Question #131 - Describe your favorite winter activities.

Winter is more difficult for me than the summer. At least with the summer, if I don't go anywhere during the day, I can open up windows and my front door and enjoy the warmth. I'm closed in during the winter, and sometimes shut in for days! Some of my favorite things to do on cold winter days include:

*make hot chocolate
*have a pajama day!
*play on the laptop all afternoon
*make jewelry
*read and/or take a nap (usually it's both! lol)
*clean, if I'm really really bored

I have to plan my days around the weather usually in the winter. Pulmonary rehab has been a nice thing for me to escape to most days, but if it's way too cold out to go there, I try to exercise at home on my treadmill. I also try to get to the stores when the weather isn't bad, and to visit Mandy and the kids, as long as they aren't sick! Winter is pretty yucky, and I usually can't wait until it ends!!!

Question #130 - What's my favorite Christmas present I remember getting?

There have been sooo many Christmas presents over the years. Top gifts I remember have included a black rabbit, a hockey table, a Cabbage Patch doll, and Tickle Me Elmos! I have loved so many of my gifts, even if I can't remember them all!!

I would have to say, though, that my favorite Christmas present is the one that is trying to bite my hand right now!! Mittens was a gift from Erin, one of my best friends, and I surely thought I'd never get a cat from someone! I've loved cats so much since I was little, but just couldn't ever have one because half my family is allergic to them. So to actually get a bundle of fur in the shape of a kitten was so exciting for me! And Mittens has become my son, despite the fact that he isn't human!! lol

Question #129 - What's my favorite Christmas memory?

Yes, it's been awhile since I answered a question! I go through spurts where trying to answer one every day just gets very boring. Too much thinking!! LOL

I think my favorite memory about Christmas would have to be going to see Santa Claus at the now defunct Rainbow Mall, down near the Falls. For the longest time, when we were kids, the Santa Claus was the most awesome Santa ever! He seriously looked like Santa, with a real beard, and a genuine laugh. He spent several minutes with every child who sat on his lap, and after we told him our desires for that year, he would give us an envelope of pixie dust. He told us we had to sprinkle it in the snow on Christmas Eve, so he would see it twinkle, and he'd know he had to stop at that house to bring toys. He just seemed so real to so many kids! I was sad many years ago when I found out he had passed away. I honestly don't think I'll ever see another Santa who could just feel so authentic!

Another favorite memory is when my sisters and I would open our gifts to each other on Christmas Eve. I always looked forward to those gifts. Somehow they meant so much more than gifts from Santa, because they were from my sisters. It was also fun to have something to do while waiting for our parents to get up in the morning, so we could open up the gifts!!