two hours and eight minutes remain

that's all that's left of this year.
Guess what... it's ending exactly as it started. Big surprise.

This year has brought a lot with it... I don't know that I've bothered to take the time to process it all... so, my one and only resolution... take the time and think about it all.


ummm... and maybe redesign the blog.

quote::

so it's not word for word, but it's pretty close.... and I'm still laughing a day later

"Maybe it's just me... but adding instant vanilla pudding mix to a recipe seems very anti-Amish"



hee hee hee

Countdown

So, the last minute rush is on us.
Who will survive?
I'm pretty much done, I think I have some underwear left to buy... maybe one other thing... but other than that... there's just the wrapping.


Last night I was at a gathering with good people, good food and good wine, the topic of Christmas was our centrepiece of the evening. We talked about favorite gifts, our favorite memories and other things that make this season "Christmas" to us.

I love wrapping Christmas gifts... it has got to be one of my most favorite memories of Christmas. Now, I may not be a GOOD wrapper of presents, but it's what goes WITH the wrapping. The secrecy and good feelings knowing you've gotten something that someone needs.
Growing up my parents wrapped up their gifts to one another to go in their stockings... keep in mind that for quite some time, their stockings were each a leg out of an old pair of jeans (you can fit lots of pairs of socks and underwear in there!). Somewhere along the line they started writing silly little sayings as hints to what the packages might hold. Things like "wee wee wee all the way home" or "for the little piggies" for a pair of socks, or "the better to beat your children with" for a wooden spoon set (ok, so that one was my own example.. I don't think ever they used that).
I loved helping out with that time, coming up with witty and cheesy phrases to keep the guessing game clever. Several times this year I've found myself making up little lines as I've walked through the stores...
3 sleeps left... I'd better start wrapping.

Is there anyone interested in walking really slowly around the OC tomorrow night with me?
it's fun ticking off the busy shoppers ;)

not only....

not only is the math not perfect... but I miscounted... and forgot to check one...
[x] said "y'all"

making a total of 8... not 6 for that section....
27% City
72% Country...

still doesn't add up, but now I'm opposite to BabySheff.

Perhaps you've noticed

So I was out with the boys and Naomi last night, (We went to see Persuit of Happiness) and we ended up at Timmys.
(ahhh, just like the old days....)

VanDan was in the middle of trying to tell us something when it hit me... no, they didn't hit me, I was hit by realization. There on my cup was a terrible accident waiting to happen. Suicide even!
In that lovely wintry scene with sledders and puppies... there was a couple ready to take their own life! It's true... with smiles on their faces, a snow couple (Mr. and Mrs. Snowman) were about to down two steaming hot cups of some beverage.... thus ending their lives....
Who sanctioned this?

ok, so the math isn't perfect.

I'm 27% City
66% Country.....
your turn

How CITY are you?
[x] I've been to Starbucks more than once in my life
[ ] I link arms whenever I walk with someone
[ ] I shop at AE, A&F, or HCO
[x] I own 2 or more polo shirts
[x] I will never be caught without my cellphone
[ ] I straighten or blow dry my hair on a daily basis
TOTAL: 3

[ ] I wear flipflops no matter what the weather
[ ] I own an oversized pair of sunglasses
[ ] I own 1 or more pairs of ripped jeans
[x] I layer my shirts
[ ] I will do anything to get the best Myspace pic
[ ] I had a "Myspace mirror pic"
TOTAL: 1

[ ] When I'm not drinking starbucks I prefer water
[ ] I get annoyed with tom-boys
[x] I own an oversized bag or purse
[ ] I have seen every episode of Laguna Beach
[ ] My new addiction is two a days
[x] I say "lol" in every sentence of every online conversation
[ ] I own tight jeans
TOTAL: 2

[ ] I wear large necklaces
[ ] I own an iPod/mp3 player
[x] The internet = survival
[ ] one of the sports I play/played is football,Baseball,Basketball
[x] have 5 or more pairs of shoes
TOTAL: 2

[ ] I have said "lol" in a real conversation
[ ] I love shopping
[ ] I shop whenever I have a chance
[ ] I own a bathing suit that cost 100 dollars or more
[x] I have watched the Simple Life
TOTAL: 1

***add x's and multiply by 3 and put "I'm % city***

How COUNTRY Are You?

have you...

[x] ridden a horse
[x] owned a horse
[ ] owned land
[x] been 4wheelin
[x] said "ain't"
[ ] been cow-tipping
[ ] been deer hunting
[x] been swimming in a lake
[x] caught a fish
[ ] seen a deer get skinned
Total: 6

You ...
[x] have worked on a ranch or on land
[x] have lived in a house in the middle of nowhere
[x] have went swimming in a river
[x] driven or have owned a truck
[ ] own a rebel flag
[x] like to fish
[ ] have a funny accent... or thats what people tell you
[ ] own/owned a pair of cowboy boots
[ ] own/owned a cowboy hat
[x] own/have owned a big dog
[ ] sometimes say "y'all"
[x] have gotten made fun of for sayin "y'all"
Total: 6

You also...
[x] cuss when you're mad
[ ] have dipped/dip snuff
[x] go to church on sunday
[ ] owned/own a bird dog
[ ] have riddin a horse to somewhere in town (NOT YET!!!! ON THE LIST)
[x] have gone on a field trip to a farm/ranch
[x] have eaten deer meat
[x] have shot a gun
[ ] own a gun
[x] have parked your vehicles in the yard
Total: 6

You...
[ ] have gone shopping...for a gun
[ ] get the kids in your family a toy gun for christmas
[x] wear long sleeves even in the summer (AT THE RANCH)
[x] know what stirrups are
[x] have fed the deer
[x] Swam in a watering trough
Total: 4

***add x's and multiply by 3 and put "I'm % country

and you thought I had a problem?

looks like everything's going to the birds.


yeah... there's such a site....

not so much a trial

I wanted to do a test run of Beta Blog... but no such luck, it's a do or die situation.. they are phasing out the old and slllllllloooooowly forcing us into this new one. I checked out the info they had, and it's just a matter of time till the old-school blogger is dust.

so, let's give it a whirl shall we?


what do I see that's new???? the layout on my dashboard is ugly. and I now have a choice of making labels for each post.. that I am looking forward to. Time stamp layout is different.

picture upload the same... just about... hmmm. not much new here.
spell check updates.... very very good. It even includes the word "Blog" and "Blogger" this time..

ok.. it'll do

back to work

So, at one point today at work, I wished nothing more than that I were a smoker.

Just so I could hang out with our behavoural theripist some more.

She's the best.


On an unrelated note:: I'm on the waiting list for a flemish giant baby in the spring. This is very exciting. And you thought Norty was big....

3D

ok. The other title I played with was "inverted".

you know those 3D image things.. the ones where you have a repeated pattern on the page and you have to stare at it until the image pops out at you?
I have a love hate relationship with them.
I remember wasting an entire day in my teens staring at a calendar someone had gotten for Christmas, crossing and uncrossing my eyes till I was dizzy. Then finally I saw something.
It was a vase.
But it just looked like a cut out of a vase. I couldn't figure out why people were so excited about the stupid picture. It didn't look that to me.
Last week I was looking at calendars (it is Christmas afterall... Everyone needs a calendar) and I ran across another of the 3D picture collections. I mentioned to the person I was with, my disappointment in the image... Who wants to see a cut out? They advertise that these images "POP RIGHT OUT AT YOU"... Well, no.. They don't. She started to laugh .... Apparently I'm seeing them backwards. Instead of popping out, they are punched in...
Last night I sat at the computer experimenting... And lo and behold... She was right... I practiced looking at a basic one (a ball) and it was concave, I tried to look at a more detailed one (a kyaker) and it made no sense (by it's outline).
Grrr.

This morning, I decided I'd post about my frustration, I started to write, and thought, well... I'd better find an image to go along with it... I found one. And for some reason... This morning, (maybe it's the lack of sleep) I can see it "POPPING RIGHT OUT AT ME". I'm going to go try the kyaker again.

more

I found a site with an episode index... mmmmm. floaty.

I don't know if I've ever posted my "life list". I know I refer to it often enough, and make additions to it everytime I think of something cool... One that has been on the list since it's inception, one that came to me after countless hours of midnight shifts in the group home... After countless re-runs of Andrew Younghusband's "Tall Ship Chronicles".
I loved that show.... It came on an hour after everyone was in bed, an hour before I needed to get moving on the chores, during the time of night where you won't fall asleep if you sit down.
Andrew traveled on the Picton Castle... And each week I jumped aboard with him.. I was there... Scrubbing those decks, exploring those crazy places, delivering school supplies to hard to reach communities... Grumpy at Captain Dan if he made "us" work too hard, wincing with pain as Andrew and others got their boar's tooth tattoos... Hungry when the weevils ate all their pasta... Ok.. I was addicted. (mmmm, he's adorable too)
I think that show might have put the pirate bug in me....

I heard on the radio yesterday that someone was swept overboard off the Picton Castle.
I hope they don't stop their sailing programs...
pray for the young woman too, they say she has a 36 hour window for survival, the water is warm there... I hope they find her.

Diverse

Even though it's a small town... It amazes me the people we have here....

Had some interesting conversations this week with some incredibly interesting people... I like this place.

a gooder

You know it's a good birthday when you come home and there's your very own Charlie Brown real Christmas tree sitting on your dresser in a jar....

I love the smell of Christmas trees.

Thanks to all you birthday-type people for making this a great day!


woot woot! I'm getting a hair cut!

quotable

And Natalie Dee is always right....


""I just don't like the colour... I'm not racist about my tapioca or anything""
~overheard in the parking lot of the OC
you know who you are.




so is L.Stew.

when I grow up

Last night I attended my first Christmas party of the season...
first, let me say- I LOVE the woman who put it on... She's got to be one of my most favorite people ever. She has this way of making every person feel so important. *sigh* I want to be her when I grow up.

The party was lovely, low key, good food, good friends, good drinks, good conversations. A group of people so different in so many different ways- I can't imagine that they would come together so well, except that we have something huge in common. Yes. I'm talking Shelter Valley again. A few people asked me what the count was till next year's festival... And I had to admit that I hadn't been keeping track.... I told them that once the countdown to Dolly's return was done.. Then I'd consider it.
17 days.

There was one thing that made me a little sad at the party... I was wished "happy holidays" and "Happy Merry" on several occasions... I understand that there are many people out there who aren't comfortable with the Christmas story, or who have different beliefs... But.... It's a celebration of Christ... I don't get it...

I got a chance to meet some of the hard working folks who got things done, but whom I hadn't had a chance to interact with (because this year's festival was a little different)... Seriously:: What a gifted group of people. I'm REALLY excited about some of the conversations I had with three people in regards to the "Drama Club" that I'm starting thru work... Two of the people in particular had some great ideas and said they were more than willing to be resources to us as we get this program off the ground.

::this is the one thing that is getting me excited about my return to work.

It was yet another fantastic night at the Benson homestead. One of my top 3 anticipated events each year.