Laughter and Fantasy

Mirth is God's medicine. Everybody ought to bathe in it. ~Henry Ward Beecher

A few of you saw this last night, but I have to post it again. Stolen blatantly from Judy who's doing a Christmas countdown of videos on her blog. This video made me laugh like a loon:



In other news ... I got my packages sent out yesterday. My first and last. Sadly, the one going to my ex-SIL had something fall out (we'd packed it IN the car in front of the post office, because I needed to buy some things) and we didn't notice until the stuff had already been mailed. It's going to make her gift a little on the very small side, but I'm not sending it. I'm DONE at the post office. My DH just got another stocking stuffer instead.

I'm just glad I'm done. Done shopping. Done shipping. I'll do some baking right before Christmas, and I'm going to make dog cookies this weekend (I'm experimenting with adding pureed spinach to one batch and tomato sauce to the other to make red and green cookies) for our agility friends. I still have to get my Christmas cards out. Yesterday, I took a picture of DD holding the cat and sitting beside Dakota in front of the tree to send out. The cat was NOT happy, and Dakota looked like she was being beaten, but -- it's a family portrait, and DD looked lovely (even if she was holding a squirming cat who does NOT like being held).

I love Christmas. I do. But I'm ready for it to be over.

=====================

I've been challenged to finish my fantasy. I'm quite close, actually, but have the BIG climatic part coming up and it's going to be a bugger to write, so I've been dreading it. I have a month or so ... going to give it a try. 10 - 15 thousand words in a month should be doable, even if they are difficult and draining.

Part of me is terrified to send this story out into the world. It's a story that really comes from my heart -- one I've carried around for years and years. I'm terrifically wrapped up in these characters and their story and I'm afraid I won't do them justice.

Baby steps. I have another author willing to read through the first draft and tell me if it sucks. One set of eyes instead of hundreds.

So I'll finish it and go from there.

=====================

You Spend Sensibly

You love to shop for holiday presents, but you are above all a savvy shopper. You know you don't have to spend a fortune to get the perfect gift, and you'll shop around to find the right thing at the right price. You prefer gifts that people actually want to receive to gifts that dazzle or impress. You hope that your gifts stand the test of time. If someone keeps your gift for years, you consider it a success!

Do You Spend Like a Santa or a Scrooge?

That's pretty close to correct.

===================

Some Saturday Funnies

Laughter is an instant vacation. ~Milton Berle

We didn't go to the fair yesterday, it DID end up raining. A LOT. Boy, we could sure use another couple weeks of that kind of wet stuff...

In any case, I'm running on empty today, so thought I'd leave you with a couple videos.

This one a friend from agility mentioned. I was talking about how Dakota wags her tail in her sleep and they mentioned it. It's funny, but a little bit .... "Awwww, poor puppy." He just looks so stunned at the end. Not hurt, mind you, but kinda, "What the heck just happened?"



And just for a great laugh -- my favorite laughing baby video of all time:



Hope you all have a great Saturday!

=================

You See The World Through Red Colored Glasses

You live your life with intensity. You have strong emotions and experience everything vividly. You judge all interactions through the lens of power. You determine who has the most power and how to improve your position. You face challenges with courage and strength. You can will your way through any problem. You see love as the utmost expression of your passions and desires. Your romantic life is very passionate and overwhelming. At your worst, you are easily angered and quick to fight. You will go to war with anyone. You are happiest when you are expending a lot of energy. And you love the feeling of danger!

What Color Glasses Do You See the World Through?

Um.... not so much.

===========================

Monday Morning Meme and more

Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward. ~Kurt Vonnegut



1. What was the last thing you laughed at? Would you say you have a great sense of humor? What sorts of things make you laugh in general? Would you say people “get” your humor?

This email was the last thing I laughed at:

Once again, The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly neologism contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternative meanings for common words.

The winners are:

1. Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.

2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.

3 . Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

4. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.

5. Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.

6. Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.

7. Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.

8. Gargoyle (n), olive-flavored mouthwash.

9. Flatulence (n.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.

10. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.

11. Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.

12. Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.

13. Pokemon (n), a Rastafarian proctologist.

14. Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.

15. Frisbeetarianism (n.), (back by popular demand): The belief that, when you die, your soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.

16. Circumvent (n.), an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

I have an odd sense of humor. I'm more "Frasier" than Adam Sandler or Three Stooges. I appreciate a good pun, and liberally sprinkle my conversation with sarcasm. Some people get it, some don't.

2. How many pieces of jewelery are you wearing at this very moment? Do you wear jewelry every day, or only on special occasions? What is your favorite piece of jewelery? Tell us the story behind one piece of your jewelery.

Um... wedding ring and two pairs of earrings: diamond studs and usually silver hoops. Does a watch count? That's pretty much what I wear daily. I really don't wear necklaces or bracelets and my ears are the only thing I have pierced. My fave jewelry would be my wedding ring. Story? Um... the diamond earrings I wear in the top hole in my ears were from my DH. I wanted little bitty chips (maybe an 1/8th carat total?), and he refused to get me something that small. I think the ones I have are 1/4 carat, but I gotta be honest -- it really doesn't matter to me. I am SO not a jewelry person. If I could find good, cheap, fake jewelry that wouldn't tarnish, I'd be all over it. Who cares if it's real?

3. If you could offer one piece of etiquette advice that everyone should follow when dining out, what would it be?

I have to admit to leaning toward how your treat the waitstaff... but that's probably because I was one for so many years. Pay attention to them, they really are people. I typically make folks who eat out with me laugh, because I'll carry on long conversations with the servers, but I remember being ignored or treated like a piece of furniture, and that stinks.

You might also take your kids outside if they are screaming, turn off your cell phone and don't talk like the person with you is deaf.

Wait... you asked for one, didn't you? ::shrugs::

4. What are the first three things a guest would notice when they walked through your front door?

Once they got through the Dakota leaping, crying, barking, licking greeting? The stairs (the door pretty much opens on them, the living room and the TV room. I don't have any fancy furniture or paintings or knick-knacks. Sorry.

====================

Favorite line I wrote for my JaNoWriMo challenge yesterday (from "A Jewel for Geoff")... Liv has just run into Geoff (much to his dismay). And she says:

“Geoff, I need advice.” She grabbed his sleeve and tugged him to the chairs that lined the wall, shoving him into one. “Okay, now pretend you’re a man.”

Ouch.

=====================

RE: My Big Fat Greek Wedding...the votes were as follows:

Chick Flick: 5

Comedy: 2

People who haven't seen it, but thought it was a chick flick: 2

Hmmmm..... I guess the votes reflect that it's a truly funny chick flick that both men and women can enjoy.

======================