Meme-ing Myself

If someone says, "Is this okay?" you say: "I Love Rock & Roll" Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

What would best describe your personality? "Monsters & Angels" Voice of the Beehive

What do you like best in a guy/girl? "(I Just) Died in Your Arms" Cutting Crew

What is your life purpose? "Children of the Revolution" T Rex

What is your motto? "Saved by Zero" The Fixx

What do your friends think of you? "Sweet Emotion" Aerosmith

What do you think about often? "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" The Proclaimers

What is 2+2? "Crimson & Clover" Joan Jett & the Blackhearts

What do you think of your best friend? "You Really Got a Hold on Me" She & Him

What is your life story? "Beautiful Day" U2

What was your favorite toy as a child? "Sneakernight" Vanessa Hudgens

What do you want to be when you grow up? "Over My Head" Fleetwood Mac

What do you think when you see the person you love? "Master & Servant" Depeche Mode (LOL)

What do your parents think of you? "Why Does it Always Rain on Me?" Travis

What was your first job? "Deadbeat Club" B52s

What will you dance to at your wedding? "Going Down to Liverpool" The Bangels

What will they play at your funeral? "Beat Surrender" The Jam

What is your hobby? "Unwritten" Natasha Bedingfield

What scares you the most? "The Wrestler" Bruce Springsteen

If you could go back in time what would you change? "Suddenly Last Summer" The Motels

What do you do when you can't think of anything to blog? "Miss Murder" AFI

Holy Cats! I've Posted 1700 Times!

So, turns out that "tagging" is all the thing over on Facebook. And some of them are super annoying. But this one came from our dear Monica and after I did it on Facebook, I decided to do it over here. Only I'm totally going to redo the answers here because

a) I actually have an MP3 player (hi little pink Nano!) and it's just fun to twirl the dial (that's what she said)

and

2) Maybe some of the answers will make more sense this time.

1. Put Your mp3 player on Shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. You must write down the name of the song no matter how silly it sounds!
4. Put any comments in brackets after the song name.
5. Tag at least 10 friends

What do your friends think of you?
I Love a Man in Uniform - Gang of Four

If someone says, “Is this okay?” You say?
In Your Room - The Bangles

How would you describe yourself?
Miss Murder- AFI

You like in a guy/girl?
It Could Have Been a Brilliant Career - Belle & Sebastian

What is your life’s purpose?
Turn - Travis

What is your motto?
Going Down to Liverpool - The Bangles

What do you think about very often?
The Rising - Springsteen

What is 2 + 2?
Deadbeat Club - B52s

What do you think of your best friend?
I Think I Love You - Guggenheim Grotto

What is your life story?
Hero Takes a Fall - The Bangles

What do you want to be when you grow up?
They Don't Know - Tracey Ullman

What do you think of when you see the person you like?
Better Be Home Soon - Crowded House

What will you dance to at your wedding?
Sweet Emotion - Aerosmith

What will they play at your funeral?
It's My Life - Talk Talk [Ok, that's just comic gold right there, people!]

What is your hobby/interest?
99 Luftbaloons- Nena

What is your biggest fear?
West End Girls - Pet Shop Boys

What is your biggest secret?
Bohemian Like You - Dandy Warhols

What do you think of your friends?
How Soon is Now? - The Smiths

What will you post this as? (Which I actually won't because I already posted about the fact that I've already posted 1700 times...but you should totally use this as your post title if you're going to do it and have nothing else)
Heroes- David Bowie

I will not torture 10 people (mostly because I don't know who has an MP3 player and who doesn't). Suffice to say that if you need blog fodder sometime, go ahead and play.

Four More Years?

If enough of you take this quiz I can get a new bumper sticker for my car. And that's important. Also important is understanding that a vote for John McCain is like a vote for W, only with fisticuffs. Oh, and if you play through the bonus round, you'll be able to play the Carrot Round. That's just plain fun.

UPDATE: Wow! You guys are good. Less than 30 minutes after posting this, I've already won my new bumper sticker. You're awesome. I thank you, my bumper thanks you. But if you haven't played you still should. I'm telling you, the carrot is funny.

All Questions Answered

Just in time for the Pennsylvania primary! Let's face it...as nice as it is to know that we live in elitist states, knowing the particular brand of elitism to which we each subscribe seems infinitely more interesting.

Do tell: what sort of elitist are you?

What Kind of Elitist Are You?

You speak eloquently and have seemingly read every book ever published. You are a fountain of endless (sometimes useless) knowledge, and never fail to impress at a party.What people love: You can answer almost any question people ask, and have thus been nicknamed Jeeves.What people hate: You constantly correct their grammar and insult their paperbacks.
Take this quiz!

Ding Dong!

It's a Jukebox Friday Twofer, kids! I was just over at Hat's and she posted a cute quiz so of course I had to play. And of course, this result immediately brought to mind one of my favorite of all favorite Pretenders songs. See how that works?





Pretenders "Message of Love"

Marshmallow Fluff

The Child wanted to be pranked bad yesterday. So for dessert last night I made her a fried egg sundae

Chocolate ice cream, of course, with marshmallow fluff for the white and some vanilla pudding with extra color for the yolk. It was disgusting. The Spouse and I had whites only sundaes. Yum.

I was talking with The Spouse about yesterday's post and the comments. It always amazes me what all y'all attach to in any given post. Some of you picked up on the trading spouses thing, and some on "How I Met Your Mother". Others of you weighed in pro or con for coconut and some got more specific relative to the merits (or not) of German chocolate cake. This could speak to a decided lack of focus in my writing but I prefer to think of my blog as a playground. Y'all climb on whatever rides you want and then we'll have a snack.

And speaking of fluff, dear Danny issued this Musician Challenge. Picking only one artist, one must answer the following questions using only song titles with no repeats.

And just because I love JP so much, I didn't use the Jonas Brothers.

1.) Are you a male or female? She Brakes for Rainbows

2.) Describe yourself: Quiche Lorraine

3.) Describe your day: Too Much to Think About

4.) Describe where you currently live: Dirty Back Road

5.) If you could go anywhere, where would you go? Downtown

6.) Your best friend is: Queen of Las Vegas

7.) Your favorite color is: Topaz

8.) You know that: There's a Moon in the Sky (Called the Moon)

9.) What's the weather like? Breezin'

10.) If your life was a television show, what would it be called? Is That You Mo-Dean?

11.) What is life to you? Cosmic Thing

12.) What is the best advice you have to give? Work That Skirt

13.) Describe your ex? Ain't it a Shame

14.) Your current relationship status? Good Stuff

15.) What's your favorite hobby? Runnin' Around

16.) When you think of your friends: Hero Worship

17.) What do your friends think of you? Keep This Party Going

18.) What does your current love interest think of you? Dance This Mess Around

19.) You always travel with: Legal Tender

20.) The best way to end a long day? Dancing Now

21.) Your occupation is? Housework

22.) When you grow up, you want to: Roam

23.) What does your family think of you? Tell It Like it T-I-S

24.) Your favorite food is: Rock Lobster

25.) You want to be remembered as: Song for a Future Generation

I think I gave it away with the first question. Whatev.




B52s "Deadbeat Club"

Numeric Memes and the First Day of Spring

I promised light and fluffy, light and fluffy you shall have. (Did any of you ever sneak into the pantry, open the marshmallow fluff (that was hardly a staple but sometimes made an appearance) and just sit and eat it out of the jar with a spoon and then smooth over the top so it didn't look like you'd stolen any? Me neither).

There are a couple of Blogtopian games that came my way recently and today seems as good a time to stop avoiding play along as any.

First, Rosie tagged me with the really hard meme, the dreaded 6 word memoir. The rules go like this:
1. Write a 6 word memoir.
2. Post it on your blog and you can add a picture or some other visual.
3. Link the meme'r (Rosie made up that word and I like it)
4. Tag 5 other blogs and let the memees know they are tagged. (Rosie isn't the only one who can make up words. Also, I'm totally breaking the rules on this one and pulling the old, "if you wanna play consider yourself tagged thing. Because it's kinda hard and I don't want anyone getting mad at me).

Have you ever known me to say anything of substance in a mere 6 words? I can't order coffee in 6 words. Wait. That's not true. My standing order is "tall drip, no room". That's only 4. Never mind.

I've been reading the memoirs of some of Rosie's other victims memees and they have emboldened me slightly in that folks seem to be going for more of a summing up of personal philosophy than a strict memoir. Which opens up the options a bit. I mean, my memoir would have to be "Born, loved, bred, blogged about it", which leaves out some good stuff.

Let's try this:

Imperfect woman with charmed life. Wine? That actually leaves out a lot of good stuff, too, but it's how I feel about my life. I haven't always made good choices and I've had my share of decidedly not-swell moments but fundamentally I consider myself the most blessed chickypoo on the planet and when I count my blessings I like to lift a glass of vin rouge so there you go.

Moving on, this one comes from Dana and was way easier:

Four Jobs I have had in my life:
Undocumented farm worker
Street vendor (hawking stuffed crepes. I lasted 2 days).
Nanny
Office Manager

Four Movies I would watch/have watched over and over:
"Say Anything"
( "I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed").

"Princess Bride"
("Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die").

"Annie Hall"
("Well. Oh well. La di dah, la di dah").

"Philadelphia Story"
("I'm going crazy. I'm standing here solidly on my own two hands and going crazy").

[The quotes aren't a part of the meme but I thought it would be fun].

Four Places I have lived:
Portland, Oregon
Hubbard, Oregon
West Linn, Oregon
Seattle, Washingon

(I don't get around much).

Four TV Shows that I watch:
"The Office"
("Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica").

"How I Met Your Mother"
("It's gonna be legen... wait for it... dary!").

"What Not to Wear"
("Shut up!")

"Battlestar Galactica" (or I will be, come April)
("So say we all").

Four Places I have visited:
London, England
Nantes, France
Chicago, Illinois (Hey, gang!)
New York, New York

Four People who email me regularly:
Buck
Brooke
Wendy
the penis enlargement/replica watch people (Seriously, I think it's getting time to change my email again).

Four Favorite Foods:
Chicken and leek pie
Macaroni and cheese
BLTs
Cheddar cheese

Four Places I would like to be right now:
Drinking absinthe in a Paris cafe.
At DNC headquaters having a little 'come to Jesus' with Howard.
On "Oprah" with The Hat.
Having coffee with Buck on the Balcony of Terror.

Four Things I am looking forward to this year:
Seeing The Child graduate.
Finishing a book.
Seeing JP again. (Not sure how or when, but it's sort of mission critical).
Meeting up with bloggy buddies in California.

Four People who should post Four Things:
Danny
Sageweb
Willym
Doralong

---

So here it is, puppies, the Vernal Equinox, the first day of Spring. It is also the first day of Purim and it's Holy Thursday, the beginning of the sacred three days for us Catholic types. I started my morning at the Seder service at school. The Child was one of the readers. It was very simple and lovely. I teared up a little; there's just nothing quite like commemorating the Last Supper with a roomful of sincere, prayerful little kids. Tonight we'll be going to the Holy Thursday service at the Cathedral, one of my favorites of the whole year.

Lent went by fast this year. To be perfectly honest with you, I'm not sure I entered into the whole thing quite as deeply as I usually do. Not sure why that is but I suppose reflecting on that will give me something else to do today.

The word "lent" comes from an Old English word for spring. Goes to the whole lengthening of days thing. And it just seems perfect to me that Lent is wrapping up on the first day of spring. Which has sprung. Even though it's 40 degrees out.



(Somebody seriously needs to do some gardening before the Easter Egg hunt on Sunday).










Our Lady of the Weeds

Year in Review, a Meme

"Project Runway" is on hiatus until after the new year so there's no recap today. I'm sorry, JP. I know how you live for PR.

---

The Spouse had a link to a meme-y thing wherein you take the first sentence from the first blog post of each month and it gives you a tidy little recap of your year. His was spot on. Mine not so much. In fact, to make it anything close to meaningful I had to copy the entire first paragraph of each post because I apparently have a gift for, as they say in the journalism biz, "burying the lead". Oh well.

Here is my year in review for 2007

January
I promised my Poodle a latke and caviar. Yum.

February
The blechiness is wiping me out but there's an up-side. It has morphed from mere scratchy throat to a husky voiced, Kathleen Turner sort of thing. I'm walking around saying, "You aren't too smart. I like that in a man". It sounds cool.

March
To the north and south there is lots of snow and ice. Right here, in the little pocket of urban bliss that is Seattle, there is bright spring-like sun, fluffy white clouds in the brilliant blue sky and the sound of crocuses popping from the ground. Decidedly lamb-like for my neck of the woods but far more liony for the rest of the region. Should make the 31st very interesting.

April
I'm done blogging. It's stupid plus I haven't encountered a single person who is remotely interesting.

May
There are 3 days in the year when it is very easy to get The Child out of bed: Christmas, her birthday and May Day. This morning, at 6:45 (15 minutes earlier than her usual wake-up time), with nothing more than a "Time to get up, dolly", she was up and dressed and ready to deliver May baskets.

June
It's Friday and that means I'm starting to think about what I'm going to play at The Club this weekend. Which gets me thinking about music in general, how we all have songs that are part of our own personal soundtrack and take us right back to a specific time in our lives.

July
Oh man. I have met John Iwanski.

August
Is it just me or does summer feel like it's spilling away?

September
See that? It's a lunchbox. It is packed with nutritious food. The Child made it herself. After she did the dinner dishes. I call that a right good start.

(I actually skipped the first three entries because they were just comments on what had been an all-Travis-all-the-time weekend).

October
I need bacon. Specifically, I need bacon fat. Oh, yes I do. Because I have 4 tomatoes in my garden that are never going to ripen and they need to be fried.

November
Pumpkins were carved and lit, warding off evil spirits. Beef stroganoff simmered. The Dog got into his role as Hound of the Baskervilles (the Long Island Baskervilles). Little children came to the door. One 2 year old, in a dragon suit was very enamored of the hound barking fiercely behind the window. Unafraid, the little chap walked right up, oogled the doggie and crooned to him, then bent and kissed the window. I gave him extra candy.

December
God baked a cake last night. But then She felt lazy so instead of bothering with 7 minute icing, She just dusted it with confectioners sugar.

---

This rarely touches on any of the highlights or lowlights of the year (except for July's entry. That was a highlight). But I suspect there will be at least one more day this month when I'll be in need of reflection so a more proper review is always an option.

Fun and Fluff

Sfoofie (who, btw, is very adorable and doesn't update her blog nearly often enough- yes, missy, I'm talkin' to you) had a fun little game on her blog. Open up Google images and type in the answer to a bunch of questions, then post the first image that pops up. Perfect for those days when you don't have anything of consequence to share.

Age on your next birthday:



Place you'd like to travel to:


Favorite place:


Favorite object:


Favorite animal:



Favorite color:


City where you live:


Past pet:


Name of your first crush:


Nickname:


First name:


Middle name:


Last name:


Bad habit:


(impatience, not football)

Grandma's first name:


(This is what came up for "Thelma". "Car careeing off a cliff" was my aunt's name).

Major in college:

Arr!

My yord, in all the excitement I totally forgot that this was "Talk Like a Pirate Day". Avast!

Thanks for the reminder, Hat. I must go pillage something.

My pirate name is:

Black Morgan Kidd

Like anyone confronted with the harshness of robbery on the high seas, you can be pessimistic at times. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Hooked

I am 75% Addicted to Coffee

Which is a good thing about now as I am going through all our Chicago photos. Curse the digital camera and its limitless ability to record every single thing!

I Knew That

What your analysis says about you:

Your friends and associates should generally find you a dependable and trustworthy person.
You are a thoughtful and cautious person. You like to think about your method, seeking to pursue your goal in the most effective way.

You are creative, mentally active and industrious.

You have a sunny, cheerful disposition.


What does your drawing say about YOU?