Friendly Fill-Ins and Eddy Feeling Festive

Hello and happy Friday, friends! We're ready for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, and we'd love for you to join us. My amazing co-host Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two fill-in statements, and I came up with the first two.

1. _________ was a faux pas I made once.

2. I know every line of _________.

3. I need a good recipe for _________.

4. If I were in charge of _________, I would change _________.


My answers are below in bold.

1. Commenting on lack of football game wins to a football player classmate was a faux pas I made once.

(An old high school classmate once stopped me to say hi on the college campus we both attended. During the conversation he mentioned how our old high school's football team was doing well that year, and I commented on how I was glad that they were doing better than when we attended school there. The thing is, I forgot he was on the football team during our years at the school. I admittedly did not follow sports hardly at all in high school, but I did know that we almost never won any football games. I didn't remember he was on the team until after we'd parted ways, and he'd been very polite and made no comment on it, but I felt awful afterwards. I know that I can sometimes be very forward and lack a filter, but that particular instance is one I occasionally remember and feel terrible about.)

2. I know every line of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
(I might not remember every line, but myself as well as my parents and sister can certainly say most of the lines along with the characters throughout the movie. This is my favorite Christmas movie of all time, and I watch it many, many, many times during the festive season. I always watch it for the first time during the Christmas season after putting up my trees on Black Friday, and I can't wait to start my many viewings of it next week.)

3. I need a good recipe for homemade gluten-free, dairy-free bread.

(My mom and I are both gluten and dairy intolerant. Neither of us used to be, but for some reason in the past decade or so we've both become not easily able to eat either of those things. We used to make homemade bread often, and we often still do for my dad and sister. We've been unsuccessful in making true, good bread of the gluten-free and dairy free-variety, though, even when using the special flour and other ingredients we use to successfully make various other baked goods. Obviously gluten is a big reason why bread rises and is so good, but I'm able to buy gluten-free bread from the store that I actually enjoy, so I'd love to find a recipe like that to make at home.)

4. If I were in charge of holiday scheduling, I would change Thanksgiving to October.
(I know Thanksgiving occurs when it does for a reason. That said, as an American whose favorite holidays are Halloween and Christmas, I wish we were like Canada and celebrated Thanksgiving in October, before Halloween. It would still be a nice autumnal holiday, but it wouldn't stand between Halloween and Christmas and make it confusing on when to take down fall decor and put up Christmas decor. It's always been a tradition in my family to let Thanksgiving have its time and decorate for Christmas on Black Friday. While I obviously don't have to follow that tradition and do often start decorating for Christmas earlier than that, I still just wish we went straight from Halloween to Christmas.)

Now it's your turn!

To add your link to the Friendly Fill-Ins Linky list, just click HERE!

You can also click on the badge below to add your link.

You are also welcome to complete the fill-ins in the comments below,

or in the comments on Ellen's blog, 15andmeowing.

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It's time for your Eddy fix! And today, the usually blurry girl decided to sit still for you all. This shot was taken at nighttime and so it's not the best lighting, but I thought she looked so cute sitting on her cat tree beside her year round Christmas tree. This girl is feeling festive, and I don't blame her one bit.

Soon, that Christmas tree will be lit up for the festive season. With only loosely hung battery-operated light strands, that is, as my hyper Eddy can't be trusted with anything else. Eddy's especially eager for the giant cloth ribbon I always hang at the top of the tree. She's mostly looking forward to ripping it off of the tree and slashing it to shreds. Her Christmas season wouldn't be complete without that activity.

We hope you're starting to get festive on this Friday, friends!

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Flashback Doodle of the Day

Since I mentioned my favorite Christmas movie National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation in the fill-ins above, I'll go ahead and share an old doodle I scribbled up years ago of the house in that movie. Just last night I worked on a new doodle inspired by this movie, but for now you get this old one.

Every time I see this doodle I'm reminded of how I meant to put a Christmas tree in one of the lower windows. Except I forgot to do so while scribbling it up. It bothers me every time I see this drawing, but such is life.

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Tip of the Day

A discussion on Thanksgiving dinner foods would not be complete without noodles, would it? At least in our family it wouldn't. If noodles are part of your holiday meal, it could likely be considered safe to feed your furbaby a small amount of plain noodles. Noodles can be a good source of energy in the form of carbohydrates, but of course they are best enjoyed in moderation for your furbaby. That being said, as always, also do consider any ingredients added the noodles. As we've indicated in many previous tips, refrain from feeding your pup or kitty noodles that include garlic or onion, for example, or that include any fatty or other sauces that might lead to gastrointestinal upset, pancreatitis, or other issues. So, if your furbaby fancies a taste of pasta, as long as it's plain, they can enjoy that little taste.