MelaniePenelope

Sunday Stealing: The "What If" Meme

Link up here if you're playing along!

1. You can press a button that will make any one person explode. Who would you blow up?

Osama bin Ladin

2. You can flip a switch that will wipe any band or musical artist out of existence. Which one will it be?

I would never do that.  All art is art, whether I appreciate it or not.

3. Who would you really like to just punch in the face?

That changes with the day.

4. What is your favorite cheese?

Oh, gosh. If you've ever been on my Facebook page, you k now that it states simply, "I like cheese." All cheese! Well, maybe not limburger... But I really, really love Brie.

5. You can only have one kind of sandwich. Every sandwich ingredient known to humankind is at your immediate disposal. What kind will you make?

Subway's herbs and cheese bread. Turkey pastrami. Mozzarella cheese. No condiments.

6. You have the opportunity to sleep with the movie celebrity of your choice. We are talking no-strings-attached sex and it can only happen once. Who is the lucky celebrity of your choice?

Matt Damon. Mmmm, mmm, mmmm.....

7. You have the opportunity to sleep with the music-celebrity of your choice. Who do you pick?

Eric Clapton

8. Now that you’ve slept with two different people in a row, you seem to be having an excellent day because you just came across a hundred-dollar bill on the sidewalk. Holy shit, a hundred bucks! How are you gonna spend it?

Yarn. Cashmere yarn!

9. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go?

Sydney, Australia

10. Upon arrival to the aforementioned location, you get off the plane and discover another hundred-dollar bill. Shit! Now that you are in the new location, what are you gonna do?

Now we're just getting silly. I'd juse it to go scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef!

11. An angel appears out of Heaven and offers you a lifetime supply of the alcoholic beverage of your choice. It is…?

Really? An angel from heaven is going to make me an offer and it's unlimited alcohol? Who thinks of this stuff?! Anyway, I'd pick piña colada. Yummy.

12. Rufus appears out of nowhere with a time-traveling phone booth. You can go anytime in the PAST. What time are you traveling to and what are you going to do when you get there?

I would travel back in time to March 20th, 2003 and demand that I get my fucking ultrasound, because without it, my baby is going to DIE. And it would save his life. :(

13. You discover a beautiful island upon which you may build your own society. You make the rules. What is the first rule you put into place?

Physical appearances do not matter.

14. You have been given the opportunity to create the half-hour TV show of your own design. What is it called and what’s the premise?

It's already been done, and it's called The Big Bang Theory!

15.What is your favorite curse word?

FUCK!

16.One night you wake up because you heard a noise. You turn on the light to find that you are surrounded by MUMMIES. The mummies aren’t really doing anything, they’re just standing around your bed. What do you do?

Scream and shit my pants. Not necessarily in that order.

17. Your house is on fire, holy shit! You have just enough time to run in there and grab ONE inanimate object. Don’t worry, your loved ones and pets have already made it out safely. So what’s the item?

If I can't grab ALL my scrapbooks, then I'd get the one from our trip to Europe last year.

18. The Angel of Death has descended upon you. Fortunately, the Angel of Death is pretty cool and in a good mood, and it offers you a half-hour to do whatever you want before you bite it. Whatcha gonna do in that half-hour?

Hug my babies and cuddle with my husband

19. You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What’s it gonna be?

I can fly!

20. You can re-live any point of time in your life. The time-span can only be a half-hour, though. What half-hour of your past would you like to experience again?

The night I met my husband, in person for the first time (two weeks after we met online)

21.You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?

Can I erase my entire childhood after my mother died, from 7 to 17??

22. You got kicked out of the country for being a time-traveling heathen who sleeps with celebrities and has super-powers. But check out this cool shit… you can move to anywhere else in the world! Bitchin’! What country are you going to live in now?

Australia. No... Italy. No... Brazil. No... Japan. Yeah, definitely Japan.

23. This question still counts, even for those of you who are under age. Check it out. You have been eternally banned from every single bar in the world except for ONE. Which one is it gonna be?

I really don't care, so I'll just pull out the first one that comes to mind: Fat Tuesdays in CocoWalk, in Coconut Grove, Miami, FL

24. Hopefully you didn’t mention this in the super-powers question…. If you did, then we’ll just expand on that. Check it out… Suddenly, you have gained the ability to FLOAT!!! Whose house are you going to float to first, and be like “Dude, check it out…I can FLOAT!”?

Who wrote this quiz, a 14-year-old? Anyway. I would float to Stephanie's house first.

25. The constant absorption of magical moonbeams mixed with the radioactive vegetables you consumed earlier has given you the ability to resurrect the dead famous-person of your choice. So which celebrity will you bring back to life?

Hmmm.... Elvis. I'd bring back the King.

26. The Celestial Gates of Beyond have opened, much to your surprise because you didn’t think such a thing existed. Death appears. As it turns out, Death is actually a pretty cool entity, and happens to be in a fantastic mood. Death offers to return the friend/family-member/person, etc. of your choice to the living world. Who will you bring back?

I'd bring back my son. Woe is me that such is not really possible. :(

27. What’s your theme song?

"Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley

Fin.

Saturday 9: You Shook Me

Link up with Samantha if you're playing along today!

1. What celebrity would you just want to shake some sense into?

I think everyone will probably say Tiger Woods, so I'll say Lindsay Lohan. Hello? Girl, you used to be beautiful and talented. Don't throw it all away. Wake up!

2. What do you think comes after death?

Who knows for sure, but I have to believe in heaven. I just can't accept that my mother and son aren't somewhere out there, waiting for me...

3. What is the first book that you can remember reading by yourself as a child?

I can't remember what book, but I do remember reading cereal boxes from a VERY young age (i'm told I was three).

4. What was the first rock concert that you attended?

Whitney Houston, at the NY State Fair

5. If you were to suddenly become famous, would you choose a stage name? If yes, what would it be?

Nah, no stage names for me.

6. What is the one thing that you wish the media would stop talking about?

Nothing. It's their job to talk about things ad nauseum, and my job to decide whether to listen or tune it out.

7. If you could be part of any band, which one would it be and who would you be and why?

Hmm... I don't know, but I would be someone who can really belt it out. I have a decent voice and can carry a tune, but I don't have a STRONG voice. I have (in my mind) a very soft, weak voice that I can't stand.

8. Do you live close to your immediate family members? If not, how far away are they?

Nope, since Hubs is in the Navy. My sister is in NY, my dad is in SC, my grandpa is in FL - and we're in VA.

9. Last seasonal question (promise): What did you do on New Year's Eve?

We kept the kids up 'til midnight to watch the ball drop on TV. At midnight, Hubs grabbed me for a long smooch, and then we all went outside to bang pots and pans. Then we toasted each other with sparkling cider. It may not have been too exciting, but I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Fin.

Six Word Saturday

For more SWS, be sure and link up with Cate and play along!

My six words for this week are:

♥ Happy NINTH anniversary to my beloved! ♥

Yup, today (1/2/10) is our ninth wedding anniversary - already! Where has the time gone? I love him more today than ever, and I can pretty much say that every day I wake up next to him.

Fin.
 

Friday Fragments: Happy New Year!

Fraggin' on Fridays is brought to you by the lovely Mrs. 4444 over at Half Past Kissin' Time, so be sure and visit her and the other lovely fragmenters for more fun on this special New Year's Day, 2010!

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Mrs. 4444 gave me the FFF award again! This time, it was for Sophia's remark that I would never die, because she would take care of me. And that I wouldn't spin her around and throw her out into the world, blindfolded. Thanks, Mrs. Fours!

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I was in a bread-baking mood late last night. The first thing I did was mix up this beer bread mix from William-Sonoma, using one of Rob's special beers from his beer-of-the-month club box. I don't know why I got him that damn membership, and I'm glad it's long over. He's still got a ton left and never drinks it! Too bad I don't have more of this delicious mix...

Here's Chloë, 8, enjoying the first piece of beer bread. Yum! 

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Last night, I started the dough for this challah - I wanted to make a French bread, but I decided to make a challah instead - but I fell asleep, and it rose all night. Whoops, it was mushrooming out of the bowl this morning like crazy! I really had to punch it down.

Normally, I do a three-strand braided challah, but I wanted to attempt the four-strand braid this time. I don't think I did it quite right... but it still looked purdy.

Right??

Unfortunately, I forgot to set the timer on the oven, and I was enjoying the smell of the challah baking for far too long before it dawned on me - that smell means it's DONE, dude!  I ran into the kitchen, and sure enough, it was way past "golden brown." Oops. But it's not burnt, and it tastes awesome. I'm not really supposed to have much in the way of bread, but look at that gorgeous loaf! Who could resist?

I forgot the raisins I meant to add, too, though. Bugger.

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New Year's Eve was a pretty quiet day at the homestead for us. Our good neighbors, nice Japanese lady and her husband, Navy-turned-Army, moved away with their kids today, to Texas. Here is their last hurrah, riding Power Wheels cars around our driveway. There were lots of hugs and promises to write. And check it out, Sophia (not pictured) has been asking for  Barbie Power Wheels Jeep for a LONG time, and they had one that they were leaving behind - and gave it to her! She was ecstatic!

(Sorry for the crappy picture. Rob took it through the window! Why he didn't...oh, I don't know. Whatevs!)

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(Ignore all the boxes in the background, I have lots of packing and shipping to do!)

The kids have been bugging me to let them play the games they got from my sister, their Aunt Stacey, since Christmas Day. It just never seemed to be the right time, but today was the day! First Chloë and Jack, 6½, played Connect Four, and then Chloë played it with Sophia, 4½. Neither of the two little ones really "got" that the point of the game was to get your four in a row WHILE BLOCKING the other person from doing so, and poor Chlo was getting quite frustrated with it!

The next game, Chutes and Ladders, was more their speed. Except Chloë kept winning that, too! (How, I don't know - it's not like there is skill involved!)

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Shout out to my good friends Shana and Kevin! Shana dropped a New Year's Eve baby at noon! She had a little girl, 8½-lb Jaden Heather, an absolute cutie. I'm thinkin' if the pink kimono I'm working on turns out really well, it'll be a present for Jaden instead of going to CARE Package. Since I won that yarn fair and square, it's not officially designated for the charity, and I can do that. ;)

Yay for newborn tax write-offs!

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After the kids' game-playing, I was really cold and had the chills again. Oh, did I mention? I woke up at 0600 Thursday to the sound of a helicopter landing in our backyard. Turns out it was the motor on the HVAC going crazy. Awesome, really awesome. Not.

So anyway, I went to take a hot-hot shower, and Sophia joined me for some sudsy fun. I love her soft, squishy little body, and I just held her and squeezed her tush for a long time in the shower. Then, like I used to do long ago when the kids were babies, I gave her an all-over massage. Got my warm fuzzies in for the day! ♥

(Yes, I have an obsession going on with my kids' butts. So does my sister, with hers. We get it from our grandma, who used to be all over ours!)

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After the shower, I fell asleep, for, like, four hours. What a great nap! It was almost 2200 when I woke up. Time to prepare for the midnight festivities! Only, I came downstairs to find Rob hadn't even given the kids any dinner yet! Naughty Daddy. So there went my plans of midnight snacking (see yesterday's post for the foodibles), since he quickly cooked up some pasta for them that wasnt' ready until nearly 2300. Sheesh! I'd have still made the spanikopita for myself, but I ended up eating some unfinished pasta off their plates and then yakking it up. Not exactly tummy-ready for spaniko, nope, nope, nope!

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After watching the ball drop at midnight, and a nice long smooch with Rob, we took the kids outside to annoy the neighbors bang pots and pans and shout our New Year's greetings. Then we popped the top on the bottle of sparkling cider and toasted each other to the dawn of 2010. Cheers!

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Sophie getting silly on cider!

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And now, time for some cute quotes:

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I asked each of the kids, before handing over tonight's Dad Dollars, what they were most looking forward to in the new year. Their answers?

Jack: "Shakin' my booty!"

Moody and sullen 8-going-on-15 Chloë: "I don't know. Nothing."

Sophia, who practically fell asleep standing there waiting: "Zzzzzzzzzzz..."

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Sophia hurt herself. This conversation ensued:

Soph: "I think I spread my ankle!"

Chloë: "Sprained."

Sophia: "I think I sprung my April!"

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Jack, watching a toy store commercial, shouted, "Toys 'R Us! Toys are not YOU!"

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Chloë asked me, "Why do you do such crazy things like that, Mom?"

I replied, "Uh, like what?"

She rolled her eyes at me and answered, "Put my Finding Nemo shirt that's not fancy with my fancy pants!"

Oh, gee. I'm so ca-raaaazy like that!

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I overheard Chloë telling her younger brother, "I'm older than you, so I'm the boss of you. I'm supposed to be bossy!"

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Sophia coughed a little and then whined, "I'm getting the swan flu!"

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We were reading a book called Actual Size about the actual size of things, and the crocodile page said that the crocodile was a man-eater. Upon hearing that, a wide-eyed Jack queried, "Can it eat ladies?!"

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And with that, my friends, I leave you 'til another week. May 2010 bring the best to you and yours.

Fin.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  

 

Aloha Friday: Happy New Year!

For more Aloha Friday, be sure and click on over to visit Kailani!

So my question this week for you is:

What is the BEST thing that happened to you in 2009, and what are you MOST looking forward to in 2010?

For me, it was definitely losing more than 150 pounds after gastric bypass surgery at the end of January '09, and in 2010, I'm looking forward to hitting my goal weight!!

Happy New Year to all of you!

Fin.