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Last year I started what I hope to be a long lasting tradition of donating to my charity of choice, Child's Play. In addition to my standard contribution, I like to make the additional contribution of reminding you at this time of year that it's out there and it's a great cause, if you're looking for one. There's no better way to put it than to take the words right from the horses mouth:

What is Child's Play? Since 2003, over 100,000 gamers worldwide have banded together through Child?s Play, a community based charity grown and nurtured from the game culture and industry. Over two million dollars in donations of toys, games, books and cash for sick kids in children?s hospitals across North America and the world have been collected since our inception. This year, we have continued expanding across the country and the globe. With over 45 partner hospitals and more arriving every month, you can be sure to find one from the map above that needs your help! You can choose to purchase requested items from their online retailer wish lists, or make a cash donation that helps out Child?s Play hospitals everywhere. Any items purchased through Amazon will be shipped directly to your hospital of choice, so please be sure to select their shipping address rather than your own. When gamers give back, it makes a difference!

If you've got the means, I would encourage you to make a child's day better by donating a toy to a hospital. It also doesn't hurt my feelings any that it's sort of proving just how much of a moron Jack Thompson is.

Fall is here. It's almost the last week of November. I've thought for a few years now that maybe we should consider adjusting the calendar for the whole year, just like we pushed back Daylight Saving Time this year. At this rate, it seems like the first snow of 2012 is going to be in February of 2013. Thanksgiving is finally over, and Christmas Season is here. Today we had our last turkey dinner, and I should have been able to take pictures of all the snow on the way there, but instead we only saw roads like this, covered in freshly fallen leaves. At least if we can't have real snow for Christmas, we have plenty of classic Christmas movies full of snow.

As a general rule, I avoid these things like y. pestilis, but as Aimee is actually my friend on the NaBloPoMo site, I would be ignoring a fairly direct invitation to participate if I didn't. It took a few days to come up with 6 things for each question, but here it is… 6 guilty pleasures. Name six guilty pleasures no one would suspect you of having:

1. Sometimes I don't untie my shoes before I take them off. Sure, any time saved is lost when I have to untie them before I can put them back on, and sometimes I'm close to giving myself a hernia trying to wedge one shoe off with my other foot… but sometimes you just need to be lazy.
2. Not always, but sometimes I don't brush my teeth before bed. Still working on that `sometimes you just need to be lazy` principle. Who's going to smell my breath before I get up and brush in the morning?
3. Occasionally I'll eat a light dinner to save room for an extra large dessert.
4. Spending money. It's a really bad habit to have. I'm getting better, but that doesn't mean it's not still fun.
5. Taco Bell. It's hell on digestion, but god it tastes so good.
6. This one is iffy. Some people are surprised to hear that I am a total video game nerd, and some are not. I love adventure games like Zelda and Paper Mario. I guess the guilty part is that I also like some of the longer FPS games like Metroid and Resident Evil, but rarely finish them… so I feel guilty for buying them.

Name six guilty pleasures you wish you had the courage to indulge:

1. Guitar Lessons. I love music and even played guitar, mostly self taught, for several years. It was something very difficult for me to give up, but I was at a point in my life where I was doing too little of too many things, and needed to cut a few out so that I could indulge more in the others. I have the courage to indulge this one, but it's still not a priority.
2. Piano Lessons. same as #1, except I have only ever fantasized about playing piano. Not sure I have the coordination required.
3. Bagpipes! Does this one even require any explanation?
4. Dancing lessons. We talked about taking ballroom dance lessons before our wedding, but never had the time. I could also benefit from some modern dance lessons. We love to watch So You Think You Can Dance, both for the horrible dancers at the beginning of the season, and the amazing dancers at the end. I think secretly we both wish we could do that. Secret's out.
5. Professional Snowboarding. One of my favorite hobbies, and my favorite sports to watch. I'd lurve to be able to do the flips and tricks. You know, without breaking my hip again.
6. Getting a motorcycle. Maybe one day.

Name six pleasures you once considered guilty but have now either abandoned or made peace with:

1. My sweet tooth. I love sweets. I've learned to eat them in moderation and lets face it… I don't exactly need to lose weight. So bring on the candy, brownies, cake, pie, and ice cream. *
2. Collecting DVDs. I still love to watch movies, but I've made my peace with rentals.
3. I used to play World of Warcraft a lot. I quit a while ago and it was one of the best decisions I've ever made.
4. I read too many blogs. I should probably substitute some book reading for some of the time I read blogs, but I do love my blogs.
5. Photography. I get such a rush from going through everything I've shot and finding some good pictures.
6. Legos! I love to go play with my niece and nephew and break out the Lego's with them.

Now I'm supposed to "tag" 6 people. I'd rather not. I think I'll go "tag" another brownie. * 3 brownies were consumed during the creation of this post.