Stolen from berlinghoff79.

1st gif is your power

Apparently my power is snark! \o/

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jelazakazone gave me seven words to talk about:

jewelry I love pretty, shiny things. Lately I've begun making my own. I blame this new obsession with beads on a couple of friends who came over one day with all of their boxes of beads, bits and bobs, and showed me their creations. Under the cut are a few things I've made lately. :) ( Jewelry by BeeejCollapse )

travel I love to travel! Especially to places I dreamed about visiting when I was a wee kid. I have a particular affinity for traveling around the UK. Not sure if it's because this was where I always dreamed of back then, or because Mom's family originated there, or because a number of people who I love a whole lot live there. Probably all of the above. :) Mr. Beeej and I will be traveling back to Scotland in September, and I can't wait!

fandom Fandom can be the best of times and the worst of times. I've been really lucky, and most of my experiences in fandom have been really positive. I've met virtually all of my closest friends and a gazillion acquaintances via fandom. I've traveled to the other side of the world through fandom. I've had the most amazing experiences and spent countless hours reading wondrous stories, and all because of fandom. Basically, it rocks. :)

Merlin I ♥ Merlin. So. Fucking. Much.

friends Where would I be without my friends? I've no idea, but I'm certain it would be super boring. ;) As I mentioned up above, I met almost all of my friends via one fandom or other. Those friends who got me into beading? I met them on a Val Kilmer fans mailing list back in 1997. The friends I traveled to the other side of the globe with were from Highlander. I have friends I met in Smallville fandom who introduced me to other friends that I hang with on a regular basis. So yeah, friends and fandom really do go hand in hand in my life. And I love you guys. :)

food I have such a love/hate relationship with food. There are very few foods that I dislike. At the top of that list is cilantro. I HATES IT, PRECIOUS. And these days it seems to be everywhere. I won't eat liver, unless it's been made into pate, because pate is SO awesome and yummy and I could eat a vat of it. But generally I am a big foodie person. I own way too many cookbooks, and watch more Food Network that I care to admit. I love to cook, I love to eat out, and as a result of all this, I am overweight. Which is really not good, especially at my age. So I'm trying to work on loving food just a little bit less. Or loving food that's better for me. It's hard.

Highlander Oh, HL. You're a little bit dated and occasionally a little bit cheesy, but I still love you muchly. One of my first online fandoms, way back in the listserv days of HIGHLA-L. My first con was HL. I cried when it went off the air. But as long as there are DVDs and fanfic and cons and those of you who love it too, it'll never die. Kinda like Duncan and Methos. (See, cheesy.) *g*

You're Merlin!
Take What character from "Merlin" are you? today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Personality Test Generator.</p>

As seen around my flist:

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?

My preference is for egg nog. Mixed with a little cognac. I used to buy Southern Comfort brand egg nog, but I haven't had any for a couple of years now. I can't find sugar-free nog anywhere. Maybe I should make my own? Huh. I've never made nog from scratch. Anyway, there are several sugar-free hot chocolate mixes on the market, so that's usually what I reach for nowadays.

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

When I was a kid, Santa never wrapped anything. All the presents from Mom & Dad were wrapped and under the tree before Christmas, but the things Santa brought were all sitting right there in front, so I's see what it was immediately when I ran down the stairs. :)

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?

I prefer while lights, while Mr. Beeej likes the multi-colored lights. I used to put the colored lights on the tree just to make him happy, but then we bought a pre-lit tree, so now they're all white. :) There's a combination of colored lights and white lights outside.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?

Not usually. It's hard to find the real stuff, and I hate the little petrified stuff that's always available in the stores this time of year.

5. When do you put your decorations up?

I start the week after Thanksgiving. There's a lot. It takes a while. :)

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?

Oooooh, that's hard. There are so many! I think I'd have to say stuffing. I use my Mom's recipe, and it's been my favorite thing on the holiday table ever since I was a kid.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?

I grew up in a small town, and when I was little Main Street was a busy place. Lots of shops, and decorations, and Christmas music playing through a PA system. I remember Christmas shopping with my family, and it was snowing, and I ran into some kids I went to school with, and we all went to see Santa together. It's really sad now, because that same Main Street is pretty dead, and most of the stores have closed.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?

I don't actually remember. But it was probably about the time I woke up late one Christmas Eve to see Mom carrying some presents from Santa past my bedroom door on her way down to put them under the tree. ;)

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?

No. When we were kids everything happened on Christmas morning. As we got older and married, we each had to decide which family to spend Christmas morning with, so we started opening some things on Christmas Eve and others the next morning. Now that Christmas is just me and Mr. Beeej, we wait to do everything on Christmas day.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?

I can't use icicle-type tinsel, because it doesn't go well with kitties. ;) So I have a dark red tinsel garland. Most of my ornaments are from Hallmark. I've been collecting Hallmark ornaments since 1980. I always head in to the Hallmark store the day after Christmas, when everything is on sale, and pick out a couple new ones. And every year at Shore Leave, I buy an ornament from The Ornament Guy. I have the city of Atlantis, a Cyberman, a Dalek, and the Tardis. And then there is the set of Highlander ornaments. It wouldn't be Christmas without the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. *g*

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?

I love to look at it, walk in it, play in it. As long as I don't have to go anywhere, it's fine. Having to drive to and from work in it though...that's the worst thing about winter.

12. Can you ice skate?

Nope. I can roller skate just fine, but my ankles can't handle balancing on a single blade.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?

Um....no? I always loved whatever I got, but I don't remember any one specific thing that I loved above all others.

14. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you?

Taking the time to let the people you love know that you love them. Whether it's with a card, a gift, a phone call, a video chat, or all of the above. Everyone is so busy the rest of the year, and Christmas is the one time that we all stop and say, "you matter to me."

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?

I really love mince pie. Sugar-free mincemeat doesn't exist, though. ;) I made one anyway last year, but I can't get away with that anymore. I found a really good book of diabetic holiday recipes this year though, and I made some awesome cookies from recipes I found in it. So those are my favorite things at the moment. The Christmas pie this year is going to be spiced pear and cranberry. I'll let you know how it turns out.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

The only traditions Mr. Beeej and I have revolve around the food. Christmas Eve dinner is always a pot of chicken and smoked sausage gumbo with orange and raisin bread pudding for dessert. I make something special for breakfast the next morning, and then I spend the day cooking Christmas dinner. After which we go into a food coma that lasts several days. *g*

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?

Giving. Gee, when I was a kid I never thought I'd say that! LOLOL

19. Candy Canes?

Meh. I like to hang them on the tree, though. :)

20. Favorite Christmas show?

How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

21. Saddest Christmas song?

White Christmas has always struck me as kinda sad. Still love it, though. :)

22. What is your favourite Christmas song?

The Holly and The Ivy. Or Carol of the Bells if it's sung by a full choir.

23. Favorite Christmas movie?

White Christmas! I loves me some Danny Kaye.

24. How long do you leave up Christmas decorations?

Everything starts coming down after New Years Day. There's a lot. It takes a while. ;)

25. What kind of cookies do you leave for Santa?

I haven't set out cookies for Santa since I was very little. But if he wanders into the kitchen, he's welcome to anything he might find there. ;)

There's a handbag meme floating around my flist. I'll show you what I carry around with me every day, and then you go off and show us yours. :)

Here's my favorite bag, and the one I carry most of the time. It's a Kathy Van Zeeland. I love her bags because they have so many compartments, and are big enough to pack my life into when I'm traveling. Seriously, I can easily fit a bottle of water in each of the end pockets. :)



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Now everybody go do this. :)

I've been seeing this one making the rounds again. I had fun with it the last time, and since that was several years ago I thought we'd give it another go. :)

Ask me to take pictures of any aspect of my life that you're interested in/curious about - it can be anything from my favorite shirt to my books or my home. Leave your request as a comment to this entry, I'll snap the pictures and post them in a post. That way, you get to know a little bit about my life.

Let's see...Moz asked for the top five dishes that I make, and ariestess asked for my top five favorite recipes. So I'm combining those into one list:

1. Chicken & sausage gumbo. (This is definitely the husband's fave, too.)
2. Goop. Goop is a family recipe chip dip that's made with cream cheese, green olives, and onion. It comes out for every holiday, party, or whatever celebration.
3. Jamie Oliver's Panettone Bread Pudding. I make it every Christmas Eve. And last year I made it with Splenda, and couldn't even tell the difference! \o/
4. My mom's pie crust recipe. It makes the best pie, ever. :)
5. The cauliflower salad recipe that I got from my old roommate's mom. It has lettuce, cauliflower, onion, a dressing made of Miracle Whip and parmesean cheese, and A POUND OF BACON! Bacon makes everything better. *g*

ariestess also asked about my top five favorite drinks:

1. Most of the time, I drink this flavored, sparkling water. It's sugar free, sodium free, and every grocery store has their own brand of it. My favorite is the Peach Grapefruit flavor from Harris Teeter.
2. Root Beer. Preferably A&W from the A&W Drive-In back home (which is the original, BTW) but any good root beer will do. Sugar free, natch.
3. Kasteel Rouge Belgian Beer. It's dark cherry yumminess!
4. Really, really good red wine. There are several local Virginia wines that are awesomeness.
5. Coffee. I cannot function without my morning coffee! Also is required for after a really great dinner in a fine restaurant. :)