*2Flower* To You...

Saturday, December 27, 2003

Wildfire Stats

I love this rollercoaster, because not only is it terrifying, but it has a very smooth ride. Here are the stats for anyone who is interested. I'm no expert, but I think I read that it has (or at least had) one of the tallest vertical drops. I also think it cost about $14 million to build. This picture doesn't do it justice.

Top speed: 66 miles per hour

Tallest vertical drop: 155 feet or 15 stories

Inversions: 5

Two full loops, a half-loop into a roll, and a Cobra roll with back-to-back inversions

So long old friend -- I'm not coming back to see you for a few years.

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COKE -- I quaffed it during the holidays. Now if only people would stop buying it for me...

always Coca-Cola -- darnit.

stolen from MEG

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2003 In Review

borrowed from Chew's Place
1.What did you do in 2003 that you'd never done before? I kept this weblog and wrote in it almost daily. This is the best I've ever done with keeping any kind of regular journal.
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I'm no good at keeping most resolutions, so the only one I made was to be kind to myself, and I think I did well. I will stick with that as a continuing resolution. I also would like to be more postive.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? not yet, but I'm sure I'll notice if they do
4. Did anyone close to you die? My puppy died in February.
5. What countries did you visit? Just this one as far as I know.
6. What would you like to have in 2004 that you lacked in 2003? a vegetable garden
7. What date from 2003 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? What memory? Why what?
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Probably this weblog.
9. What was your biggest failure? No idea. I try to stay positive.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Nothing serious -- just a bad cold.
11. What was the best thing you bought? I guess my parents' old mini-van.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Rush Limbaugh
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Hard to pick because there were so many: Madonna, Howard Dean, Tom Daschle, John eFF-ing Kerry
14. Where did most of your money go? I wish I knew. Did you take it???
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Calm down please, my life is not that exciting. But I did have a fun anniversay with Scott. We stayed in a cabin with a wonderful view in the snow in January up in Eureka Springs and read to each other by the fire.
16. What song will always remind you of 2003? I can't think of one, and even if I did I still wouldn't remember unless I wrote it down.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
Happier or sadder? happier
Older and wiser? yes yes
Thinner or fatter? a little thinner
Richer or poorer? less money + less debt = about the same
18. What do you wish you'd done more of? dieting & exercise
19. What do you wish you'd done less of? eating and sitting
20. How ~~will~~ did you be spend~~ing~~ Christmas? We spent Christmas Eve with Scott's family and Christmas Day here.
21. Question 21 seems to have been left out...
22. Did you fall in love in 2003? yes, but with the same man I've been in love with since 1982.
23. How many one-night stands? You've got to be kidding. No way would that even interest me -- I'm married to a wonderful man.
24. What was your favorite TV program? I don't watch much TV at all, but I still like the same stuff -- Seinfeld, Law & Order, and Star Trek (any generation).
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? Hating is a bad idea -- no.
26. What was the best book you read? Anna Karenina (almost done with it)
27. What was your greatest musical discovery? Return of the King soundtrack
28. What did you want and get? A scanner, book I wanted, DVD's and wonderful Bath & Body Works stuff.
29. What did you want and not get? The Sims Makin' Magic and some other DVD's and books. I'm not disappointed, though. I can't get everything I want.
30. What was your favorite film of this year? Return of the King, definitely.
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I can't remember because I'm getting old. ;) But I'm sure Scott took me to dinner. However, I do know that I turned 36.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? If one of my children had made better choices.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2003? If I had a fashion concept, it would have been simple and comfortable, but not tacky.
34. What kept you sane? I'm sane? Oh, uh... God, Scott, Lexapro, and this weblog.
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Define fancy. I don't really care enough about celebrities, and there are plenty of public figures. If I had to pick someone to admire, I guess it would be director Peter Jackson. He did such a wonderful job creating the Lord of the Rings movies.
36. What political issue stirred you the most? It would be hard to pick just one -- I stay stirred up.
37. Who did you miss? Cassandra
38. Who was the best new person you met? I guess I'll have to say my new son-in-law Mark, although he didn't endear himself to me right away.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2003: Don't worry, it will all work out -- somehow.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: "Just keep swimming, swimming, what do we do? We swim... swim..."

Oh, and did I mention that I think George W. Bush is a Great President, not a Miserable Failure?

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Friday, December 26, 2003

Silver Dollar City

We're heading back up there in just a few minutes to use our season passes for the last time. We also have guest passes, so Cassandra, our son-in-law Mark, Mark's brother Jeffrey, and Cassandra's friend can come. I'm going on Wildfire today -- until I start to feel sick, LOL. It's a very intense rollercoaster. When I get too sick, I'll go ride on the tamer one. ;) We won't be able to afford to get more passes for 2004, but it's just as well. So that's where I'll be until tonight. I don't know if I will get to blog again until tomorrow. So much to say, so little time, LOL. Bye! (to all 2 of you who will see this)

Oh, and did I mention that I think George W. Bush is a Great President, not a Miserable Failure?

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Thursday, December 25, 2003

Christmas Eve & Morning

My kids are freaks. O.K., maybe not freaks, but how normal is it to sleep past 7 am on Christmas morning? I think they're just too spoiled to get as excited as I used to. I'm just killing time right now, because it would be just too weird to go wake them up.

Last night we went to Scott's mom & dad's house. In case you happen to know her and/or us, she is a very lovely woman. But it did stress me out this year because I drew her name. And the CD I got her -- my brother-in-law burned her a copy from his right before Christmas. And then she told Scott -- right before Christmas. Well, I don't know what the purpose of that info was, unless it was to stress me out. Because that was the only thing she told me that she wanted. So I was racking my brain trying to think of what supplemental gift I could throw in, since she was going to have to exchange the CD. :( So yesterday I crocheted a chenille teddy bear (I wish I had taken a picture, but I'll make another one soon) that turned out really cute, and threw in a couple of homemade ornaments for good measure. And you know, I don't really think she was very impressed with the stuff I gave her, but of course Scott never worries at all. He just doesn't understand the whole daughter-in-law/mother-in-law thing. It can get so petty sometimes, and I admit to my share of it. It doesn't really help that we are so different from each other, either. But I know she cares about me. And after all, I am wonderful. ;) And she raised good kids (especially Scott, IMHO), so I have a big reason to think she's a great person. But we're just so different. And we are just so different. And DIFFERENT. But she likes me a lot better than she did... She used to make it obvious that she didn't like me. ;)

9:30 am
Yeah!!! It's over with! ;) I'm always so happy when the gift part of Christmas is over with. ~~Whew~~ Everyone seems pretty happy with what they got. I got a scanner (woo hoo!) and a book I've been wanting -- Deliberate Dumbing Down of America, and a collection of Mr. Bean -- The Whole Bean on DVD. I'll try to write more later -- I'm going to go get dressed.

Oh, and did I mention that I think George W. Bush is a Great President, not a Miserable Failure?

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MerryChristmas!

I hope each and every reader (all 2 of you) a very merry day. I hope that you have friends and family with which to share this wonderful day of Christ's birth celebration.

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Tuesday, December 23, 2003

Peeking -- a true confession

I used to peek at my presents sometimes as a kid. Not all of them -- I really only remember one instance in which I actually unwrapped a present to find out what it was. See, when I was 8 or 9 I had a game that I had wanted for over 2 years -- MOUSETRAP. I had begged for it the Christmas before, but I didn't get it. And my grandparents had sent a gift that was the right size, and it sounded like a game when I shook it. The wrapping paper was really thin, but I couldn't quite make out anything distinctive. So I found a razor blade (yes, I had inattentive parents) and tried slicing the wrapping paper in a few places to try and see if that was the Mousetrap game. I finally resorted to slicing through the tape and unwrapping it to reveal my fondest wish! I re-wrapped and taped everything back, and it was a good job, as my mom and dad could never tell that I had peeked. Did I regret having peeked? Not really, because I didn't see how I could possibly wait until Christmas. If I was going to be disappointed, I wanted some advance notice so I could step up my begging before it was too late.

How many of you out there want to confess? ;)

For another clever idea, check out Lee's Blog to find out what his kids did to get a preview. (found @ Chew's Place)

Oh, and did I mention that I think George W. Bush is a Great President, not a Miserable Failure?

#posted by *2flower* | All comments have been lost. :(

Monday, December 22, 2003

Can I just tell you how much I loved Sam in "Return of the King?" I guess I just did. If only we could all have such a loyal and loving friend -- Middle Earth would be a much better place!

I want to thank MEG who made the TIME template, and who is my favorite blog design friend. Thank you Meg!

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Sunday, December 21, 2003

'Tis the season to be crazy...

My obsessive-compulsive tendencies really come out and dance around in the holiday season-- probably ~~stress~~. One year I became obsessed with writing a family Christmas letter in poetry, LOL. I'll have to find it and post it before Christmas just for grins. I gave that up after that Christmas, and I haven't done cards in -- I don't know how long. I can truly see the point in doing newsletters, but I see no point in cards. It's nothing personal to all you ambitious, organized masses out there, it's just that I really don't like cards in most cases. They rarely ever contain information other than a signature and a message from a card company, and they usually don't have cash or checks in them. ;) This year I got one that someone had stamped their name in, LOL. I can never figure out where to put all these stupid cards, and I look forward with great anticipation to the day I can chuck them all into the vertical file.

This season's current madness has me ruthlessly cleaning out a wardrobe that we're getting rid of, and cleaning out my side of the closet. Kicking into gear and de-cluttering this time of year is refreshing, although tiring. I should probably be cleaning, but this is what preserves my sanity the most. Plus I just HAVE to do it. It's been several months since I de-cluttered, and since then my mom and dad have moved into a much smaller space -- and they gave me tons of stuff.

But, I have strayed off the topic. I think getting a start with less stuff in 2004 will be great. Every time I do this, I let go just a little more of the things that have weighed me down. I think an ideal life would be one in which I had a few things, and those would be the things I truly loved and used.

Another cool thing about getting rid of stuff is that it's sometimes contagious. While de-cluttering other people's stuff is a bad idea, sometimes they follow your example. Scott rubs his hands in gleeful anticipation of de-cluttering, and usually outdoes me. We have trouble getting Charity to keep anything, LOL. It's good to have one kid that you don't have to help shovel out their stuff. Unfortunately, all my boys are packrats, and I have to usually help them do an item by item evaluation. ~~sigh~~ I have even taken a rake and raked the stuff out from under their beds before -- seriously. But I think that may wait until after Christmas. :P

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I'm STILL Merry, LOL!

Merry Brandybuck

If I were a character in The Return of the King, I would be Merry, a Hobbit and heir of the Brandybucks and a friend of Frodo's.

In the movie, I am played by Dominic Monaghan.

Who would you be?
The Return of the King Test with Perseus Web Survey Software

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Merry Brandybuck

If I were a character in The Lord of the Rings, I would be Merry, Hobbit, heir of the Brandybucks and a friend of Frodo's.

In the movie, I am played by Dominic Monaghan.

Who would you be?
Zovakware Lord of the Rings Test with Perseus Web Survey Software

found @ Chew's Place

#posted by *2flower* | All comments have been lost. :(

Tips for the LONG movie:

Oh, I forgot to give some movie tips for going to see Return of the King. Get there very early! We only arrived 45 minutes before show time for the matinee, and it was almost sold out. We had to split up, so Ian and Christopher were in the very front rows together, Jason and Charity sat together near the front, and Scott and I were toward the back. It's over 3 hours long, so you'll definitely want to visit the little girl's room (or boy's room) before the movie starts. I made it through the whole movie without having to get up and go, and for me that's a miracle. But I remembered something I read in Backpacker magazine (Scott's, LOL) about how to avoid getting up to go to the bathroom all night long when you are camping. It also works for movies. ;) If you are really warm, it keeps you from having to go as often. So as soon as it started getting just a little cool (comfortable, LOL), I put on my jacket. Also, eating something like a candy bar helps, too -- I don't remember why. So I had Reese's Pieces, and that seemed to help. I think smuggling in my own drink helped -- no ice, and I sipped on it and made it last through the whole movie. And I'm generally a real quaffer when it comes to beverages. ;)

Oh, and did I mention that I think George W. Bush is a Great President, not a Miserable Failure?

#posted by *2flower* | All comments have been lost. :(

dogwood blooms

what day is it?

reading

finished

i wish

i'm an enfp

my guestbook

bloggerrific peeps

blogroll me

i'm a blogger with bOObies

the "you know what" list

blog help & goodies

artsy-fartsy toys

blog listings

i support

blogometer

Wildfire Stats

2003 In Review

Silver Dollar City

Christmas Eve & Morning

Peeking -- a true confession

'Tis the season to be crazy...

I'm STILL Merry, LOL!

Tips for the LONG movie:

referrererererers

what'd i miss?

cozy blogs

puffin peeps

radio peeps

links i likeses

memes

my webrings

right peeps

wictory wednesday

blogs for Bush