What autumn sez about me

Your Autumn Test Results

You are a energetic, warm, optimistic person. You approach everything with a lot of enthusiasm. When you are happiest, you are calm. You appreciate tradition and family. You enjoy feeling cozy. You tend to be afraid of change. You are never ready for things to be different. You find love to be the most comforting thing in the world. You feel at peace when you're with your loved ones. Your ideal day is active and full. You like to keep busy with your favorite things, and you appreciate a routine. You tend to live in the moment. You enjoy whatever is going on, and you don't obsess over the past or future.

The Autumn Test

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Lazy Days of Summer

Check it out! This cool website, Yearbook Yourself, takes your photo and takes you back in time.

I can't believe it's been a week since I've posted. I haven't been out of town or busy. The complete opposite, actually. I went to the foot doctor and I don't have to wear that godawful cast anymore but still have to wear a brace for a month. I can walk about 20-30 minutes at a time, about a mile or so. But...um...remember that 5k I mentioned several weeks ago? It's this weekend. Unfortunately, I won't be able to do it, but I'm still going to cheer on Danielle's sister, who I was suppose to do it with. Anyhoo, I'm a lot more mobile than the week before, but still a tiny bit gimpy.
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I've drawn a blank so I'm resorting to blogthings

You Are 28% Cynical

Generally you give people the benefit of the doubt. But there are exceptions. You buy into many of the things that mainstream society believes, but you're not anybody's fool.

How Cynical Are You?

and...

You Act Like You Are 24 Years Old

You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel like an adult, and you're optimistic about life. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. You're still figuring out your place in the world and how you want your life to shape up. The world is full of possibilities, and you can't wait to explore many of them.

What Age Do You Act?

Which, considering my upcoming birthday (40th), I'm not sure how I feel about this. Altho it can't be bad that I'm optimistic about life and excited about what's to come, right?
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epitaph of sort.

"Snores loudly. Feels bad about it."

Actually, it's a 6 word memoir.

I was tagged my Rosemary. The essential idea is to write 6 words that would be your memoir, that describe you. Well, i thought about mentioning being crafty, being an auntie, attempting graciousness, blah blah blah...but I decided on just being silly. Cuz i'm like that sometimes. But I have snored my whole life (at least since I was 11) and it's tormented me my whole life. Imagine awkward sleep overs, annoyed college room mates, self-conscious camping trips...even my poor husband has to sleep with ear plugs. Sigh.

So that's me, in one small ugly nutshell.

Wanna play, too? It's really not that hard. Officially, here are the 'rules':
1. Write your own six-word memoir
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post.
4. Tag five more blogs with links.
5. And don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.

If Phin, Ragged, Nan, Luke and Lilli wanna play, that'd be famous! Please join along. If others wanna play, too, the more the merrier! But if tags ain't your bag baby, then my feelings won't be hurt. I'll just come over and sleep on your couch and keep you up all night with my beastly snoring.
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Christmas Tag

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? decorative tissue paper and curling ribbon
2. Real tree or Artificial? artificial: button tree
3. When do you put up the tree? Beginning on December
4. When do you take the tree down? After January 1st
5. Do you like eggnog? not so much
6. Favorite gift received as a child? a big pink teddy bear
7. Do you have a nativity scene? no
8. Hardest person to buy for? the husband
9. Easiest person to buy for? myself, lol.
10. Worst Christmas gift ever received? Suave shampoo. seriously.
11. Mail or email Christmas card? mail
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Elf. well, there are lots more, but right now, this is cracking me up the most.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? If I see something, I'll buy it whenever. This year was August I think.
14. Have you ever recycled/regifted a Christmas present? Not a Christmas gift...blink blink...but i do admit back in the day i recycled a couple of wedding gifts. But that was over 15 years ago.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Anything my MIL makes.
17. Favorite Christmas song? Not into the Christmas music this year but usually "Oh Holy Night"
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? At the parentals, which I don't consider traveling.
19. Can you name Santa's reindeer? Yes
20. Do you have an Angel on top of the tree or a star? neither
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? traffic and Christmas music everywhere
23. Best thing about Christmas? being with friends and family

I got this from siljevanilje's blog, who doesn't know me, i admire her artwork and lurk on her blog. But decided to add more christmas cheer to mine by doing this meme. Play along if you'd like!
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Tardy on a meme

2 weeks ago, I was tagged for a meme and I'm finally getting the chance to answer it. I love memes, so I was glad to be tagged and glad that I'm finally answering it. There were a lot of questions this time. Reminded me of a slambook my girlfriend and I did in the seventh grade that just went on for like 100 pages. She was my friend who's name starts with a B. These are my friends who's names start with an A and K...and W. But the meme didn't ask about her. That was 6 years ago. Oh to be in my early 30s again. LOL.

Now onto the meme, without further adieu:

1. Name one person who made you laugh last night? Jimmy decided to join the Secret Society of Bob Ross Admirer’s. Except it’s not a secret society because he proclaims his membership proudly.

2. What were you doing at 0800? Waking up.

3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? refilling the water and realizing that the padded protection on an asian pear can resemble a yarmulke.

4. What happened to you in 2006? Became an auntie. Ate too much. Snorkeled. Took over 10,000 photos.

5. What was the last thing you said out loud? “What do you think of my yarmulke?”

6. How many beverages did you have today? 3: water, tall NF peppermint mocha no whip, diet coke.

What color is your hairbrush? wood brown

8. What was the last thing you paid for? rice crackers from Mitsuwa

9. Where were you last night? @ home working on the annual family calendar and creating a new playlist in itunes

10. What color is your front door? brown wood, kinda like my hairbrush

11. Where do you keep your change? in a handmade paper basket by our keys

12. What’s the weather like today? Sunny, 60s.

13. What’s the best ice-cream flavor? 3 way tie: Baskin Robbins chocolate chip, B&R mint chocolate chip, Ben & Jerry’s Phish food

14. What excites you? hearing good news ie: pregnancies, engagements, graduations, celebrations; unexpected kindness, surprises in the mail, wearing clothes I haven't worn in 3 years

15. Do you want to cut your hair? Not right now.

16. Are you over the age of 25? yep

17. Do you talk a lot? i don’t think so but there might be a few people who think 'dude, can she just shut up now?'

18. Do you watch the O.C.? I watched the first 2 episodes. then I was done.

19. Do you know anyone named Steven? Yes, my BIL.

20. Do you make up your own words? I call it Madelinese.

21. Are you a jealous person? Nope.

22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘A’. Angie

23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘K’. Kristin

24. Who’s the first person on your received call list? Jimmy

25. What does the last text message you received say? (oops) allwent well. Thanks 4 ur thoughts & prayers

26. Do you chew on your straw? nope

27. Do you have curly hair? doesn’t get much straighter than this

28. Where’s the next place you’re going to? shopping to find a Chanukah gift for the nephews

29. Who’s the rudest person in your life? most of the people in my life are very considerate. and I try to be too so I could never say the name out loud.

30. What was the last thing you ate? An Asian pear

31. Will you get married in the future? Nope

32. What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks? Oy. I watched Elf on tv last weekend. And I laughed. But not as much as I did the first time I saw it.

33. Is there anyone you like right now? Yes! As a matter a fact, there is!

34. When was the last time you did the dishes? About an hour ago.

35. Are you currently depressed? Nope.

36. Did you cry today? Nope.

37. Why did you answer and post this? Because Ragged tagged me and I love meme’s.

38. Tag 5 people who would do this survey. Would Lilli, Susan, and Rosemary care to play? I don’t think my other bloggy friends who haven't already answered do meme’s, but if you do, then consider yourself tagged!
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Tagged for a Meme: fast forward to December

A few of you know I'm a sucker for the meme's so when Ragged tagged me for this one, I was thrilled even though I'm not even ready to think about Christmas yet. So if you'd like to play along, I encourage you to do so! Then we can get back to our regularly scheduled autumn, thank you very much. :)

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate please. Egg nog has too much cinnamon.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree? A little bit of both. Santa likes to mix it up.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Colored, lots and lots of different colors.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Don’t need no stinkin’ mistletoe to steal a kiss.

5. When do you put up your decorations? Soon after Thanksgiving.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Oh goodness, that’s hard because my MIL is the best cook ever (think Paula Deen) and she always makes it and anything she makes I love. Last year was turkey, this year will probably be prime rib. My mouth is watering thinking about it.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? singing Christmas carols at midnight mass.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I really have no idea how old I was when I learned the truth. I’d guess I was between 6-8. As soon as I knew, my mom pretty much abolished Christmas. She stopped decorating and wrapping presents. She didn’t like the commercialization of the holiday.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Sometimes, but we usually wait till we’re with the rest of the family on Christmas Day.

10. What kind of decorations are on your Christmas Tree? Um, well, we don’t usually put up a tree. But sometimes we’ll alternate between a tree that’s fully covered with bears and a real tree with colored lights and all different kinds of ornaments that I’ve collected over the years.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread? Love it! But probably because I don’t live in it. We get a lot at the hideaway and it’s awesome. I wouldn’t like having to drive in it all winter though.

12. Can you ice skate? Barely.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Shoot, can I just admit right here and now that I’m spoiled? I’ve gotten loads of wonderful things so it’s truly hard to pick a favorite. But my favorite from last Christmas was the telephoto lens for my DSLR.

14. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? Family. Love ‘em. Thanksgiving, almost everyone tries to be together, it’s my favorite. Christmas it’s a bit harder for all of us to be at the same place, but whoever can get together usually do.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? I can’t remember if my MIL usually makes pies at Christmas in addition to Thanksgiving, but if she does, definitely the pies. But I do know she always makes Christmas cookies – her pecan balls (aka Mexican Wedding cookies) and sugar cookies are the best ever.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Going out with Jimmy on Christmas Eve and looking at all the Christmas lights in the neighborhood. Our neighborhood has the best lights, they’re not usually over the top, they’re just beautiful, colorful and totally brings out the Christmas spirit. I love looking into the windows and seeing the family celebrations. Yup, I’ll look into your house if your windows are open. I figure if you wanted privacy, you’d pull the shades.

17. What tops your tree? A bear or a star or a bow, if there is a tree that is.

18. What is your favourite holiday book? Madeline’s Christmas by Ludwig Bemelmans

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? O Holy Night

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yummy? Irresistible when mixed with chocolate. Alone, not so much.

I tag you and you and you and you...that means you, too.
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I’m a sucker for the meme’s

Instructions:
Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone else up one place. Then, add you name to the bottom spot, like so:

1. Everything and Nothing
2. Mike's Homefront
3. What I Know for Sure
4. green butterfly
5. Willow Grace

What were you doing 10 years ago?
Spending part of the summer with nieces and nephews, hanging out with the husband and managing a stamp store.

What were you doing one year ago?
“June 28, 2006: Walked with Eve. later drove Bridge’s car to Oakland. Jimmy was following in our car. Bridge called, flight late, not arrive till 1:30a. Meanwhile, went to Skates By The Bay to celebrate b’day a little early with the fam. Picked bridge and her fam up at 1:09a. To cabin afterwards.”

5 snacks you enjoy:
1. ice cream
2. chips and guacamole
3. blueberries
4. chocolate chip cookies
5. Japanese sweet and salty rice crackers

5 songs you know all the lyrics to:
1. Don’t Give Up by Peter Gabriel
2. Add It Up by Violent Femmes
3. Cat’s in the Cradle by Harry Chapin
4. Taylor the Latte Boy by Kristin Chenoweth
5. One Step Closer by Linkin Park

5 things you would do if you were a millionaire:
1. pay off debt then not carry any debt
2. buy a hybrid car
3. think about finding a different place to live in the Bay Area
4. Buy a handbag I’ve been coveting for a long time
5. Go to Kauai for a week with closest family and friends

5 bad habits:
1. not stopping when I’m full up
2. driving too fast
3. obsessive collecting
4. buying too many crafting supplies
5. picking at scabs

5 things you like doing:
1. traveling and exploring
2. going to into the City (San Francisco)
3. being on the water: lake, ocean, river, pool...whatever
4. crafting
5. hangin' with my peps

5 things you would never wear again:
1. stirrup pants
2. plastic “pearl” jewelry
3. perfume
4. horizontal stripes
5. fur

5 Favorite toys:
1. camera(s)
2. computer(s)
3. crop-a-dile (scrapbooking tool)
4. my car
5. the boat

Wanna play? Then Tag, you’re it! 5 of you, please! lol!

Recreating a commercial, and a meme

Have you seen that paper towel commercial where the son is in the kitchen and he opens quart of orange soda and it sprays all over his mom and she yells at him and says "BILLY! What are you thinking?" then proceeds to have a water/soda fight with her son?

Well, this was my attempt to recreate that scenario: except my story isn't as fun as a water/soda fight with a family member. My story is just plain stupidity. Let's just say that I don't recommend mixing club soda with Crystal Light then shaking it in a cup with an insufficient lid.

Since I'm on the topic of what a Dumass I am (another commercial reference. You wouldn't think I had TiVo, would you?), I thought that now would be a good time to catch up on a meme I owe to Jodi who tagged me last week. I figure that whatever else you learn about me that you don't already know, along with the pink Crystal Light all over my kitchen, won't really be that surprising since I continue to prove time and again that I am a Dumass. Or at least prone to a good dosage of dumass-ness quite frequently.

Ok, so here goes. This time, I'm gonna follow the rules, which are:

Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write their own blog with their 7 things as well as these rules. You need to tag 7 others and list their names on your blog. Remember to leave a comment for them letting them know they have been tagged and to read your blog.

1. I'm guilty of using exclamation points in excess. I can't help it. I like to do it in 3's!!! But will often think, oh, that's going to annoy someone, and will tone it back to just 1 or 2!! Also, I think about using air quotes a lot, but try to resist since I know it annoys people.

2. I'm extremely near sighted. My eye doctor says that she only has one other patient who has worse eyesight than me.

3. I rarely get motion sick.

4. Names of pets I've had: Mork, Pixie (of Pixie and Dixie cartoon), Getty, Lucy, Joanie and Chachi, Bill and Ted.

5. I got sucked into the Beanie Baby craze in the late 90s. I gave most of them away when we moved 4 years ago.

6. When going down stairs, I almost always have to lead with my right foot.

7. My currently overused words are "Freakin", "Curses" and "HI-larious". But I try to say them without the air quotes. ;)

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Now if Phin, Ragged, Lilli, Rook's Nest, Cate, Zann and Susan D would like to play, that'd be cool. If meme's aren't your game, then that's cool too. :)

Random

Got this from Ragged's blog - just a list of a few random or unusual things about me ya'll might not already know.

1. I don't eat cereal. Definitely not with milk but not even dry outta the box.
2. I use to be able to read/decipher bar codes. I probably could again.
3. I own property in a foreign country.
4. I've only colored my hair once.
5. I like to group/alphabetize/organize things. But my house is messy.
6. I'm an aggressive driver, but aside from that I'm extremely patient. I guess that's where my alterego comes out.
7. I keep all of my shoes in boxes labeled with a photo of what's inside.
8. I don't like nuts in my bread or cookies. But sometimes it's ok in ice cream.

Now I'm suppose to tag a few people, too. So if you're reading, please play! I'd love to read a few random things about you, too. But I definitely tag Phin and Green Butterfly. (Ya guys hear me?!) :)

Why I relate to Bambi so well

You Were a Deer

Graceful and gentle, you appreciate beauty and balance. A giving soul, you are able to sacrifice for the greater good.

What Animal Were You In a Past Life?

LOL! There's the grace thing again. In a silly little meme.

The Interview

I couldn’t resist playing when Zann offered up her Interview Challenge. We’re collaborators in an art blog but just getting to know each other on our personal blogs so decided to take this opportunity to get to know a little more about each other. It’d be a lot of fun if you’d like to play along, so lemme know if you do and I’ll send you 5 questions for you to answer on your blog, too.

1. How did you choose your screen name, Madretz?
Mad is the first 3 letters in my first name and Retz is the first 4 letters of my last name. A few people call me that personally but most call me Madeline or Mad. But I don’t like “Maddy.” Makes me cringe just thinking about it

2. What is the biggest life obstacle you've had to overcome?
Ou, this is a tough one. I’m actually gonna have to plead the 5th on the biggest life obstacle, it’s super personal and highly emotional and I’m still going thru “overcoming” it. But my 2nd biggest obstacle is nearly just as tough, and that was losing my mother 9 years ago. The funny thing is that I was closer to my dad, but I was at peace with his passing. I think because my mom died suddenly, so much was left unsaid. Also...I had to make the decision of keeping or taking her off life support and no matter what the statistics are or what the doctors said, I think I will always question the "What Ifs". Phew, that was tough. I’ve never spilled those beans on my blog before.

3. How did you meet Jimmy?
We’re high school sweethearts. We had classes together since the 9th grade but didn’t really become friends till our Jr. year when we sat next to each other in history class. I remember the beginning of our senior year and the first 4 periods, I was so disappointed that I didn’t have any classes with him. Happily, he showed up in my 5th period English class, we sat next to each other and continued our friendship. I was working at KFC (fried chicken anyone?) and he started working there, too. By December in our senior year, we were dating. Been together ever since.

4. What draws you to the medium of photography over other mediums?
I’ve been documenting my life since I was in the 5th grade when I got my first diary and I started taking snapshots around the same time. My first camera was a Polaroid, then in the 80s I got one of those new-fangled disc-cameras – remember those? The quality of the photos were awful, but they were small and fun for a young teenager. It all changed in 1993 when I got a film SLR camera. That’s when I started learning more about the creativity and art of photography. Still, most of my photography is to document the events that have happened in my life: people/places/things. But I take time photographing things that are visually appealing to me. I like framing the shot, paying attention to how light affects something, or playing with depth of field to focus on a certain object or make it blurry. When I switched to digital, I learned so much more because I can experiment without worrying about wasting film. Also, I’m a lot more confident in my photography skills than my writing skills, so my posts will almost always have photographs to accompany what I write. Often, I’ll let the photograph speak for itself.

5. What is your favorite children's book?
Ah. This is easy! The Madeline series by Ludwig Bemelmans. As a child (or teenager in my case), when you discover a book that’s titled with your name, spelled exactly the right way, then it’s gonna be your very favorite. Maybe that’s sort of cheating, so aside from that, I've loved Richard Scarry books since I started reading.

Thanks for the questions, Zann!
Hope some of my bloggy friends want to play, too. :)
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Visual DNA

Another fun little meme that gives a few glimpses of what makes me me. :)

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

On the other side of my previous post...

My truth: I'm an independent typa-gal. Don't constrain me within these two parties. But if something important is on the line, sorry Mr. Nader, I'll vote Democrat. Altho, that didn't help me in the last presidential election, did it?

You Are 56% Democrat

You aren't a full fledged Democrat yet, but it's likely the party that fits you best. You probably consider yourself an independent Democrat. You usually support the party, but you also think for yourself!

How Democrat Are You?

I almost didn't do this one

because I couldn't agree with any of the choices. So I winged it and picked the choices that were the least disagreeable to my views. Like, suburban moms are fine, I'd be one if I was had a kid. If I went to church, I'd go every week. Nascar isn't the most obnoxious thing to watch on tv, and in fact, I just watched Talladega Nights. Most college students are liberal, but probably not too liberal. And bring on the diversity baby, loosen my morals!

You Are 20% Republican

If you have anything in common with the Republican party, it's by sheer chance. You're a staunch liberal, and nothing is going to change that!

How Republican Are You?

Hug Me Baby

Your Candy Heart Says "Hug Me"

A total sweetheart, you always have a lot of love to give out. Your heart is open to where ever love takes you! Your ideal Valentine's Day date: a surprise romantic evening that you've planned out Your flirting style: lots of listening and talking What turns you off: fighting and conflict Why you're hot: you're fearless about falling in love

What Does Your Candy Heart Say?

I never fancied myself a princess before. But I'll take it.

Which Princess Bride Character are You?
this quiz was made by mysti

And now onto music...

Ahhh...gotta love those Saturday afternoons when nothing is pressing and you can spend all day answering and sharing slam book type questions.

1. Of all the bands/artists in your cd/record collection, which one do you own the most albums by?
Peter Gabriel

2. What was the last song you listened to?
The Girl in 14G, Kristin Chenoweth

3. What's in your record/CD player right now?
At home we listen to iTunes so our entire collection gets shuffled. But I have a 6 cd changer in my car and in there I have:
Kristin Chenoweth: mixed cd made by my SIL
Justin Timberlake: FutureSex/LoveSounds
Jewel: Goodbye Alice in Wonderland
Sarah McLachlan: Afterglow
Linkin Park: Meteora
Elton John: Greatest Hits Volume II

4. Do you know what music the person before you is into?
Lifted from Ragged’s blog. She mentioned a few bands I’ve never heard of before, but if we ever happened to be in a car together, I think we'd get along. :-)

5. What's your favorite local band?
Green Day’s awesome. Primus is pretty cool although I can only handle them for a little while, they’re very excited. Totally love Cake but they’re from Sacramento so they don’t really count do they?
More Bay Area Bands Here.

6. What was the last album you bought?
Purple Onion, Colonel Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade
Which, truthfully, was a while a go and for Jimmy.

7. What was the greatest show you've ever been to?
Ok, there are 2 stand out concerts…and 1 "show".
The first one was Rush opened by Primus in 1992. It was a visual feast. I didn’t like Rush before but that concert certainly made me a lot more tolerable to their style. And Primus is just so wacky they were so fun to watch.
The second one was Peter Gabriel’s Growing Up tour in 2002. It was Peter Gabriel. Nuf said.
The 3rd was The Beatles Love performance by Cirque du Soleil. The music obviously wasn’t live, but wow, talk about a show. It was so freaking amazing. I had to add this one since the question was greatest “show” you’ve ever been to.
And as I was writing about these 3, a few more stand out performances kept popping in my mind, but I’ll leave it at these.

8. What's the worst band you've ever seen in concert?
I can’t even remember who was headlining. But I used to work for a radio station in LA and got free concert tickets. Oldies. Snoozefest. Blech.

9. What band do you love musically but hate the members of?
Ya know, whatever floats their boat. I’m not much of a hater.

10. What is the most musically involved you have ever been?
I’m musically challenged. Does Karaoke Revolution on Xbox count?

11. What shows are you looking forward to?
Uh, well…since the word “show” was used again…I’ll say anything that Cirque du Soleil does that’s similar to Love.

12. What is your favorite band shirt?
Phin’s Social Distortion t.

13. What musician would you like to hang out with for a day?
Mike Mesaros and his wife Cindy of the Smithereens

14. What musician would you sleep within a heart beat?
Keanu Reeves plays bass.

15. Are u a stalker?
Yea. Riiight.

16. Sabbath or solo Ozzy?
Ozzy

17. 80's Madonna or Kabbalah Esther?
80's Madonna

18. Punk rock, hip hop or heavy metal?
Punk rock, then heavy metal then a little hip hop.

19. Name 3 timeless records or artists?
Peter Gabriel
Paul Simon
Natalie Merchant

20. Name 3 artists that suck?
Britney Spears
Her x does music, too, right? I’ve never heard his stuff though so should I judge?
?

21. Did you know that filling out this survey makes you a music geek?
(Shrug)

22. What was the greatest decade for music?
It’s all good.

23. How many music-related videos/dvds do you own?
There are at least a couple dozen in the collective collection of mine and the husband’s.
Ohhhh…musical type movies? A handful, including Grease.

24. Do you like Journey?
Yes, along with Styx and Foreigner

25. Don't try to pretend you don't!
(Rolling eyes)

26. What is your favorite movie soundtrack?
Xanadu. Uh huh, I admit it.

What, me read?

I claim to not be a reader. I'm very slow. I really only finish reading about 3-4 books a year. But I've amassed quite a collection of books and surprisingly, I've at least read a page or 2 in nearly all of them. But if a book has my attention, I'll dutifully read it even though it'll take me months (years) to finish.

I was tagged by Cate to respond to these few questions regarding books. It was tough but fun once I started recalling some of the books I've read. Most of them are at our hideaway so I couldn't refer to them and my pea-brain doesn't store "titles" or "authors" so although I can totally remember storylines, I can't even google them because how do you search "that San Francisco series that took place in the 70s.". Or "that one autobiography about the girl who ran away and lived in the woods."

1. A Book That Changed My Life:
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. The parable keeps repeating itself in my and Jimmy’s life journey.

2. A Book You’ve Read More than Once:
I’m not one to read things over and over again since it takes me so long to read in the first place. But I will refer to "how-to" books over and over again.

3. A Book You’d Take onto a Deserted Island:
Maybe Pride and Prejudice. I’ve always wanted to read it but I know I’d have trouble focusing on it with all the many distractions that surround me. But if I had nothing else to occupy myself, then I’d probably get through it.

4. A Book That Made Me Laugh:
The Sweet Potato Queens’ Big-Ass Cookbook (and Financial Planner), by Jill Conner Browne.

5. A Book That Made Me Cry:
The autobiography about the girl who ran away and lived in the woods.

6. A Book I Wish Had Been Written:
An autobiography by my dad. He'd have an amazing story to tell, immigrating from the Philippines in 1924. Trying to make a living in San Francisco, Seattle, Alaska and the Mojave Desert. Living through the Great Depression and being an immigrant. Becoming a US Citizen and signing up to for the army when he was in 40s during WWII. And so on.

7. A Book I Wish Had Never Been Written:
Can't think of a single book that I wish wasn't written. Books are good. Even bad ones. I just won't read them or agree with them. Maybe something that glorifies or praises extremely horrific unmentionable wicked behavior, like there are a few movies that I think should never have been made because the topic was so malevolent. I donno though, I'm pretty big on freedom, too. Just don't hurt anyone, k?

8. A Book I'm Currently Reading:
Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals.

9. A Book I've been Meaning to Read:
Oh my, there are so many! I need to take a speed reading course or something. How ‘bout the Dan Eldon book(s) on my coffee table.

10: Now tag five people you want to hear from:
Ginnie, Jodi, Susan D, Paris Parfait and anyone else who likes to read!

I do not exist

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 0 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Brainy girl? My mom would be so proud. LOL!

You are a Brainy Girl!

Whether you're an official student or a casual learner, you enjoy hitting the books. You know a little bit about everything, and you're always dying to know more. For a guy to win your heart, he's got to share some of your intellectual interests. A awesome book collection of his own doesn't hurt either!

What Kind of Girl Are You?

Cat Not Included

The funny thing about purses...they're mysterious and oh so very personal. Or so we think. Unless she's your very best friend, you don't go rifling thru a gal's purse. But I was visiting Jodi101's blog and she shared her contents and...well...ya know how these things go...next thing I knew I emptied my purse on the floor (thus the curious cat) and shared the contents of mine. I thought I'd have to fight the urge to clean up or hide anything strange, but obviously I'm not that strange aside from the 3 packs of tart candies.

So, here's my bag. My coveted Fake Spade gifted to me from my ex-boss. Most of the time I'll fess up that it's fake, but if a stranger happens to say "nice purse" and I don't feel like going thru all the explanations so I'll just say "thanks". But like I said here, I don't discriminate against cheap/expensive purses. Love 'em all.

I really should set up a Flickr account so I could easily tag each item with notes. But I don't so inside my bag I have:
-40% off coupons for misc. craft stores
-Costco receipt, coupon for cheese, Macy's card (not in wallet), 2 pens
-hands-free cell phone thingy
-1 styrofoam peanut (how'd that get in there??)
-coins found at the bottom of my purse and empty change purse
-flowered notebook
-Cell phone and wallet
-business card for Chelokababi - Persian restaurant...delicious!!!
-lotion
-allergy pills
-3 packs of tart candies. The 2 rolls of Spree need to go into the glove compartment of my car. They're our usual "Car Candy" and for some reason, whenever you're feeling a wee bit drowsy at the wheel, chew on one of these and amazingly, you'll feel refreshed! Phin just gave me the package of mini shock-tarts on Friday.

BTW, this purse is bigger than it seems. I could probably fit the cat in there. I've fit my digital SLR in there a couple of times, books, magazines, bottles of water, sandwiches. My cousin referred to hers as "luggage". Another friend complained about back trouble after carrying hers for a few months. The trouble w/ big purses though is they fill up. And I can never find my cell phone because it's always under everything else. 

"One Word" Meme

Yourself: obsessed
Your Lover: funny
Your Hair: straight
Your Mother: dead
Your Father: dead
Your Favorite Item: camera
Your Dream Last Night: forgettable
Your Favorite Drink: water
Your Dream Home: open
The Room You Are In: office
Your Pet: feisty
What You Are Now: dirty
Who You Want to be in Ten Years: confident
What You Want to be in Ten Years: thinner
What You're Not: outspoken
Your Best Friend: loyal
One of Your Wishlist Items: lens
Your Gender: chick
The Last Thing You Did: clicked
What You Are Wearing: red
Your Favorite Weather: 70’s
Your Favorite Book: Alchemist
The Last Thing You Ate: rice
Your Life: good
Your Mood: quizzical
Favorite article of clothing: bags
Favorite color: red
School: children
Song: upbeat

See more at: Ragged's and Cate's

Please join us!
_

Well there ya go

Your Political Profile:

Overall: 20% Conservative, 80% Liberal

Social Issues: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Ethics: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

How Liberal Or Conservative Are You?

Because my complete political stance can be figured out in 10 questions. ;-)
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