By SAM MCMANIS, Sacramento Bee

They would depart for China in two days.

That had been the plan, anyway.

The Collivers, Paul and Sharen, were all packed and prepped, eager for an adventure far removed from their lives as almond farmers south of Fresno, Calif.

There are those who don't necessarily want to have themselves a merry little Christmas, those for whom it's not the most wonderful time of the year, who'd rather doff their gay apparel and don't give a figgy pudding about good cheer, who endure the holiday season cringing all the way, fa la la blah, blah, blah.

Day by day, as the month progresses and her husband's upper lip transforms from darkened smudge to newly hatched caterpillar to fully forested manly mustache, Amber Leonti gets increasingly creeped out.

Every red-blooded American -- and people from other countries, too -- needs to be properly dosed with vitamin B-12, in large part to hasten red blood cell formation. But there's so much more to know about B-12. Take our quiz to find out.

1. Which of the following does B-12 not positively contribute to?

a) Neurological function

b) Reduced kidney CK levels

How about we take all the fun out of Halloween by detailing just how caloric that candy can be? Consider this our version of the awful parental trick of handing out baby carrots in Tootsie Roll wrappers and making kids cry.

1. How many fewer calories does a Hershey's Kiss with almonds have than a regular Hershey's Kiss?

a) 1

b) 3

c) 9

Sad news on the snack-food front: Arch West, the inventor of Doritos, died recently. He was 97. Our tribute? A quiz about the (ahem) nutritional content of Doritos.

1. How many more calories per bag are Nacho Cheese Doritos than regular Doritos?

a) 10

b) 50

c) 50

2. Which of these Dorito options has the lowest fat content?

a) Cool Ranch

Light the table lamp, unscroll the parchment, dip your quill deep into the inkwell and mark these important dates for future reference:

Jan. 23: Best day to castrate animals.

March 15: Plant tomatoes.

July 10: Armadillos mate.

Nov. 19: Skunks hibernate.

Dec. 20: Best day to cut hay.

We have found a way to cajole our offspring into weeding the backyard: Tell them they are gathering leafy plants for the dinner salad. The home-improvement website Networx is serving up seven edible weeds. Take our quiz based on these yummy weeds.

1. In addition to being a provider of calcium and potassium, the weed yellow dock is used by herbalists for what medicinal purpose?

The Men's Health magazine-inspired "Eat This, Not That" franchise of books is the gift that keeps on giving for people who like to eat out but not bulk up. The 2011 edition was recently released. Take our quiz based on the book.

1. When you go to Ben & Jerry's, the calorie damage is going to be considerable. To mitigate it, which of these three scoops do the authors recommend?

(Editor's note: This story on the yellow star thistle was based on interviews with Joseph M. DiTomaso of the Weed Science Program at the University of California, Davis, and Wendy West, coordinator of the yellow star thistle Leading Edge Project for the UC Cooperative Extension.