a few of my favorite things...

j at jellyjules.com tagged for a meme about my 12 favorite things about christmas.  here goes nothing!

1. the smell of the fresh cut pine tree in the house.  i keep threatening to buy a pre-lit fake tree and avoid the hassle, but i would sorely miss that scent.

2. christmas carols.  i just love to sing along to the old standards like bing crosby's "white christmas."

3. rudolph, frosty, the grinch, and the peanuts christmas special.

4.  buying way too many of the fun things the kids want and having an excuse for it.

5.  watching the kids open those way too many gifts.

6.  christmas lights strung on houses.  i wish we lived in a neighborhood where the houses were more visible.  those 'hoods where each house is glittering in the night are wonderful.  as a kid we spent many christmases at my grandparents' trailer park in florida.  almost every place was decorated and we reveled in it.  here is a photo of me at maybe 8 years old in florida...

7.  i was feeling scroogey this year, but begrudgingly went to lowe's on december 1st, bought a damn tree, heaved it into the back of the minivan cursing at the dropped needles and heaved it back out into the garage at home.  swearing at the pine sap all over my hands, i sawed the end off with an angry vigor and dragged the thing through the house, all the while uttering oaths under my breath.  i screwed the damn thing into the damn stand, and that's all the christmas spirit i could take that day.  i told the kids we'd get out the decorations tomorrow.  not to be deterred, they spent the rest of their afternoon diligently cutting, pasting, stickering and sculpting their own homemade ornaments and hanging them eagerly on the tree.  i cried.  they brought the spirit back to me, and i got out the lights and tinsel.  here is an ornament made by s...

8. the pink tinsel tree in s's room that she chose when she was about 2.  it still suits her personality so perfectly, and i love getting it out each year and putting it in her room.

9.  those soft peppermint stick candies.  not regular candy canes but the kind that melt in your mouth, or that you can poke into an orange and suck the orange juice through.  does anybody know what i'm talking about?

10.  the angry throngs of pissy christmas shoppers packed like sardines into understaffed department stores.  just kidding!  at christmas, i LOVE being home with my family, just like the crabby hermit that i am.

11. the madame alexander christmas angel that t and i bought together for our first tree.  i have collected and loved madame alexander dolls since before i can remember, and having her on the top of our tree each year reminds me of all the christmases that we've been a family.

12.  remembering our first christmas with h.  he was a little over a month old, and he was the best christmas present we could ever imagine.  there was a freak ice storm that year, and we were without power for 3 days.  we mostly stayed at our friends' apartment for whom we were pet sitting, but on christmas morning we bundled up and went home to our frigid little house.  we snuggled with our bitty baby while we opened the few gifts we had, and it was really just the warmest christmas i can remember.

7 things...

ML at zee's space tagged me to write about 7 things that happened to me as a teen. reliving even a moment of those years makes me want to choke, but i'll give it a shot.

1. my friend jill was housesitting our senior year and asked me to stay with her so she wouldn't be alone in a strange place. she and her boyfriend were having a fight, so i went to bed. when she finally came up to bed (we were sharing the same one) i was half-asleep, but heard her clearly and distictly say, "keep your tongue and your lips AWAY from my body." "were you worried?" i replied. turns out she was talking to the dog. it's been a running joke ever since.

2. i took a trip across the country with my friend leslie (shout out to les-o-lee!) and her mom and dad when i was 13. we traveled in their naugahyde-upholstered station wagon hauling a camper. it was the first time i had traveled ANYWHERE, and these folks have no idea how badly i was bitten by the travel bug after that. we saw mt rushmore and yellowstone, as well as countless gorgeous campgrounds. check out the extreme hair on my head. leslie and i reconnected a few years ago after i google-stalked her, and have had fun getting to know eachother again.

3. i met my husband. i moved from suburban indianapolis to suburban detroit between my sophomore and junior years. we were 16. here's photographic evidence from the yearbook... we were in a play together. he was my father in the play (the guy holding the plant on the left) and i was a bride (in the middle). so i've known him more than half my life. jill, from #1 was also in the play, and it's where i met her, too.

4. tommy and i were voted class artists our senior year. hoo boy! more extreme hair.

5. i spent the summer after i graduated from high school out west with a geology program through the university of michigan's camp davis. it was based near jackson, wyoming, but during the program we travelled to montana, utah, nevada and idaho. i'll never forget the incredible time i had or the stunning sights i saw. oh, and it was a great way to kill 8 credit hours of science... not my best subject. i have many, many photos, but don't feel like scanning at the moment.

6. after i got back from that trip i had both of my jaws cracked open, replaced, and screwed back together. it was supposed to correct my bite. it was interesting.

7. when i got my driver's license, my folks gave me my dad's old company car to drive. it was a late 80's model 4-door black cutlass. i named him slick elliot. i loved that car. senior year, my friends and i painted poster-paint on our cars before graduation, and the paint baked into the finish, permanently etching the inane crap we had written into the paint of the car. my parents sold him after i graduated and went to college, and he was shortly thereafter wrecked. boo-hoo!

all these QUESTIONS!

recently j from thinking about... had a different kind of question meme on her blog. she answered the personal interview questions another blogger had asked her, and she in turn offered to interview anyone else that asked.

here are the questions that she asked me....

Is there any food you could eat every day without getting sick of it?

absolutely! i could eat chocolate in it's many and varied forms day in and day out without fail. and i do.

Are there brands you are loyal to? Anything, car, computer, food products, whatever.

hmmm... i suppose we are (now) loyal mac users. as far as clothing & food go, i go for the cheapest brand.

Salty or sweet? What’s your favorite craving?

salty then sweet then salty then sweet. i alternate. right now i love "take 5" candy bars which combine salty and sweet and it's deadly.

TP….over or under?

over! of course! is there any other way??

Could you give up your cell phone for a month?

without even batting an eye. i hardly ever even use the thing. i hate being bothered/interrupted by it. i have no idea how to text message.

Here are the rules, if you would like to be interviewed:
1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

a big thank you to j for the questions, and if you'd like to be interviewed, let me know.

history meme

i was tagged by booklogged over at in season for this meme...

1. Go to Wikipedia and type in your birth date only -without the year.

july 10

2. List 3 events that occurred that day:

988 - The City of Dublin is founded on the banks of the river Liffey.
1821 - The United States takes possession of its newly-bought territory of Florida from Spain.
1938 - Howard Hughes sets a new record by completing a 91 hour airplane flight around the world.

3. List 2 important birthdays:

1830 - Camille Pissarro, French painter (d. 1903)
1871 - Marcel Proust, French writer (d. 1922)

4. List 1 death: (that's all, folks!)

1989 - Mel Blanc, American voice actor (voiced Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Barney Rubble, etc.) (b. 1908)

5. List a holiday or observance:

Bahamas - Independence Day.

hey, this was a fun one, and i even learned a few things. i'll tag anyone that wants to play. thanks, booklogged!

cheater cheater pumpkin eater

a few posts ago, susan at porcini chronicles asked if i would post on this topic...

The Seven Songs I Would Pick If I Could Only Listen To Seven Songs For The Rest Of My Life, Which, Yeah, Like Someone Is Going To Impose That...

and her challenge tormented me. seven? only seven? i listened to all the 5-star-rated tunes on my ipod for a few days. i jotted, i thought. i scribbled out and re-added songs. why would this be so impotant to me? i'm not sure why, but i just couldn't narrow the list.

then, the lovely lainey-paney over at life is just so daily tagged me to post my 3 favorite songs. i suddenly saw a way out of my dilemma. 7 + 3=10, right? ten songs! i didn't have to narrow it down to seven anymore! the challenge seemed surmountable now!

here they are, the 10 songs i consider my favorite, in no particular order. difficult, because they are changeable due to mood, year, insanity... whatever. i'm so noncommittal, aren't i?

• i don't want to live on the moon by ernie from sesame street
• the rainbow connection by kermit from the muppets
• walkin' after midnight by patsy cline
• mr blue sky by elo
• you put your arms around me by sinead o'connor
• long may you run by neil young
• ob-la-di, ob-la-da by the beatles (sorry j)
• one by u2
• the obvious child by paul simon

anyone else that wants to play by my cheater's rules, be my guest. i'd love to see what y'all have to say.

letter meme

the llllovely lllllotus assigned me this meme...

it's 10 things i love that start with the llllletter "T"

i had a cute little image to upload, but blogger photo upload was being sassy with me, so bland is the post. sorr-y! i'll make it short and sweet.

here goes...

1. tommy. well, duh. he is the love of my life and all.

2. talking. i can talk a blue streak to almost anyone, anywhere, anytime. after all, i am female.

3. travel. just got bitten by that bug a few years ago, and the itch keeps getting worse.

4. tannins. that's a sneaky way of saying wine. i love wine.

5. teaching. teaching the kids at school and home is so rewarding. and i love their teachers as well.

6. trees. one of the main reasons we live in the middle of nowhere is that from every window all i see is trees. perhaps that's why my favorite color has always been green.

7. toilet paper. i mean, what's not to love? all you have to do is imagine life without it, and suddenly you'll get stars in your eyes whenever you wipe.

8. tunes. my ipod is my best friend 'cause i can listen to all my favorite songs all the time. love music. love to sing.

9. thai food. curry! mmmmmm... 'nuff said.

10. turkey on thanksgiving. that's 2 t's for the price of one.

anybody that hasn't yet played, ask me and i'll assign you a letter.

a quick book meme

yes, lotus, i know i still need to meme on the letter "t." the list of things i love that start with a t is written on a day-glo orange post-it note crumpled in the right-hand pocket of my loud fuschia winter jacket. give me some more time!!

here's the meme, from crazy dust in my coffee: the page 123 meme:

This is how it works:
1. Find the nearest book.
2. Name the book & the author.
3. Turn to page 123.
4. Go to the fifth sentence on the page. Copy out the next three sentences and post to your blog.
5. Tag three more folks.

here goes!

the nearest book is "the queen of the south" by arturo perez-reverte (thanks to kate and mom).

the sentences on page 123 are as follows:

"to make herself heard above the roar of the engine and the wind, she held her mouth against his ear. santiago gave a futile look in that direction, lowering his eyes against the brightness of the spotlight from the helicopter, which was still right on their tail, and then he turned the radar screen toward him, to see for himself. the sinuous green line of the coast was drawn uncomfortably close with each sweep of the antenna- about three hundred yards to port."

now i suppose i'll have to read this book next to find out what the heck santiago was doing on that boat. sigh. first i'll have to finish "the historian" by elizabeth kostova... a nicely written academic mystery thriller about DRACULA! bwah hah hah!

and, as always, i'll tag anyone that feels like playing along.

abc me me me

okay j, i'll play along.

A - Available/single? happily unavailable since june 1992
B - Best Friend? my man
C - Cake or Pie? pie i think... pumpkin or pecan
D - Drink Of Choice? coffee
E - Essential Item You Use Everyday? toothbrush... i'm a clean mouth freak
F - Favorite Color? green green green
G - Gummy Bears Or Worms? the white/clear gummy bears
H - Hometown? can't really claim one, but i grew up in carmel, in
I - Indulgence? sushi
J- January Or February? the forsythia blooms in february, which means spring isn't far behind
K - Kids & Their Names? h, a boy aged 8, and s ("toilet"), a girl aged 5
L - Life Is Incomplete Without? family
M - Marriage Date? april 15. tax day!!!
N - Number Of Siblings? 2 brothers: 1 older and 1 much (10 yrs) younger
O - Oranges Or Apples? oranges, esp in the fresh squeezed juice form
P - Phobias/Fears? something bad happening to my kids
Q - Favorite Quote? "take it for what it is" axl rose
R - Reason to Smile? my family & dog. generic, i know
S - Season? spring. a fresh, clean, new beginning after the cold
T - Tag Three or Four People? eh, whoever wants to play
U - Unknown Fact About Me? i don't wash my face at night
V - Vegetable you don’t like? raw onions
W - Worst Habit? probably picking my fingernails or swiping at my runny nose with a sleeve for lack of kleenex
X - X-rays You’ve Had? most recently TEETH when i had braces 2 yrs ago
Y - Your Favorite Food? can't pick. too many. i love food.
Z - Zodiac Sign? cancer, and i'm VERY typical of the sign