Influencer Status

When Photowall reached out to me to collaborate with them, I thought they were spam. I've had this blog for a long time, and over the years I've had a few emails come in from people wanting to collaborate. They usually want me to write a post and link to them, and offer nothing in return other than a virtual high five. I did it once, because I liked the prompt they gave me, but when they asked me to make some changes to the post after the fact I stopped responding to them. So when a company reaches out to me, a blogger with an average of 26 weeks between posts in 2019 and a private Instagram account of less than 200 followers, I just assume they aren't legit.

I finally gave in to my curiosity and, after a quick search, found out that Photowall is not only a real company, they have over 48,000 Instagram followers. I figured what the heck, and responded, telling them about my limited sphere of social media influence and that I was interested if they still were, and, to their credit, they said they were.

Check out their website or Instagram and you'll see that their specialty is some really beautiful wallpapers. Initially I thought I would order some for our bedroom. Our bedroom is weird. There are two tall windows that flank the only reasonable spot to put the bed. It if was a single it would fit between them, but our queen does not. We sold our squeaky bed frame when we moved back to B.C. so we don't have a headboard anymore above our bed and it looks kind of bare. A wallpaper seemed like the perfect way to fill the space.

It was so close. I had the tape measure out at 11 p.m. two Fridays ago, ready to figure out how much we'd need to order for the wall. I think I've heard that painted accent walls have kind of gone by the wayside, but wallpapered ones? I had a beautiful grey roses picked out that Karl liked, too. Hello, gorgeous. Except - spoiler - we didn't get wallpaper.

When our house was built, they decided to go with rounded edges for all the windows and walls (not the ones at the corners of the rooms, but ones by the stairs and without doorways). It's great. It makes baseboards really fun to install and adds potential annoyance for wallpapering.

I thought about it, too, and did I really want this very cool influencer opportunity to add stress to my life? The wallpaper is supposed to be very easy to install, but do you know what's easier than installing wallpaper? Hanging a picture.

Photowall also offers a huge variety of art. It was almost overwhelming looking at all their options. Canvasses. Frame pictures. Posters. You can even customize them.

I thought for a hot minute about getting a customized wallpaper to put in our 14 foot entryway. It would be a family portrait, tastefully nude, of course. But then we've got the rounded corners and installation stress again. And nothing adds stress to a marriage like wallpaper on a high ceilinged staircase.

We almost bought a pirate map because it was fun and late at night and doesn't everyone like pirates? I had it in my cart, then thought better of it. It's one thing to order a super cool pirate map, but it's another to put it up somewhere in your house.

We ended up deciding on a black-framed floral print. Our walls are grey and our curtains are neutral and I do so love colour. It also felt more grown up. The intention was to put it about our bed, to make up for our lack of a headboard, but I could also think of at least two other places in the house it would look nice if we didn't love it there.

I ordered late Friday/possibly early Saturday morning (that's how excited I was about it) and could not believe it when it arrived later that week. It shipped from the UK to Vancouver Island in less than five business days. I can't get Christmas cards to ship to Ontario in that much time.

I posted this picture to my Instagram. That's why it's so edited looking. I shared some other thoughts about our bedroom over there, too.

It's the perfect size for our wall and looks really nice. I do kind of wish I'd ordered a white frame instead of the black, but the black still looks nice. I like that the frame is lightweight and was easy to hang. I find the plastic a bit shiny, though, so when I walk into our room at night time the movement reflected in it usually surprises me. It's only been up for a week, though.

I almost wish we'd ordered a canvas instead, but the frame looks much more finished than a canvas would have. I also wish I had looked more into their poster options, because I didn't realize until I did a deeper dive into their Instagram how lovely they look.

I guess what I'm saying is, they have a lot to offer. So much, in fact, that you could probably spend the rest of your life going through their website and trying to find the perfect thing. And, if you do, please don't blame me. Because I warned you.

I don't have a coupon code to offer you, but they're really easy to find if you want one. With the exchange rate, it isn't the most inexpensive option for art, but I think it's reasonably priced for what you get, especially since there's such a big selection. And if you can find a coupon code, so much the better.

Thank you for joining me on this journey of becoming an influencer. Like Eminem says, you only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow.

Blog's not dead

You can try and make the argument that the heyday of blogging is over. You can say that Instagram killed blogging and that Facebook and Twitter ruined all of our lives. Just because you say something, doesn't means it's true, but I am pretty sure that Twitter did make at least a couple attempts at destroying all of us. It's fine. I finally deactivated my long-abandoned Twitter account a couple weeks ago. We'll call it a failed social experiment.

Instagram did not kill blogging, it just stole its lunch money. The Instagram story (yet another potentially harmful social experiment) was probably the biggest culprit in all of that, but the long caption is a big offender as well. Remember when everyone was so offended by the long Instagram caption that you felt self conscious putting anything longer than half a sentence? Don't pretend you didn't care.

In a season of life where there is such limited capacity to get the basic things done (I have yet to clean the windows that are so dirty we can barely see through them in our new house that we've been living in for five months) prioritizing is key. Blogging is not what I need right now. I can't put proper words to everything that's going on right now. How do I talk about a terminally ill family member while respecting their dignity and not over sharing? I don't. I hint at it on Instagram. If you know me, you know what's going on. It's not a secret, but it's not up to me to spread it on the internet right now.

So I Instagram. I don't have the capacity to spend an hour at the computer writing right now in the evenings or on the weekends. It will never be like it once was, but I will probably always come back here. There are other things I need to focus on right now. But Instagram isn't the time sucker that blogging is.

I love to write and someday when we're not deep in the think of it I will do it more. But right now, if you want to know where I'm at, I'm probably sharing a picture of my coffee or kids on the IG.

I've had to deal with some of the strange dynamics of internet friends this year and it hurt a lot more than I expected. So I unfollowed a lot of accounts. I don't read as many blogs. Time is precious, I just can't spend it on things that hurt or don't bring as much joy. I think the same goes with what I post. Sometimes I rethink it, and sometimes I need to realize that my identity has exactly nothing to do with what people think of my pictures.

I want to encourage and care for people. I want to be myself. I want to bring levity to life. I want to leave long captions on my pictures. I want to accept that we're all different and love each other through that. I don't want to waste energy on pursuing things that don't matter, but I want to continue to work on relationships, whatever that looks like. We don't always have to agree, but shared history is what makes us connected. I never want to discount that.

So you're still here (maybe). I'm still around. I'm in other places, but this place still matters.

Blogging's not dead, it just lost its lunch money to Instagram. Beaten, but not defeated. You have to evolve to survive, and it's not going anywhere. It just might be a little dormant.

Rollin.

It's a painting metaphor even though no internal painting has been done. I did paint a table, though. I came to post photos of the house but I'm having a hard time getting excited about it.

It's hot, I'm tired, and there's an episode of The Amazing Race Canada on the PVR. And I'm only watching it because it started out in the best place on earth (Victoria, B.C. obvs) and now I'm suckered in because Karl likes it. That and we just watched an episode of The Killing and we need something a little uplifting. 

We're nine days out from heading home for two weeks. Except in those two weeks I'll be going to Disneyland (again) with my momma (again, but 20 years later) and I am OVER THE MOON EXCITED.

Initially the whole Disneyland thing was Mom's idea that I went on board with because we don't get a lot of holidays together, especially now, and I miss her so freaking much. I used to think that people who talked about their moms being their best friends were so full of it, but then I hit that early-mid-twenties stage and here we are. Three days in Anaheim and two in San Diego. And I'm having a hard time focussing at work because Splash Mountain.

I'll also be celebrating my birthday on our last day in Anaheim. I did a little googling and it turns out there's a place in San Diego that sells vegan doughnuts on Saturdays that isn't too far from our hotel. So when I'm at work and I'm not day dreaming about standing in long lines I'm thinking about vegan doughnuts. And how stoked I am on my new carry-on suitcase. Because it's pink and weighs 3.1 lbs and is big enough to hold a bendy three old. With snacks.

Basically what I'm saying is, I've committed myself emotionally to blogging once a week and I skipped Zumba tonight to pick raspberries (in my back yard), paint my nails (next on the agenda), knit (always), and blog. I really want to show you all these Young House Love worthy photos of our place and feel all superior, but the long and the short of it is no. 

Which leads to another reason (aside from my unending love of our office) that I sat down at the good old keyboard today. I want to pick your mind.

First of all, short of Instagram how do you edit your pictures? If you spend more than $20 on something that won't last you for a lifetime you're going to need to give me the hard sell. But seriously. I want to show you beautiful pictures of my office and destroyed basement (on purpose) and some more pictures of my gorgeous fireplace but they look like I just took them with my phone. Weird, considering how I did only take them with my phone.

Also, I'm a Canadian going to the USA. I don't want to screw this up. What do I need to buy down there that I can't buy up here? Tell me your secrets! Give me your suggestions! Where do I need to eat? Don't say In-n-Out. Remember, I'm dairy-free. Tell me, America, of all your delicious things that you sell at your fancy grocery stores. Or tell me, Canada, what you do down there when you can't eat ketchup chips or Smarties. I need to know.

Okay, my mind just flat-lined. I'm outty.

This is the right place.

Before you freak out, this really is Watching Douglas Street. It was Watching Douglas Street. Now it's Make Mine Decaf.

You know what's hard? Blog names. Since I left my job on Douglas I've been trying to think of a way to make my blog reflect who I am without being totally weird and obscure. I like to think I've accomplished that here today.

I didn't do it alone, though. Angi is the skills behind the makeover. She even helped me pick out the new name. I mean, if you think about it, I'm much more decaffeinated than a Douglas watcher. Heck, I don't even have a window anymore. And she did an amazing job, right?

So why the makeover? Well, even though I don't blog like I used to, I still like my blog. For everything a season, right? I'm not going anywhere and neither is the internet, so there will come a time when I'm frantically blogging once again, I'm sure of it. I'm still holding onto my dream of becoming a stay-at-home-Anna someday. Blogging will clearly be a big part of that knitting, decaf coffee drinking, and spray painting lifestyle.

So let me know what you think of the change!

PS There's also a button for your iPhone, too. Who wouldn't want to have me on their phone? Isn't Angi amazing?

Are you lost?

Well, folks, it's official. Watching Douglas Street is now a thing of the past. It was time.

The new blog URL is www.makeminedecaf.blogspot.com.

I hope you like the changes as much as I do!

Absentee Anna and something... different.

The past several weeks have been insane blurs of busyness. Insane in the membrane. I know reading lengthy round ups can be dull, so I promise this will be brief and include pictures of varying levels of quality. Because I'm the most photogenic person that takes the most professional photos ever. Stick with me and at the end I promise to propose we do something totally new and exciting. True story.

So on April 28th I participated in a 10K run. A RUN! My motivation to participate was due in large part to the fact that our team name was "We run elections." It was a play on words I couldn't pass up the oportunity to be a part of.

Sure I didn't run the whole thing but I did it. My time was 1:21:56. As you can imagine I walked a chunk of it, but I finished it ten minutes faster than I had all year, ran that whole first kilometre which was 100% uphill (planners = butts) and didn't die. My training was also practically non-existent. I didn't push myself when I did do a 10K lake run a few times to get prepared. I figured I'd use my gym membership to hit the treadmills on the regular to get the running thing down, but my gym is the upper deck at a pool. I can't run longer than five minutes with overheating and feeling like dying. Heat is not my friend.

Just past the halfway point. I AM THE MOST ATTRACTIVE RUNNER.

It's cool, guys. I survived.

The week after the 10K was kind of a big deal. May 1st was our anniversary and it takes the cake as the least sexy anniversary ever.

I got my first migraine in well over a month on the way to the theatre to watch the latest Tom Cruise flick. No bigs, I'd had some cream in my coffee for the first time since going dairy free and clearly it was affecting me. I popped a Frova and figured in a half hour I'd be back to normal. 

An hour and a half later I got a surprise. Another migraine. UNPRECEDENTED. And unwelcome, to say the least. So I popped another drug and held on through the rest of the movie that suddenly felt eight hours long.

When we got home I crawled into bed after having a little cry and called it a night. At least, I tried. Two hours later I woke up with a splitting headache (read: migraine) that I couldn't sleep through and some intense nausea.

Karl got out of bed, nuked my heat bag, grabbed me an ice pack, and even got me a bowl in case the Gravol didn't kick in fast enough. It wasn't a great night, but without the ice pack I would have probably died or gone to the hospital.

I woke up the next morning feeling hungover (typical) but so very grateful. Sure our anniversary wasn't ideal by any standards, but there's nothing like someone getting out of bed in the middle of the night and refusing to sleep until you're okay to make you feel loved. Karl was so worried about me and did such a good job looking after me. I melted all on the inside. 

I also swore dairy off up and down forever and ever. At least cream in my coffee. What a dink. Because I'm a sucker for punishment I'm going to give a pastry a try in a week or two to see if maybe I can survive the baked version.

Life without cake has been very empty.

And then, you know, we got to celebrate our anniversary celebrating the marriage of two other people we love. That gets its own post.

We took a long weekend to go away for the wedding and it was much needed. The week and a half after were the crazy ones at work.

Work was all sorts of insane this past week. I worked 31 hours between Monday and Tuesday. It was nuts, but my student of Political Science heart was so full.

That right there, folks, brings me to the here and now. As promised, I propose we do something different. Something fun.

A lot of blogs have link ups but I'm not going to go that route. First of all, I know not all my readers are actually bloggers, secondly I am not as committed to blogging as I once was (at least with regularity, I plan to keep my blog until the bitter end) I'm not willing to promise to do something on here that I might not stick to, not to mention making a link up sounds like more work than it's worth, and, finally, I wanted to include something easy and accessible to everyone. Because I'm all about keeping things easy around here.

So here it is. We all have those photos of ourselves that we look back on and cringe at. Sure they're embarrassing and you kind of want to put them away in a cupboard forever, but I challenge you to share them with me on Instagram. Keep it awkward, friends. Do it for me. Besides, there is nothing better having someone tell you how different you look from that awkward photo and then, no matter how bad your hair day, you can feel good about yourself again. If you have more than one photo you feel the need to share, I say power to you.

Your hashtag is #mymostawkwardyears.

This? This doesn't even register on the embarrassing scale. I wear this everyday.

You have your mission so let's go get it done, shall we?

This is going to be a getting to know you trust exercise. As soon as I hit post I'm sharing my own photo. Don't let me down. Trust me; I trust you.

Go. Do. Share.

Where do we go from here?

As you may or may not have noticed, I've been neglecting the blog. I'm sitting down every couple weeks and getting a few posts done all at once and then walking away and forgetting about it for a while. Except it's kind of hard to forget I have a blog when a good chunk of the people I follow on Twitter I follow because I know who they are through bloggingness. 

The thing is, my laptop has a broken screen and my brother in law has been working on fixing it. It's that or I use our TV screen, like I am now, but that gets a little awkward when Karl wants to watch TV. Watching me blog is not the same as watching Duck Dynasty. The settings on my computer also confuse me when plugged into the TV. Sometimes the audio comes through the surround sound, sometimes through the laptop speakers, and, today, not at all. Which makes blogging that much less entertaining. Except... that my mother just walked in, I asked her if she knew how to fix that problem, and it miraculously started working. Go figure.

A couple weeks ago I was using my mom's laptop and it was freeing. I can't use it all the time, though, and our old Dell laptop is a monster/pain in the backside. It's slow, and really only good for watching shows on once in a while. I don't like it.We have a nice chunk of money coming to us when we cancel our life insurance. I think I might just ask Karl to splurge and buy "me" a laptop as a gift. He mentioned buying me one before, but I thought it was wasteful. Now I want one dearly.

Anyway, I'm not giving up on my blog, not by a long shot, but it's going through a slow time right now. I get a lot of my thoughts out on Twitter (since I can't blog at work anymore I tweet all my wittiness) if you really miss me. I'm moving into a new position at work tomorrow, am in a wedding May 4th, and work's big event is May 14th (hint: if you live in BC you really should participate in it because democracy is no joke). 

I'm not gone, I'm still around, just not blogging as much. I'm also failing at responding to comments, which I feel bad about. I love that you comment! Please never stop even though I seem like a jerk. My computer time out of work is severely limited so I'm not doing a good job of following blogs, even the ones I adore.

Basically, I still love you, I still love my blog, and I'm not going far. Because I know you've been really worried about that.

Eventually I plan on getting a more applicable name and nicer design, but haven't had a chance to start looking into it yet. Name suggestions are welcome, as are donations of time as skill for new blog designs. I am also looking for someone to wash my floor so if you're interested, there's a toque (it's a Canadian beanie, okay?) in it for you.

Much love.

You've found what you were looking for.

My blog is pretty big and popular. According to my reader stats, I'm HUGE in Russia. No big thing.

So, because my blog is so popular and internationally acclaimed, I now have meaningful stats. I mean, when you've been blogging for years like I have, you get successful and start popping up in Google searches. Like I said, no big thing.

The first time I saw that someone had found my blog by doing a search I was inwardly giddy. When I saw what search it was that led them to me, I was even more giddy: pointy object in my gum.

Winner. I would like my internet presence to be related to nasty, bloody trips to the dentist. But just wait, they get better.

"i'm not feeling well, running": Preach it, sister. Not sure about the punctuation there, but I'm sure we've all had times where we haven't felt well running. I know I have (clearly, I've blogged about in some way or another), but I think the important thing to take away from this search is that I basically have a running and fitness blog. When I'm done this post I plan on thinking hard about going to the gym.

"i'm scattered like a": Bag of marbles, is how that one ends. Story of my life, folks. I mean, if you've been a follower for a while you'll know what I'm talking about.

windy weather for ladies wearing dresses: Perv. Unless you're looking for advice on how to avoid that issue, in which case the answer is to wear a long coat and a slip. But, as I mentioned here, there's really no rescue aside from pants.

douglas street(person): While I highly doubt I was the intended subject of this search I'm flattered that anyone looking for Sir James Douglas would stop at my blog before hitting up Wikipedia. Or maybe they did and found me more entertaining. I never colonized anywhere and certainly don't have a street named after me, but maybe someday there will be an Anna Barbie Lane. I'm also alive, though, so I'm pretty sure my blog is way more entertaining than SJD's.

living in a basement: That's me! My biggest survival tip is to carry around a butterfly shaped fly swatter at all times. It's armour against any big uglies that might try to menace you. Kind of like the Canadian equivalent of a hand gun, except for different kinds of home intruders. It is also not going to save you against zombies, no matter how many taps you give.

me in eighties sweaters: I have no idea. I am a product of the eighties but I only say that to impress teenagers. I also wonder who searches themselves.

my cobbler wouldn't stretch my boots: My calves are fat, my boots are not, and they're now sitting in a box waiting for the internet to send me a buyer. My boots, not my calves. Maybe the person that searched this should join a support group with me where we only wear TOMS.

sounds that say "this is new and exciting": I could make a few sounds like that, if you wanted.

watching douglas street: Obviously you were typing me into your browser and it searched me instead, but I'm still flattered. You love me enough to type me in.

I should say that, as big as I am in Russia, I'm even bigger in the US and Canada. And that, my friends, is what it's all about. You, me, and pointy things in my gums. Thanks for being you.

It makes me happy/Fair dust.

Alright, before we get started I need you to go check out Angi's vlog. Go. Seriously, I'll wait. 

Have you gone yet? Go!

Okay good, I'm glad we could share that together. Brilliant, right?

That right there made my Thursday night. And then, with my awesome Thursday night made already, I went and won free movie passes. So Karl and I are now going to see Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Saturday night. In theatres. For free. And then the radio station retweeted me. Am I slightly incoherent with joy and excitement? Heck to the yes.

Also, listening to Angi say "Watching Douglas Street" makes me think I might need to rename my blog. And it's tagline. Because at my current grown up job I don't have any time to fill. I forget to go pee I'm so busy. True store.

Okay, I was going to get some ideas down and blog later, but I feel like I'm on a bit of a roll here. I'm also watching New Girl so my mind is in a crazy space. By crazy I mean chaotic. Man, when this show's good it's good. Tonight, it's hilarious. 

Apparently blogging in front of the TV is not the most productive thing ever. Apologies.

So, last week, before work got stinking insane, I had some time to think. Now I don't really think. Remember? I forget to go to the bathroom. Apparently if you also forget to drink water, your need to use the lavatory will eventually disappear. I'm sure that's not healthy.

Anyway, I've been thinking about my hair a lot lately. Because I'm vain. I got it cut in early December, and then I reminisced about some of my other shorter hairstyles over the years. 

I started seeing a new hairstylist this year and she curled my hair for me. Anyway, that's boring, but what's exciting is that I finally figured out how to curl my own hair with my flat iron. All it took was getting my hair lobbed off an extra few inches more than anticipated. 

All me, folks.

I was ecstatic the day I finally curled my hair. I'd bought all the products she used on my hair to get it to curl and looks purty. Except that my hair never stayed curly. 20 minutes of curling translated into zero compliments (except for one from Karl who watched me do my hair) and ended up with a tender scalp  and barely wavy hair at the end of the day. Explain that to me! When the pro did my hair the same way I did it lasted for three days. I finally figured out why it's happening. You ready for this? It's ground breaking.

The reason hair dressers always do a better job on your hair than you can with the same products is because they lie. Straight up. They use the products, but they also use fairy dust. It's the only logical explanation, if you can even consider fairy dust logical. Fairy dust. My curls lasted for three days when the pro did them, but not even 3 hours when I did. Definitely not worth being late to work for.

So? What do you think of my theory? But more importantly, what do you think of Angi's mad cup skills? And does my blog need a name makeover? Have you noticed my updated "About Me" page?

Just in case you thought my hair product theory wasn't as hilarious as I did when I first came up with it last week (Karl's watching bad TV in the background now and it's distracting me), later this week I have a treat for you. I'm going to share the story of the time I got into a bar fight. Yeah, you read that right.

Also, I never thought I would vlog because I'm kind of boring. If you think I'm wordy in the bloggy blog, I'm way worse when I talk. The only difference is that I don't have visual reminders of what I've already said, so I tend to repeat myself. Since checking out Angi's vlog I feel inspired to find my musical cup calling that needs to be shared with the world. So far all that's coming to mind is my shameful ability to out belch anyone. No, it's not something will be shared with the world. I'm still working on finding something else. 

Okay, I'm going.

2012 and then it's dead and gone forever.

We're a couple weeks into 2013 here, and I feel as though I have a little catching up to do. I could do a recap of how I spent 2012, but if you'd prefer, I did a recap of being 23 back in August. Since then nothing terribly exciting has happened. I mean, September did, but that wasn't very fun. At least the beginning wasn't. In the end Karl and I visited his brother and sister in law, which was enjoyable. Then my mom and I went to Washington to shop and rock.

After that it was all downhill. I guess. I started running (which, sadly, was not all downhill) and got a new job. My dream job, to be exact. Well, my dream organization. Someday I'll be the CEO, just wait. I also found out I'm going to be an aunt. As much as an only child can be an aunt on her side of the honourary family spectrum. Boo yeah.

So I guess "downhill" is a relative term. I think I always use it wrong anyway.

Well, there was one other exciting event, and that was my first blog giveaway. It was in honour of the one year(ish) anniversary of my blog. It took me a little longer than anticipated to get the scarf done, but I didn't let that bring me down too much because instead of shipping it, my one local entrant won. That meant I didn't need to ship it, technically giving me more time to even the playing field. Just roll with it.

And here it is!

Jessi, the triumphant victor, showing off her two newest accessories: baby Ethan and a killer Dirty Snow White scarf.

Yep, it's a fun thing to win a blog giveaway here at the now incorrectly named Watching Douglas Street. You know what's more fun that winning a giveaway, though? Hosting one. Chances are good that I'll do another one some time in the not too distant future. I might be trying to buy your love my now irregular posting schedule, but really I'm just trying to share the knitting love.You're welcome in advance.

Keep rolling with the holidays.

So. More questions and more answers to questions. This was also stolen from Angi, but she stole it from Michelle, so really there's just a whole lot of thieving going down. It's okay, it's loving thieving. Pretty sure that's the Biblical kind. Don't quote me.

1. What makes Christmas such a special holiday for you and your family?

Togetherness, lovingness, happiness, givingness, baby Jesusness. That's like asking why I love polka dots or sleeping so much. The answers never end. Christmas is just that time of year where joy is so abundant and love is all around that it's infectious. I used to feel the same way about our church family camp until it got cancelled. I just love spending time with the people I love and showing them that through giving. I'm a giver.

2. Were you told the truth about Santa or did you find our another way?

We've been over this already. My still beating heart was ripped from my chest and thrown to the ground when I found out that the Easter Bunny wasn't real. Santa was just a casualty of war.

3. Real tree or fake tree?

Growing up we always had a real tree, but Karl and I do fake. I am forever changed. Real trees are gorgeous and smell amazing, but they're so much work. They're also really expensive. My three foot tall plastic beauty came with lights on it already (my LEAST favourite part of any tree is hanging lights) and is so easy maintenance. I throw a garbage bag over it when I put it on storage and then 10 1/2 months later I just take the bag off and BAM! Christmas. Plus, with a fake tree I don't have to worry about it dying on me. As a result, I got to put it up at the end of November for the first time this year. Glorious.

4. Do you open presents Christmas morning, Christmas Eve, or both?

As a kid I got to open a present Christmas Eve, mostly because I wanted to and all my friends did. Only child syndrome. Now we don't do that. I no longer get a million gifts. I'm an adult now and don't need an entire set of Gargoyle action figures (because I already have them) and only get a handful of presents. Well, from Karl. My dad still tries to shamelessly spoil us.

This year, though, Karl and I are going to give each other one gift on Christmas Eve to open at my dad's.  It's a new thing, but I think it makes sense. Christmas morning we'll open the rest with Mom, then in the afternoon open whatever his parents get us. It's basically a gift opening marathon.

5. What are your favourite Christmas movies and your favourite Christmas songs?

Well. I'm going to above and beyond answer this question. 

First, though, The Santa Clause is a long time favourite Christmas movie of mine. "Tinsel, not just for decoration." I also really like Love Actually but I don't think of it so much as a Christmas movie. Definitely The Santa Clause.

This year, though, I've been trying to watch all the Christmas movies I've never seen before. That includes Elf, White Christmas, It's a Wonderful Life, The Polar Express, and soon Miracle on 34th Street which I never made it all the way through as a kid.

Elf was pretty good but it was so weird. I think I will definitely hold onto the end of it, though, because it was so good. Yeah, you've got to sing to get Santa's sleigh off the ground. And Zooey Deschanel was in it.

White Christmas had its moments but I couldn't handle all the musical numbers from the show they were putting on. They just made it drag, I'm sorry to say. I didn't enjoy the beginning part for sure, though. I actually laughed. Until this year I didn't know old movies could be funny or even entertaining. Go ahead and judge me.

It's a Wonderful Life was my favourite by far of all the movies. I can see why it's such a classic. I actually loved it. I'll definitely watch it again. So maybe it can go on my favourite Christmas movie list now, too. Because I'm cultured and all that.

Finally, The Polar Express wasn't bad. It was better than I was expecting. For some reason I didn't have high hopes for animated Tom Hanks, but it was good. It was also pretty dark for a kids' movie, as the two kids we watched it with kept reminding us. It was their dad that put it on, so don't blame  us for freaking them out. I would have put on the The Santa Clause. Except I don't think I fully understood that movie until a couple years ago.

As for songs, I love "Last Christmas" just not the Wham version (Glee and Hawk Nelson are what's in my out of date iTunes). "Baby, Please Come Home" has also been in heavy rotation this year (U2, Anberlin, and Jars of Clay). Apparently I'm into holiday break up songs. I'm not sure why. "All I want for Christmas is You" is also a favourite of mine, but definitely not the Mariah Carey version. Maybe just the version from Love Actually.

And... "Drummer Boy" by Jars of Clay is always going to have a special place in my Christmas heart. I know this because apparently I have multiple versions of it on my Christmas playlist and never even notice that I've listened to it five times in a row.

"Love Came Down at Christmas" is another song I could listen to all year. Also by Jars of Clay. Go figure.

Other than that, I love so many of the traditional carols. I also love a lot of non-traditional songs, too. If you can, look up Number One Gun "Of Two Bearded Men." Because Jesus doesn't hate Santa Claus cause he knows Santa only does his job. Santa also prays. It's kind of the best ever.

I have officially stayed up far beyond my bedtime. It's 1 in the am, but I'm scheduling this post (because I can and never have before) so I guess you didn't need to know that. Except that I needed a bit of a caveat in there just in case I started talking about unicorns. You just never know.

Well, to all a good night.

So, you want to know about what we do for Christmas?

Boom. Christmas. Here we go!

First of all, I wrapped presents tonight. It was glorious except for the movie we were watching. Bad zombie movies are right up there with cheesy Christmas movies in my books, but tonight's movie was horrible. As in it's going on my worst ever movie list. Dead Genesis. Don't ever think about watching it.

After the horrible movie debacle that we ended up "toughing out" Karl decided he wanted to watch Duck Dynasty. I got mad and left. So now I'm drinking eggnog, buying Christmas latrines, and listening to Christmas music. I'm better now.

So the wonderful Angi has posted a couple of these things about Christmas and I'm going to do the same. It's about freaking (Christmas) time. FYI, this post is going to have a "to be continued" section because I want to make it all drawn out and stuff. Otherwise it'd just be really long. Really long and Christmasy. Now you can take a nap or something and not lost your place. You're welcome. Still, I'm all about being long winded and only the troopers make it through. And that's clearly you, so I love you. Platonically and all that. It's also past my bedtime and I'm just going to keep on going. You've been warned.

Okay, let's do this.

1. Describe Christmas morning in your house as a child.

Christmas was different over the years. I'm an only child with separated parents that didn't initially get along, then did, and now don't. We've come full circle. Anyway, the Christmas tradition I most remember was my Dad coming over Christmas day to Mom's (sometimes sleeping over on the couch) and then the three of us doing the gift opening and socializing. Before that, though, I would get up obscenely early (one year at 1 am) and open my stocking. Then, because it was just the three of us with no family or close enough friends around I'd get mega bored by the afternoon. Christmas was bitter sweet growing up. Every year it was always a bit different. That's what happens in broken homes. That and an appalling amount of gifts.

2. What's your most memorable Christmas gift?

Hard to say. When I was in my mid-teens my Dad gave me an amp. I was totally confused  until he gave me a bass guitar to go along with it. That was shocking, to say the least. Also very cool.

One thing I really remember growing up was getting the whole Gargoyles action figures. I think that happened two years in a row. It was amazing. I still have them somewhere.

3. Did you believe in Santa as a child? Do you plan on using Santa with your own children?

Yes and no. I'm a very trusting person which is why liars are on the top of my list of things I can't handle (including spiders and pickles, in no particular order). Once I found out that Santa and the Easter Bunny were just my parents straight up lying to my face after I'd directly asked them the truth, I was choked. I might have thrown a hysterical fit. That was a rough Easter.

I don't plan on lying to my progeny. I know how poorly I handled it and since they'll be mini mes and I'll teach them to trust people (but also be wary) I don't want to lie to them. There's no heartbreak like realizing a giant rabbit hasn't been hiding chocolate in your house. Trust me, no child should have to go through that.

4. What's your favourite holiday treat?

Whatever. I love baked goods. I had some peanut brittle the other day which I really didn't like, but I think that's a peanut thing. It's also not a baked good. Seriously, I'm an addict. I have no favourite, although this year I'm rediscovering shortbread. It's making me really glad I'm also rediscovering running. My guilt is minimized.

5. How will you spend Christmas day this year?

I'm going to answer this for Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Christmas eve I'm going to work half the day (I don't want to talk about it) then Karl and I are going to head over to my dad's and spend Christmas with him, since my parents aren't on the greatest terms this year. (I'm okay with it, Dad, don't worry.) This is the first year we're doing this so it's a new tradition.

Christmas day we'll head upstairs to Mom's in the morning, maybe watch a movie, eat some scones or something, then open gifts. It'll be a nice time where Karl spikes his Baileys with coffee. Then, come early afternoon, we'll make the long 15 minute drive over to Karl's side of the family where we'll wish each other awkward season's greetings and listen to his younger brother (25) whine about how we held up the Christmas show. Then we'll eat an untraditional Christmas dinner (because Karl's mom doesn't use cranberry sauce from a can) and watch movies. 

That's just how we roll.

Monumental occasion.

This is my 200th post. Not that I care so much about that stuff, because I'm frankly surprised it's only my 200th. I mean, I blog three times a day when the spirit (in this case it's the spirit of boredom) moves me. Only 200? That's kid stuff!

How fitting, though, that my 200th post also coincides with my blog giveaway ending and a winner being announced. Even though only six people entered my giveaway, I'm totally happy with that. I blog because I want to and I like you and like making things. Now I get to combine all three of those things together to basically form a happy giveaway of joy, or my Victory Giveaway as I renamed it yesterday.

It's also a little coincidental that my 200th blog post and giveaway coincide with a bit of a turning point in my blogging ways. For the next week and a half I'll be here the same as I always have. Blogging. Creeping Douglas street. Keeping it decaffeinated and polka dotted. But after that? Things are going to be a changing.

I like my blog and I've been keeping it up for almost a full year. When it started it was a little rougher, a little more long winded, and little less visually me. It was red, after all. Now it's green and polka dotted (in case you hadn't noticed). It was small and local for the longest time but in the past few months it's turned into something a little bigger, a little more international. But just a little.

I'd like to keep blogging once I start my new job, because it's a good outlet but I'm also enjoying the little community it's created. That and so all my wit doesn't get stored up inside me, spilling out towards my new coworkers and making them uncomfortable. (In high school I once told someone my underwear matched my shoelaces. She thought I was handicapped for a while after that. For the record, they were checkered and worth sharing about.) This is just a new season for me, and I hope to do at least weekly updates. Or something. I might reinvent the blog's name since I won't be on Douglas anymore, but let's cross that bridge when I come to it. I also want to keep reading the blogs I've come to really enjoy. Because really, that's what it's all about.

All I can say is, there'll always be twitter.

But now, what you're really waiting for. The winner: Jessi

Woot woot.

So Jessi has actually been reading my blog since some time around the awkward beginning. She also just saved me a whole lot of postage because she's local. I guess she really earned her scarf with all the faithful reading she's done over the past several months. Cheers to Jessi!

And, fun fact, Jessi actually helped teach me how to knit. What goes around comes around, eh?

In case you didn't win, don't worry. I rather enjoyed the intimate giveaway so I expect I'll be doing another one in the not too distant future. Because I still like you.

Jessi also requested her scarf in either dirty snow white, grey, teal, mustard, or dark orange. In other words, Whatever colour I like the most at the store. I do, however, have a special place in my heart for any colour that sounds like a naughty Disney character. Shout out to Angi for spreading that new colour around.

You can bet that I'm going to post a photo of Jessi and her prize won scarf on here in a couple weeks.

Happy 200th to me!

Award winning me.

For today's lighter, happier, fluffier note, Angi over at Backroads & Microphones nominated me for a blog award. I hope Angi and all the other new blogger readers out there don't judge me for this, but I'm not going to pass it on. Because I'm lame like that and no amount of pressure is going to change my mind today. I'm new to the whole other people than my two breast feeding friends (that sounds really weird) reading my blog thing and not sure where I want to go with the whole big, bad blog networking thing. Today I just want to write about what I want and by gosh golly I will.

So if you want to judge my laziness go ahead, but do it with love and warm thoughts and as little actual judging as necessary. Because this is a place of love. And polka dots.

That said, I may not pass on the blog award loving but I will answer Angi's questions because she's nice and I like her. I also don't feel bad because she went the lazier way out on her's, too (but she at least passed it on).

So you want five random facts about me? Allez-y!

1. I get migraines. Wait, what? You already knew that? Well, my doctor prescribed me some magic migraine medicine (my words not his) yesterday but warned me they would be expensive. The girl at the counter actually cringed when she told me how much twelve of them would cost. $210. Two-hundred and ten dollars. Holy COW. The story gets better, don't worry. I have pretty good prescription coverage from work and, while it doesn't cover my iron pills, it covered $168 dollars of my migraine meds. I only had to pay $42. It gets better, though, because Karl's medical will cover 50% of that remaining balance. Feel free to do a little happy dance with me.

2. I have toe thumbs. My thumbs look like toes. If you know me up close and personal you know this. They freak some people out. You know what, though? God didn't give me ugly hands to go along with them. I'll never be a hand model or anything, but as far as hands go mine have never bothered me. This is coming from a girl who in high school didn't want to wear shorts because she thought her knees looked like potatoes.

No, that is not my foot.

3. I love me a dense cheesecake. Mmm cheesecake. Fluffy cheesecake doesn't do it for me, though, and neither does fruit topping. I like berries (not blueberries) but I hate berry topping. It's like sugar liquid goo and ruins a good cheesecake. I won't order cheesecake if it relies on a fruit topping to be successful. Chocolate, however, is totally fine. The best cheesecake I ever had was a hedgehog one the office got me for my birthday. In Heaven I bet they serve hedgehog cheesecake.

4. I have had thirteen jobs in my lifetime. I didn't realize it was that many until a few weeks ago when someone asked me. I didn't include the random few times I babysat and did or didn't get paid. That list does, however, include the one day I worked at a bakery/deli and the two weeks I spent working at a cafe the summer we got married. I got fired for the first and only time in my life. Fainting and throwing up on day one of a job is never a good first impression.

5. I don't mind cleaning my house (aka our basement cave) when I'm in the mood. I especially like to do it listening to Kelly Clarkson and jumping around. Because I'm cool like that. Lately, though, it's been Audrey Assad. If you haven't heard her before please go listen to her right now. She's amazing.

Now comes the moment where I answer Angi's questions.

1) What band do you listen to the most? What band? Lately it's been either Mother Mother or Mumford and Sons. Audrey Assad and Matt Maher have been in the CD player for well over a year, though, and I listen to them weekly. They aren't bands, though, just people playing with bands. Surprised I didn't say Jars of Clay? I still love them the most.

2) If you could change careers to anything in the world, what would you be/do? Backup singer. Or Bono. It's been the same answer since I was a teenager. Or, more realistically I'd either like to work in elections (I LOVE me some non-partisan right to vote) or in some sort of non-profit. I don't know what I'd do in said non-profit but who wouldn't want to have a job that not only pays your bills but does the world some good?

3) Describe the best vacation you've ever taken. When I was twelve my dad and I went to Disneyland. We stayed in a hotel, ate at McDonalds and IHOP everyday. Every fat kid's dream. Was this the best vacation I've ever had? I don't know, but I will never forget when Dad and I were in the Disneyland parade one night. We wore tutus, may or may not have danced with hippos (it was a really long time ago) and people were literally cheering me on. "Way to go, Anna!" I did not know them but I was wearing a name tag so they knew me. It was amazing.

4) Are you a cat person, a dog person, or a no-pet-person? I am definitely not a cat person. We had a cat named Ottis who did his darndest to ruin our lives for ten years or so. We were his slaves and he was our terrifying master that peed on everything (no exaggeration) and left poo skids on the floor every day. Now my mom has Furlo (the 100 lb dog) and, living in her basement, we kind of do, too. I love Furlo even though he doesn't like other dogs and farts when he's walking up the stairs in front of me. Looking after a dog is a lot of work, though, and I have a big enough job keeping two adults alive as it is. I like dogs, but I'd have to say I'm a no-pet-person. Except for baby pugs. Because I just want to snuggle them all the time. ALL THE TIME.

5) If you could steal the style of any movie or television star, whose would you steal? This question is hard because I'm not really in touch with the stars so to speak. So I'll say Zooey Deschanel. Honestly, who wouldn't want to look like her? Except somehow I don't think I could pull off her super short stuff and still look cute. Ah, the beauty of "ifs." And I have hair envy.

And now, since I've been doing my own thing with this blog award all morning, I figured I would tell you about my absolute favourite blog out there in the entire world written by my wonderful friend Larissa. You may not care about her blog as much as I do because I actually know her, but you might because it's awesome. She started it when she took her lovely family and moved away. Just kidding, her husband did the family taking and moving but we still like Tim anyway. Just a little bit less. No, no, I'm kidding. Tim is lovely.

Larissa's been blogging about their new life in Edmonton and it is my favourite read. Not only does she update it all the time, but she also puts up pictures. My favourites are the pictures of their son Calvin, the first baby I ever really loved.

Oh, and Tim has a website, too. If you like short stories or superheroes or really really short stories, I recommend checking out what he does. He writes short stories, has a superhero thing going on that is amazing, and also makes fifty word stories.

And, finally, since I'm breaking the blog award rules I'll share a couple other ladies (in no particular order) with you who've seemed to like my blog enough to read it: Kim, Jen, Jane, and Angi who you've already met.