Christmas Questions

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Hot Chocolate... easy! (Although I don't think I have ever really had good Egg Nog... Trish is semi-allergic to eggs - can't do too many ... so that may have something to do with it.)

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Amazingly he wraps them is paper REALLY similar to our stuff. That guy's amazing!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
Is white not a color?

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
Uh ... no.

5. When do you put your decorations up?
We start Thanksgiving weekend, and seem to finish sometime mid December.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
Ham and scalloped potatos.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child?
My dad was a bit of a prankster. One year he wrapped a present in a REALLY long box but didn't label it. My brother and I thought it was ours. I was certain it was the Radio Controlled Glider I REALLY wanted. When it came time to open it. He handed it to me. I started. He stopped me. Gave it to my mom. Stopped her. Then handed it to my brother. Stopped him. Back to me. Then back to my brother, who finished opening his new fishing pole. I was a bit disappointed then. But it always makes me smile today. I miss him.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
That he's not a natural grey? Don't tell me he isn't really fat! Does he really live in The Cayman Islands? I would. Forget that North Pole stuff, Santa. It's friggin' cold there. You might want to consider sending packages FedEx. That's a lot of work for a guy in this 300's.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Usually. But now, with the family growing we open all of the gifts from one side then... and all of them from the other side on Christmas Day.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
Put the lights on layer-by-layer. We have a fake tree. Then try to let the kiddos help with the other parts without breaking too much. Of course we need to keep the dogs tail, body, nose and paws off too. So ... very carefully.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
Dec.1 thru Dec. 26... LOVE IT! Dec. 27 thru Nov. 30... 83 degrees and sunny please!

12. Can you ice skate?
KILLS my feet. I have yet to find a pair of skates TALL enough. Yes, I said TALL. I got THINK Fred Flintstone feet. Hockey players from Canada... not so much, evidently.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
LEGO. Every year. Any year. Even still today.

14. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
Fruit cake! Love that stuff.

15. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Reading the Christmas story Christmas morning.

16. What tops your tree?
A beautiful, spectacular, brilliant (note the sarcasm) gold star with colorful red, green, blue and yellow lights ... that Jasmine picked out. (Glad she doesn't make the decorating decisions for the rest of the house.)

17. Which do you prefer Giving or Receiving?
I LOVE giving gifts! I love spending money on my friends, family and neighbors. I wish we had more, beacuse I would give so much more!

18. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
The Christmas Song.

19. Candy Canes! -- Yuck or Yum?
I'll eat one on Christmas. Then it's back to the sugar cookies, peanut butter balls, snowballs, and ... well pie. Gotta be pie, right?

Begin nothing...

I ordered Chinese food, carry-out, for lunch the other day from Panda House on the NW side of Ann Arbor. The food wasn't bad, actually it quite good ... but what do I know ... I am not Chinese. In the bag was the usual containers full of either Sweet-N-Sour Chicken or Beef Lo Mein, two of my staples, not sure which, a fork some napkins and my fortune-cookie. Oh that wonderfully dry, semi-sweet, semi-crunchy, mystery dessert sealed, forwho knows how long ago, in its sulifane container, all puffed-up with air so it is not opened, but "popped", just wainting to be broken revealing the prophosy inside.

Scarfing down my lunch I toss all the empty containers back into the back, roll it down and into the brown plastic bin it goes, leaving my fortune cookie on my desk anxiously awaiting to reveal its message. I reach for it. Give the bag a squeeze. Not too tight, but gotta do it enough to get that great "pop" sound and keep the cookie in tact. After all, we don't want to break it prematureally.

POP!

Ah, there it is. Yeah! What a great sound. Tossing the wrapper aside I quickly take the folded crisp and "snap!", break it into two pieces. Yup, there's that 2" by 1/2" piece of paper with my newest revelation. "What will you have me do next?" I ask the fortune. "What will be in my future?" "What great encouraging words will you have for me?"

Begin nothing until you have considered how it is to be finished.

Huh? Is this cookie telling me to DO something, or to NOT do something?

"Begin nothing until you have considered how it is to be finished."

Huh? Interesting. My little piece of prophosy is telling me to not start anything until I have thought about how it will end. Who cares how it will end? Certainly when it comes to starting a business or some such thing, I am sure it is important to consider how the company will dissolve, be purchased, or even pulled apart from a dispute amoungst the partners, but "nothing". Really? Should we really never begin to do anything until we have thought it thru to the end? Hmmm.

I thought life was meant to be a journey. Mysterious and unfolding at every twist, turn and decision. Considering "how it will end" takes all the mystery and fun out of life. Doesn't it? I want to jump into each and everyday ... NOT knowing how they will end. I want to jump into each and every endevour, dream and desire ... NOT knowing exactly what will come. Sure, I'd like to know a little bit about what is to come... but I could give a rip about "how it will end".

Furtunately my lucky numbers were 42, 28, 6, 37, 18, and 44.