These are a few of the things that I HATE

1. To get food out of the way, I'll list the most hated things: onions, peppers, spicey, tikka masala, brussel sprouts, brown rice, scotch, green tea, apples
2. coffee
3. dogs
4. drool
5. dog drool
6. socks with no matches (I HATE loosing socks!)
7. wet bathroom carpets
8. People who drive UNDER the speed limit
9. People who consistently drive anywhere between 70-110 k/h on the highway
10. people who drive over my foot in the grocery store and don't even seem to notice that their cart just went thump-thump and I went "OW! EXCUSE ME!"
11. People who allow their more-than-old-enough-to-know-better children to make rediculous noises in outside voices. Like "WEE-OOO-WEE-OOO-WEE-OOO" for minutes on end in walmart. ugh.
12. when my oldest daughter completely ignores everything I have to say and keeps saying "Hugh?"
13. hair leftover in the bathtub after baths/showers
14. The fact that my S button on my puter doesn't work well
15. being asked the same damn question over and over, just using different words. I wish I could explain to my daughter that it doesn't matter how many ways you ask me if you can have chocolate right after cereal, the answer is no. I am not opposed to the wording of your question...I am opposed to the question iteself.
16. Mariah Carey...
17. How society as a whole has become incredibly lazy, reticent, unskilled, and stagnat, where everything is disposable and everyone is replaceable.
19. People who don't pick up their dogs poop
20. When Marlee is screaming, and Faith decides that chanting LA-LALA-LA-LAAAAA in a voice louder than her crying sisters, and Mark asks me a question from another room.
21. When my mom comes over and cleans my house for me, not because I don't appreciate the help but because I'm ashamed that I need it.

And because I'm avoiding negative pointless cynicism for the time being, I'm going the end this before I fall off the bandwagon, land on my feet running and wake up in hell on christmas morning.

These are a few of my favorite things...

The Christmas season means something different to everyone. For most of us, it is a time for gathering with friends and family. It is a time for wine, and turkey, and party dresses. For laughter, and peace. For hot chocolate, cheesy music, sweaters, and the smell of pine. A time for anxiety as well, anxiety over the cleanliness of your house, potential weight gain, behavior of children, enforced time spent with inlaws, weather, travel, money, being seriously outdone in giftgiving and looking like the grinch...among other things. With all of the toy commercials that come out during the season to appeal to the youngest generation, the deals in the auto and tool industry to appeal to the men, and everything else sucking in women, Christmas has tuned into a delicate dance of money spent on others vs. their potential spending limit. (This is only my opinion, a cynical one maybe, which you are welcome of course to share...but you don't have to.) Maybe during the holiday season, it's important to remember all of the things that are yours, that cannot be taken from you, that you will not loose even if you've lost everything, that make you happy......
So this is my list...and discovering just how much these different things mean to me makes the holiday season so much sweeter because I see so clearly how many gifts I already have.



1. Marlee, when she's being nice
2. Faith, always (she's ALWAYS nice)
3. Mark on most days
4. moms homemade cookies
5. mom's homemade spagetti sauce
6. new socks (If all I got for xmas was new socks, I'm cool)
7. Photo editing
8. When Marlee yells at someone else
9. Sleep
10. People who have OCD
11. Yelling at bad drivers from the safety of my car, with the windows rolled up. It makes me feel better, but prevents road rage which I think is a win win for everyone.
12. music
13. books
14. babies in walmart that scream louder than mine...but only because then no one is staring at me anymore.
15. My sisters unflatering insult, reserved for special occasions "pond whore". which sounds so much filthier than just plain old dirty whore.
16. The new camera package I just won, that retails for more than 2500...
17. Did I mention my husband yet? *please note, the order in which items appear does not necessarily reflect their order of importance*
18. The fictional characters of James and Claire Fraser, Laird and Lady of Broch Tuark.
19. Moments in time that are so perfect and peaceful, they are burned forever in your mind.
20. Sleepy warm midnight snuggles with Marlee...
21. The unconditional acceptance of my family
22. French Canadian Cuisine
23. Good tuperware.
24. When you hear that song on the radio that is your life song in that moment in time.
25. Funny beer commercials during the superbowl
26. When something happens that makes you laugh from the toes up.
27. When you do something so awsome, you make your kids eyes sparkle. Like using a clothes pin and towel to transform into supermom, who sends secret messages to the tiny fighters in her body to help kick germ butts!
28. How little things leave my husband feeling weepy-ish, and me dry eyed.
29. Hearing my daughter tell her marky that if he shaved off his beard he could be prince charming.
30. Having the ability to drop by and see my parents any day.
31. Knowing that because I am strong enough, my husband is strong enough, and as a family we are strong enough, I can say today with total and complete confidence that we will make it through it all. We will always be