Shannon Yee

Appetizer
Name 2 things you would like to accomplish in 2008.
Saving money and investing it wisely.

Soup
With which cartoon character do you share personality traits?
Bob the Tomato.

Salad
What time of day (or night) were you born?
I am not sure, but I think it was around 7am.

Main Course
Tell us something special about your hometown.
It used to be one of the safest places to live in the US (or at least Michigan).

Dessert
If you could receive a letter from anyone in the world, who would you want to get one from?
My husband – a really long letter.

After missing quite a few feasts…

Appetizer
What was the last game you purchased?
Candyland or Chutes & Ladders

Soup
Name something in which you don’t believe.
Santa

Salad
If you could choose a celebrity to be your boss, who would you pick?
Tyra Banks, because then I would probably be involved in some sort of modeling thing and would hopefully find it pretty interesting.

Main Course
What was a lesson you had to learn the hard way?
There are so many; I’ve learned that I cannot expect my husband to know what I want and do it without telling him very clearly.

Dessert
Describe your idea of the perfect relaxation room.
Warm, with a massage table and masseuse on standby as well as a comfortable chair and cozy blanket for reading books or journaling; there should be relaxing and uplifting music playing softly in the background.

The Christmas Meme

I got tagged for the Christmas Meme by Logtar.

1. Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share Christmas facts about yourself.
3. Tag seven random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Welcome to the Christmas edition of “Getting to Know Your Friends.”

1. Wrapping or gift bags?
Wrapping until I ran out of paper and then I resorted to bags.

2. Real or artificial tree?
Real!

3. When do you put up the tree?
Right after thanksgiving.

4. When do you take the tree down?
January 6 or there abouts.

5. Do you like egg nog?
Never tried it.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Probably the bike with a red, white and blue banana seat I got in 2nd grade…

7. Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes, several, but the glass one is strangely missing the head of a wiseman, the hand of Mary and the hand of a shepherd!

8. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
Christian tracks…

9. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail. This year we didn’t send cards to friends we see regularly.

10. Favorite Christmas Movie?
“Miracle on 34th Street”

11. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
When I get around to it; hopefully by the middle of December – this year I started before Thanksgiving!

12. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Pretzel Jello. Too bad I’m the one who has to make it!

13. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
Colored.

14. Favorite Christmas song(s)?
Currently, “O Little Town of Bethlehem”

15. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
To the Great Wolf Lodge – Sandusky for the weekend before Christmas and then home (sort of). We are really just sleeping at home and visiting family at various homes around us during the day.

16. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?
Yes.

17. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Nothing. I haven’t found a tree topper I like, so we still don’t have one.

18. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning?
Morning.

19. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
The cold.

20. Do you decorate your tree in any specific theme or color?
Christmas.

21. What do you leave for Santa?
Cookies and milk. Empty stockings, too.

22. Least favorite holiday song?
Grandma got run over by a reindeer

23. Favorite ornament?
Spock 😛

24. Family tradition?
Reading the Christmas story from the Bible on Christmas morning – all of us in the our bed.

25. Ever been to Midnight Mass or late-night Christmas Even services?
Nope.

I’m tagging Sally, Jen, Jessica, Meggan, Cheryl, mraven, and Natalie.

I have a tendency to be a bit ambitious, to bite off more than I can chew, to think that it won’t be *that* much work, and to consequently be disappointed and miserable. I am not an optimist as you might presume given my overly optimistic predictions of what can be done in an hour, day, week or even year. Rather, I am just foolish or in denial about how things really work. I want to be able to do all the things on my list and have my husband do all the of the things on my “Honey Do” list, so I try to wish it into reality.

While I was at the Hearts at Home conference, one of the speakers said that your misery factor is the ratio of your expectations to reality. If your expectations are unrealistic, you are bound to be very miserable. On the other hand, when you have hopes that are plausible, you have a real chance of being successful and feeling great! Unfortunately, I cannot seem to grasp what realistic expectations look like.

I have written down a list of what I wanted to do during Brian’s break from work over Christmas and while my family is in town. It is a little longer than I thought is was and I’m already disappointed because I am realizing that most of it probably won’t get done. Yet, I am looking forward to crossing things off this list and seeing how much gets accomplished in the end – and secretly hoping that it all gets done. Maybe I’m ambitious, but that is a good thing, right?

I actually am not sure if the milk man is a man or woman, but I am proudly now part of those having local dairy products delivered to their door weekly. Each Monday, Calder Dairy, brings what I want or need right to my house. I am especially excited about the whole idea and love it!

I love supporting the local economy and not having to go the store for these things that I often need each week. The idea of it all seems fresher and healthier than buying it at the store; although, I doubt there is much to this vague feeling I have. The products we’ve gotten so far (2 types of milk and cottage cheese) are fabulous. I also love that it comes in a glass jar, so there is no waste.

This is another way I am going backwards in time – first cloth diapering and now milk delivery – what could be next?

So, if everyone on earth consumed like we do in our family, we would need 3.5 Earths to sustain life here! That means we have a little work to do – mostly in the food area. For us, it would take 8 planets to maintain our level of food consumption and use! You can play and see your footprint here:
http://sustainability.publicradio.org/consumerconsequences/

Appetizer
Which snack do you like to get when you go to the movies?

Popcorn with butter and a Diet Coke

Soup
What year did you start using the internet?

?? Definitely 1996 or earlier, but I can’t remember what I did this morning, let alone what happened over 10 years ago.

Salad
What is your first name in Pig Latin? (Here’s how to speak it if you don’t already know!)

annonshay

Main Course
Name something you are picky about.

Just about everything – one thing is how my toast is buttered.

Dessert
Fill in the blanks: I ____ ____ yesterday and I ____ ____ today.

I ate pizza yesterday and I ate pizza today.

Appetizer
How much money do you plan to spend this upcoming holiday season?

Hopefully less than $500.

Soup
What was the last television show you watched, and was it good?

Man vs. Wild; it was interesting – he drank his own urine and ate a spider. I don’t know if I’d call it good, but it passed the time while I folded laundry.

Salad
If you had to paint the walls of your living room tomorrow, what color would you choose?

A light warm tan/beige color or the same color that is there now – Bohemian Beige.

Main Course
Name something clever or practical you have thought of that should be invented, but hasn’t yet.

Someone I know thought of this, but I’ll mention it here: a pump and tube to connect to babies while in their car seat – so they can nurse while on the go… It’s clever and practical, but there are some problems, like discretion and safety.

Dessert
List 3 things you would like to receive as gifts this upcoming holiday season.

1) Refrigerator/Freezer, 2) Trendy clothes, esp. shirts, 3) Someone to regularly clean my house!

(x) Smoked a cigarette
(x) Drank so much you threw up
(x) Had feelings for someone who didn’t have them back
( ) Been arrested
(x) Gone on a blind date
(x) Skipped school
( ) Watched someone die
( ) Ever seen someone be born that is not your child
(x) Been to Canada
(x) Been to Mexico
(x) Been to Florida
(x) Been on a plane
(x) Been lost
(x) Been on the opposite side of the country
(x) Gone to Washington, DC
(x) Swam in the o cean
(x) Felt like dying
(x) Cried yourself to sleep
(x) Played cops and robbers
(x) Recently colored with crayons.
(x) Sang karaoke
(x) Paid for a meal with only coins
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn’t?
(x) Made prank phone calls
(x) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(x) Caught a snowflake on your tongue and made snow angels too
(x) Danced in the rain.
( ) Written a letter to Santa Claus
( ) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(x) Watched the sunrise with someone you care about
(x) Blown bubbles
(x) Made a bonfire on the beach
( ) Crashed a party
(x) Gone ice-skating
( ) Been skinny dipping
( ) Gone to the movies, paid for one ticket, and then snuck into another theater to see a different feature afterwards
1. Any nickname? Does Mama count!?
2. Mother’s name? Kathy
3. Favorite drink? water or Carmel Marvel from Bigby’s Coffee
4. Tattoos? nope
5. Body piercing? ears
6. How much do you love your job? More than words can describe
7. Birthplace? Arlington, TX
8. Favorite vacation spot? South of France
9. Best way to relax? read a good book with a nice drink
10. Ever eaten cookies for dinner? absolutely
11. Ever been on TV? home video…
12. Ever steal any traffic signs? sort of
13. Ever been in a car accident? yes
14. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle? 4-door
15. Favorite salad dressing? raspberry vinagrette
16. Favorite pie? right now, pumpkin
17. Favorite number? 7
18. Favorite movie? anything in the romantic high school comedy with a happy ending and a good moral, esp. if there isn’t any gratuitous nudity or language; for example, Bring It On or She’s All That or High School Musical.
19. Favorite holiday? Thanksgiving
20. Favorite dessert? Fresh-baked cookies
21. Favorite food? foie gras or scallops
22. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
23. Favorite brand of body wash? I don’t know.
24. Favorite toothpaste? Mentedent
25. Favorite smell? the air on a crisp fall morning
26. How do you see yourself in 10 years? hopefully wiser, more patient and exceedingly loving

Appetizer
Name a great website you would recommend to others.

Of course, my first choices are those of my kids (eilarose.com, josiahyee.com), but I’m not sure they count… So, for a website that I’m not related to: handipoints.com

Soup
On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 as highest), how often do you dream at night?

1

Salad
Did you have a pet as a child? If so, what kind and what was its name?

I had a dog whose name I cannot remember… If you count high school as childhood then my dog’s name was All-Star.

Main Course
If you had the chance to star in a commercial, what would you choose to advertise?

I’ve always wanted to be the girl with the beautiful long hair in a Pantene commercial.

Dessert
What is your favorite kind of hard candy?

Butterscotch