Holiday Meme

Ok, there's tons of memes out there. I decided to create my own holiday meme. Here goes:
1. What is your favorite holiday show/animated show?
Sentimental - "It's A Wonderful Life", Funny - "Christmas Vacation", Animated show - "Rudolf The Red-Nosed Reindeer".

2. What holiday character do you think you're most like?
Rudolf.

3. What holiday character does your spouse think you're most like?
The Grinch.

4. Favorite Christmas/holiday song?
"The Christmas Song" (Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.)

5. Most hated Christmas/holiday song?
"Happy Christmas (War Is Over)" by John Lennon. I can't explain it, it just grates on my nerves. I love just about anything else he did.

6. If you have an all holiday music radio station when do you start listening to it?
I tune in now and then, depending on my mood.

7. If you have an all holiday music radio station do you love it or hate it?
Depends on my mood.

8. Have you ever wrapped yourself as a Christmas present? Come on...you can tell!
Umm, no.

9. Who is Rudolf The Red Nosed Reindeer's father?
Let's see what you all have to say. I already know the answer.
10. Do you drive your neighborhood or one near you at night to look at other people's holiday decorations?
Guilty. Our kids always ask when we're going to do this. When we lived in Chicago we always drove around Sauganash. They had the best decorations. Santa in a tree house and a working, fully lit carousel.
11. When you see a heavily decorated house do you think, 'oh that's lovely'? Or do you think, 'oh criminy, that looks like Christmas threw up all over their lawn'?
Umm, yeah, totally Grinch here. Christmas threw up all over their lawn. Unless they have some one of a kind, spectacular item in the display (like the Santa in the tree house or a carousel), I think Christmas threw up.

12. Are you counting the days to Christmas with excited anticipation or dread?
Dread. Nuf said.

13. When was the last time you had your photo taken with Santa? Did you sit on his lap?
Our son's first Christmas when Marshall Field's sent their best Santa to our apartment to make up for the bad Santa at their State Street store. Read read all about it here.

14. Do you make a Christmas list for your spouse or significant other or do you rely on them to pick your gift(s) without a clue from you?
Anastasia asks me to make a list. In fact she prefers that I find a bunch of items online, find the best price and give her the links and then she picks from that email what to get me. She usually does add an item that isn't on the list, but she does prefer this way and I don't have a problem doing it.

15. When do you put up your tree?
We'll be putting it up Saturday, December 5th. Normally we do it the weekend after Thanksgiving, but our son was at his dad's and our son is the one who goes up in the attic and brings everything down.

16. Real or fake?
Fake. Last year I spent nearly all day on Black Friday shopping for the perfect pre-lit tree that met Anastasia's specifications.

17. When do you take your tree down?
The day after Epiphany. Sometimes New Year's Day.

18. Do you shop the day after Christmas sales? What do you shop for?
If I have the money, I shop for Christmas wrap for the next year, sometimes ornaments. I also may spend any gift cards I've gotten and sometimes shop other items on sale.

19. Is your work/office having a holiday party this year? Will you attend?
I'm not working, so there is none to attend.

20. Do you have your New Year's Eve Plans set yet?
No plans as yet. I haven't yet discussed it with Anastasia.

Feel free to steal (copy) this meme and complete with your own answers.

Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS MckLinky IS STRICTLY FOR 'HOLIDAY MEME' PARTICIPANTS ONLY. ANY OTHER LINKS WILL BE DELETED WITHOUT PREJUDICE!

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

If I Could Blog Back Time Thursdays - Favorite Cartoons

Come join me for this week's edition. Post yours Thursday and comeback and sign up with MckLinky.

This Thursday's topic is: Favorite Cartoon -

When you were a kid what was your favorite cartoon/animated show?

Why was it your favorite?
I will transfer 100 credits on Thursday as a thank you.

For details on how you can submit a topic, and if used, earn 100 Entrecard Credits, click here.

I think my favorite cartoon when I was a kid was "Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner".

Best of Road Runner & Wile E Coyote N°4 - Funny bloopers R us

And no, it wasn't because enjoyed how the Roadrunner always outsmarted Wile E. Coyote. It was because I was rooting for Wile E. Coyote. As a kid I couldn't understand how Wile E. Coyote couldn't come up with a more fool-proof way to catch the Roadrunner. And Wile E. Coyote was certainly the epitome of resilience. When he failed, he got up and went right back to hatching another scheme to try to catch Wile E. Coyote.

Did we ever really know why Wile E. Coyote wanted to catch Roadrunner, had to catch him, made it his solitary goal in life to catch him? I mean, obviously a coyote would want to catch a Roadrunner for food. It is a bird after all. But why was he so single-minded? Weren't there any other animals in the desert for food? (See, even when I was a kid, I had a very analytical, logical mind.)

A few Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner trivia questions:
1. What did the E. in Wile E. Coyote stand for?
2. How did Wile E. Coyote pay for all those Acme gadgets and devices?
3. When Wile E. Coyote was asked in a Cartoon Network commercial why he insisted on purchasing products from ACME Corporation when all the previous contraptions backfired on him, how did he respond?
4. Why is it ironic that the name of the company Wile E. Coyote got most of his gadgets, devices and contraptions from a company named "ACME"?

So, now it's your turn. What's your favorite cartoon from your childhood?

Please post your "Favorite Cartoon." post on your blog. Then come back to Lola's Diner and leave the actual post link here. Please grab the html code for If I Could Blog Back Time Thursdays! Badge HERE.

Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS MckLinky IS STRICTLY FOR 'IF I COULD BLOG BACK TIME THURSDAYS' PARTICIPANTS ONLY.

ANY OTHER LINKS WILL BE DELETED WITHOUT PREJUDICE!

Answers:
1. Elenberry.
2. Wile E. Coyote worked for Acme Corporation.
3. Wile Coyote responds with a wooden sign (right after another item blows up in his face): "Good line of Credit."
4. Because ACME means the 'highest point, as of achievement or development'.

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

Google Page Rank Happy Dance...Again!

I happened to be scrolling down my blog to see if I had any outdated widgets and I noticed that Lola's Diner's Google Page Rank went from 3 to 4! Woo Hoo! I wish that it meant that I was actually earning money with Google Adsense (I have yet to earn enough for a payout on any of the advertising stuff on my blog), but it doesn't.

Lola's Diner


Fire Crotch Rocket remains at Google Page Rank 2.

Lola's Victory Garden has yet to be recognized by Google Page Rank. :(

Thank you to my new followers 4 new follower! (since 11/17/09.)

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

Drummer Boy Aka Metallica-head Strikes Again

Well not really again...it's almost continuous. He was playing the drums for about an hour this morning, so loud that we could hear it clearly with all the doors and windows closed and I could hear it above the sound of my television in the living room. And let me tell you...that's really loud because this guy is across the street and we both have large front lawns in between the 2 lane street. Anastasia was sleeping (or trying to, because she is at her Moms until 1am or later taking care of her brother). I knew it wouldn't be long before she blew a gasket and let's face it, the sound was annoying the hell out of me too.

So...I called the County Sheriff. Yup! They actually showed up 10 minutes after I called. By that time Drummer Boy Aka Metallica-head had stopped drumming and had turned on his stereo really loud. I spoke with the Sheriff's Department officer who showed up and told him what we go through on a daily basis and he said he would go talk to him, which he did.

We'll see if this has any affect on his behavior. I wouldn't be surprised if this is like the loose dog problem and it will take numerous calls and Sheriff's visits before he learns a lesson.

In any event, it is blissful quiet in the hood right now...ok, except for the douchebag with the leaf blower.

12:45pm, an hour later...the music is blaring...then the drums again. I called the County Sheriff again, they are on their way and I will be filing a complaint. What gives this douchebag the right to play his music so so loud that it disrupts other people?

Same Sheriff's Officer came back to my house, as we were chatting a supervisor pulls up. Now there are 2 Sheriff's cars in front of Drummer Boy Aka Metallica-head's house. Both Officers again talked to him and the first Officer went to talk to my neighbor (not Mr. Friendly, the neighbor on the other side). The first Officer told me that Drummer Boy Aka Metallica-head said he was on disability. I told the Officer 'so what? I'm on disability too, but I don't disrupt my neighbors at all hours of the day with loud music playing and loud drums and guitars on amplifiers.' Yes. I actually said that to the officer.

I was given phone numbers to call for the State's Attorney's Office and Zoning. I'm waiting for the State's Attorney's Office to call back. Basically there is no noise ordinance in the unincorporated city where we live so we have few options. We can continue to call the Sheriff and if they can send a car they will chat him up and tell him to knock it off. We can try to get the State's Attorney's Office to file a complaint, or we can file a claim in Small Claim's Court. In any case, I will have my Flip Camera at the ready so that I have video tape proof of the magnitude of the noise.

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

Wordless Wednesday

Yes, we laugh a lot! Anastasia barely got these photos. But of course it was mostly her fault that we couldn't keep a straight face. This is my sister and her husband from Thanksgiving 2008.

(Don't forget...If I Could Blog Back Time Thursdays returns tomorrow with "Favorite Cartoon".)

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

Random Tuesday Thoughts

I found out the wedding is 2010, not 2011 as the kids had told me. Still too much time for our daughter to ruminate about this. And his evil fiance refused to acknowledge me again when I went to pick up our daughter from the meeting place in Tinley Park. She won't even look at me. So rude! It's not like I want to be her bff (not a chance!), but she could at least be cordial.

Our daughter got a ball and bag from her coach. The ball is purple and smells like grape. She got to try it out today and said it worked out well. She wanted to pick it up on Sunday but the pro shop was closed. They had to etch out the "b word" that was painted on it and polish it. Who would have beyotch (other spelling) written on their bowling ball? Anyway, now our daughter is all set. The first match is tonight after school. Oh joy, Saturday mornings now I will be up at the crack of dawn to drive her to school to catch the bus for Saturday matches.

This weekend is designated as trim our tree weekend. We still have to figure out where it will go. This should be interesting...

Both kids are driving me up a tree as I type this arguing about who is supposed to do the dishes. (Yeah, the dishwasher's not working either.) Must they argue about it all night and ruin my evening? I mean...not that "Shrek The Halls" hasn't already ruined it.

Still waiting on that gift card. Wonder how long that takes?

"Shrek The Halls" sucks bad. Who makes these crappy Christmas shows? Where's "Frosty The Snowman" and "Rudolf The Red Nosed Reindeer"? Please tell me this new stuff isn't going to be considered 'classic' Christmas fare in 10 years. Ughh!

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

November Top Commenter Winners!

Very close this month. Harriet wasn't even close to being in the running. Was it something I said???

Here are the results:

1st Place - Lin @ Duck and Wheel With String 1000 Entrecard Credits.
2nd Place - Stacey @ All Stace, All The Time 750 Entrecard Credits.
3rd Place - Auntie E @ At Home With Auntie E 500 Entrecard Credits.

Congratulations to the winners! Entrecard Credits will be in your accounts shortly.

Just a reminder to everyone that my Top Commenter Contest will be running in October, so now is your chance to stake out your spot at the counter or grab a booth.

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

Traveling...

I came across this old post from Lin Thank You, God - Duck and Wheel With String. It made me think of this crazy thing Anastasia's family was doing a few years ago. It went on for years. I guess you could call their thing the Traveling Bunny.

They had this white bunny that they would sneak and give it to someone else. One time Anastasia's sister Sybil stuffed the bunny under the blanket Anastasia was sleeping under. Another time, it was put on her car seat.

One Christmas Anastasia and I took a wardrobe box, stuffed it with shredded paper, put Traveling Bunny in a box somewhere in the middle, then wrapped the box.

The pièce de résistance was when I Fed-Ex'd Traveling Bunny to Sybil. For some reason that was bunny's last trip. I'm guessing because it couldn't be topped.

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009