Kikkan Wins!

Kikkan Randall, our Alaskan World Cup XC skier, won a world cup race! That is awesome!

Ho, Ho, Ho, Happy Monday

Hey, Anne filled this out today and in the spirit of "Happy Monday" I'll do it as well...
1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hmm I don't think I've ever had Egg Nog. Any drink with "Egg" in it is unappealing to me.
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa wisely leverages his E2E supply chain capabilities and right-sources the wrapping deliverables to elves so that he can concentrate on his core competencies.
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? I like white, but since we always travel for Christmas it's been a few years since we put it up. Maybe next year :)
4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nope.
5. When do you put your decorations up? We usually travel, so we haven't put them up for a few years now. If I did put decorations up, I think I would start about the first weekend of December. In Anchorage, it's not unusual for Christmas lights to be up in October since it's already beginning to look a lot like Christmas (snowy and dark) by then.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Hmm. Christmas Pizza? Cookies?
7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? Putting up the "Ugly ornaments" on the Christmas tree. Mom always would avoid the sixties macrame ornaments that were actually very pretty, but we loved them and always put them in a place of prominence.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I think I figured it out eventually...what I really remember is Mom explaining Santa as "the spirit of Christmas" and thinking, well that makes a lot more sense.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? No
10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Frank came into our marriage equipped with a fantastic hallmark christmas tree assortment. I came to our marriage with a small box of handmade ornaments (like glued construction paper scribbles). Both have their positives and negatives.
11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? In Alaska, I love the snow. Studded tires and skiing make it more fun. In the midwest, I don't like the snow because that means slippery roads, bad snowplowing and no studs.
12. Can you ice skate? Yes! Although now I'm not sure I could get back up if I fell at the moment.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Aren't they all great?
14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Being with family is probably the most important thing.
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Cookies.
16. What is your favorite Christmas tradition? Almost every year when I was a kid, we travelled for the holidays. Christmas at our house was frequently rescheduled until we got back. In order to get the presents under the tree, my parents devised a scheme to "forget" something at the store, which someone (including us kids) would have to go get. When we got back, the presents would be under the tree, like magic! And we got to eat frozen pizza while chanting "Ho, Ho, Ho, Ho, Ho, Ho, Ho, Ho, Ho Christmas Pizza!".
17. What tops your tree? I *think* Frank has an Angel.
18. Which do you prefer Giving or Receiving? Giving. Now really, is that a question? Who wouldn't say Giving?
19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Angels we have heard on high, because of the Egg-Shell-Sees-Day-O part.
20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? Yum, but in moderation and bad on the veneers.
21. What do you want for Christmas? Oh, I've already sent my list off to Santa :) Seriously pregnancy mind lock makes it hard to think of a list without thinking of all the stuff we need for Kira.
22. Favorite Christmas movie? Scrooged, probably.
23. Ever been caroling? Yes.
24. How many days are you off for the holidays? Lots.
25. Traveling for Christmas this year? Yep, a midwest tour.

Sunrise thoughts

I woke up in a field of pink today. The "morning show" was just getting started and the sky was warming up to a pretty hot pink color. While I was getting breakfast, the color moved from hot pink, to peach, to a pale ice pink color, and finally to white. It's pretty breathtaking and always worth a look.

In the winter, if left to my own devices, I will sleep until the sun gets up. I hear of people having natural internal clocks that get themselves up at 6am every day, but that's something that I don't have. I had to get up at 5am on Friday for work, and the only positive I could see about it was watching a moose eat my neighbor's tree. If I do the math, I have maybe 28 potential sleep in days before Kira's ETA.

So I'm enjoying the sunrises and sunsets while I can :) On the positive side, I only have to wait about five more hours until the "evening show" starts.