5 Things You Never Knew About Me

I got this from Dina's 24 Days of Christmas Blog Challenge and it sounded like fun! Hmm....It would be hard for me to come up with five things that my family and local friends don't know about me, so I'll write this for those new friends in the cyber world (waving to my friends far away!)

1) When I was in my late teens/early 20s, I had some 50 pen pals around the world. Then I met Mike and he thought it was stupid so I gradually gave them up. *Lesson Learned* - Never give up something you love for a man! I'm sure some of those friendships would have lasted past the marriage (and one has - I still write to Mary in England!)

2) I traveled to Bangladesh in 2006. Not exactly my dream country, but I had an opportunity to go with a team at my church to help out with a conference. It was an eye-opening experience and now it's made my dream of traveling to foreign places a reality. Looking forward to the next trip, whenever and wherever it may be!

3) I hate fish - swimming or on a plate. Eww! I think the trauma began when we had an aquarium in the basement as a kid. One morning I ran downstairs and almost stepped on a "jumper" who was flopping around on the floor. When I was 11, I went fishing with my uncle who made me put the worm on the hook and tried to make me take the fish off the hook, once I caught one. Then I watched him clean the fish and had to eat it later! Sorry, I DON'T DO SEAFOOD!!! I would rather eat something funky like goat meat!

4) I am a closet Hank Williams fan. We can blame my dad on this one. To this day, I can tolerate very little country music, especially NOT the twangy kind. But I own a Hank Williams CD. I think it's just because it reminds me of my dad and all the times we had to listen to him playing the records or better yet, singing the songs himself while he played the guitar.


5) Someday I'll be living in the Himalayas. Yeah, really! I've really developed a passion for that part of the world in the last several years, especially for the country of Nepal. No, I have no plans to reach the top of Mt. Everest, but it would be nice to go a few steps up just to say I climbed it!

TAG, YOU'RE IT! Hit me with five things I never knew about you!

Countdown to Christmas!

Well, so much for my 24 days of Christmas blogging! No stress here though. Much has been going on. Yes, the Christmas cards are still sitting on the table (I'm getting writer's cramp from having to say, "After 19 years of marriage, Mike made some unwise choices and we're now getting divorced. Merry Christmas!!")

The sunroom looks like a Christmas decoration/wrapping paper explosion (I'll spare you the pictures!), but hey the Christmas lights out there look great and look really cool when you're driving down the interstate behind our house! I still have gifts to wrap and the house to clean for Christmas morning here with my family. Still, amazingly, it's all okay.

Below are some scenes from our snowy weekend!

Snowball fight, anyone?

Shiloh the snow dog!

Brother-in-law, Brad, came over this past Monday to paint my bedroom! (a birthday gift from Barb). Doesn't it look cool? He even painted the ceiling and baseboards and replaced the outlet plates and switchplate. Thanks, Brad!! It's nice to see my room slowly coming together.

Let it Snow!

The weatherman is calling for up to six inches of snow here between tonight and tomorrow. Let's hope he's right! We need a little Christmas....right this very minute!

There's nothing better than wrapping gifts, listening to Christmas tunes on the radio, enjoying a mug of hot chocolate, and watching a cozy Christmas-scented candle burning (since I don't have a fireplace!) while the snow flakes flutter down outside the window!

I'm off to wrap gifts before I drift off to sleep while listening to Christmas music and dream of ............. Christmasy stuff!

I love monkeys!

We pause from the 24 days of Christmas blogging to talk about something I'm crazy about....

MONKEYS!

No..........not THOSE Monkees! (although I have to say I think Mickey was the first drummer I fell for!)

In my baby book, my mom wrote that my first word was not "mama" or "dada," but MONKEY! In fact, I traded in my pacifier for a stuffed monkey!

My brother, Marty, and I have a tradition of exchanging monkey cards for our birthdays! Growing up, I always wanted a pet monkey (but now I have tw0 real ones of my own!) ;o)

Enough monkeying around! Stay tuned......tomorrow we shall return to the regularly scheduled Christmas blogging! ;o)

'Tis the Season to be Jolly!

Last night I had some friends over for my Home Interiors party. It was nice and relaxing. I need to have friends over more often (plus it's a good excuse to clean the house!)

Under the category of, "It's a Small World," Kristen brought along her friend, Julie. All evening I kept thinking she looked familiar. I finally asked, and it turns out she went to the same church I grew up in. Wow!! Neither one of us recognized each other. Again, I say, "small world!"

Barb would be proud of my Martha Stewart moments! ;o)

Shiloh hopes to score some snacks with those pitiful puppy eyes he always uses on guests!

Joyful!

Busy! Busy! Busy!

WOW!! I've been busy (but not stressed - yay!) Almost all my shopping is done (can you believe it?!) Tonight I'm having a Home Interiors party over here (fun!) The house is still in a cluttered transition between Thanksgiving and Christmas (leaning more toward Christmas, thankfully!), but it will all come together.

Gone are the days of frantic running around, stressing out over stupid stuff.

I feel so abundantly BLESSED!!! God is good :o)

A King is Coming!

Emily has the lead role in our church's Christmas musical this year called, "A King is Coming." She plays Greta Van Popcorn, a reporter who is trying to get to the bottom of the mysterious king that is coming to the town of Rumors Mill. Towns people suspect the king of rock and roll, the king of the jungle, and an Egyptian king!

Greta's gotta get the scoop!

The mayor is secretly an Elvis impersonator!

I'm so proud of my Emily Ann!