December 5, 2012

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!

23 comments:

  1. I love Christmas movies and I will actually watch them during a hot spell in the summer. I also like to watch baseball movies.

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  2. I love to read also...and I must agree, it's most difficult when you can't find a good book to keep up the interest.

    As for your trip to visit your parents....how sweet of you to go and cook for them. I really admire that in you.

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    1. Well, that's my goal anyway. I hope I can get it figured out before I leave! The holiday's can become crazy with everybody around and I want mom to enjoy it too. Hope I can accomplish that. :)

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  3. LOVE christmas movies!! Can't wait to start watching =D

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  4. I'm also in a reading funk lately...I pick up books from the library, and they just sit in a pile on the shelf untouched or barely opened. I don't know what's wrong with me. :P

    I haven't started watching Christmas movies yet, but my dad and I share a love for all of the Hallmark and Lifetime (cheesy) ones, as well as the classics. Yay!

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    1. Oh, I'm so glad to not be the only one doing that! Makes me so frustrated. I know the right book is out there to get me going again, I just have to find it. :D

      Hallmark and Lifetime have great movies! My roommate and I love them and most weekends are spent watching all the new ones. :)

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  5. My FIL suffered from a rare neurological disease that was similar to Parkinson's, so I know how hard it can be on family. I haven't been able to find a book lately that's wowed me...still looking!

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  6. I watch a cartoon called Noel each year. It's about a little red ornament named Noel who had a Happiness. I showed it in my class when I was a teacher. I don't have others I watch reguarly. I like It's a Wonderful Life but it's been a long time since I've seen it.

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    1. Sounds cute. And I've seen It's a Wonderful Life, but it's not one I have to watch every year.

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  7. Oh and I forgot to comment on the reading....I am the same way it seems. It takes me longer to read books this time of year, like I don't enjoy it as much or something towards the end of the year. I've noticed that about myself lately.

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    1. Yeah, I can't figure out my problem. And like you said, this time of year is so filled with stuff that reading has gotten pushed to the back burner a little bit.

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  8. I like Christmas movies too...White Christmas, Elf, Home Alone, A Christmas Story, and The Family Stone...those are our faves. Hubs and I watched Rudolf last night. No kids in the house but we still like it : )

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    1. Those are great ones! And I love kids movies myself. Guess I'm still a kid at heart, at least when it comes to movies and some books. :D

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  9. Over the last couple of years, I've become a night owl. It makes getting up for work painful though!!!!

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    1. Yes, that it does. Every morning I think, tonight I'm going to bed earlier. Then that night something always keeps me up. My short term memory must short circuit when it comes to sleeping time. :)

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  10. 1. We don't really do the sock thing here in my country.
    2. I wish I could sleep at least 6 but it usually is more like four or five, not nearly enough.
    3. I don't know what I would give up... the headaches probably :D
    4. Well, I'm like you. If an article pops up in my feed I read it, but don't do searches on them.
    5. Love your answer, for me is probably that music at the beginning of old Warner Cartoons.
    6.Fruit cake isn't a thing here. I love strawberries with cream. :D
    7. *hugs** and I would like to reach my 200 books goal
    8. I'm with you on Christmas movies, though for some reason I usually watch them NOT on December.

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    1. 5-Isn't it funny how music will play and immediately take you back to your childhood or a moment when you heard it? It does that to me too.
      6-I'll definitely take strawberries and cream! Mmmmmmm.
      7-I noticed on your blog that you are getting close. Hope you get it accomplished! Still got plenty of time. Maybe that's what I need to try next year. Perhaps it would help my funk. Hmmm. I'll have to think about that.
      8-Hey, Christmas movies are good ANY time of year in my book! :)

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  11. I saw the Mrs. Miracle movie on Netflix awhile back - I thought it was cute.

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    1. I'm such a sap. That's one of my favorites. :)

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  12. I do watch Christmas movies. A tradition is that I watch 'Santa Claus: the movie' (with John Lithgow and Dudley Moore) every Christmas. I finally got a copy on DVD a couple of years ago.

    It's nice that so many people have answered the childhood question with 'laughter'!

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    1. I haven't seen that movie in years! I remember loving it back when though. Now I'll have to go find it myself, just to see if I like it as well today. :)

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