Because I do have resolutions, or… I’d say they’re more like intentions… but they aren’t for sharing. So there. You get this nonsense instead.

1. How old were you in 1980?
11

2. How old were you in 1989?
20

3. Were you a Toys R’ Us kid?
No, but I did like to sing the song a lot. Especially the “I don’t wanna grow up” part.

4. Did you watch Transformers?
No.

5. Did you see E.T. on the big screen?
Of course. And I even liked it. I started to hate E.T. right around the time Neil Diamond started singing about turning on my heart light. And then… when the merchandising started to make me want to vomit every time I saw that creepy little neck-extending, frog-faced, oddly turd-like creature.

6. Did you own a Lite Bright?
No. My mom was opposed to that idea. I think she didn’t like all the little pegs. Thought I’d drop them everywhere. Here is an alternative for those who were deprived as I was. No little pieces to get everywhere.

7. Who is your Favorite Golden Girl?
The old broad. You know… the oldest one. Not that I ever actually watched the show all the way through. But she was cranky and acerbic. Here you can see the Golden Girls in ways you probably NEVER wanted to see them.

8. When someone says ” Who you gonna call? ” You think?
Peter, Ray, Egon… and that other guy. Winston. “Listen. Do you smell something?”

9. What was your favorite toy?
When I was very small… Raggy Ann. She was my best friend, my security, my confidant… by the time I was about 6 or so… she looked quite a bit like this… with less hair.

10. Did you have a Hyper-color shirt?
No. I thought they were ridiculous.

11. Did you listen to New Kids on the Block
Ugh. No.

12. ‘Forever Young’- Alphaville or Rod Stewert?
Alphaville

13. Freddy or Jason?
Neither. Not a fan of horror.

14. Did you have a Swatch Watch?
Nope. I’d have had to pay for it myself, with money I earned, because my parents couldn’t afford to by me those fripperies. I felt there were things I’d rather have more than a plastic watch.

15. USA for Africa or Band-Aid?
Neither. If I REALLY had to choose… Band-Aid… but… meh.

16. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off or Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure?
Save Ferris!

17. Star Wars Toys or GI Joe?
Star Wars… though I didn’t have any.

18. Did you ever play MASH?
uh… no.

19. The Breakfast Club or Sixteen Candles?
Neither. Sappy crap, both of them. Never really cared for Molly Ringworm. Guys dug her because she was a redhead, though.

20. Did you have a crazy hairstyle?
Not really. The closest I got was having a haircut that resembled Joan Jett’s in like… 1982-1983. People used to ask me to shake my head to watch it fly around.

21. What was your first bike?
It was a blue ten speed. I rode all over the countryside on it.

22. Name one thing you still own from your childhood?
I still have a bunch of Fischer Price Little People things from childhood… a castle, airplane, a whole bunch of people. Looking to sell them, though. I get the impression there are actually people that collect these!

23. Did you have a Cabbage Patch Kid?
No. I was appalled by the mania over ugly little plastic dolls. And a little old for dolls by that time anyway. Even if I’d had one, I’d probably have done what I did to all the OTHER ugly little baby dolls I was given. My dolls all sported elaborate, curlicue tribal tattoos in blue ink… all over. Faces, arms, legs, bodies. I made them pretty.

24. Madonna or Cyndi Lauper?
Cyndi Lauper. Never was into sleazy, cheap, superficial girls. Although… some of Cyndi’s songs cleverly alluded to all sorts of naughty things.

25. Night Court or Cosby Show?
Night Court. They were both sappy, but at least Night Court had some sharp wit.

26. Did you watch Miami Vice?
Yeah. I didn’t really go out much on Fridays.

27. Tight Roll your pants or Parachute Pants?
Um… neither.

28. Did you own a Trapper Keeper?
Probably. All the binders I had for school were utterly destroyed before Christmas Break, though. I was… rough on them.

29. Atari or Commodore 64?
Both. Though I didn’t get to play with the computer much. I was a girl. Girls weren’t supposed to try to learn about those things, so I was actively discouraged by my brother who owned it. And I have fond memories of watching my mother playing Atari games. Especially Kaboom and Pitfall. Ooo… and Space Invaders! That is probably one of the funniest things I have ever seen in my life.

30. Did you play Pac-Man?
Of course. I found it boring.

31. Which was better: the Goonies or Stand By Me?
Neither.

32. Say Anything or Better Off Dead?
Both. John Cusack is hot. Better Off Dead is probably a bit better, though. Say Anything was a tad sappy.

33. What movie scared you the most?
Never was really scared by a movie. I didn’t watch horror flicks. Ok.. Maybe Aliens. I liked Aliens.

34. Did you try to dance like Michael Jackson?
No.

35. Rolling Stone said U2 was the band of the 80’s, who was the band of the 80’s for you?
I didn’t have a band of the 80s. In the 80s I was listening to Simon and Garfunkel; Peter, Paul and Mary; Jefferson Airplane; Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young; and… the Rolling Stones

36. Do you remember the founding members of Depeche Mode?
No.

37. Wham! or George Michael?
I liked Wham for a good 20 seconds. George Michael later came out with some equally catchy things.

38. Oingo Boingo or Talking Heads?
Both. Good gawd. Both!

39. Blue Monday; 1980 version or 1988 version?
Dunno.

40. Back to the Future or Indiana Jones?
Indiana Jones is the MAN! I’m a sucker for a handsome man in a hat like that.

Is the term “Ducky” used for a loved one these days?

To Doris Y
From Harvey

(and someone kindly penciled in the year, 1925, and Harvey’s last name, “Larwance”. I’m guessing this was Gran, because she had a habit of getting letters mixed up when writing names. She did this throughout my life. She never did spell my married name correctly, and my daughter’s name went through several interesting and amusing changes at her hand.)

I…

got the flu.

Four days ago I felt like a human. Saturday, Sunday, and Monday… not so much. Still, I made “the effort” yesterday, Christmas Eve, to get out, and ran a few errands with lecram. That’s when I got to see Stalker Claus…

And he really is Stalker Claus, because I turned around, and there he was again… down the street, skulking near this other house…

He thought changing his outfit would throw me off, but I’m wise to ‘im, I am.

After the food-run and whatnot, and being freaked out by that guy in the red suit that kept turning up everywhere… I opted to come home, take antihistamines and pass out. But not before being gifted with a flashy lighter. You can see what it looks like in lecram’s Christmas Vlog. I don’t smoke. Never will. But I do know several people who do, so, you know, I can help them get lung cancer with festive pizzazz, baby!

No, I like my lighter. It’s sparkly and flashy, it makes fire, AND… it has a wee flashlight on the other end. It’s a survival tool!

Or not.

Anyway, today has been… quiet. The podling was with her Dad and his family all morning, and since I’m still coughing and sniffling I couldn’t have any contact with MY family. (It’s not good to go be around a guy who just had a triple bypass if you’re carrying the creeping crud along with you.)

I slept throughout the morning. Watched a little of my man James Bond, then ended up waking up to something crappy and forgettable on TV. (Mercifully forgettable due to the drugs I’m still taking for the runny nose, cough, fever, etc…) Ate ramen noodle soup, because I’ve run out of the other kinds of soups.

Then the podling and her Dad stopped in. She opened what Santa had left for her here. She got a PS2 game, some games for her DS, a purple velvet purse, some leather gloves, the Daring Book for Girls, various foofy things. Between me, Santa and my parents, she had a fine haul here. Not to mention her new computer, and eventually the internet access she’ll have once I pick up a router and get her networked. (And the parental blocking and keystroke logging software I’m tempted to subject her to… What?! I’m a MOM, for crying out loud! And I KNOW what’s out there on that in-tar-web thang. Gotta keep her pure as long as I can. Not naive. Just pure.)

She brought me gifts. One was from her… a gorgeous pair of shoes that I had commented on a long while back. They’re saucy little black satin pumps with delicate rhinestone embellishments. Apparently, the young one remembered my shoe size and went back to get them. She’s a good girl. She’s a sweet girl. She’s a caring girl. She’s a thoughtful girl.

The other gift… well…

The photo is sideways. I’m too lazy to adjust it. And yes, I need to wipe down my stove top. I don’t do those things while sick.

Isn’t it magnificent? A frog covered teapot, six cups, all on a wire stand… thingy. It says they are not to be used in the dishwasher, the microwave, and do NOT use with boiling water.

um…

So what DO I use them with? They just denied me my three main cooking and cleaning methods!

Apparently this is a gift that the ex’s mother had had sitting around for me for years and kept forgetting to give to me. It had been picked up for me a long while back, because the family remembered that I have an affinity for frogdom. It was remembered this year, and given to me on behalf of the podling.

o

k

Now… it IS true I have long had a thing for frogs. It came from a childhood nickname, and suddenly people started giving me frog-related things. As I got older I weeded out the crap and kept some of my favorites. I have a few glass frog ornaments on my Christmas tree. I have a little carved frog with an opal in his back. I have a Baccarat crystal frog. I have an antique vase of three frogs with upturned mouths that belonged to my grandmother. (Whose birthday it would have been today. Happy Birthday, Grandma in heaven.) And if I see something truly cool and frog-like, I’ll acquire it. This is a rare occurrence.

I collect the unique, the unusual, the very fine…

Apparently my idea of a unique, unusual, fine frog is not the same as others’ ideas.

Does anyone know the polite waiting period before chucking a dust-catcher in the bin at the local Goodwill?

And so this is Christmas…

The cool thing about Christmas is you get to try it again next year.

Bah Ho Ho Merry Humbug.

I look forward to eating the duck takeout picked up for the occasion later.

Not much of worth to say today. I seem to have a caught a tickle in my throat that has decided to move on to becoming a bit of a cold. I’m coughing and sucking on lozenges. I’m not feeling chatty or verbose, so I’ll just offer random comments here and there as I share sights of the season.

First… more of me. To the world. Yeah, it’s kind of an obsession this time of year. If you look at the bottom “JOY”, you’ll see that, apparently, I cost $19.99. Now that’s a bargain for some “JOY” in your life!

Next, random photos I shot on the 16th while sitting around, shooting the shit with lecram and friends. I was fascinated with taking blurry photos of my Chivas and car keys, apparently. Sometimes I don’t know why I do what I do. I just do it, and it either sorts itself later, or just remains a random happening with no point.

I took the above and below photos because I couldn’t decide which I liked better… the one is a little more ‘clean’, the second has that gritty, urban, crappy-Fresno look. Perspective is everything.

And then, on Thursday, was Mm Mm Christmas. Go here to see some video shot during the proceedings.

Mm Mm Christmas is this thing these guys have been doing for… umpteen years. I got invited this year. It’s a reason for people to get together with the excuse of singing Christmas carols. And if you don’t know the words… you “mm mm mm” along until you get to the part where you do.

There was singing:

Crafty ornament making: (Here you will see a sketch done by lecram of our lovely bartender, and my contributions… what I thought were ornaments appropriate to a bar setting)

Polaroid photos taken to commemorate the occasion: (That’s Zonthar, me, and Jag… and no, it really IS better that you can’t really see us in my photos of the photo)

And… eventually, Peanuts/Snoopy dancing:

What was *I* doing during all these festivities? Ensuring that there is a warm place in hell for me by creating the following from the crafty ornament supplies.

The first… not so bad. It’s just crass (or… “kiss my ass”):

Yes. It hangs on the tree there, now.

But then, I moved on to “callous and insensitive”. But only at Jag’s request. It’s a commissioned piece of art, you see. I asked what sort of ornament I should craft next, and he said something about an artistic rendering of the planes crashing into the twin towers… and… well… I picked up the scissors… the paper…:

He was so moved by my personalized effort to bring him holiday cheer in a way that he could understand it that he took it home, and I’m sure now it holds a place of honor upon his refrigerator. Or… somewhere.

Yup. Goin’ to hell.

And.. speaking of hell… Saw Sweeney Todd yesterday. Podling came along. We both LOVED it. Nephew Timinator was there as well. He found it to be a bit on the graphic side, but enjoyed the story and music. Had the pleasure of the company of both lecram and APJ. We all thought it was great. Then we went out to the Chicken Pie Shop so lecram and I could order these seasonal offerings:

OH, so tasty. Red meat pies. APJ and the children weren’t brave enough to try them, but came along and ordered other fine comfort food.

Time for a nap. I can’t be sick for Xmas. Dad’s still recovering from a triple bypass the week after Thanksgiving. All he needs is a virus-y daughter bringing him that special gift of pneumonia.

The last of the winter holiday edition. Here are the rest of the Christmas themed greetings.

With kind Remembrance
for christmas
and the New Year

Reta Margaret Kimball

We wish you both in rhyme and reason,
The joys of all this festive season.
that Christmas joy
and Christmas pleasure,
Come to you in goodly measure.

The Seasons
Greetings
and
Best Wishes

If all your days throughout the year
Were crowded into one,
I’d fill it full of Christmas cheer
From morn ’til set of sun.

A post card
To Doris
From Wilma

Wishing you the joy of
Christmas and happiness
throughout the coming year

Signed by Mamie McCune

So… I come up with three wishes for three HNT bloggers? Is that it? I think that’s what this says:

# YOU will pick 3 fellow HNT/bloggers.
# YOU will choose ones that you aren’t necessarily close to, since you’ll probably be doing separate Christmas wishes for them anyway. So Phain won’t pick Fame, Betcha won’t pick No One, MG won’t pick TG, etc….
# YOU will tell us what you’re going to get them for Christmas, if you had the means to do so.
# YOU will do all of this on YOUR site.
# YOU will leave a comment here to let us know that you’ve put up your list, and to whom you’re gifting.
# YOU will comment to, or email, the recipients to let them know you’ve listed them, so they can come to your site and see what they’ll get.
# (optional) - YOU will post a picture of each gift, if that’s possible.
# WE will go to your site and see how generous you are to total strangers.

Ok. so… because… um… yeah… I don’t know ANYONE that does HNT, except lecram… as in, I REALLY don’t know anyone, because I am sporadic, at best in both posting and following HNT … because of this, I have chosen three people entirely randomly, mostly based on what I HAVE seen or noticed of them. My reasons may be shallow or quite thoughtful. But here we go… Three wishes.

Wish #1.
For Signgurl

Why: This may seem trite, but she’s one of those “hero” people you come across every so often. You know, regular folk, just living life, but in the course of that life they make the decision to do something that, while maybe not earth-shattering or front page news, is still quite extraordinary, something that makes a difference in their OWN lives and the lives of those around them. Courage, Self-Respect, Determination. That kind of hero people. I’ve read her posts. I just like her, and respect her for who she seems to be. And she is, truly, beautiful. Inside and out. This ain’t JUST about a person who has lost weight, though that’s a part of the journey. This is about an amazing person being who she really is. At least, that’s MY take on it.

What: Unsure of what to give here, since I haven’t quite gleaned much of the likes/dislikes sort of information from what I’ve read, so I’m just going for, you know… that “nice” thing you’d give anyone who deserves really, really “nice”. So I was thinking… a ride in a limousine closely resembling this inside:

And that package on the seat… perhaps… containing something shiny, sparkly, unusual and personalized…

on the way to somewhere she’s always wanted to go. The concert of her dreams, maybe? Or the getaway of dreams with the spousal unit? Maybe a night on the town with all the most fun people she knows. Or… a trip to a pampering spa where they do things with warm rocks and rose petals that you didn’t even KNOW people would do… All expenses paid.

Wish #2
For What Doesn’t Kill You

Why: No reason, really. This is the “shallow” part of our proceedings. Picked this one fairly random-like, and the intent is ENTIRELY tongue-in-cheek. I guess the “why” is because age DOES get us all, in the end. So… for that grey in the goatee that appeared on this week’s HNT…

What:

Yes, Just For Men hair color. And it says it’s good for mustaches and beards. They’re even offering a free box. But that’s only for U.S. residents.

Mind you, this wish is only in the most whimsical sense, given that this guy appears to be older than me, but also appears to be in somewhat better shape than me. (And probably better looking.)

Really, it’s just a silly joke. Dude doesn’t need it. Besides… grey on a man = “distinguished”. I’ve been using henna on MY hair for over a year now, and though there was no grey when I started, I’m not inclined to find out if, given the stress of this last year, it has decided to make an appearance. Why? Because grey on a woman = “not so fresh, eh?”

Yup.

Wish #3:
For Mark Leslie

Why: I like writers. That’s pretty much the only reason. Stumbled across his blog; read the “I, Death” blog; was captivated. I think it has something to do with the fact that I wish I could be a “real” writer. I love to pour out words, myself, but I have no discipline or focus. I just have respect for someone who has the dedication to do it properly. That writing thing.

What:

Now… while imagination MAY be more important than knowledge… we all know knowledge is power, so let’s not completely discount knowledge. However, for our purposes here, the wish is for unending imagination. Ever-flowing inspiration. A kind muse.
All as thanks for giving me something to read for a while that fired MY imagination, and made me think, or feel, or smile, or wonder.

Merry Kringle. Good Yule. Happy Holly-days.

100%ALCOHOLIC

I just… have information that is totally useless to me, and the rest of the time I guess REALLY well.

22

Looking for payday loan?

61%

100% Free Dating at JustSayHi.com

JUST you wait.

The holiday season version.

Cover:
Christmas Greetings

First page:
To Glen Hanneman
From Otto Herman Fred and Ernest Neff

Interior:
Merry Christmas.

If all the things
I wish for you,
If all the Christmas gifts,
could be
Placed side by side
in one long line,
They’d pave the way
‘twixt you and me!