A Christmas Meme

Laurie Ann over at A Magnolia's Heart Beats and Shanda from A Teachable Heart... tagged me this week for this fun Christmas meme!

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Most definitely Hot Chocolate. I’m not even sure I’ve ever tasted Egg Nog.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Santa always wraps his presents.

3. Colored light on house/tree or white?
White lights on house and tree.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
Nope.

5. When do you put your decorations up?
Ours usually go up around the first weekend in December.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
I’ve been looking at this list for 2 days now and can’t narrow down to just one, so I’m going to cheat and just say I love them all! :)

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?
The time we spent at my grandparent’s houses with all our extended family.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
You know, I don’t even remember. I feel like I’ve always known Santa wasn’t real and that Jesus was the REAL reason for the season. I’m sure there was a moment, I just can’t remember. (ahh… the joys of getting older!)

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Because we are usually either with my parents or Jeff’s on Christmas Day, we have begun making Christmas Eve our family’s Christmas Day celebration. So, yes we open gifts on Christmas Eve. This year we are going to start the day off with that and spend it all together just the four of us… just like we would do if we were home on Christmas Day.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
Ours is a hodge podge of decorations. Some that we have purchased each year since we were married, some from travels, some the kids have made, etc.

11. Snow. Love it or dread it?
Well, we don’t get a lot of that white stuff in Texas, but I do love it. Every couple of years we are in Minnesota at my parent’s house and we can almost always be guaranteed there will be snow. I LOVE to sit INSIDE and see the beauty of the snow OUTSIDE. :)

12. Can you ice skate?
Nope… have tried many times and just can’t manage more than about halfway around the rink… moving vveerryy ssslllooowwwlllyyy.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
I remember several… a Barbie doll Jet plane as a child, a pair or shoes I really wanted as a teenager, a beautiful bracelet from my husband.

14. What is the most important thing about the holidays for you?
The celebration of the birth of Jesus.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?
My grandmother’s pecan pie.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
No specific tradition, but I have always loved that we have always spent significant time with family over the Christmas holiday.

17. What tops your Christmas tree?
An angel my grandmother made.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
Most definitely giving.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song?
Joy to the World

20. Candy Canes. Yum or Yuck?
Yum!

21. What do you want for Christmas?
For my children to understand the TRUE meaning of Christmas and to feel the love of the Lord in their lives.

22. Do you attend an annual Christmas party.
Usually one or two a year.

23. Do you dress up for Christmas Eve or wear PJ's?
At home with just us on Christmas Eve… jammies or jeans and sweatshirt… comfort rules (I will change for Christmas Eve services). If we are elsewhere on Christmas Day usually jeans and a Christmas shirt.

24. Do you own a Santa hat?
No.

25. Who do you normally spend Christmas with?
Family.

As usual, I am going to cheat and tag anyone that reads this and wishes to join in. I've seen this meme around alot over the last couple of weeks, so know that many have already been tagged. I've had a blast reading everyone's answers and learning how each of you spend the holidays. If you do decide to join in, please leave me a comment. I'd love to stop by and read your answers!

The Scattergories Meme

I found this fun Scattergories meme this afternoon when visiting Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.


The Rules: Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following questions.
* They have to be real places, names, things. nothing made up!
* You can’t use your name for the boy/girl name question.
* Tag at least 5 people to play along

1. What is your name... Melanie

2. A four letter word... Moon

3. A boy's name... Michael

4. A girl's name... Michelle

5. An occupation... Maytag Repairman

6. A color... Maroon

7. Something you wear... Mittens

8. A beverage... Milk

9. A food... Marshmallows

10. Something found in the bathroom... Mint flavored toothpaste

11. A place... Maine

12. A reason for being late... Mishap

Wow! A couple of those were really tough! But, I did it! How about you? Can you answer each of the above questions using only words that begin with the first letter of your first name?

Tagged!

Yesterday, Laurie Ann, from A Magnolia's Heart Beats, tagged me for this fun meme where I tell "15 Things I'm Not Afraid to Admit".

1. While I have been involved in many Bible studies I have never read the Bible completely through. That was one reason that I chose to start a blog. It is one way that I keep myself accountable to studying and reading the Bible thru as I share weekly what I am studying. So far I’ve been thru Philippians, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John and have just started Ruth.

2. I think I like the “Veggie Tales” more than my kids do. I don’t know what it is… maybe the silly songs, maybe it’s Larry the Cucumber, I don’t know… I just think they’re cute and I love the music. They are just fun! Oh, and Biblical, too! :)

3. Some might find me to be a bit vertically challenged. I am a whopping 4ft 11 ½ in tall. It used to bother me terribly as a teenager. But, you know what? Now that I’m an adult I can’t even imagine being taller. This is how God made me and it works for me!

4. I am an organizer at heart. Fortunately for the rest of my family, I don’t have the time to organize my household the way I would really like to have it done. What an adjustment I’ve had to make with kids and toys in my house! (oh, and did I say toys and more toys and more toys… I swear those things take on a life of their own! )

5. My husband and I are both computer geeks. He loves the hardware side of things and I love the software side. Just picture us sitting side by side on the sofa with our laptops. Oh, yea…. there’s the picture of romance! :) It has worked good for us, though, because it is how we met – thru our computer geeky jobs!

6. I love, love, love to read. My idea of the perfect day is a winter day with snow falling outside my window (notice I said OUTSIDE my window… I most definitely would be INSIDE), a fire in the fireplace, and me curled up in a blanket reading a book… or two.... or three. Hmmmm…. re-thinking a bit here… since I live in Texas and it doesn’t snow much… think I’ll change that snowy day to a rainy day. Those are good for snuggling up in front of the fireplace with a blanket and a book, too!

7. I also love, love, love music. All kinds of music -- Contemporary Christian, country, a little rock, some classical. I can almost always find something to listen to that I enjoy.

8. My hair started turning grey when I was in college. Just a little at first and then more and more. I’ve never gone completely grey, but I do have enough that I choose to cover it up! ;)

9. Marble Slab Ice Cream…. YUMMY!

10. When I have time I enjoy cooking. One of my favorite TV stations is the TV Food Network. I love to collect recipes from their website that I think look good as I watch the shows and then pull several of them together into a fun meal for the family on a weekend.

11. One of my favorite activities to do with my kids? Color with them in their coloring books. I don’t know what it is about this activity but it relaxes me and puts me in a completely new frame of mind. Not to mention the great time I have talking with the kids as we color together.

12. I could spend hours playing computer and video games. Fortunately, I don’t have time to do that, but it is a great way for me to unwind when times are stressful. We’re thinking of buying a Wii and my husband teases me that I will play all the time and no one else in the house will get a chance.

13. Oooh… another way I like to relax? A manicure and a pedicure! Relax, feel good and look good, too, all at the same time!

14. My favorite time of the year? Autumn!

15. My favorite way to spend the holidays? With my family! Some of my best memories are Thanksgiving and Christmas with both my immediate and extended family. I want my kids to have some of those same precious memories. We always make sure we get to spend time at the holidays with just us and then also with our extended family.

So, now is the time where I tag several of you to join in on this fun meme. Come on and join in on the fun!

Natalie at Married to the Preacher

Joan at More God = Less Me

Sab at Seeds of the Heart

Amy at Musings of a Teacher

The "Five Tag" Meme

Last week Laurie Ann and Debra tagged me for this fun meme that is all about 5's. Groups of 5, that is. This was fun and, on several, really made me think. For example, what in the world WAS I doing 10 years ago?? Still a bit of a mystery if I must be honest. :)

Anyhoo.. here's my "Five Tag" answers.......

10 Years Ago :

It was just hubby and I…. no kiddos yet.

We were just returning from a splendid 2 week vacation in Italy.

I worked as a quality assurance manager in an IT department.

Didn’t know who the Wiggles were…. Or Dora the Explorer… or Diego… or.. well, you get the picture. :)

I ‘m cheating and making this statement my 5th item… this is hard… 10 years ago was before we had kids… it’s true what they say… once you have kids you can’t remember what in the world you did before kids! :)

5 Things on Today's "To-Do" List:

Run by Office Depot
Help my son with his homework
Run a load of laundry
Respond to several emails from friends
Relax!

5 Snacks I Enjoy:

Cheese
Chips
Nuts
Pizza
Carrot Sticks (I had to get something healthy in there!) :)


5 Things I would do if I were a millionaire:

Give a large portion to my church
Something special for my extended family
Buy a cabin in the mountains
Buy books, books, and more books!
Travel


5 Places I have lived:

O’Fallon, MO
Richland, MO
Harrison, AR
Independence, MO
Highland Village, TX

5 Jobs that I have had (or still have today) :

Registrar for Fellowship of Christian Athletes – this was my summer job during college and was the BEST! I was responsible for enrollments for 3-4 of their summer camps and would travel to each of them and spend 2-3 days at each camp site. The coolest college summer job EVER! And, a truly GREAT organization!

Administrative Assistant for software documentation department

Support Rep for a large software application contracted to a government agency

Software Quality Assurance Team Member (we made sure software worked well before sending to our customers)

Business Analyst for large corporation – I provide support to our business users in their use of our system that does the company financials, warehousing, purchasing, etc.


And, now.... if you're reading this post..... consider yourself TAGGED! :)

Some Fun with Memes

I was recently tagged for one meme and then saw one on another blogging buddy's blog (oooh.. almost a tongue twister there! :) ) so thought I would make this a fun post of memes!


A few weeks ago, Laurie Ann tagged me for a meme where I need to share a random list of info about me. So, here goes……


1. In junior high and high school and I played the flute in the band.

2. I’ve never been a coffee drinker -- which is not to say that I don’t have a need for a little caffeine (or, maybe a LOT… ahem…). I just find mine elsewhere… Diet Coke. Specifically, a diet coke with lime from Sonic. I stop by there just about everyday!

3. On another musical note, I also took piano lessons for about 6 years during elementary school and into junior high.

4. I’m sure you will all either laugh or think “Wow.. that IS odd!” but I had the nickname of Mallard in college. A friend of mine just looked at me one day and called me Mallard instead of Mel or Melanie and for some odd reason, it just stuck.

5. I DO NOT like snakes. They just seem slimy and slithery to me… YUCK!

6. Growing up I always wanted to have a beautiful singing voice and be able to make records. Or, I guess today that would be CDs. I think I just dated myself a bit with records, huh? :) Anyway, I used to pretend in my bedroom that I was a famous recording star. Honestly, today I’m glad the Lord didn’t lead in that way. So much pressure in that arena. Once again, God definitely knew what He was doing when He led in other directions.

7. When I was a child and in elementary school I was reprimanded more for talking than for anything else. It seems my son is following in his mother’s footsteps…. ahem. Poor kid, I’m sure he’s wishing his mother had the trait of knowing when to keep her mouth shut and that would have been the trait I passed on to him. :)



Fun with the Letter ‘W’

Last week Tonya posted a fun meme where she assigns you a letter and then you write about 10 things you love that start with that letter. I got the letter ‘W’. A little tough, but I was up to the challenge! Stop by and see Tonya to join the fun.

1. The WOMEN in my life – my mom, my grandmothers, my sisters, my aunts, my girlfriends.

2. The WORLD WIDE WEB – where I have met so many wonderful women blogging friends.

3. WINDOWS – I love a home or any sort of building with lots of windows letting in the sunshine and the beauty of the outdoors.

4. The WORD – God’s Word.

5. WHALES - I’ve always been a bit fascinated by these large mighty creatures. However, this last year I’ve developed an even greater love for them as my daughter has discovered whales. This year over Spring Break we went to San Antonio and visited Sea World. She was completely taken in by Shamu in the killer whale show. She draws Shamu, she talks about Shamu, she becomes so excited when seeing pictures in books or on TV of killer whales. The thrill and wonderment in her eyes when she sees one is enough to keep me smiling for weeks!

6. WASHING MACHINE – I LOVE my washing machine. Although it would be cheaper and would probably be a good work out for me, I’m just not a “beat your clothes with rocks by the riverside to get them clean” kind of gal. :)

7. WATER – oooohhh….. what is more refreshing than a cold glass of water on a hot August day in Texas!

8. WEEKENDS – relaxing time with all the family home together for two whole days!

9. WHISPER – both my kids have always loved to whisper sweet words in my ears. Usually along the lines of “I love you, Mommy!”. It just melts my “mommy heart” every single time.

10. WILDFLOWERS – I love to see a field full of wildflowers. Fortunately, I live in the perfect state for this as Texas is full of wildflowers in the spring. Due to much great work by Lady Bird Johnson, we get to see them everywhere in the spring in Texas. Along the roadsides, in the fields, in the road medians in the cities and on and on. I love it!!


So, there ya go... probably more random info about me than you ever wanted to know! Happy Tuesday!!

"Tag, You're It!"

Over the last couple of weeks I have been tagged by Sam, SharonB, and God Chaser for this meme to share 6 random things about me. According to the rules I should tag several others for this meme, but I'm having such a difficult time choosing that I'm just going to tag anyone that may stop by for a visit today. So, if you're reading this post, consider yourself tagged! :)

Here are six completely random things about me.....

1. I’ve never been one to sing in the shower, but I do sing quite a bit in the car. If you were to pass me on the highway as I drive to and from work, you would probably see me singing at the top of my lungs. I know I’ve had more than one person pass me that thinks I'm quite crazy. Instead of thinking I'm crazy, though, they should be thankful I do not have the windows rolled down where they could HEAR me singing at the top of my lungs! :)

2. I love to read! If there were enough hours in the day I think I could read a book a day. Unfortunately, I just can’t find that many hours. Well, unless I quit sleeping and my family will tell you that is just not a good idea. Little sleep for mom means cranky mom! I know, I know… I hate to admit it, but it’s true. I desperately need my sleep!

3. I think the last time I was tagged for a similar meme, I mentioned that I was the oldest of three girls. What I didn’t mention was that my husband is the youngest of three boys. It’s a fun little fact to share, but I can tell you that it can sometimes make things a little…hmmm… “interesting” as we pull together our “growing up experiences” and meld them into what we want for our own family. You can be assured that there are a lot of differences between a family of all sisters and a family of all brothers! :) We remember things differently, we experienced them differently, our ideas of fun family vacations are different, etc. For example, my sisters and I will never tell of how we all got into a Jell-o pudding fight at the kitchen table, had pudding all over the wallpaper, and learned that chocolate pudding will eat right thru wallpaper…. So much so that the whole kitchen required new wallpaper (my mother-in-law still grimaces when that story comes up in conversation). On the other hand, my husband’s family can’t very well discuss the experiences of having a houseful of girls all going thru “that time of the month” at the same time (oh, dear, my poor father!) Oh, yes… many differences! But, many differences that help us to work together thru our different experiences to provide what we hope is a wonderful family environment for our own little boy and little girl.

4. I am a TV Food Network junkie. If I could watch anything I wanted for as long as I wanted it would almost always be the Food Network. As that isn’t the case, ‘cause you know I have a family and a job and responsibilities and it just wouldn’t be good to sit in front of the TV all day, I catch a little bit of it here and there when I can. My daughter has actually started joining me some and every now and then even calls out, “Come on, Mom, let’s watch cookin' shows!” She does love to help in the kitchen. I’m hoping this is something we can do together for many years to come. I love watching cookin' shows with her and having her in the kitchen with me!

5. I’ve always wanted to own and operate my own business. Hubby and I have actually been working on this since early spring and it is quickly becoming a reality. I am so excited! I should have more to post on this little adventure in the months to come. This is also exciting as I can so see God’s hand all over this and how it answers other prayers related to my current work situation and some lifestyle changes I would like to make (more flexibility, moving away from “corporate America”, more involvement in our church programs, etc).

6. I love to travel! Here again, time is an issue, but I so enjoy a good trip. I enjoy seeing and experiencing how other people and cultures live life – in other countries, but also just in other parts of my own country. I am really enjoying being able to take trips with my kids and share with them all the different experiences that are part of traveling and encountering other people, their lifestyles and their little corner of the world.

The Alphabet Meme

I've seen this meme posted on several other blogs over the last week or so and thought it a great one to learn more about my new bloggy friends. I love learning a bit more about all of you as I visit your blogs, so thought it only fair that I jump in on this one and share a little more about me.

A is for age.
Just turned 42 a few weeks ago.

B is for burger of choice.
Bacon cheeseburger… preferably with a good smoky bacon. Yummmm!

C is for what car you drive.
2008 Honda CR-V.

D is for Dog's name.
Our dog’s name is Bitty, which is short for Little Bit. My husband grew up with dachshunds as a child and decided early on that when he could get one of his own it would be named Little Bit. He was able to get his first dachshund when he started college and she was still living when we were married. We had to put her to sleep about 7 years ago, so we now have Little Bit II.

E is for essential item you use every day.
Toothbrush… no one would want to be around me otherwise. :)

F is for favorite tv show at the moment.
Law & Order, CSI, Grey's Anatomy, Top Chef, and almost anything on The Food Network.

G is for Favorite game.
Apples to Apples. My sister and brother-in-law introduced us to this game over the Christmas holidays. LOVE IT!

H is for Hometown.
We moved several times when I was growing up, so there’s not just one place that I consider home. What I do consider home is wherever I am with my family. If I learned nothing else while moving around as a child it is that it doesn’t really matter where the physical house is located. What is important is that you are with your family and following God.

I is for instruments you play.
I’m terribly out of practice with any instrument, but I took piano lessons for about 6 years as a child, played flute in band, and have played handbells in a couple of church handbell choirs.

J is for favorite juice.
I’m not much of a juice drinker, but when I do choose to drink juice it is usually either grape juice or apple juice.

K is for who you'd like to kiss.
My hubby and my sweet kiddos.

L is for last restaurant you ate at.
Pazzo Wood Fired Pizza (I think it’s only a local joint)

M is for your favorite Muppet.
Kermit

N is for number of piercings.
Two piercings in each ear.

O is for overnight hospital stays.
The only overnight hospital stays I’ve had were when my children were born, so that would be a total of two overnight hospital stays with each one being 2-3 nights.

P is for people you were with today.

My family and co-workers.

Q is for what you do with your quiet time.
Pray, read scripture, play whatever Christian music is really speaking to me at the time. My quiet time is usually one or a combination of these three. I sort of mix it up depending on the day, how the Lord speaks to me, and how I am feeling on that particular day.

R is for biggest regret.
I’m not sure I really have any regrets. Even mistakes I’ve made in life I have learned from and experienced growth thru that learning experience.

S is for status.
Married for 12 years on May 11.

T is for time you woke up today.
6:14 am

U is for what you consider unique.
People. Each person is created uniquely by God and special in their uniqueness.

V is for vegetable you love.
Asparagus, Broccoli, carrot sticks, radishes.

W is for worst habit.
Procrastination. If I don’t want to do something I will put it off until the last possible moment. What a way to create my own stress, huh? ;)

X is for number of x-rays you've had.
Let’s see… about once a year at the dentist and I once had my feet x-rayed.

Y is for yummy food you ate today.
So far, I've only had my morning bagel with cream cheese.

Z is for zodiac sign.
Gemini -- although I don't follow zodiac signs at all.

I've Been Tagged!

Liza from Take a Ride tagged me for a meme. It sounded like fun and a great way to get know some people since I'm still new to the blogging world. So.... here goes.


Here are the rules of the game:
1) Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog
2) Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3) Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4) Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.


7 facts about myself:

1. I'm the oldest of 3 girls. I have 2 younger sisters that are the best! We are not fortunate enough to live close in distance, but we have a great relationship and have learned to make the most of the time we do have together.

2. My father and I attended school at the same time. During my years in college, he was attending seminary working on a Master's Degree in Divinity.

3. My husband proposed to me on an airplane. He was joining my family and I for Thanksgiving, so we were flying together to my sister's house for the holiday. He managed to get a message to the pilot before our flight took off and had the pilot speak those special words to me over the plane's intercom system in-flight. My father married us 6 months later and in May we will be married 12 years!

4. We have been blessed with two beautiful children -- Josh is 6 yrs old and Abby is 3 yrs old.

5. I have never liked going to the dentist. No particular reason other than I do not enjoy having anyone poking around in my mouth -- especially with all those dental tools! As I was growing up, I always went regularly because... well... my mother made me. As an adult, I almost stopped going altogether. I think over the course of about 7 years I went twice (I know.. I'm lucky my teeth didn't rot out of my head!). Ironically, I married the son of a dentist. Now if I get off the schedule of once every 6 months, I get my own personal reminder call.... no kidding! :)

6. My favorite ways to relax are time outdoors with my kids, reading to my kids, cooking (when I have time and am not rushed) and reading myself a good book.

7. I teach a 4 year old Sunday School class at my church.

I had a hard time picking out only seven people to tag since there are so many wonderful women I have "met" over the last 2 months. Plus, a couple that I wanted to tag I've seen participate in this meme recently, so I didn't want to ask them to do it again. However, I managed to narrow down my list and here they are.... consider yourselves tagged! :)


1. Stephanie
2. Tricia
3. Jen
4. Sandy
5. Tara
6. Faithful Chick
7. Sarah