I don’t know about you, but I love it when people give me presents that are homemade. Maybe it’s the artist in me that enjoys the creativity in it, I don’t know, but I find it funny how unappreciative people can be over hand-made items. It takes real thought and effort to put together a homemade gift.

Oh, and FYI, people who who turn up their noses at homemade presents will never be gifted something made with ♥…and is 151 proof! Ohhhh yeeeeeah! Check out this early Christmas present I received today:

I love you Apple Pie Moonshine (and the dear friend who made you!!)
I know it isn’t Christmas yet, but can I drink you?

Today has been a lazy Sunday so I don’t have much to talk about. I’m just going to do another meme…sorry. :p But first, do you guys like my new layout? It’s very minimalist. Usually I make my own layouts, but I’m too busy to sit down and actually create one. I was desperate for change so I just downloaded one off of the internet and stuck with it. It’s cute. I’m debating of changing the logo though. Now on with the meme!

Sunday Stealing: The Blue Memory Meme, Part Two
(You mean I missed part one?? Eff. LOL This is my first Sunday steal if you can’t tell! I’m going to do Part One too.)

Cheers to all of us thieves!

1) If the whole world were listening to you right now, what would you say?
*Silence* (I suffer from glossophobia – the fear of public speaking.)

2) If you could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?
I would like to meet the Dalai Lama. I’m still sad that I didn’t get to see him speak in Seattle.

3) You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go?
ITALY!

4) What do you think about most?
You. …and possibly work.

5) You have the opportunity to spend a romantic night with the music celebrity of your choice. Who would it be?
Uh, I’m not sure about the romantic part because I choose Gavin Degraw and I can so picture him serenading “Let’s Get It On”, and that would just make me laugh.

6) You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?
This one’s hard…I tend to block certain memories from my mind anyway, so they’re pretty much “erased” as far as I’m concerned.

7) What’s your strangest talent?
I am (strangely) talentless. Sad.

8 ) What would be a question you’d be afraid to tell the truth on?
It would depend on who’s asking the question.

9) Ever had a poem or song written about you?
I’ve had a poem written about me…can’t seem to find/remember it though.

10) When is the last time you played the air guitar?
How about never? We have the real thing at home…and if we weren’t playing the guitar, we were playing with the banduria.

11) Do you have any strange phobias?
I wouldn’t call it strange, but I do have arachnophobia.

12) What’s your religion?
Catholic.

13) What is your current desktop picture?
I’m not on my laptop right now so I can’t screenshot it. It’s a picture of River Tam from Firefly with the words “Mary, Mary quite contrary” on it.

14) When you are outside, what are you most likely doing?
Taking pictures.

15) What’s the last song you listened to?
I Need This by Jessie J

16) Simple but extremely complex. Favorite band?
Don’t ask me this question! Are you trying to make my head hurt? I have too many favorites…and Linkin Park is one of them.

17) What was the last lie you told?
“No, that doesn’t make you look fat…” j/p!

18) Do you believe in karma?
Absolutely.

19) What is a saying you say a lot?
“I’m sleepy.”

20) What is your greatest weakness; your greatest strength?
Greatest weakness: I have no patience whatsoever.
Greatest strength: I’m a good listener, or so I’ve been told. My friends have turned me into their personal counselor. Haha

21) Who is your celebrity crush?
I always have a hard time with this question which leads me to believe that I don’t have one. :/ I’ll just pick a random someone. How about Joseph Gordon Levitt, does that sound good?

22) Give me the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word: heart.

23) How do you vent your anger?
I rant or if I get REALLY angry, I cry. Yeah, I rarely cry at the sad stuff.

24) Do you have a collection of anything?
I collect Steinbach ornaments. I make people draw me pictures so I collect drawings as well.

25) What is your favorite word?
Serendipity

26) Are you happy with the person you’ve become?
I wouldn’t say happy, but I think I’m content with who I am.

27) What’s a sound you hate; sound you love?
Sound I hate: Adults that talk with a totally affected baby voice, like Paris Hilton. It makes you want to slap them upside the head so that they can talk normally.
Sound I love: Jackpot at a casino. (oh, and babies laughter.)

28) What’s your biggest “what if”?
What if I had continued the path of a nurse instead of an art major…

29) Do you believe in ghosts?
Absolutely. The sixth sense runs in our family. (Thank you, mom. Ha.)

30) How about aliens?
No I don’t, although it does almost seem foolish to believe that we are the only intelligent beings in the universe.

31) What is the single best decision you have made in your life so far?
I’ve spent much of my life listening to my head over my heart. Now that I’ve done the opposite, I’ve been a much happier person.

32) What’s the worst place you have ever been to?
I can’t say because it would offend a certain someone (actually, more than one person).

33) Can insanity bring on more creativity?
Well yeah, I mean, Vincent Van Gogh was a tortured genius wasn’t he.

34) Most attractive actor of your opposite gender?
I hate questions like these. I don’t know who is the most attractive. :/ Let’s say…Bradley Cooper, he’s attractive.

35) To you, what is the meaning of life?
The meaning of life is the number 42. (If you understand this answer, you’re awesome!)

36) Define “Art”.
Art is always in the eyes of the beholder.

37) Do you believe in luck?
Yeah.

38) In your opinion, what makes a great relationship?
Trust and communication.

39) What’s a song that always makes you happy when you hear it?
Why am I blanking out right now?? I’m just gonna list a song that I’ve been enjoying right at this moment:
We Are Young – Glee Cast version

40) Where were you yesterday?
Here, wrapping Christmas presents.

41) What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had?
When I was a little and still learning to walk, I burned both my hands by touching my mom’s friend’s oven. If you look at my pictures back then I looked like a little boxer.

42) Do you have any obsessions right now?
Shoes…it’s an on-going obsession.

43) What’s up?
You’re just asking me this now? Psh, pass…

44) Ever had a rumor spread about you?
The last rumor was about me getting married…you would think this crap would stop after highschool, but it doesn’t.

45) Do you believe in real magic?
Sure!

46) Do you ever hold grudges against people who have done you wrong?
Always, can’t help myself really. It takes awhile before I forgive and very seldom do I forget.

47) What’s your favorite (non-pet) animal?
Tiger!

48) What is your secret weapon to get people to like you?
Bribery. It works everytime! j/p! I dunno…

49) Where is your best friend?
At her home, texting me.

50) What do you think is Satan’s last name?
Let’s not go there…

Well this was interminable! Heehee. See you guys tomorrow!

I listen to A LOT of music, but for some reason Christmas music isn’t my thing. I can list the Christmas songs that I don’t like off of the top of my head, but I had a harder time trying to figure out the ones that I do like/tolerate. (Ha!) After sitting here for what felt like forever, I finally came up with a list of Christmas songs that I could listen to.

1. Santa Baby – I’m not a big fan of what I like to call “Paris Hilton voice”. So when I hear that voice “singing”, it drives me insane. I absolutely can’t stand this song no matter who sings it!
2. Blue Christmas
3. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
4. Last Christmas – WHAM
5. The Christmas Shoes – NewSong – Man, talk about depressing! I know there are a lot of people who love this song but I’m not one of them.
6. Grandma Got Ran Over By A Reindeer
7. Simply Having A Wonderful Christmastime – Paul McCartney
8. Do You Hear What I Hear
9. We Three Kings
10. What Child Is This
11. Mary Did You Know
12. Petit Papa Noël

There are more but I figured I’d stop here. I have a sinking feeling that this could go on forever… :p

Oh it’s that time of year again when we scour the internet for new Christmas cookie recipes! I attend a couple of Christmas cookie exchanges every year and I always have a hard time trying to figure out what I’m going to bake. This year I’m able to get away with baking German Chocolate thumprint cookies again because they were requested by the host and her daughter. YES! But, I’d still like to try out something new though. The only thing about trying out new recipes is that you have no idea which ones will turn out okay. I just hate the thought of wasting ingredients on a cookie that turns out to be nasty or just plain mediocre.

For me, I think the biggest problem with trying to find a new cookie recipe for Christmas is that most Christmas cookies fall under the dry, crumbly category. I’m a chewy-but-crispy-on-the-outside-cookie kinda girl. (Ooh, say that five times fast.) I’m not a big fan of shortbread cookies, and unfortunately the majority of Christmas cookie recipes are stupid shortbreads. Bleh. I wish people would be more creative.

Now for problem #2: everyone always posts the same type of Christmas cookie every year, almost as if like nobody’s ever thought of them before. And it’s always the same disgusting cookie that frankly, NO ONE LIKES. For example, the Linzer cookie has always been one of my least favorites. They always look prettier than they actually taste. Plus, I’m not a big fan of jam/jelly+cookie combo. It’s even worse when people throw candied fruit into the mix. Then there are those people who try to be clever and do a peanut butter and jelly swirl inside their sandwich cookies…double yuck. The “Stained-glass” cookie is another one that seems more for looks rather than consumption. Nut crescents are just a dry no-no. Pinwheels and Checkerboard cookies look neat, but they need more variation in flavor combinations. And last but not least, the ultimate in boring: The sugar cookie. Oh and don’t forget the frosting that turns your mouth red, or green, or maybe both!

Even though I’m having a helluva time searching for new cookie recipes, here are some that I’m considering of baking:
Kahlua Truffle Triangles
Mocha Truffle Cookies
Triple-Chocolate Peppermint Treats
Honey Maple Cookies
Chocolate Marshmallow Meltaways
Chocolate-Pistachio Cookies

Let’s hope that one of these recipes will make me happy.

1. Favourite Christmas Movie(s)? I’ve already mentioned this before, but my favorite movie is White Christmas. You know I’m a sucker for musicals!

2. Are you on the Naughty or Nice list? I’ve always been an in-betweenie, so you tell me.

3. Show us an embarrassing Christmas Card photo! Why would we send embarrassing Christmas card photos to people?? I’m not going to dig around for old Christmas pictures, so I’m just gonna post the one and only Christmas picture that’s already on this computer:

4. Have you ever had a white Christmas? Yup! But then again, we were living in Alaska at the time…heehee.

5. Where do you usually spend your holiday? At home. Because of our work schedules we really can’t get away for the holidays. Just once though, I would like to spend Christmas in the Philippines with my relatives.

6. Play or sing your favourite Christmas song! And how would you like me to do that hmmm?

7. Do you open any presents on Christmas Eve? No, that’s cheating! I think we did it a couple of times when we were younger, but then stopped.

8. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Srsly? Alright, (On) Dasher and Dancer, (On) Prancer and Vixen, (On) Comet and Cupid, (On) Donner and Blitzen, and Rudolph. Is that right? My brain is starting to hurt…Btw, is it Donner or Donder? I always get confused on that one.

9. What holiday tradition are you looking forward to most this year? Hmmm, I’ll have to think about this one…

10. Is your Christmas tree real or fake? REAL! I absolutely detest fake trees! We go to the Christmas tree farm every year and cut down our tree. We got an 8 1/2-footer this year.

11. Hands down, what’s your all-time favourite holiday food and sweet treat? Christmas cookies!!

12. Be honest: Do you like giving or receiving gifts better? I like giving to the point where I go overboard sometimes. Heehee I love buying stuff for people! But I have to admit that I hate shopping when I don’t know what to get someone.

13. What would be the dream place to visit for this holiday season? I’ve been wanting to go to New York during the holidays.

14. Does your family have a special holiday recipe you like to help make? Nope. We do make Russian tea cookies every year, but there’s nothing super special about them.

15. Are you a pro-present wrapper, or do you fail miserably? Total pro. The artist in me loves beautifully wrapped gifts!

16. Most memorable holiday moment? My most memorable moments usually include my dad. He likes to play tricks on us on during the holidays. My dad participates in a Secret Santa at work every year and he’ll buy the present, stick it in a box, and make me wrap it for him. One year, I wrapped his co-worker’s present as usual. Then on Christmas day, he pulls the same present that I wrapped from under the couch and hands it to me and says “Merry Christmas!” Yeah, that’s right, I wrapped my own present. Not cool dad, not cool. Haha

17. What made you realize the truth about Santa? I realized it when I was in the 2nd or 3rd grade? That year my sister and I went into the living room to find out that “Santa” had given us a coloring table and a pair of chairs. I don’t remember what else was there, but I remember that table set. Later that morning I went into the laundry room looking for something when I discovered the box that held the table and chairs. That’s when I figured out on my own that Santa didn’t give me that table, my dad did. :p I wasn’t disappointed though. Presents are presents no matter who gives them to you!

18. Do you make New Year’s Resolutions? Do you stick to them? I normally don’t make New Year’s Resolutions because I never stick to them. I actually succeeded last year by completing Project 365. I’m not sure what my New Year’s Resolution should be this time around.

19. What makes the holidays special for you? There’s something about the holidays that make people a lot more…nicer? (Well, excluding the people in the malls that fight over crap!) But srsly, there are people I know who normally appear scrooge-y or disinterested, that suddenly become upbeat and dare I say it, downright cheerful during this time of year! What’s up with that? Haha It’s the magic of Christmas, I guess.

Yup, you read that right, it’s Adventskalender not Advent Calendar.
See, it even says so on the display at Safeway. :p

Here’s my first chocolate. Choo-choo-chooooose me!

I haven’t had an Advent Calendar since I was a little. The ones we had back in the day didn’t have these elaborate pictures on them like they do now and you didn’t have to search around for the numbers. Our old ones had red doors on them that were numbered in order.

So according to my new calendar, we have 19 more days until Christmas, or as I like to call it 19 more stressful days to shop for Christmas gifts!!! Yikes. If you wanna get through it, then you better get to it, kids.

© Brad Camp

♫ I’m dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the tree tops glisten
And children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow ♫

White Christmas is my favorite holiday movie and I was lucky enough to watch the stage production of it tonight at CSTOCK. I mainly went to see it because Amy’s in it. The fact that it was White Christmas was just a bonus.

Here’s a picture of the talented Amy Anderson singing the song Sisters. She’s the one on the right. I love this picture because it makes me think of Amy performing this song at work while twirling around in Helen’s office. Heehee

© Brad Camp

If you haven’t seen or heard of White Christmas (shame on you!) here is a brief overview: Bob Wallace (Bing Crosby) and Phil Davis (Danny Kaye) are army buddies from World War II who have become a very successful song and dance team. They meet up with Betty (Rosemary Clooney) and Judy (Vera Ellen) Haynes, the sisters of another of their army buddies at a nightclub in Florida. Phil sees that Bob is attracted to Betty, so he talks Bob into following the girls to their next show; an inn in Vermont. When they get to the inn, it is practically empty because there is no snow. As they start to leave, the men learn that the innkeeper is their beloved former commanding general from World War II. They decide to stay to try to drum up some business for the old man. – IMDB

I really enjoyed the play, especially listening to the music. My favorite parts were the duets that were beautifully sung by F. James Raasch (Bob Wallace) and Eric Richardson (Phil Davis) as well as the ones sung by Amy (Betty Haynes) and Emileigh Kershaw (Judy Haynes). Whoever chose the cast did a great job of finding actors whose voices complimented each other so well. I was also amused by the humor in the play. The laughs started right from the moment when Raasch goes, “Don’t sing until you see the whites of their eyes.” Richardson stops right beside me and looks in my eyes, points at me and goes, “I see it!” LOL That’s what I get for picking the aisle seat.

Oh and I have to mention Abigail Dominguiano who played Susan Waverly. OMG, adore her! She’s too cute for words! Sharon Greany who played Martha Watson is outstanding as well. Both of these actresses were a lot more memorable than the ones from the movie. It was also nice to see Amy’s husband, Michael, in the play as well because I enjoyed his performance in Guys and Dolls so I was happy to see that he was in White Christmas too. He got the part of Ralph Sheldrake.

The play had a sweet ending where Raasch encourages the audience to sing White Christmas with them and at one point the cast stops singing and all you hear is Raasch and the audience singing. ♥ If you guys have a chance, you should totally see the play. It runs until the 18th, so you have plenty of chances to see it. Just a warning though, once you do watch it, you’ll probably have this song stuck in your head: