Monday, November 24, 2008

Real Simple Holiday Card Quiz

In the most recent episode there was a holiday-card quiz. I need some motivation to get my Christmas cards out on time, so I thought I would take this quiz over the next month and see how I do. I'm pretty sure I will fail miserably, because I haven't sent out cards regularly for the past few years. At any rate, I think it will be fun. If you want to do this with me, go ahead an post a comment. If we get more than 10 people to join, maybe I'll have a fun prize for the winner. We'll keep a running total and then on Dec 31st, I'll declare a winner!

"When the season's greetings start rolling in, tally up the points for each card you recieve and check your holiday karma"

Gain Points when you recieve cards from:
  • Dentist, insurance agent, hairdresser, dry cleaner, mailman +0.5
  • Your own mother +0.5
  • Another Relative +1
  • Friend via e-mail +0.5
  • Your boss +1
  • Friend you see at least once a week +1
  • Above, with reference to an inside joke +3
  • Long-distance friend, devoid of any personal message +2
  • Above, with personal message of at least three lines +5
  • Anyone who includes a handwritten personal note of more than five sentences +5
  • Long-lost who hasn't been heard from in 20 years +10

Lose Points when:

  • Card and envelope are same piece of paper -1
  • Signature is imprinted rather than handwritten inside card -2
  • Photo is of a helpless pet in a holiday costume -3
  • Your name is spelled incorrectly -4
  • Card plays annoying music that you can't turn off -4
  • Card is the same one you recieved last year -6
  • Return-address label was provided by charity to which sender may not have actually contributed -7
  • Family newsletter contains words such as gallbladder, spleen, and gout -8
  • Family newsletter is from ex who is (not so) subtly gloating over his recent wedding and cushy new job -10
  • Long lost friend who hasn't been heard from in 20 years asking for money or a place to live -20

Bonus Points:

  • Gilded envelope +0.5
  • Handwritten return address +1
  • Card in which all family members appear to have signed their own names +2
  • Newsletter or family photo in card +2
  • Card with moving parts +3
  • Extremely clever handmade card +4
  • Oversize card requiring extra postage +5
  • Card sent from foreign country +6
  • Newsletter with humor at progeny's expense +8
  • Card with check, cash, or gift certificate +20

Even if it is just me particpating I will post my scores periodically :)

Monday Morning Chaos

My brain is all over the place this morning. I have about 30 things that all need to be done in the next 48 hours, and some of them are very time consuming. Some of them are completely frivilous, but are still things I want to do. Right now I'm too scattered to get a good hold on things, so I thought I would grab the closest and easiest one and start on that, and then once I feel good about getting one of them knocked out, I'll start on the rest. Make sense? Probably not.

Hopefully later on today I will post a Christmas Card Challenge that I got from a Real Simple magazine. Since 3 people read my blog, their probably won't be much participation, but I thought it would be fun to do anyway. I SUCK at sending Christmas Cards, so this challenge is my motivation. (see how I manipulate myself?!) :)

Later.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Getting back into the swing of things

Sorry, this will probably be another lame-o post. So very much has happened (don't worry, Chris and I are still happily married) that it is hard to get it all out. I'm sure I will eventually write more about it, but for now, I'm just trying to get back to "normal".

Chris and I are at our Coffee Shop in town. We thought it would be a quiet place where we could chat and just connect. Apparently every teenager in town had the same thought, because it is freaking loud and annoying in here. I don't think we will be staying very long. Right now, Chris is chatting up the waitor (we went to college with him).

So I found a new time waster today. It is called Forgotten Lands - First Colony. It is one of those cheapy computer games. Kind of reminds me of Age of Empires without the armies (at least so far). I like the planning/strategy/building part of Age of Empires, but I always get decimated in the army aspect of it. Speaking of computer games, I've barely got to play any of the Sims 2 games like I wanted. My stupid computer just wasn't fast enough. And now they are getting ready to release Sims 3. Guess it is just going to pass me by completely. Does that mean I'm grown up now? Probably not.

Chris has to go into the studio and work this weekend, so I'm trying to decide what project to work on. I can either do the office, the garage, or the master closet. I would really like to paint the guest bedroom, but there is too much prep for that, so I don't think I would actually have time to start it. I think that will be a project for the week that I'm off for Christmas. That and baking cookies. My goal is to make 12 different kinds of cookies this year. Pretty impressive considering I normally only make 2 or 3. I'll try to get some pictures of the whole process and put them up here.

Speaking of pictures, I do need to get some of the updated pictures on my flickr page as well. I literally feel like the world has been on pause since the middle of august. It all kind of passed in a fog. I think that is why I've been so sensitive lately, is that I'm starting to feel like myself, and so I'm starting to feel all the stuff that was just numb before.

Chris is back with the coffee, so my time on the computer is up.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Update: Fall Into Reading Challenge

Life has been nuts. Still dealing with everything, but I'll try and post more on that later. I want to get back into blogging, and the best way to do that is to just start. So, a nice easy post. :)

I am enjoying the Fall Into Reading Challenge, because I get to look forward to reading specific books. I've also found it a challenge, because I keep getting distracted by other books that I come across. So while I've read 9 of the 40 books on my list, I also read 3 others that weren't on my list. :)

So far I have read the following from my list:

  • Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell - great read as usual. Probably one of my favorite books. I've re-read this multiple times, and probably will continue to reread it over the years.
  • Scarlett, Alexandra Ripley - again, great read. I have to read this after Gone with the Wind. I'm definitely one of those people that like to see some redemption in the end. I have to admit there are times when I want to race ahead to the parts where Rhett makes an appearance. But I also like to see the character of Scarlett evolve and grow up.
  • Calico Palace, Gwen Bristow - one of my favorite pieces of historical fiction. Gwen Bristow is a fantastic author. I've learned so much American History from her books (and actually retain it).
  • The Husband, Dean Koontz - my very first Dean Koontz book. I was pleasantly surprised. I expected more of a "horror" book, but it was actually just suspenseful. Which I like a lot better. I have been told that this book is a little different than his other books though.
  • The Cat Who Could Read Backwards, Lilian Jackson Braun - this was recommended because of my love of cats. I did find this a little bit of a tedious read. Enjoyable, but not captivating. I've been told they get better, so I may try again with a later book in the series.
  • Queen of Babble, Meg Cabot - fun, light and chatty. I listened to this on a weekend road trip. Definitely made the time fly by. Even better, there are two more books in this series. I love it when I get invested in the characters, and I know there is more in the story in the follow-up books.
  • Little Lady, Big Apple, Hester Browne - another book that is fun and light. Twists and turns and romantic drama. The author has a great "voice".
  • Fearless Fourteen, Janet Evanovich - another favorite author. I love Stephanie, Joe and Ranger. And Lula, Grandma and Mooner. She writes the best characters. My husband and I listen to this series on audio books, and we ALWAYS laugh like crazy. I've heard that some people were critical of this book, but I really enjoyed it.
  • Salvation in Death, JD Robb - latest in the Eve Dallas books. This one felt a little different but I liked it. It was a tricky topic (involving Catholicism). I'm not Catholic, but I felt like she was very respectful in how she explored the topic. I was a little reserved at first, but I think she did a great job. And she setup some background for the next book. :)

I have also read the following (not from the list):

  • Queen of Babble in the Big City, Meg Cabot - great follow up. Really good book, and fun to listen to. My only issue is that I felt like they changed the boyfriend character too much. He didn't seem at all of a commitment-phobe in the previous book, and that is the main "problem" that this book focuses on. But it was still a great book.
  • Midnight, Dean Koontz - a little more of what I expected a Dean Koontz book to be. Still not gory, which I'm happy about. But I definitely couldn't read this one before bed without having disturbing dreams. And he makes a great analysis of human-engineering (whatever the term is for messing with dna to evolve the human race into something "better"). I did enjoy this book. My boss recommended this one to me.
  • Tribute, Nora Roberts - great book. I love Nora Roberts. This did remind me a lot of another book I read by a different author (Looking for Peyton Place by Barbara Delinsky). Same concept.