Super Noob:
paper

It's nice to not have to think too hard on Sunday. That's why I love to participate in Keely's Getting to Know You. She (with help this time) comes up with questions, and I just have to answer them. Nice. Here goes.

1. Where were you born?

I actually answered this question right here, in a whole post dedicated to getting to know me.
2. Toilet paper..do you crinkle/crumple or fold it?
Crumple. I want to sh!$ and get I guess...I don't pay a lot of attention to the procedures.

3. What was the last movie you saw in the theater?
I went to see New Moon with my cousin Thanksgiving night. That was the first time in I can't remember how long.
4. What room to you spend the most time in besides your bedroom?
The living room...during the day, the kids and I play there together, and at night I use my laptop there for a little while. Then Andy and I either play a board game together or watch a little t.v.

5. Would you be grossed out if you found out your husband/boyfriend/significant other hadn't brushed their teeth for 4 days and you had been snogging (kissing) them?
Okay...seriously if my husband hadn't brushed his teeth for four days I wouldn't be snogging him to begin with, because trust me, I would know.
6. Do you fold your underwear?
Nope. Total mayhem in the underwear drawer.

7. What is one goal you would like to achieve this year?
Honestly my list of goals is a running one. I didn't do a new list for the new year. If I had to choose one from the list to accomplish this year, I suppose it would be my desire to become more adept at taking pictures.
8. What is your favorite month/least favorite month?
I have never thought of this before. Hmmm. In Arizona, June on through to September pretty much have you feeling like you are living in the blazes of hell. But that doesn't make me dislike any of the months. I don't have one. How 'bout that?

If you haven't participated in this, you should. So go ahead, copy the questions into a post of your own and then link back to Keely. For those of you who just don't feel like it, I'd still love to see a couple of your answers. You can leave them right here in the comments.

I have not even crossed the finish line yet. I still have to get one (maybe two) more gift(s), and I have to get stocking stuffers...I tell you, Santa is a slacker! Isn't stuffing the stocking part of his job?

Wrapping is well underway, however, and that has me feeling pretty pleased. I have been wrapping as I go, so I only have a few gifts left that need their festive skins. Our tree already has a fairly hefty bounty below.

We leave tomorrow to travel far and wide about 120 miles to visit family for all the festivities. I have been delegated to make the Spanish rice for our Christmas Eve dinner. Also, I opened my mouth and mentioned salsa...or something or other. So, I now have to do that too.

With all the craziness that is this season going on, I have not taken much time to sit back and enjoy it, or even think about enjoying it. Today's the day. I will get my last items scratched off my list, and will finally sit back (with a glass of wine perhaps) and revel in the completed tasks.

I honestly can't wait to see what Addyson will be like this year. I do think Colton will just be all about tearing the paper, but Addyson may finally "get it." So it should be fun.

In any case, since we are leaving, I probably will be M.I.A. for a little bit. Maybe not though...there is always the chance that some creative surge will occur and I will be able to get some posts done and scheduled. We'll see. Whatever the case...Merry Christmas! Happy every other holiday too for those of you that are not Christmas celebrators (is that a word?). Here's to great food, fantastic family and friends, lots of laughs, and being able to wear your favorite pair of shoes without a swollen foot (that one is just for MODG).

When it comes to germs I have always had a mild to moderate phobia. I don't like to share drinks...not even with my own mother. I will not use someone else's chapstick or lipstick. If I want a bite of what you're eating I will use my own fork...being careful to pick a spot that you have not forked twice. Yes, you could say I'm a touch of a germaphobe.

It comes as no surprise then that I have a bit of useless trivia stuck up here in the old noggin regarding this very subject. If you would rather remain blissfully ignorant, then stop reading here. Okay, I have warned you.

Let's start with the lemon wedge. Nice, refreshing, citrusy goodness that adorns most drinks you order up in a bar or restaurant. These little suspects are a hot house for bacteria. In one study 21 restaurants were tested. Guess how many lemons turned up dirty? Three quarters of them. Yes. A whopping 75%. Not done, the first group tested were loaded with fecal matter. Precisely why I order my water or tea sans lemon.
Yes, I'd like water...hold the poop please.

How about your shower head? Seems totally harmless. I mean, come on, it's a shower. Legionella bacterium housed there causes a potentially fatal, pneumonia-like condition called Legionnaires’ disease. It's contracted by inhaling water droplets which are infected with the bacteria. "The organism feeds on cysteine, a substance produced by a wide variety of waterborne organisms and bacteria found in potable water. Legionella can survive in tap water for many months, and showerheads provide a hospitable environment." Philip M. Tierno, Jr., PhD. Clean those showerheads at least once a year.

I will just scratch the surface of public restrooms. I have this whole OCD ritual whenever I use one. I wash my hands once I am inside the restroom, but before using the facilities. See, I plan on wiping myself, and I do not want to transfer germs from the nasty door handle to...ahem...you get the picture. I do not sit, not even if there is a liner. I am a hoverer through and through. I tear off the first several squares of paper before I get to the part I will use (someone else was there before me...and God only knows what they did). I flush with my foot (I admit this part is silly, considering I will wash my hands again). After getting to the sink, I dispense the paper towels before I turn on the water. I wash my hands again (thrilled when the faucet is operated by sensor). If not on a sensor, I turn the water off with my paper towel. Then I exit the bathroom, careful to use the paper towel on the door handle. Ah...and if there are no paper towels, water goes off with elbow, door gets opened by toilet paper, and hands air dry. I NEVER use the air dryers. Excessive? Maybe. But when I learn things like 42% of men don't wash their hands after using the restroom and 51% of women don't, I choose to err on the side of excess.

Hand dryers are germ spreaders.

I used to work in sales for a company called Cintas. Part of what they offer is restroom products. A tid bit I learned from one of those reps is that the hand dryers are not sanitary and simply spread bacteria. I have even heard that the schools and universities that have had the H1N1 outbreak this year are being told by the health department that they have to take out all of their hand dryers and replace them with towel dispensers because the hand dryers are spreading disease.

Ok, the last on my list tonight are the candies offered up in a bowl as you leave the restaurant. Without giving you any more statistics, I will just paint a picture for you. Let's just say for fun that fifty people before you have dug their paw into that dish of candy. Let's also say that half of those people used the restroom while there. That means, that approximately 25% of those people are dipping in with excrement on their hands. Yummy! I'll just stick with the mints in my purse, thank you very much.

Now, I should say this. Of all the thousands of germs out there, only a fraction of them actually can be harmful. The others are considered good germs. Germs can indeed be our friends. In fact we need them to help us stay healthy. But YIKES! Again, I'll just take my chances, and continue on with my phobia of the little critters. How about you?

Woo Hoo! Time for another Not Me Monday. I did my first one a few weeks ago. Then Mckmama had to go to Boston with Stellan so they could get their MckMiracle on. So I shelved mine...until now.
After the amount of time lapsed, you would think I have a ton of these bad boys saved up. But alas..only these few.

This week, while doing the dishes one afternoon, I did not notice an ugly dark spot on the kitchen floor. You know, because my floor is always spit-shined. And speaking of spit-shines, I did not lean down, spit on the spot and wipe it up with a paper towel. Who would do that? Well, I know I wouldn't.

One morning, I was not still in bed while Addyson was up and roaming the house, foraging for whatever she could find. When she came into my room with her pita chips (remember this post), I did not let her crawl into bed with me on my husband's side just so I could lay there for ten precious more minutes. When my husband crawled into bed that night and found pita chip crumbs all over his side, I most certainly would never have told him I had no idea how they had gotten there. Not me!

Finally, when I ran out of juice this week (and Addyson's ritual is to have half juice/half water after nap or crazy happens), I did not seriously consider for just one second using a sweet white wine just to satiate her. Gosh, what sort of mother would even let that thought cross her mind? Glad to say...not this kind!

So that's it friends. That's what hasn't been happening here in the Desert lately. To see what others have not been up to you can head on over to Mckmama's blog and check it out. Post your own Not Me's if you dare.