Christmas survey

Tagged by Bethany so I would update the blog?? Not sure this qualifies as an update, but it's at least a new entry.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Wrapping paper for family; gift bags for others so it looks pretty. But without the wrapping paper, I wouldn't be able to do my now-famous tags. Okay, they're only famous inside the family, but it's my favorite part!

2. Real tree or artificial?
Artificial. Dad's and Katrina's allergies, you know.

3. When do you put up the tree?
Gets later each year, it seems. Keep trying to coordinate it with the schedule of that one college kid we have, but it seems she's always busy when we're available and vice-versa.

4. When do you take the tree down?
This year it was after Andrew had cleared the bottom third of ornaments. I decided it was time to stop fighting it.

5. Do you like eggnog?
Nope.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Something I didn't even know the name of but I just looked it up and it's called a Newtonian Demonstrator or Newton's Cradle. (We always called it the "five-ball thingy.")

7. Hardest person to buy for?
My mother.

8. Easiest person to buy for?
Andrew. And his little sister.

9. Do you have a nativity scene?
Two small ones. Wish we had a really nice one. I'll try to inherit my mother's.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
Definitely the gag gifts Mark's family sends (or now some of the nieces/nephews on my side) in retaliation for what Mark gives them. Thanks, Mark. Mary comes up with some pretty interesting books for me that way.

12. Favorite Christmas movie?
Charlie Brown Christmas, Muppet's Christmas Carol, and It's a Wonderful Life in that order.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
I used to try to be done (with Christmas and Katrina's and Bethany's birthday shopping--silly of me to have kids at that season!) before Katrina's birthday, about a week before Thanksgiving. I only made that goal a few times. I actually start early in the fall, but the majority gets done late November-ish.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Only the gag gifts (see #11)

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Orange rolls and cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning.

16. Lights on the tree?
Yes. Would be sort of boring without, wouldn't it? (They're colored, and I put them on. The girls and I do the tree while Mark does his Christmas scene.)

17. Favorite Christmas song?
The Eyes of A Child by Air Supply, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day from the hymnbook, and almost any Christmas song sung by the Tabernacle choir.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Home

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
Yes. Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and unofficially Rudolf. I know it from the song.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Star, but I'm not terribly in love with the one we have. Have never found the perfect tree-topper. Bethany's sounds cool, though.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
One on Christmas Eve, the rest Christmas morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
SO MUCH Christmas music on the radio before December. I don't liked to be pushed into these things.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?
Disney (plus a few sentimental favorites--the three bells my grandmother made, for example). This was actually the first year our tree had a theme other than "put on everything that will fit"!

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?
Something easy that everyone likes. The past few years it has been chili.

25. What did you want for Christmas this year?
Pretty much everything that I bought for the family to give me. (And how many other women do the same thing?)

Homework

This is how it goes at our house. (But only when concerning Math. Dad's great at History and Economics.)

Go Cougs!

Woot! That's all I have to say about that.

Baka!

Thanks for taking the time to visit us during your quick business stop to Seattle, Grandpa!

Dad's latest marathon

Mark is pleased to report that he came in first in his division in the marathon he ran yesterday. Competition was stiff--he was the only runner. He decided that since his knee was acting up and he missed the latest Logan marathon that he would create his own. So it was called the First Annual Black Pearl Marathon. He printed up his own bib and everything. And we came up with a great medallion for him to wear afterwards. And the whole thing was run on a treadmill. And yes, he's crazy. But we love him.

Observations on answers:

Since I'm "the Mom" I am going to give my wisdom/perspective about a couple things on the recent tagging that all 3 girls responded to on their various blogs:

Question 7 (correct pronunciation of gyro): I was told by a man of Greek descent that it was pronounced heero. But before I made a fool of myself by saying that, I looked it up various places (not just one!) online and the consensus seems to be that it varies a bit according to region. But it seems to be more commonly correct to drop the "h" sound and just prounounce it yee-ro.

Question 27 (music trend you would like to eliminate): I found it interesting that Screamo was the answer given by all my children. And I'm so old I didn't even know what that was. Maybe I'll look into it so I can annoy my children further.

Question 22 (skill you'd like to master): I also found it interesting that all three of my children mentioned, in one way or another, singing as part or all of this answer. Must be genetic, given that that's the one skill above all others I now wish I had developed. (Let that be a lesson to you, my children--go learn now while you're young! Make your parents pay for the lessons, if you must.)

And thus endeth my wisdom.

Because I'm bored.

I wasn't actually tagged, but I felt like doing it anyway. What a life I have. 

1. Name three types of people who should qualify for forced labor camps
Um...well, let's go with financial lit. teachers, cause mine is bugging me now.  Juuuust kidding. 

2. What was the last thing you ate?
Pumpkin cookies. In the words of dad: I ate to many cookies :P

3. What’s a goal you have?
Publish a book,  Go to Jamaica/Singapore/Norway/just somewhere overseas. 

4. What do you think of entertainment awards shows?
Same as Bethany: I tried watching one once. "Tried" being the key word.

5. How do you want to die?
With a smile on my face. :)

6. What is your favorite vacation/get-away spot? Where will you be traveling next?
Disneyland.  Next time probably Disneyland with the Band Tour, or France/Spain/Morocco with the French club if I can convince certain parents to let me go....

7. How do you pronounce “gyro?”
Guy - row? 

8. What have you found entertaining lately?
Life. Life is pretty entertaining if you ask me. 

9. Do you follow any blogs of nondescript people who you don't know? Why do you follow those blogs?
Yes. Actually no, I just felt like saying yes. 

10. What would you use a time machine for?
Go back in time and probably....redue parts of my childhood. And maybe annoy a few of my elementary school teachers. 

11. What are your favorite restaurants?
Subway, Olive Garden, Sweet Tomatos. Woot! 

12. What actors should be barred from acting?
Kristen Stewart (Twilight), Miley Cyrus

13. What’s the last book you read?
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray, but I'm currently reading another book. I don't remember the name of it though. Sad day. 

14. What’s the last movie you enjoyed?
Harry Potter. I'm a huge Harry Potter nerd. I love it. 

15. Reveal something that really bothers you.
I hate how horrible I am at parking. Actually, I hate yet love it at the same time. I get frustrated, but It's also easy to pick out my car when the back ends sticking out from all the others. And it makes me laugh at how bad I am. Heh. Heh. Heh. 

16. What will it say on your gravestone?
'Here lies the most awesome redhead whoever lived.'  Then it'll say the many, thousands of successful books I shall publish, plus a large statue of me pulling a sexy pose to the side of the gravestone. 

17. Put your iPod on shuffle and list the first three songs that come up, then explain yourself.
By The Sea - Um....yeah Katrina would get that. Cold as you - Taylor Swift. I didn't even know I had that song. Last: A Day in the Life - The Beatles. What's there to explain?

18. What is the biggest mistake you have ever made?
I just ate another pumpkin cookie. Uuuugh. 

19. What kind of toppings do you generally request for your pizza?
OLIVES! BLACK OLIVES! 

20. Who/what would you love to have complete control over?
My life? Heh. Heh. Heh. I'm hilarious. Um, money! and the amount of homework teachers give out, but that wont last my whole lifetime. 

21. What does your ideal Saturday consist of?
Friends, Family, no homework, no pumpkin cookies. 

22. What is one skill you lack completely but wish you could master with the snap of your fingers?
Singing and Acting. I would love to perform in musicals but I don't have THAT good of a voice and I'm as good at acting as dad is at lying. Okay, maybe a little better than that........or professional whistling. I'm pretty good at it now, but I'd like to become even better. You know, make my living off of it. 

23. What's something you live in constant fear of?
Grades. And basilisks. I'm always checking corners to make sure I wont meet one of them...

24. What was the first album you listened to non-stop, over and over again?
Probably the Pirates soundtrack. Thats the only one I can remember. Go Pirates. 

25. Have you ever seen a live, wild rat? How about a dead one?
Probably in a pet store somewhere...

26. What thing have you most aggressively promoted?
....possums? 

27. Is there a band or musical trend you would love to see erased completely?
Screamo

28. If you had to describe yourself using 3 words, what would they be?
Procrastinating Redheaded Chick. 

29. Where is the last place that you'd see yourself living?
Mexico. Or the Republic of Congo. Or India. Pretty much anywhere that is really, really hot. 

30. What was the last video you enjoyed on the internet?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6s6A1tsavo Yeah...just don't ask. But it makes me laugh.

31. What is your favorite smoothie combination?
I dunno. Go ask jamba juice what they put in their peach pleasure. Besides peaches. 

32. What is the worst thing that has ever happened to your car?
Someone left a note on it saying, "Nice Parking Job!" I was diagonal in the parking space because I was to lazy to fix it. But no, that's not the worst thing that has happened to my car. It's fairly new. So let's go with....its had a HUGE bid poop on the windshield for a while now. 

33. What album have you been listening to most?
Usually the radio, but during commercials I listen to Sweeney Todd. Don't. Judge. Me. 

34. What clues you into a person's idiocy?
wHeN tHeY tYpE lIkE tHiS. hehe, no not really. I just couldn't think of an answer. 

35. What is your favorite store to wander through?
Ikea.