I’ve seen this floating around and thought I’d add my own thoughts:

1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?

Went to a porn shop. I’ve not been afraid to, just never had the desire. Now I think Master and I go just as frequently as any other specialty store.

2. Did you keep your New Year’s Resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

No, I didn’t keep last year’s resolutions and there are more set for this year. Hopefully these will be easier to keep.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

No.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No.

5. What countries did you visit?

None, we didn’t even leave the state for more than 10 minutes when I took a wrong turn in Dubuque and ended up in Illinois.

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?

A new apartment.

7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

January 27th — Master gave me the honor of his collar

March 1st — I achieved full time status at work

May 28 — Our first public play party where Master played

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Hmmm. I don’t know.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Never failure, there is always a way out.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

I had a 3 day migraine in June, had a root canal this summer, but otherwise I’ve been well.

11. What was the best thing someone bought you?

Material things were not important this year.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Al Gore winning the Nobel Peace Prize. I watched Inconvenient Truth and it scared me to death!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

George Bush is getting on my nerves big time.

14. Where did most of your money go?

Eating out sadly. We need to change that this next year and enjoy good food at home.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Our anniversary trip to Iowa City when we stayed in a whirlpool suite

16. What song will always remind you of 2007?

I don’t think a song will encapsulate the entire year.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

• happier or sadder? happier
• thinner or fatter? fatter
  
• richer or poorer? richer
  

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Crafting. I miss the calm I get by creating items.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Whining about my weight, and lack of weight loss. It’s my own fault and this year I take ownership of that fact.

20. How did spend Christmas?

At home watching Lord of the Rings and eating turkey… lots of turkey.

21. Did you fall in love in 2007?

Over and over again. Master continues to amaze me.

22. How many one night stands?

None.

23. What was your favorite TV program?

Mythbusters!

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

No.

25. What was the best book you read?

The Marketplace by Laura Antoniou

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Acoustic versions of awesome rock tracks. Thank goodness or MTV unplugged.

27. What did you want and get?

I wanted a new computer, I got a laptop.

28. What did you want and not get?

I wanted to move this year, but alas that fell through.

29. What was your favorite film of this year?

National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets! We went to see it on Friday and I’d recommend it if you loved the first one.

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 30 this year and I don’t think I did anything special. Master made my birthday cake though. That was so sweet.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Losing more weight.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?

Uniforms or nakedness, take your pick.

33. What kept you sane?

Master and St. John’s Wart

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Johnny Depp. He is such a chameleon actor. I love that he can play any role so very well!

35. What political issue stirred you the most?

Anti-immigration crap. We are all immigrants for crying out loud.

36. Who do you miss?

My best friend, L.

37. Who was the best new person you met?

Selena, her husband and her Master! Love you hon.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007?

Patience can only win out if you let it.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

I don’t have one.

Awesome Christmas Lights Displays

Christmas has once again come to us with reminders to give, and love and share the joy of the season with others. Here at home, I have been a rather grinch this year. There are no Christmas decorations up, I have no tree to put my dad’s presents under. My gift to Master was something he knew about months in advance and while he is absolutely thrilled they are done; it isn’t the gifting spirit I wanted to have this year. Things have waffled emotionally on this blog all month long; from joyously happy to down right dumpy.

I’d like to change that. And it starts with the meaning of Christmas. You hear that it’s a season of giving. Well I think that it is more like a season of sharing. Yes you tend to give presents to people, but you are also sharing of yourself. It could be time spent with them, or feelings expressed or even a bit of yourself. Best of all you share love. It’s the most powerful gift to have.

I’d like to say thank you to everyone out there who has stopped by my blog in the past year and read about my life. I’m grateful for every single comment and email I’ve received from persons that felt touched somehow, or connected to what I’ve said. You make blogging easier and more exciting than my life appears to be. I can touch on the mundane moments and someone will find a common thread to let me know how they feel. I can share with you my trials and struggles and have a compassionate ear there for me. We have given each other so much over the last year. We have shared our souls, piece by piece.

This Christmas I’d like to offer everyone friendship. I know that if you stop by here you may already feel like my friend, but I’d like to extend that to my chat window, email box, my post office box, the phone if you’d like it. I’d really like to get to know you, perhaps even find something in common to laugh or cry about. If you’d like to comfort of someone who will understand, someone you can be yourself with; my door is always open. Please feel free to contact me in any way you wish. You can do so via this page or by sending email to luna@the-iron-gate.com. I look forward to offering up my gift of friendship to anyone who would like to receive it.

Tracking Santa

Come track Santa during his global trip across the world tonight! Norad has hooked up a tracking GPS on his sleigh and will be following Santa as he delivers presents to boys and girls all over! There are lots of fun things to see

Norad Tracks Santa 2007

Master’s Christmas Present

I gave Master his Christmas gift yesterday. He’s been waiting for months for me to finish them. They are a balanced set of suede floggers. I don’t think I’ve seen a happier Master. He’s been wanting to perfect Florentine flogging for quite some time, but without a balanced matching set he was having difficulty. Now he can practice to his heart’s content and I’ll gladly be the subby, err target. Click the image to get a larger more detailed view.

–luna

“The 12 Days of Kinky Christmas” by Unknown

On the 1st day of Christmas, my master gave to me…

A Small Feather Pillow for my knees.

On the 2nd day of Christmas, my master gave to me…

2 Nipple Clamps and a Small Feather Pillow for my knees.

On the 3rd day of Christmas, my master gave to me…

3 Blindfolds, 2 Nipple Clamps and a Small Feather Pillow for my knees.

On the 4th day of Christmas, my master gave to me…

4 Ball Gags, 3 Blindfolds, 2 Nipple Clamps and a Small Feather Pillow for my knees.

On the 5th day of Christmas, my master gave to me…

FIVE ANAL BEADS, 4 Ball Gags, 3 Blindfolds, 2 Nipple Clamps and a Small Feather Pillow for my knees.

On the 6th day of Christmas, my master gave to me…

6 Tubes of KY, FIVE ANAL BEADS,.4 Ball Gags, 3 Blindfolds, 2 Nipple Clamps and a Small Feather Pillow for my knees.

On the 7th day of Christmas, my master gave to me…

7 Crops a Swinging, 6 Tubes of KY, FIVE ANAL BEADS, 4 Ball Gags, 3 Blindfolds, 2 Nipple Clamps and a Small Feather Pillow for my knees.

On the 8th day of Christmas, my master gave to me…

8 Floggers Flogging, 7 Crops a Swinging, 6 Tubes of KY, FIVE ANAL BEADS, 4 Ball Gags, 3 Blindfolds, 2 Nipple Clamps and a Small Feather Pillow for my knees.

On the 9th day of Christmas, my master gave to me…

9 Candles Dripping, 8 Floggers Flogging, 7 Crops a Swinging, 6 Tubes of KY, FIVE ANAL BEADS, 4 Ball Gags, 3 Blindfolds, 2 Nipple Clamps and a Small Feather Pillow for my knees.

On the 10th day of Christmas, my master gave to me…

10 Lords a Whipping, 9 Candles Dripping, 8 Floggers Flogging, 7 Crops a Swinging, 6 Tubes of KY, FIVE ANAL BEADS, 4 Ball Gags, 3 Blindfolds, 2 Nipple Clamps and a Small Feather Pillow for my knees.

On the 11th day of Christmas, my master gave to me…

11 Pairs of Stockings, 10 Lords a Whipping, 9 Candles Dripping, 8 Floggers Flogging, 7 Crops a Swinging, 6 Tubes of KY, FIVE ANAL BEADS, 4 Ball Gags, 3 Blindfolds, 2 Nipple Clamps and a Small Feather Pillow for my knees.

On the 12th day of Christmas, my master gave to me…

12 Orgasms Screaming, 11 Pairs of Stockings, 10 Lords a Whipping, 9 Candles Dripping, 8 Floggers Flogging, 7 Crops a Swinging, 6 Tubes of KY, FIVE ANAL BEADS, 4 Ball Gags, 3 Blindfolds, 2 Nipple Clamps…..and a Small Feather Pillow for my knees.

Annoyances about Christmas

The most annoying thing about Christmas is that the retailers and media have pushed the preparations, lights, signs, ads and sales to before Thanksgiving. I’d rather prefer to have one holiday at a time and starting the day after Thanksgiving is plenty early enough for my preference.

Another thing that really irks me is the homeowners that continue to turn the outside Christmas lights on well into February. It’s not only nearing tacky, it’s a waste of energy. I can understand not taking them down till the weather is nicer, but for goodness sake extinguish them shortly after the New Year.

My last soap box moment today is the politically correct greeting for the holidays, “Happy Holidays.” It is no longer ‘correct’ to say “Merry Christmas.” Oh gee you might offend someone that doesn’t celebrate the Christian holiday. Oiy. It’s a greeting, why in the world would it offend someone that is perhaps celebrating hanukkah instead? Are people that touchy anymore? Would someone get offended if I said, “Howdy” to a non-Texan? I just don’t get it.

Naughty on Christmas Eve

When I was 6 I asked Santa for a dolly for Christmas. I wanted a really neat doll. One that seemed realistic. I prayed very hard that I could have one of those for Christmas.

Well, turns out I couldn’t sleep the night through on Christmas Eve. I think all children have that affliction. I crept out to the tree to see if Santa had come.

And he had! I was so excited because under the tree were presents for my younger sister and I. At my house, Santa never wrapped his presents, so that they were distinguished as coming from Santa. Each present had a name tag and that was it.

I walked up to the tree and there lay 2 dolls. One was in a beautiful yellow lacy dress and cried when you tipped her over and had eyes that opened and closed. The other was in a cute girlie outfit too and it had a bottle and came with diapers. (turns out you could feed it water and it would pee the diapers.) I thought that the second one was really really neat but when I looked at the tag it had my sister’s name on it.

I was caught with a dilemma. I really liked my sister’s doll. So, what’s a 6 yr old to do? I got a marker and scribbled out the names and switched them. I figured Mom and Dad wouldn’t know which dolls Santa brought for who and would think that the elves just had a hard time writing our names on them. So there, I fixed that.

Once it was early enough to start waking everyone up, little did I know I was in trouble. My parents brought me aside after my eyes lighted once again on the dollies and asked me if I had changed the names. I denied it of course.

Mom said matter of factly that Santa talks with them directly and had told them which doll we were to get and there had been a mix up.

I fessed up. I cried and thought that Mom was going to take away my present from Santa. Instead she just made sure that we go the dolls Santa intended.

After 4 months, my sister’s dolly got moldy and mom had to throw her out. It appears my sister feed it way too much. My doll would cry when put on her stomach, was soft everywhere but her head of blond curls and had the most adorable yellow dress. I had her until I was 14 and decided that dolls were for younger girls and gave her to my then 11 year old sister.

Lesson learned: Don’t mess with Santa.

–luna

Santa’s Elves

Another quirky little game that Mom would play with us as a kid was Santa’s Elves. I’m not sure if it started because Mom just couldn’t wait to give us gifts for Christmas or if it was something that she experienced when she was a child.

Ten days before Christmas we would start watching our stockings every morning. Some days we’d find little gifts in it. Mom always explained it as Santa’s elves coming early to give us little trinkets like coloring books, gimmick pencils, small games and candy. She did this as long as I can remember and even when we were adults and came to visit for Christmas she’d say that since Santa doesn’t visit anymore the elves still come by.

I don’t think any of us questioned why the elves would have time to come around to our house when there were just days till the biggest night of Santa’s year. Oh well.

–luna

Annual Ornaments

My grandmother (mom’s mom) started a tradition of giving each of her grandkids a special ornament for the Christmas tree each year. That was the one gift I really looked forward to from my grandma because they were the most awesome little trinkets. What made them even more special is that we were to be given our ornaments on our 18th birthday so that we had them for our very first tree away from home. Sort of a keepsake of childhood memories.

There was the traditional satin orb for baby’s first year, but also wooden toy boxes, porcelain angels, crystal snowflakes, bells and lots of fun characters from Mikey the Mouse to Bugs Bunny. My favorite was a cat playing with a ball, but not just an ordinary ball. This was a clear hamster ball with a little hamster inside.

Sadly, things did not go well when I turned 18 and I left home without my mom’s knowledge one day after I took her to work. We didn’t speak for 6 months. After I got married I asked her if I could have the ornaments from grandma. She told me no. That was that.

When my grandmother died of a massive heart attack I asked mom once again if I could have the ornaments as a reminder of her. Again I was turned down. So, now they hang on mother’s tree and I don’t speak to her anymore (not because of the ornaments).

My dad, knowing that the ornaments meant a lot to me, began the tradition again. Each year I get an ornament from him. They are just as special and wonderful as they were as a child and it’s still the present I look forward to more than any other.

–luna