My Favorite Things

It's the season to list such things...the things that bring me joy and happiness- my favorite things.  It was something I spoke to my BFF Harriet about as we came home after she treated me to a little pampering.  She flew all the way from England to visit me, and the family for two weeks.

Being pampered

Who doesn't love being pampered?  I'm not a girly girl, but I admit to love going to the salon to for a manicure and pedicure.  Harriet decided to treat me to a trip to a spa, where we both got a lovely full body hot stone massage.  It was completely awesome- I've never had a massage before. 70 minutes of pure bliss (and a little pain...) and I think I'm going to have to go back for more.  

Craft stores

I don't get to go to craft stores that often anymore.  I think while Harriet was here, we went to Hobby Lobby three times, Jo Ann Fabrics twice and Michael's once.  I love going to craft stores and getting ideas for things, even if I never make them.  (Ok, so that's a little depressing...) and I love going to craft stores with a friend who enjoys the same thing.  

Hockey games (and friends!)

I love hockey.  I don't eat, breath and live hockey the way I used to, but it's still a big part of my life.  I miss being able to go to games as much as I did (but I still have my season tickets!) so going to games is just awesome.  Particularly when it's during a small losing streak but the team wins the night you are there (and the only game the team won while Harriet was in the country.)  Plus sharing the experience with someone who never attended a game before.

I'm so glad that Harriet could come and visit me.  I had a lot of fun with her around and I will miss her immensely.

And those are the things that made me very happy this week.

Christmas lists

Before I had kids, I believed in nurture over nature.  Now that I have kids, I think there's a lot to be said for nature.  I have two very different kids, with very strong personalities.  It's sort of reflected in how they play, or in their Christmas lists.

Yes.  He is naked AND playing the ipad.

Not that Liam has a Christmas list, but my Christmas list for him is made of the stuff I know he likes.  John and I have not raised him to be a "boy" as in we gave him cars and trucks and sports or anything different from what we gave Lilia.  But those are the things he gravitated to.  He loves Thomas the Tank, cars (anything he can push along- trucks, cars, wagons), balls, and video games.  He loves video games.  And by love, I mean he wants to play them all the time.

I'm not opposed to kids playing video games, just kids plying violent games and games inappropriate to their age.  We found this stupid like Super Rub-a-Dub game for the PS3, and Liam loves it.  We let him play it after he washes his hair as a reward, and it's like the best thing in the world.  He's even unlocked some of the extra ducks on his own.  And we won't get into how much he loves my ipad, and how he navigates the thing better than I do.

Lilia, the Queen!

Lilia, on the other hand, is pretty neutral.  I think I'd best describe her as Sporty Princess.  She'd play any sport in a pink jersey and tiara if she could.  She has a very definitive Christmas list that makes me laugh.  She informed me that she wanted an angry bird, Mario, Spencer and Diesel (from Thomas and Friends), a Doll house (sort of weird, since she has a doll house but maybe she meant stuff for her doll house), a kitchen (again, she has one, and even told me she wanted a new one and a dog.  I think she wanted a real dog, but John said no way.

She likes Angry Birds and other video games, but she doesn't have the patience that Liam does for them.  She likes playing cars and trains with him, which is great (kids getting along! Yay!) but she's also got a small nurture side- she plays with her dolls, she pretends to be a doctor or a vet and she loves to dress up as a "princess".

I think the best thing about my kids Christmas list this year is how interchangeable it is.  I don't think there's a single thing that can't be used for both kids, and in fact, I've grabbed quite a few things that are "doubles" so they don't fight over it.  And, I can do a few handmade things since my kids don't really care about brands or labels.  Sure, they like Mario- but Mario can look like this.  Or Angry Birds.  (Yep, I am trying to learn to crochet...)

Christmas time is so exciting!

IT'S DECEMBER??

Wow, life gets hectic, you stop paying attention and all of sudden it's a new month.  Crazy.  The last few weeks have been a bit crazy with my BFF from Britain visiting for two weeks.  I don't get much done around the house.

But now it's December, and I figured, visitor or no, it was time to break out holiday decorations.  Which seems to be a trend on all the blogs I follow.

Right now I'm working on this pattern for an Advent Calendar to hang on either the hearth or bannister.  I'm thinking of switching it up a bit so that it has mittens as well as stockings.  And maybe hats.  Just because it would be cute, and different from a lot of the similar Advent calendar/garlands I've seen.

I'm looking forward to the Christmas season a lot this year.  Lilia was so excited about it last year, and I think Liam is going to be into it this year.  And who doesn't love the site of a beautifully decorated Christmas tree, with presents and happy kids underneath?

Wordless Wednesday

Chicken Eggs!

My chickens are about 30 weeks now.  And one, maybe two of them, have FINALLY started laying eggs.      I think it's two, because the eggs seem to be different colors, but who knows.  We found 4 on Saturday, and 3 this morning.  I didn't check Sunday (oops!)  About the only chicken is can't be is the Easter Egger, and that's because her eggs are supposed to be green/bluish/pinkish.

I'm pretty excited though.  I was beginning to think that maybe my girls wouldn't lay until the Spring.

The eggs were delicious- I scrambled them with a touch of butter.  The yolks were a deep orange and very firm.  Not at all runny like a store bought egg.  I'm looking forward to more eggs!  (And sending notice to the rest of the girls! They need to start laying too!)

NaNoWriMo

I've been a participant in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) for almost 6 years now.  I've never finished, not even close.  Life always gets in the way.  I don't mind.  It's just fun, almost relaxing, if you don't take it seriously.

This year I'm again participating, and this year is probably the most relaxed I've been.  In the 5 days since it's begun, I've actually been ahead (for once).  I know the story is terrible, full of holes and inconsistencies and spelling errors.  Oh and terrible terrible names.  I hate picking names for characters.  But this year I'm on pace to actually do really well if I can stick with it.  If life doesn't get in the way.  (Did I mention my favorite British person in the world is coming to visit me again on November 19?)  Today I'm at 11,194 words, out of the 50,000.

In order to be on track, you needed to have 8,335 words done by the end of today.

So yeah, I'm pretty excited- enough to give you just a little taste of the terrible piece I'm working on.

I placed his head on my lap, tears streaming down my face. Everything around me was burning, but I didn't care.

“Maith...” I tried to say something, but nothing but sobs came. Blood seemed to come from everywhere. My hands were covered in it. Someone approached me, but I didn't care anymore. The bodies of my friends, my family...my lover...they were all there for me to see. I wanted to join them. 

“Don't move.” The soldier told me. I didn't. “Stand up, keep your hands where I can see them. Do it!” He screamed, but I didn't listen. Instead, I glared at him. 

“Why? Why did you kill them?” I sobbed. I leaned over Maith's body, kissing his forehead. “Just do it. Kill me too!” 

The soldier didn't say anything, he just stared at me. I couldn't see his face, just his eyes. There was some pity in them, which made me angry. I didn't want his pity, I wanted him to send me to my death. 

“I hate you. I hate you all. Kill me damn you!” I screamed again, sounding like a crazed person. The soldier nodded, and I braced myself for him to shoot me. He didn't, instead I heard a foot step behind me, and heard a loud thud. As I fell to the ground, I realized that the thud was the sound of a something hitting me in the back of the head. Tears continued to stream, but I lost consciousness.

Pretty bad, huh?  Editing later.  That's what I keep reminding myself.

Wordless Wednesday