because you might care

This came in an e-mail from a dear friend (who is far better at keeping in touch with me than I am with her, although I did meet up with her when our family went to Disneyland a couple of years ago. That may not have been her idea of super fun though...), it seemed interesting, and my list blog has been neglected.

If you would like to consider this a super fun meme, please feel free to copy and leave a note in comments so we can visit your version.

Random stuff I've done. Discuss.

( ) Gone on a blind date
( X ) Skipped school (to finish a paper...How lame am I ?)
( X ) Been to Canada (oh, long lost Canadian kind-of-boyfriend...)
( X ) Been to Mexico
( ) Been to Florida
( X ) Been on a plane
( X ) Been lost (literally and metaphorically, as a matter of fact)
( ) Been on the opposite side of the country
( ) Gone to Washington, DC
( ) Swam in the ocean (Does having a panic attack there count?)
( X ) Cried yourself to sleep
( X ) Paid for a meal with coins only (I don't remember specifically, but surely I must have at some point...I've been that tightwadded thrifty)
( X ) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't (Um. Daily?)
( X ) Made prank phone calls (GASP! Don't tell my kids)
( X ) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
( X ) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
( X ) Danced in the rain
( ) Written a letter to Santa (Made lots of detailed lists - SURPRISE - but never wrote an actual letter)
( X ) Been kissed under the mistletoe
( X ) Watched the sunrise with someone you care about
( X ) Blown bubbles
( X ) Gone ice skating (It was disastrous. And cold. Not for me)
( ) Been skinny dipping outdoors (Sounds disastrous. And cold)
( X ) Gone to the movies alone (Once on Mother's Day and people kept looking at me with pity - I CHOSE to be without my kids, people!)


1. Any nickname? Well...Formerly "Frog," which spun out of control and was quickly regretted
2. Mother's name? Loraine (yes, only one R)
3. Favorite drink? Pepsi for anytime; raspberry lemon drop for grown-ups-only time
4. Tattoos? Negative. Pain = bad.
5. Body piercings? Doubles in my ears, but I rarely fill them.
6. How much do you love your job? So much it hurts. (I'm serious; it's my destiny)
7. Birthplace? Oak Harbor, Whidbey Island, Washington
8. Favorite vacation spot? Disneyland with family; Shanghai with my man
9. Ever been to Africa? Not yet...
10. Ever eaten cookies for dinner? Cookies, no. Cake? Yes.
11. Ever been on TV? Not on purpose.
12. Ever steal any traffic signs? That would be illegal and wrong.
13. Ever been in car accident? Sigh. Yes.
14. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle? Only 4-door for this suburban hipster
15. Favorite salad dressing? raspberry vinaigrette or honey mustard
16. Favorite pie? Some kind of berry, or my own chocolate chip-walnut pumpkin (Yes, I have baked)
17. Favorite number? 28
18. Favorite movie? To make me choose one, that is crazy and mean. Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Terms of Endearment come to mind first
19. Favorite holiday? Christmas, and my birthday
20. Favorite dessert? Nanaimo bar followed closely by the easier-to-find Oatmeal Carmelita
21. Favorite food? See "Favorite dessert" But also pepperoni & pineapple pizza and cinnamon toast
22. Favorite day of the week? Friday is most hopeful & exciting with prospects
23. Favorite brand of body wash? I usually use bar soap - Trader Joe's Oatmeal Almond is pleasant
24. Favorite toothpaste? Tom's of Maine Cinnamint
25. Favorite scent? Coconut or nutmeg, depending on the season
26. What do you do to relax? Read, listen to quiet music (Natalie Merchant, Chris Botti, Norah Jones)
27. How do you see yourself in 10 years? As blissful as today. Maybe still teaching, or maybe running a funky bookstore.

what's so great about brown paper packages tied up with strings?

I'm doing it all wrong; Mrs. G told us to post our Favorite Things on Friday and to let her know. Well. I didn't do that but I still want to play, so here goes:

1. This guy (my first husband). Hi, love.

2. This kid, Miss Manners.

3. And this kid, the carnivore.

4. Nanaimo bars, heaven on a plate.

5. My 'boys, win or lose (of course the "favorite" part is easier with wins...).

6. Second husband option #1. Hello, darling, how was your day?

7. Fountains of Wayne, even though they hate me...(I am NOT a stalker).

8. Books, books, and more books

9. Movies, movies about books, movies with Potential Second Husband #1...

10. Broadway shows

11. Prada perfume (I wish you could smell this link)

12. My birthday

13. Shopping at Goodwill

14. And still this song, despite all the mean haters who mock me.

fix-it gal

A list of the random assortment of stuff in disrepair that needs my attention. But will probably not get it any time soon.

• tiny wipe-off noteboard (magnet fell off; it's never actually been used because about all I could write on it would be "TO DO")
• bear magnet without its heart (You've had it all along, you just didn't realize it, dear)
• picture frames that keep coming apart (The definition of insanity...)
• two paddle balls, balls disconnected - Is there really a way to fix these or am I setting up my children for severe disappointment?
• fairy with broken wing (Sounds like a sappy 80s song)
• $10 jelly watch (band detached; I really shouldn't be wearing a jelly watch as a grown-up anyway)
• Harry Potter glasses missing a nose cushion

My radio alarm clock should be in there since it doesn't actually turn off properly anymore; I have to hit "SLEEP" five times to get it to shut off. And occasionally I pick up strange music or talk shows, which makes the NPR news decidedly less serious.

At what point does "Stuff to be Fixed" simply become "Sanford & Son Junk"? Is there a space limit? So long as I keep it confined to a small basket on the counter and not an entire room, I think I'm okay. I'm hoping it's really a magical basket and once the items have spent a significant amount of time in there, they will heal themselves.

stuff i love

after God, family, & friends of course (and now Buffy the Vampire Slayer & Lost - curse you, Beattys!)

• books ~ Seriously, I am the nerd who takes two books and half a dozen magazines on most trips, and I seek out libraries and bookstores wherever I go
• movies ~ I will watch the ones that are decidedly not Oscar-worthy, but especially appreciate finding gems in the obscure (and frankly anything with Gael Garcia Bernal's name remotely attached to it will get at least one viewing from me. But I'm not obsessed; don't judge)
• music ~ I like to think I'm not snobby but the last thing I would ever want to listen to is something associated with American Idol (partly because I often resist hype on principle)
• shopping at Trader Joe's, Wild Oats, & Whole Foods ~ basically eating things that have ingredients I recognize as actual edible substances
• container gardening ~ I enjoy the look of nature and flowers and such without too much hassle in dirt and possibility of worms touching me
• rollercoasters ~ We have a book and are determined to ride everything in it before we die (or get so old we're not allowed on anymore)
• doing laundry ~ I sincerely adore the feeling of organization & completion with this chore; some of my fondest childhood memories are of helping my mom at the laundromat (I was actually kind of bummed when we got a washer & dryer...*cough*geek*)
• pizza ~ Even after eating it nearly every night in college, I still thrill at the aroma (and maybe a little bit at the ease of it as a meal - grain, meat, dairy, vegetable, ta da!)
• chocolate ~ If I'm forced to be picky, I do prefer dark chocolate and some sort of creamy hazelnut or almond filling; but I'm not really picky
• Krispy Kreme ~ Bless you, Kremeworks, for venturing to our humble town (and thank you, God, for not punishing my thighs yet)
• raspberry lemon drops & chocolate martinis ~ on a quest to find the best...but not in a dysfunctional, Hemingway-esque manner (and he would be scandalized that I choose vodka over gin, anyway)

how i'll spend the $10 million i may have already won

With the imminent Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes dough, I will:

• buy a big fluffy organic mattress for everyone (in my household, that is)
• book a trip to London
• and Disneyland, this time staying in a suite at the Grand Californian
• remodel the kitchen
• and our bathroom
• and our closet
• give whatever it takes to get our church built
• pay for a bunch of Make-A-Wish wishes
• send my parents on a trip (this is meant as a nice gesture)
• make a down payment on a house for my sister (as long as it's near us - we will not forsake the free babysitting)
• eat at a fabulous restaurant once a month (yes, you're invited, spying neighbors)
• start a birthday celebration service for families at shelters
• fly wherever Gael Garcia Bernal is filming and shamelessly stalk him
  

I've thought of many other things to spend this imaginary cash on but have deemed them unworthy. A list of reasons why will follow another time, when I've come to my senses.

ah, joy

It's the little things (alright, and occasionally the big ones)...Savor them all

• a dozen mini peanut butter cups & ice cold pepsi
• jeans just out of the dryer (except for the scalding metal button searing my skin...)
• fat fluffy pillows, lots of them, all around me
• new magazine in the mailbox
• kid-just-out-of-the-bathtub smell
• that "I'm still alive & actually having fun!" thrill when the elevator drops on tower of terror
• show tunes, really loud, when I'm alone in the house
• those prosciutto-wrapped almonds & dates at South Park
• fresh & bright Gerber daisies (ask about the amazing Shanghai Westin breakfast room service)
• rollerskating
• the first snowflakes (and my kids' faces at the sight)
• me & Fountains of Wayne, driving around singing at high volume
• leisurely grocery shopping
• reading in bed
• pajamas
• my leather-bound John Keats volume from a used book store (and the unexpected British Library exhibit about him when I was in London!)
• coloring on a rainy day
• rainbows