Wednesday Hodgepodge - On the Second Week of Christmas...

1.  Share your traditions surrounding the Christmas stocking. 

We really don't have any stocking traditions. But we do use the same stockings every year. My grandmother made them for us. She made one each for mom and dad and then as each of my brothers and I were born, we got a stocking at Christmas with our name and date of birth. The only quibble I have every year is that my dad's is way bigger than anybody else's. Which is totally not fair! He can get more stuff (like candy! and chocolate!) that way while the rest of us have to try to squeeze stuff in and hope it doesn't fall out. (Which something inevitably does, and if my nieces and nephews find it before you, well. You can guess where it ends up. Certainly not back in the stocking.) But so far, the size of my stocking hasn't changed any. Ah well.

Not a great pic, but the only one I could find.

2.  How many hours of sleep do you average at night?  Is it enough?

Approximately 6 hours. It probably isn't enough, but that seems to be the average for me. (I'm a night owl, so it's just too easy for me to get into a good book or a project and not go to bed early.)

3.  If you had to give up one thing for the remainder of this year what would it be?

I would love to give up this reading funk I'm in right now! For some reason, I'm having lots of trouble finding books that I want to read. I don't like it! At all! I'll see a book on Goodreads and think, "That sounds great!", but when I go to try and read it, I just can't get into it. I surely hope I can get back to my regularly scheduled reading soon.

4.  The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (or Wills and Kate as I like to call them) have announced they're expecting a baby. Do you follow news of the Royals?

Not really. If I see an article, I may read it, but I don't actively search for the next news about them.

5.  For me,  the sound of childhood is_____________.

Laughter. I love to hear children playing and laughing! And there's nothing better than a baby's giggles when you really get them going. :)

6.  Fruit cake-yay or boo? What's your favorite dessert made with fruit?

As I've never tried fruit cake, I don't know whether I'd like it or not. But I do love fruit. Probably my favorite way to eat it is just a big bowl of all kinds of fruit together. Not very exciting, but fruit is so good by itself that it doesn't need anything else!

7. What is one thing you want to accomplish before 2012 comes to an end?

Planning my trip to visit my parents. Since my mother's Parkinson's prevents her from doing very much, I would like to go back there with some recipes I can fix for us. Recipes for every day, but mainly for the big family Christmas that we'll go to. We have to bring hot and cold dishes for lunch and I know my mother will not let us leave the house without both of those and more besides. So if I can come up with things I know I can fix (I'm not the best cook, and definitely don't cook well spontaneously, so I need to go prepared), then I can accomplish this for mom and help her feel like she's doing her part. Because that's been one of the things it's been hard for her to give up. Not being able to help out at family gatherings and parties where people bring food. Wish me luck! :)

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

I have to admit something. I love Christmas movies! Cheesy and silly and totally opposite of reality, yet heartwarming and fun. I've been reading some posts over here, where Rachel has been reviewing a few Christmas TV movies. She's very good-natured about it, and I do agree with a lot of what she laughs at. Yet that doesn't take away my love for them. At all. Every year when the season rolls around (or for Hallmark Channel, waaaaay before the season rolls around. Seriously. I thought it was a teeny bit early to start them the first week in November. But I still watched them.), I look forward to the Christmas movies. There are a lot of them nowadays and yes, some are pretty bad. But there are cute ones too! So what if it doesn't really make sense? I still want the family together on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning looking all cutesy and festive and if there's a romance, the couple has to be positive that they love each other (even if they've only know each other a couple days) and will celebrate Christmas together from now on. Okay, so yes, you have to take a GIANT step back from reality, but who watches a movie for reality's sake anyway? That's the whole point, to be entertained and taken away from reality for a couple hours. But I digress.



(These are some of my favorites. Yes they're cheesy, but I love them anyway.)

Anyhoo, I do love these silly movies, and enjoy watching them every year. Sometimes I'll even watch them other times during the year! *Gasp* Oh the horror! There's always one or two new ones that I really enjoy and I have to rewatch them and sometimes this will happen in May or September or July. Whenever the mood strikes. And who doesn't love the Christmasy feelings of joy and happiness and love? Sometimes I think June could use a little more Christmas cheer. :D So, do you watch Christmas movies? Or am I the only crazy one around here? :)

Toodle-loo kangaroos!