Look at Me! I'm So Different!

Big Daddy saw this crop up on Facebook told me about it. I love it when people give me good blog topics! Especially lately since I have been SO lame about blogging. My brain is just so boring lately and I don't want to force the tedium on everyone else. So anyway, here is a fun sort of game/tag to try. I actually had to think about it a lot longer than I would have thought...

A) Name one thing that you hate which everyone else loves.
I guess I would say crispy french fries. As far as I know, everyone else likes the crispy ones. But not me. I like those ones that are nearly white and are bent over and soft in the middle. If they are crisp and straight, I throw them out. But give me a batch of slightly underdone fries and I'm in heaven!


B) Name one thing everyone else hates that you love.
Sleeping with my socks on. Big Daddy for one would rather be poked by hot pokers under his eye lids than sleep with socks on. And I'm pretty sure it gives most people the willies. But for some reason my body heat seems to be entirely controlled through my foot temperature. So if my feet are cold then my body is cold, and if my body is cold, then I can't sleep. So thick ski socks in winter, lighter "sleep socks" in summer, but only during the 100+ days of July and August do I sleep without socks. I love it!


What about you?

Truth or Dare

Recently Tiburon challenged her readers to a dare: Do a post showing yourself au naturale. Now you all know that I am a serious make-up wearer. I don't wear a lot, but I wear it ALL THE TIME. I wear lipstick and cover-up even if I'm in bed dying. I don't go to the gym without those two, even if I'm doing water aerobics that day. I just don't feel happy with my looks without a little man-made beauty. So this was a serious challenge to my pride, to show you the real, down and dirty me. But I'm nothing if not daring. So here goes....

Before....



After...


So now I guess I'm supposed to say something intelligent-sounding and introspective. Ahem...Let me deconstruct these two pictures:

Pic # 1: My upper lip has no color. I am having some sort of re-visitation of my 15year old skin. Only my 15-year old skin was never that bad when I was 15. Shouldn't it be against the laws of physics to have wrinkles and acne at the same time? My eyelashes are STICK STRAIGHT. My eyelash curler is my best friend. Well, my 3rd best friend after lipstick and cover-up. I have inherited super dark circles under my eyes. It doesn't matter how much I sleep. They are there making me look like I just finished a heroin binge, every day of the week. This picture doesn't really do them justice, but trust me, they are crazy dark.

Pic # 2: I have good lips. My mom felt bad for me when I was a kid because I had such full lips. Now she is jealous. As long as I wear make up. 'Cause otherwise you can't see them. I have nicely shaped eyebrows. They had Brook Shield's beat out in the 80's, but then I discovered tweezers. Oh my sweet love tweezers. Next, it took me most of my life to realize that I have great hair. I never understood all the commercials for volumizing products until I felt my sister's hair and realized that some people's hair is fine and flat (sorry, Jen). Me? No, I'd say boofy is the right word. I should have taken a picure with my hair air-dried for full effect. Anyway, the down side of super thick hair is that I have to have my stylist thin out the mass every 9-12 months, and then it still takes me 30-45 minutes to blow dry and straighten it down, one layer at a time. But I've come to realize that I might be the lucky one.

Well, that's enough of that. Overall, I'd say I'm really glad I live in this era of mascara and powder and smoothing milk for my hair. And I'm sure everyone who has to look at me is too.


What about you? Are you up for a dare???

Alphabet Tag

It seems like when I first started blogging, these things went around all the time. I haven't seen one in a while. Is that because everyone hates them except me? Or because we ran out of things to question people about? Well, sorry if this pains your very existance to read. I still like them.

Alphabet Tag

A: Addiction: sugar
B: Breakfast: pancakes please
C: Chocolate or Chips: Chocolate. Not a chips person.
D: Dessert or Appetizers: DESSERT. As if there is any question.
E: Essential Items: Blistex, nail file, sunglasses, toothbrush, tweezers, socks, pillow. Seriously, if I had those I could survive anywhere for any amount of time.
F: Favorite Color: spring green
G: Gummy Bears or Gummy Worms: bears I guess
H: Hometown: Detroit-ish, Michigan
I: Indulgence: Stephen's Hot Vanilla
J: January or July: July! January should be erased from the calendar.
K: Kids: Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.
L: Life isn't complete without: good food
M: Most exciting memory: Going to India
N: Number of Brothers and Sisters: 1 and 1
O: Oranges or Apples: Not huge on either. Probably apples.
P: Phobias or Fears: spiders, open water, tornados
Q: Quote: An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind. Gandhi.
R: Reading: The Great Influenza
S: Summer or Spring: I love both. Late spring, early summer.
T: Tag 6 people: Lorie, Melissa, Rychelle, Nicki, Tiburon, Jen
U: Unknown Fact About Me: I used to have my nose pierced.
V: Vacation I want to go on: A cruise somewhere in the Caribbean
W: Walking or Running: Walking. Never running. Ever.
X: X-Ray or Ultrasound: Um...ultrasound? Actually, I kind of like having them done now that I think about it. Dark, quiet room. Warm slippery jelly on me. Does that make me weird?
Y: Your favorite food: pasta, sushi, seafood, baked goods
Z: Zoo or Bowling: bowling. Unless it's w/o kids, then the zoo.

Thanks, Karyn. That was fun!

5 Senses Tag

I made this up. I was thinking the other day of things I love to smell and taste and touch--insomnia, it'll make you do weird things--and I thought I might put it into a post. And then I thought it would be fun to hear what other people love to touch and taste and see. So I made it into a tag. I hope you'll play along (even if I didn't tag you), cause I'd love to read yours. Here are the rules:

5 Senses Tag

List 4 things you love, and one thing you hate, for each category. Then tag 5 people;
leave them a note on their blog so they know. Also, let the person who tagged you know when you post yours.

Smell:
1. lilacs
2. brown sugar and vanilla
3. greenery after it rains
4. warm, sweet nuts, like those kind you smell at the fair
5. Hate: Beer brewing. I had to walk past a beer brewery on my way to school each day when I lived in Germany, and it made me dry heave every time. I never got used to it.

Touch:
1. crisp. smooth cotton sheets
2. the soft skin on my husband’s neck, just under his ear (it’s my favorite spot to kiss)
3. fur, on naked skin. If you’ve ever held a cat or a bunny when you’re naked, the fur feels so much softer against your other skin than your hands. Come on, don’t tell me I’m the only one holding bunnies while naked??
4. Sticking my hand, arm deep, into a big bag of wheat or birdseed or other small, round objects. It feels so cool and soothing.
5. Hate: chalk. Touching chalk gives me the heebie jeebies

Sound:
1. Crickets, and frogs if you’re lucky enough to hear them, at night in the summer time. It is just a quintessential summer sound that is so soothing and happy to me.
2. Beck’s laugh—he has the most hearty, deep gut laugh. It’s so infectious!
3. distant church bells. One thing I loved about traveling in Europe is how you might hear church bells chime or carillons play off in the distance at any time.
4. The crinkly sound a down comforter makes when you sit on it or pull it up to your chin.
5. Hate: Beck screeching when Daphne takes things away from him

Taste:
1. marzipan
2. dark chocolate and raspberry together
3. gravy
4. fresh pineapple
5. Hate: blue cheeses. Sorry, I’m not into eating MOLD.

Sight:
1. Green trees, as far as the eye can see
2. Turquoise, clear water—like the kind in the Caribbean
3. A clean kitchen
4. Glass. All kinds of glass—stained glass, glass bottles, glass pebbles, chandeliers... Something about the way light shines through glass is so beautiful to me.
5. Hate: Wounds. If I see wounds on people or animals, I get these weird sympathy pains, and I go weak for a minute. I could never be a nurse or a doctor.


I tag:

1. Tiburon
2. Jennie
3. Rychelle
4. Melissa
5. Mia

25 Things That Bug

I got tagged on a post called 25 Things I Love To Hate. So I started my list. And by the end, it wasn’t so much things I love to hate, as things that bug . So I’ve changed the title a bit. Here goes…

25 Things That BUG THE LIVING CRAP OUT OF ME.

1) People who park badly. Especially when they take up 2 spots on purpose cause their car (usually a big truck) is just way too fancy to get dinged up like the rest of our cars.
2) When the garbage man ALWAYS leaves my garbage knocked over. Would it be too much to ask for you to set it down upright? (Or when stuff flies out on the way up to his truck and he just leaves it in the street. Doesn’t anyone take pride in being a garbage man anymore??
3) When my waiter asks how everything is 20 times during the meal. Just look! If my glass is empty, fill it. If I’m not eating, ask me if I need a box. If I’m not glaring at you or waving my arms at you when you walk past, shut up and let me eat in peace!
4) People driving slowly in the carpool lane. I know I’ve covered this before. But seriously, if you’re going to drive under the speed limit, regardless of your passenger count, the right two lanes were made just for you. Feel free to move on over and drive as slowly as you like.
5) Kids waking up at 6:45 in the morning. Or 7. Or 7:30. Or pretty much any time before 8am. Or actually 9 am. Or , lets be honest, anytime before 10 am really bugs. I need to get a new job where sleeping in is guaranteed benefit.
6) Bird crap on my car. And, unfortunately, there is a tree branch right above my driveway that the birds love to party on and eat purple things on. Ask me how I know.
7) 2pm church
8) My internet going down. I don’t think I approach certifiable madness faster than when my internet goes down.
9) Parents who bring babies and small children to movies and restaurants. I know, you're cheap. But why punish the rest of us?
10) Something stuck in my teeth when I have no access to a toothpick or floss
11) Overcooked steak
12) My pajama pants riding up while I sleep.
13) People who don’t get sarcasm and take everything face value. Especially on my blog. It’s called humor, people. Try it.
14) Burnt out light bulbs, especially up high. Why is changing a light bulb such a huge pain in the butt? Remove those little tiny screws, but just enough that the glass cover doesn’t come falling down and shatter, then dump out all the dead bugs in there, try not to drop the new or old light bulbs while you swap them, all while standing on a wobbly stool….I mean, really. Could they make it any harder??? I really would like to just clap my hands and have it fixed.
15) My kids growing out of their cute clothes and shoes too fast.
16) How the yummiest food always gives you the worst breath
17) Over-toasted toast
18) Being woken up while I’m sleeping. This one awakens the beast like no other.
19) Whining children. Is there some reason why you can’t ask nicely first and THEN whine if you don’t get your way? Starting out with whining is counterproductive, if you ask me.
20) People who don’t return calls (businesses especially. Why they bother to have answering machines, I don’t know.)
21) Gratuitous swearing in movies. Just what I need. Someone yelling the F-word at me for 2 hours.
22) When adults talk to my kids with baby talk. HATE THAT. Like “Awe you hungwee?” Say “hungry!”
23) Exercising a ton and not loosing weight.
24) Employees who don’t look at you or offer any kind of polite greeting or thank you. Even worse when they talk to each other while ringing you up, like you’re not even there. Hello! Customer service? Remember that?
25) The fact that airlines don't give you crap to eat on the planes anymore. Nuts? I have a 5 hour flight over lunchtime and I get NUTS? So out of the whole $400 I paid for this flight, you couldn't allocate $3 for a sandwich or a piece of pizza??? Lazy no good airlines...

After this morning, I decided I had to add another one..
26) Having to dial an area code to call your next door neighbor! Why couldn't they have just divided things geographically? I am so bugged about always having to dial an area code now!!!


What about you? What gets your panties in a knot?


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This is What Happens When Your Husband Goes Out Of Town

You spend all night on the computer, guilt free! And you do all kinds of random tag posts that you'd otherwise not have time to do. Sweet.

I got tagged by Crystal on this one. Here goes...

RULES~
1- Post the rules on your blog
2- List 6 random things about yourself.
3- Tag 6 people at the end of your post.
4- Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
5- Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

1 - I like modern style furniture, but also antiques
2 - My favorite color of M&M growing up was the light brown one. I was sad when they got rid of it.
3 - I shoot pool left handed.
4 - I despise basketball and love canoeing
5 - I would rather live around tons of trees than mountains or oceans
6 - I am watching a show right now called Face Transplant. I love these kinds of shows. The weirder the better.

I tag:
Kelli
Erica
Karyn
Kristine
Christie
Suzie (Eagarbrood)

I'm Playing the "Lucky You" Game

The first five people that respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!

2. What I create will be just for you.

3. It’ll be done this year.

4. You have no clue what it’s going to be. It may be a story. It may be poetry, a picture, or maybe even some creation I haven’t even invented yet. I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that’s for sure!

5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange. The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me!

* * *Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

Love Week

In honor of Valentine's Day, my friend Christie created this lovely stroll down memory lane. I thought it sounded fun. And I never pass up an opportunity to reminisce on past loves. so here goes:

♥ First Crush: I'm pretty sure I was born with a crush on someone. I was seriously boy crazy! So I had a ton of crushes even before I was school age. But the one I remember being my first serious school crush I was in 2nd grade. His name was Lars Leudaman. He was tall (for a second grader) and really cute. He had a bunch of siblings, like 8 or 10, and their names all started with L. We rode the bus together and each day was heaven until he got off at his stop. He also held my hand in the commons area whenever they turned off the lights to show film strips. Sadly, he went to a different school in 3rd grade. Then I saw him again in 9th grade at my new high school. He was still super tall. But also super nerdy. Oh well.

♥ Celebrity crush: George Clooney has got to be my pick on this one. I came very late to the George Clooney fan club. I dismissed him completely back in the E.R. days when the Clooney Craze first began. I just couldn't see what the big deal was. But in later years, after I started really enjoying his subtle comedic performances in movies like Intolerable Cruelty and Oh Brother Where Art Thou, I became a huge fan. I love a guy who doesn't take himself too seriously. Looks, talent, AND a sense of humor? Sign me up!

♥Biggest crush (aka: the one that got away): I would have to classify "biggest crush" and "the one that got away" differently. By far my biggest crush was Ken McGraw. I first fell in love with him (like every other girl in school) on the first day of 6th grade. My homeroom would pass his homeroom in the hall on the way to lunch. He was gorgeous. I'm pretty sure he emitted a glow of light from his skin. We actually "went together" in 7th grade for 2 1/2 months until he dumped me for Sarah Bernstien, who had boobs. Stupid genetics! I remained in love with him all through middle and high school, and since we had the same social group, we stayed distant friends. Finally, our senior year, I gave up on him. And shortly after that, he decided he liked me. Classic. So we gave it another try. It involved lots of making out. But like all relationships based on tons of kissing, it was destined to fail. It did make us closer friends, oddly enough. And we remained friends through college and after. I lost track of him a couple of years ago, though. Ken, if you're out there, call me!


♥First kiss: My first kiss was Ken McGraw (see above). He kissed me after school as we were waiting for all the buses to arrive. It turns out that one of the bus drivers knew his mom and yelled out the bus door as she pulled up that she was going to tell his mother. It kind of dampened the mood a bit. But I still remember it being one of the best kisses of my life. I think I floated home after that kiss.

♥First date: How sad and pathetic. I don't even remember my first date! I know that, growing up, my parents filled my head with visions of how wonderful and romantic my first date would be, on the eve of my 16th birthday. Instead, 16 came and went with no date in sight. It was several months later when someone finally asked me out. I don't even recall who it was or what we did; it was that anti-climactic.

♥First love: Once again, I'd have to say it was Ken McGraw. 6th grade to 12th grade is a long time! He was on my mind for all those years. Of course, I never let that get in the way of dating and falling in love with other guys. Please....I wasn't a nun! But in my heart, Ken will always be my first love.

♥First date with my husband: It's kind of kismetish how it happened. We had known each other for a couple of years in a work capacity. Then I went to Fiji for a semester and never thought I'd see him again (plus he was married, so I didn't really know him well). When I got back, I went to Springville to get some stuff from storage and saw him pulling into the storage unit as I was pulling out. We both stopped, he told me he'd gotten divorced, he mentioned that he was hanging out with some people we both knew from working together (that he had never hung out with before or since) and invited me to come along. The date started at Savers (a thrift store) to buy 70's clothes. Then dinner at the Outback Steakhouse with a bunch of friends. Then disco skating. I still remember what he wore--tight brown polyester bellbottoms that made his butt look amazing. And he sped around the rink with total confidence and ease. He had SKILLZ. I was VERY impressed. Mostly with his butt. After that, we went back to his house and talked for about 4 or 5 hours. It was a great first date.

See, that was fun! If you want to play along, consider yourself tagged! Just let me know if you do this one, cause I want to read yours too.

10 Things I Love Starting With the Letter P

That is to say, the things on the list should start with "P," not that I'm listing 10things I like and letter P is at the top of my list. Just trying to make things clear.

1) Pillows. I have often thought how lame life would be w/o a pillow. Try it some time. Try using a stack of towels or something instead. It sucks.
2) Pussy Cats. Love em.
3) Pastries. If you are surprised to hear me list this one, you haven't been reading my blog nearly enough. Get to it!
4) Pushing Daisies. Great show. Will miss it.
5) Puppies. And kittens and moonbeams and rainbows and unicorns!
6) Passat. My favorite car I've ever owned. When I finally get done sacrificing my driving pleasure to the God of Small People, I will drive one again.
7) People. No, not the magazine. The live ones. I just dig people. I love to meet new people, hang out with people, talk with people and just try to figure out what makes people tick.
8) Phones. Cell phones, wall phones, cordless phones. Maybe not pay phones. I love to chat on the phone while I get my housework done.
9) Pageants. It's one of those things like a car accident. You know you shouldn't be watching, but you just can't look away! By the way, did anyone see the shocking number of DOGS at the Miss America Pageant last week? I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but it's a BEAUTY pageant. If you can't find someone beautiful in your entire state, you should probably just not enter a contestant that year.
10) Hmmmm....which to choose for my final entry? Padded bras? No. Too revealing. Pennsylvania? No, never been there. Pachyderms? Well, they're cool and all, but I'm not sure they deserve the # 10 spot. I guess I'll have to go with pancakes. One of my all time favorite foods. Specifically, big, buttery, syrupy, hot pancakes. Yum.
(And I'm actually pretty amazed that only 2 items on my list ended up being food items! Must be because not enough foods start with P.)

Thanks, Tib!

If you want to play along, leave me a comment and I'll assign you a letter.

7 Random Things About Me

I was tagged for this by Karyn and Erica, my twin friends that I've known since we were about 5 years old, so I best get to it!


1) The second and third toes on both of my feet are partially webbed. I call them my two-headed monsters.
2) I was briefly in a band in 9th grade, the Amazing Seeds. I was the female vocalist; the rest were boys. It was like The Thompson Twins. But with better hair.
3) I have fast hands. I can deal cards and play piano scales like no other.
4) I've never been in a limo. And I can' t say I have any regrets about it.
5) I have massively different vision in my two eyes. One sees 20/30 with an astigmatism. The other is virtually blind: 20/550. Due to the heavy coke-bottled-ness of the right lense, it makes my glasses sit crooked. And that eye looks smaller. It's really hot when I wear glasses, let me tell you.
6) I love old musicals. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Flower Drug Song and Singing In the Rain are my favorites.
7. I secretly want to be really good at riding horses (Western, not English). I've only ridden maybe half a dozen times, but I absolutely loved it.

Consider yourself tagged, if you want to play along!

The Ultimate Quiz

Why do I always feel like I need a preamble before starting a blog quiz? Well, I do. And this one's preamble is to say..

You know me. I always love a good blog quiz. And I especially like this one because it is quirky, nonsensical, and I actually had to think about the answers! Thanks, Andre.

1. Do you prefer to listen to Kenny G or Michael Bolton? If I HAD to choose one, Michael Bolton. But I'd probably rather have my ears shot off.

2. Would you prefer bad morning breath on you or your partner? Me. Unless it comes with bad morning taste. Then him. I'd just stay far away.

3. Would you rather be blind or deaf? I'd have to say deaf. I'm not very good at feeling my way around in the dark. I bash into stuff a lot.

4. Would you rather eat a chocolate covered ant or homemade whole wheat bread? The chocolate part is verytempting, but....I am going with the bread.

5. Would you rather step in a fresh pile of cow manure or a buzzing mound of fire ants? Do I have shoes on? Then the ants. No shoes? Um, still gotta go with the ants.

6. Would you rather be permanently illiterate or permanently unable to speak? Definitely unable to speak. My sweet typing skillz would make up for that.

7. Would you rather live without the Internet or TV? TV for sure. I'm almost to the point of wanting to live without TV right now. Sure, I'd miss it. But I couldn't live w/o my internet.

8. Would you rather be the best looking person in the world but also the dumbest, OR the smartest person in the world but also the ugliest? This is a tough one. I would have to go with the best looking but dumbest. Not because I'm vain. But because if I were the smartest person in the world, I'd be so keenly aware of my hideous personage that it would make me all the more depressed when people ran and screamed upon seeing me. At least if I was fabulously beautiful and dumb, I could please others from a distance. And I'd be too stupid to know I was super stupid.

9. Would you rather give up eating food with sugar or salt? SALT!!! What kind of insane question is that??? As if I'd give up sugar, mumble mumble CRAZY mumble in love with sugar mumble....

10. Ignoring all other factors except humidity, would you rather live somewhere dry like, let's say, uh, Utah, or somewhere humid like, um, Houston? I would probably go with humid. I kind of like the feeling of humidity. It does make my hair frizzy, but it makes my skin wonderfully clear. Besides, I breathe better in humidity. But if the place had a winter, I'd choose dry. Because humid and cold are a combination I gave up for good when I left Michigan, and I'm never going back.

11. Would you rather read other people's online quizzes or take them yourself? Take them myself, for sure. I do like to read other people's answers, but I enjoy the introspection of answering for myself most.

Well, that was an interesting quiz, Andre. Very different from any others I've done. Anyone else looking for a fun way to kill your Saturday? Then you're IT! (As in, tagged, no as in you're ultra cool and everyone wants to be you. Though you might be that too. I have no idea. If it is the case, please give me your address and phone number so you and I can hang out more. I could use a few more ultra cool friends to make me look good by association.)

Christmas Quizacle

I love a good questionnaire, so here goes...


1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I save gift bags for birthdays and showers. For Christmas, it has to be wrapping paper.

2. Real tree or artificial? I prefer a real tree for looks and smell. But I have to say that the clean up and ease in keeping our new artificial tree alive is pretty sweet.

3. When do you put up the tree? The first day in December usually. This year it was the 4th because I was on vacation.

4. When do you take the tree down? January 2nd.

5. Do you like eggnog? Yes, but only in small portions.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Kittens: Holly and Ivy.

7. Do you have a Nativity scene? I finally got one last year. But I want another one. A bigger, more detailed one. The one I have is pretty simple.

8. Hardest person to buy for? My BIL Darren. He buys whatever he wants when he wants it and I don't know his taste in personal items well enough to shop for him.

9. Easiest person to buy for? My sister. I know her taste really well.

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I can't think of anything specific. I'm usually pretty grateful for whatever I get.

11. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards? Mail all the way! Real cards. If someone sent me an e-Christmas card, I'd send them an e-finger! FYI :)

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Elf

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? A few things in November, most in early December, a few stragler items on Christmas eve!

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I don't think so.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Eggnog milkshake or peppermint ice cream.

16 Clear lights or colored on the tree? Although there is something romantic to the colored light glow, I go with white for my tree because my other decorations are so multi-colored.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Away in a Manger. Makes me cry every time. When I was in primary, I'd cry during every opening exercises the entire month of December.

18 Travel at Christmas or stay home? Home, if I can help it.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? yes. Do you think I'm retarded?

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star. LIT star.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? We open one present on Christmas Eve and the rest in the morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Christmas music just after Halloween.

23. Favorite Christmas tradition? We don't have a lot of Christmas traditions in my family. But I do like that my family opens presents one at a time, youngest to oldest and back to youngest. That way we get to see what each person gets. My in-laws do a present free-for-all and then you have no idea if the people liked the presents you gave or what anyone else got.

24. Up early or sleeping in? I'd LOVE to sleep in. Isn't likely to happen. (I always slept late as a kid, as late as my early bird sister would let me).

25. Who hands out the gifts? As a kid, it was my sister Jennie. I guess we'll have to form a new tradition as my own kids get older.

26. Does Santa wrap your gifts? It remains to be seen. This is the year that Santa will be visiting our house for real.

27. Do you tell the Christmas story? Haven't yet. I guess we'll have to start that tradition too. I think we'll get out the nativity scene and show the kids the story that way.

28. Do you leave cookies for Santa? Ooo, that's another one I haven't thought about. See, when you have your first child finally old enough to think about and understand Santa, you have to figure out all these details!

I'm adding one more...

29. Where are your stockings hung? Since we don't have a fireplace or mantel, they are hung on our upright piano (Which is where the old fireplace used to be. so I think santa can find them OK.)

Merry Christmas! And consider yourself TAGGED! (Thanks, TIB!)

100 Things

Saw this on Tiburon's blog and thought I'd try it out. Especially since I'm having writers block (writers blogck?) and can't think of anything to blog about. My brain seems to have gone on vacation too. You saved my butt, Girl.

100 Things
(Highlight the ones you've done)

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band(if singing in one counts)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Totally copied a post from someone else's blog to your own (with credit, of course)


67 out of 100. Hey, I feel pretty good about that. Jerusalem, China, and Africa are definitely on my life list, so hopefully I can cross those off some time. The Alamo I might just miss. Sorry, Texans.

High School Meme

There's nothing I like better than a questionnaire about myself, so thanks, Christie!



High School Meme

First let me preface by saying that I went to four different high schools, one for each year. That makes this a little difficult. My first school was a really difficult college prep school. Ever see Dead Poet's Society? It was written by Robin Williams about this school (where he attended for a short time). So you get the feel--not warm and fuzzy. I left after the first year to "get a life." My second year was Marian. It was a Catholic girls school. I actually liked it. It was like public school with little plaid skirts. Very easy. But not too good for getting dates. My junior year I went to Germany as an exchange student. I intended to return to Marian when I got back, but my little brother was hunting for private high schools while I was gone and found an excellent one, Cranbrook Kingswood (referenced in the movie "8 Mile" when Eminem makes fun of the other rapper for going to a private school at the very end of the movie.) Anyway, I attended Cranbrook with my brother for my last year of high school. I LOVED it. Wish I'd been there all along. So...that's my high school experience. Quite disjointed, pretty lonely being the new girl every single year, but some good experiences in there. And a lot of learning to stand on my own two feet.

1. Did you date someone from your High School? Yes. My freshman year was Nikhil Verma, who went out with me for a week and dumped me after Homecoming. My senior year I dated Dave Chung for 2 months. The other guys I went out with junior year weren't from my school. And obviously I didn't date anyone from Marian. I was always into the boys.

2. What kind of car did you drive?
My parents let me drive my dad's former work car, a Mercury Sable, until I crashed my mom's red station wagon (not my fault--hit by a drunk driver) in 10th grade and my mom took the Sable back. Then my first car of my own was an '81 Toyota Corolla Rustmobile, my senior year. When I burnt the engine out, I had to drive this:



3. What was the most embarrassing moment of High School for you?
It involved the above Ford LTD station wagon. Keep in mind that I was a scholarship student at one of the most expensive private schools in the country. The parking lot was full of Mercedes, BMWs and Lexuses. It was bad enough that I had to drive the old crappy station wagon to school. I felt like a character from Pretty in Pink. But one day I noticed on the way to school that my tire was almost flat. I was nearly to school, so I decided to drive slowly and just get to class and deal with it after school. I told my brother to get down to the parking lot as fast as humanly possible after school so we could get out of there before anyone saw us. Well, he doddled, and by the time he got to the car, the parking lot was full of kids. I didn't want anyone cool to see me in "the beast" WITH a flat tire. I was so embarrassed that I decided to just drive to the nearest gas station and fill it up with air there. But the parking lot was clogged with people, and I had to get in a long queue to get to the street. So as I waited there, people kept knocking on my window, "Hey, you have a flat tire!" I just wanted to crawl in to the floor and die.

4. Were you a party animal?
No. Not at all. I didn't get wild until college.

5. Were you considered a flirt?
I don't think so. I always liked boys and I always seemed to be liked by boys (mostly nerdy ones), but I don't think I was a flirt about it.

6. Were you in Band, Orchestra, or Choir?
I played the cello and was in choir in middle school, but in high school, they were always during the same period, so I had to choose. I chose choir.

7. Were you a nerd?
No. I always hung with pretty cool crowds. I was sometimes a loner at first, though (as I changed schools.)

8. Were you on any Varsity teams?
Junior varsity volleyball was the closest I ever came to that, freshman year.

9. Did you ever get suspended/expelled?
No. I got detentions a few times, but always for stupid stuff like too many tardies or uniform violations. Never for insubordination or trouble making.

10. Can you still sing the fight song?
I'm pretty sure we had school songs at all my schools, but I can't remember any of them.

11. Who were your favorite teachers?
Mrs. Shuette, my 12th grade math teacher, who wouldn't let me write myself off as a terrible math student. She believed in me, and she actually got me to get A-'s in her class! She also let me cry to her over my parents splitting up. Also, I liked my senior year Spanish teacher, Senor Watson, who thought I was way hipper than I was. He was always inviting me to poetry readings and acoustic guitar sessions (with other students of course.)

12. Where did you sit during lunch?
Ooo...that's a sore spot. See, I was often the new kid and lunch seating was my nemesis. Freshman year was alright. I had a tight group of girlfriends because a lot of kids were new in 9th grade; we made friends fast. But sophomore year at Marian was really hard. I sat with one or two other girls usually. In Germany we all went home for lunch. And my senior year I sat with the Korean exchange students because I wasn't that good of friends with anyone else from my grade until the end of the year.

13. What was your school's full name?
Detroit Country Day School, Marian, Keppler Gymnasium, Crankbrook/Kingswood Academy.

14. School mascot?
DCD Yellow Jackets, Marian Mustangs, Keppler didn't' have one, Cranbook Cranes

15. Did you go to Homecoming? With whom?
I went to homecoming my freshman year with Nikhil Verma, my one-week boyfriend. I was only 15 and wasn't allowed to date, so I snuck out to go to homecoming. First I conned my mom into making me a dress, which she thought was for church. Then I stashed my dress at a friend's house the week before and just pretended I was going to hang out at her house the night of homecoming. The problem came when I arrived home from the dance IN MY HOMECOMING DRESS. I hadn't thought that far ahead. Luckily, when I knocked on my sister's ground level window, she let me sneak in there and got me some of my clothes to change into. The first nice thing she ever did for me. I think she might have been just a little impressed that Miss Goodie Twoshoes had done something so naughty.

16. If you could go back and do it again, would you?
Absolutely. But only knowing what I know now. I would change SO many things!

17. What do you remember most about graduation?
UGH. The fact that no one in my family knew about it. My parents had just divorced, my mom and brother were living in Utah, my sister was married and living in Oregon, my dad was living in an apartment while I lived in the family house, which was for sale. I guess I was sort of the lost child, and no one in my family remembered to ask about my graduation. I realized this as I was getting my cap and gown on, and I called my dad. He made it there before I walked up for my diploma, luckily. Bad memory.

18. Where did you go Senior Skip Day?
I'm not sure what that is. If we had one, I don't remember it.

19. Were you in any clubs?
Probably. I don't remember. Maybe International Club?

20. Have you gained some weight since then?
Yes. I'm not sure how much. I'd guess I'm about 15-20 lbs up from my graduation weight.

21. Who was your Prom Date?
UGH. Another bad memory. My senior year boyfriend and I (who attended different schools) had just broken up a few weeks before Prom. So I wasn't planning on going. But then a guy I sort of knew at school, Matt, asked me to go. So I said yes. A few days later, I got back together with my boyfriend, but he told me to just go with Matt so I could go to prom at my own school. But like my graduation experience, no parents were involved with my life. So I had no dress, no money, no salon appointment... I eventually borrowed a horrible dress from my sister's friend, got home from picking it up 20 minutes before my date showed up, had no hairdo or fancy make up or anything, had the wrong date (although we went on to become great friends) and forgot to wear deodorant. It was terrible.

22. 10 year Reunion? Are you planning on going?
10 year??? Hahaha, I wish. And no, I didn't go to any of them. I didn't know anyone at any of the schools well enough to make it worth the trip back to Michigan.

23. Looking back, what advice would you give yourself?
I should have been way more involved in extra curricular activities, the things I really enjoyed: photography, music, drama, etc. I was sort of a homebody and never really did much after school. I was invited to be in a band--a rock band, not marching band--but I never went to practices. I wish I had. I'd tell myself to really go for things. And make different friends. And be less worried about being "cool." And take the pre-SAT and pre-ACT. And not waste my time with Nikhil.