MucineXtreme Posting

I got nothing to talk about - today is my second day in a row home sick. Being home sick is probably one of my least favourite things in the world...I honestly don't mind being sick, even though it sucks, or having the day off, but I hate not going to work for some reason. I always have this crisis of conscience - as long as I'm conscious and keeping food down, I feel I should really be at work. But I do feel near death, and the idea of sitting at my desk and forcing everyone to deal with my phlegm problems really doesn't appeal to me.

So instead of coming up with something creative, I'll do this Christmas quiz.

Colored lights or white lights?
Colored on the tree, white on the house.

Real tree or fake tree?
I prefer fake, but due to circumstances beyond my control (but which were probably my fault) we have a live tree this year.

What is your least favorite thing about the holidays?
The times I'm not around my family. I didn't get to spend Thanksgiving or Christmas with my parents this year, and I always get a little weepy.

What is the one thing that you would like to see under the tree this year?
My Christmas list includes such compelling items as a rice cooker, a tea pot, and a few attachments to my Kitchen-Aid mixer. So pretty much anything exciting that doesn't end up in the kitchen would probably be a lovely treat.

What is your favorite thing to do/build in the snow?
I like skiing in the snow. It's not quite as much fun on the carpet.

What is your favorite holiday drink?
I love apple cider (like the stuff that Eric gave me a whole huge gallon jug of a few weeks ago, just because...homemade...Eric rules.) And I really adore gluwein, mulled red wine.

What is your favorite holiday smell?
Fireplaces. I don't have one, so instead I have a firewood candle that I'm enjoying right now. And who doesn't like that Christmas tree smell?

Who is your favorite reindeer?
Donder never gets any love.

What is your Christmas Eve ritual?
My dad always read The Night Before Christmas to me every Christmas Eve. And my mom did it after that, and then my stepdad. Maybe Travis will read it to me this year. And I made a ritual of begging my parents to allow me to open a Christmas Eve gift like most people do...but it never worked.

Are you a Friday after Thanksgiving shopper?
Only on the years that I'm trying to find a reason to commit suicide at the holidays. (So....no.)

What is your favorite holiday food?
My mom started a ritual a few years back of making this yummy pull-apart bread every Christmas morning. It's so tasty, I'm almost willing to overlook the fact that we were never allowed to open gifts until the damned bread was ready.

How did you find out that Santa wasn't real?
I think I got hit with that around the same time as the tooth fairy and the easter bunny. I was maybe seven? Yeah, I hung onto that Santa Claus dream a bit longer than maybe I should have.

Who do you want to be under the mistletoe with?
Travis. And I'm planning on buying a lot. I figure if a little sprig gets you a kiss, imagine what has to happen if he accidentally steps under the well-secured bale of mistletoe I hoisted up using an intricate pulley system!

Do you spend Christmas with a lot of family?
Not usually. It's generally just me and my folks. This year will be me, Travis, and his mom and sister. Still family.

Do you still make snowmen and snow angels?
I...would.

Do you still have snow ball fights?
Yes. Don't ask me how I do it. I'd have to kill you.

What's your favorite Christmas movie?
Probably Elf, currently. Or that Dudley Moore Christmas movie from years ago that I would watch again and again and again. And I think of Mr. Destiny as being a holiday movie, too, and that one brings back memories...Mom and I love that one. TBS managed to destroy A Christmas Story by overdoing it with such severity that the little blonde kid's face irritates me now, and I've never seen It's a Wonderful Life, which Travis is intent to rectify. (I balk at the idea of watching it at Christmas though. Too cliche.)

What do you plan to do for New Year's Eve?
New Year's Eve is our "anniversary", as much as we have one, considering the complexity of the whole first seven or eight months of this relationship. So this year we're flying to Santa Fe on the 30th and headed on to Taos for some skiing from the 31st to the 3rd. I booked us a cabin at a bed and breakfast - there are two fireplaces: one in the living room and one in the bathroom, in front of a big two-person jacuzzi tub. So what do YOU think I'll be doing on New Year's Eve?

What's the most expensive thing you've gotten for Christmas?
No telling. I'm sure it was something from Mom and Ken, though. I get my overboard tendencies from Mom.

How early do you wake up on Christmas morning?
Like all other kids, it was pre-dawn back in the day. (Which was a Wednesday, in case you didn't know. When people speak of back in the day, yeah, they're talking about Wednesday.) Now, I just kinda wake up whenever I wake up...maybe 8ish?

What was the best gift you ever got as a kid?
I was so ridiculously spoiled rotten when I was a young child. Turns out we had money, so I got a lot of toys. I honestly don't remember many of them. But the year I got the car...one of those little cars kids could drive around. And I got three Care Bears that year, I know, because I remember loading my new Care Bears into the backseat and taking them for a ride. Some of my favourite gifts, though, are the little ones I remember for no discernible reason. My mom got me a fountain pen one year, not a fancy one - but I'd wanted a fountain pen really badly. And several years ago, they got me a Sensa pen, which I'd been wanting for years. I could go on forever. I don't think I've ever gotten a pet at Christmas, or that would probably be the topper.