I never had the guts to take pictures of myself in a leotard, let alone while pregnant, and post them to a public forum. I salute you my sister, and revel in your ridiculousness.
Friday, November 16, 2012
My Sister, the Ridiculous One
Being ridiculous, purely for the sake of being ridiculous is a prized personality trait in my opinion. When my sister was pregnant last year, for the first time, she had the traditional romantic belly shot and all that comes along with it. This year, with her second child, she's gone a less traditional route:
I present, for your viewing enjoyment- 39 Weeks Pregnant In Under-Armor. Or Super Pregnant Lady.
I never had the guts to take pictures of myself in a leotard, let alone while pregnant, and post them to a public forum. I salute you my sister, and revel in your ridiculousness.
I never had the guts to take pictures of myself in a leotard, let alone while pregnant, and post them to a public forum. I salute you my sister, and revel in your ridiculousness.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
88 Questions
So, I totally failed Blog a Day for November. But, I think these questions, so here goes:
1. Do you usually sleep with your closet door open or closed? Closed. The monster totally would eat me if I left it open.
2. Do you take the shampoos and conditioner bottles from hotels? No, but I do usually take the little bottles of lotion, even if I hate the smell, because the kids get a kick out of them.
3. Have you ever ‘done it’ in a hotel room? Yeah. The husband and I have been together since we were 17 years old. We did the "get a hotel room after prom" thing. We also went to colleges 100 miles from each other, so occasionally we'd get a crappy room around the mid point.
4. Where is your next vacation? We'll be heading to Massachusetts, as is per usual, at the end of May to drop off the kids for the summer. Our next "grown up trip" we think will be Ohio. So we can do the roller coasters before we're so old that it hurts. I also think Disneyland is on for 2013.
5. Have you ever stolen a street sign before? No, and I don't understand the allure of doing so.
6. Who do you think reads these? Very few people
7. Do you have a calendar in your room? No, that's on the pantry door, because otherwise I'd never know where anyone has to be on a given day.
8. Where are you? At work, in my fishbowl office. Yes, I have an interior office with three glass walls. The iillusion of privacy that really doesn't exist.
9. What’s your plan for the day? Get through it, then go to horrible, awful Girl Scout Cookie training
10. Are you reading any books right now? Safe Within by Jean Reynolds Page. It's pretty depressing.
11. Do you ever count your steps when you walk? No
12. Have you ever peed in the woods? Yes, I used to do a lot of underage drinking in the woods.
13. Do you ever dance even if there’s no music playing? Absolutely!
14. Do you chew your pens and pencils? Yes. Unfortunately. Not chew, so much as hold with my teeth while I'm thinking.
15. What is your “Song of the Week”? Mokiki Does The Sloppy Swish- Mokiki It's the SNL digital short from Saturday, and seriously, it's infectious.
16. Is it okay for guys to wear pink? Yes. Some look better than others. Some guys who wear pink are quite douchy however.
17. Do you still watch cartoons? Not gonna lie, I love Pocoyo
18. Whats your favorite love movie? Love, Actually
19. What do you drink with dinner? Diet Coke or water if I'm eating after 7, which is most of the time. Wine if it's the weekend or at a restaurant.
20. What do you dip Chicken Nuggets in? Chicken nuggets are vile. I don't eat them.
21. What is your favorite food/cuisine? Sushi or New American. I like chefs who are willing to take traditional cuisine and twist it.
22. What movies could you watch over and over and still love? Jaws, Ocean's 11 and Ocean's 13 (don't mention the abomination that was Ocean's 12), Love Actually, The Departed, Center Stage, Bring It On,
23. Last person you hugged/kissed? My husband and kids
24. Were you ever a boy/girl scout? A Girl Scout from 2nd grade through graduation. Now I'm a Brownie Leader (but I hate it, and this is the only year I'm willing to do it)
25. Would you ever strip or pose nude in a magazine? If someone was willing to pay me.
26. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper? My grandmother. A few months before she died.
27. Can you change the oil on a car? No. Why would I want to do that?
28. Ever gotten a speeding ticket? Not in a few years.
29. Run out of gas? Never, but came close a few times in my old Grand Am with a broken gauge.
30. Favorite kind of sandwich? Meatball Sub or a Steak, Mushroom and Cheese from Zach's in Weymouth MA.
31. Best thing to eat for breakfast? Cinnamon Raisin bagel with Philly Cream Cheese, toasted
32. What is your usual bedtime? 11 PM
33. Are you lazy? Yes. Yes I am.
34. When you were a kid, what did you dress up as for Halloween? Most frequently a witch. Because it was always cold and rainy, and the costume would be hidden under a winter jacket anyways. So the pointy hat and a fake nose was generally my costume.
35. Do you have any magazine subscriptions? Bon Appetite, Saveur, Martha Stewart, ESPN
36. Which are better, legos or lincoln logs? Legos for sure
37. Are you stubborn? ME??? NEVER.
38. Who is better…Leno or Letterman? Letterman.
39. Ever watch soap operas? Days of Our Lives for YEARS. I haven't really watched that since 2007 when I had my last maternity leave.
40. Afraid of heights? No.
41. Sing in the car? Yes, always.
42. Dance in the shower? No. The point is to get done as fast as possible.
43. Dance in the car? A bit of seat dancing occurs
44. Ever used a gun? No
45. Do you think musicals are cheesy? I love them.
46. Is Christmas stressful? It can be. But in the past few years we've been trying to cut back our obligations. At this point, we refuse to leave our house on Christmas day. Dinner is served at 3 PM. If anyone wants to see us, they are welcome to come over after 1 PM and stay for dinner.
47. Ever eat a pierogi? Yes. When I can convince my husband to make them.
48. Major annoyance right now? The next door neighbors who I suspect broke the windows of my van
49. Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid? A mortician. I wish I was lying, but I had a fascination with funeral homes and wanted to live in one.
50. Do you believe in ghosts? Not really
51. Ever have a deja-vu feeling? Yes. Wait, did you ask me this before?
52. Do you take a vitamin daily? Does Diet Coke have any vitamins in it? Because that's the only thing I take daily.
53. Wear slippers? No, I wear wool socks around the house when it's cold
54. Wear a bath robe? Yes, after my shower, when I'm trying to get the kids out of bed. So my hair doesn't get my clothes all wet and wrinkled.
55. What do you wear to bed? Underwear.
56. Wal-Mart, Target or K-Mart? Target.
57. Nike or Adidas? Asics.
58. Cheetos Or Fritos? Cheetos, maybe. Doritos are the bomb.
59. Peanuts or Sunflower seeds? Neither.
60. Ever hear of, “gorp”? Yes, see above. I was a Girl Scout for LONG time.
61. Ever taken karate? No, it's a scam.
62. Ever kissed someone of the same sex? No
63. Can you curl your tongue? Yes, and my middle and youngest can too, but the oldest and husband can not.
64. Ever won a spelling bee? I can not spell. Like I had to get an exemption in 10th grade because the teacher based 40% of our grade on a weekly spelling test, and I would have screwed up my GPA with a D in her class. I had to do A LOT of extra credit book reports to make up for the absolute failure at spelling. That's what spell-check is for. And, I'm smart enough that I know what word I need, even if I can't spell it.
65. Ever cried because you were so happy? Sure, I've had three kids, I can be a hormonal wreck.
66. Own any record albums? No
67. Own a record player? No
68. Regularly burn incense? No it gives me migraines.
69. Ever been in love? Yes
70. Hot tea or cold tea? Only hot. Cold is gross.
71. Tea or coffee? Tea, coffee is gross.
72. Favorite kind of cookie? Toll House chocolate chip, homemade, either by me or my Mom.
73. Can you swim well? Very well, and I made sure my kids learned by the time they were 4 years old.
74. Can you hold your breath w/o manually holding your nose? Yes.
75. Are you patient? No. My way or the highway. It leads to interesting parenting challenges with my child who has the same exact personality as me.
76. Ever won a contest? A few. Every decade or so, I get on a lucky streak. It's already passed for this decade.
77. Ever had plastic surgery? No. I have the type of nose that people get surgery to look like!
78. Which are better black or green olives? Neither.
79. Can you knit or crochet? Neither
80. Wash room or bathroom? Bathroom.
81. Do you want to get married? Already am.
82. Who was your High School crush? A boy who was in a ton of my classes. We kissed once. It was kind of awesome. But it never went beyond that kiss.
83. Do you cry and throw a fit until you get your own way? No. I just do what I want anyways.
84. Do you have kids? A passel of them.
85. Do you want kids? No more than I currently have
86. What kind of mom are you? Laid back. I let the kids learn from their mistakes and I try not to fight battles over stupid things like insisting on wearing snow boots in the middle of summer. We have very few rules in the house (don't draw on the walls, use your words not your fists), I don't micromanage, and I let the kids get messy.
87. Do you miss anyone right now? My family. We live about 3000 miles from my Mom, Dad and siblings. My sister is having a baby any day now and I miss that I won't be nearby for that, or Thanksgiving.
88. Who do you want to see right now? My girls from high school that I'm still close with. I'd love to be going to cocktails with them this weekend.
1. Do you usually sleep with your closet door open or closed? Closed. The monster totally would eat me if I left it open.
2. Do you take the shampoos and conditioner bottles from hotels? No, but I do usually take the little bottles of lotion, even if I hate the smell, because the kids get a kick out of them.
3. Have you ever ‘done it’ in a hotel room? Yeah. The husband and I have been together since we were 17 years old. We did the "get a hotel room after prom" thing. We also went to colleges 100 miles from each other, so occasionally we'd get a crappy room around the mid point.
4. Where is your next vacation? We'll be heading to Massachusetts, as is per usual, at the end of May to drop off the kids for the summer. Our next "grown up trip" we think will be Ohio. So we can do the roller coasters before we're so old that it hurts. I also think Disneyland is on for 2013.
5. Have you ever stolen a street sign before? No, and I don't understand the allure of doing so.
6. Who do you think reads these? Very few people
7. Do you have a calendar in your room? No, that's on the pantry door, because otherwise I'd never know where anyone has to be on a given day.
8. Where are you? At work, in my fishbowl office. Yes, I have an interior office with three glass walls. The iillusion of privacy that really doesn't exist.
9. What’s your plan for the day? Get through it, then go to horrible, awful Girl Scout Cookie training
10. Are you reading any books right now? Safe Within by Jean Reynolds Page. It's pretty depressing.
11. Do you ever count your steps when you walk? No
12. Have you ever peed in the woods? Yes, I used to do a lot of underage drinking in the woods.
13. Do you ever dance even if there’s no music playing? Absolutely!
14. Do you chew your pens and pencils? Yes. Unfortunately. Not chew, so much as hold with my teeth while I'm thinking.
15. What is your “Song of the Week”? Mokiki Does The Sloppy Swish- Mokiki It's the SNL digital short from Saturday, and seriously, it's infectious.
16. Is it okay for guys to wear pink? Yes. Some look better than others. Some guys who wear pink are quite douchy however.
17. Do you still watch cartoons? Not gonna lie, I love Pocoyo
18. Whats your favorite love movie? Love, Actually
19. What do you drink with dinner? Diet Coke or water if I'm eating after 7, which is most of the time. Wine if it's the weekend or at a restaurant.
20. What do you dip Chicken Nuggets in? Chicken nuggets are vile. I don't eat them.
21. What is your favorite food/cuisine? Sushi or New American. I like chefs who are willing to take traditional cuisine and twist it.
22. What movies could you watch over and over and still love? Jaws, Ocean's 11 and Ocean's 13 (don't mention the abomination that was Ocean's 12), Love Actually, The Departed, Center Stage, Bring It On,
23. Last person you hugged/kissed? My husband and kids
24. Were you ever a boy/girl scout? A Girl Scout from 2nd grade through graduation. Now I'm a Brownie Leader (but I hate it, and this is the only year I'm willing to do it)
25. Would you ever strip or pose nude in a magazine? If someone was willing to pay me.
26. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper? My grandmother. A few months before she died.
27. Can you change the oil on a car? No. Why would I want to do that?
28. Ever gotten a speeding ticket? Not in a few years.
29. Run out of gas? Never, but came close a few times in my old Grand Am with a broken gauge.
30. Favorite kind of sandwich? Meatball Sub or a Steak, Mushroom and Cheese from Zach's in Weymouth MA.
31. Best thing to eat for breakfast? Cinnamon Raisin bagel with Philly Cream Cheese, toasted
32. What is your usual bedtime? 11 PM
33. Are you lazy? Yes. Yes I am.
34. When you were a kid, what did you dress up as for Halloween? Most frequently a witch. Because it was always cold and rainy, and the costume would be hidden under a winter jacket anyways. So the pointy hat and a fake nose was generally my costume.
35. Do you have any magazine subscriptions? Bon Appetite, Saveur, Martha Stewart, ESPN
36. Which are better, legos or lincoln logs? Legos for sure
37. Are you stubborn? ME??? NEVER.
38. Who is better…Leno or Letterman? Letterman.
39. Ever watch soap operas? Days of Our Lives for YEARS. I haven't really watched that since 2007 when I had my last maternity leave.
40. Afraid of heights? No.
41. Sing in the car? Yes, always.
42. Dance in the shower? No. The point is to get done as fast as possible.
43. Dance in the car? A bit of seat dancing occurs
44. Ever used a gun? No
45. Do you think musicals are cheesy? I love them.
46. Is Christmas stressful? It can be. But in the past few years we've been trying to cut back our obligations. At this point, we refuse to leave our house on Christmas day. Dinner is served at 3 PM. If anyone wants to see us, they are welcome to come over after 1 PM and stay for dinner.
47. Ever eat a pierogi? Yes. When I can convince my husband to make them.
48. Major annoyance right now? The next door neighbors who I suspect broke the windows of my van
49. Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid? A mortician. I wish I was lying, but I had a fascination with funeral homes and wanted to live in one.
50. Do you believe in ghosts? Not really
51. Ever have a deja-vu feeling? Yes. Wait, did you ask me this before?
52. Do you take a vitamin daily? Does Diet Coke have any vitamins in it? Because that's the only thing I take daily.
53. Wear slippers? No, I wear wool socks around the house when it's cold
54. Wear a bath robe? Yes, after my shower, when I'm trying to get the kids out of bed. So my hair doesn't get my clothes all wet and wrinkled.
55. What do you wear to bed? Underwear.
56. Wal-Mart, Target or K-Mart? Target.
57. Nike or Adidas? Asics.
58. Cheetos Or Fritos? Cheetos, maybe. Doritos are the bomb.
59. Peanuts or Sunflower seeds? Neither.
60. Ever hear of, “gorp”? Yes, see above. I was a Girl Scout for LONG time.
61. Ever taken karate? No, it's a scam.
62. Ever kissed someone of the same sex? No
63. Can you curl your tongue? Yes, and my middle and youngest can too, but the oldest and husband can not.
64. Ever won a spelling bee? I can not spell. Like I had to get an exemption in 10th grade because the teacher based 40% of our grade on a weekly spelling test, and I would have screwed up my GPA with a D in her class. I had to do A LOT of extra credit book reports to make up for the absolute failure at spelling. That's what spell-check is for. And, I'm smart enough that I know what word I need, even if I can't spell it.
65. Ever cried because you were so happy? Sure, I've had three kids, I can be a hormonal wreck.
66. Own any record albums? No
67. Own a record player? No
68. Regularly burn incense? No it gives me migraines.
69. Ever been in love? Yes
70. Hot tea or cold tea? Only hot. Cold is gross.
71. Tea or coffee? Tea, coffee is gross.
72. Favorite kind of cookie? Toll House chocolate chip, homemade, either by me or my Mom.
73. Can you swim well? Very well, and I made sure my kids learned by the time they were 4 years old.
74. Can you hold your breath w/o manually holding your nose? Yes.
75. Are you patient? No. My way or the highway. It leads to interesting parenting challenges with my child who has the same exact personality as me.
76. Ever won a contest? A few. Every decade or so, I get on a lucky streak. It's already passed for this decade.
77. Ever had plastic surgery? No. I have the type of nose that people get surgery to look like!
78. Which are better black or green olives? Neither.
79. Can you knit or crochet? Neither
80. Wash room or bathroom? Bathroom.
81. Do you want to get married? Already am.
82. Who was your High School crush? A boy who was in a ton of my classes. We kissed once. It was kind of awesome. But it never went beyond that kiss.
83. Do you cry and throw a fit until you get your own way? No. I just do what I want anyways.
84. Do you have kids? A passel of them.
85. Do you want kids? No more than I currently have
86. What kind of mom are you? Laid back. I let the kids learn from their mistakes and I try not to fight battles over stupid things like insisting on wearing snow boots in the middle of summer. We have very few rules in the house (don't draw on the walls, use your words not your fists), I don't micromanage, and I let the kids get messy.
87. Do you miss anyone right now? My family. We live about 3000 miles from my Mom, Dad and siblings. My sister is having a baby any day now and I miss that I won't be nearby for that, or Thanksgiving.
88. Who do you want to see right now? My girls from high school that I'm still close with. I'd love to be going to cocktails with them this weekend.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Friday Nights Before Kids, Friday Nights After Kids
Before Kids (BK from here on in) 5:00 PM- Get out of work
After Kids (AK from here on in) 5:00 PM- Get out of work (some things haven't changed)
BK 5:30 PM- Sit down for a drink with my co-workers to rehash the week
AK 5:30 PM- Sit in traffic while anxiously watching the clock, hoping that I won't be late for pick up yet again
BK 6:00 PM- Have another drink
AK 6:00 PM- Corral the children into the car, listen to them whine, bribe them with promises of ice cream in order to get home without someone having a crying fit
BK 6:30 PM- Pay tab, go home, think about maybe making dinner
AK 6:30 PM- Get home, think about maybe making dinner, find movie on TV
BK 7:00 PM- Decide to take a nap, to recharge
AK 7:00 PM- Make dinner, because children are in the middle of a mutiny and are threatening to eat each other if they aren't fed NOW
BK 8:30 PM- Wake up from nap
AK 8:30 PM- Husband is home. Pull second load of laundry out of dryer, start sorting clothes, tell kids to take a shower, find soccer clothes for tomorrow's games, empty backpacks, have a glass of wine.
BK 9:30 PM- Get to husband's restaurant, have a cocktail and get dinner. Hang out at bar, flirting with restaurant owner, bartender and/or patrons, sometimes friends will show up
AK 9:30 PM- Get kids in bed (except oldest, who doesn't sleep), turn on Netflix or Redbox movie du jour
BK 11:30 PM- Husband is out of work, out of uniform and ready to go out
AK 11:30 PM- Husband and I are passed out on the couch
BK 2:00 AM- Leave bar, go home via taxi or walk home, make out in public along the way. Stagger to bed.
AK 2:00 AM- Wake up with a sore back from falling asleep on the couch. One of the children is sick or has fallen out of bed. Wake up husband. Console child. Stagger to bed.
After Kids (AK from here on in) 5:00 PM- Get out of work (some things haven't changed)
BK 5:30 PM- Sit down for a drink with my co-workers to rehash the week
AK 5:30 PM- Sit in traffic while anxiously watching the clock, hoping that I won't be late for pick up yet again
BK 6:00 PM- Have another drink
AK 6:00 PM- Corral the children into the car, listen to them whine, bribe them with promises of ice cream in order to get home without someone having a crying fit
BK 6:30 PM- Pay tab, go home, think about maybe making dinner
AK 6:30 PM- Get home, think about maybe making dinner, find movie on TV
BK 7:00 PM- Decide to take a nap, to recharge
AK 7:00 PM- Make dinner, because children are in the middle of a mutiny and are threatening to eat each other if they aren't fed NOW
BK 8:30 PM- Wake up from nap
AK 8:30 PM- Husband is home. Pull second load of laundry out of dryer, start sorting clothes, tell kids to take a shower, find soccer clothes for tomorrow's games, empty backpacks, have a glass of wine.
BK 9:30 PM- Get to husband's restaurant, have a cocktail and get dinner. Hang out at bar, flirting with restaurant owner, bartender and/or patrons, sometimes friends will show up
AK 9:30 PM- Get kids in bed (except oldest, who doesn't sleep), turn on Netflix or Redbox movie du jour
BK 11:30 PM- Husband is out of work, out of uniform and ready to go out
AK 11:30 PM- Husband and I are passed out on the couch
BK 2:00 AM- Leave bar, go home via taxi or walk home, make out in public along the way. Stagger to bed.
AK 2:00 AM- Wake up with a sore back from falling asleep on the couch. One of the children is sick or has fallen out of bed. Wake up husband. Console child. Stagger to bed.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
I'm Going to do this NaBloPoMo Thing...
November is here, meaning it's NaBloPoMo. Which basically means I'm really attempting to blog everyday this month, just for the heck of it. As you can see by my very sparse posting history, I'm not very good at blogging on a regular basis. Sure, I read a bunch of blogs. But write one myself? Not so much.
So, in the case that I actually get a reader or two, here's a quick background sketch all about me!
Thing I learned today- IHOP has pumpkin pancakes! I'm trying to keep down my carb intake (said as I finish two pieces of nutritionally bereft, but oh so delicious golden slices of white bread toast with ample butter) but now I can't stop thinking about them! We're totally going to IHOP sometime this weekend.
Other thing I learned today- If you attempt to save money and buy the cheap cat food, not only will it stink up your house, but the cat will refuse to eat it, and will intentionally knock it off the top of the dryer, because he's a jerk. (I think I forgot to mention the anti-social 12 year old cat who lives with us. Yeah. Him. We've had him since 2000, and he's survived 4 moves with us. He's more spoiled than the children. Also, everyone feeds their cat on top of the dryer, right?)
So, that's what's happening here.
So, in the case that I actually get a reader or two, here's a quick background sketch all about me!
- I married my high school sweetheart at the ripe old age of 22. We celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary this year (I think the traditional gift for the 12th year is a 12 pack of beer), and have been together for 17 years.
- We have three school age daughters, all of whom were born before I turned 29.
- The hubs and I grew up in Massachusetts, lived in Rhode Island for a few years, and finally moved to the Phoenix metro area in 2001.
- We are rabid fans of all New England sports teams
- I read a LOT and I have a huge Goodreads account to keep track of what I have read and plan on reading- Goodreads- keen23
- I don't take life too seriously. Shit happens and you can't let it bog you down.
Thing I learned today- IHOP has pumpkin pancakes! I'm trying to keep down my carb intake (said as I finish two pieces of nutritionally bereft, but oh so delicious golden slices of white bread toast with ample butter) but now I can't stop thinking about them! We're totally going to IHOP sometime this weekend.
Other thing I learned today- If you attempt to save money and buy the cheap cat food, not only will it stink up your house, but the cat will refuse to eat it, and will intentionally knock it off the top of the dryer, because he's a jerk. (I think I forgot to mention the anti-social 12 year old cat who lives with us. Yeah. Him. We've had him since 2000, and he's survived 4 moves with us. He's more spoiled than the children. Also, everyone feeds their cat on top of the dryer, right?)
So, that's what's happening here.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Strange and Vivid Dreams
Last night I dreamed it was raining eggs, and no one except me thought it was
strange. They were all like "don't you realize this means we don't have
to buy eggs anymore?"
Monday, September 17, 2012
All About Me Prompt
This is from some blogger Crappy Day Present thing, and while I'm not participating in that, I actually like the prompts enough to fill them out. So, read and learn people, read and learn about how fabulous I am.
What is your dream job?
That person who works for a literary agent who's sole job is to read manuscripts and see if they're good or pieces of crap. I want to be paid to read.
If you had 1,000,000 dollars to give away, how would you do it?
Stay local with my choices. Give to the kids' school system. Donate a bunch of technology to the school, give each teacher $1000 for classroom stuff, donate to Planned Parenthood and The Florence Crittendon foundation.
Under what circumstances would you adopt a child?
Adoption isn't my thing. The only kids I'd be willing to adopt would be nieces and nephews who's biological parents can no longer care for.
Why were you given your name?
My last name was really long, so my parents wanted a short first name- 5 letters or shorter. My name came from a baby naming book, and my parents both agreed on it.
What was the last national park you visited?
We went to Louis & Clark National Historical Park over the summer. It was pretty.
What was the first thing you learned to cook?
Scrambled eggs
What book can you read over and over again?
It used to be From The Mixed Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler, but recently, it's been Ready Player One. Ready Player One is such an amazing book, I love it.
What makes you feel young?
The way my husband looks at me sometimes. It makes me feel 17 again.
Did you ever work at an on campus job? What was it?
No joke, I did week night security at the campus center. Basically I walked around the building and made sure people weren't having sex anywhere, and calling the campus bus for drunk girls who didn't know how to get home. In exchange for this, I got a coveted garage parking pass for free, plus a plush salary of less than minimum wage. Really I was in it for the parking pass.
If you needed someone to act as a character reference for you who would you chose?
My BFF
What was the first concert you went to see?
The Green Day free show in 1994 at the Hatch when there was rioting in the audience. Awesome times.
Who is someone from your past that you are sorry you lost track of?
Some of my friends from college, who just seem to have disappeared.
If you could see 24 hours into the future what would you do with this ability?
Solve problems at work before they began.
If you had it to do over again what would you study in school?
I'd go into teaching. As much as I like the salary I make right now, I HATE working in the summers while all of my teacher friends get to hang with their kids on the beach.
What do you know how to say in a foreign language?
"Two beers please" and "Where is the bathroom?" Also "Where is the library?" and "My name is Louisa and I am from San Antonio." (except my name isn't Louisa, and I'm not from San Antonio)
What is your all time favorite joke?
Why is the graveyard so popular? People are just DYING to get in there. (my kids tell me this all the time, it's a family classic)
What was your first paying job?
Counter girl at CVS
What is the strangest food you have ever eaten?
The husband is a chef. When we go out, he is often recognized by other chefs in the business, who then go out of their way to impress us by sending out "specials." I've eaten just about everything- eel, soft shell crabs (eaten whole, in the shell, deep fried), sweetbreads (not what you think it is), corn smut, goat, and various organs and parts of animals that normal people don't eat. The husband makes me try everything and tells me to just not smell certain things.
What in your life is more important than money?
My family (sigh, cheesy answer I know)
When was the first time you saw the ocean?
I was born in a town that's on the Atlantic. Chances are good we drove by it on my way home from the hospital. I didn't see the Pacific until 2001.
What is your dream job?
That person who works for a literary agent who's sole job is to read manuscripts and see if they're good or pieces of crap. I want to be paid to read.
If you had 1,000,000 dollars to give away, how would you do it?
Stay local with my choices. Give to the kids' school system. Donate a bunch of technology to the school, give each teacher $1000 for classroom stuff, donate to Planned Parenthood and The Florence Crittendon foundation.
Under what circumstances would you adopt a child?
Adoption isn't my thing. The only kids I'd be willing to adopt would be nieces and nephews who's biological parents can no longer care for.
Why were you given your name?
My last name was really long, so my parents wanted a short first name- 5 letters or shorter. My name came from a baby naming book, and my parents both agreed on it.
What was the last national park you visited?
We went to Louis & Clark National Historical Park over the summer. It was pretty.
What was the first thing you learned to cook?
Scrambled eggs
What book can you read over and over again?
It used to be From The Mixed Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler, but recently, it's been Ready Player One. Ready Player One is such an amazing book, I love it.
What makes you feel young?
The way my husband looks at me sometimes. It makes me feel 17 again.
Did you ever work at an on campus job? What was it?
No joke, I did week night security at the campus center. Basically I walked around the building and made sure people weren't having sex anywhere, and calling the campus bus for drunk girls who didn't know how to get home. In exchange for this, I got a coveted garage parking pass for free, plus a plush salary of less than minimum wage. Really I was in it for the parking pass.
If you needed someone to act as a character reference for you who would you chose?
My BFF
What was the first concert you went to see?
The Green Day free show in 1994 at the Hatch when there was rioting in the audience. Awesome times.
Who is someone from your past that you are sorry you lost track of?
Some of my friends from college, who just seem to have disappeared.
If you could see 24 hours into the future what would you do with this ability?
Solve problems at work before they began.
If you had it to do over again what would you study in school?
I'd go into teaching. As much as I like the salary I make right now, I HATE working in the summers while all of my teacher friends get to hang with their kids on the beach.
What do you know how to say in a foreign language?
"Two beers please" and "Where is the bathroom?" Also "Where is the library?" and "My name is Louisa and I am from San Antonio." (except my name isn't Louisa, and I'm not from San Antonio)
What is your all time favorite joke?
Why is the graveyard so popular? People are just DYING to get in there. (my kids tell me this all the time, it's a family classic)
What was your first paying job?
Counter girl at CVS
What is the strangest food you have ever eaten?
The husband is a chef. When we go out, he is often recognized by other chefs in the business, who then go out of their way to impress us by sending out "specials." I've eaten just about everything- eel, soft shell crabs (eaten whole, in the shell, deep fried), sweetbreads (not what you think it is), corn smut, goat, and various organs and parts of animals that normal people don't eat. The husband makes me try everything and tells me to just not smell certain things.
What in your life is more important than money?
My family (sigh, cheesy answer I know)
When was the first time you saw the ocean?
I was born in a town that's on the Atlantic. Chances are good we drove by it on my way home from the hospital. I didn't see the Pacific until 2001.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Summer Vacation
All right- so the vacation
Seattle- you can tell there's lots of tech money in the area, as Frank put it "lots of chicks that rate an 8 or a 9 walking around with guys who rate a 3 or a 4" and the good looking guys were gay.- We went out for sushi with Adam. Went down to Pike Street market (watched the fish throwing), ate street food, and went to a Sox game- one they actually won! Drank a LOT. A city with a very high opinion of itself. Never have I seen so many dietary specialty items for regular purchase- it seemed like everything was "Gluten Free, Vegan, Soy Free and Tree Nut Free."
Train from Seattle to Portland- 3 hours. I was motion sick for most of it. Highlight was watching the couple on the other side of the aisle proceed to get wasted drinking Dewars and Root Beer- from a vintage suitcase they had turned into a portable bar. The girl of the couple wound up yelling at some chick who kept getting on her phone and whining to her parents, yelled something along the lines of "Can't you fucking read? There's no cell phone use in here." She was a sloshy mess when she yelled, so it was awesome.
Portland- Grittier than Seattle. Like if you took Providence RI and Fall River MA and squished them together to make one city. Industrial, lots of bridges. Good food scene. I could live there. There's a hippie vibe that was absent from both Seattle and San Francisco. A grid city, which was comforting.
Oregon Coast- gorgeous! Seriously the most breathtaking scenery I've ever seen. Pine rain forests with virgin growth pine trees that are 400+ years old and 50+ feet tall. The waves were crazy, and that's apparently just how they are. We went to Astoria so Frank could see the Goonies house (on his bucket list). We bought a $1 CD tour and listened to it for hours (because we couldn't get any radio station that was worth listening to in the rental). This is also when I figured out that Frank was totally lying to me about how long the damn drive would be from Portland to San Francisco- he totally undersold it to me by 300 miles. Also went to Tillamook for the tour- stupid except for the all-you-can-eat cheese samples.
Drive from Portland to Davis CA (home of UC Davis)- I gave up. We made it to an hour from Napa when he started to fall asleep at the wheel. Did our laundry- college towns are good for something. Had beer and pizza in a bar, left for Napa early. Long ass drive. Like 10 hours of boring. Mt Shasta has snow on it year round was about the only thing I found interesting.
Napa- Yeah, touristy in places. Gotta pick the good wineries, even if they charge more for a tasting, because the wines are hard to find out of state. We did Grigich Hills and Keenan wineries. Grigich poured us a glass of dessert wine that retails for $85 for a split (the small bottle 2.5 glasses), as part of our $20 per person tour- on top of the other 5 wines we were poured. Good value for the money. Driving through the town itself sucks- so do it once and be done- pick out your wineries so you move out from the center of town against the traffic.
San Francisco- By this time I was just exhausted. We did the piers, saw the sea lions, went to the chocolate factory, rode the cable car, walked through Chinatown, and everything. As a result, instead of getting up early on Saturday to spend a few extra hours in the city, we slept through our wake up, and didn't get to go back downtown. Flew out of SFO, and got home to a cat who missed us greatly.
This was probably the last of our expensive "just us" vacations for a few years. We have to go to Disney next year for sure (Land, not World), and we want to do an Alaska cruise, but we'll take the kids on that. That will fill up our next few years.
Seattle- you can tell there's lots of tech money in the area, as Frank put it "lots of chicks that rate an 8 or a 9 walking around with guys who rate a 3 or a 4" and the good looking guys were gay.- We went out for sushi with Adam. Went down to Pike Street market (watched the fish throwing), ate street food, and went to a Sox game- one they actually won! Drank a LOT. A city with a very high opinion of itself. Never have I seen so many dietary specialty items for regular purchase- it seemed like everything was "Gluten Free, Vegan, Soy Free and Tree Nut Free."
Train from Seattle to Portland- 3 hours. I was motion sick for most of it. Highlight was watching the couple on the other side of the aisle proceed to get wasted drinking Dewars and Root Beer- from a vintage suitcase they had turned into a portable bar. The girl of the couple wound up yelling at some chick who kept getting on her phone and whining to her parents, yelled something along the lines of "Can't you fucking read? There's no cell phone use in here." She was a sloshy mess when she yelled, so it was awesome.
Portland- Grittier than Seattle. Like if you took Providence RI and Fall River MA and squished them together to make one city. Industrial, lots of bridges. Good food scene. I could live there. There's a hippie vibe that was absent from both Seattle and San Francisco. A grid city, which was comforting.
Oregon Coast- gorgeous! Seriously the most breathtaking scenery I've ever seen. Pine rain forests with virgin growth pine trees that are 400+ years old and 50+ feet tall. The waves were crazy, and that's apparently just how they are. We went to Astoria so Frank could see the Goonies house (on his bucket list). We bought a $1 CD tour and listened to it for hours (because we couldn't get any radio station that was worth listening to in the rental). This is also when I figured out that Frank was totally lying to me about how long the damn drive would be from Portland to San Francisco- he totally undersold it to me by 300 miles. Also went to Tillamook for the tour- stupid except for the all-you-can-eat cheese samples.
Drive from Portland to Davis CA (home of UC Davis)- I gave up. We made it to an hour from Napa when he started to fall asleep at the wheel. Did our laundry- college towns are good for something. Had beer and pizza in a bar, left for Napa early. Long ass drive. Like 10 hours of boring. Mt Shasta has snow on it year round was about the only thing I found interesting.
Napa- Yeah, touristy in places. Gotta pick the good wineries, even if they charge more for a tasting, because the wines are hard to find out of state. We did Grigich Hills and Keenan wineries. Grigich poured us a glass of dessert wine that retails for $85 for a split (the small bottle 2.5 glasses), as part of our $20 per person tour- on top of the other 5 wines we were poured. Good value for the money. Driving through the town itself sucks- so do it once and be done- pick out your wineries so you move out from the center of town against the traffic.
San Francisco- By this time I was just exhausted. We did the piers, saw the sea lions, went to the chocolate factory, rode the cable car, walked through Chinatown, and everything. As a result, instead of getting up early on Saturday to spend a few extra hours in the city, we slept through our wake up, and didn't get to go back downtown. Flew out of SFO, and got home to a cat who missed us greatly.
This was probably the last of our expensive "just us" vacations for a few years. We have to go to Disney next year for sure (Land, not World), and we want to do an Alaska cruise, but we'll take the kids on that. That will fill up our next few years.
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