Maureen tagged me and boy am I glad cuz I didn’t really know what to talk about…and now I have a topic! Woohoo!

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Um. The only thing good about egg nog is the bourbon and that goes just as nicely in my Cocoa, tyvm.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa has no time to waste on wrapping. He spits in the face of wrapping!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? I used to be a white light kinda girl. Then I decidedmy language was colorful, so my Christmas lights should be, too. Viva la Colour!

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nah. I have a hard enough time keeping Fishdog away from me now. He don’t need no stinkin’ misletoe.

5. When do you put your decorations up? Whenever the weather is nice. Shoulda done it this past weekend, but we shoulda done lots o’ stuff this past weekend. Probably will happen this coming weekend.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Is it food? Then I pretty much like it.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: Hmmm. I dunno. I can tell you it wasn’t the year I opened the gift that I just KNEW would be my Mr. Microphone (the only damn thing I wanted that year) and it turned out to be a pair of quilted houseshoes. I. Was. Devestated. (I suppose if that’s my worst Christmas memory ever, then I’ve led a pretty sweet life, huh?)

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Oh. My. God. Can I just tell you how upset I was when I found out? I was in 5th grade. (Yes, 5th grade) and I found my letter to Santa with items crossed out and prices next them in my mom’s handwriting. I did the whole drama queen thing and grabbed the letter and huffed outside. I angrily showed Mom the evidence and said, “Don’t worry. I won’t tell Michael.” (my younger brother) Mom said, “Oh honey, he’s known for two years.”

Sigh. How sad is that?

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? No. It’s Christmas Eve. Not Christmas. Do you open one birthday gift on your Birthday Eve?

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? I’m with Maureen on this one. Not sure I understand the question…but Drunk is a good answer. I’ll go with that.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it but we never see it. This is Mississippi, you know. When we do see it, it’s gone in two days. Now, I like it that way…I’d hate to live where snow was on the ground for months at a time. That means it’s cold for months at a time. I don’t dig cold.

12. Can you ice skate? Yes. Actually, I took ice skating as a Physical Ed credit in college. I had great legs that year. Oh, and a fantastic ass. Hmmm. Maybe I should take up ice skating again…

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? It was the year Santa my parents got me the most awesome stereo ever. It was from Montgomery Wards (LOL!) and it was one of those tower stereos with big speakers and a dual cassette player as well as the turntable and radio. Who else misses the 80s? C’mon. Don’t be ashamed. You know you miss the 80s.

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Friends, family, and food. Not in any particular order.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Um, is it dessert? Then it’s my favorite. The one thing I don’t like…DAVINITY. Gak!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? I dunno. We’re still working on our traditions, I think.

17. What tops your tree? I can’t remember. It changed last year.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? I love to give gifts. I love knowing I did just the right gift for everyone. But who am I kidding, I love getting them too.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Bob and Doug McKenzie’s 12 Days of Christmas.

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? YUM!

So, I tag Kate, Feist, Louisa, and Pam Trader!

Maureen tagged me and boy am I glad cuz I didn’t really know what to talk about…and now I have a topic! Woohoo!

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Um. The only thing good about egg nog is the bourbon and that goes just as nicely in my Cocoa, tyvm.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa has no time to waste on wrapping. He spits in the face of wrapping!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? I used to be a white light kinda girl. Then I decidedmy language was colorful, so my Christmas lights should be, too. Viva la Colour!

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nah. I have a hard enough time keeping Fishdog away from me now. He don’t need no stinkin’ misletoe.

5. When do you put your decorations up? Whenever the weather is nice. Shoulda done it this past weekend, but we shoulda done lots o’ stuff this past weekend. Probably will happen this coming weekend.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Is it food? Then I pretty much like it.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: Hmmm. I dunno. I can tell you it wasn’t the year I opened the gift that I just KNEW would be my Mr. Microphone (the only damn thing I wanted that year) and it turned out to be a pair of quilted houseshoes. I. Was. Devestated. (I suppose if that’s my worst Christmas memory ever, then I’ve led a pretty sweet life, huh?)

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Oh. My. God. Can I just tell you how upset I was when I found out? I was in 5th grade. (Yes, 5th grade) and I found my letter to Santa with items crossed out and prices next them in my mom’s handwriting. I did the whole drama queen thing and grabbed the letter and huffed outside. I angrily showed Mom the evidence and said, “Don’t worry. I won’t tell Michael.” (my younger brother) Mom said, “Oh honey, he’s known for two years.”

Sigh. How sad is that?

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? No. It’s Christmas Eve. Not Christmas. Do you open one birthday gift on your Birthday Eve?

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? I’m with Maureen on this one. Not sure I understand the question…but Drunk is a good answer. I’ll go with that.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it but we never see it. This is Mississippi, you know. When we do see it, it’s gone in two days. Now, I like it that way…I’d hate to live where snow was on the ground for months at a time. That means it’s cold for months at a time. I don’t dig cold.

12. Can you ice skate? Yes. Actually, I took ice skating as a Physical Ed credit in college. I had great legs that year. Oh, and a fantastic ass. Hmmm. Maybe I should take up ice skating again…

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? It was the year Santa my parents got me the most awesome stereo ever. It was from Montgomery Wards (LOL!) and it was one of those tower stereos with big speakers and a dual cassette player as well as the turntable and radio. Who else misses the 80s? C’mon. Don’t be ashamed. You know you miss the 80s.

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Friends, family, and food. Not in any particular order.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Um, is it dessert? Then it’s my favorite. The one thing I don’t like…DAVINITY. Gak!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? I dunno. We’re still working on our traditions, I think.

17. What tops your tree? I can’t remember. It changed last year.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? I love to give gifts. I love knowing I did just the right gift for everyone. But who am I kidding, I love getting them too.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Bob and Doug McKenzie’s 12 Days of Christmas.

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? YUM!

So, I tag Kate, Feist, Louisa, and Pam Trader!

Not kinky. Kink. As in, I’ve got a kink in my back. Which I suppose could be kinky if you’re into you know, pain, but I’m not. Cuz I don’t like this kink thing at all. It does not hurt so good.

I thought it was my arthritis at first. (Yeah, yeah, save the old lady jokes for later.) It could just be my back telling me to find the treadmill again because my ass has grown exponentially since Thursday. (Look ma, I used a big word! hope I spelled it right…) Or it could be that I’ve been sitting in the same spot for three days writing.

*ding ding ding* I think we have a winner.

So, yes, I’ve been writing. And yes, I have the revisions and the outlines to show for it. But apparently I also have kink. You know, I blame Peaches. She wanted to be wined and dined and taken for a lovely walk. She pretened she didn’t want me to smack her around and call her a dirty bitch.

And I obliged, like a good little writer.

And she repays me with kink.

I think Peaches liked getting spanked more than she admitted.

Not kinky. Kink. As in, I’ve got a kink in my back. Which I suppose could be kinky if you’re into you know, pain, but I’m not. Cuz I don’t like this kink thing at all. It does not hurt so good.

I thought it was my arthritis at first. (Yeah, yeah, save the old lady jokes for later.) It could just be my back telling me to find the treadmill again because my ass has grown exponentially since Thursday. (Look ma, I used a big word! hope I spelled it right…) Or it could be that I’ve been sitting in the same spot for three days writing.

*ding ding ding* I think we have a winner.

So, yes, I’ve been writing. And yes, I have the revisions and the outlines to show for it. But apparently I also have kink. You know, I blame Peaches. She wanted to be wined and dined and taken for a lovely walk. She pretened she didn’t want me to smack her around and call her a dirty bitch.

And I obliged, like a good little writer.

And she repays me with kink.

I think Peaches liked getting spanked more than she admitted.

I’m a coffee girl. I heart waking up to a brewing pot o’ joe. The only thing that makes waking to the smell of coffee better in the morning is waking to the smell of coffee brewing alongside the smell of breakfast cooking.

Yesterday I used the last of the coffee. I made a mental note to run to the store later and get some more–then promptly forgot about it.

This morning, I wake to the memory of my mental note. Sigh. No coffee. And frankly, I just wasn’t motivated enough to head to the store at 7:00.

I needed a coffee substitute. I rummaged in my cabinet looking for the proper warm drink, thinking hot cocoa might do the trick. And that’s when I found the English Tea I kept in stock when the lads were here.

So, I heated some water and had my first cup of English Tea. And yes, I even tried it with a little sugar and milk.

Not bad. Not a replacement for coffee, but definitely not bad.

I’m a coffee girl. I heart waking up to a brewing pot o’ joe. The only thing that makes waking to the smell of coffee better in the morning is waking to the smell of coffee brewing alongside the smell of breakfast cooking.

Yesterday I used the last of the coffee. I made a mental note to run to the store later and get some more–then promptly forgot about it.

This morning, I wake to the memory of my mental note. Sigh. No coffee. And frankly, I just wasn’t motivated enough to head to the store at 7:00.

I needed a coffee substitute. I rummaged in my cabinet looking for the proper warm drink, thinking hot cocoa might do the trick. And that’s when I found the English Tea I kept in stock when the lads were here.

So, I heated some water and had my first cup of English Tea. And yes, I even tried it with a little sugar and milk.

Not bad. Not a replacement for coffee, but definitely not bad.

Once upon a time, I tinkered with photography.

It seems my inner artist misses taking pictures. So, when I asked Peaches out on for our Artist’s Date, she requested I bring a camera.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from our walk:

The plants are confused about whether it’s spring or fall. My trumpet vine and roses are blooming, but my lantana has long since retreated for its winter nap. Many of the trees have lost all their leaves, while some are just beginning to change.

My favorite part of the walk was listening to the leaves crunch beneath my feet. The sound gave the walk texture. It took me back to childhood–to a time when I would rake leaves into piles larger than life and jump in them for hours.

One thing photography does for me is it allows me to look at an object from a different angle or through a different filter. And today it helped me realize that I needed to apply that same philosophy to my current scene. Gee, I should get out more often.

To see all the pictures we took on our walk today, go here.

Barbara Samuel suggests we creative types should take our inner artist out on a date. An Artist’s Date is basically a method to refill the well.

God, my well needs refilling.

Today, I’m gonna wine and dine my inner artist. (Her name is Peaches, btw.) Okay, frankly, I’m not gonna wine and dine her. I’ve tried that…she’s refused. I am going to take a walk with my camera and just see what happens. (must recharge the battery. hang on, doing that now.)

I’m back and I’m hoping my camera won’t have the only recharged battery in this house after my walk.

Some folks call their inner artist their “muse”. I hate that word. I dunno why…but it bugs the crap outta me when I hear someone say, “My muse isn’t talking.”

Slap the bitch. Come on. You’re the pimp–she works for you!

Haha. Yeah, like that really works.

After wining and dining didn’t work, I tried the physical method. I sat down and forced her to work like the dog she is. Funny, I don’t think Peaches liked being forced to do anything. And she took offense to being called a dog.

My bad.

Poor Peaches. She just needs some time away to relax.

So do I.

Barbara Samuel suggests we creative types should take our inner artist out on a date. An Artist’s Date is basically a method to refill the well.

God, my well needs refilling.

Today, I’m gonna wine and dine my inner artist. (Her name is Peaches, btw.) Okay, frankly, I’m not gonna wine and dine her. I’ve tried that…she’s refused. I am going to take a walk with my camera and just see what happens. (must recharge the battery. hang on, doing that now.)

I’m back and I’m hoping my camera won’t have the only recharged battery in this house after my walk.

Some folks call their inner artist their “muse”. I hate that word. I dunno why…but it bugs the crap outta me when I hear someone say, “My muse isn’t talking.”

Slap the bitch. Come on. You’re the pimp–she works for you!

Haha. Yeah, like that really works.

After wining and dining didn’t work, I tried the physical method. I sat down and forced her to work like the dog she is. Funny, I don’t think Peaches liked being forced to do anything. And she took offense to being called a dog.

My bad.

Poor Peaches. She just needs some time away to relax.

So do I.

Well, the battle of the boot is over and sadly, my little piggies are shoeless.

We have bookend losses for the season. A record of 12-2 is nothing to sneeze at. I just wish we woulda played a better game today.

That’s okay, cuz we’re still playing the Gators next week for the SEC Championship. I’ll gladly give up the boot for the big dance down Victory Street. There’s a lot to be said for dancing barefoot.

Guess I’ll finish watching the Nebraska game so I can send a report overseas.

Go Huskers.