A Very Merry Christmas Survey!

Hey, all!

I saw this post over at Rebel Mommy Book Blog and then again at Brandie is a Book Junkie, and thought it looked fun! Original post from Lindsay’s Library. December is my favorite month and I would like it to slow down a bit to savor the Christmas feels, so I'm excited to do this tag...survey...this.  Also, the colored text won't go the way I wanted it to. Damnit. Let's go!

Favorite Christmas song/s?

Carol of the Bells! I also really like Baby, It's Cold Outside (Dean Martian version), It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas (Michael Buble version) and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (Cat Power version; the one that was in that Apple commercial a year or so ago). And I will admit that Last Christmas (Wham! version) is my guilty pleasure.

Favorite Christmas movie/s?

Um. I'm not a big movie person, so...none? #embarrassed

Rudolph, Frosty, The Grinch or Charlie Brown?

Frosty or Rudolph. The Grinch is eh (those Whos are annoying!) and I can't stand Charlie Brown. 

Best or most memorable Christmas gift you've ever received?

My dog, Nola. 6 years ago this month. Hands down, best gift I ever received, even if I didn't get her on Christmas day (early December instead). She's changed my life and has opened so many doors for me, showed me a passion I didn't realize I had, and helped me through the darkest point in my life. Because of her, I've been able to make dogs my real, actual job.

The second would be my first DSLR camera!

Real tree or artificial tree?

Both! The main tree must be real, but I like having artifical ones scattered about the house. Thankfully my cat isn't an asshole about messing with the real tree, though she does have a strange fascination with the fake one.

I'm watching you. 

What tops your tree? Angel? Star? Bow?

Star!

It's a bush. A Christmas bush. With a star stabbed in there and cockeyed as hell.

When did you stop believing in Santa?

I never did believe in the first place? My family never really did the whole Santa thing; not for any religious reasons, it was just something we didn't do. To be honest, I find the whole Santa concept a tad creepy. #introvert #Don'tComeInMyHouse #SorryI'mWeird

Do you send out Christmas Cards? Do you do photo cards or traditional?

I do...of my dog, and to other dog people. Part of that whole dog-is-my-job thing. ;)  Photo cards all the way!

Do you have a favorite type of Christmas decoration - snowman, trees, village, ect?

The Christmas Dachshund!

Do you have any sentimental decorations or ornaments?

Every year since I was born, my mom found one Christmas ornament and saved them, so that when I was an adult, I'd already have some. They're very special to me!

White lights or colored lights? Big old fashioned lights or mini lights?

White! Both on the tree and for outside. I'm not opposed to a little color, but I like a "white Christmas" (in Florida...). Um, they're just normal lights so...I guess old fashioned?

When e do you start decorating for Christmas?

Usually the day after Thanksgiving, though the past two years it's been so hot that it's more around the first or second week or December. 

Favorite Christmas treat?

I don't eat sweets made with sugar (honey or maple syrup instead; my body just does not handle actual sugar well), but my mom makes some bangin' maybe syrup based fudge. 

Do you like sugar cookies? Gingerbread cookies?

See above. I do like the occasional healthy gingersnap cookie, though.

Do you have hot cocoa  or hot chocolate? Do you like warm chocoately beverages with marshmallows?

Um... there's a difference? I like tea when it's cold out.

What do you eat at your Christmas feast?

Usually ham, pasta, ect. 

Do you open presents on Christmas Eve or wait until Christmas Day?

Christmas day. 

Favorite Christmas-y scent?

Christmas trees, cinnamon, and oranges/citrus. December is the month you get absolutely mouthwatering citrus here in Florida, so that smell is always holiday-ish for me. 

I mean look at that! Perfect grapefruit, and the taste is amazing. 

Do you have any Christmas traditions?

One of my favorite parts of Christmas as a kid was driving or walking around to look at Christmas lights, and it's still my favorite today.

Yup...that's a sailboat at the marina!

If you could ask Santa for any Christmas gift this year - and you know he'd bring it - what would it be?

Money, so that we could move now instead of this coming spring. While he's at it, enough money to live comfortably, travel the world, eat and explore for the rest of my days.

That said, I'd totally settle for a kitten (my cat wants a friend. And by my cat, I mean I want another one) or a yellow lab puppy. ;)

Top Ten Tuesday: Thanksgiving Edition

Hey, ladies!

It's Top Ten Tuesday by The Broke and The Bookish! Since Thursday marks Thanksgiving for us U.S. residents, this week's topic is all about being thankful. Let's jump right in!


I am thankful for.....

10. My family

My immediate family and one aunt are fantastic, amazing people that I adore. I'm truly blessed with wonderful parents and 6 siblings (yes, 6! I'm the oldest of 7!) that are usually great too. ;) I'm lucky enough to have a good friendship with both my parents, and my youngest sister is my pride and joy.

9. My pets (the rest of the family!)

I four pets (3 dogs/1 cat) that are amazing. I lost my youngest dog at the end of October, and it was a heartbreaking experience. However, the newest addition is doing wonders to heal that pain!

This is Nola, my 6 year old miniature dachshund. She's my heart and soul!

This is Pike, an almost three year old mini Aussie. He's an asshole.

This is Lachlan, a 9 week old rescued Beagle. She's the baby and newest addition. 

This is Salem, a 7 month old mutt kitty. She thinks she's a dog, and has been with me since she was a 2.5 week old bottle baby rescue. 

8. Exercise

Walking, yoga, swimming, light free weights, throwing around a ball, ect. I love all of it, and how it clears and calms my mind.

7. Food and health

I love to eat. ;) Thankfully I'm one of those people that genuinely enjoys healthy eating!

And I'm thankful for my good health, and that of my family's (two and four legged)!

6. Sunsets

Not bad for an iPhone shot!

5. Cooler weather

65 degrees is much nicer than 110. Just sayin'.

4. Flowers

3. Music

2. Sleep

1. Books, of course!

eBooks, physical books, audiobooks. Romance, mystery, fantasy, humor. Long, short, funny, sad, crazy, dirty, satisfying. I'm thankful for them all!

SaveSave

Cover Lust, No. 39

Her life changed in an instant. 
And he's the only one who could have prevented it. 

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Pact and The Lie comes a new standalone contemporary romance about those McGregor men. 

Jessica Charles shouldn't have even been in London when the unthinkable happened. 
She should have been back at home in Edinburgh, perhaps hanging with her boyfriend, having drinks with her sister or doing yoga with her group of friends. She should have been going on in her normal, dependable life as always. 
But on that fateful day in August, when a mentally-ill ex-soldier opened fire in public, Jessica's world changed forever. 
Now single and crippled from the gunshot wounds, Jessica finds herself scared and alone, losing faith in herself and humanity with each agonizing moment that passes. 
That is until a stranger enters her life. A stranger who makes her live again. 
Keir McGregor has always been the strong, silent type. Throw in tall, dark, and handsome and you've got pretty much the perfect Scotsman. 
Except Keir is anything but perfect. He's got a past he's running away from and a guilty conscience he can't seem to shed. But the more time he spends with Jessica, the more he falls in love with her. 
And the more his secret threatens to tear them apart. 
He may have been a stranger to her. 
But she’s never been a stranger to him. 

I love all the covers in this series of interconnected standalones, and this story was fantastic!

Cover Lust, No. 29

Andie had it all planned out. 

When you are a politician’s daughter who’s pretty much raised yourself, you learn everything can be planned or spun, or both. Especially your future.

Important internship? Check.

Amazing friends? Check.

Guys? Check (as long as we’re talking no more than three weeks).

But that was before the scandal. Before having to be in the same house with her dad. Before walking an insane number of dogs. That was before Clark and those few months that might change her whole life.

Because here’s the thing—if everything’s planned out, you can never find the unexpected. 

And where’s the fun in that?

It's just so cute! I love the Chinese Crested pup off to the side, and that giant Great Pyrenees.