Dec

1. Get in shape.
2. Be more organized.
3. Be more patient.
4. Be more productive.
5. Do a better job of staying in touch with people.
6. Focus more on spirituality.
7. Read more novels.
8. Walk at least 10,000 steps each day.
9. Get more scrapbooking done.
10. Make fewer resolutions…

Notice how not many of them are tangible, measureable, etc. This pretty much means they’re doomed to fail! %-)

  

Dec

Disclaimer: I do not celebrate Christmas, so, if my list seems a little jaded, that’s probably why. Oh, and also, I’m grading exams…

1. To be allowed to vandalize at will the property of any individual who feels the need to put his/her Christmas lights up right after Halloween and leave them up until Valentine’s Day.
2. For Christmas to become VASTLY less commercial and all-pervasive in our too-materialistic culture (and, yes, this applies to me, too).
3. For my children to stop thinking Santa Claus is a cool concept.
4. For my children to stop telling other children that there is no Santa Claus – not that I care, but it tends to make the other kids’ parents angry! %-)
5. For the radio station here that plays non-stop Christmas carols from December 1 – December 25th to go out of business.
6. For the colors red and green to never be displayed together again – seriously, who thought up this color combination?!!
7. For people to stop thinking that if they use the word “holiday” instead of “Christmas”, it makes everything okay.
8. For anyone who fights with another human over the right to buy a toy to be permanently barred from all public establishments for the rest of their natural lives.
9. For no child who celebrates Christmas to be without a gift on Christmas day, no matter how small – never is the vast gap between the “haves” and the “have nots” in our society more pronounced than at this time of year.
10. For people in my tradition to stop feeling like Chanukah has to compete with Christmas.

Now, lest anyone reading this think I am a total ogre, here is a list of things I actually LIKE about Christmas:
1. The lights – they’re beautiful, even when left up (way) too long.
2. Mistletoe – what a very cool concept (moreso when I was single, but still…
3. Extended shopping hours at all my favorite stores.
4. Parties, parties, and more parties – I love dressing up!
5. The semester ending – I love my “holiday” break!
6. Sales, sales, and more sales – combined with #3 (above), this can’t be beat!
7. The fact that people at least pretend to be nicer and more giving than at other times during the year.
8. The weather – crisp, cool air, and (sometimes) snow. Fabulous in a place where people often have run their air conditioners 10 months out of the year!
9. It is near Chanukah, which is a wonderful holiday.
10. Did I mention the sales? %-)

Oh, and while I’m on a list-fest, I’ll go along with the spirit of how this week’s Ten on Tuesday was intended, and list out the actual gifts I want for Chanukah (yes, in my house we *do* allow the holiday to compete with Christmas, even though we grumble about it! %-). This is the actual list I sent to my husband – we’ll see how it turns out. Chanukah begins this year on Christmas, which is kind of weird. Anyway, here goes:

1. A cute little carrying thing-y for my iPod: http://www.myrebe.com/shopexd.asp?id=271# . I like the blue and pink ones, or the purple.

2. There’s never enough scrapbook stuff! This is a link to my friend Lola & Kathy’s store: http://www.scrappuccino.net/ . A gift certificate from there would be awesome! If you want to get specific things, I’d like the new Simple Scrapbooks guide to digital scrapbooking, the Adirondack alcohol inks, a melting pot, …

3. Almost anything from this website: http://dontblamemeivoted4kerry.com/.

4. A massage (or spa package! from Blue River Canyon.

5. A small copper saute pan for making sauces: http://www.creativecookware.com/copper_sauce_pans.htm . Amazon.com, William Sonoma, etc. also carry these.

6. A real Kitchen Aid mixer. I specifically want the one that is copper & chrome. I’ve been coveting this forever! http://ww1.williams-sonoma.com/cat/pip.cfm

7. A mother/child necklace. There’s two that I like, I’m linking to both. In either case, remember, two kids!

http://www.redenvelope.com/re/gifts/product_display/product_information.jsp?nc=6198&BV_SessionID=@@@@0259775088.1134274519@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccdaddghdgegjfcefecefedfgfdfmf.0&refPg=%2fproduct_display%2fgift_results.jsp&bct2=shops&bcp2=1&bcm2=1%24%24-8193&bct4=jewelry+%2B+accessories&bcp4=3&bcm4=1%24%24-8203&bct5=necklaces&bcp5=4&bcm5=29$$%2Fshops%2Fjewelry+%2B+accessories%2Fnecklaces@@30$$-10310@@35$$10310&catOid=-10310&oid=12564072&nc2=1

http://www.personalizedboutique.com/charms.html (go down to the “family pendant”)

8. A crepe pan, it needs to be made of steel to be authentic! Interestingly, the steel ones are also less expensive than the fancy ones. %-) They’re cheap enough you might be able to spring for a crepe cookbook, too: http://fantes.com/crepe.htm .

9. The new iPod alarm clock. Here it is at SmallDog’s new iPod site: http://www.podjungle.com/product/36220 . Also, I want the windshield mount thing-y from there, too!

10. Last but not least, I *still* want the bath caddy I’ve been asking for *forEVER*!!! They have it at Bed, Bath & Beyond: http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=13382999&RN=182 .

  

Dec

This one is easy – I’m not the world’s greatest housekeeper! %-) The only hard part was constraining myself to 10!

1. Cleaning the toilet – pretty self explanatory.
2. Dusting – requires an attention to detail (not my strong point! %-).
3. Folding laundry – too tedious.
4. Pulling hair out of the shower drain – this just disgusts me somehow, even when the hair is just mine!
5. Picking up the kids’ rooms – I *live* for the day they’re old enough to do this all on their own; how can two kids *possibly* have so much s—?!!
6. Changing the litter box – the smell gets me every time.
7. Cleaning the mirrors and glass table tops – there is NO way to avoid streaks!
8. Putting the trash cans out by the street, or moving them back after pickup – I actually have no idea why I hate to do this, I just do.
9. Pulling weeds from the flower beds – I like the weeds not to be there, but it really kills my back, plus I can’t really tell what’s a weed and what’s a “real” plant half the time.
10. Washing the kids’ hair – they hate it, which means I do, too!

I’m not sure what this leaves. I guess this explains a lot about the state of my home…

  

Dec

Okay, most people on the planet already know about this site, but my obsession with memes (and with Letterman-style top 10 lists) led me to a site that posts a top-ten list every week. People respond to it, and then add links to their own lists. I LOVE LISTS!!! What a great idea. Someday I hope to develop my own meme list that people will use, in the meantime, I will just mooch off others who have good meme ideas already. Plus, it’s “just a list”, so it doesn’t have to take a huge amount of time – who knows, maybe I’ll actually do it every week! Stranger things have happened…