Suzanne's blog challenge #3

over at O'Scrappy Day, Suzanne has posted the following question for us to answer:
Rant and rave! What holiday drives you nuts? Think of a holiday people fuss over. Write about loving and/or disliking that holiday.

Anyone that knows me at least 6 months, knows how I feel about Christmas product in the store before Thanksgiving (and even earlier now), and that I don't want to hear a Christmas song until it hits December 1st. I've ranted about that many times, so I will let that one go and pull out a holiday that just doesn't have the good PR person that it needs to compete in today's world. Maybe it needs to get in touch with the devil, Scott Boras, and ask him to be his agent. (inside joke for baseball fans).
I dislike April Fools Day with a vengence. I have never been a fan of practical jokes, especially ones that are mean-spirited in nature. Whenever the "practical jokes" part of the Bloopers and Practical Jokes specials were on (you know, the one with Dick Clark and Ed McMahon? I know, dating myself again), I would leave the room. I also don't care for them on America's Funniest Home Videos either, but Todd LOVES them. I won't even listen to the radio on that day. I hate that kind of "humor" and don't understand at all how humiliating a person is great fun. But it seems to be a very popular "sport", with lots of people enjoying participating or spectating it.
The thought of setting a day aside to try and trick people just seems wrong to me. And I know I'm probably in the minority, and Todd will tell you it is because I would make such a good practical joke victim, because I'm just that gullible. Thankfully though, Todd knows that if he wants to sleep in the comfort of our bed, he better not ever pull one of those stunts on me, and he knows that because I told him in no uncertain terms. Yes, I'm apparently a huge killjoy on April 1st. And yes, I'm sure it is because I have zero self esteem and I'm deathly afraid of making a mistake or a fool out of myself, and it happens enough that I really don't need other people to help me make a fool out of myself, thank you very much. That's probably why I never tried to develop a taste for alcohol, don't need the help being stupid.
So, anyway, that is my little rant on a "holiday" that I just don't feel deserves to even have a whole day devoted to its theme, or encourage people to try and outdo each other in their attempts to fool each other.

O'Scrappy Day blog challenge #2

Here is Suzanne's blog challenge for this week: Focus on JUST the first half hour of your waking day. Write a blog entry describing it in depth. Include details such as what time you wake up and what your mood is generally. Are you usually well rested? Do you use an alarm clock to wake? If so, is it set to music or buzzing? Use lots of descriptive words!

This will be pretty boring but here goes: My alarm goes off at 5:15am. It is a beep right now, but our clock is an iHome so I can use my iPod to wake up to music, however I keep forgetting to bring my iPod in. No snoozing for me because I don't want to wake up Todd. I am a definite morning person, but I don't think anyone can be called well rested at 5:15am. First thing is the bathroom and NO, I will not use descriptive words here...
Then it is a little quiet "me" time - I read email, check the Google Reader and catch up on blog posts, go to 123-Scrap and upload my Layout of the Day to BPS. This will change once the elliptical is brought home, 15 minutes of this morning time will be on that torture device.
I take a shower, as hot as I can stand, take my pills, brush my teeth, floss, and get dressed in the clothes that I hung in the bathroom before going to bed the night before. Makeup and then hairdrying/styling, socks, shoes and jewelry (those 3 go on last because I was getting hairspray on my shoes and it pissed me off.) and suddenly it is 6:00am. I know that this is actually my first 45 minutes and not 30 but oh well. Then I go wake up Hannah and get her going to be out of the house at 7:00.
wow, I'm a very boring girl.

Suzanne's blog challenge #1

Suzanne of O'Scrappy Day is issuing blog challenges and I'm going to try to participate in them. This week's challenge is :Look at the wall hangings on your walls. (family portraits excluded) Post a photo of your favorite one and write about it on your blog. Where did you get it? Why do you love it?

We don't have many non family photos up but I have this print up in Hannah's room that I love. It was given to me by my coworkers at the baby shower they threw for me. I had been ooohing and ahhhing over it in our store (Discovery Channel) for a while. It became the first piece of Hannah's nursery. And I'm sure that it had something to do with Hannah's love of giraffes and her collection of stuffed giraffes that she started herself when she was 4 (back when she was born, they didn't have cool giraffe themed stuff for babies like they do now).

I love this print because it just seems to show so much love in such a simple gesture.