Response

My dear cousin Vanessa tagged me, so I am responding!


1. What is your coolest scar and how did you get it?
I don't know if it is cool or not, but I have one about 2 inches long on my forehead (in my bangs) from an incident with a sharp edged cupboard when I was two. So, for my whole life, every time somebody did my hair, they tried to use it as my natural part line, which makes my part come out somewhere near my right ear.

2.What do you want to do before you die?
TRAVEL. A lot.*
Also knit a cream colored woolAran sweater --which means I have to learn to knit. Again.
There are a lot of other things, but I forget them quite often (like right at this moment I can't recall any of them--but it is always exciting and amusing when I do get a brainstorm and think "Oh, yes, that is definitely on my list!).

3. What is the best book you have ever read?
Is this a trick question?
Which kind of best book?
Best ever?
The scriptures. The Old Testament has the greatest hero stories ever. The New Testament helps me know the Savior in a personal way. The Book of Mormon contains all the answers to life's big questions. The Doctrine and Covenants helps me know and recognize the voice of God the way I can read the words of a dear friend and hear their voice.

I can't even pick which one out of those is my favorite. My children and my seminary students always mock me, because I frequently declare "this is my very favorite!" and they chorus "you always say that, about every one!" It is true, I do.

The list of non-scriptural books is MUCH too long--even for categories (favorite board book, favorite books in a series with more than 5 books, books with over 1000 pages, books with no words...see the list gets LONG in a hurry!)

4. What is your all time favorite dessert?
See, this picking just one thing is not good for me. I am very fond of good cheesecake, creme brulee, chocolate truffles, brownies...I really like food!

5. The food you wish would be blown from the face of the earth?
I am not a fan of watermelon. Or any other melon, for that matter.

6. Coolest person you have ever met?
Also, a very long list! I know lots of people who have enriched my life in MANY different ways.

7. Person you miss most?
My mom. She is definitely in the running for #6. She was wise, and loving, and a great mother. Also, crazy, spontaneous, creative and a catalyst for change.
And I have never known anyone else who was so good at "enjoying the journey"--both literally and figuratively.

8. Favorite childhood game?
Most people probably answer something normal about "Clue" or "Candyland" or "Monopoly"--but my sibs and I NEVER played normal games. My favorites almost always involved me being in charge and bossing everybody else around.

*There are very few places on the earth that I wouldn't go if given a chance.

Trick AND Treat

I sewed SmallDaughter's halloween costume today--and, may I humbly state that I am a costume genius! It really turned out super cute! It's Mike Wazowski from Monsters, Inc. which is her favorite movie (Mike is her second favorite character, but I can't figure out how to sew Roz!).


In early September, I was called in for a meeting at her school, because, basically the fact that she is taped into all of her clothes was freaking them out. Now, I have been trying to deal with "CSP" (Compulsive Skin Picking) for years now. When I say I have tried everything, I am very serious--everything. Trust me when I say gloves and tape are the most livable solution. Anyway. I told them that they could untape her during school--sometimes she doesn't pick when she is busy and having fun. However, when she is bored or frustrated--oh my!

Last Friday, I got a note home from her teacher. She has informed the nurse that the tape is truly important to SmallGirl's health and safety. They have tried velcro. They have tried sweat bands. They have tried other stuff. They give up.

Huh. Told you so!

Calendar

I now have something exciting to check every single day of the week!

Monday--a new episode of Girl Genius
Tuesday--we get BOTH a new episode of "The Guild"
and "Castle" comes out on Hulu (I can't stay up late enough to watch it on ABC--it doesn't start until 10:00 here--way past my bedtime!).
Wednesday--new episode of Girl Genius
Thursday--the new edition of the Greensboro NC Rhino Times comes out with "Uncle Orson Reviews Everything"--by Orson Scott Card (It's my favorite form of gambling--sometimes it is just local stuff, that I live too far away to enjoy, BUT SOMETIMES it has great information on books, movies, music, etc. that I almost always enjoy--some of my very favorites have come on his recommendation.)
Friday--new episode of Girl Genius
Sometimes, I catch up with
Darths and Droids

And I also check Cake Wrecks
and Epbot most days.


Yes, pitiful, I KNOW. (I think I just figured out why my house looks the way it does! I mean, other than the stuff SmallDaughter just dumped/poured/scribbled/chopped up!).

Two Things

First Thing: I posted a couple of pix of the Blueness, if you check out the older post.

Second Thing: My dear friend brought me a cool old book of Romance and Beauty, which has a poem that I LOVED in high school, but forgot in the intervening years. I really love poetry, especially older poetry, written by people who knew what they were doing* (first clue--it actually rhymes--and makes sense, and isn't stupid. OK--three clues!)

ANYWAY

I wanted to share this (in my humble opinion) sock meltingly romantic poem with you.


The Look

Strephon kissed me in the spring,
Robin in the fall,
But Colin only looked at me
And never kissed at all.

Strephon's kiss was lost in jest,
Robin's lost in play,
But the kiss in Colin's eyes
Haunts me night and day.

Sarah Teasdale


Ahhh, sigh.

I am simply an unabashed romantic. I can't help it.

I really like Sarah Teasdale's poetry, even the stuff that is not romantic--but she is VERY good at romance (especially the rather wistful, melancholic stuff).


* "Modern" poetry, and "Modern Art" are both subjects that make me FROTH at the mouth. It is NOT bold or clever to try to find new ways to offend people--trust me, 4 year old children have been doing it ever since potty words were invented. AND you aren't modern if you are copying the same things people have been doing for 120 years.

There are some FABULOUS new artists--but the !@#$%^&* "modernists" have gotten people so fed up with the whole idea, that nobody is paying attention anymore.

Feeling BLUE

For those of you who had a hard day, and are feeling down in the dumps, and wondering "how could this day even get any worse?" I have two words for you:

Methylene Blue

Now, for those of you who aren't current on their dyes and stains, Methylene Blue is "a heterocyclic aromatic chemical compound with the molecular formula C16H18N3SCl. It has many uses in a range of different fields, such as biology and chemistry." (Thanks, Wikipedia!")

Two of it's common uses are in microbiology as a culture stain (it is similar in its multiple levels of usefulness and and it's potency to Gentian Violet), and for aquarium owners to cure certain fish diseases (much like Gentian Violet kills yeast infections).

Both Methylene Blue and Gentian Violet are beautiful shades of their respective colors, and both of them stain like the dickens!

Enter SmallDaughter.

We had (for undisclosed reasons) a large (6 oz.) bottle of Methylene Blue stored high up in a kitchen cupboard (the cupboard that used to be over a refrigerator in a former kitchen arrangement) to keep it safe.

We don't anymore.

HOWEVER--on the bright side, my ugly kitchen linoleum tiles (and some cupboards) are infinitely more exciting, and my bathtub has an exciting "denim and indigo tie-dye with toeprints" motif. It also produces the most beautiful Caribbean blue bathwater imaginable.



PS--for those who are wondering, Methylene Blue IS NOT the same thing as Methyl Blue, and is not effective for certain dramatic scientific experiments. So, save your money. Darn, darn, darn.Just sayin'.

CONTEST!!!

So, I woke up this morning firmly decided to have a contest! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment, although if you happened to write about your favorite post(s) that would be great! I will randomly pick one to win a prize of such awesome fabulosity that you will be stunned! And no, I didn't come up with it on my own, my best friend taught me how to make them. Anyway, SUPER AWESOME! The contest closes one week from today (25 Sep 2010) and I will send more details to the winner--Good Luck!

In other news, my computer is still in the shop, Cat-Cat got fixed and is walking VERY slowly, the kittens are as hilarious as always and the chooks are doing fine, as are the children. Life is very good.

So Sorry

I have lots of blog entries composed in my head, but my computer is in the shop AGAIN. Our computer guy is checking out all of the hardware this time, as well as looking for viruses. It seems to crash every week--with exactly the same symptoms, so I think it is something beyond just getting viruses.

We are very busy, but it is in a nice, "getting back into a rythm" way. SmallDaughter has started school in a different school, with a different teacher. I was not happy about the way the administration handled the change, but the new situation seems to be working well.

I have started teaching early morning Seminary again--after a slow start. Last Monday, I set my alarm for 5 pm, so I completely slept through class! Ah, well!

BigGirl and LargeBoy are both doing an online school this year--their choice. Best Friend K is far, far away, helping out her mom (lucky thing to have a mom to help!). So things are pretty quiet. I have LOTS of computer things I want to be doing--working on my new blog and radio show, working on the business plan for the business I am thinking about starting, finishing my novel(s). However, in a house with oodles of computers around, I can't really use any of them, so all of those projects, as well as the lovely entries I have planned for this blog, will just have to wait.


HOWEVER--just so you have something to wish for:

I absolutely ADORE Georgette Heyer's wonderful novels. What could be better? Well, reading them while eating good chocolate! What could be better than that? Listening to the delicious Richard Armitage read them in Audiobook form, while eating good chocolate!!! You doubt me? Give it a try!