Hello, hello, y'all. I very nearly missed this week's questionnaire, but I pulled myself up to get it done. We've all been doing this for so long "together," and I don't want to lose that.
Happy Spring, Northern Hemisphereans! I'm so delighted. #understatement
Not much really happened here this week that I can think of; that is a good thing! Two weeks ago, my lithium levels were way too low, and I was planning on jumping off the nearest tall building. Now that the doctor has raised my dosage, I feel so, so, so much better. It was almost overnight! And I'm so thankful, so grateful to still be here.
Let's get it done. (P.S. I was just about to post this, and then my Chrome died, closing all my windows and not returning all the content I had here. So I'm aggravated now. GAH!)
1) In this song, John Legend sings that both he and his girl have "room to grow." What about you? In what areas would you like to improve?
Well, hard to do being here in a small hotel room (for yet another two months! Ugh!), but when we move into our new home I really want to make it a point to get out of bed and at least circulate with the family downstairs, every day. I'm in bed so much, some days I don't see anyone but Hubs. And the dogs are getting entirely too used to cozying up with me all day. Something's gotta change, and I want to make the effort. I do not want the pain and fatigue from Lyme dictate what I do for the rest of my days.
2) He sings that when he hangs up in anger, she calls him back. Are you quicker to anger, or quicker to forgive?
Both! And quick to apologize, too. If someone apologizes to me, it's done, it's over.
3) "Ordinary People" was John Legend's first big hit. He originally wrote it for The Black Eyed Peas, but -- happily for him -- recorded it himself. Have you ever purchased a gift for someone else but then decided to keep it yourself?
Really? I love the Peas but I can't see them doing this song justice. As for me, I don't think I've ever done that, but I for sure have wished I had enough money at that moment for a second one. Several times!
4) Ordinary People is also the title of an acclaimed novel by Judith Guest and an Oscar-winning film. Are you familiar with either the movie or the book?
Of course, I definitely knew the movie - my mother was a huge fan of Barbra Streisand. I remember that just a couple of months before she died, she took 7-year-old me and 8-year-old Stacey (my big sister) to the movies to see Yentl. It's one of my last memories with my mom, so I cherish and love Barbra for it, too. As for the book, I don't think I had heard of it, but now it's on my "want to read" list on Goodreads. Thanks!
5) John is married to Chrissy Teigen, who gained fame as a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model. When is the last time you dove in? Were you in a pool, lake, river or sea?
Atlantic Ocean in August and September when we first got here to Maryland from Idaho, but it was a while before that that I actually got in and swam. In the summer of 2017, I swam with the fam at the Boise reservoir. It was a good day, and we had fun, but then I came down with this horrid bacterial infection that left me wishing for death. I hadn't heard of that particular critter before; I guess it was a big enough deal for the county epidemiologist to call me up and interview me over the phone. Guess I lost my nerve after that!
6) John unexpectedly proposed to Chrissy on vacation, but he was afraid airport security would ruin the surprise when they went through his carry on very thoroughly. He worried she would see the ring box and he'd have to drop down to one knee right there at the airport! Tell us about one of your flights: your first, your most recent or your most memorable.
It was just really odd flying back here to the East Coast this past summer. The jets were sparsely populated instead of overcrowded, and there was no food or drink service, and we were all constantly reminded to pull up our masks here or that way or whatever. It was tense and scary on the one hand, but also just another adventure arrow to stick in our quivers, I guess.
7) John is currently a coach on The Voice. The other coaches are Nick Jonas, Kelly Clarkson and Blake Shelton. Of those four singers, which is your favorite?
Gotta go with my girl Kelly! I was nursing my first newborn Chloë when Kelly competed on and won the first season of American Idol.
8) In 2005, when this song was popular, Johnny Carson died. After he retired from The Tonight Show in 1993, he traveled extensively and discovered he especially enjoyed photographic safaris in Africa. If time and money were no object, where would you go on vacation?
I'd have all the money and the time, you say?! Well sure, I'd visit all the continents in turn, thoroughly and passionately. But I wouldn't stop there. I'd say hello to Moon and then head outward for a glimpse of Mars before I hovered out around my favorite planet, Jupiter. I'll end this story of mine there, though, since it's too far-fetched even for me.
9) Random question -- In your typical day, what's the longest you usually go without saying a word to another person: all day, a few hours, an hour, or five minutes?
Right now, maybe about an hour, possibly two hours. But I've always got this little guy and his chonky sister to talk to!
☼
All right, phew, I made it and hopefully will save it in time in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...
Welcome back, friends! I keep forgetting, come Saturday afternoons, that Sunday is right around the corner. And with that, Sunday Stealing. This will be my last Sunday post comin' at you from Boise, if all goes right on Monday morning. After that, we'll be an hour southeast in Mountain Home. I can't WAIT!!!
Link up here if you'd like to play along with us today.
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What was your first movie-going experience without your parents?
I think it was all four (or the first four, if there were more) of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies. I am not a fan of the horror movie genre. I did not have a choice. 🤨
Do you still buy DVDs or Blu Rays (or do you just stream them)?
A little bit of both, but mostly we just try to stream them. Cuts down on plastic in the waste stream and all...
What is your guilty pleasure movie? What about it works for you?
Always a tough decision between Dirty Dancing and Grease. I mean, the GIF list alone for each speaks volumes, no?
You have compiled a list of your top 10 movies. Which movies do you like, but would not make the list?
Oh, I don't know. Probably most sequels and remakes of movies I liked the first go-'round. Although the jury is still out on whether I really liked Finding Dory at all. (The writing wasn't up to par, IMO.)
Which movie(s) do you compulsively watch over and over again? What makes it so great?
Oh, I dunno. I will always watch Splash. And Steel Magnolias. And Pretty Woman. See a theme? (Psst: It's the leading ladies I love!)
Classic(s) you’re embarrassed to admit you haven’t seen yet?
Oh, I don't know, I haven't seen Mrs. Miniver yet, but I don't think I'm embarrassed by any of my list.
Do you have any movie posters hanging on your wall? If yes, which ones and why?
Nope, and I never have. I wasn't allowed to hang anything on my walls as a kid. I was always mesmerized by the walls of my friends who were allowed.
Tell us about a movie that you are passionate about.
Have you seen the movie Precious? Had me sobbing. I think I could Hubs with some tears, too. Beyond that, I don't really want to discuss the movie here and now.
What is a movie you vow to never watch? Why?
I will try not to watch or participate in any activity where whites, males, or any non-minority group profits off of making a mockery of a minority group, such as Soul Man, here.
Tell us about a movie that literally left you speechless.
se7en. I just did.
What’s a movie that you always recommend?
None, because everyone's tastes are different.
Who is an actor you always watch, no matter how crappy the movie?
Matt Damon. Damn. Look at that boy. ♥
Who is an actor you don’t get the appeal for? Why don’t you like them?
Brad Pitt. Meh. I could take him or leave him. He's not my type, looks-wise, and I think he's just okay as an actor.
Who is an actor, living or dead, you’d love to meet? Why do they intrigue you?
Hmm, I don't really know. Maaaaaybe Meryl Streep, because I fancy her an intellectual. I can't say, if I were in Hell-ay or, go figure, Cannes or something, I wouldn't go fan-girling over someone famous, but really I've got to give it to those who do something really genius, no matter what profession. Famous or not. Oh, I know! The cast of The Big Bang Theory. I know it's not movies, which is why I didn't think of it right away, but I basically love those guys. Especially Johnny & Jim.♥
Oh, c'mon. Just one?! This is not fair. Okay, hmm, all the way from the UK, we have:
Idris Elba - Oh, wait:
Are you sure? Because, thanks to Ghana and Sierra Leone, we get to see this:
Just sayin'.
You are casting a movie, pick four or five actors you’d hire to be in it and why we’d love them together.
Okay, take Pitt out of Ocean's 11 and add Idris. I'd be okay with that. Or maybe sub out Andy Garcia and replace him with Robert Downey Jr. Are you okay with that, Mr. Downey?
I think he is.
Which are your favorite actor pairings of all time?
I don't know, I'm too capricious to be picking favorites on anything and everything. I do love Richard Gere and Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, but then again, anybody and Julia Roberts in pretty much anything, amIright?
Have you ever watched movies from a decade that was before you were born? If so, which decade is your favorite?
Hey, no. No favorites, remember?
If you were to be in a movie would you rather play the hero, villain or anti-hero? Why?
None. I'd rather play the sexy femme fatale, the one who is sexy and attractive, maybe a little bad and a little good, the one that knocks you a little bit off your feet and leaves you unsure what you want to do about it... because why not?
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That was a fun one, Bev. Thank you!
Cheers, y'all.
Fin.
P.S.: I don't have all night (it's 0126 here in Bum Fuckin' Egypt) to debate ships v. boats, so I'll let you have a look at this link if you are, anywhere in the entire blessed fucking world, so inclined to argue about the difference:
(First of all, let me just say that it sure is: it's 0339 on Saturday, July 1st, 2019. Heh. Okay, okay, that aside...
Welcome back, party people! My 14yo daughter Sophie and I are up late watching, currently, Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. The kids used to watch this over and over when they were littler. Sophia was shocked to find out a little earlier that I'd never sat down and watched it with them. I'd only heard it a billion times from the front seat of the minivan while they played it in the onboard DVD player! So she had to queue it up on Netflix.
Anyhoo.
Link up here if you'd like to play along with the S9ers today!
(Personally, I'd never heard it, although I do know the other from my pic up top there.)
1) Ricky Nelson laments that he should have been home hours ago. When is the last time you stayed up later than you should have? What were you doing?
Looking up master bedroom inspo for the house we're closing on first thing Monday morning. (EEEEEEKKKKK!!!) Hubs and I agree we both like this one the best.
2) Compounding Ricky's problem is that he's nearly out of gas. How is your gas tank right now? When did you most recently fill 'er up?
Welp, yesterday was payday, so we filled 'er up first thing in the morning.
3) It gets worse! He can't call home because he doesn't have a dime for the pay phone. Have you recently been in a situation where you've been glad you had your cell phone handy?
Only all the time! Yesterday, I had back-to-back-to-back medical appointments (I'm being evaluated for MS now), and I am not the most patient person ever. Good thing I had my phone to keep me busy! And my charger. And... hubs. Who brought his block. I always forget mine. Heh. (For the record, my first phone was like #9 or #10, above.)
4) The video for this song is from an episode of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Ozzie Nelson, Ricky's father, was in charge of the show and made the rules. One was that no one was allowed to smoke on the set... except his wife, Harriet. Do you smoke? Have you ever lived with a smoker?
I do not smoke, I have never smoked, and I will never smoke. Yes, I have lived with a smoker; I do not think it is entirely a leap (especially based on modern medical evidence) that this might help explain why I've had lifelong asthma and migraine issues. This is also why I do not smoke, have never smoked, and will not ever smoke - and neither should you. (And yes, in this regard, I judge.)
5) Life magazine coined the phrase "teen idol" to describe Ricky's popularity. According to Tiger Beat, today's teen idols include Johnny Orlando and Ruby Jay. Johnny was born in 2003, Ruby in 2004. Sam admits that before today, she had no idea who these young people are. How about you?
Nope. Never heard of these two!
6) While Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan have posthumously praised Ricky Nelson's music, 1950s music critics dismissed him as a lightweight. What's the last review you read? Was it written by a professional critic, or was it contributed by a consumer to a site like Amazon or Yelp?
Earlier, I was just flipping through People magazine, and the last review I read in it was for the book The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary. Looks interesting.
7) At the height of his popularity, Ricky tried his hand at movies, appearing in the western Rio Bravo with John Wayne. He turned 18 during the filming, and Wayne celebrated by playfully throwing Ricky into a sack of horse manure. Do you think pranks and practical jokes are funny?
Some things, sure; I don't think I'd like to be thrown into a sack of shit, though!
8) In 1959, when this song was popular, the St. Lawrence Seaway was completed. It connects Canada to our Great Lakes. Without looking it up, can you name all 5 Great Lakes?
Oh, yeah. I've been to Erie and Ontario multiple times, having grown up near Syracuse, New York. I haven't been to the others yet, though.
9) Random question – You drive past a local motel and see the car of a very married friend right there in the lot. Would you ask her about it?
NOPE! Not my circus; not my monkeys.
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So now back to Cloudy... they're at the Jell-O scene. Awww... (I'm alone here, aren't I?)
Hello, all! Okay, first of all, I had no idea that George Hamilton ever made a record. So there, I learned my something new for today. Thanks for that, Gal. I mean, uh, Crazy Sam! 😉 When Chloë and Jack are off to work later, and Rob takes Sophia to her horseriding lesson, I'll be all alone at home. Well, just me and the dogs. And the cats. And the rabbits. And, well, the fish. Anyway, it'll be quiet enough for me to listen to this one then!
Saturday 9: Don't Envy Me (1963) Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
1) What is it about you that you believe your friends and acquaintances envy?
Hopefully nothing! I don't want anyone to feel envious of me at all.
2) Do you have a friend or acquaintance that you envy?
Hmm, no, not really. I wouldn't say that
3) This song was not a hit, even though it was written and produced by the supersuccessful team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Tell us about a project you had great confidence in at the beginning, but didn't turn out as well as you'd hoped.
Okay, first of all, I want this reef scene for my bedroom in the new house. Which one if you is going to come visit me in Idaho to help me achieve this?! 😂 Hm, let's see. In our house in Virginia Beach, I wanted to paint my office a dark burgundy. There was wallpaper in there before we bought it, but I couldn't get it off, so I painted over it. It took three coats, and it was still streaky. And then, on top of that, I tried to decoupage Fleur-de-lis shaped gold leaf emblems just above the chair rail, around the room. Let's just say that flopped, too. The whole effect was awful, and though we lived there for 10 years, I never fixed it.
4) George Hamilton is better known as an actor. He is proud of his performance in the 1960 movie Light in the Piazza. He played an Italian who romances an American girl on holiday in Florence. Did you ever find love while vacationing?
Yes, more than once. When I was 14, my family took a Caribbean cruise and met several members of the Capó family, which owns the humongous furniture chain in Florida, El Dorado Furniture. My love interest on the ship was then-19yo Luis, the oldest son. We had a great time onboard; he has a bubbly, infectious laugh that I loved. The following Valentine's Day, he sent me a bouquet of cookie hearts. Then, when I moved into my dorm in Miami, Luisito sent me an enormous bouquet of peach-colored roses. They were gorgeous. He was my date to my first dance on campus, actually, but it was then that the attraction fizzled. I realized that, somewhere along the way, I'd lost interest.
5) George had a small part in Godfather III. How many of the Godfather movies have you seen? Have you read the book?
I have not read any of it. When we lived on Guam, in 2002, I decided to visit the base library. They didn't have much, but they had the Godfather movies, which I'd never seen. So, with 15-month-old Chloë and fully pregnant with twins, I watched them then.
6) He's gotten a lot of publicity over the years for his personal life, including his 1966 romance with First Daughter Lynda Bird Johnson. At the time, she was living in the White House. Tell us about a memorable experience you had "meeting the parents."
It wasn't the first time I'd met Ben's parents, but one time, they invited me over for dinner. His whole family was already at the table when I'd arrived. Halfway through dinner, I realized that their sweet black cow, Afro, wasn't out front when I'd gotten there. "Where's Afro?" I asked. They all started laughing. Ben replied, with a smirk, "You're eating her." I was so upset!!
7) George is also known for his year-round tan. Have you ever used a tanning bed? Or self tanner?
I know far too much about the dangers of the sun - firsthand, no less - to ever have intentionally tanned on the beach or in a bed. Nope! I have done sunless tanner once or twice. I did not like either the effect or the smell, so that was it for me. I'll just be pale-ass-white.
8) In 1963, when this record was released, President Kennedy made a historic trip to Ireland. Have you ever visited the land of your ancestors?
Not yet!
9) Random question -- The last of a batch of delicious chocolate chip cookies just fell on your kitchen floor. Would you eat it?
I mean, yeah! Chocolate chip?! Of course.
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🍪🍪🍪 And now I want cookies. 🍪🍪🍪
Thanks for stopping by, y'all! Have a ferociously good weekend!
Hey there, hi there, ho there! I'm comin' at ya from the bustling (heh) town of Pocatello, Idaho, where I'm staying in a Travelodge with my youngest child, 14-year-old Sophia. There's some kind of mariachi swing band playing loudly from the saloon at the other end of this corridor, and it's severely distracting. So if I bust into Spanish halfway through this post, you'll know why.
Link up here if you'd like to play along with us this weekend!
1) This song is about separation. Who is the last person you said goodbye (or maybe just "so long") to?
Well, that would be Sophia, I guess. I tried doing this meme from the hotel room, on my phone, and that was an exercise in frustration. We've got to get up around 5 AM - which means, really, for me that I'm not going to bed at all - so I said good-bye and goodnight. Hopefully she'll get some rest.
2) This week's featured artist, Paul Young, was a gifted athlete during his school days and briefly played professional football (aka soccer). Sam enjoys playing tennis, though her serve doesn't give Serena Williams anything to worry about. What's something you enjoy doing, even if you don't excel?
I love playing badminton, but I haven't done it in ages upon ages!
3) Mr. Young and his wife Stacy were married for 31 years, until her death in 2018. What do you think is the key to a happy marriage?
Good communication!
4) Paul Young's performance of this hit song was one of the highlights of the July 1985 Live Aid Concert. This international benefit raised more than $100 million to alleviate hunger in Ethiopia. Tell us about a charity you support.
Have y'all heard of Global Citizen? You should join! It's totally FREE. For the cost of your time and maybe some clicks, you can support causes like: Female Empowerment, Global Health Initiatives, Environmental Conservation, Fighting World Poverty, World Hunger, the Clean Water problem, and so much more. Just sign up here, and you'll be on your way! You even earn points for completing these actions, and you can use those points for things like entering concerts. I've won two pairs of tickets to two concerts before! The last one was Metallica in November in Boise, and I sent Hubs and our son Jack. Very cool program.
5) This song was written by Daryl Hall, of Hall and Oates. What's your favorite Hall and Oates song?
Maneater!
6) In 1985, when this song was popular, the New Coke was unsuccessfully introduced. What's the last beverage you drank?
I'm drinking the Kroger/Fred Meyer version of a Diet Coke right now. I think Hubs packed, like, three dozen cans in the cooler for this trip, and I'll probably still run out. :/
Melanie? Not to my knowledge... although I've lived through my fair share of storms. To wit, here are some: Blizzard of '93 (Syracuse, NY); Tropical Storm Gordon (in Miami); Hurricane... George or Henry or something, or both (St. Petersburg, FL), Supertyphoon Pongsona (on Guam); Hurricanes Isabel, Sandy, & Irene (all in Virginia Beach)... and much more big weather when we lived back in Miami again. We may have looooong winters here in Idaho, but they are pretty mild, speaking solely of precipitation.
8) 1985 was the year that the Titanic wreckage was discovered. There have been at least 11 movies and TV shows about the fatal voyage. Have you seen any of them?
Yes, the Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet version of Titanic came out the Fall after I graduated college. I finally saw it when my excellent friend Shana came down to Miami from New York to visit me over winter break, and we took my roommate Jasper with us to go see it in Coconut Grove's CocoWalk. (Y'all from Miami know the place.) Great movie. I've seen it several more times since then.
9) Random question: Would you rather own and run a coffee shop or a shoe store? Why?
I'd rather run the coffee shop. I wouldn't want to be touching peoples' gnarly, stinky feet all day!! Eww.
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Welp. Better go check up on Sophie to make sure she got some sleep - and maybe try, myself!
First of all, I have not heard of this song before, and I'm kind of out of the loop as far as entertainment news goes, so I had no idea Lana Del Ray was on the soundtrack for The Great Gatsby!! Very cool. It had already piqued my interest, so I think I'll definitely have to read, and then see, it now. Woot!
{The formatting is so weird for Typepad sometimes. Apologies in advance for anything confusing to read!}
Link up here if you want to play along today. Seems like it should be a fun one!
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Saturday 9: Young and Beautiful (2013) Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
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1) Lana Del Rey wrote this song for the soundtrack of The Great Gatsby. She wanted it to reflect the feelings of Daisy Buchanan. Have you read The Great Gatsby?
Admittedly, I have not. It's on my must-read list, though. I don't know why I haven't gotten around to it. Maybe because raising three kids has left me too busy to even read a magazine? But one day I will.
2) In the 1970s, Robert Redford portrayed Jay Gatsby. In the 2013 version, Leonardo di Caprio played the part. In real life, both "Gatsbys" have helped raise funds for the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). Are you careful about recycling and conserving water/electricity?
Oh, goodness, yes! Very much so. I'm teaching the kids more about the environment and ecology this year in our homeschool, and of course, there are always intersections with each topic and the concepts of conservation, preservation, the five Rs:
Although the "R"s do vary considerably from site to site. Most say "Refuse - Reduce - Reuse - Recycle - Rot," but you probably get the point. I am an absolute stickler for reducing waste and for recycling like a maniac. If I find a recyclable item thrown away in the garbage can, I go a little berserk about it. But it's extremely important to me that the kids learn to be the guardians and shepherds of the world they are inheriting, not its destroyers. I think they are learning well. We play a fish game every few months that dramatically explores and explains the concept of conservation. It's really interesting; let me know if you want the (free) link to it!
3) Lana admits that she dropped out of college because she simply could not get the required math credits. When confronted with basic addition, subtraction, multiplication or division, do you do it in your head? Reach for pencil and paper? Or do you take advantage of the calculator that's on your desktop or phone?
I can most certainly do that all in my head, but sometimes I write down the multiplication or division when it gets out to several place values - but only if I'm too tired to guestimate by rounding. Occasionally I'll use the calculator, but that's very rare and usually only when I am in a hurry and MUST have the exact right answer. Short answer? It depends.
4) She enjoys Kurt Cobain, Eminem, Elvis and Sinatra. Which of those four gentlemen did you listen to most recently?
Oh, gosh. I've honestly listened to all four of them recently, but I do think that Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was the very last song of one of these fellas that I heard on the radio. Aaaaand... now I'm gonna have that in my head all day!
5) Speaking of Sinatras, she has described her high maintenance look -- big hair, long nails, elaborate eye makeup, full lips -- as "Gangster Nancy Sinatra." How long does it take you, on an average day, to prepare to face the world?
Well, again, that depends. I used to mandate (to myself) that I had to take a shower, do my hair, do my makeup, and generally have matching (and hopefully cute) clothing on before I left the house. Nowadays, NONE of that applies! I'm lucky to get 3 or 4 showers or baths a week (because of my myriad illnesses), and then I usually just comb out my hair and let it air-dry. If I put on makeup, it's minimal; usually just mascara will suffice for me these days:
However, the other night 13-year-old Sophia wanted to play with my (expensive, fancy, high-quality) make-up, so I let her. But she wanted to give ME a makeover. Needless to say, I did not leave the house after this one:
I think I'm pretty much guaranteed not to be America's Next Top Model!
6) She's a big soccer fan, and her favorite team is Liverpool FC. Here in the US, college basketball fans are currently obsessed with March Madness. What's the last sporting event that you watched?
I don't really watch sports, per se, but when my Hurricanes are playing (particularly football, basketball, and sometimes baseball), I try to stop and at least pay attention to the scores. I don't have a whole lot of interest in most mainstream team sports; my family and I are not particularly athletic! On the other hand, my beautiful niece Karen, above, is a superstar when it comes to soccer and track! She's now in her freshman year playing on the team at SUNY Fredonia; I don't know if she continues with track, however. She's smart and beautiful, to boot! Her younger sister, Hanna, is just the same.
7) Her younger sister, Caroline, studied photography and is responsible for some of Lana's publicity pictures. Have you ever gotten a job because of a relative?
Nope; I got all of my jobs based on my own merits. Unless you count a babysitting job here and there because an older sister wasn't available; I don't.
8) In 2013, when this song came out, Pope Francis became the first pope from a Latin American country. Latin America generally includes Mexico, most of Central and South America, and in the Caribbean, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. What's the farthest south that you've ever traveled?
This was a tough one for me; I actually had to check the latitude of two places in particular:
When we lived on Guam, part of Micronesia and close to the countries of the Philippines, Japan, Korea, Australia, etc., from October 2002-February 2003, we were about 13ºN of the equator. A lot of the tiny island is beautiful, with its clear blue lagoons (the picture above is where we first stayed before getting into base housing, in Tumon Bay near the capital), waterfalls, and lush green foliage everywhere. Some wasn't, but mostly I feel like I would have had a much more delightful time if I wasn't enormously pregnant with a high-risk twin pregnancy! Hot, damp, huge... not a good combination! 😏
[By the way, shout out to those aforementioned twins: yesterday was Jack and Robby's 16th birthday!]
However, even closer to the equator, at around 9ºN of the equator, I was on a Princess Cruise with some of my family as we went through the Panama Canal! That was a special memory, definitely.
I have yet to make it south of the equator. What the hell; I guess I'd better live at least another 42 years so I can do all this traveling that's happening in my mind!
9) Random question -- What button would you prefer your life to have: rewind, fast forward or a pause?
So that's, like, a completely impossible question for me to answer honestly! I'm in a three-way deadlock with those choices; 33.3333% of the time (mostly my childhood) I would gladly have taken the fast-forward button. Another 33.3333% of the time, I would hit rewind so I could go back and have my babies be actual babies again and not these big-ass teenagers I can't get used to just yet! (My youngest may be turning 14 next month, but I still sit and oooh and ahh in the baby clothing and shoe departments at various stores!) And now that I have so many chronic illnesses which contribute to a massive amount of brain fog, I'd hit that pause button constantly to give myself a chance to pick my words carefully while others don't try to supply them for me. It's so hard to form a cohesive thought sometimes, so I'd need that for the final third of the time!
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Phew! That took me a lot longer than I anticipated! Not Sam's or anyone's fault, really. Between birthday "doings" with Jack last night, my computer giving me the blue screen of death not once but twice in the middle of it, and finding myself getting busy with 1700 other things, it's a wonder I finished at all! But that's not to say I didn't enjoy it - I always do! Crazy Sam, you write some great questions. Sometimes I ponder whether I'd ever be good at this duty if you were to step down, and I always come to the same conclusion: Nope. I could not measure up.
Hope y'all have a great weekend, and I'm delighted to finally be able to wish you all a very happy SPRING!
Howdy ho, y'all! The girls and I are re-watching old episodes of The Big Bang Theory, so I guess since I've seen all these before, it's a good time to answer some fun questions. So let's giddy-up!
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What are some small things that make your day better?
Silliness and happiness of my kiddos! I love it when my crew are happy! ♥
What shows are you into?
Well, in addition to TBBT, mentioned in my intro, we of course also love Young Sheldon. We also watch Blackish, A Million Little Things, and obviously Jeopardy! Rob and I have had a nightly Jeopardy! date since we first got married 18 years ago. I think funny and definitely smart men are way sexier than anyone else. 😍 What TV channel doesn’t exist but really should?
An LGBTQ+ network dedicated to the needs, issues faced, and public awareness for this community. We'd watch!
Who has impressed you most with what they’ve accomplished?
Oh, maybe my 15-year-old son Jack. He's been working at a nearby McDonald's for about 9 months now, and he's just informed me, as of Thursday, that he's gotten a second raise and has been promoted to Crew Trainer! I was shrieking on the phone when he called me up and delivered this news. All of this is so exciting to me because he's on the Autism Spectrum and has learning disabilities. Go, Jack!!
What age do you wish you could permanently be?
Let's see... maybe about 36, like I was here. I was at my thinnest, and because I was raised to believe that my worth (and therefore my self-worth) were inversely proportional to my weight, my happiest. I would love to get down to that size again, but meanwhile, I'm working on learning to accept and love who I am, whatever size I may be. (And age!)
What TV show or movie do you refuse to watch?
Real Housewives of Anything
What is something that is considered a luxury, but you don’t think you could live without?
My phone! I looooove my Samsung Galaxy S9... and I've loved my Galaxy since the S2! Or was my first one the S3? Hmm, I forget. Like it matters! 😂
What’s your claim to fame?
I'm the only stay-at-home mom marine biologist I know! 😉
What’s something you like to do the old-fashioned way?
I love to bake homemade bread! Which reminds me, I need to feed the sourdough starter!
What’s your favorite genre of book or movie?
For movies, I confess, I love a good romcom. I like a lot of different movies genres, though, so that's not all I like. As for books, I love a good novel that really makes me think and feel. I like a book that makes me laugh and makes me sob. That's the best.
How often do you people watch?
If I'm in public, I'm definitely people-watching!
What have you only recently formed an opinion about?
I've become more and more strongly convicted about my (family's) decision to go vegan. I hadn't, however, considered the yarn with which I knit. So I've just decided if I'm going to talk the talk, I need to walk the walk: I'll finish whatever projects I've already begun, and then I need to cull the fibers that aren't vegan. Most animal fibers are gained in a much crueler fashion than many people know. So I'll sell the animal fibers and use that money purchase cruelty-free yarns!
What are you interested in that most people haven’t heard of?
Elasmobranch ecomorphology, I'm guessing...
What’s the farthest you’ve ever been from home?
I don't really have a distinct, specified "home," per se... I would say "home" is wherever Hubs is, wherever my family is. My home is his heart.
What is the most heartwarming thing you’ve ever seen?
♥ An old couple in love ♥
What is the most annoying question that people ask you?
I'm 42 years old, and I still get asked, on the phone, "Can I please speak to your mother?" Bitch, please, I am the mother! I can't get mad, I mean, I do have a high-pitched baby voice, but it does get annoying. Especially when Rob himself called me up and, thinking I was Chloë, said, "Let me speak to your mother." 😂
What could you give a 40-minute presentation on with absolutely no preparation?
Parent bereavement and/or Infant Loss
If you were dictator of a small island nation, what crazy dictator stuff would you do?
I would ban tobacco/nicotine use of any kind, make recycling mandatory, and... all food would be plant-based.
What is something you think everyone should do at least once in their lives?
Hey, everyone. I missed Saturday 9, because I was weak and tired and in bed all day, but maybe I'll add it to the end of this post just to add in the fun. ;) It's 2:57 AM on Sunday now, so we'll have to see if the little bit of energy I have holds out 'til then. I hope y'all are well!
Let's begin:
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Do you have a passion project? What is it?
Well, we've kind of stepped back from our candle business a slight bit, now that the holiday season rush is over, but I guess kinda-sorta still that. When my newborn son died in 2003 - Robby, who was the identical twin of our Twin-Twin Transfusion Syndrome survivor, Jack - I started a nonprofit to knit and crochet layettes (blankets, booties, hats, and a gown or sweater) to give to other bereaved parents experiencing infant loss. Our charity, CARE Package, Inc., received handmade donations from all over the US, and sometimes international donations came in, too. After about 7 years, I wound down the charity to concentrate on other things; namely, homeschooling Chloë, Jack, and Sophia. We're still doing that; I'd love to be knitting all the time still, but my body is rebelling, and I just can't.
How many languages can you speak?
I speak Spanish, although I'm not quite fluent, and I'm learning Latin with my girls this year. I speak bits and pieces of several other languages, including French, Italian, German, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese... and I'm forgetting some.
What was the last book you read?
I'm still into Recipes for Repair, which promises to help those who have Lyme Disease. I'm not far into it yet, so I'm hoping it will do what it says it will!
Where in the world would you most like to visit?
Hands down, I want to visit the Great Barrier Reef the most. I just hope it's not too late, by the time I can get there!
Top 5 fictional characters?
Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, Caesar Flickerman, Effie Trinket, and Haymitch Abernathy - all right, I admit I have a bit of a love for The Hunger Games series!
Something you miss from your childhood?
I miss my grandparents something awful! They were among the very few good things about my childhood - no, they were the best!
(P.S. It's 6:25 AM now, and I just woke up. Again. So much for my energy holding out!)
What skill do you wish you had?
I wish I could really belt it out when I sing. I mean, I can sing well, carry a tune, and all that, but I don't have a lot of power behind my voice. Maybe from being sick a lot as a kid, but I just don't have a voice that can carry to the back of an auditorium without a microphone, y'know? Beyond that, I wish I were an incredible gymnast! Tell us an interesting fact.
I don't know if you meant about me or not, but my head immediately goes to sharks - still! Like many animals (Hubs likes doing it to our dogs and cats), sharks - even Great Whites! - will go into a state called "tonic immobility" if you turn them upside down. They are vulnerable and helpless in this state. As they age and grow, they move up to the top of the food chain, just below Orcas and the greatest enemy of all animals: mankind. Some Orcas have developed an ability to put these adult Great Whites into tonic immobility, so that they can feast on only their highly-nutritious livers.
What was your favorite subject in school?
All sciences, of course, but since I am a biologist, it's gotta be Biology. But I loved school. All school. Even Social Studies... although, I did not and do not like learning about war.
Favorite planet?
Big, beautiful Jupiter, with it's giant red spot and dozens of moons...
Which historical figure fascinates you and why?
Mahatma Gandhi, because with his peaceful protests and non-violent resistance, he was on the forefront of changing prejudicial and unjust laws without military might. I admire that.
Favorite mythical creature?
I love mermaids. In fact, I even admitted in my article on LinkedIn that I think I was one in a past life! ;)
Do you believe in any conspiracy theories?
No. What is your favorite word?
That one. Oh, I thought for some reason you said favorite curse word. hahaha! I really did. Well, maybe for me it's the same? Even though I have an extensive vocabulary, I do find the word f*ck so very useful.
Do you have any obsessions right now?
Yeah. I'm obsessed with Bob's Burgers, and I've got it on my DVR so I can catch up on as many past episodes as possible. If you're not watching, and you like to laugh, you should totally start.
Do you play any instruments?
I play a mean harmonica! I took lessons playing the organ my mom played and can do a little keyboarding/piano still, but not much. I'm just horrible at sight-reading music; it doesn't come naturally to me.
What’s your worst habit?
I stay up long past the state of exhaustion and then can't bring myself to bed. When I eventually do get to bed, I'm so tired I can't get up when it's time. I completely collapse. This habit started in college, where I quickly learned that you either got great grades - or you slept. Now that I have this capricious illness that lets my body either slightly function or not function at all, I take those functional days and don't want to let them goooooo!
Do you have a collection of anything?
I have a pretty big shot glass collection from all over. I also collect magnets. I have part of my grandmother's spoon collection and part of my mother-in-law's spoon collection, which I love. I used to collect interesting keychains from my travels, too, but I've stopped now that I see how useless they were to me. Just heavy!
What’s your biggest ‘what if’?
That would probably be "what if" I hadn't abruptly quit my Ph.D. program at the University of South Florida and, instead of taking a little time off to think about my goals in life, eloped with a guy I'd just met off the Interwebs and then quickly found myself pregnant with our first little girl... What if that hadn't all transpired? But it doesn't matter to me to think about these things, because there is nothing I would change about what I did do! What is your favorite fairy tale?
Is it any wonder that The Little Mermaid is my favorite fairy tale - Disney-fied or not?!
Have you ever dyed your hair? Is there a color you’d like to dye it?
I have dyed my hair black (once), and I have died it various shades of auburn for years and years... but right now it's undyed. Now I'm seeing all kinds of gray - no, actually, they're pretty shiny silver - but I call them "extra blonde" hairs, even in my eyebrows and lashes!, and I am not really loving it. I'm trying to decide whether and what to dye it next. This, in the foto, is my younger daughter, Sophia. She has just died her naturally-blonde hair this interesting shade of blue. I love it! She has also dyed it turquoise and fuschia in the past. I wish I had her guts!
If you could learn one language overnight, which would you choose?
Italian. In a heartbeat. So I could go live there and eat my way through the country. You know, in a vegan way, so... cucina povera-style.
What’s the most useless thing you know how to do?
I can think of a lot of things I can do, but I can't think of any I would term 'useless'! Even cooking meat- and dairy-based dishes is useful to me now, in vegan cooking, because I can take what I have learned and transform my favorite recipes (and new ones!) into something vegan. So... I don't know?
What’s the most important change that should be made to your country’s education system?
(First of all, look at this graph. It makes me proud of my origin state, New York, because they know what's up! It does make me sad for many of the other states. I have lived around the country enough to know that spending dollars = higher achievement for students. So c'mon, United States! Get with the damn program, already!) Anyway, the most important change I think the US needs to make for the educational system is to PAY EDUCATORS MORE! I think there is fear that if we grant educators a higher salary, we'll be stuck paying higher wages to the same (and I'm absolutely not saying that all current educators are) mediocre teachers. I know the exact opposite will happen. The good teachers, the ones who care and bring knowledge of how to reach our kids, are getting burnt-out and leaving the profession for, often, something that pays more. Mediocrity is what gets left behind. A higher wage will attract better teachers who are able to provide our students with a more robust education. It will. There is no doubt. It just needs to happen. (And we need to get rid of the idiotic Betsy DeVos!)
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That was interesting. And long for me. Hopefully it made sense, since my pain and fatigue levels are off the charts! Ugh.
Howdy, folks! I missed the super amazing fun times this past weekend because I'm having a bunch of anaphylactic episodes due to what my immunologist termed a "full-blown autoimmune assault." So that's fun. I did an undercover assignment for several hours with my younger daughter, Sophia, and reacted there. And everywhere, pretty much. It's not awesome - especially because I missed you guys!
So I'm trying to get these two in under the radar. While eating delicious fruit salad. And watching a marathon of Bob's Burgers with Sophie, Jack, and Hubs. Funny stuff. Do you watch it? Why not?!!
Welcome to the last Saturday 9 of 2018! Thanks for a great year, everyone.
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1) This is an unconventional take on an old familiar song. Over the holidays, do you prefer traditional carols? Or do you like to mix it up with with more contemporary fare?
I like to mix it up. Along with old favorites, I love the song "Santa Tell Me" by Ariana Grande along with pretty much everything by the Pentatonix.
2) Now that Christmas is behind us, are you enjoying a relaxing week? Or do you have socializing/celebrating/chores to do?
I think most of the socializing and celebrating is behind us, other than having fun times tonight with the family. I did want us to go downtown here in Boise, where instead of a ball - I shit you not - they drop a potato. A damn potato! But we're all sick, so I think we may end up just staying home and watching it on the local NBC affiliate tonight. Bummer. Also tomorrow, I wanted us to go up to Bogus Basin, where the ski resort is near us, for all kinds of New Year's Day festivities, but the two older kids have to work, which would be no fun.
3) Winter is a time for cocooning. What book or movie did you enjoy in 2018 that you would recommend to your fellow Saturday 9-ers?
I really enjoyed the movie Dumplin' with Danielle MacDonald. We've been watching a lot of movies on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video lately, but I think that may have been my favourite.
4) Looking back on the past year, what was one of your happiest moments?
Two things: On April 16th, Hubs had surgery for prostate cancer. His recovery was fraught, and I hated every minute of it for him. He ended up having another major surgery and more hospital stays. As for myself, I had surgery on May 22nd, and it was supposed to be far more major than it ended up being. I was honestly scared for my life and, if that ended up being not in jeopardy, then I was scared of being in even more pain than the endless amount I've been suffering for more than 3½ years. In the end, my surgeon decided to close me up early and save the rest of the surgery for another day. So I can honestly say, in 2018, my happiest moment was waking up alive and well, and being still here to torment the rest of Team Odette!
5) What was the smartest thing you did all this past year?
I persevered! It's worth it.
6) As 2018 comes to a close, what are you most grateful for?
♥ Smiles, joy and happiness from my loved ones ♥
7) This week's featured artist is Herb Alpert. Because of the style he popularized and the name of his band, people assume he's Hispanic. Yet his parents were Jewish immigrants from Romania. What's something we'd be surprised to learn about you?
🤦♀️ I dunno anymore; everyone knows everything about me! 🤦♀️
Maybe that I've been varying levels of vegan/vegetarian since August 1995, and as of about a week ago, all five members are now onboard with giving veganism a good go! Why? Get on Netflix or some other streaming service and watch What The Health? and Cowspiracy, and that'll explain a great deal.
8) He performed an instrumental version of "The Star Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXII. How did your favorite sports teams do in 2018?
Oh, God. My Miami 'Canes were a disaster! They were up against Wisconsin in a rematch from last year at the Pinstripe Bowl four days ago, and we got totally trounced 35-3. What an embarrassment! Hopefully new head coach Manny Diaz can turn things around for the 2019 program.
9) Random question: When did you last check your social media feed?
I just checked my Instagram notifications a few minutes ago. I'm on it now more than Facebook, although I suppose now that they're both owned by the same people, it doesn't much matter? No, really, I like the quick-speed format of Insta much more, I think.
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That was fun. Thanks, Crazy Sam! I'm going to go right into yesterday's Sunday Stealing now, so go take a quick walk around your house or the block or something as an intermission. Then link up here if you want to play along with me and the rest of the thieves, albeit belatedly! ;)
They are if they're a bouquet from Bouqs, like these beautiful calla lilies! I love Bouqs. ☺
2. Do you wear any jewelry?
Yeah, and I like to change it around frequently. I really love Pandora rings (That's why I bought a bunch of inexpensive costume jewelry on eBay recently. I just got this new ring today, and I love it! Except it's scratchy...
3. Have you ever lain in a field of flowers?
I have, but it's been ages, so here's a photo from our April 2015 visit to the Chihuly exhibit at the Fairchild Garden in Miami.
4. Do you like tea?
I like bubble tea. Other tea is okay, as long as it's both caffeinated and flavored. Absolutely no iced tea for me, though!
5. What would you do with a million dollars?
a. Get a good financial advisor and invest wisely, living off the interest as much as possible. b. Buy us a beautiful, elaborate, multi-roomed house like the ones I've been dreaming about my whole life. c. Set up a grantor's trust, so that the kids don't have to struggle any more than we already have and any more than what's necessary for them not to lose their work ethics. and d. Take Hubs on a whirlwind tour of the world, retracing our steps for the last 18 years (our anniversary is on Wednesday!), including here to La Calle Ramblas (with lots of beautiful architecture by Joan Miró) in gorgeous Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. e. And the whole time, I'd have The Barenaked Ladies serenade us with one of our courtship songs, "If I Had a Million Dollars"!
6. What word do you have trouble saying?
Many, many things, but since this is one of Hubs' favorite drinks, I have to attempt to say it a lot: Arnold Palmer. I fail each and every time.
7. Favorite fairytale?
Maybe Little Red Riding Hood, since I have fond memories of my sister and I planning out our skit of it, making props, and then acting it out in front of our grandparents and some of their friends and neighbors.
8. Do you sleep with stuffed animals?
Yes, I sleep with the huge teddy bear Hubs gave me when he gave me my engagement ring.
9. Do you prefer the city or the country?
I am definitely a big city girl at heart!
10. Are you a big fan of makeup?
I used to be, but nowadays I usually keep it simple and just wear mascara and maybe some lip gloss.
11. Favorite drink?
Hands-down, it's Diet Coke! (And for my grandpa, it was "Coke on the rocks!"
12. What’s the longest amount of time you’ve stayed awake?
Several days in a row, once Chloë was out of the NICU. Even when she'd sleep, I had awful insomnia. Man, those were some miserable days for me! (Aside from the beautiful new baby girl, natch.)
13. Have you ever traveled outside of your country?
Beautiful Talofofo Falls on Guam
Yes, many times, but the one I'm most yearning to return to at this point in time isn't even technically outside the United States.
14. Do you like Spring?
I love Spring! It's my second favorite season after Summer. Especially when all the tulips come in around Idaho.
15. Lipstick or lip gloss?
I'll wear lipstick (like my Young Living ones) on the odd occasion, lip gloss (like the lighted mirror-containing one at the back of the picture above) slightly more frequently, but mostly lip balm.
I do! My tastes run eclectic and colorful as hell, like here, which is certainly not for everybody!
18. Do you ever go barefoot when you’re outside?
I love being barefoot! Especially when we're at the beach... nothing like it!
19. Are aliens real?
How the hell should I know?!
20. Does your zodiac sign fit your personality?
I don't really buy into astrology as anything more than entertainment. I find bits of myself in all 12 signs of the zodiac - and some of all the Chinese ones, too. But I do often see a lot of myself in the Virgo horoscope, like above.
21.Favorite sea animal?
I think right now, at this moment in time, it's the Tasselled Wobbegong, Eucrossorhinus dasypogon. Cool looking, right?
22. Are you a nice person?
I try very, very hard to be. I don't always succeed, but I keep trying!
23. Favorite word?
FUCK! (hee.)
24. Night or day?
Oh, I am a total night owl. Also, science has found that we night owls are: more creative; more intelligent; more productive; and, more successful. However, we are also more likely to be single and die early.
25. What would make you happy right now?
It would thrill the shite out of me if I stopped having allergic reactions to every single thing. I mean it: everything. Every food I eat. Being too hot. Being too cold. Medications. And things are moving quickly in the wrong direction. So yeah, for 2019, which in this time zone (MST) starts in 04:12, I would really like for at least that aspect of my poor health to turn around. I just can't do it anymore!!!
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So it's almost 8 PM, and I guess I better figure out the plan for New Year's Eve! Kinda late for that, but meh! Not feeling it this year.
Welcome back, homeslices! 🤣 I woke up sick as a DAWG today 😞😭🤧😷, so I'm not feeling the (self) love. I know just being "here" with all of y'all will cheer me up, though, so let's bring it! 😍🤩💗💖 Link up here if you'd like to play along with us this weekend, or want to check out all the other amazing thieves among us!
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What did you do last year that you had not done before?
Well, since two of my kiddos came out late last year as gay or bisexual, the three of us attended the Boise Pride Festival this past summer. It was SO fun, so loving, so joyous, and so inclusive. I loved every moment of it, and I am so proud of my girls for having the strength and courage to embrace their true selves. ♥
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Did you keep your New Year's Resolutions/goals for the year and will you make/set more for next year? What are they? What are your new ones?
I'm sure I set some, but I don't remember what they were! I'll probably set more for next year, but I haven't done so yet. I'll keep ya posted! 🙃
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Did anyone you know give birth? Or become pregnant? Or adopt?
My good friend Stephanie, who first was my kids' babysitter in Virginia Beach, when they were itty bitty, is pregnant with her fourth son!
And my high school pal, Lora, gave birth to her second son this year. Her kiddos are so cute! It's the year of boys! ♥ (I'm sure there are plenty more, but I'm forgetful.)
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Did anyone you know die? Or have a serious illness/injury?
Gosh, I can't think of anyone who died - I hope I'm not forgetting! Aside from myself, Hubs was diagnosed with prostate cancer earlier this year and had surgery to remove the prostate. The recovery was heinous for him, and he had another surgery after that to repair the perforated bladder and fix the internal bleeding happening after the first surgery and on and on... it was just terrible for him. 😢
Also, someone on his side of the family is in a serious breast cancer battle right now, and we are thinking of her all the time, wishing her well.
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What places have you visited?
Well, the hospital for one - a LOT! heh heh
We visited the Boise Ronald McDonald House on multiple occasions to make donations and take tours. This is a cause that's near and dear to our hearts (Dammit, Gal, I left it off your annual charity round-up post! DUHHHHHHHH!!) because we stayed in one while Chloë was in the NICU in Pensacola for 10 days. It's an amazing place. Visit one and I guarantee your heart will melt.
We drove out to Wasatch Sport Horses in Eagle, Idaho, many, many times for Sophia's riding lessons. Our new second home!
We went to many lessons at Chloë's fencing club, until she decided not to continue at the end of the season.
Listen, y'all, I could go on and on. And on!
Any new pets? Lost a pet?
Yes; critters we've lost this year:
We lost Rob's gentle giant, Henry, to a suspected sudden asthma attack. It was very sad.
We lost both of Chloë's beloved guinea pigs, Alexander Sirius and James Theodore, on the same day to unknown causes. She feels devastated and blames herself. 😢
Jack's old gerbil, Lucy, who lived a good, long, loved life with him, passed away peacefully. She is missed.
And finally, we lost all but one of our 2017 chickens, our White Silkie Athena, to a predator massacre. I was so crushed!
Critters we've gained this year:
We got 21 new rare-breed chicks in September. There's Athena keeping watch over the new babies. Two of them have since died, so we're at a 2018 flock of 20 chickens, currently.
Jack adopted this bunny-buns, Fudge, for his 4-H project this year. He's ridiculously soft!
And very shortly after that, Jack - an extremely conscientious pet owner - adopted Rocky so that Fudge could have a playmate. The two are still in separate cages, though, awaiting their neutering so they don't fight. Rocky's such a love! ♥
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What would you like to have next year that you lacked this year (doesn't have to be a physical thing i.e. love, job security, peace of mind...)?
Well, aside from improved health, obviously, I would love to buy and move into a house of our own once again - like this one!. I yearn for it!
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What date from last year will remain etched in your memory and why?
April 16th, 2018 - that's the date of Hubs' prostatectomy that sucked big ass. He's still recovering.
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What was your biggest achievement last year?
I try to keep it lighter in my SS posts, but that's not always possible for me. So to answer this question: I realized and acknowledged that I was raised in a cult. I was an unwilling member for almost 21 years. And I went back to therapy, where I am finally in "intensive care" to undo the effects of the trauma, abuse, and brainwashing I've endured.
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Did you get sick or injured?
Well, yeah! I have a lot of new diagnoses from this year. Mast Cell Activation Disorder, ME/CFS, and (possible, waiting to be genetically tested) Ehlers Danlos Syndrome among them... and since I'm now stumbly-bumbly all the time, lots of injuries from falling. I rely on my walker or wheelchair most of the time when I'm out of the house now.
What was the best thing you bought?
Well, I don't know! Lots of things, I guess, and I'm sure I'll get this wrong. I won, this week, a photography contest, wherein I was stacked up against several professional photogs, and for the prize I could get a $50 gift card to anywhere. I opted for P.F. Chang's, which we never get. I don't know why. But I snuck a slice of cheesecake in there, and WOW! That shizz was the bomb! And this is coming from a New Yawka who knows her cheesecake. Two thumbs up!
Oh! And I signed up for Grove Collaborative to get all kinds of good-for-us and good-for-the-earth stuff, and I'm really happy with our membership thus far. Their customer service is outstanding, and the products and prices are great! I'm a huge fan. If you want to sign up here, you'll even get a free 5-piece gift set. I loved mine!
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Where did most of your disposable income go (money leftover after you pay for food, medical care, basic clothing, transportation and shelter)?
You say that as though there is any disposable income! 😂😂😂 Have you never tried to raise three hungry teenagers, 20 chickens, two dogs, three cats, and two bunny rabbits - not to mention the four score and seven prescription medications I take daily - on an enlisted veteran sailor's pension? BWAHAHAHA! But if so, we tend to spoil the pets. Especially the doggos. I mean, I love to get the chickens toys and chubby mealworms and stuff, watch the cats go insane on new catnip toys, etc., but the dogs! Nothing makes me happier than watching two butt-wiggling pooches get their BarkBoxes in the mail!! And oh, they know that that box is theirs, long before it gets opened. They just know. (I highly recommend it!)
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What song will always remind you of last year?
"Girls Like You" by Maroon 5, featuring Cardi B (Gal, can we please, please, pleeeeeaaase do this song on Sat9 sometime?) is a song my 13yo daughter Sophia and I have played on the radio, YouTube, or whatever umpteen million times over and over. We sing along to every word and then, when Cardi B's part comes on, we blast it even louder and rap along to every word. I don't care how white we are, we rock that $h!t!
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What do you wish you would have done more of?
My husband! 🤪😂😈
What do you wish you would have done less of?
Crying in pain (this photo is from Friday night, just hours ago, but represents many nights)
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What was your favorite new TV program? Movie? Album/Songs? Or if you didn't pick up any new ones, what are you still watching/listening to? Any recommendations?
Well, I've finally really gotten into Bob's Burgers this year, and it's a good thing I did, because that $h!t is fookin' hilarious! I like to pretend I'm just like Linda, which I am, and I do both Linda's and Bob's and sometimes Tina's voices. If you're not watching it yet, why not?! You oughtta be. I DVR every episode. We all love it. Yeah. So.
Also, I recommend Ellen De Generes' new stand-up special, Relatable, on Netflix. I love her talk show, so I finally queued it up and am watching it right now. She swears, y'all! That's relatable!
What was the best book you read this year? How many did you read?
I'm reading Recipes for Repair right now, which I just started but bought about two years ago, to see if it will help any of my autoimmune disorders. It's hard. I'm having allergic reactions - sometimes anaphylaxis - to every single thing I eat lately, so I've just gotta do something! Plus, my therapist recommended I read something along these lines. I don't think I've read any other books this year! Shocking!
What did you do on your birthday and how old were you? Did you feel differently?
Well, first of all, I turned 42, and Chloë made me these birthday cupcakes. She baked Hubs' chocolate bundt cake - his favorite - too, and was really excited about doing both. Only, I was looking at these photos recently, and I just don't remember these cupcakes. I mean, I know I was there and must have taken the pictures and blown them out, but I cannot recollect them for the life of me. This is very distressing. My short-term memory has been stolen from me since I became ill in 2015, and I hate it!
Also, Hubs gave me a pedicure, which he often did during my pregnancies when I couldn't reach and now often does again since my joints are so stiff and painful. Yeah, he's a keeper. (Also, pssst! Robert! I'm due for another one!)
Chloë's birthday (9/7) is the day before mine (9/8), so we usually celebrate together by running around collecting all the billions of birthday freebies out there. Here are some from this year:
[click to embiggerate]
I'd list them out for you, but as you can see, um, it's kind of a lot.
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What political or social issue stirred you the most?
I will always, first and foremost, be an environmental activist. Now, more than ever, it is crucial for denizens of Planet Earth to become acutely aware of what we as people are doing to harm the planet and what we as humans can do to remedy that.
Additionally, I am a Global Citizen, and I am dedicated to working for the causes of education for all; those that promote equality for women and girls; ending world hunger; and, bettering the health and sanitation practices around the world. I even get points for sharing the information I learn, and I've used those points to enter contests. This year alone, I've won two concerts: Amy Lee (of Evanescence) and Lindsey Sterling, which I'd entered for Chloë's sake - but I ended up winning the one in Phoenix, Arizona, and we could of course not make it there. The other concert was just recently, here in Boise: Metallica, which I sent Rob and our 15yo son Jack to. They had a blast!
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Who was the most interesting new person you met?
Hmm. I don't know; I've met a lot of interesting folks. I'll say my new orthopedist, Dr. Alex Homaecheverria. Not only is this doctor smoking hot (I'm married, but I mean, c'mon! I'm not dead!), but he's relatable. Great bedside manner. And he genuinely seems interested in truly helping me improve.
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What changed at your job?
Well. For one, Chloë, Sophie, and I started a specialty candle company called Every Wick Way on November 1st! I'm so excited about this! Most of our items are listed in our Etsy shop, but I'm still working on the website for Every Wick Way. Check it out! ;)
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What changed in your home?
Well, we got those 21 baby chickies from the hatchery, so they would need a place to live, right? After forever and a day (seriously; we're talking over a year), Hubs and another military vet friend got together and built it basically in a day. It's not perfect, but it's pretty great, and so far we've avoided another slaughter. Whew!
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Describe how a relationship changed.
Well, I'm like this ^^^ so it's completely surreal for me to read things like this. Anyway, I've been distancing myself emotionally from my father more than I ever have in my life. It's been hard. He's noticed, too, and wrote a note to me about it in our Christmas card. Such tomfuckery. I'll not have it!
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Do you think you are still the same person that you were at the beginning of the year? How so?
No. Of course not. At the end of every year I hope I have grown and learned so much during that year that I am a completely new and more enlightened person by the end.
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Summarize the year in three words or less. Bonus points for doing it in one word. Explain.
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How have people around you changed?
Well, I don't know about everyone's internal dialogue or whatnot, but I feel like this year, as I've become even more self-aware and adulty than ever, I feel that people are changing the way they respond to and interact with me. I feel it every day. It seems like some people actually like me, which I never really thought could be true. It's delightful.
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What have you learned throughout the year?
Well, I've definitely learned that I do, in fact, have limitations. And also that getting older sucks, and I do not care for being forty-freakin'-two!
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What was your favorite outfit for warm weather? Cooler weather?
Warm weather:
Something cool, comfortable, and hopefully, cute!
Cool Weather:
Anything remotely warm, comfortable, and hopefully cute! ;)
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Did you learn any new crafts or techniques? What was your favorite thing you made?
Oh yes, of course! For Every Wick Way, the girls and I jointly learned how to make soy and beeswax candles and melts, and we're taking very explicit notes so that we can duplicate everything that turns out great. And most things do, because we're just amazing like that. ;) I'm always learning something new in the craft world. Every year, I've got a new thing going. I embrace change. Love it. Adore it!
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What changed about your physical appearance? (Hair? Wrinkles? New makeup style? Etc)
Well... Before:
And now:
So let's see... Since the top picture was taken a couple of years ago, I've gained a little (read: not a little) weight, my eyes are getting greener as I get older, I've at least temporarily stopped coloring my hair auburn (which I've been doing since my freshman year of college!), I started growing out my bangs for the first time ever in my live (but just got sick of it and trimmed them back to 'normal' this week, heh), pierced my septum, and pierced my tragus. Dang, when I read it back, it sounds like kind of a lot, no?
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What are your hopes and dreams for the new year?
Well, I'd love to say I wanna buy a house (but I said that already) and that I want to lose weight (but when don't I?); however, instead, I hope to bring awareness about and then somewhat defeat the health struggles constantly plaguing me:
I have multiple Autoimmune Diseases, including: Raynaud's Syndrome, Mast Cell Activation Disorder, Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria, and Anticardiolipin/Antiphospolipid-Antibody Syndrome, for starters - but now I'm blessed with a medical expert in Asthma, Allergies, and Immunology who is doing the right tests and looking at the right things.
I struggle with Fibromyalgia, but now I'm blessed with a medical expert who brings me in and gives me Trigger Point Injections whenever I call up and say I need them.
I have Bipolar I with Psychosis, but now I am blessed with an expert psychiatrist who listens to me and knows what to tweak when I tell her what I am experiencing, as well as an incredible therapist who is helping me navigate the intense, childhood-long traumas that (I believe) led to the bipolar, along with severe PTSD, OCPD, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
I have Chronic Lyme Disease and am daily trying to manage the extreme pain in my bones and joints from that, while trying to explain to every medical professional under that sun that just because I was treated with antibiotics for two weeks after I tested CDC-positive for Lyme, that I am not "cured." Some listen. Much, much more education is needed on this subject, and it is intentionally being squelched. Very frustrating!
I probably have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, but I'm waiting for genetic testing to rule it in or out, which takes up to a year for the appointment in these parts. I have hypermobility and am constantly having dislocations and subluxations, along with just about every other symptom up there - but fortunately, I am now blessed with a knowledgeable physical therapist and a stellar (and hot - see above) orthopedist who have many tricks up their respective sleeves to try and help a girl out.
And now, I also have Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, but I'm now blessed with an ME/CFS specialist in Salt Lake City, whom I now see every other month or so, who has made it her life's work to care about those of us with this devastating illness.
And that's not even my whole list. So when someone (I believe from here, but I'm certainly not going to name names) tells me to "snap out of it," or when I get letters from my fng father telling me not to be a drain on society and make something of myself... well, it kinda breaks me. That is so soul-crushing. So, you guys, just don't do that to chronically ill people, okay? That is just not cool!
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Whew! That took me hours upon hours to do! Well, okay, I watched the Ellen DeGeneres Netflix special Relatable. And then the whole family sat down with me to watch the Netflix documentary What The Health? which everyone should totally watch, and they all - even JACK!!! - decided pretty much on the spot that we're all gonna be vegans now. I'm so excited about that. Okay, and then Chloë and I stayed up all night watching Titanic, and finally the girls and I just wrapped up Crazy Rich Asians, both on Amazon Prime Video. So I was a little distracted... Hee.
What's up, guys?! Didja miss me? Nah, of course not. I hope y'all have had a great week. Link up here if you wanna join us in this Happy Holidays post, 'cause we'd love to have you. Jumping right in:
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Saturday 9: Happy Holidays! (from the archives)
1. As you can see, Sam loved giving her annual wish list to Santa. Yet some children are reluctant to climb into Jolly Old St. Nick's lap. Did you enjoy the tradition or were you shy? Or did you bypass it altogether -- either because you wrote him a letter or because your family didn't celebrate Christmas?
Hmm. I can't remember sitting in Santa's lap ever, so I don't know if I did or not. NONE of my kids liked it their first and maybe their second Christmases - we have pictures of all three sitting there crying in his arms 😂😂 as babies. I probably hated it too, if I did it, because I've always been desperately shy. I don't think I ever wrote him letters, either; after my mom died, my stepmother just asked us to write lists for her.
2. Are you currently on the Naughty or Nice list? How did you get there?
Oh, I remember this question. I think for once, this year, I'm on the Nice List! This is quite a shocker, as I generally try to keep pretty naughty. Hubs and I are coming up on our 18th anniversary, and we had a couple of grumpy months over the summer and early autumn. So I came up with this idea to stick sweet things I love about my husband on his bathroom mirror every day. Then he started doing it back, and by the end of November, we had two mirrors full of Post-It notes! I took them all off and we started over again in December. I love it! It's a real pick-me-up. ♥
3. Did you ship any gifts to friends and family this year? If so, which one traveled the farthest?
I sent a gift to my niece, Karen Joyce (who is named exactly after my mother), now a freshman in college. I'm kind of a slacker in the gifts department, especially this year, and Karen has a younger sister, Hanna! I haven't sent anything technically for Christmas for them yet, though. Karen's got a December birthday, so that was that gift. I'll make it up to them. I swear. 😉
4. Did you buy yourself a gift this year?
Well, I'm in this rose gold season of my life - did I mention this last week already? If so, forgive me for the redundancy but it's 0604, I'm watching Titanic with Chloë (her first time), and I haven't slept a wink! 😉 So I treated myself to a few things; my husband spoils me entirely too much. I bought this rose gold septum ring on Etsy, and I have a love/hate relationship with it because it isn't properly balanced. I have to keep adjusting it.
I also bought this hibiscus tragus ring from the same Etsy shop, but the post isn't long enough to meet the back of my tragus hole, so I'm wearing as an earring at the mo' and have a hoop in the tragus. I'm annoyed about that, too.
I got these rose gold stackable rings from a different Etsy shop, and I am very happy with these. I would love more! And I got the ColorStreet nail appliqués for free for me, when I bought three more sets for the girls' stockings. I thought they were beautiful, but because of the glitter I think, they did not last anywhere near as long as promised. Boo. 😞
For Chloë, Sophia (whose birthstone it is), myself, and Chloë's boss it turns out, I was able to score nine pairs of diamond earrings for less than $4.00 on eBay! So when they came, I was happy to share with the boss-friend. Why not?
And finally, so that Rob could have something to give me for Christmas - because I rarely let him buy me anything - I got these Dearfoams slippers for an absolute steal on Shoes.com. I wanted them early to keep my feet warm, though, so here they are. haha!
5. What's your favorite holiday-themed movie? Have you seen it yet this year?
Miracle on 34th Street. No, not yet. I think I recorded it on the DVR, though. The kids have never seen it.
6. Thinking of movies, Christmas is lucrative for Hollywood. Have you ever gone to a movie theater on Christmas Day?
I know we saw Home Alone - maybe more than one of them in subsequent years? - on Christmas Day. Maybe others, but that's the main one I remember.
7. Have you ever suffered an embarrassing moment at the company Christmas party?
No, but I have had an embarrassing moment at a different company party. Not exactly PG-rated, though! I'm too embarrassed to tell it on this post! 😜
8. What's your favorite beverage in cold weather?
Hmm. I don't know, maybe egg nog spiked with Bailey's Irish Cream? We had that for my first and only time in Miami one Christmas. Didn't take us long to finish that bottle! 😂
9. Share a memory from last Christmas.
I spent last Christmas and New Year's - a total of about two weeks - in the hospital with a life-threatening case of double MRSA pneumonia. I was fighting for my life, locked up in a tiny leaded room, crying thinking I was going to die and leave my kids motherless just like I had been, and thinking maybe I wouldn't even get to see them that day. But for 90 minutes, they were allowed to come in! I truly felt like it gave me a much needed boost of immunity that day, and I pulled through. ♥
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Thanks so much for joining us again at Saturday: 9. As always, feel free to come back, see who has participated and comment on their posts. In fact sometimes, if you want to read & comment on everyone's responses, you might want to check back again tomorrow. But it is not a rule. We haven’t any rules here. Join us next week for another version of Saturday: 9, "Just A Silly Meme on a Saturday!" Enjoy your holidays!
Hey, guys! It's been a hectic couple of weeks since I (think I) last posted, so I've missed y'all. I'm just going to jump into it today, before the busyness picks up again, lest I miss out. Link up here if you'd like to join us today!
Classical: If you were an Olympian god, what would you be known for?
I would be the goddess of the sea, love, and peace.
Byzantine: Do you prefer gold or silver accessories?
I'm particular.
In order of preference, I like copper, then silver, then gold jewelry. Which means it makes no sense that I'm currently awaiting the arrival of a new septum ring and tragus ring, as well as two actual fingerrings, in rose gold from Etsy.
Medieval: Are you religious?
I would say more "spiritual."
Gothic: What is your favourite historic building?
I've always been obsessed with the leaning tower of Pisa, so I guess it's that. I'm still surprised by how big it was when we were actually there in 2008, compared with how it had always looked to me in pictures. Super short!
Renaissance: Have you ever had a time in your life when you felt enlightened or changed?
I've had moments when I've felt that way, yes, which is why it's truly odd to me right now that I can't think of what, exactly, they were and what happened. But of course, I think, there is always a higher plane one can reach.
Baroque: Do you enjoy the finer things in life?
Oh, you know, champagne taste and caviar dreams... beer budget... that whole thing.
Rococo: Is your bedroom full or trinkets and pictures? If so, which pictures adorn your walls?
This is not it, but I have some koi art that my sister-in-law gave me years ago. I love it. It is not actually on our walls at the moment. No pictures and trinkets, either. Our room has our bed, a little bit of other furniture - very little - and a shit ton of boxes. Still. Ugh. We haven't decided whether we're buying a house yet or staying put for the time being.
Neoclassicism: If something came back into fashion, what do you hope it would be?
Kindness
Romanticism: Do you often see things in a positive light?
I really try. And when I can't, I get there with the help of my therapist and EMDR. ;)
Pre-Raphaelite: Which book would you like to see turned into a film?
I know they've already done My Sister's Keeper, but I'm still annoyed by their treatment of it... and now I've gotten Chloë (my 17yo) to join me in that annoyedness! I'd love for them to redo it and do it right.
Impressionism: Do you look for details or take everything in at once?
I'm trained to take in all the details, but I prefer to be a "bigger picture" kind of person, so... both.
Art Nouveau: When were you last at the theatre?
I don't know. It's been a while. This probably wasn't even meant as the movie theater, but that was definitely the last type of theater in which I was. I've been trying to get out on a date with the hubs for weeks - months, maybe - to see Crazy Rich Asians, but even now that it's been at the dollar theater for a month, I haven't felt well enough to go. Maybe this week...
Surrealism: Why does the porcupine think it's a duck?
I dunno, who are we to judge?
Pop Art: Do you enjoy pop culture?
I'm not embarrassed to say I do. Okay, maybe a little sometimes...
Contemporary: What did you do today?
Well, I did a lot on Friday, came home and went out and did a lot more on Friday night, then stayed up all night and did a lot more on Saturday... so I'm not afraid to say I went to bed early (by force, people) last night and slept in past noon today with my doggos. I've been catching up on email, business-y stuff, doing this, and watching The Big Bang Theory, Bob's Burgers, and Young Sheldon ever since. I really should buy some groceries, though...
Looks like we'll have a fun time this month. Link up hereif you want to play along with us!
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Saturday 9: "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" Theme This week's song was chosen because this is the last Saturday 9 before Halloween. Are you unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
1) The Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, was born in England. Name another pop culture contribution England has made.
I got stuck on the Beatles, of course, and my brain wouldn't let go of that thought to let me think of anyone else. But then I jumped to Sir Elton John, and I had to go with him. Boy George, George Michael... I could (now) go on and on.
2) This week's song is recognized as the theme to Hitchcock's long-running TV show, but "Funeral March for a Marionette" is a classic piece written for piano in the late 1870s by Charles Gounod. Do you often listen to classical music?
♪♫♪♫♪♫... I've put that on right now. I listen to classical every chance I get. I usually put it on YouTube on my phone and then ChromeCast it to the TV in order to annoy a certain three teenagers. Of course, to annoy is not my point. I learned in 9th grade Biology that playing classical music during any kind of thinking time for students helps encourage broader and higher levels of thought processing in the brain, so I put it on when I feel the kids will least object. I prefer Vivaldi's Four Seasons the best, but lately they've wanted more Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart. And they still always complain. (Now we have Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata playing.)
3) Janet Leigh's shower scene in Hitchcock's Psycho is considered one of the scariest sequences ever filmed. What's the most frightening movie you've ever seen?
When I was seven years old, in April, my mother died. My father lost all the parenting sense he probably never had and basically forced me to watch Children of the Corn. That same month, I think if not that week! And later, all the Freddy Krueger movies. And after that, Silence of the Lambs. And more. I do not enjoy that stuff. I have had plenty of scary things happen to me in the dark. I do not like purposefully subjecting myself to more.
4) Hitchcock admitted that he "never trusted birds," and he took that fear and turned it into the movie, The Birds. Is there a member of the animal kingdom that just gives you "the creeps?"
Yeah. Home sapiens. Too damn many of us, making too damn many horrible decisions. Soon, we're going to be using up more Earths than Earth has left to give us. It's scary, and not enough people care.
5) Halloween will soon be upon us. Will you carve a jack o'lantern this year?
Yeah, but we probably won't even get our pumpkins until Halloween itself this year. I want to do something like this skull one!!
6) What candy will trick or treaters get at your house?
I haven't decided yet. I give out good candy, not like apples or pennies - I got a lot of those as a kid and was not a fan! Ha. Hallowe'en, to me, is (partly) a day for kids to just let loose, have some fun, and eat a shit ton of stuff that's bad for them. Rob and Chloë say we got fewer than a dozen last year, so I really want to give out full-size candy bars this year. In Virginia Beach we got hordes of kids every year and sometimes had to put out a sign that we'd run out. And I bought a LOT of candy to prepare. That's more more fun to me.
7) When you went trick or treating, did you prefer fantasy costumes (like a storybook character) or scary ones (like a monster)?
Whatever people wear, I prefer interesting costumes.
8) Which candy was your favorite? Which one were you disappointed to find in your trick or treat bag?
Let's just say, if Reese's Pieces Cups had been a thing when I was a kid, I'd be in serious trouble with diabetes right now. I never liked finding pennies and apples, as mentioned above, and I hate(d) Milky Way and 3Musketeers bars. Gross.
9) Which do you find scarier -- cemeteries or haunted houses?
I've always found graveyards to be beautiful and peaceful. I never mined being in them. Haunted houses, on the other hand, I don't even like now. I don't like bad things coming out of the dark and grabbing me. It's terrifying to me.
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And now I think we might watch Children of the Corn. Just to get that memory out of the shadows and out of my worries for good.
Welcome back to Sunday Stealing, another fun meme presented for us by Bev Sykes of "Funny the World."Link up here if you want to join us today!
Sorry for my late posting; another migraine is currently kicking my ass. But I can't stay too long away from you crew without missing you to hell and back, and so here I am. ;)
1. Do you ever doubt the existence of others than you?
Well, I don't know if you meant other humans or other life forms, but I'm choosing to go with the former and say YES! For my entire life, well since I was six years old and moved from Monroe to Syracuse, New York, I have wondered how other people - even those with whom I've had close personal contact - have continued to exist when I can't be there to see them. And with 7.5 billion people on this planet?!! How can they all be going about the daily minutiae of their lives without my being there to witness it?? It boggles the mind.
2. On a scale of 1-5, how afraid of the dark are you?
Five. Bad things have happened to me in the dark.
3. The person you would never want to meet?
The false "president," Donald J. Trump. I struggle to maintain my composure and manners around those whom I loathe so completely.
4. What is your favorite word?
I struggle with various tics of Tourette's Syndrome, including saying random things out loud without thought, so my favorite word changes every time I spit out something new by accident! However, my long-standing most favorite word is "pupitre," which means "student desk" in Spanish. I just like how it sounds.
5. If you were a type of tree, what would you be?
I would be the mighty Red Mangrove tree, Rhizophora mangle, with it's millions and millions of prop roots, because:
"...The Red Mangrove belongs to the 'true mangroves'. The Red Mangrove is a strong and tough mangrove. Rhizophora manglecan handle changes in humidity, salinity, air- and water-temperature... Rhizophora mangle definitely is the most dominant mangrove on our planet. Rhizophoramangle was described for the first time in 1753 by Carolus Linnaeus."
6. When you looked in the mirror this morning what was the first thing you thought?
I thought, I wish I still looked like this from a couple two-three years ago:
Instead of migraine- and pain-laden, allergic reaction-having this:
Ugh. I look like absolute hell.
7. What shirt are you wearing?
I'm wearing a white long-sleeved shirt, because I'm chilled despite the 75ºF-degree temperature outside. It's like a henley, but it's holey and open, but not too open and holey. Basically, it's comfy.
8. What do you label yourself as?
What Pearl B. said. ;)
9. Bright room or dark room?
Full brightness, day and night. Like I said, I'm scared of the dark. And I can't see. I'm both a glaucoma suspect and have just learned I've got the beginnings of cataracts in both eyes. AND I have a condition wherein the message of light and brightness are not being accessed by the brain, so I just cannot see unless every light in the house is on. It's really annoying, especially when I get the electric bill...
10. What were you doing at midnight last night?
I was finally watching the amazing Black Panther movie with my crew (except for Jack, who had to get up early for work today). I loved this movie! Letitia Wright, as Princess Shuri, was my absolute favorite from the cast; I felt she stole every scene she was in and looked forward to more appearances from her. Who has still not seen it? You simply must!
11. Favorite age you’ve been so far?
Probably 24. I got married to the absolute joy and love and light of my life, and then I met the then-second biggest joy and love and light of my life, Chloë Raine, a month early and the day before I turned 25. Marriage and motherhood are what bring me the most happiness in my life.
12. Who told you they loved you last?
This knucklehead, modeling his Navy issued pea coat, pretend-smoking the Meerschaum pipe he brought home from Turkey.
13. Your worst enemy?
You're looking at her. I am my own worst enemy, I'm afraid.
14. What is your current desktop picture?
I have this capture, taken for me by Chloë, of some of our 20 newly-hatched chicks. At that time, they were being kept in a kiddie pool in our living room and learning to drink and eat from waterers and feeders. Now they've graduated to the outdoor pen. I can't wait to see what this mixed run of rare and super-rare breeds turn out to be!
15. Do you like someone?
I'm pretty fond of this crew. I am, however, not fond of their growing up entirely too rapidly. It makes my eyes wet.
16. The last song you listened to?
Right now I'm streaming "The Four Seasons" composed by Vivaldi via YouTube on the telly via Chromecast. Ah, technology. Before that, I was streaming a Vocal Jazz medley, but after a chorus of complaints, I switched from Jazz to Classical. There are still complaints. I am not surprised.
17. You can press a button that will make any one person explode. Who would you blow up?
I would not, could not, do that to a soul, tot... or not.
18. Who would you really like to just punch in the face?
I'd really like to throat-punch this devilish duo.
19. If anyone could be your slave for a day, who would it be and what would they have to do?
I don't need a slave, I have these minions. And it's not just for a day, it's for LIFE. ha.
20. What is your best physical attribute? (showing said attribute is optional)
I think it depends on what my current weight is. When I'm thin, I adore my shoulders and clavicle. When I'm a bit heavier, it's my nose and eyes. I think they're okay.
21. If you were the opposite sex for one day, what would you look like and what would you do?
I don't even know what I'd do or look like. I guess I'd go out and get more respect at a car dealership or anywhere else considered a "man's world." And I would be pissed about it, too!
22. Do you have a secret talent? If yes, what is it?
Hmm, I don't know. But I can do this ^^^ on each finger of both hands. I've been doing it since I was 7 years old. I read about it just now. Apparently it's called "Swan Neck Deformity" and can be a symptom of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Both of those are concerns I might have. I guess it's better than having polydactyly, though.
23. What is one unique thing you’re afraid of?
Mustard. Specifically, the smell of mustard and, even more frightening, the chance of it touching me. I just cannot even. And I make Rob watch his face and brush his teeth before he can kiss me.
24. You can only have one kind of sandwich. Every sandwich ingredient known to humankind is at your disposal.
It would be a pita full of pine nut-filled hummus, sundried tomatoes, sprouts, and cucumbers. Mmm-mmm good.
25. You just found $100! How are you going to spend it?
I'd spend 100% of the $100 on healthy, nutritious, preferably locally-sourced and organically-grown groceries for my family.
26. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world, but you have to leave immediately. Where are you going to go?
Oh, I'd head straight for Australia, mate! It's long been a dream of mine and it's on the top of my Bucket List to go there.
27. An angel appears out of Heaven and offers you a lifetime supply of the alcoholic beverage of your choice. “Be brand-specific” it says.
Okay, that's just weird, but I'll play along: I'd have endless Mai Tais. Mmm, so delish. I think I like them even better than piña coladas, which is surely saying something! The first time I remember having a Mai Tai was in a dive bar near the beach, when we lived in Virginia Beach. I forget what it was called, but it was for a mystery shop. Rob probably had a Colorado Bulldog, and I decided to order a Mai Tai. The bartender served it with a wedge of orange, pineapple, and a red, yellow, and orange cherry. I was hooked from there.
28. 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?
Of course, I would ban all smoking of any kind, including vaping. No one can smoke anything. My island, my rules! ;) 29. What is your favorite expletive?
Probably "fuck," although I have a pretty good curse-word lexicon, and I'm not afraid to use it. People may think that exhibits my stupidity, but I know intelligence has nothing to do with cursing.
30. Your house is on fire. 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 one thing you’re going to save from that blazing inferno?
Well, this sounds like I'm coming home from somewhere to find this fire, so I know I would already have my purse and phone with me. I always do. So... I guess I'd grab my laptop. Lots of info on there I wouldn't want to lose.
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Well, phew! That was quite a long one and took me a long time to answer! But it was fun; thanks, Bev.
Hey kids, what are we all talking about in here? Can I join?
Well, if you came to read Sunday Stealing, you've come to the right place. Aaaaand... because I forgot what day it was yesterday, Saturday 9 is here, too. I've missed a couple weeks, I think.
We've had a lot of wildfires this summer, and my asthma was horiblé. Now that weather conditions have improved, I'm breathing easier again. (Rob totally brought me to the ER because I couldn't breathe and thought I had pneumonia, but it was an asthma attack! I felt so dumb. But in my defense, something I've had my whole life didn't get properly diagnosed until last year!)
1) This song is about a woman who works hard as a waitress. What's the hardest job you've ever had?
After thinking about this for a minute, I'd have to say teaching freshman biology while I was working on my PhD at USF. That was really the first time I truly had to confront my weaknesses in academia. I found out quickly that teaching was hard. Like, hard hard. It was a totally new kind of challenge for me.
2) The lyrics tell us she has worked at this job for 28 years. What's the longest you stayed with one employer?
Other than motherhood (It'll be 17 years this Friday!), it would have to be working at various Publix supermarkets in Florida. Three different ones: in Coral Gables, in St. Petersburg, and then again in Panama City Beach. I liked it more than teaching! Heh.
3) Donna Summer was inspired to write this song during an awards show. She ducked into the bathroom and met the elderly ladies' room attendant, whose job it was to make sure the room the spotless, the complimentary hairspray and moisturizer was abundant, and there was a hot towel for every celebrity who used the facilities. "Wow," Donna thought, "she works hard for those tips." Who is the last person you tipped?
I feel like it's been kind of a while. Maybe it was the pizza delivery guy from Pie Hole? I think so. We'll go with that.
4) Early in her career, Donna was in the touring company of the musical Hair. It played in Munich for so long that she became fluent in German. What's the longest you have ever lived away from home?
Well, that's hard to say. I've never had a home that I've wanted to go back to after I left! I have no parents' house to return to when I'm sad or down and out or anything, so... I guess I'll use this concept a little loosely. When Rob and I got married, and Chloë was a wee babe, we moved to Guam for four months. Just four months! 5) Sam's dad is naturally outgoing and enjoys striking up conversations with waitresses, librarians, the checker at the supermarket, etc. Sam is always polite but more private. Are you more like father or daughter?
Look at this guy, blowing a kiss! That's actually his Facebook profile picture! That's my dad. He strikes up conversations with everybody, too - and this lecherous old man also flirts - hard - with any cute young thing. Ugh. I'm an extroverted (but not much) introvert, so I'm more like daughter.
6) A little more than 10% of the American workforce is self-employed. Have you ever been your own boss?
I've done various things over the years. Like... back when we lived in Virginia Beach, I had a dessert business. However, I quickly learned that rather than something like this:
I'm better at smaller desserts more like this:
And now I want to make some petit fours! Too bad I sold off almost all of my baking tools when we moved to Miami and becoming broke was no joke!
7) Labor Day weekend may offer a golden opportunity for napping and sleeping in. Do you snore?
I love how it's always the women complaining about their husbands snoring! Why is that a thing? LOL... Yes, I snore; my hubs rarely does!
8) Will you be attending a Labor Day picnic or barbecue?
Y'know, I don't think so? But we will be going down to celebrate Japan Day at the local Basque Center (just trust me), so that will be fun. I hadn't even thought about what to do after that!
9) Labor Day traditionally marks the beginning of the fall. Will you be adding any new fall clothes to your wardrobe?
I'm sure I will. Every season we all (except Jack; he just wants me to pick out his clothes for him) go to the local ReStyle Animal Rescue Thrift Store. It's like this: they have a punch card. For every 5 donations AND 5 $10 in purchases, you get 50% off your entire next order. And every day, their great quality but already-low prices go even further down, with a different color tag being some percentage off for that day. And on top of that, we get a military discount! So I the girls shop 'til we drop and then come home and show the boys our goods. It's fun!
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Well that was a good one, Sam! Thanks for the fun! I've been distracted by watching Chip and Joanna Gaines on Fixer Upper this morning. I'm very new (like, as of this summer) to their show, but it didn't take long for me to fall in love with them! He's so cute to her.
Anyway.
Time for some Sunday Stealing, which this week is oddly named Freaky Poptart! (Click the links to see other players' answers.)
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What is one thing that you would change about yourself if you could?
There is not a lot about me I'd keep! I'm not my own biggest fan. But I would definitely change my temper. I'd love to be more mild-mannered than I am.
Name three exotic countries you would like to visit:
I would visit Japan, Australia, and Argentina! Oh, hell, I'll go anywhere 'long as you're buyin'!
What do you think the secret to life is?
I think the secret really is that you have to bring joy to others. The more joy you give out, the more joy that ;,; ,mcomes back to you. It's the good kind of vicious-cycle. I try to develop that sense of joy in each of my kids. (Although it's pretty hard for Jack.)
Best concert:
I'd have to say it was the Bob Dylan * John Mellencamp * Willie Nelson concert at the Norfolk Tides' baseball field back in Virginia. Bob Dylan is a huge favorite of Rob's, and he really wanted to go see them play. I was so thrilled to be able to take him, and he had a great time. I even liked their opening act, The Wiyos!
Song you can listen to over and over and not get tired of:
That changes all the time, but lately it has been "Girls Like You" by Maroon 5; I even like the Cardi B bit, and I'm not a huge Cardi B fan. It's catchy!
Worst movie music soundtrack or score:
My mind is a blank on this one.
A song you wish wouldn't get stuck in your head but always does:
Have you heard the Wayfair jingle on their commercials? There's a ton of them every commercial break on HGTV, it's so annoying... but also catchy.
Who was your FIRST date?
It was this guy, Ken, who was a year ahead of me in school. We went to the movies. I don't remember what we saw. Soon after that, we met up at this mall near my house, which was a total ghost town by that point... my first kiss. Now I know he is the biggest a-hole, but eh. You gotta know what bad is before you can realize how good good is, right?
And Rob is GOOD.
Do you still talk to your FIRST love?
Yeah, Ben and I are still Facebook friends... although I guess I've been asleep at that wheel, because it appears he just got married?!! I'm so shocked!
What was your FIRST alcoholic drink?
In my Senior year of high school, my older friends from work used to take me out a lot wherever they went - including to bars. I mean, I was only 17, so their trick was to get me drunk on shots of Goldschläger at one of their homes before going out to drink some more. We had a lot of fun times, and we made a lot of memories, but I obviously don't recommend that! I have more than one Goldschläger story. So, I don't like the smell of cinnamon much anymore!
What was your FIRST job?
I did a lot of babysitting first, but my first actual paycheck was from BigM market in Baldwinsville, New York. Fun times; I loved it and, for a while, my best friend Lisa worked in the deli while I ran the cash register. (I've worked in a lot of grocery stores! Winn-Dixie, too, in South Carolina - oh and also, for two days, Fred Meyer here in Boise!)
What was your FIRST car?
This picture almost makes me cry. I bought a red 1991 Ford Escort wagon in September 1993, when I was starting Senior year. My father basically stole it from me. It's not a happy memory.
Where did you go on your FIRST ride on an airplane?
Hm. I've been flying since birth practically, so I don't even really know! When we moved to Syracuse from Monroe, New York, we started flying back and forth to my mom's parents in New Jersey a lot. But I think we I had to have flown since I was knee-high to a grasshopper.
Who was your FIRST best friend & do you still talk?
My first two best friends were my sister Stacey our babysitter's daughter, Ursula. This is my sister with her (now about grown) daughters:
and this is my friend Ursula with her beautiful family:
And yes, I still talk to both.
Whose wedding did you attend the FIRST time?
It was my dad's to his new (now ex-) wife a year after my mother died. (They started dating three months after Mom died, and he still says my mom was his real true love, etc. Right, right.) My dress was pink; I think Stacey's was peach, Aarin (younger step-sister) had a blue one, and Mindy (older step-sister) wore purple. All matching but different pastel colors. Gag me. (Maybe that's why I hate pastel so much!)
Tell us about your FIRST roommate.
That would be Jen from Rochester, when we were freshman dorm-mates at the University of Miami. We hit it off right away and had a lot of fun. We are not still friends.
If you had one wish, what would it be (other than more wishes)?
I wish I didn't have to live in a world where my neighbors didn't keep taking the COEXIST sticker off my car! Because, y'know, they're the people that need to read it and heed it. (And then I wish we had a house of our own, again.)
What is something you would learn if you had the chance?
The girls and I are learning Latin together this year. I thought I would have a disadvantage over them because of speaking Spanish, but I really don't! In fact, Chloe is beating both of us, and Sophie is neck-and-neck with me. If I could, I would learn every language spoken in this world.
Did you marry the FIRST person you were in love with?
Nope, I married this dork:
He's so cheerful!
What were the first lessons you ever took and why?
These probably weren't my first lessons but the first ones I remember. After my mom died, she left her electric organ, like this one, behind. I couldn't bear to see it and let it just go to waste, so to help me keep my mother alive in my heart, I begged my dad to let me take lessons and use it. I did for a couple of years, but I never got terribly good at it. Then my stepmother came along, decided she didn't want it around anymore, and bought a sleek baby grand piano to put there instead. And she couldn't even play! F**k her.
What is the first thing you do when you get home?
The first thing I do when I walk in is hang up my keys on "the fish." See that arrow? Same thing, every time. On the other hand, when Rob drives, he never hangs up the keys, and they are often missing after that. Also, that fish is supposed to be for keys. Not multiple baseball hats, not multiple dog leashes, but keys. Although now that I have one of my girls' leis from Boise Pride hanging on my hook, I guess I can't say too much!
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Ahhh, finally done. That was fun, but because I'm distracted by Fixer Upper, it's taken me forever! Man, I wish we could afford a fixer upper. And Chip and Joanna Gaines, of course.
P.S.
Shout out of thanks! It was so unexpected when something from our daughter's Amazon wishlist, for her spendy Art program this year, showed up in the mail from you! I was moved to tears, so touched I was. Sophia was shocked, too. Thank you so much for doing that! Our fundraiser has kind of stalled out at $50 donated, and we still have several supplies and about $200 for the course left to go, so we were absolutely grateful for the help. You know who you are - you rock!
Welcome back! I'm hoping to get this post written before my migraine comes back, because it is a doozy. And I know it's coming back by its aura, which I'm getting because I just don't have enough health problems going on right now... :P
I have a set routine, and I always shampoo my hair first. 2. What color is your favorite hoodie?
It's brown!
3. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?
Sure, I guess I'd kiss Hubs again. ;)
4. Do you plan outfits?
Not usually, no. 5. How are you feeling RIGHT now?
Well, I've got this new kind of intractable migraine since a few months ago, even landing myself in the hospital for it this past Monday, and nothing helps. I've had three rounds of Botox to no avail, so I'm now considered a non-responder to that. And pretty much everything else. There's a new injection drug called Aimovig that I've just signed the paperwork to get, so I'm waiting to see if our insurance will approve it since it nears $10K a month. And I might get my tragus pierced. SOMEthing has got to help!
6. What’s the closest thing to you that's red?
Currently, that would be the giant bottle of Tylenol that I keep nearby at all times. Kinda makes sense, eh?
7. Tell me about the last dream you remember having?
I can't remember the reason, but my 13yo daughter Sophia was sorely pissed at me. She's hardly ever angry with me, and I felt fearful to see if she really was when I woke up! (She wasn't.)
8. Did you meet anybody new today?
Nah, not really. Wait, do cashiers and Customer Service reps count? Chloë and I went to PetSmart to get dog food, cat food, puppy pads (our two itty bitty doggos are pad-trained), and two NylaBones on clearance. Then we went to Kohl's to pick up an online order (I got a brand-new bra, three pairs of undies, and four bra hooks - to tighten the straps of my girls' brassieres - for under $23! Plus I bought a new set of measuring cups, since we lose some every time we move, on sale AND they gave me an additional military discount, AND I got $5 Kohl's Cash back for picking up the internet order. Sweet! And then we drove across the street to pick up two Target internet orders I placed a few days ago. It was the hardware for our window treatments. We've been here 17 months and still don't have proper curtains up! Until now.
9. What are you craving right now?
Cheap chocolate. Specifically, Reese's Pieces Peanut Butter Cups - best chocolate under a dollar!
10. Do you floss?
Sometimes. I floss a lot more now that I've lost a filling. Gotta get that thing replaced!
11. What comes to mind when I say cabbage?
I think of the cabbage soup diet! One of my BFFs from high school, Shana, introduced it to me in the mid-to-late 90s. I used it during my internship at Mote Marine Lab after college. Back then, the diet included lots of red meat - and I ate vegan then, so maybe that's why I failed? I loved the soup, though; it really was delicious!
12. Are you emotional?
Uh, you could say that. Just... slightly. ;)
13. Have you ever counted to 1,000?
Definitely in Roman numerals...
14. Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it?
Usually, I lick. I prefer to savor.
15. Do you like your hair?
Not currently. It's too short to put up in a proper ponytail, and with 100°F heat, that's pretty annoying! But it's not as bad as Donald Trump's... thing... on his head, so yay!
16. Do you like yourself?
I find it difficult, but I do try to hold onto those things I do like about myself. 17. Would you go out to eat with George W. Bush?
Yeah, I probably would. I wasn't a fan of his presidency, but the guy himself seems like he'd make an amiable dinner companion. He'd probably crack a lot of jokes. And I am proud of what his daughter Barbara has become, and I really enjoy watching her sororal twin Jenna on the Today show in the mornings, so yeah. Hey Dubya, call me!
18.What are you listening to right now?
I'm listening to - and watching - my 15yo son Jack play the Titan Fall II on the Xbox directly in front of me, and to my right, I'm also listening to our Chiweenie Tapioca chew on her new sirloin-infused Nylabone. She's going to town on it!
19. Are your parents strict?
I have no idea what parenting style my mom would have employed, but my dad and evil stepmother were at times Authoritarian and at times Uninvolved (which was called "Neglectful" instead, during studies of Child Development in college). I was raised in a completely different environment than the one in which I was raised. I try to be very Authoritative, with the occasional Permissiveness in between. 20. Would you go sky diving?
Not even if you paid me.
21. Do you like cottage cheese?
Yeah, but only the 4% kind. I like to indulge now and then.
22. Have you ever met a celebrity?
Yeah, but not any huge A-listers. I helped Dave Barry, the humor columnist, numerous times when I worked at Publix all throughout college. Really nice guy. And I served ice cream to José Canseco and his lady friend once, when I worked at a gourmet ice cream shop before entering graduate school. Really not a nice guy - total douche!
23. Do you rent movies often?
Almost never. We have Amazon Prime, Netflix, and frequent freebie codes for the Redbox - and I almost never use any of them! What a shame. 24. Is there anything sparkly in the room you're in?
I had a hard time finding something sparkly instead of shiny - plenty of shiny! - until I looked down at my engagement ring. There we go! (Boy, do those rings need polishing!)
25. How many countries have you visited?
I've been to the USVI {St. Thomas only}, Puerto Rico, and Guam, but do those technically count, since they're US territories? I've also been to Canada multiple times as a kid; Mexico twice; Bahamas twice; Jamaica; Costa Rica; Panama; Cayman Islands; Spain; France; Monaco; Italy; Greece; and, Croatia. I think that's all of them. Not nearly as many as Hubs, though! 26. Have you ever made a prank phone call?
That may be the first (and only?) time I've posted a picture of actual feces on this blahg. I've made a prank or 17 in my day, but Hubs makes them to this day. We'll be driving along, whether around town or on long road trips, when we'll see a sign or the side of a van or something that inspires us. He manages to last quite a long time while I'm cracking up in the background. Maintains serious composure! One of the more memorable pranks was when he called different Home Depot stores around the country to ask if they sold, specifically, "horse shit." We were trying to find the most polite store, but somehow our quest got lost in the giggles!
27. Ever been on a train?
Numerous times! Both long-distance and also around big cities like Miami and Washington, DC. On one of the more memorable trips, my friend "Jenny From the Block" and I took our combined five kids from Virginia Beach to Richmond, Virginia, by train and back. That was pretty awesome. I would love to do a trip cross-country.
28. Brown or white eggs?
May I please have a combination? These are our very own eggs; I'm sure there's a more vibrant picture somewhere, but this was the first one I came across. We have five hens laying eggs at present, but I'm planning to add more to our flock in September. Of the five we have now: one lays nearly-white eggs, two lay brown eggs, and two are olive layers. I'm enamored of this whole chicken-keeping business! When I order a flat of chicks in September, I'm really hoping to get a rare layer of blue eggs. That would be so cool!
29.Do you have a cell-phone?
Of course - who doesn't nowadays?! All three kids and I acquired new Samsung Galaxy S9 smartphones in June; Hubs has the Galaxy S8 Active. I'm still learning all the tricks and secrets my phone possesses, but I'm already enamored of it!
30. Do you use chap stick?
Not necessarily the Chapstick™ brand, but I am an absolute lip balm fanatic! I always have at least one in the following locations: my purse, the dashboard pocket opening in the car, and my bathroom drawer (I probably have eleven in there). I've tried just about every kind. My very favorite is the kind that the St. Luke's hospital gives out to their patients. It's the best! But a very, very close runner-up are the three kinds from Young Living: Cinnamint, Lavendar, and Grapefruit. I love that last one!
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Phew! Finally finished that long one! Just in time. In addition to the headache, I'm nauseated, have blinding double vision, and heart palpitations. Good Lord, please help me and take this da** thing away!! :( :(
Sorry for the accidental lapse in self-control, there. Forgive me? I hope you'll all have a wonderful week. Forgive me if I'm physically unable to read your posts right now. I can barely see to write my own!
Hey, hey, whaddaya say? I'm glad to be back with you guys for another Sunday Stealing. This time, Bev brings us questions from the Swap-Bot:
Link up here if you want to join in the fun this week. Let's get started, hmm?
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1.Where were you 3 hours ago?
You can pretty much find me on the couch lately, whenever I don't need to be somewhere outside the house. With my severe iron deficiency, it's even hard for me to peel myself off the sofa without help, so here I sit. Hope fully when I get those iron infusions in a few weeks, my energy levels will bounce up a bit. I can NOT wait!
2.Have you ever eaten a crayon?
Not to my knowledge, but hey - we were all babies once, right?
3.Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you?
ThisVictoria's Secret striped blanket is just to my left. When I'm cold and/or snoozing on the couch, it's the blanket I use. With my weird sensory issues, it has the perfect texture for me.
4.When is the last time you went to the mall?
Chloë and I went to the mall this past Tuesday to do some mystery shops I found the strength to perform (paid for it later!), and I was so mad at myself when I realized after we got there that I had forgotten my free product & discount coupons for Bath & Body Works. Grr! I hate the mall so much, so I rarely go. Those coupons will probably expire before I get a chance to use them.
5.Are you wearing socks right now?
No, but now I want those ^^^ cuties! I rarely wear socks. Actually, hospital socks have the perfect texture for my tactile issues, so I guess it's fortunate (or not, depending on your perspective) that I've built up quite the collection of them!
6.When was the last time you drove out of town?
Well, technically, we drove out of town to High Desert Station in Star, Idaho, when we ferried Sophia, our 13-year-old equestrian, back and forth to Pony Club camp last month. But in about 10 days, Team Odette is heading to the Bateman Horne Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, so I can get evaluated and possibly treated for ME/CFS. I'm about 1,000% certain that will be my ultimate diagnosis, with multiple triggers leading up to that. And then, a couple weeks after that, Sophie and I will be traveling to Bellevue, Idaho, to the Intermountain Pony Club Camp & Rally, where she'll be a stable manager for another club's team. (Our club isn't participating, but this will be an excellent experience for her.) Both trips will be our first forays into the Airbnb world. Any tips for us from you Airbnb veterans out there? (both links are to our respective upcoming stays)
7.Have you been to the movies in the last 5 days?
I think it's been more than five days, but we recently went to see The Incredibles 2 as a family - minus Jack, who had to work that day. After a 14-year wait for the sequel, I had pretty high expectations. Don't get me wrong, it was an entertaining movie and my girls enjoyed it, but... I felt let down by it. Meh. At least it was a free excursion, thanks to the kids' orthodontist, Dr. Jacob Jarvis!
8.What was the last thing you had to drink?
Dudes. I need a Diet Coke Bong in my life.
9.What are you wearing right now?
I'm slumming it today. I'm completely mismatched.
10.Do you wash your car or let the car wash do it?
Lately, I've taken a few car wash mystery shops for a local joint, and they do a great job. Next time we have the dough, I want to purchase their $50/month plan where you can get unlimited washes, every day, every week. Idaho is such a dusty, dirty state with little rain, so the car is constantly dirty. I hate a dirty car.
Well, it's after midnight now, so probably the same thing I'm doing now: kind of a Netflix and chill type of deal.
13.Have you bought any clothing items in the last week?
The last clothing I bought was equestrian gear from Dover Saddlery, for Sophia. I got everything on clearance: a white and a midnight blue summer riding shirt, two pairs of riding socks with cute patterns on them, a pair of summer breeches, and for free, she received a Dover saddle pad. Her own tack - her first! Plus I had to throw in the Breyer Turn-Out Set (the toy horse) at her request, but only so I could get to the free shipping tier. Problem is, I forgot to update our shipping address to our Boise home, and everything went to Miami. I had to pay a small bundle to re-route the package to Idaho. Argh!
14.When is the last time you ran?
Who, me? Oh, no. I don't run. I can't run.
15.What's the last sporting event you watched?
I caught some FIFA game, but it was completely by accident. I have no horse in that race.
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And now, I have a request for you.
I have started a GoFundMe page (that's the link) for my Sophia's art education. She hasn't had a lot of formal training, but she is very talented. I've purchased a program where she learns from the great Master artists, but the materials are not included. And there are SO many. I also have an Amazon Wishlist (link there) set up for the same supplies. If you would be so kind, would you mind at least sharing the link(s) to help us raise the funds so Sophie can advance her education? We would be so grateful for a few shares.
Hey, guys! Thanks for coming back week after week to see the weird sh** I've written this time, or thanks for popping in if this is your first time! ;) I'm late as usual on Sunday Stealing. This time, it's because I had to take my daughter Sophia (aka "Foofie") to her showjumping lesson in Eagle, about 45 minutes away:
Sophia on Sunny
So anyway, let me get started, eh?
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Have you ever had a movie both totally captivate and complete confuse you?
This happened to me the first time I watched Ocean's Eleven. I watched it at least three more times after that, which helped straighten things out for me. There is another, more recent, movie that I've watched that repeated this pattern, but I can't think of it now.
2. When watching a movie, do you prefer things all laid out or to have to 'hunt for your own clues' along the way?
Occasionally I don't mind a puzzle-piece, Easter egg type of hunt in a movie, but I generally don't prefer it.
3. Do you want an ultimate ending to your movie or do you prefer to have it open for conjecture and discussion.
I like both. Can I have it both ways? Or sometimes one way, sometimes the other? Tough, I'm taking it.
4. Do you talk during a movie (preferably one in your home, not in the theater)?
I try to avoid it, and it drives me apesh*t when other people do it incessantly. (Ahem, I'm looking at you, Chloë!) ;)
5. Have you ever seen a blockbuster movie and not get what was so great about it?
No. I don't think so, really. However, I will take this opportunity to rant one more time about this non-blockbuster (I think? I hope) franchise, the "Ernest Goes to ...XYZ." I saw the "Camp" one in North Carolina when I was about 12 or 13, with my sisters, and ugh. It was "Oh, my God" stupid. I'm sorry, but there are plenty of movies in the "stupid humor" category (Hi, Chris Farley! Hi, David Spade! Hi Adam Sandler!), and it's just not my genre. So I guess yes, after all, haha. All the "dumb movies" that appeal to the baser elements of society just do not interest me at all."
6. What book frightened you as a young person?
Stephen King's The Shining scared the crap out of me as a kid. I tried several times to read it, but I kept closing my eyes at the scary bits and really, that's counterproductive when reading.
7. If you had to become a ‘living book (i.e. able to recite the contents of a book cover to cover upon request – reference Fahrenheit 451), what book would it be?
I really had to think about this one, because there aren't many I could or would want to memorize at this current stage in my life, but then my mind landed on one: Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams (and Mark Carwardine). Love this book so much. I've read it half a dozen times. It's worth a gander.
8. What movie or TV show scared you as a kid?
Aside from all the Freddy Kreuger movies I was "forced" to see, that would be Children of the Corn. My unthinking father put it on, kind of as a babysitter, for both my sister and me verrrrry shortly after our mom died. I was seven years old. Poor choice, Dad. One of hundreds, though.
9. What movie (scary or otherwise) will you never ever watch?
I have never watched and never will watch Poltergeist. No, thanks.
10. Do you have any phobias?
I mean, sure, who doesn't? My phobias include touching mustard, hearing sandpaper, and rubbing fabric. Eek!
11. What's the happiest thing to ever happen to you?
This guy! Pretty fond of the doggos, too.
12. What's the saddest thing to ever happen to you?
When my mother died very suddenly and inexplicably at the age of 33 - when I was 7½ - I thought there wasn't a whole lot in the world that could make me any sadder than that. And not very much still can. But when our son Robby died after a 3-day struggle in the NICU - when I was 26 - I found I was wrong. It's just not the natural order of things. Parents are not supposed to outlive their children. Parents are not supposed to bury their babies. It's just wrong.
13. What's the thing that got you the most angry in your life?
Oh. This was when I was 17, and about to graduate high school and move to South Carolina to live with my dad for the summer before heading to college in Miami. My lovely (read: sarcasm) stepmother had informed me in about March or April that I needed to condense the entirety of my belongings to what I could fit into my rather small Ford Escort Wagon, because it would all go in there. So I spent the next several whiles selling off all of my (very nice) matching furniture, including my bed and headboard, my dresser, its mirror, my desk, and its bookcase. I also sold various knickknacks and thingamabobs - anything for which I could get money, to which I was still quite attached (some, anywho). Stepmother also hadn't allowed me to have my dad's phone number, and email wasn't really a thing then, so I had no contact whatsoever with my dad for months on end after he ahem abandoned me ahem in December of that school year...
So when Dad showed up with a big Uhaul truck to move me and all my belongings to South Carolina with him the day after graduation ceremony, I absolutely saw red. I was beyond furious with her. She pulled shit like that all the time, but I sold things that meant something to me, and she probably just sat in room and cackled over her evil plan. Bitch. I had so much adrenaline from that incident that I could lift up and move heavy things I otherwise could not have from the driveway into the garage, out of the rain that started, and then I powerwalked several miles away to the family for whom I babysat routinely, sobbing angrily the whole way. The only thing that calmed me was knowing I was about to be away from her and rid of her evil ways for good.
14. What's the most frightening thing to ever happen to you?
So I don't really want to talk about the actual thing(s), so I'll go with riding in the back of the Pirate Ship ride at Darien Lake Amusement Park or any given fair. I don't like to be scared on rides. I hate it. But my three older sisters often insisted I join them on rides (I put my foot down on roller coasters; not an easy thing at the time!), including the dang Pirate Ship. But not in the middle, oh noooo. Always at the back of either side so that the slope of our descent was the steepest. And scariest for chickeny-chicken me. Eckkkk. I hated it. Still kinda do!
15. What's the most unbelievable thing to happen to you in your life?
So many things! But I think the biggest shocker for me was when I spent a year kind of "auditioning" to work on my Ph.D. in Dr. Phil Motta's lab at the University of South Florida in Tampa, and then finally, I got a letter from Dr. Motta that I got in!! I got in! I literally gained 50 lbs and about 2-3 ulcers stressing over that the previous year, and then I was accepted. Oh, my gosh, I was in a campus computer lab when I found out, and I screeched and squealed right in the middle of the lab. And I didn't care at all, because WHOOOOO! I was so surprised, even though I'd worked my whole life up 'til then for that very moment. Excited was not the word!!
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Well that was fun. I think I started this about 4-5 hours ago, but I've been interrupted so many times in the process. Oops! Still Sunday here, though, so it counts. ;) Thanks for the fun post, Bev! ;)
Welcome back to Sunday Stealing! Link up here if you want to play along today!
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Classical: If you were an Olympian god, what would you be known for?
I would absolutely be the goddess of the sea! Byzantine: Do you prefer gold or silver accessories?
I actually much prefer copper jewelry, but since it's rarely an option, I go for silver. I'm not into gold, but my wedding & engagement rings, and the "baby" necklace I'm wearing from my mother-in-law, are gold. I don't care; I combine my metals.
Medieval: Are you religious?
I don't consider myself to be religious. I am spiritual.
Gothic: What is your favorite historic building?
La Sagrada Familia, the giant work-in-progress cathedral in Barcelona. Hubs and I visited it in person in 2008, when we went to Spainon our cruise. It was mentioned on TV the other day, and my developmentally-delayed 15yo son saw it with me. I was so impressed when he knew everything about it. Love when that happens!
Renaissance: Have you ever had a time in your life when you felt enlightened or changed?
Many times. The first time I truly realized it happening was when I was about to turn 21 and read Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. My best friend Lisa gave it to me for a college graduation present, but I had put off reading it for a few months for fear of boredom. It was not boring at all. I actually had a breakdown from it changing me mentally so thoroughly, and I ran away from home for a fortnight to collect myself. I keep meaning to read it again, now that it's 20 years later, but I have yet to do so.
Oh, absolutely. I am definitely a fancy dinner and high-end hotel kind of girl. I mean, I can get by just fine with a cheap motel and Taco Bell (ugh) if I have to, but I feel much more comfortable living the high life. I grew up fairly well-off; maybe that's why? We can't always afford such a life, because kids, but that is part of why I mystery shop. It affords me the opportunity, and I get reimbursed. Win-win!
Rococo: Is your bedroom full of trinkets and pictures? If so, which pictures adorn your walls?
It's really just full of boxes at the moment, since we still have a ton of unpacking to do. My health has made that low on the list of priorities at the moment. I'll have some pictures, including a koi print my sister-in-law gave me, and my shot glass collection, for starters. For now, though, here is a shot of some pretty paper lucky stars I made for a friend once.
Neoclassicism: If something came back into fashion, what do you hope it would be?
I'm not really into fashion. At all. I'm into comfort. So, I don't care much, but I think I'd like one of these sumo suits.
Romanticism: Do you often see things in a positive light?
I try to do this. Sometimes I need a little help, and sometimes I just need a little time and separation from an issue.
Pre-Raphaelite: Which book would you like to see turned into a film?
Anything by Jodi Picoult that hasn't already been made into one. Her books are the best!
Impressionism: Do you look for details or take everything in at once?
A little bit of both. I think I first take in the whole deal, and then when I have time to soak it in, I absorb as many details as possible.
Art Nouveau: When were you last at the theater?
I think it was when I took my two daughters to see Pitch Perfect 3. We all love the PP franchise. Especially Fat Amy; she makes me laugh my guts out!
Surrealism: Why does the porcupine think it's a duck?
It doesn't. You're thinking of the platypus.
Pop Art: Do you enjoy pop culture?
I'm pretty mainstream in a lot of ways, I admit. But I'm alternative in many other regards, so... it evens out.
Contemporary: What did you do today?
I woke up early. Took a nap. Woke up again hours later. Almost immediately took another nap. (Welcome to my life). Got myself up just in time to take the family to dinner for a work assignment. Met a couple friends afterward. Came home to sit here and blog memes while amping up the intensity of my TENS machine on my knees and ankles. I need another one to handle back, neck, and wrists at the same time. I call this my "electroshock therapy." Freaks people out.
Hey, y'all, welcome back! I'm glad you could join me. If you'd like to play along today, don't forget to link up with the rest of the Sat 9ers here. So, let's go!
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The Love Club (2013) Unfamiliar with this week's song. Hear it here.
1) Lorde has said this song is about a time when she fell into "a bad crowd." Her high-maintenance new friends were all about their romantic dramas and it overwhelmed her. Have you ever had a friend who was just too much work?
I have had a couple actually, but generally, I think that friend is me. I am a high-maintenance person, I admit.
2) She sings that she longs to be alone. Where do you go when you want peace and quiet?
If I weren't landlocked now in Boise, Idaho, I would say, "to the beach!" One time, way back when I was still in college in Coral Gables, Florida, I decided that I needed a bit of soul time convening with my first love, the ocean. I drove out to Bill Bass State Park at the end of Key Biscayne early on a Sunday morning, and I sat on the beach and stared out at the water. I was having a bit of trouble with this and that, and so after a while, I decided to pray. I prayed about all of the struggles in my life at the time, and I prayed for guidance. After I finished, I looked back up at the water, and at that moment, for the first time, I saw a manta ray breach. It was one of the most beautiful, most glorious things I had ever seen in my entire life. So now that I can no longer just wake up and go straight to the ocean, I will say, "to nature." I always have to be alone and outside to be one with Mother Nature.
3) Lorde credits her mother for encouraging her verbal skills. "Mum" let her join a theater class when she was just 5 and was always giving her books. Tell us about an encouraging, understanding adult who assisted you when you were growing up.
That would be my Middle, Junior High, and High School (not straight through) Spanish teacher, then known as Señora O'Toole. A lot of times, I didn't talk to her directly, but through my written work in Spanish. I didn't know it until much, much later - when I didn't even remember writing that stuff - when all of Team Odette went up to the Syracuse area in 2014 for my 20th high school reunion. My family and I had breakfast with Doctora O'Toole (as she's now known, on the faculty of SUNY Oswego) one morning, at her house. She told me about how those journal entries in Spanish used to break her heart. We talked sometimes, when I was still in school, about what was going on, but I never shared too much for fear of over-sharing. (Another Spanish teacher, Sra. Nevid, had seen bruises all over my arms once, CPS was called, it was a huge deal of course, and I got in big trouble at home for it.) However, it was good to know that Sra. O'Toole, and others, cared. ♥
4) Lorde is not the only celebrity from her class at Belmont School in Auckland, New Zealand. Olympian Eliza McCartney was a classmate who went on to win a bronze medal in Rio for the pole vault. Did you participate in any sports in high school?
I really didn't. I'm not terribly athletic, unlike my equestrian daughter, Sophia. (Speaking of the Olympics, Sophie has such aspirations. She'll be 13 in April; we tell her about 54-year-old Beezie Madden and remind Sophie that she has plenty of time..!) I danced for several years and was quite good at that, though.
6) Lorde wrote music for one of the Hunger Games soundtracks. Have you seen any of the Hunger Gamesmovies, or read any of the books?
I tried to read the books, but never got very far into the first one. We have, however, seen all four movies. SO GOOD!! I love this series!
7) Her favorite candy is Peanut M&Ms. Do you prefer Milk Chocolate, Peanut, Almond, Mint or Crispy M&Ms?
None of the above! It's got to be Peanut Butter. Have you not tried them?! Oh, but you must.
8) When Lorde was on stage at Lollapalooza, a sudden storm interrupted her set. The music festival was evacuated and her performance was cancelled. Can you think of a time when the weather had a major impact on your plans?
I lived in South Florida from 1994-2001, and then moved back to Miami from 2013-2017, so I can think of many times! The first time, I was a freshman/sophomore (I technically came in as a sophomore, but never mind that) at UM when Tropical Storm Gordon hit. That was in the 1994 hurricane season, my first experience with one. Classes were canceled for days! I had to wade through thigh-high water to go anywhere, for about a week after the wind and rains stopped. I ruined so many pairs of shoes from the humidity, too. When we moved back in 2013, I warned my kids about that over and over! I don't think we lost one shoe to mold from being caught in the rains. #ILearnedSomethingInCollege ;)
9) Random question: Please complete this sentence -- Before I leave the house, I always __________________________.
... fill up my cups. I usually bring two: one with water, and one with the Fred Meyer version of Diet Coke (which isn't half bad and a helluva lot cheaper). I get really dehydrated super-fast, so I always bring both if I'm going to be gone any length of time. It's really annoying. I normally drink 8-10 L of H2O/diet soda/whatever per day, and I have been hospitalized with hyponatremia three times that I can think of. My sodium goes so low, it really messes with my neurological system, among other things, and my potassium, chloride, and other electrolytes get messed up, too. The last time I was admitted for it, in January, they limited me to an intake of 1.5 L per day. Oh, my God, I struggled!! I have really tried to cut back since then.
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Welp, y'all, I appreciate the visit! I hope your weekend is amazing! I have a busy one full of taking care of 3 sick teenagers. Yay, me. Hopefully, yours will be more exciting!
Welcome back, folks! Link up here if you want to play along today! I'm in the mood to just jump in, so let's go!
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Cheers to all of us thieves!
Here are some conversation starters, stolen from Conversation Starters 1. What are some small things that make your day better?
For the past 17 years of our marriage, Hubs rubs washes my feet and puts lotion (and sometimes socks, if I'm going to get up again) on my feet. It's so sweet and loving and romantic, and he does it whenever I ask without complaining. It's not quite a daily thing, but it's frequent enough. And of course I love him madly for doing it.
...as is, of course, Jeopardy! (Yeah, I'm a total nerdy-nerd)...
... and we are starting to get into This Is Us. We've only watched S1E1 so far, but I think we'll watch more tonight.
3. What TV channel doesn’t exist but really should?
We're pretty goofy. And funny (IMNSHO). I think we should have our own channel. All Team Odette, all the time. Wait, on second thought... maybe not. ;)
4. Who has impressed you most with what they’ve accomplished?
Kids, especially ones who grow up poor with single mothers or some shit like that, who go on to do great things impress me. The examples, though kind of rare, come out frequently enough to make me believe that humanity is not inherently bad. I love these stories and will actually sit up and listen, take notice, when one comes across my frequency. Go Brainiacs!
5. What age do you wish you could permanently be?
I think 35. I was at a pretty good place, both physically and mentally (ish), at 35. But I really don't want to be permanently stuck at any age. Stuck is stuck, and it's never good.
6. What TV show or movie do you refuse to watch?
Sorry, Game of Thrones, I'm just not that into you. (I'm not a bandwagoneer, either.)
7. What is something that is considered a luxury, but you don’t think you could live without?
I go berserkasoid when the Internet goes down. Ask my husband. I cannot DEAL!
8. What’s your claim to fame?
I was the youngest person ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Oh wait, that was a teen-aged fantasy I used to harbor. I guess nothing, then.
9. What’s something you like to do the old-fashioned way?
Dude, I wish I could still angrily slam the phone down on people...! Hmm, let's see. When the floor needs to be washed, I still like to get down on my hands and knees and scrub that sucker. Of course, now that I have my minions kids, I don't clean the floors, like, ever.
10. What’s your favorite genre of book or movie?
That would be comedy. I love to laugh. There is so much BS in this world, I just need to laaaaugh and laaaaaugh to escape it, sometimes. BTW, for this reason, I completely recommend the Pitch Perfect movies. My girls and I went to see Pitch Perfect 3 the other day, and I laughed my ass off the entire time. So hilarious.
11. How often do you people watch?
Oh, I'm all about it, Dude. Every time I'm in public, I'm doing that.
12. What have you only recently formed an opinion about?
Well, it's still forming, but since people are now clamoring "Oprah Winfrey for President 2020!" I'm having thoughts about that.
13. What are you interested in that most people haven’t heard of?
I've never done it, mostly because it scares the shit out of me to think about intentionally cutting through my hard, beautiful hand-knit work, but I'm intensely fascinated by the idea of steeking a sweater. It's on my Knitting Bucket List.
14. What’s the farthest you’ve ever been from home?
I mean, Guam was pretty far from the mainland United States, but it was our home for those four months. So does that really count?
15. What is the most heartwarming thing you’ve ever seen?
A dad cuddling his baby melts me every time. Every single damn time.
16. What is the most annoying question that people ask you?
"Can I speak to your mom, please?" when I answer my phone. I have a bit of a high-pitched, squeaky voice, so lots of times people think I'm a little kid.
17. What could you give a 40-minute presentation on with absolutely no preparation?
Forty minutes is all I have to talk about all things Marine Life?!!! ::gasp::
18. If you were dictator of a small island nation, what crazy dictator stuff would you do?
I'd make practicing Random Acts of Kindness and Senseless Acts of Beauty a law. Recycling would be mandatory. No smoking tobacco would be allowed, whatsoever. All the food would be organic and healthful. And Trump would not be allowed in. Or on. Whatever.
19. What is something you think everyone should do at least once in their lives?
Go SCUBA diving! Somewhere tropical, of course. It's the most amazing thing ever. I have always wanted to dive in the Marianas, and I just missed that chance because I was pregnant with twins when we were out there. It's the most amazing diving on the planet, though, so I insisted newishly-certified Rob go take that dive. And behold, it was good.
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Why are there only 19 questions? It's a prime number. Not a nice, whole, round, symmetrical number. That agitates me.
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.
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Oh well, I'm over it. ;) Have a great weekend, y'all!
So this is a story about how, ultimately, I spent the 2017-2018 holidays. Here I was on December 4th, 2017, already sick but determined to rally and get better in time for all of the festive and fun Advent activities I had planned for our little familia.
Unfortunately, maybe?, many of those activities were outside in the cold air, and many of them were among a crowd of strangers. I don't know when, exactly, or how, exactly, I got sick, but I sort of documented my decline. Already in the beginning of December, I knew this illness would be significantly different, somehow, than the first eight times I ended up with pneumonia in the past 18 months or so.
Here I was later, with Chloë on December 15th. I had already been to my own primary care doctor, complaining of illness and general malaise. He gave me 4 days (!!) of prednisone and informed me, perhaps for the first time since I've been getting all this pneumonia, that I'm supposed to be using my Advair inhaler twice a day as a maintenance prevention for breathing problems, and the rescue inhaler - hopefully - no more than once per week. By the time I saw them, I was using it two or three times a day.
I had also been to the emergency room the night before this visit, with Chloë and the rest of Team Odette to the Scentsy Commons Point of Light Christmas spectacle. I had not gotten better on the Advair and Prednisone routine, and I could feel myself sinking deeper into the illness. They gave me a few days - maybe a Z-pack? but I forget by now - of antibiotics and sent me home.
By December 21st, I was admitted into the hospital. That was following visit #2 to my primary care doctor, feeling even sicker yet, but nothing was done. Absolutely nothing. He said my lungs sounded like they had "improved," and he sent me home with nothing.
No X-rays had ever been taken for any of these three combined visits, despite my complaints and despite the fact that I had ended up with pneumonia eight times in the previous year and a half or so.
No X-rays.
When I was admitted on the 21st, I felt sicker than I had ever been in my entire life. They did the X-rays, and then they did a CT of my lungs. The internal medicine specialist and the pulmonologist with whom he consulted agreed: I had the worst-looking set of lungs they had ever seen in their entire combined careers. I was feeling, I thought, "better" and didn't want to comply with certain parts of my treatment in the hospital after admission, like eating a Dysphasia Level 2 diet that I didn't feel was necessary because it was so extremely restrictive. Every time I tried to order something to eat, I was told it was not on my list. I could basically eat very soupy mashed potatoes, creamy soups, watery oatmeal, and... cottage cheese. I lived on those for a week. At first, I felt like they were serving me pre-chewed, unappetizing food and returned it to the kitchen without eating any, embarking on my own personal hunger strike. Thank goodness I could still get my beloved addictionDiet Coke from the kitchen!
I was stupid.
When my lovely nurse came in to tell me what the doctors had said about my lungs and inform me about how serious my case was, she was in tears. I didn't expect her to be in tears telling me how sick I was, in front of my family. By the time she finished, I was in tears, too. And after that, because I am a mother and I have a job to do on this earth, I agreed to be fully compliant with every step in my healing process.
(Thankfully, the kids were distracted by their tablets and were not paying any attention, which was a relief for me, because I would have wanted to deliver that kind of news myself.)
This was the scene outside my hospital window, when I woke up on Christmas morning. I was excited for the kids, because I knew how badly they wished for snow. Enough snow to play in, build stuff with... and they got it for Christmas! I was delighted. But I knew the conditions on the road were not good, and I was sad at the thought of spending Christmas in the hospital without my family. I cried. My nurses brought me tissues and pudding. I took my solace that lonely Christmas Day in chocolate sugar-free Hunts pudding cups. Granted, I had some pills crushed up in them, but still. It wasn't so bad. Right?
By this time, I had been moved into the lead-room. I had had a shower down on Floor 2 on my second day in the hospital. It wore me out for three full days, and I had a setback. Sometime in there - I was quite delirious for parts of it - the internal medicine doc who had admitted me, came in to tell me about my case. He told me it was very severe, and he seemed both doubtful and agitated when he told me three different times, in three different ways, that I would improve, get better, recover from this. I wasn't sure if he was trying to convince me or himself.
After that, I was moved up to Floor 6. They were consolidating patients onto specific wings and floors, because they had a skeleton crew for the holidays. I was moved from my spacious 2nd floor room into this teensy-tiny lead-filled room on the 6th floor. The purpose of the room was to treat thyroid cancer patients with radioactive uranium. My nurse told me that the nursing staff had extremely limited time with these patients, due to the radioactivity, and basically had enough time to peek in and throw their food trays at the patients. They received their medicine through a double-door window. Often, these patients were from foreign countries and sometimes spoke little or no English. The nurse told me that these poor patients, usually female it seemed, were often trembling with fear and confusion about what was happening to them during their treatment. After they were finally released, the rooms were checked daily with Geiger counters until no more radioactivity was detected, and then other patients and routine nursing care could continue there.
Hearing this, I felt so sad for those patients, and I was more strongly determined that what was going on with me was relatively minor. I believed my doctor now: I would improve. I would get better. I would recover from this. I knew I would.
Eventually, the roads did clear enough, and my family came to see me for a short 90-minute visit on Christmas Day. I was elated! I looked like hell but didn't care: this was definitely a photo op!
By this point, they and the staff were required to wear masks and, in the case of the staffs, full disposable gowns to come in and treat me. I had tested positive for community-acquired MRSA pneumonia. It was in all my mucus membranes and, because I was coughing so severely that I had to take round-the-clock narcotics for the pain that caused, every one coming into contact with me had to "gown up."
By this point, and outside first-class pulmonologist had been called in to consult on my case, and he visited me every day in the hospital after that. (I can't even remember his name, though I am sure it's in my records and in my discharge paperwork.Somewhere. One day during this stay, I was also so delirious that I could not remember my birth date, where I was at the moment, or why I was there. I was giggling and thought this made me so stupid; nurses were called immediately to evaluate me. I was still giggling and insistent that I was in the Naval hospital in Portsmouth, Virginia, having had a tonsillectomy. I was lulu-cray!)
The pulmonologist was determined to crack my case and find out why I got so sick so quickly, and why I've kept getting pneumonia all these times. Several theories were floated: The doctors seemed to believe my then-claim (which was later confirmed by bloodwork), that I had a severe IgA deficiency and make no detectable levels of this first line of defense in the immune system. I was highly interested in this theory because I knew - also recently confirmed by bloodwork - that Chloë inherited this IgA deficiency from me.
The speech therapy team were certain that I had a weakened swallowing mechanism and wanted me to have a swallowing study done. They felt I was aspirating frequently, and that this was leading to some of my bouts of pneumonia. I knew for a fact that, despite the inconvenience of the diet, they were right. On some counts.
I can never remember the third theory. That's probably a bad thing, because I was sure it, too, was playing a role in all these increasingly serious illnesses.
The day after Christmas, Rob sent me this adorable picture of Paco in the new bed we gave him and Tapioca for Christmas. They had also been snuggling up together in it, at first, but eventually Paco showed Alpha Male dominance and claimed it for himself. I could see my husband and kids, but I missed my puppies something awful! I kept trying to get Rob to smuggle at least Paco in to see me. One of my nurses was on my side (hee!), but Rob did not relent.
Two nights before I was released from the hospital, I had this male nurse who spells his name differently but sounds-like Bo, who is the one described above. After I posted this, he also refused to bring me my Advair and albuterol inhaler, or call the respiratory therapist for a nebulizer treatment, when I was having trouble breathing. I have many nursing friends on Facebook who talked me into filing a formal complaint against him. I did. I was shocked when, after that, he returned to "caring" for me! He was full of sad, lame excuses for what happened, how busy he had been, and how my meds were "in his back pocket" but he just didn't get a chance to bring them to me. Needless to say, I filed a second complaint against Bo - including the breathing treatments this time - when I was being released and the charge nurse came in to check on my level of care.
I must say, all of the rest of my treatment was unimpeachable but, bar none, the best care I received was from Rob. I can't complain a bit about how amazingly well he cared - has always cared - for me during this rough time. He's the best. He's an absolute keeper. Chloë asked him if I would be home from the hospital in time for our 17th anniversary on January 2nd. He could only look at her and say, "I don't know."
During this stay, my normally crappy veins were even more uncooperative than usual. The nurses were no match for those rotten blood vessels! They kept calling the phlebotomists to do the 3x-a-day blood draws, but even the phlebs kept feeling awful about having to come in my room. I had bruises on both arms from hands to armpits, plus two more from failed attempts on my right foot. Those veins kept collapsing, rolling, disappearing, and blowing. They were upset I hadn't yet had a PICC line inserted, but on December 27th, the day before my initial release, the Resource team finally came up to put one in.
I was terrified! I knew that the line went straight to my heart and that if I picked up the wrong infection in the PICC, given my history of heart defects at birth and now MRSA-pneumonia, the outcome could be very unfortunate. Yeah. I was scared.
Plus I'm just a weeny, and I was scared about the process. I thought it would be painful and scary. In the end, sheer exhaustion went out, and I fell asleep after the 20-minute procedure began. Heh.
On the 28th after a week in the hospital, I was released to Rob's care. Immediately after I left the hospital, we crossed the street to visit the Infectious Diseases specialists who had now been called in on my case. They taught Rob how to administer my Teflaro (ceftaroline fosamil), the antibiotics I'm getting via infusion in the PICC line, which are keeping me alive and steering me toward better health. They taught Rob how to do the 30-second alcohol cleaning of the port site, the saline flushes before and after the antibiotic is administered, and the heparin lock at the end. I could tell Rob was nervous, but only because he cared so much to get it right.
And he has.
After I came home and had my emotional homecoming with my little family, I got the best gift! Look at all these eggs our six remaining chickens have laid! One of them lays brown eggs, and now we have an olive layer giving us those high-protein green ones! The girls seem to think the olive layer is my white silkie, Athena. Yay! (The flavor of her eggs is going to have to be an acquired taste, I think; I didn't quite like the omelet Rob made for me with them, but I know they'll be great in cookies and cakes, etc.)
Apparently, there is a third layer out there, putting out white eggs, but her first and only egg so far was weak and broke easily before it could be stored. Rob and I went to the feed store yesterday to talk to the chicken experts there about fortifying her diet to help her make stronger eggs. Hopefully that helps.
Unfortunately, on the night after my initial release, on the 29th, I had a seizure on the couch in front of my family. Rob says I was aware of it and asked, "What the hell just happened?" after it ended a minute later, but I don't remember that. He jumped on the phone and called up the nurse line at the hospital to get advice. During the call, I had a second one in my sleep. He hung up the phone then, saying, "Never mind, I'm bringing her to the ER right now."
I don't remember that trip at all.
What I do remember was being absolutely shocked when they told me I had to be readmitted to be observed for these seizures, since my neurologist had already documented my having a history of possible seizure disorder, with absence seizures. I was astounded at this readmission. The last time I remember feeling this shocked in my life was when I was 30 weeks pregnant and the OBs at - wait for it - the Naval hospital in Portsmouth, Virginia, told me that I was in pre-term labor with the twins. I remember begging them to make it stop, couldn't believe this was happening so early, and I felt those same feelings return on this past December 29th. I'd just been released after a week, FPS! Shocked.
The neurologist on duty, Dr. Miller, came to see me and called Rob from my hospital room. He asked Rob to come in right away and stay with me in the hospital during a 24-hour EEG. I had had another seizure in the ER, I just remembered, the tail-end of which Rob was able to catch on his phone's video camera. All the docs were looking at it. That probably forced my admission right there. Thanks, Hon. ;)
Rob set up the kids at home to be safe and independent for the next 24 hours, and then he joined me for a night in the hospital. Twenty-five, I think, electrodes were glued to my head, I was hooked up, and off we went for the next 24 hours. Rob was sleeping when I hit the "I've had an event" button for the first time. Or maybe he had run home. I don't remember. It was an absence episode, I thought. I could feel my temperature climbing higher and higher, and then I was suddenly wondering where I was. I hit the button.
BAM!
My awesome nurse, Kaitlyn, was there in a split second. Like, so fast I thought she'd been waiting outside the door just for this moment, and several others joined her. I explained what had happened, and I was sorry to bother her, but she reassured me that I had done exactly the right thing.
The next morning, my next nurse, Clarinda, hit the button after another absence, a staring episode, when she came in to give me my morning meds. I don't remember that.
After the 24 hours were up, Dr. Miller and my neuro agreed that the two absence episodes were not electrical in nature, but they wanted another 24 hours on the EEG to try and capture a convulsion event like the one they had seen on Rob's phone. I asked Rob to go home, ready the kids for another day by themselves, and pick up the tamales I had ordered from a girl off Facebook. Ha! I have been missing my friend Domenica's tamales, from Miami, all these months. I was hoping these would make up for it. I thought they were a decent (but distant) second, but nothing touches whatever special touch Dome and her family put in theirs. Sophia loved them. Rob thought they were okay. Chloë didn't care for them, and Jack wouldn't touch them. But he never did, even in Miami. He doesn't eat much anyway.
Rob brought me some tamales, these, in the hospital. They were 10x better than hospital food any day of the week, even though I was no longer on the Dysphashia 2 diet, that's for sure!
I spent New Year's Eve with Rob in the hospital. Rob temporarily left to bring Chloë to a NYE party a church friend's house, and he brought Sophia and Jack to the hospital so they could ring in the new year with us. I ended up being severely tired when Rob went to pick up Chloë from her party, and I don't remember the midnight hour. I guess I was awake? Rob says I was, but I don't remember it.
Sometime that night, Rob hit the button after I had a convulsion. For the third time that button was pressed, nurses were instantly filling the room, blinding bright lights went on, and a loud alarm sounded. I don't remember the absences, I don't remember the convulsions, but I sure as hell remembered that!
Dr. Miller came in in New Year's Day. Happy 2018! He informed us that my neuro had been the one reading my EEG over the 48-hour test, and he had determined that none of these three episodes were electrical. Meaning, they were not epileptic, I did not have to take Keppra or any other epilepsy-related meds, and I could return to driving safely.
So what was going on?
According to my neuro and Dr. Miller, I was mostly having PNES, or Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures. They were probably psychiatric in nature, stemming from some unknown stressor or trauma. They wanted to bring in the Psych team to evaluate me, but I informed them I am already being followed by Psych for my Bipolar I, PTSD, etc. from my many years of childhood trauma. I was again stunned by this diagnosis, but I have an idea what may be behind these episodes. I've been putting off dealing with it in therapy for years - two decades, actually - but now I think it must be time. It's coming out whether I want it to or not. Ugh. This will not be fun.
Anyway, the EEG tech came in to remove all the electrodes from my head, and I was released shortly thereafter, on New Year's Day.
Yay!
So, as it turned out, yes, Chloë, I will be home for our 17th anniversary on the 2nd. Woot, woot! We had had these two bottles of champagne for Christmas. Those went unused. They also went unused on New Year's Eve. Finally, Rob popped the cork on our anniversary. I took a sip - barely breathing in the bubbles - and had about enough. Rob finished the bottle the next day. We haven't been able to celebrate much, barely even able to kiss due to the health risks, but we'll get there.
We'll get there.
Unfortunately, right when I came home, we had the first full moon of the month - of the year, in fact. Whatever you may or may not want to believe, those of us who suffer chronic pain illnesses like mine (call it Post-Treatment Chronic Lyme Disorder, call it Fibromyalgia, call it whatever you wish) often suffer the most during the full moons. This is the TENS unit I bought a while back on Amazon.com. It works like a horse, but it's not powerful enough. I often max it out on these worst-pain days.
My doctor put in a medical request for a prescription-level TENS unit through my insurance, but they don't cover these devices. This one would have cost $150, which I didn't want to spend, but finally this month, after all this illness and now on top of that, extreme pain, I relented. I've been sitting here throughout the writing of this post, on the couch, with the prescription TENS unit working on my knees and the Amazon unit working my ankles. If I had four or five more, I might be set, because this picture showing the first time I tried it on my wrists was a total game-changer. Sadly, right now I already have the prescription TENS device on max power.
So... now what? Now what do I do? Other than taking pain meds, muscle relaxers, anxiety meds (sometimes helps, even when I'm not even feeling anxiety, to reduce the pain level), using both TENS devices on max, bringing in my most powerful Essential Oil concotions, and, when all else fails, crying and rocking in pain on my couch? I don't know. I have had many lidocaine pain-relief injections throughout my back, in Miami, and that helped a great deal. Guess I'll ask my primary care doc for another referral to Pain Management.
I'm sorry if I seem to be whining here, now, but I'm freaking 41 years old and I feel so trapped in this broken body and mind. I am so thankful for my über-supportive husband and fantastic kids who have gone out of their ways to try to be helpful to me since I came home from the hospital. So thankful.
Yesterday, on Friday, I had to return to the hospital. Thankfully, this was for a scheduled Upper GI Series of scans for that swallowing study and to see what's going on with the problems I'm having with my gastric bypass, and not for another admission. I felt pretty comfortable (and maybe kinda cute for the first time in ages, haha) in these scrubs and really wanted to keep them! I didn't, though. Maybe I'll get some just for funsies.
Did not like that test, by the by. I was on a table, drinking first a bubbly solution that made me burpy, then the delicious barium "shake," then a pill that got stuck in my throat while I couldn't even feel it there... all while they rotated the table up and back, up and back, and capturing the whole thing on video. The power of fluoroscopy! My bariatrics doc will review those results with me on Monday, we'll go from there.
I literally see a medical professional nearly every day, right now. It's getting a little old, y'all! But I'm being compliant.
Last night, the girls and I headed to nearby Downtown Boise to watch the movie Pitch Perfect 3. We've watched PP and PP2 together before, so we were all excited to go out and watch. Hell, I was just thrilled to be "allowed" out again with my baby girls! The movie was hilarious, by the way, and I died laughing the whole time. Gotta love Fat Amy! Rebel Wilson is such a scene stealer!
Since my second return home from the hospital, I've even taught Chloë how to take care of my Teflaro infusion when Rob hasn't been able to be here to do it. She's so careful! This morning, when Rob had to leave to take Sophia to her showjumping lesson, she did the entire thing by herself for the first time. I was so proud of her. She didn't know what I was doing when I took this, but when the snap took, she muttered, "Are you really taking my picture right now?" Ha. Yes, loves, because I was proud of her for doing such an excellent job and being so attentive.
So for now, here I sit. Yesterday, having my GI test done, running errands with Rob, and then going to the movies with my daughters... I admit I probably overdid it. I'm feeling a little worse for wear today. But not awful. I'm taking it easier today, watching TV, eating a pizza Rob picked up, and running my TENS machines. I have made no resolutions for 2018, unlike in past years, but I have the hopes for a healthier year - both mentally and physically - and learning how to take it easy and somehow figure out a way to relax.
Hello, Internet Friends! Welcome back. I'm sick as hell, so I have no fun intro thoughts right now. I'll try and save all my witticism for the actual questions. With that, link up here if you're joining us this week!
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Last week we talked about things that bug us. This week (and maybe next), how about things that we like about the holidays.
1. What’s your favorite thing about the holidays?
Of all the things we - personally, as a family - do during the month of December, the best favorite thing about it is family together time. When we're not, you know, arguing over stupid bullshit. LOL.
2. Do you send out Christmas cards and if so how many do you send?
Yes, I always send out cards. It's a thing I must do. This year I'm late and just got them in the mail yesterday. Except for the dozen or so still sitting here because I've run out of stamps and haven't bought more yet. This year, I'm sending out 75, which is about par for the course for us. Wanna get a card from us? I'd love to send you one. But I need your address. Promise I'm not a stalker. ;)
3. Be honest: holiday newsletters. Love ‘em or hate ‘em?
I hate the ones that are like, brag brag brag, with an extra-heavy dose of brag. You feel me? I've never written one, but every year I'm tempted to send one and just be real with shit. For example, and this is all not related to this year, "In January, I forgot to pay the electric bill and we damn near froze to death... In July, Sophia was riding her horse who decided to turn at the last moment and bucked Sophia off, breaking her wrist..." etc. You know? Funny, because it's real.
4. Be honest: photo cards. Love ‘em or hate ‘em?
This is ours this year. Obviously, I'm in the love 'em category. However, admittedly, this one was not my best work. For one, Chloë was cropped out of the picture in the top left, which sucks big time. Secondly, it's just kind of meh and boring. But it got done, I could cross it off my list, and so there's that. But yes, I really do like getting (and sending) them.
5. How soon do you start shopping?
I start shopping whenever I find a hot deal on something I know a person wants and I concurrently have the dollahs to do so. Like my Christmas cards, I started a bit late this year.
6. Real or fake tree?
Well, ideally, I'd love to have a real Christmas tree. However, I don't think in all our years of marital bliss that we have had anything but a pre-lit artificial tree. And we have the cats. And the puppies. So planning our tree placement is rather difficult. This year, no tree (so far, but I'm working on it, Zippi!), so no problems! (But real would be nice.)
7. When do you put up your tree?
It's against my religion to put up the tree before Thanksgiving is over. Preferably, the first of December or later for me. I don't really care when everybody else does it, though, and I enjoy looking at everyone's Christmas décor!
8. When do you take down your tree?
Ideally, by New Year's Day. I'm not a Scrooge or anything, I just don't like dragging things out forever and a day.
9. Describe your typical tree (size, decorations, type)
It's usually about 7-8 feet tall, pre-lit, chock full of ornaments that represent our entire life histories - both separately and jointly - and usually strewn with that tinsel stuff you have to blow upward to get to the top of the tree. I try, annually, to collect a new angel-themed ornament in memory of my son Robby, and those must always go toward the top of the tree. We also have an angel Christmas tree topper. All of this is in a box somewhere (or three boxes, or maybe four), because we haven't really gotten our Christmas on this year in a big, showy way.
10. What do you top your tree with?
I already answered that, oopsy. An angel. It changes, though.
11. Do you put Christmas lights outside your house?
Usually, but that's a job delegated to Hubs, and I haven't been able to get Hubs to do that deed this year. Yet.
12. Is there a wreath hanging on your door?
Right now, we have this bell thingamabob on the front door in lieu of a wreath. It'll do for this year, its second or third appearance for us, but I think I'm going to get a nicer, real wreath next year. I get bored of things like this, shown over and over.
13. Do you hang up stockings?
These are ours, right now, at this moment. So yes. I made the white one. That's Robby's.
14. Your favorite Christmas Movie(s):
I don't even really know. I've never sat down and watched Elf, A Christmas Story, It's A Wonderful Life, or much else that makes me feel like a bad... Christmasser. OH! WAIT! I know. It's Miracle on 34th Street. I adore that flick.
15. Be honest: A Christmas movie you don't like:
I liked Home Alone, but I've seen it umpteen million times and now I'm sick of it. So I guess I'll choose that one.
16. Favorite Christmas Song(s):
Really, my favorite Christmas song is The First Noël, because that was my mother's favorite, but Rob's is Little Drummer Boy. I stumbled across this African tribal version last night and absolutely loved it. I suggest giving it a listen!
17. Be honest: If I hear this/these Christmas songs again I will throw up:
I haven't really heard it this year (yet?), but I have memories of lots and lots of Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer from my childhood, which mostly sucked, and so I'm no longer a fan. That's pretty much it. I actually love Christmas music.
18. Give or Receive?
I definitely prefer to give! The above collage is from December 3rd of this year, because I had things to give, all wrapped up and waiting... If you know me, I just about EXPLODE with anticipation and giddiness over giddiness, and so... we opened everything we had already in the house so far in the year on that date. I'm trying so hard not to do it again! Hee.
19. Eggnog or Mulled Cider?
I used to be an eggnog girl all the way, but now... I'm more into the mulled cider. Yum!
20. Ham or Turkey?
EWW, ham. Never liked that crap even before I became a strict vegetarian in 2005. Ew EW EWW! Sorry if you're a fan. Turkey is not as obnoxious (to me), but obviously I can't eat that, either. So give me some hummus and we'll all be happy, 'kay?
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Well that was fun. I'm feeling festive now. Except for looking at that ham and bananas crap (who does that?!). Here's hoping y'all have a lovely Sunday!
Well hello there, you sexy thang! Thanks for stopping by! Time for some Sunday Stealing, yes? Link up here if you want to play along with the rest of us Thieves this week! Let's go!
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{1} First thing you would do/buy if you won the lottery:
Welp, of course I'd finish paying off my student loans and our other debts, but then I think I'd fly out to Maui and hunt down this gorgeous beach house to buy. Sorry, kids, but I desperately miss my beach life! ;)
{2} First person you call when you get amazing news:
It depends on the circumstances! If Hubs isn't with me, then of course he is the guy. If not, either my sister or my best friend Lisa, probably. I'm all about the texting now, though. I loathe talking on the phone!
{3} First thing you do when you've had a bad day:
I have my little (big ol') hissy fit, say a lot of bad words, maybe throw something unbreakable in no one's direction, then cry and take a nap. Or something.
{4} First movie you went to without your parents:
A Nightmare on Elm Street, with my sister and two stepsisters. I was maybe eight years old. I am still scared of Freddy Kreuger!
{5} First sport you played (Little League-style or in school):
I didn't go out for sports, but I was a dancer: Tap, Jazz, & Ballet. I was pretty damn good, too. I was invited to dance in Dance Olympus in Manhattan after only one year, much earlier and younger than most dancers from my studio were asked or allowed. I loved every minute of dancing.
{6} First major injury:
My first C-section, immediately post-surgery, was probably the first horrible wounding I'd ever experienced. And this meme, posted above, is the most recent. I'd like to shout out a big "fuck you!" to whomever created it! For the record, I had three emergency, slice-and-dice, terrifying operations because I had severe pre-eclampsia for all three pregnancies, and my babies and I were in grave danger. Not to mention, the first kid and the twins, second, were all premature. Additionally, Chloë, Baby #1, had an abrupted placenta inside me, which caused one, long, torturous, protracted contraction when labor started, and I had extreme polyhydramnios, the likes of which none of the doctors or nurses at the teaching hospital had ever witnessed. So, yeah. I'm a little pissed off that this meme, and those who think this way, exist. GAH!
{7} First product I use in the shower:
Um... water?
{8} First apartment or house on your own (away from your parents!):
Does my first dorm room count? I was 17 when I moved into Pearson Residential College at the University of Miami, in August 1994. Loved it!
{9} First Roommate(s):
Not in the dorm, but in the summer house where I lived in South Miami for two years in a row, it was this guy - now known as Dr. Jasper Lament. He was working on his doctorate at UM at the time.
{10} First Time Living Away from Home:
Again, Miami, beginning in 1994. And I never went home again.
{11} First magazine subscription:
My girlfriend Shana read Sassy magazine, so she bought me my own subscription for several years running. And I totally remember this cover!
{12} First real piece of jewelry you owned:
When I was 12 years old, my dad and stepmother gave me a sapphire ring, much like this one, for my birthday. I loved it; my birthstone.
{13} First time staying home alone:
Eh, I was a latchkey kid from the time my mother died when I was 7, on. No one cared when I came home or if I even did, it seemed. I did my homework, some housework, and watched TV. No biggie.
{14} First thing I reach for in the fridge:
Hummus. If there's hummus. Speaking of which, I need some hummus!
{15} First car accident or traffic violation:
Downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, circa 1998, age 22. I was looking for an address and was hopelessly lost. I accidentally made a sudden right turn down a side street, but I was in the middle lane. Of course, there was a car coming, and going straight, in the right lane. BAM! I learnt my lesson straightaway from that episode.
Bonus: Toilet paper, over or under?
I'm an "under" person, and this is precisely why: we have cats!
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That was fun. Thanks, Bev! Have a lovely week, y'all!
Welcome back, everyone! Link up here if you're playing along today!
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What is your middle name?
It's Ann, and I hate it.
2. What is your favorite color?
The one with the words "Color Palettes" on it is my absolute favorite. And I love these colors together!
3. What’s your lucky number?
64 has always been "my" number.
4. Do you have any pets?
Um, just a few...! ;)
5. Where are you from?
I say up from Central New York in the Syracuse area, but now, I don't really know where I'm from. I'm from everywhere!
6. How tall are you?
I've shrunk a bit. I'm now 5'1.5" and my 12yo daughter is taller than I am!
7. What shoe size are you?
I'm about a 5.5 - 6, depending on the maker.
8. How many pairs of shoes do you own?
I have about a dozen pairs, and at least 75% of those are different styles of Crocs. Yes. It's true. I love my Crocs. Shame on me.
9. What was your last dream about?
I dreamed there was no more chocolate to be had in the world. It was a horrendous tragedy.
10. What talents do you have?
I can knit and crochet quite well, although I'm not so good yet at designing my own patterns. I can also carry a tune, although my vocal cords are a bit damaged from years of sore/strep throat. I can't wait until my tonsillectomy on Thursday!
11. Are you psychic in any way?
I joke that I am, but nope.
12. Favorite song?
Right now, I'm digging "Praying" by Kesha a great deal.
13. Favorite movie?
Animated: Finding Nemo
Are you religious?
I prefer to think of myself as "spiritual" rather than "religious."
15. Have you ever been to the hospital?
At least on a monthly basis since... forever, yeah.
16. Have you ever been in trouble with the law?
Only inasmuch as my lead foot has caused me; other than that, no.
17. Have you ever met any celebrities?
Just Dave Barry. No one else really.
17. What color socks are you wearing?
Right now, I have a yellow and black one on the left foot, and a purple and white one on the right. :)
18. Have you ever been famous?
Oh yeah. I'm like, real tight with the Kartrashians.
20. Would you like to be a big celebrity?
Nope. Not one bit!
21. What type of music do you like?
I like a pretty eclectic variety of music, but I must admit, Top 40 is my favorite!
22. How many pillows do you sleep with?
I just got this new Sleep Number ComfortFit Pillow for FREE, and I LOVE it. It's the only pillow I need.
23. What position do you usually sleep in?
I toss and turn. Mostly on my tummy in bed, on my back on the couch, but I'm really all over the map.
24. How big is your house?
It's a fairly unassuming 3/2 ranch-style house. I want to work on making it more curb-appealing next year!
25. What do you typically have for breakfast?
I love avocado cheese toast, but I have a variety of things, often eggs, sometimes nothing at all...
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Hope y'all have had a great weekend. Our prayers and positive thoughts go out to those affected by these latest Hurricanes to hit this season. Be well.
Hey, everyone! Have you seen the movie Unleashed yet? It's a comedy for the furry friend in all of us!
Disclosure: I was chosen to receive a copy of the movie Unleashed in order to review it and provide a giveaway for my readers. All opinions expressed in this post are, as 100% my own. Each household is only eligible to win Unleashed via blog reviews and giveaways. Only one entrant per mailing address per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you will not be eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification. Open to residents of the United States only.
In Unleashed, Emma, a brilliant but awkward app designer, moves to San Francisco after a massive betrayal by her boyfriend with only her beloved pets, an adorable cat and an energetic mutt, in tow. One night, drawn by the light of a Supermoon, Emma’s pets escape into the night and are transformed into full-grown men, forcing Emma to reconsider her outlook on dating and hilariously work out her trust issues.
STARRING: KATE MICUCCI | JUSTIN CHATWIN | STEVE HOWEY | HANA MAE LEE | JOSH BRENER WITH ILLEANA DOUGLAS AND SEAN ASTIN
I watched this movie with my soon-to-be 16-year-old daughter, Chloë, and we both agreed that it was a little much on the adult humor, so please use parental caution if you're going to view this with a minor.
Would you like to win a copy of Unleashed? Be sure and tweet me or shout out on Instagram whether you are #TeamDog or #TeamCat, and then come back and enter as many ways as you'd like in the form below. Good luck!
Cheers, y'all. 
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And Rob is GOOD. 
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