1. List your top shows/TV moments of the year. You can do top five, top ten, however you want. I've only got four that I really remember. The episode of NCIS titled "Call of Silence" with Charles Durning as Guest Star. The episode was beautifully written and it pulled performances from the cast that have been the best so far. The second is the episode of ER that had Ray Liotta as the Guest Star. It was also one in which the script and director were able to get incredible performances by the actors. The third is one of the saddest for me, especially now, and that was when Lenny Briscoe said goodbye on Law & Order. The fourth was from the pilot episode of Stargate Atlantis when the city rises from the bottom of the ocean.



2. List the best new TV show you've seen this year. I'd have to say Stargate Atlantis.



3. Tell us the worst new TV show you sampled this year. I didn't watch that many new shows this year that I really didn't like. I really didn't watch that many new shows. ;)



4. Is there a show that got the axe last year that you wish hadn't? Nope.



5. What show that left the airwaves this last year had the best finale? I didn't watch any shows (or don't watch) any shows that were killed last year.

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Woolfden was down for almost 24 hours and has just come back up. Something to do with a new server. Unfortunately they used a backup of my site from the 23rd so now I have to figure out what entries I can rehash.

Today I spent the majority of the day cursing because the site was down and making blinkies. They are really kind of fun to make. See I got a couple of new programs: Paint Shop Pro 9 and Animation Shop. I've signed up for some groups for beginners using PSP but haven't been accepted in any yet. One was full and I'm on a waiting list. The other hasn't responded yet. So I'm been messing with things that I can do such as the blinkies. You can find the ones I've made so far at My Blinkies.

Jerry Orbach died last night. I was so looking forward to the new Law & Order with him in it. The last I heard he was doing pretty good after surgery so I wasn't prepared for hearing the news. He'll be missed.

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Well here is my second one using .

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I'm kind of behind the learning curve here but I'm going to slowly catch up. Thanks to I'm learning some new tricks.

Here's the very first little blinkie that I've made:

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1) Which holiday do you celebrate this time of year? (If necessary, modify the following questions to suit your holiday.)

• We celebrate Christmas and New Years.

2) Do you begin shopping for gifts earlier than Thanksgiving, looking for the perfect gift? If not, when do you begin?

• I start making gifts around March or April. When I purchase gifts I'm a last minute shopper and don't start to after the 1st of December.

3) Do you only purchase gifts that you know are perfect for the recipient and if you don't find that gift, do you just get anything?

• I search until I find something I know that the person will like, want, or just appreciate. It's a lot of fun trying to match gift with people.

4) Did you receive or give any "obligatory" gifts this year?

• Nope.

5) Do you decorate your tree as evenly as possible or do you skip the areas that are not visible?

• My mother was a perfectionist when it came to our Christmas tree. Each ornament was perfectly spaced and tinsel was put on 1-2 strands at a time. I'm not quite as patient as she was when it came to decorating the tree, but I try.

6) Do you like multi-colors on your tree or do you prefer monochrome?

• Up until last year our tree was every color under the sun. For the past two years we've gone with a new white tree with gold ornaments only. No lights either, just a red spotlight that shines up from the bottom through the branches. (I got lazy. ;))

7) Did you bake "traditional" cookies, frost them and decorate them? or did you cheat and buy the ready to bake kind? (like I tried)

• This goes back to my mother again. She would start baking and making candy in October so that's what I do. Everything is then batched up and put in the freezer and split up into three's for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's.

8) Are you the host of a holiday gathering? which one? family, work, friends

• Well after my mother passed away, I took over the holiday get togethers for our family. However now that we've moved to Tennessee, it's just my husband, my son, and myself unless one of our girls show up.

9) With whom do you spend the holiday?

• See above. ;)

10) How did the holiday turn out? Perfectly? funny mishaps? miss anyone?

• Our holiday's are always perfect. We try to look at what we have and not what we haven't.

Thank you for the questions and thank your sister, too.

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Christmas Day has come and gone but the presents and the feelings remain.

Last year my husband was in Iraq and it was a stressful time even though my son and I tried to make everything as normal as possible. So this year we're very thankful that he's home safe and sound and that he was able to join us for Christmas.

Watching him watching our son open his presents yesterday morning was the highlight of my day. Our son has wanted an electric bass guitar and he managed to get him one. His father got him one while he was in San Antonio and Ian's reaction when he saw what it was wasn't a disappointment. I think the only other thing that could have caused his face to light up was being given the keys to the car and that isn't going to happen for awhile. ;)

I just wish that everyone else who has a family member or friend who isn't home this year could share in our happiness.

While out surfing around the web, I discovered this site Otto's Site and it is such fun to wander around in. I highly recommend this site to anyone who has a moment to look around. There's a little bit for everyone.

One of the family things we've been doing is playing a game called Kingmaker. It's a boardgame based on the War of the Roses and it is quite fun. We've got a version for the computer as well but it won't play on our newer ones so it's been relegated to the "maybe one day" shelf. The only problem is that I have a difficult time ganging up on either my husband or my son which means that I lost all three games that we've played. I honestly don't have any idea why I feel this way because I don't have a problem stomping on them in other games we play together. I'm undefeated in Clue. :)

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1. holiday:: happy


2. fault:: no


3. beep:: censor


4. bubble:: bath


5. needle:: eye


6. fare:: train


7. treat:: chocolate


8. express:: o


9. webcam:: blah


10. capital:: hill

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Beginning Tuesday morning ice and sleet started coming down and at times, coming down very hard. It had some wind behind it so we've deeper, little drifts of it against the front of the house including the front door. Later in the day we got some snow on top of it. All total about 3-4 inches of ice, sleet, and snow.

Wednesday the kid and dog spent the majority of the day outside slipping and sliding. I think the most entertainment we got yesterday was watching people try to make it up the road in front of our house. We're at the bottom of an incline and there were even a few large, four-wheel drives who slid back down and had to start over again.

We're still pretty much coated in snow and ice. The road crews haven't made it here as of yet. I guess I can figure it out after watching the news last night. Apparently they haven't made it to cleaning up the interestate yet either in the area. They reported that it was taking all day to get the 40 miles from Nashville to here on I-24.

The husband, who made it here just before the storm hit, is going to walk to the grocery store today to pick up a few things that I need for Christmas dinner tomorrow. The way it still looks outside it's probably safer than trying to drive even if our car was working. I like seeing the white stuff and I'm sure glad I don't have to go out into it.

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1. What do you do with your spare change? Spend it.


2. What prompted you to give some money to a stranger recently? If you have given money to a stranger recently, of course. Most of the time I don't carry cash with me but the last time I was at the grocery story I had a couple of one's in my pocket that I had gotten for change so I dropped them in the VA bucket outside. So I guess the answer is if I have change, I'll give it to the guys outside the store.


3. What charities do you support and why? The Make A Wish Foundation.


4. What's the kindest thing a stranger has done for you? Actually it wasn't for me, it was for my husband and the members of his unit when they came back from Iraq this year. Someone sent me a huge box of snacks and treats to give to them when they got off of the plane. It was fantastic.


5. Do you wish people a "Merry Christmas", "Happy Holidays", "Seasons Greetings" or something else? Why did you choose it? Before Christmas - Merry Christmas and for New Year's - Happy New Year. I didn't consciously chose. It's just what comes out.


6. What's your most memorable moment of 2004 online? Offline? Both online and offline, it's only one thing. February 22, 2004 when my husband stepped off of the plane coming back from Iraq. It's not a day I'm ever going to forget and I want to thank everyone who knows me, offline and on, who prayed for his safe return and were just as happy as I was that he was coming home.


7. What is your hope for 2005? Health, happiness, and that all my family and friends enjoy the same.


Happy Holidays, everyone.

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From Thursday's Pennies.

Since I'm the one who started this, I suppose I should answer them and try to get something started. ;)

1. What is the very first memory you have of Christmas? I don't remember how hold I was but it had to be prior to age six. I know this because the memory is of the first house we lived in. I was opening presents with Mom, Dad, and the Grandparents. I remember opening one box and finding out that it was empty. I'm guessing the look on my face was one that a person could expect and after the laughing stopped, my mother told me to look in my lap. Apparently in my zeal to open the package, I dumped the contents in my lap. Anyway, it was a cowgirl outfit thing complete with lasso and six-shooters.


2. What do you remember about sitting on Santa's lap? I know I did at some point in my childhood because we have pictures, but I honestly can't remember ever sitting on Santa's lap. I can say that when my oldest daughter first sat on Santa's lap, she screamed like a banshee. I really felt sorry for the old guy.


3. What was the best Christmas present you ever received as a child and then as an adult? My favorite as a kid was a chemistry set. I loved playing with it in the basement and turning litmus paper blue. As an adult, I received two one year that are still my favorites. The first is a teakwood lap desk from my son and the second is a gold bracelet from my husband. I still use the lapdesk and wear the bracelet.


4. What Christmas carol makes you tear up when you hear it? There's really only one that causes me to choke up and that's The Little Drummer Boy. It's also the first one I learned out to play on the piano.


5. What Christmas carol do you hum, sing, or whistle when you're by yourself? I don't know why, but it's Oh Come All Ye Faithful. Most of the other carols I can hear and forget but this one usually ends up as staying in my head for hours.

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In a little over an hour my husband should be home for the Christmas holidays. He made it from San Antonio to Little Rock with the guy he shares an apartment with whose family is there. From that point on he's taking Greyhound to here. For a six hour drive in the car, it's close to 13 on the bus. Two stop overs totaling three hours is part of that. Then he'll take a cab home.

We would have gone to get him in Little Rock if the car hadn't died on us while my leg was bound up because I tore a calf muscle. He'll look at the car when he gets here. It's probably the alternator (I hope it's just the alternator.), but we'll see.

Anyway first Christmas home in two years. Last year he was over in the desert playing in the sand and trying to keep his and everyone else's sanity.

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I was doing some blog surfing and found a link to this Click Here on Otto Site and decided to try it. I got a score of 94% with Average Errors of 7 miles in 223 seconds. What's interesting is that if I try to think where a state might be on the map I have difficulty. ;)

Since I haven't received a phone call from the husband to tell me he's left San Antonio, I guess I've got another day of frantic cleaning to do. I thought I was caught up but I had three boys running around the house last night and I woke up to dishes in the sink, empty pizza boxes scattered around, and lights on in the living room and kitchen. They decided to give the dog a bath so I'm going to have to pull out the Scrubbing Bubbles again and wash all the towels. Such fun. At least they gave up on the band practice early enough so that I could get to sleep. I thank God they don't have a trap set in the basement so the only noise I have to try to drown out is the sound of an electric guitar and electric bass guitar. If they're singing, the screeching of the guitars drown it out. Small blessings. ;)

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1. What is your favorite Christmas special? They don't make them any longer but it would have to be Bob Hope's Christmas USO tours. There was always something kind of special about them and I admired the man who would forgo spending Christmas with his family to making things a little bit better for the soldier's fighting in the various conflicts around the world.



2. Do you have a Christmas special that you don't care for as much? Not really but I haven't watched any this year.



3. One recent trend is making sequels to popular or successful Christmas specials. Do you like or dislike this trend? Why? When they're well done, no. When they offer something new, no. However so many sequels are only trying to cash in on the popularity they may have had in the original and the storylines just don't hold up as well as the originals.



4. Is there a book, story or song just waiting to be turned into a great Christmas special? I wish. ;) I can't honestly think of anything but it would have to have humor as well as tug at the emotions and tell a story that hasn't been told before.

~ BONUS ~ Share some of your favorite memories of Christmas specials growing up. Also, if you have kids, what is the one Christmas special that you look forward to sharing with them either when they're old enough or each year? Last year I bought two Christmas DVDs. Well one is Christmas and one is just special. Both were Bing Crosby movies. White Christmas and Holiday Inn. I was feeling very nostalgic because my mother and I wanted every year to watch them. To my surprise, my son whose interests run to anything with big guns and lots of blood, sat through them both with me. I'm not going to say that there was a tear or two in the kids eyes (there weren't), but it was wonderful sharing them with him and having him appreciate them.

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Your Christmas is Most Like: Home Alone

At Christmas, you usually feel like you're going it alone. But you always have a crazy adventure!

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What a wonderful invention and I really do wish I had the $$$ to get this thing. The bane of my life is the fact that we now have five (count 'em - 5) cats in residence and they manage to fill up two litter boxes in about five minutes after they've been scooped out and fresh litter has been added. Cleaning on a daily basis just barely keeps up.

My oldest daughter has one and swears by it however she did tell me that since we have so many cats we'd have to keep an eye on it so that it doesn't jam up. Hey though, I'd trade keeping an eye on the thing and replacing the little collection box to getting down on hands and knees with the slotted scoop and filtering out all the lumps and bumps.

So Santa, please bring me the heavy-duty, extra-large version of this thing for Christmas. I promise I won't call the cats s**t-bags any longer.

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I really don't want to downplay the wonderful acting of Catherine Bell in this episode or the writing of Dana Coen, but as a Christmas episode for JAG I found it to be lacking when compared to Jaggle Bells, Ghosts of Christmas Past, and All Ye Faithful. I did like the greetings at the end from the different military units. It once again showed the support and respect that Mr. Bellisario has for the military.

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From Becky... How did you learn about computers? Were you self taught?I started using computers back in the days of the dinosaur. I took some courses (basic and fortran) and just kept going from there. Not so much languages but just how to operate and fix some of the more common problems we run into at home. Bascially, self taught with a lot of hair pulling and experimentation. You know. Try, try again.

From Tom... What is your favorite color and why is it your favorite color? Black (which if you think about it is every color). I like it because it fits.

From Olivia... What one thing going on in the world right now, has the most effect on you personally? The war in Iraq and wondering if my husband is going to have to back and worrying about the people that I know that are over there now.

From Barb... If you were going to develop your own meme, what kind would you create? Ah well I did and it's at Balderdash. It's based on the game of the same name.

From Sherle... Why do you enjoy answering memes? It gives me something to do.

From Teresa... What is your wildest dream? Being debt free. ;)

From Mz. Em... Why do you answer these questions? Again, it gives me something to do for a bit.

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1. Gift:: happy
   
2. Santa:: Elf
   
3. Lucy:: Goosey
   
4. Buckets:: of love
   
5. Recital:: Piano
   
6. Stamp:: .com
   
7. Teacher:: Instructor
   
8. Matchbox:: cars
   
9. Spit:: bucket
   
10. Feeling::
    

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Hopefully, sometime this weekend, my husband will be making his trek from San Antonio to here to spend Christmas. The Army, in it's infinite wisdom, transferred him there a scant three months after he returned home from Iraq. Not being willing to sell our house here nor to rent it to strangers, we decided that the son and I would stay with the house for the, hopefully, two years Vet will be in San Antonio. Hopefully. Of course this is the Army and we all know how they conduct business.

Spot cleaning is on the to do list today as well as a bit of trying to hide the gray hair. Main problem with this is that my allergies have decided this was the day to flair up and every other minutes I'm sneezing and my eyes and nose are itching like crazy. It makes it difficult to concentrate or do anything with my hands except scratch. It's not fun and not the way I wanted to spend the day.

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Within the time period of High School:

This was a long time ago but I'll try to remember.

5 People you wish you were still close to
There was a small group of us in who all were heavily involved in the drama department of our school. Everyone of us were involved in some way with every play produced and every other extra-carricular activity hosted by the Theatre Club. Two, in particular, I wish I could have spent more time with. One was shot and killed while out deer hunting with his father during our Senior year and the other committed suicide about five years after we all graduated.

4 Places you used to frequent

Woolworth's for lunch. They had a lunch counter and made the most incredible baked apples.

The Public Library. When not working on plays, I was doing homework and our library was a great place to do it.

The Stage. Obviously I spent a lot of time there working on plays after school in the evenings.

The home of our drama teacher. She and her husband were very involved with the students in helping them out in all sorts of ways. I remember they had two skunks as pets which were really quite adorable.

3 Classes you loathed

I really don't remember not liking any particular class. Each had something interesting to do or read. Although not particularly fond of history and government, they were fun to attend because the instructors were really interested in teaching and not reciting.

2 Teachers who made a difference

I know other's remember the names of those teachers who made a difference in their lives but I only remember the name of one. Mrs. Ford who taught Geometry. I had just come from Algebra which I wasn't any good in and Mrs. Ford through the way she taught the class and the interest she took in her students slowly began to make me understand that mathematics wasn't something to be feared. I ended up with an A in the class and went on to take several more math classes when I got into college passing those with A's and B's.

Besides our drama teacher there was an English teacher who prodded us to succeed. She made everyone in her class feel special no matter how well or how poorly they were doing. Through her rather unorthodox methods of assigning home and class work, she made learning how to write fun and interesting.

1 Moment to relive or erase.

This one is easy. When my friend was killed in my senior year in the hunting accident. He was a young man with a lot of potential and I would have loved to see where he would have taken it.

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