Linda at 2nd cup of coffee created and hosts the Random Dozen meme every Wednesday. You can answer the questions on your blog and link up to Linda’s plus find more participants there.

1. Are you pleasant when you’re ill, or are you a grumpy, fussy patient?

I’m not pleasant, but I don’t think I am grumpy or fussy. It depends on what it is, how long it has been going on, etc. I tend to want to be left alone when I am not feeling well.

2. When you find out that school is canceled (due to inclement weather) what is your gut reaction?

Joy that we get to sleep in!

3. What is one domestic skill you wish you could improve?

Oh, it’s hard to say. I’m not “expert” in any area. I probably most need to improve on bargain hunting/thriftier spending.

4. Do you decorate your home for Valentine’s Day?

Some years more than others. This year all I’ve put up is a wreath on the door.

Other years I’ve gone all out. This year — just recovering from being sick and having a very busy several days and needing to catch up around the house — I don’t think I’ll be getting into the extra decorations as much.

5. What song is on your mind today?

At the moment, “Nothing but the blood” by Ron Hamilton. It changes throughout the day.

6. Do you prefer contemporary movies or classic?

Again, it all depends — what I am inclined toward at the time, whether I am watching with someone and what they want. I like them both. The main disadvantage with a lot of contemporary movies is overt sexuality, so we don’t actually watch that many, but we do find a few to enjoy. We do wait til they come out on DVD so we can screen them better rather than just being at the mercy of whatever comes on the big screen at a theater.

7. How well do you “compartmentalize” your feelings? For example, how well can you put aside a really trying moment to deal with the immediate situation which is not related to the trying moment, e.g., putting aside a tiff with your spouse in order to finish wallpapering a room.

I can set aside feelings in the sense of not saying anything about them at the moment. I can’t just turn off the feelings themselves, though.

8. What is the first thing that attracted you to your spouse? (Or if you’re single, to your best friend.)

The first thing I noticed about him before we met was that he was nice looking. I enjoyed the fact that he was fun to be around once we did meet. But I think what really attracted me to him was seeing his kindness toward others.

9. When was the last time your heart raced?

Well, I have physical problems with that, so I am happy to report not lately, at least not enough to require care. But I did have a dream last night that there was a tornado coming — we could hear the freight-train sound — and no one was concerned or doing anything about it. So my heart probably raced a bit then! I had to listen for a few minutes when I first woke up to make sure there wasn’t really anything going on (we don’t live near train tracks, so I know it wasn’t that.)

10. What are your memories of Valentine’s Day at school?

I enjoyed making the little boxes or pockets to hold the Valentines from classmates and I enjoyed buying and addressing the little kiddie Valentines. I think we had refreshments of some sort while we opened our Valentines at the end of the day.

11. If you were going to receive candy for Valentine’s Day, which would you prefer?

It would have to be some form of chocolate. 🙂 I like many types of candy, but I think at the moment Lindt truffles are my favorites.

12. Red or pink?
Pink….as you can probably tell. ♥♥♥♥♥

Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts a “Friday Fave Five” in which we share our five favorite things from the past week. Click on the button to read more of the details, and you can visit Susanne to see the list of others’ favorites or to join in.

1. One of my favorite things this week, this month, this year, in a long time, was getting together with some of our dearest friends Saturday night. We’ve known each other since early married days. We only live about 45 minutes apart from each other now, but it is hard to coordinate schedules and make time, especially hard to get whole families together now that some of the kids are grown and away from home. Jason and Mittu coordinated a get-together at their house — these had not yet met Mittu — and it was such a good time.

2. We didn’t have a snow day exactly, because we didn’t get snow last weekend — some areas not far from us got 4″, but we only got sleet and ice pellets. But the overnight temperature of about 16F froze all the slush and made for hazardous driving, so our church canceled both services. Though I did miss them, and Sunday seems so strange without church, it was nice to just have a day of rest. We try to keep Sunday as restful as we can anyway — though we’re not legalistic about it, we try not to do work that day unless it just has to be done. So to just nap or read or visit without feeling like I needed to be getting to something else was refreshing.

3. Pudding chip cookies. I’d been craving them for weeks and finally made them.

4. Jeremy and I got a take-out lunch at McAlister’s Deli yesterday. We hadn’t ordered from there in a long time. I love their potato soup. We don’t usually get dessert from there, but this time I got a brownie and Jeremy got a ginormous chocolate chip cookie, and we each split ours to share with each other.

5. Puffs Plus tissues with lotion. Jim doesn’t like them as they tend to shred if he has any whiskers at all, so I don’t keep them around all the time, but they really do help an aching nose. I’ve unfortunately needed them this week. Jim and Jason were sick earlier in the week and now Jeremy and I are. This is not a good time to be sick as I have a lot that needs to get done over the next few days.

I’m also glad for a better weekend forecast than what they were saying earlier in the week: they were predicting snow, sleet, and ice, but now it looks like it will be just rain. Yet the excess rain from last time still hasn’t evaporated or soaked in yet — there’s still standing water throughout town. I’m hoping we don’t have a repeat of our flooding incident.

And I’m glad I finished The Tartan Pimpernel.

And, oh yeah — Lost is back on!!!

Happy Friday!

Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts a “Friday Fave Five” in which we share our five favorite things from the past week. Click on the button to read more of the details, and you can visit Susanne to see the list of others’ favorites or to join in.

1. Sunshine! We had so much rain Sunday that it cause some relatively minor flooding in our house. The sun has been out every day since, and  temperatures were mild enough yesterday to go out without a coat. The ground is still a little spongy, though, and sleet and snow are predicted for tonight. The adults are praying the bad weather will hold off until after special meetings at church tonight; the kids are praying it will come early so they’ll be able to get out of school. We’ll see who wins. 🙂

2. Quick restoration of power. We came home Monday evening to find the power out in our neighborhood. I never did hear what caused it. I was ashamed at myself for feeling depressed about it, especially in light of what people are suffering in Haiti. We were only home a short while when my son and daughter-in-law called and invited us over to their house (which did have electricity), and our power was back on by the time we came home a couple of hours later.

3. This battery-powered lantern. We originally got it for camping, but I keep it handy in the living room closet for power outages. I’d like to find more, but I haven’t seen this style lately.

4. This batch of miniature carnations that a grocery store had for sale this week offered a bright spot of cheer.

5. This cute little toile heart from Cindy at My Romantic Home.

Bonus:

6. The PBS Masterpiece Classic production of Jane Austen’s Emma the first part of which aired this past Sunday evening. It’s been more then 30 years since I read Emma, so I don’t know how it compares to the original, and I really like the Gwyneth Paltrow version, so I wasn’t sure I wanted to see a new interpretation. But I really liked this actress when I saw her in Amazing Grace and Daniel Deronda. So far I am liking it (except I prefer the earlier version’s quintessential Mr. Knightly to this one.)

7. The fact that January is almost over! Spring is that much closer!

Happy Friday!

Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts a “Friday Fave Five” in which we share our five favorite things from the past week. Click on the button to read more of the details, and you can visit Susanne to see the list of others’ favorites or to join in.

Often I have my FFF post prepared the night before, but I didn’t have anything written up yet, and this morning I almost decided not to do it today, thinking “I ain’t got nothing.” It hasn’t been a bad week — there just wasn’t anything “favorite” standing out to me, and the situation in Haiti kind of overcasts everything. I was so thankful this morning for warmth at the push of a button and all the conveniences I enjoy while feeling a bit guilty about them when so many are without. But as Shannon said, God wants us to enjoy what He has provided while at the same time realizing they are fleeting, not the most important things in life, and remembering that we should be generous with what we have.

Then I started trying to come up with a “fave five” for the week, and as so often happens, came up with more than five once I got started. That’s why I like this meme — it reminds me to look for the unexpected blessings, large and small, along the way.

So here are my favorites for the week:

1. Lindt truffles. My mother-in-law received an assortment of several different types of chocolates and shared some with us. Love those things. Such perfect little balls of chocolateness.

2. Home-made pizza that Jeremy made for lunch yesterday. It’s so nice when kids cook! (I say kid — he’s 25, so he’s not exactly a kid, but your kids are always your kids. 🙂 )

3. Our ladies’ meeting Monday night. We had a real sweet college girl majoring in Missions who interned this summer with some missionaries we support in Ecuador. It was neat to get a glimpse of our missionaries and their ministry, and it was astounding to hear of and see the wide-open door for evangelism and the receptivity of the people there. They were able to pass out thousands of Spanish gospel CDs to people eager to receive them.

4. 40+ degree temperatures, so nice after several days of 20s and 30s. Today it is supposed to get into the 60s!

5. The Jan. 15th reading from Our Daily Walk by F. B. Meyer on “Things to Be Left Behind.” One quote: “The best way to leave behind is to press forward.”

Bonuses:

Rereading Anne of Green Gables for Carrie‘s L. M. Montgomery Reading Challenge. Not quite finished yet, but it has been a delight.

Does God Hate Haiti? by Albert Mohler, HT to Challies. (Short answer: No, but I encourage you to read the article.)

I updated yesterday’s post, but wanted to say here as well that Dr. Frank Garlock and his colleagues who were missing in Haiti have been found and are well. Of course, there are many others still missing. The country will need our prayers for a long time to come.

Dr. Hantz Bernard of Bibles International is a native of Haiti and is going back with as many “comfort and witness” tracts in the Creole language as he can to help with the spiritual needs as well as any other way he can. He would have opportunities and be able to help as only a native of that land could, knowing the language and culture. You can find out more here about what he is doing and how to contribute if you feel so led. HT to Diane.

1. When was the last time you craved a food–what was it, and did you cave?

Home-made chocolate chips cookies ever since Saturday night. I was too tired to make them then, and I still haven’t made them.

2. M & M’s or Skittles?

M&Ms!!! Chocolate wins above everything else, but Skittles irritate my mouth. I don’t like the smell of Skittles, either.

3. Have you ever read the Bible completely through?

Yes. I purposely have not kept track of how many times, but it was strongly encouraged at the church I attended as a teen. I didn’t read through every year, but did a good many. The last several years I have continued to read the Bible through, but not in a year’s time. When I first started I needed that structure, but nowadays I want to feel free to stop and read or think further on a passage without feeling the pressure to keep going to keep “on schedule.” Sometimes I set it aside to go through a Bible study book, then come back to it. I do recommend it: it keeps you balanced, it helps you understand passages in context, you discover nuggets that you probably would not have otherwise. All of God’s Word is inspired, so shouldn’t we read it all?

4. How long does it take you to really wake up in the morning?

If I have to get up, not very long. I take a shower first thing, so by the time I get in, or after the first minute or two, I am more awake than I felt when the alarm went off. If it is a Saturday or vacation day, I can often doze off and wake up and doze off again several times over.

5. Have you ever been on a cruise? If not, would you like to?

No, I haven’t. I’ve thought about it. I don’t normally travel well, and I’d hate to pay all that money and get there only to be miserable. But friends at church go frequently and make it sound fun, so, I don’t know…maybe some day.

6. Who is your favorite actress?

From “the past” — a tie between Deborah Kerr and Irene Dunne. Present day — I guess I would say Meryl Streep. Though I haven’t actually seen very many of her films, in what I have seen she brings a genuineness to her characters.

7. ______ is something that I will just never understand.

Oh, so many things could go here. Japanese. The fad of drooping pants. Why anyone would wear pointy-toed shoes.

8. How much of a technology junkie are you?

Oh — not at the rock-solid bottom, but not terribly high up the ladder.

9. Do you enjoy selecting greeting cards for people, or is it more of a cultural “have to” for you?

I love it. If I have time, I like to read through every card in the category I’m looking for to pick just the right one.

10. When was the last time you got a new style/haircut?

Haircut? Several months ago. I need one now. Hair style? Oh, maybe 15-20 years ago I had a permanent, and sometimes I do layers and sometimes not, but the basic cut has been the same for about 20 years. I just don’t know what else to do with it — it is not very cooperative hair.

11. What do you enjoy shopping for most?

Craft items, either already made or the stuff to make them, or things for the house. You might have thought I would say books, but I usually have a running list of books I want, so buying them is pretty straightforward. If I am wandering around a bookstore looking for something, all the choices are almost overwhelming.

12. What’s the last thing you think of before you leave the house?

“Did I turn everything off?” “Should I go to the bathroom one more time just to be safe?” “Did I lock all the doors?” I drive myself crazy…

Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts a “Friday Fave Five” in which we share our five favorite things from the past week. Click on the button to read more of the details, and you can visit Susanne to see the list of others’ favorites or to join in.

1. French green beans. I forgot to mention these last week, but one of the meals I had at a restaurant in Charleston came with these long, thin green-bean looking vegetables that had a crunch to them and were really good. They weren’t French-cut or julienned — they were whole, but thinner than regular green beans. I asked the waiter what they were, and he rattled off some French name I did not get (Funny, but the restaurant’s online menu I saw later listed them just as “thin green beans.” 🙂 ) Then when we got home, I saw a package of fresh “French beans” in the produce section of the grocery store that looked just like what I’d had. Searching online I saw multitudes of ways to prepare them, and tried sauteing them with a little canola oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and minced onion. They were so good. Jeremy, who is not a green bean fan, loved them, as did Jim. Jesse didn’t like the crunch, though.

2. My TomTom GPS. I got it for Christmas and had my first opportunity to use it yesterday. Most of my driving is within a square that encompasses home, church, school, and Jason and Mittu’s, with grocery stores and W-Mart in-between. But when I do need directions, this beats having to look at printed-out ones while driving or calling Jeremy up to look up online where I need to go.

3. Celebrate magazine, edited by Phyllis Hoffman, who is also the editor of a couple of my favorites, the revived Victoria magazine as well as Southern Lady (busy woman!). Lots of really neat ideas for holidays, themed parties, as well as everyday celebrations. (No, this is not a paid plug. 🙂 )

4. Taking the car to be worked on to four different places and only being out $46 so far. Jeremy ran over something in his car Sunday night and punctured his exhaust pipe. That’s not a favorite. We took it to our mechanics Monday morning: they don’t work on exhausts, but they recommended someone. We took it there, and it only cost $46 to fix. But they saw some other dented things under there they thought our regular mechanic should look at. He did and said those things were ok, but it looked like there was a transmission leak — but they don’t do transmissions. They didn’t charge us for their time and they recommended a transmission place which, it turned out, was owned by a family whose kids graduated from our Christian school. Evidently he just tightened a hose and didn’t charge us, but said a radiator hose was collapsed. So we took it back to our regular mechanics yesterday and they still have it. Don’t know what the charge for that will be, but it didn’t sound major, and they’re usually pretty reasonable.

5. A light week. I had planned to get a lot of stuff done this week — but it didn’t happen. A lot of tiredness at the beginning of the week, not feeling well a day or so, the aforementioned running around, and assorted other things left me not getting much done but the basics. But the good part of that is that it wasn’t a busy, pressured week with things I had to get done. So while I was disappointed on one hand, on the other hand it was a week I could afford it, time-wise.

I am also glad it didn’t snow here today, though the school kids were all disappointed. 🙂

Linda at 2nd cup of coffee created and hosts the Random Dozen meme every Wednesday.

1. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being a cranky-baby-hissy-fitter, how much of a complainer are you?

One of my sons used say, “Complaining is a sin” any time anyone so much as said, “It sure is cold.” I told him I didn’t think just making a factual observation was complaining. But  muttering under my breath, “I hate the cold. I hate the cold. I hate the cold” all the way out to the car probably is. I do tend to make a number of negative observations….I guess I’d say maybe a 6-7? An 8 some days?

2. When someone else is talking, do you listen, or are you thinking about what you’re going to say in response?

Sometimes one, sometimes the other. Sometimes if I don’t think about what I’m going to say, I won’t remember it. 😀

3. I just deleted 1062 messages from my email account. Do you have any plans for a clean sweep this month–of anything?

I tend to clean out old messages on my cell phone during waiting times (waiting for my son to come out of basketball practice, etc.) and e-mails here and there as I have time. I guess I do most of my cleaning out while cleaning/organizing/sorting rather than just setting out to clean out something.

And now, here are some brilliant questions from a gal named Angie at Angie’s Ad Lib who graciously offered to let me borrow her brain. Please go over and see Angie because it was so nice of her to help me out. Thank you so much, Angie!

4. Tell us about your perfume. Was it a gift? What does it remind you of? Do you have a signature scent?

I don’t wear perfume. Most of them give me a headache.

5. What is your best organizing tip for the new year?

Just get started.

6. What is your favorite comic strip?

I don’t think I have a favorite.

7. Do you sleep with a fluffy or flat pillow?

Semi-fluffy.

8. What color is your kitchen? Why did you choose that color?

Blue, pink, and white. I love those colors. And no, it doesn’t look like a nursery: at least I don’t think so.

9. What’s the most interesting bumper sticker you’ve seen?

Well, if I could remember half the bumper stickers I’ve seen, I could tell you. My son used to have one that said, “Red meat isn’t bad for you. Fuzzy green meat is bad for you.”

10. Do you prefer an expensive writing tool or whatever is lying around? (Are you a Montblanc or a Papermate?)

I’m not into expensive or designer pens, but I like the kind that click rather than the kind with removable caps. There is a certain Bic kind that I really like. I don’t know the name of it, but I recognize it when I see it.

11. What chore doesn’t feel like a chore – you just enjoy it (at least most of the time)?

Household chores pretty much all feel like chores to me, at least until I get started. I do enjoy seeing the results and often put on music while doing them, so it doesn’t take too long before my attitude changes.

12. If your parents often repeated themselves, what is something one of them said more than once?

How many times have I told you…..? I remember trying to come up with a specific number because I thought my dad was being literal.

Were you raised in a barn? Close the door!

Don’t make me stop this car!