Decidedly NOT Feeling Bah, Humbug!

I admit it. The holidays stress me out. There are a million things that I need to do, but there are too many places I need to BE to get them done. And don't even get me started about the financial cares.

This year I am pulling a bit of a Scarlet: I'll worry about it later.

For now, we're looking forward to having all of Spencer's family over for Thanksgiving. The floors need to be mopped and the groceries need to be purchased and food fixed and the bathrooms need to be cleaned and the entire house could use a thorough dusting. Eh, it will all happen eventually. Probably on Thursday morning.

I finished making my Christmas ornaments today. They look stinkin' cute. I was thinking about a flower on them, but everyone thinks they're great the way they are. So I'm not gonna worry about it.

Some of our family gifts are finished: Bert and Ruth, Glenda, Tiff's kids. There's still a lot to do, and I'm not sure how we'll pay for it. But somehow it will all work out. I'm just glad to have as much finished as I do.

I've made a lot of cookie dough for neighbor gifts. I'm gonna make the kids get in an assembly line to put it all together. Maybe next weekend.

I'm not 100% sure we're going to have lights on our house this year. It's so stinkin' cold that I can't bear the thought of being on the roof. But when we clean up from Thanksgiving the tree is going UP!

We've already been listening to Christmas music for a month. This is generally a no-no at our house, but with so many of us singing in Christmas choirs, it was bound to happen.

And guess what? Spencer fixed the ballast in the kitchen, which we have been without for YEARS. Woot! It's light in our house!

Bring on the holidays!

Twenty-five Random Things About Me

I'll be honest. I'm not good at Facebook. I love checking in with people. I've had several fun IM conversations with people. I can put a message on my wall or yours. But I can't figure out these "tagging" things. You can go ahead and say it. I know. I'm not too savvy.

So here is my response to so many of you who have tagged me for 25 random things. I'll have to think about it. If there's a fire at the COB, you'll know what happened.

1. I was the president of the Shaun Cassidy fan club in, like, 4th grade. OK, so the club was just me and my friend, but we were die hards. I had Shaun Cassidy on my wall (my very first poster--and my mom even had it laminated for me!), I owned his record(s?), and I was fairly certain that if he'd just wait for me to grow up, I was the girl for him! My friend's parents even took us to the Shaun Cassidy concert at the Salt Palace. Ooooo... Ahhhhh...

2. I single-handedly keep M&M/Mars in business. I love M&M's! I really love the plain ones. I eat them in 3s and I tuck them on the roof of my mouth to melt--I rarely chew plain M's. I also love the peanut M's. Those are the only two kinds I like.

3. I think popcorn tastes better the longer you chew it.

4. I can remember the birthdays of the only two boys I really loved (or thought I did) besides the man I married. Random! I know the birth months of a couple of other boys, too. It's weird the things that stick in our minds!

5. I love just about any kind of performance or production that involves music: grade school, middle school, high school, ballets, symphonies, classical, rock, country, musical theatre--I love it all. Yes, I am a High School Musical fan. (Who isn't?)

6. I think going to the car races is fun. I'm not much for watching them on TV, but the raceway is a blast.

7. I have been skiing. Twice. That's all. That's two times too many for me. I lived for 4 years about 12 miles east of Park City, Utah. I went skiing in California. Go figure.

8. My favorite sport is reading.

9. The doctor told me to find another sport. I chose scuba diving. I didn't like it much till we went back with our kids. Then Spencer and I went to Cozumel to dive, and I fell in love with diving!

10. On the inside, I am a grammar Nazi. I try not to henpeck people about it because I realize that it's just not that important. I blame my 7th and 8th grade English teacher, Mr. McCormick, for this.

11. I HATE sweeping and mopping. I blame my mother for this, but it's a long story, and I won't share. Besides, most of our kids hate it, too, and they will blame their mother for it.

12. Babies do not like me. I don't much like them. But toddlers and young children and I are buddies. I love them! Spencer says every kid in the store wants to come home with me. I wish they would--I would love it!

13. Even though I really love the little kids, being a mom to teenagers is the best thing ever!

14. President Monson invited me into his office. It was cool.

15. I still wonder, "What will Mom and Dad say?" whenever I do something. That's not a bad thing.

16. The only time I ever stole something from a store, I was 5 years old, and I stole a zipper. Yup. A zipper. It was that important.

17. I like to make greeting cards, especially using stamps.

18. My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving.

19. My grandpa pierced my ears using a long, sterilized needle. It also involved clothespins and a potato. I was 5.

20. I have a long memory. I can remember being in my crib crying for my mom before I ever had any siblings. Brant was born when I was 22 months old.

21. I talk in my sleep. This has led to embarrassing moments--including one on the bus just this week! (Enough about that.)

22. I do not like to drive.

23. The last 3 times I threw up were: when I was 11 and got sick at KFC; when I was 22 and in labor with our first child; when I was 35 and got sick the night before Easter. I just can't throw up, even though I know I would feel better. It's too traumatic for me. :)

24. My nicknames have been Andy, Aud, Dray, and Ahhh-deee-ah. You can call me odd, but don't call me Andrea! (go figure)

25. Of everything that God created, my favorites are the sky and tulips.

And if you're still reading, you must be really desperate for good literature. Call me--I have some recommendations!