Lists

These lists are mostly not in any particular order. Not every channel I'm subscribed to on YouTube will be on these lists. YouTube channels I include will be those I like best or that I think most people would enjoy.

 

YouTube Channels

History, travel, life in other states and countries, etc. 

 

1. Itchy Boots

2. Joe Ryan (motorcyclist from Australia travels the world)

3. The History Underground

4. Harmen Hoek (hikes and camps all over the world)

5. Peter Santenello

6. SimpleD. (woman living in Romania w/2 cats)

7. Your New Zealand Family

8. Early American (woman from MO cooks recipes from the 18th & 19th centuries)

9. Royalty Now Studios

10. In Deep Geek

11. 1bike1world (Scottish man travels by bike, & sometimes van, w/cat)

12. History Hit

13. quatre saisons (Japanese lady and French husband travel to villages in southern France)

14. Through My Lens (American family travel the US & the world)

15. Dave's Walks

16. Kevin the Countryman (British man walks through English villages)

17. Una Moto (Canadian man travels the world on motorcycle)

 

 

YouTube Home Renovation/Restoration Channels

 

1. Mr and Mrs Adventure (American couple in Portugal)

2. Diego Leon (Portuguese man in France)

3. Raising Voyagers (American family in Italy)

4. Domaine Sauvage (Dutch/Belgian family in France)

5. emma shaye (Woman in VA renovating an old country store into a home)

6. So, we found this ruin (Scandinavian family in Italy)

7. The Rectory (British couple restoring an old rectory)

 

 

YouTube Reaction & Review Channels

People watching and reacting to TV shows and Movies

 

1. Everyday Negroes

2. Nikki & Steven React

3. LiteWeight Reacting

4. #StruggleNation

5. Cinema Therapy (a licensed therapist & a professional filmmaker)

6. Katie o'shaughnessy

7. Popcorn In Bed

8. Badd Medicine

9. James VS Cinema (independent filmmaker)

10. Jeremy Jahns (professional reviewer)

11. pReview'd

12. Omn1Media

13. Rob & Trin React!

14. NocBro Nation 

 

 

Favorite TV Shows

 

1. Band of Brothers 

2. The Last Kingdom

3. Andor

4. The Expanse

5. Shogun (2024)

6. The Walking Dead

7. Game of Thrones (despite seasons 7 & 8 not being nearly as good as seasons 1-6)

8. 12 Monkeys

9. Vikings

10. Call the Midwife

11. Loki (especially season 2)

12. Finding Your Roots

13. Victoria (though it was cancelled after season 3 & ended on a cliffhanger)

14. The Closer

 

More shows might get added to this list if I think of them. 

Eight Things

Eight TV Shows I Love to Watch:

1. The Mandalorian
2. Call the Midwife
3. The Umbrella Academy
4. The Last Kingdom
5. Stranger Things
6. Outlander
7. Finding Your Roots
8. Victoria

Eight Favorite Places to Eat:

1. Home
2. Cugino Forno (THE best pizza!)
3. Salvino Cucina Italiana
4. La Hacienda
5. Lucky 32
6. Locals (Southport)
7. Famous Subs and Pizza (Southport)
8. Fishy Fishy Cafe (Southport)

Eight Things I'm Looking Forward To:

1. Selling our house someday and buying a place in the country.
2. Spring
3. The revival and growth that is coming to our church.
4. Summer
5. Paying off the truck Charlie bought last spring. It's going to be several years, but I look forward to someday not having that payment.
6. Church this Sunday.
7. Having a room just for my library. Someday.
8. Getting my living room back in order. The Christmas tree is still up. :-/

Eight Things I Want:

1. A house in the country with land and no neighbors.
2. A room just for my library.
3. A Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. Black or gray with big tires (not tall like a monster truck lol), bars, and all tricked out.
4. Visit New Zealand. I want to do the Lord of the Rings tour.
5. Visit Europe.
6. Visit Yosemite and northern California. And a few other states.
7. A mild winter with no horribly cold temperatures (nothing below 45° for highs) and no ice.
8. For our church to need to expand and even buy more land because of all the people that will be coming.

Eight Places I've Been To:

1. Cape Lookout
2. Outer Banks
3. Blue Ridge Parkway
4. New York City
5. Washington, D.C.
6. Galveston
7. Biltmore Estate
8. Amish country in Ohio

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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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Hopes, Dreams, and Goals for 2019

I thought I didn't really have any hopes for this year, but then I got to thinking and realized that I do. lol

So, here they are in no particular order. My hopes, dreams, and goals for 2019.


1. That God will heal my friend Joni of cancer. Things are not looking good right now.

2. That my kids will figure out what they want to do with their lives, pursue it, and succeed.

3. That we will do what needs to be done to our house to get it ready to sell. There are repairs, touch-up painting, de-cluttering, and rearranging that needs to be done.

4. If we put our house back on the market this year, that it will sell for what the asking price will be (or more) and that we can move to a bigger place in the country with some land and no close neighbors. I want a room for my library and I need a bigger kitchen with more counter space.

5. Pray more and read my Bible more.

6. Try to read more books.

7. I'd love for our church to grow spiritually and physically.

8. Be healed of PCOS and all symptoms gone. I want my hair back (normal thickness and several more inches in length), excess weight gone, better skin, risk of cancer, diabetes, stroke, and heart attack gone, etc.

9. That my kids will get closer to God.

10. That Charlie will get a raise and be able to get the truck he needs.

11. Finally tackle my closet and be able to bring myself to get rid of some things. There are clothes I haven't worn in quite awhile, but I'm having a hard time getting rid of them. lol

12. If I could finally break through some of the brick walls in my family tree, that would be awesome!

I could possibly add more to this if I thought long enough, but I'm going to stop here.

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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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Books and Movies of 2018

I enjoyed almost every book I read last year. It's going to be hard to rank them.

1. A Reaper at the Gates, by Sabaa Tahir
2. Thunderhead, by Neal Shusterman
3. Warm Bodies, by Isaac Marion
4. A Court of Mist and Fury, by Sarah J. Maas
5. The New Hunger, by Isaac Marion
6. A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J. Maas
7. A Court of Wings and Ruin, by Sarah J. Maas
8. The Burning World, by Isaac Marion
9. O Pioneers!, by Willa Cather
10. The Martian, by Andy Weir
11. A Court of Frost and Starlight, by Sarah J. Maas
12. After You, by Jojo Moyes
13. Fading, by Cindy Cipriano
14. High Voltage, by Karen Marie Moning
15. The Trickster's Lover, by Samantha MacLeod
16. The Things We Cherished, by Pam Jenoff
17. The Kept, by James Scott

I gave books 1-10 four stars out of five at GoodReads. Their order could change on any given day. I gave books 11-16 three stars. I probably wouldn't change their order. I gave book 17 two stars.

I read most of Seven Stones to Stand or Fall by Diana Gabaldon (a book of novellas), but lost interest more than halfway through, while reading A Fugitive Green. I'm on page 335 of 526. I will try to finish it within the next month or two.

I started reading Unfinished Tales by J.R.R. Tolkien in September or October, but have only made it to page 36. It may take all year to read it. lol

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Most of the movies I watched last year were just okay. Though I'm ranking them, I wouldn't call any of them a favorite. Guernsey was pretty good though and Jumanji was funny. Black Panther was good, as in well-made and well-acted, and the action was good, but I didn't like it enough to watch it a second time.

1.  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
2. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
3. Black Panther
4. The Christmas Chronicles
5. Victoria and Abdul
6. To All the Boys I've Loved Before

The rest were just okay and not really good enough to put on my list of best/top movies.

Outlaw King, Nappily Ever After, Tomb Raider (2018), Maze Runner: The Death Cure, The Greatest Showman (though people raved about this movie, it was just kind of "eh" for me), The Man Who Invented Christmas.

The movie I didn't like was A Quiet Place. Another movie people raved about, but it got on my nerves.

I didn't see many movies last year. Very few interested me. I hope I see better movies this year.

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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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Words to Live By

I try to live these things.

1. Be kind.

2. Help if you can.

3. Forgive.

4. Don't seek revenge or hope bad things happen to people.

5. Live a life of peace as much as possible.

6. Don't allow violent, angry, vengeful, or unkind people in your life.

7. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Not "treat people how they treat you." To do the latter means you're just as bad as they are. Be better than that.

8. Patience is a virtue.

9. "Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none."

10. Two wrongs never make a right.

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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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This and That

Sean is doing very well with his schooling. It's going to take longer than we thought though. He definitely won't be done by mid-September. He's currently taking Math 1, but they told him that they should've just put him in Math 2 since Math 1 is so easy for him. He's getting all 95s and 100s and is usually the first one to raise his hand to answer a question. Sometimes the only one. And he gets them all right. The instructor had to tell him to put his hand down and let someone else answer. (He was nice about it.) lol But others got the answers wrong.

He can take the test to move to Math 2 after 60 hours. We'll be on vacation that week (his instructor told him that was fine; that he could just pick up where he left off when he gets back), so he'll take the test the following week. After 60 hours of Math 2 and another test, he then moves on to GED Math (not sure if that's another 60 hours) and then he can take the GED test.

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I finished Time Siege (2nd book in the Time Salvager trilogy) by Wesley Chu yesterday. The Time Salvager books aren't like anything I've read before. I've read books set in the future, and a series with some time travel (Outlander), but nothing I can recall that's futuristic (about 500 years in the future), has time travel (an organization has ownership of time travel and they send back trained people to gather relics, technology, and other items), as well as a lot of it taking place in space and on other planets where people have set up colonies because of the Earth Plague that's made Earth uninhabitable in many areas, but most of it is on Earth.

There's action, battles, love, betrayal. I'm really enjoying them. I don't know when the third book is coming out (the author doesn't know either; he said he's working on a few different projects), but I can't wait to read it.

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I've gotten a few things since my last blog entry. A couple dresses, a white lacy shrug (to replace one I had that I was constantly pushing the sleeves up on because I couldn't stand them covering my elbows), a skirt, and a denim jacket.

I got this at Dillard's a few weeks ago. Originally $110, I paid around $40. I was going to wear my red shrug with it, but I looked too much like a British nurse in it. (Like in the show Call the Midwife.) So I wore my light pink shrug with it. It looks really cute. :-)

 I got this at Dress Barn a few weeks ago. Originally $70, I paid about $35 before taxes. It's sleeveless, as you can see, and is open in the back almost down to my waist. I wore a black shrug with it to cover my back and upper arms that's a similar material as the top of the dress.

I saw this at JC Penney and really liked it, but they didn't have my size and it wasn't quite as long as I wanted it. It barely covered my knees. So I ordered a Tall in my size from their website a couple weeks ago. I paid about $25 for it.

I got this denim moto jacket at Stein Mart this past Saturday. The tag says it's $58 at other stores. I paid $35.

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I've been doing a lot of work on the family tree lately. I usually visit the site nearly every day and do a little here and there, but I've been spending a lot of time there the past few months. I'm writing everything down in journals. I recently bought another journal for my dad's dad's side, the third one for that branch, because I'd run out of room in the one I had been writing in for that branch. I usually work on one branch for a few days or a week, attaching pictures and documents online and writing things down in the journals, before switching to another branch. I'm doing my family and my husband's family.

I switched to my husband's dad's side last week and made an interesting discovery - Frank and Jesse James are distant cousins of my husband and his parents/siblings/nieces and nephews. For my husband and his sisters, Frank and Jesse are their 6th cousins 4x removed.

I found out a few weeks ago that my husband and his family are also distant cousins of Micajah Autry, a hero of the Alamo.

It's interesting and at times really cool what you can discover when working on your family tree. I did their DNA test about a year and a half ago (I think) and have been contacted by a few second, third, and fourth cousins. A couple of them are now my Facebook friends. One of them (who is not a FB friend) was adopted and wanted to know more about her birth family and our shared ancestors (on my mom's dad's side), but her birth mom wouldn't talk to her or tell her anything about her family history. I don't know her parents or grandparents (too distant to have ever met or even crossed paths), but I shared my tree with her so that she would at least know something about her ancestors.

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I think I'll close out this entry with some things I'm looking forward to.

1. Vacation! We'll be going to Morehead City area (mostly for Cape Lookout and Fort Macon) and, of course, Southport.

2. Going to the mountains in October. Not sure if we'll do the usual drive down the Parkway to Boone. I'm thinking about maybe going directly to Boone and doing Grandfather Mountain, Blowing Rock, Mystery Hill House, Linville Caverns and Linville Falls. The kids really want to go to Blowing Rock and Mystery Hill House (again) and going directly to Boone would make it easier as we'd have more time to get there before they close.

3. Going on some hikes like we did last October and November. I'd like to go to Pilot Mountain and Hanging Rock again. I'd also like to go to Stone Mountain. All the years I've lived in this area and I've yet to go there.

4. Sean finishing school and then starting his aviation mechanics course. If that's what he's still planning to do.

5. Books are always on my list. :-) A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir, sequel to An Ember in the Ashes, comes out today. (Looks like there's going to be 4 in the series.) I'll probably get that on Friday. I'm hoping the third Time Salvager book comes out next year, but I have no idea. And really looking forward to the 9th Outlander book (by Diana Gabaldon) that should be coming out in a year or two. The title was recently released - Go Tell the Bees That I am Gone.

According to Diana:

"It's a very old Celtic custom (known in other parts of Europe, too) that made it to the Appalachians. You always tell the bees when someone is born, dies, comes or goes--because if you don't keep them informed, they'll fly away."

Not sure how I feel about the title. It's different, interesting. Maybe it'll grow on me. :-)


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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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Books and Movies of 2014

This is one of my favorite blog entries to write every year. The books I read and movies I watched over the course of the past year.

Books I read, in order from favorite to least favorite:

1. Written in my Own Heart's Blood (8th book in the Outlander series), by Diana Gabaldon
2. The Infinite Sea (2nd book in the 5th Wave trilogy), by Rick Yancey
3. Flight of the Sparrow, by Amy Belding Brown
4. While Beauty Slept, by Elizabeth Blackwell
5. Rose Under Fire, by Elizabeth Wein
6. The Ambassador's Daughter, by Pam Jenoff
7. A Hidden Fire, by Elizabeth Hunter
8. Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn
9. The Best of Me, by Nicholas Sparks
10. A Girl Called Fearless, by Catherine Linka
11. Willow, by Tonya Cherie Hegamin
12. And the Mountains Echoed, by Khaled Hosseini
13. The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman
14. Those Who Save Us, by Jenna Blum
15. An Untamed State, by Roxane Gay
16. Lola and the Boy Next Door (2nd book in the Anna and the French Kiss trilogy), by Stephanie Perkins


I gave book #1 (called MOBY or MOHB by fans) 5 stars at GoodReads. Books 2-4 got 4 stars. Books 5-15 got 3 stars. #16 also got 3 stars, but that was only because GoodReads wouldn't let me give it 2½. After loving Anna and the French Kiss so much, I expected Lola and the Boy Next Door to be much better than it turned out to be. I'm hoping the 3rd book, Isla and the Happily Ever After, will be better than Lola.

Gone Girl would've been higher on the list if it had had a better ending and if the main characters were actually likable. An Untamed State may have also been a spot or two higher if it weren't for the very unlikable (to me) main character.

My first book of 2015 (which I started reading a couple days ago) is We Were Liars, by e. lockhart.

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I saw 36 movies this year that I hadn't seen before. Most of them came out this year or late last year. These are my top ten (based on what I enjoyed most/what entertained me most):

1. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay part 1
2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
3. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
4. Maleficent
5. X-Men: Days of Future Past
6. The Monuments Men
7. Belle
8. Guardians of the Galaxy
9. 12 Years a Slave
10. Captain Phillips


Honorable Mentions: Divergent and The Hundred-Foot Journey.

These were okay: Ender's Game, Red, Saving Mr. Banks, Labor Day, The Fault in Our Stars, Non-Stop, The Giver.

Meh: The Wolverine, Blue Jasmine, The Descendants, Romeo and Juliet (2013), Gravity, Delivery Man, Philomena, Pompeii, Winter's Tale, Sister Act 2, The Deep Blue Sea, Gone, If I Stay.

Kind of dumb/disliked: Mirror Mirror, Mom's Night Out, Magic in the Moonlight.

Hated: Austenland - very stupid movie. 


The movies I'm looking forward to in 2015 are Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, Mockingjay part 2, The Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Cinderella.

Books and Movies of 2012

It's not possible for me to rank the top three (of four) books I read this year. The Fiery Cross, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, and An Echo in the Bone (the 5th, 6th, and 7th books in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon; the 8th book comes out next fall) are all equally great. (Each book is about 800-1000 pages long and hard to put down.) I love the Outlander series and can't wait for the eighth book to come out.

So that means that the fourth book I read this year, A Biltmore Christmas (by four different authors), is ranked last. It's a series of stories, each about a different sister who lives in Asheville and goes to Biltmore Estate as an employee and finds love while there. I didn't dislike it, but I can't say that I'd recommend it.

There were a few other books I started this year. I lost interest completely in two of them after a few chapters (Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin and Jasmine Nights by Julia Gregson) and stopped reading them. I also started reading Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (I'm less than 50 pages in after starting the book in September) and Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, which isn't holding my interest as much as I'd hoped or expected. I'm not ready to give up on it yet though.


So, this is how the list looks, for those who like things in list form:

1. The Fiery Cross
    A Breath of Snow and Ashes
    An Echo in the Bone
4. A Biltmore Christmas

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And now for the movies I saw this year for the first time. I normally rank the movies between December 31st and the first few days of January, but there are no other movies coming out in theaters or on DVD this year that I'm interested in seeing. So, let the ranking begin.

I saw a total of 33 movies this year that I hadn't seen before. Here are my top 10:

1. The Avengers
2. Breaking Dawn part 2
3. Les Miserables
4. The Hunger Games
5. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
6. Fireproof
7. Batman: The Dark Knight Rises
8. The Bourne Legacy
9. Hope Springs
10. War Horse

Some of the movies in my top 10 could easily switch places with the movie above or below them. Les Miserables might get a second or even a first place ranking on another day. I went back and forth with the The Hunger Games and The Hobbit. Batman: The Dark Knight Rises had better acting than Fireproof, but I love the message in Fireproof. And I went back and forth with 8 through 10. Ranking these movies was not easy for me.

Honorable Mention: Brave

These were okay (2½ - 3 stars out of five): Public Enemies, Cowboys and Aliens, Dolphin Tale, Courageous, Gran Torino, Hugo, Wrath of the Titans, We Bought a Zoo, The Vow, Snow White and the Huntsman, John Carter, This Means War, The Lucky One, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Men in Black 3, Playing for Keeps (would've been better if Gerard Butler's character had been more mature [though he gets better at the end] and if the soccer moms hadn't been so desperate and ridiculous), The Good Doctor, and The Words.

Most boring movie of the year: Moneyball. zzzzzzz

Disliked: Red Tails and Journey 2: Mysterious Island

Hated: Tower Heist

Movies I'm looking forward to in 2013:

Warm Bodies
Safe Haven (So excited to see my beloved Southport on the big screen!)
Star Trek: Into Darkness
Now You See Me
Man of Steel
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

More movies could be added to this list as I find out about them and see their trailers.

Books and Movies of 2011

I didn't read nearly as many books as I thought I would this past year. For the first few months of the year I was busy with my family tree. I found literally thousands of ancestors, some as far back as the 300s (yes, 300s), but I still have a long way to go with that project. I also spent a lot of time on Facebook, mostly playing games. I don't play as much as I used to, so hopefully I'll make more time for reading in 2012.

So, anyway, here are the books I read in 2011. They are listed in order of favorite to least favorite.

1. The Help, by Kathryn Stockett
2. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
3. Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins
4. Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins
5. Drums of Autumn, by Diana Gabaldon. Fourth book in the Outlander series.
6. The Silmarillion, by J. R. R. Tolkien
7. The Lucky One, by Nicholas Sparks
8. The Rescue, by Nicholas Sparks
9. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
10. Nocturne, by Syrie James
11. The Enchantress of Florence, by Salman Rushdie

I didn't care for The Enchantress of Florence and Nocturne was just okay. I loved the first four books listed and really liked the 5th and 6th.

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As usual, I watched many more movies than I read books. I saw a lot of movies this past year. Maybe more than last year. I definitely saw more movies in theaters. Here are the top 10 movies of 2011:

1. The Help
2. Tangled
3. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
4. Crazy Stupid Love
5. X-Men: First Class
6. The King's Speech
7. Breaking Dawn Part 1
8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2
9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1
10. True Grit

Honorable Mentions: Salt and Inception.

These movies were okay: Eat Pray Love, Tron Legacy, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, I Am Number Four, Mr. Popper's Penguins, Beastly, Monte Carlo, Transformers 3, The Eagle, The Adjustment Bureau, The Conspirator, Soul Surfer, Source Code, Jane Eyre (2011), Captain America, Thor, Abduction, Real Steel, The Three Musketeers, One Day, Columbiana, and Midnight in Paris.

Eh. Less than okay, but not bad: Nanny McPhee Returns, The Brothers Bloom, Alice in Wonderland, Push, Water for Elephants, Larry Crowne.

Boring: The Social Network, Cars 2.

Forgettable: Shrek Forever After, Cousin Bette, Jumping the Broom.

Did not like: Desperado, No Country for Old Men, Gulliver's Travels, Red Riding Hood, Hanna.

Gulliver's Travels was the worst movie I saw this year.

Christmas Wishes

Christmas season is already upon us. It seems to have come so fast this year. I haven't bought the first gift or put out the first Christmas decoration yet. I suppose I should get the tree up soon. Especially for the kids.

Speaking of the kids, Sean finally wrote his Christmas list last night. (He wants some video games, a few Transformers, Harry Potter's wand and a couple Nerf guns; he won't get all of it.) Kelly told me what she wants. It's pretty easy to remember what all she wants - Christmas Barbie, Real Steel action figures (my Barbie-loving, feminine girl?!?), a red lightsaber that lights up and Hermione's wand.

Charlie hasn't said what he wants and I have no idea what to get him. He says every year that he doesn't need anything, but I have to get him something.

Mom says she doesn't need anything either, but like Charlie, I have to get her something. She badly needs a new chair for her computer desk. Maybe I'll get her that.

Speaking of Mom, I spent an hour or so at her house late last night trying to get her modem hooked up properly, which I succeeded in doing. Then I had to get her registered online. Apparently AT&T wouldn't let her access the internet without registering first. Lame. I also changed a setting that should hopefully speed up her ridiculously slow computer. My computer is years older than hers and works much faster.

Anyway, Christmas wishes. Here are mine:



1. Same as last year. "My number one wish is actually a wish for my husband. The fulfilling of this wish/prayer will not only be of great benefit to him, but will also be a joy and a blessing for our family."

2. Money so I can buy clothes. I need them badly.

3. Israel and New Breed CDs. I really like their music and the music of Israel Houghton. I don't have any of their CDs. (Yes, CDs. I'm not into downloading or MP3s or whatever.)

4. A few books that I don't yet own: Those Who Save Us, by Jenna Blum; Cleopatra's Daughter, by Michelle Moran and Through the Veil, by Shiloh Walker.

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I hope everyone has an enjoyable Christmas season with your families and that your wishes come true.

Books and Movies of 2010

As I wrote in my last entry, I didn't read as many books in 2010 as I thought I would. Following is a list of the books I read. They will be listed in order of favorite to least favorite.

1. Voyager , by Diana Gabaldon. Third in the Outlander series.
2. The Lovely Bones , by Alice Sebold
3. Safe Haven , by Nicholas Sparks
4. The Notebook , by Nicholas Sparks
5. Dear John , by Nicholas Sparks
6. At First Sight , by Nicholas Sparks
7. Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict , by Laurie Viera Rigler
8. Stormy Weather , by Paulette Jiles
9. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner , by Stephenie Meyer
10. A Summer Affair , by Elin Hilderbrand
11. Eat Pray Love , by Elizabeth Gilbert
12. The Enchanted April , by Elizabeth von Arnim

Voyager and The Lovely Bones were by far my favorite books this year. The third book listed is a distant third. Seven through twelve weren't very interesting to me. I would go weeks without picking them up. The twelfth book, The Enchanted April, being quite boring at times.

The Nicholas Sparks books belong to my mom. She likes for me to read them after she does. Otherwise I wouldn't have read them. Not my favorite books, but not bad.

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I watched many more movies than I read books. Some in theaters, one on TV (WoftheW), and a few on DVD or Blu-Ray. I went through all my blog entries from this year with the tags "Movie" and "Movies" and made a list of all the movies I saw for the first time this year. It's a very long list. I will only rank the top 10.

1. Eclipse
2. Leap Year
3. The Blind Side
4. The Karate Kid
5. Sherlock Holmes
6. Prince of Persia
7. Clash of the Titans
8. Iron Man 2
9. The Pacific (an HBO mini-series)
10. War of the Worlds

Honorable Mentions : Why Did I Get Married Too? and The Young Victoria.

They were okay : The Last Airbender, The Last Song, The Back-up Plan, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, Dear John, Robin Hood, Letters to Juliet, The Time Traveler's Wife, Hotel for Dogs, The Lovely Bones, and Adam.

Forgettable : Did You Hear About the Morgans?

Dishonorable Mentions : Avatar, Couples Retreat, The Invention of Lying, All About Steve, and G-Force.


I might be going to see Tangled tonight. If so, it will get added to this entry somewhere.

To-Do List and Quotes

December is always such a busy month. And not just because of Christmas, though most of what I must do is Christmas related.

• Finish Christmas shopping, including stocking stuffers for the kids.
• Pay the car insurance this Friday.
• Get the car inspected next week and get the registration renewed for the car and Charlie's car hauler.
• Pay for Sean's Karate classes tomorrow.
• Mail off an ornament for an ornament exchange I participate in with some online friends.
• Get the tree up and decorate the house for Christmas. Including putting lights on the bushes outside. I need someone to get the Christmas boxes down out of the attic. The boxes are too big and heavy for me. Not to mention I'm afraid of heights and can't climb up into the attic.
• Wrap presents.
• Fix Christmas dinner. I haven't decided yet what I'm going to make.

The car was in bad need of an oil change. (It was practically panting for it.) I got that taken care of this morning.

I think that's it. It's possible that I'm forgetting something.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What type of wife are you

Niki got Perfect Wife.

You are destined to be a good wife. The all-American wife waiting at home getting dinner ready for when the hubby gets home from work. With two or three kids.

Destined to be a good wife? I already am a good wife. :-D

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My current Facebook status:

"I can never remember the real words to Oh Christmas Tree since reading Catmas Carols.

"Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, your ornaments shine temptingly.
Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, your ornaments shine temptingly.
I want to wack them with my paw and chase them when they hit the floor.
Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, your ornaments shine temptingly."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Do not give away to others what you have not first given away at home."

"A man who's wrapped up in himself makes a very small package."

True or False

My friend Susanne posted this at her blog and now I'm doing it too.

Bold if true:

I am a cuddler.
I am a morning person.
I am an only child.
I am currently in my pajamas.
I am currently pregnant.
I am currently single.
I am currently suffering from a broken heart.
I am left handed.
I am married.
I am addicted to my myspace.
I am online 24/7, even as an away message.
I am a little shy around the opposite gender at first.
I bite my nails.
I can be paranoid at times.
I don’t like anyone.
I enjoy country music.
I enjoy jazz music.
I enjoy smoothies.
I enjoy talking on the phone.
I have a car.
I have a cell phone.
I have/had a hard time paying attention at school.
I have a hidden talent
I have a lot to learn. (Don't we all?)
I have a pet. (Actually, I have four.)
I have a tendency to fall for the “wrong” guy/girl
I have all my grandparents
I have at least one brother
I have been to another country
I have been told that I am smart
I have been told that I have an unusual sense of humor

I have broken a bone
I have Caller I.D. on my phone.

I have changed a diaper. (I have changed many diapers.)
I have changed a lot over the past year.
I have done something illegal.
I have friends who have never seen my natural hair color
I have had major/minor surgery.

I have killed another person
I have had my hair cut within the last week.
I have mood swings
I have no idea what I want to do for the rest of my life
I have rejected someone before.
I have seen The Lord of the Rings trilogy. (Many, many times.)
I have seen the television show The O.C.
I like Shakespeare.
I like the taste of blood.
I love to cook.
I like to sing.
I love Michael Jackson
I love sleeping.
I love to play computer games.
I love to shop.
I miss someone right now.

I own 100 CDs or more
I own and use a library card
I read books for pleasure in my spare time.

I sleep a lot during the day.

I strongly dislike math. (It depends on what type.)
I watch soap operas on a regular basis.
I will try almost anything once.
I work at a job that I enjoy. (It's called "housewife" and SAHM.)
I would classify myself as ghetto.
I would get plastic surgery if it were 100% safe, free of cost, and scar-free.
I am currently wearing socks.
I am tired.

I love to paint/draw/sketch/sculpt.
I have had/have a broken heart. (Haven't we all?)
Graduated High School.
Smoked cigarettes.
Rode every ride at an amusement park.
Collected something really stupid.
Gone to a rock concert.
Helped someone


Gone fishing. (Many times, but not in years.)
Watched four movies in one night.
Gone long periods of time without sleep.
Lied to someone. (But not in a long, long time.)

Been dumped.
Failed a class.
Taken a college level course.
Been in a car accident.
Been in a tornado.
Watched someone die.
Been to a funeral.
Burned yourself. (Accidentally)
Ran a marathon.
Your parents got divorced. (When I was around 25.)
Cried yourself to sleep. (Many times.)
Spent over $200 in one day. (On furniture and a car. Though they weren't bought at the same time.)
Flown on a plane.

Cheated on someone.

Been cheated on.
Written a 10 page letter.
Gone skiing.
Been sailing.
Cut yourself. (Accidentally.)
Had a best friend. (Still do.)
Lost someone you loved.
Shoplifted something.
Been to jail.

Had detention.
Skipped school.
Got in trouble for something you didn’t do.
Stolen books from the library.
Gone to a different country.
Dropped out of school.
Been in a mental hospital.
Watched the “Harry Potter” movies.
(Parts of a few of them, but I don't remember which ones.)
Had an online diary.
Fired a gun.

Gambled in a casino.
Had a yard sale.
Been in a school play.

Been fired from a job.
Taken a lie detector test.
Swam with dolphins.
Gone to sea world.
Attempted suicide.
Voted for Pop Idol.
Written poetry.
Read more than 20 books a year.
Gone to Europe.

Loved someone you couldn’t have.
Had stitches.
Taken a taxi.
Seen the Washington Monument. (Been to the top of it once.)
Had more than 5 IM’s/online conversations going at once.
Had a drug or alcohol problem.
Been in a fist fight.
Suffered any form of abuse.
Had a hamster.
Petted a wild animal.
Used a credit card. (Nothing major. Just dept. store cards.)
Gone surfing in California.
Dyed your hair.

Got a tattoo.
Had something pierced.
Got straight A’s.
Your parents sent you to a shrink.
Been handcuffed.
Known someone with HIV or AIDS.
Taken pictures with a webcam. (They looked awful, as all pictures of me do, and I deleted them.)
Started a fire.
Had a party while your parents weren’t home.
Gotten caught having a party while they were gone.

Favorites

So I'm bored (and in some pain, so I don't really feel like actually doing anything) and decided to finally write a post that I've been thinking about for a few days. It's nothing all that interesting I'm sure, but here it is anyway. A list of my favorites.

Color: Green. Red is a close second, followed by lavender, plum and blue.

Food: Italian. And chocolate.

Movie: The Lord of the Rings trilogy, though since they're so long I don't watch them often. You can see more favorite movies in my profile.

Books: Besides the Bible, The Lord of the Rings, The Lovely Bones and the Outlander series, which is 7 books long. I've only read the first two so far. You can see more of my favorite books in my profile.

Meals that I cook: Beef stew, lemon oregano chicken, lasagna, Italian chili (which I'll be making next week), chicken parmesan, spaghetti and fried chicken, which I only make once every few months because it's not all that healthy.

Drinks: Water and sweet iced tea.

Season: Autumn and spring.

Dessert: Chocolate chip cookies and this blueberry chocolate cake I had at Bianca's once. It was so delicious.

Sports Teams: UNC Tar Heels basketball (though they're not doing so well this year), Carolina Panthers football, Dale Jr. racing.

TV Shows: The Closer, Lost, Heroes, Bones, CSI: Miami, American Idol, What Not to Wear, One Tree Hill, The Good Wife, America's Next Top Model, House Hunters, House Hunters International, The Amazing Race, Diners Drive-Ins and Dives, Tim Gunn's Guide to Style.

Actors: Orlando Bloom, Jude Law, Gerard Butler, Marton Csokas, Tom Hanks, Colin Firth, Alan Rickman, Dominic Monaghan, Djimon Hounsou, Matt Damon, Damien Lewis and Mark Ruffalo.

Actresses: Kate Winslet, Cate Blanchett, Reese Witherspoon, Jodie Foster, Rachel Weisz, Toni Collette, Jennifer Garner, Anne Hathaway, Zhang Ziyi, Amy Adams and Rachel McAdams.

Singers: Fred Hammond, Donnie McClurkin, Kirk Franklin, Kurt Carr and some non-gospel singers and groups - Staind, Rihanna, a few others.

Vacation Spot: Southport, NC.

Restaurants: Bianca's, Pizzeria L'Italiano, Monterrey's (which I haven't been to in many months; click on Monterrey's in my Label Cloud to find out why), and Mario's Pizza here in Greensboro. PJ's (love their French toast and home fries) and Ship's Chandler (now called The Cape Fear Restaurant; I always get their fried flounder and fried clams) in Southport. Dan'l Boone Inn Restaurant in Boone. I love their country ham biscuits.

Boy Names: Sean, Declan, Brendan, Dimitri, Liam, Nikolai. More here.

Girl Names: Kelly, Ava, Tessa, Emily, Linnea, Saoirse. More here.

Things to Do: Reading, walking in the woods at Hagan Stone Park, shopping (though I hardly ever get to do it), photography (especially nature), watching movies, cooking, interior decorating, blogging, travel.

Holidays: Christmas and Easter.

Stores: Borders, Ann Taylor Loft, Macy's, Dillard's, Target.

House Styles: Victorian, Tuscan, Farmhouse, Spanish Colonial with an interior courtyard, English manor home, English cottage.

Interior Design Style: Traditional, Coastal (east coast), and Old World.

Clothing style: Classic, ladylike, feminine. Think Audrey Hepburn, Kate Winslet, Reese Witherspoon, Grace Kelly, Cate Blanchett.

Accents: Irish, English, Scottish, Italian, Kiwi, Spanish, Southern American (though there are actually many Southern accents).

Websites: Besides my blog, Facebook and the many blogs I read in my blogroll.

Day Trip: The Blue Ridge Parkway, Boone and Grandfather Mountain.

Hopes for 2010

In January of this year, I wrote about my hopes for 2009. Only two of them (#3 and #6) came true. :-/ Here is my list of hopes for 2010:

I hope that:

1. ...Charlie will be home a lot more. I'm tired of being lonely and of him being gone all the time.

2. ...My PCOS goes away (which would take a miracle, there is no cure) or that at least the symptoms will greatly improve.

3. ...We put our house back on the market, get it sold and buy a house that's big enough for us and Charlie's toys. Oh, and that it has a fourth bedroom so that I can have a beautiful library. (Built-ins, oriental rug, paintings, a tapestry, plush armchairs, a dark wood desk, a globe [which I already have]. Kind of like Biltmore Estate's library, only smaller and much less expensive.) And a bigger backyard for the kids. :-)

4. ...I can find something to satisfy my craving for something new and different in my life. This was on my list for 2009 as well. I've really been thinking about taking a photography class and maybe become a freelance photographer. The problem is, I need a much better camera than what I have now and those things are very expensive. *sigh*

5. ...We can take our annual vacation to Southport. I adore Southport and I look forward to our trip there every year. If things continue as they are (God forbid), I'm not sure we'll be going. :-(

6. ...My kids continue to do well in school. Sean is doing so much better in school this year than he has the past few years and he's really enjoying it. It makes me so happy to see how well he's doing. I'm proud of him. Kelly is still making good grades even though I can tell she's not putting all her effort into it. If/when she decides to really give it her best, the sky's the limit. She just needs to become more interested and enjoy it more.

7. ...Charlie learns to worry less and have more faith that God will take care of us and that He will do what we can't do. With God all things are possible. And He will supply all our need.

8. ...I will keep holding on to God and to what I know is right. Sometimes I want to run away, let go, give up. Things have been so difficult. How long must a person endure before things change for the better? But when I look at the alternative, giving up, and the results of it, I have to keep holding on.

Well, that's all I can come up with so far for 2010. I hope you all have a very happy and blessed New Year.

Christmas Meme

I found this over at Pass the Potatoes. I've seen it at a couple other blogs as well. I have an idea for a new blog entry in mind, something I've been thinking on for a few days now, but it's not ready yet and I may not even post it. So here's this meme for now.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Usually wrapping paper. It depends on the shape of the gift. Some things are too awkward for wrapping paper.

2. Real tree or Artificial?
Artificial. I don't like the smell of a real tree in my house.

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

4.When do you take the tree down?
Soon after New Year's.

5. Do you like egg nog?
I've never tried it, but I probably wouldn't like it.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Anything Barbie.

7. Hardest person to buy for?
Any and all males in my family. I never know what to buy boys or men.

8. Easiest person to buy for?
My daughter Kelly. If it's Barbie or anything girly, she'll probably love it.

9. Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes, a small glass one.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail. Though email is fine too.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
Maybe socks. I rarely wear socks.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
There are several I like (White Christmas, Holiday Inn, It's a Wonderful Life, The Santa Clause, How the Grinch Stole Christmas), but I don't really have a favorite. I do have a favorite movie that takes place at Christmastime, but isn't a true Christmas movie - The Holiday starring Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Cameron Diaz and Jack Black. I've been wanting to watch that again here lately. Great movie.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
Early December. Every year I tell myself that I'm going to start earlier, but I never do.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
No.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
The only thing I usually eat at Christmas that I don't eat the rest of the year are candy canes (just a few), so I guess I'd choose that.

16. Lights on the tree?
Of course. I like multi-colored. White lights are boring to me. No offense. :-)

17. Favorite Christmas song?
O Holy Night. I also really like It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, All I Want for Christmas is You, O Little Town of Bethlehem, The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting...), Ding Dong Merrily on High, White Christmas, Angels We Have Heard on High, Sweet Little Jesus Boy, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, What Child is This?, In Excelsis Deo, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Breath of Heaven, Carol of the Bells, Sleigh Ride and Winter Wonderland.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Stay home.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
Dasher, Dancer, Donner, Blitzen, Prancer, Comet, Cupid, Vixen and Rudolph.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Angel.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
I let my kids open one present each on Christmas Eve, then they open the rest the next morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
Cold weather. Especially if it rains. The crowds don't really bother me. Though it does bother me if people get impatient and rude, but I don't really notice a lot of that.

23. Favorite ornament, theme, or color?
I have a lot of favorite ornaments. I don't really have a theme. All the glass balls on our tree are red and the angel is wearing a red dress. There does seem to be a lot of red on our tree, but red is popular in Christmas ornaments.

24. Favorite for Christmas Dinner?
Some years we do a big dinner, some years we don't. Since we have turkey on Thanksgiving, and I don't like ham, if we do a big dinner it usually includes baked whole chicken. Other years we might do lasagna or Mexican (tacos, enchiladas, refried beans) or something simpler.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?
My husband. That's my #1 wish for Christmas. I'd also like a really great camera with all the gadgets (I want to take more professional-looking photographs), books, and movies on Blu-Ray.

Simple Pleasures

In this difficult and lonely time of my life, I take my joys and pleasures wherever I can find them. One of my favorite little pleasures is sitting on the couch reading a good book and eating freshly baked (Nestle Toll House break-off) chocolate chip cookies. Sometimes my mind drifts to my troubles, but I force myself to concentrate on the book I'm reading and then I'm lost in the story again.

Other simple pleasures:

• Walking on the nature trails at Hagan Stone Park.
• Decorating for Christmas.
• Preparing and eating a good meal.
• Watching a good movie. (Last night it was It's a Wonderful Life.)
• Making my children smile and laugh.
• Reading in bed before going to sleep.
• Petting my cats and playing with the dog.
• The sun shining on a cool Autumn day.
• Listening to beautiful, moving or fun music.
• Displaying my daughter's art on the refrigerator.
• My son doing a fine job practicing his flute. (When he practices.)
• Hugs and kisses from my kids.
• Hearing my kids tell me they love me.
• Reading scripture that speaks to my situation. Though that's far more than just a pleasure.
• Curling up on the couch with an afghan and a mug of hot chocolate.
  

I'm sure if I sat here thinking long enough I could add many more simple pleasures to my list.

Survey

I found this at Ramblings of a Fab Brunette. Here are my responses. I left one out.

Proust Questionnaire

1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?
I don't know that there is perfect happiness. Other than in heaven. But what would make me happiest at the moment is having my husband home.

2. What is your greatest fear?
Losing my husband and/or children.

3. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Lack of confidence in myself.

4. What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Selfishness, rudeness, arrogance, dishonesty.

5. Which living person do you most admire?
I can't think of an answer for this.

6. What is your greatest extravagance?
I don't know that I have any. How sad is that?

7. What is your current mood?
Lonely.

8. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
I don't consider any virtues to be overrated.

9. On what occasion do you lie?
I try not to ever lie.

10. What do you most dislike about your appearance?
Everything.

11. Which living person do you most despise?
I don't despise anyone. I don't have that right. ("Love your neighbor as yourself." "Love your enemies.") There are some people I don't like a whole lot though. I can't think of anyone I actually know.

12. What is the quality you most like in a man?
Trustworthiness, commitment, kindness, good manners, putting others first, honor (be a man of your word; keep your promises; do what's right), gentleness, strength, hardworking, devoted to family, etc.

13. What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Kindness, loyalty, good manners, femininity/being a lady, compassion, strength, etc.

14. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
I don't know. I never really noticed.

15. What or who is the greatest love of your life?
Besides God, my husband.

16. When and where were you happiest?
Anytime I'm with my husband and kids. Especially when we're on vacation or out together.

17. Which talent would you most like to have?
A better singing voice, to be a better cook, be able to create beautiful paintings, be able to learn new languages easily.

18. If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?
To have my husband home more.

19. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
My body, my hair, my health. I'd also like to be more confident in myself.

20. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Being a mom.

21. Where would you most like to live?
If I couldn't live in North Carolina, I'd like to try New Zealand or Italy.

22. What is your most treasured possession?
My wedding ring.

23. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
A broken heart or losing a loved one.

24. What is your favorite occupation?
For myself, housewife/SAHM.

25. What is your most marked characteristic?
I don't know. I'd have to ask someone who knows me.

26. What do you most value in your friends?
Just being there for me, listening to me, praying for and with me.

27. Who are your favorite writers?
Jane Austen, the writers of the Bible, William Shakespeare, Khaled Hosseini, Diana Gabaldon.

28. Favorite hero or heroine of fiction?
Legolas and Samwise Gamgee of The Lord of the Rings, most of Jane Austen's heroes and heroines.

29. Which historical figure do you most identify with?
None that I can think of.

30. Who are your heroes in real life?
Jesus.

31. What are your favorite names?
I have a long list of favorite names. If I had to choose the very top ones, they would be: Sean (of course), Kelly (of course), Ava, Liam, Brendan, Declan, Emily, Fiona, Saoirse (seer-shuh), Tessa, Linnea (lyn-nay-uh), Nikolai, Dimitri, and Demetrius.

32. What is it that you most dislike?
Being alone all the time.

33. What is your greatest regret?
I can't think of any regrets.

34. How would you like to die?
Well, I wouldn't like to die at all. But if I could choose how I die, I would choose to die in my sleep.

35. What is your motto?
I have a few. Better safe than sorry. Treat others the way you want to be treated. Life is what you make of it.

Things I hate or don't understand.

Besides the obvious things such as adultery, murder, drug use, child abuse and molestation, animal abuse, spousal abuse, rape and alcoholism, these are some of the things I hate or just don't understand.

Lying: People usually lie out of fear. I get that. Not that I'm okay with it, but I get it. What I don't get is when someone begins lying about many things (or one or two big things) to someone who trusts them implicitly. There's no excuse for that.

Selfishness: I really don't like it when a person begins putting themselves ahead of everyone else. Especially their spouse and/or children. We all need "me" time, but there's a difference between taking a little time for yourself each day and putting your own desires and plans ahead of what others need.

Eventually you're going to have to face the ones you've stepped on on your way out or up.

Cruelty/Coldheartedness: I don't think I'll ever understand those who willingly hurt others. Whether it be physically or emotionally.

Bad driving: More specifically, speeding (especially in school zones), tailgating and going under the speed limit. Grrr.

Arrogance: You're not as great as you think you are.

Rudeness: Really, how hard is it to act mannerly? Say "please" and "thank you", let other drivers in who are trying to merge or change lanes, hold doors open for people, don't blow your nose around people who are trying to eat.

Sneakiness: Not the fun kind, such as birthday surprises or what have you. I'm talking about doing things in secret that you know are wrong and you don't want to get caught doing. Talk about a trust killer. Be sure your sins will find you out. The truth always comes out in the end.

Self-saboteurs: What kind of thought processes are going on the in the brains of those who by all accounts have everything a person could ask for (employment, loving spouse, beautiful kids, bills paid, decent home, etc.), but decide to throw it all away? Some more than once. Either with drugs or alcohol or just walking out without warning or cause. And then they usually blame it on someone else. My brain can't comprehend that kind of behavior.

Take responsibility for your own actions and attitude and straighten up.

Negativity and doubt: We probably all know someone who is negative about nearly everything. Maybe you are one of those people. lol I know someone whose motto should be, "I doubt that's going to happen." He/she says this about nearly every good or hopeful thing that someone else says. For people like me who are usually positive-thinking, full-of-faith, look-on-the-bright-side kind of people, this is very frustrating.

These types can also be (or attempt to be) dream killers. You share a dream with them of hoping to someday travel to Europe or maybe starting your own business or whatever and they say something about being surprised if that ever happens. Nice.

Unfairness: This covers many things, I know, but the unfairness I'm thinking of comes from those who get upset when you can't read their minds and know exactly what they want. Then they pout and stomp off, and hold a grudge against you, because they didn't get what they want. But when you try to work with them, they're uncooperative and act like it's too late now so don't bother. Very immature.

Like the Bible says, you have not because you ask not. There's a saying that goes, "Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it." Well, be careful what you don't ask for, you just might not get it. And it'll be nobody's fault but your own.

I could talk about many more things that I hate or don't understand if I thought about it long enough, but I'll stop here.

Award

Susanne gave me an award:

Here are the rules:

• List five current obsessions.
• Pass the award on to five more fabulous blogs.
• On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them.
• When you post your five winners, make sure you link them as well.
• Don’t forget to let your winners know they won an award from you by leaving a comment on their blog.

My Current Obsessions:

1. Books. I love to look at them, hold them, buy them, and sometimes even smell them. I've done pretty well this past month or so with not buying any (because I have so many waiting TBR), but it hasn't been easy.

2. Blogs. I especially enjoy reading expat blogs.

3. Chocolate. I don't think an explanation is needed.

4. Travel. I don't actually get to travel, but visiting Europe and New Zealand is my biggest dream in life.

5. Love.


There are so many blogs I love. I don't know how I'm going to choose.

1. If Evolution Really Works..... She's new to blogging and doing a great job of it.

2. Ithaka Bound. Adventures in and around Greece. I just started reading this one a week or two ago.

3. Sissy at My Kids Might be Martians. She makes me laugh.

4. Aprille at Musings of the Muddled.

5. Katie at Seashells and Sunflowers. She's an expat who moved to Argentina for love.


Well, that took awhile to narrow down. Really though, every blog I read deserves an award. :-)