compass…) so that’s exactly what I’d do. Curl up on a kiddy couch with ten or fifteen good chapter books. If there were no books available (what kind of a toy store would that be, though?) then I’d probably play cards or another game that I could play by myself. Oooh, and I’d colour!

3. If you could have a dinner party with any three famous people, living or dead, you would be wasting your supernatural powers on hosting dinner parties. What would you do instead?

Like, what supernatural power would I want to have? Healing, like Claire…but only if I could heal other people too. I’d also love to be able to fly or stop time a la Nathan & Hiro.

4. What’s the best thing since sliced bread? Now, sliced bread ain’t all that impressive, so what’s the best mediocre, hum-drum improvement or advancement that has made modern life just ever so slightly more convenient for humanity, along the lines of saving yourself five seconds every time you want a piece of bread.

Just one?

I love my lemon reamer, garlic press, bread maker, panini press, pineapple corer…

Apparently I’m lazy.

I also really really love the Ziploc bag.

5. What’s your best quality? The response to this question must be a simple declarative statement. You may elaborate on that statement, provided that your elaboration does not include the words “but,” “however,” or “although,” or any other hedging, equivocating, back-sliding, gerrymandering (which is not at all appropriate in this context, but I think it should be, don’t you?) or any other type of backing down from the simple declarative statement with which you began your response.

I am considerate and thoughtful.

I don’t like other people that aren’t considerate and thoughtful. It’s really not that hard to be those things…it just take a little…um…consideration and thoughtfulness.

Anyone wanna play?