Lucky 8

My blog friend Bea of Bea's Blabber has tagged me for an "8 facts" meme. Some of her answers were so good I'm going to borrow them. You'll have to go visit her to see which ones.

8 things I'm looking forward to:

1. The upcoming end of school means the end of several volunteer jobs that are wearing me out.
2. When my kids learn to drive and can shuttle themselves from place to place (I know, be careful what you wish for)
3. My roomba to come in the mail. Why didn't I order one of these sooner?
4. Being able to walk again
5. Being able to go up and down stairs again
6. Getting rid of my cane
   
7. Saying goodbye to my physical therapist
   
8. Being able to put on socks

8 things I did yesterday:

1. Watched "Titanic" with the kids while we ate gummy fish and lifesavers (I always try to get an appropriate dinner or snack to go with family movie night).
2. Started reading a new book
   
3. Laundry, lots of it
   
4. Worked on a quilt
5. Embroidered
6. Congratulated Wasabi Girl on finishing her softball season
7. Had a heart-to-heart with Drama Girl about the consequences of losing a cell phone
   
8. Helped Jungle Boy figure out how to beat the Zelda game on his DS Lite
   

8 things I wish I could do:

1. Write better
2. Upholster furniture
3. Be in two places at once
4. Give enough money to our school district to keep it afloat
5. Stop global warming
6. End poverty
7. Finish quilts faster
8. Keep dirt out of the house
   

8 shows I watch on television:

1. Tricky question for me, since we don't watch any t.v.
   

I'm supposed to tag 8 more people, but I've lost track of who I've tagged already for these things. Volunteers welcome. Let's see if any of your 8's match mine.

An F for My Assignment

Laura at Catholic Teacher Musings sent me an email with an assignment: List 10 things I fancy that start with F. I haven't been to school in ages, but I'm sweating to get this turned in on time.


Felines
Here is Ashleigh, who thanks you for all your well wishes. (Still not out of the woods)

Fudge
Because I have to have chocolate in the list somewhere.

Fairs
Like county fairs, because what's better than pig races and quilt exhibits and hundreds of choices of artery-clogging deep-fried goodness?

Family
The best part of my life.

Fantasyland
Where you are likely to find me at Disneyland.

Florists
Even if I don't buy anything, just stepping into a florist's shop brightens my day.

Forests
Although I like the beach and the mountains and the desert my heart is in the woods.

Filet mignon
I could have made a whole list just with food, so I'm really showing some restraint here.

Fireworks
Love them. Especially at Disneyland.

Firth, Colin
I'm yours Mr. Darcy. It's ok, my husband understands.

Five things I learned from Blogging

Laura of Catholic Teacher Musings tagged me for this meme months ago. I'm just that tardy in getting around to things. I'm sure on her mental blogger report card I'm receiving a failing grade for not turning in my assignments. I may be out of school, but I still have a healthy fear of teachers and bad marks on my permanent record, so here goes.

1. I am free here. Writing is available to me. I am not constrained by format, length, tone, or deadline. I will not receive a red pen mark for putting that comma before the "or" in the previous sentence. As someone who has spent professional years writing correspondence and trip reports, I find this liberation intoxicating. The lesson I have learned from this freedom is that writing can actually be fun.
   
2. My words have value to me. This blog has, from the beginning, been primarily designed as a way for me to record family moments both large and trivial. My photo albums are bursting, but only tell part of the story. These words for my future self are as insignificant as a moment, but add up to tell another part of the story of our days.
3. I am not alone. I wont lie - going from a full-time career to being a stay-at-home mom was an enormously difficult transition for me. But by wandering through the blogs of other moms, and reading the comments people leave for me, I have gained self-assurance and a sense of place. I can still find intelligent conversation; it just isn't at the latte machine at work any more (oh do I miss that machine!).
4. Days fly by faster than I ever realized. I now notice the cycle of weeks as I prepare a vintage thing for every Thursday and finish something for every Friday. I post on How Do You Do It? every other Monday, and those sometimes feel as if they are only a day or two apart. Blogging gives me a different perspective on my calendar, and makes me appreciate each day.
5. You can get something for nothing. This amazes me. I have only entered a few blog giveaways, but I've won an astounding percentage of them. I feel blessed to receive packages full of goodies from total strangers. And this reminds me that I should do my own again soon.

So that is my list. I'm supposed to tag a few more, but I'm so lost and confused about who I've tagged for what that I'm going to pass this along to anybody who wants it. If you choose to do this meme, leave a note in the comments and I'll give your blog a shoutout on StumbleUpon. Consider it a little bloggy giveaway straight from me to you.

What has the elf been up to?

Our tree is up, and the house smells like Christmas now. Duncan the elf seems to have been playing in the box of ornaments.

Two for Tuesday

How many twins does it take to play one video game?
Two: one to play, and one to give nonstop advice.

Two for Tuesday is hosted by Eight is Great.

Multi-meming

What a Card tagged me for this one-word meme:

1. Where is your cell phone? Nearby
2. Where is your significant other? Atlanta
3. Your hair color? Blonde
4. Your mother? Well
5. Your father? Cranky
6. Your favorite thing? Family
7. Your dream last night? Fire
8. Your dream/goal? Grandchildren
9. The room you're in? Family
10. Your hobby? Quilting
11. Your fear? Fire
12. Where do you want to be in six years? Here
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. What you’re not? Beautiful
15. One of your wish list items? Book
16. Where you grew up? Portland
17. The last thing you did? Twittered
18. What are you wearing? Jeans
19. Your TV? Off
20. Your pet? Cats
21. Your computer? Toshiba
22. Your mood? Distracted
23. Missing someone? Husband
24. Your car? Van
25. Something you’re not wearing? Makeup
26. Favorite store? Thrift
27. Your summer? Relaxed
28. Love someone? Many
29. Your favorite color? Pink
30. When is the last time you laughed? Morning
31. Last time you cried? Morning

I need to pass this along, but I'm not sure who's done it yet. I'll tag Widney Woman, Cheryl, Monkey Memories, Tonya, and Amy.

The next one also came from What a Card, although indirectly. It's a request to show the 6th picture in the 6th folder. I had to pick the 6th in the 6th in the 6th because I have so many folders.

This one definitely didn't make it into the album. This sweaty little softball player who needs a haircut is apparently trying to show me the softball gear her build-a-bear bunny has. I've taken cuter pictures of her.

A Picture of Me and All About My Kids

Cheryl at Twinfatuation has tagged me for a meme. I'm always game for a challenge, so here goes;

1. Post a picture of you and your kids.

(It didn't say photo, did it?) I pulled this out from the vault. Wasabi Girl did it many years ago. I like to wear pink mini skirts up to there apparently. At least we all smile a lot.

2. How many children do you have?
Three - Oldest daughter Drama Girl and twins Wasabi girl and Jungle Boy.

3. What are their ages?
12 and 10 now.

4. What do you eat for breakfast?
Often cheerios, only in our house they are referred to as "Daddy cheerios" (the plain kind) and "Mommy cheerios" (multigrain). I like mine with grape nuts on top, which everyone calls "nutty nuggets." We also have Special K, Product 19 (hard to find these days), Rice Krispies and Chex. My husband often makes oatmeal (we like to let him think he's a great cook), and I often make pancakes, or eggs or omlettes. Sometimes I get up in the morning and make coffee cake or muffins, but the kids are out the door by 6:45 these days so that's not going to happen as much.

Dear husband makes the Peet's coffee every morning, and cleans out my favorite mug if it's dirty.

5. Do they watch TV?
No, none. We stopped our cable subscription years ago and without it we get zero TV stations. Once in a while they watch a DVD though.


6. What are their favorite activities?
Drama Girl loves acting, and is pretty good at it (don't all parents say that about their kids?) If I let her, she would read 24/7. I regularly confiscate books and flashlights from under her pillow.

Wasabi Girl is quite crafty. She's big into scrapbooking (didn't get that from me!) and is learning how to quilt. She is uber-social and hangs out with friends a lot.

Jungle Boy is passionate about ballet. He doesn't stop when he leaves the studio every day, but does pirouettes endlessly in the dining room. He also reads voraciously, and fast. He's a scout and enjoys doing the camping-oriented activities. Also a gymnast. Come to think of it, he doesn't sit still much.

7. Do you get a break away from them during the day?
They're in school from 7:00-2:30.

8. How do you end your day?
Um, yelling at them to brush their teeth and get into bed already? Maybe I shouldn't put that.

9. What is your best parenting advice or tip?
Select a husband who knows how to mix drinks well.

And the blog button goes to:

Seriously, what could a woman want more than a gold card? And a BFF (Blogging Friends Forever) gold card at that? Laura at Catholic Teacher Musings passed this along to me. I feel like I should make her a friendship bracelet or something. Maybe share gum.

The cool thing is, while I get to max out my virtual account with her, I also get to give away 5 more. That gives me a total of 6 BFFs! Woo-Hoo! Enough for a really rockin slumber party!

The rules:

Rules: You may choose 5 awardees

Choose 4 faithful readers of your blog.

1 should be someone new or someone far away.

I have some great faithful readers, and I want you to go visit them right now. Please step up to the podium

Widney Woman

Angie from Seven Clown Circus

Beth, from Beth Loves Ice Cream

Eileen from Eileen's Attic

Jocasta at The Princess and the Peas is in New Zealand. She's my far-away BFF.

But wait! There's more!

Look at this psychedilic fabulous award! The SuperCommenter Award! I want to give this to all my commenters, but I'm going to hold it to one. You know who you are. My number one stalker extraordinaire. My personal wine advisor. My cooking teacher who always makes me drool with her pictures. The woman who is embarking on a new life many only dream about. And yet for some reason she still finds time to stop by my blog. Come and get your super comment frog noble pig!

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Coming up tomorrow: Remember that quilt sandwich I made?

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Responses to comments from yesterday's post: Vintage Thingies Thursday; Workbasket Magazines.

Amy, there are lots of thrifty patterns, like making aprons from dish towels. Makes me realize how much we take things for granted these days. Coloradolady, I think the apron was for a hostess to put on for show, not wipe her hands on like I do. Eileen, yes I do collect them. I usually look for them on eBay, where there are lots of oldies listed. What A Card, I'm testing out this comment response section. Hopefully people will come back the next day to see what I say? At least it's a place to answer questions. Monkey Memories, I'll teach you how to make them! Little slippers for kids aren't hard to make. lidian, thanks for the compliment! What I conveniently failed to show in the picture are all the other coasters -- they all have coffee stains on them. Yet another thing to wash around here. magda, that's so interesting to hear about how the soldiers really did appreciate the handmade things. Angie, great minds think alike! noble pig, I'm so glad you like my little show-and-tell. I hope you get around to visiting the other sites on the tour. Tons of great vintage stuff out there. ellen b. Thank you! Carrie, June 1962 was a very good month. That's when I was born! It is fun to see how the crafts reflect the times. Good N Crazy so glad you're back! I went without my computer for a day and nearly went out of my skin. Vintage Mommy, four under three beats my three under two! Hope you do come back to visit! Stephanie and Patty, Thank you! Jane, I enjoyed visiting your blog! bejewell - sheesh, no you don't. Des, I don't know what's funnier; the whining/crying, or the posting a comment on the wrong post. Love ya.

I am so spectacular

I've been tagged for the "Unspectacular Things" meme. I've enjoyed reading what other people are copping to on their blogs, so now it's my turn, thanks to a tag from Cheryl at Twinfatuation.

The rules:
1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.

Here goes:

1. I have a whole routine for closing the car door. I must have my keys in my hand, no matter what else I'm carrying. A few years ago someone in the neighborhood had a remote lock on the same wavelength and it drove me crazy when my car would "lock itself," so I have to make sure I have my keys with me.
   
2. I can pick up a dime off the linoleum with my bare toes. Go try it. It isn't easy.
3. I have to drink my coffee out of the same mug every day. My husband makes the coffee in the morning and he washes out my mug if necessary, so it's ready for me.
   
4. I only give out full-size candy bars at Halloween. Teeny-tiny candy bars are just wrong.
   
5. I go into panic mode once I put ice cream into the shopping cart. I rush to get through the checkout and bolt out of the car to get it into the freezer. Ice cream doesn't melt on my watch, but grocery shopping can get pretty stressful.
6. Every night my husband plumps his down pillow up and then goes in to brush his teeth. I just can't resist, when I see that nice, plump pillow. . .I have to give it a punch. Just. Can't. Resist.
   

Tagging other people is always the hardest part of these memes, so, if you step up to the plate and offer to do this one, I will feature your blog in an upcoming post. Limited to the first 6 who play along.

Not that my readers are quirky or anything.

Queen for a Day

I have a friend who always wears a tiara when she scrubs toilets. The closest thing I have to a tiara around here is a Burger King crown, and I really don't see that it's going to help me achieve cleaning nirvana.

Yesterday, however, I got something shiny and lovely from lidian - the Brillante award. And it is my pleasure to pass it along to some fellow bloggers of note. Wont help them clean toilets, but will hopefully make their days a little brighter.



Here's the Premio Award rules, because I'm all about rules:

The rules for passing on the award:
1) When received, you may post the premio to your blog.
2) Link to the blogger you received it from.
3) Give it to 7 blogs
4)… link to those 7 blogs
5)…and leave those seven bloggers a comment about receiving the brilliant premio.

Well, if you've clicked on my blogroll, you know that I might have a little trouble with this task. I think there are many sparkling, entertaining blogs out there. The whole prospect of picking favorites gives me flashbacks to popularity contests in high school. So, with regret that I have to limit the awards to seven, here is my list of winners that you need to peek at today. Please go read a few posts and congratulate them.

1. The Glamorous Life
2. Diary of a mad, mad housewife
3. Between the Lines
4. Baby on Bored
5. Scary Mommy
6. Twinfatuation
7. LaLa Girl
   

And while you're at it, you should just go read everybody else in my blogroll too. I wouldn't put them there if I didn't love them. Happy Friday!

The Big Read

There's a meme circulating which starts

According to The Big Read, the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books on this list. How many have you read?

I tracked this meme backwards and couldn't find the original list anywhere. The Big Read initiative covers some of these books, but also lists some different books as "coming soon," so I think the more accurate list of top 100 books is probably this one at the BBC.

The list below contains some multiple listings - like Hamlet and Complete works of Shakespeare. Not all of these are books I would consider great literature. The Five People You Meet in Heaven shouldn't ever be on any list along with Les Miserables. And the Da Vinci Code? Give me a break.

But in the interest of playing along, I will use the list that's circulating and bold the books I have read. While I'm at it, I'll let you peruse one of my bookshelves. I've decided that now that I'm old and in the re-reading stage of my life, I deserve to really enjoy my reading experience. So I buy Everyman's Library editions. Because I'm worth it.



As far as choosing future reads, I'll probably follow the BBC list, because frankly, it has more fun Terry Pratchett books on it.

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

4. Harry Potter Series - JK Rowling

5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6. The Bible (Yes, the WHOLE thing. Several times in fact)

7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

8. 1984 - George Orwell

9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

14. Complete Works of Shakespeare (seriously, have people read all of them?)

15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks

18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger

19. The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

20. Middlemarch - George Eliot

21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchel

22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens (I'm ashamed to admit I haven't read this one, and I'm a huge Dickens fan, and it's on my shelf)

24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

25. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh

27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis

34. Emma - Jane Austen

35. Persuasion - Jane Austen

36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis

37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

38. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres

39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne

41. Animal Farm - George Orwell

42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving

45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

48. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood

49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding

50. Atonement - Ian McEwan

51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52. Dune - Frank Herbert

53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt

64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac

67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

68. Bridget Jones’ Diary - Helen Fielding

69. Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie

70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville

71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

72. Dracula - Bram Stoker

73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson

75. Ulysses - James Joyce

76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

78. Germinal - Emile Zola

79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

80. Possession - AS Byatt

81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker

84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

87. Charlotte’s Web - EB White

88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom

89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

94. Watership Down - Richard Adams

95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute

97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare

99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo (in progress, it's about a million pages long)

If I counted correctly, I've read 61, although I think I should get partial credit for 33 and 14 because of 36 and 98.

Does this make me 10 times more literate than the average adult? Go me.

By coincidence, I bet I have 10 times the laundry of the average adult as well. *sigh*

I Try, I Believe, I Love

I was tagged for this six word memoir meme by Monkey Memories.

I Try.
My house is not always perfect, my kids don't have crisply-ironed clothes, I make a lot of mistakes as a parent and a wife and a person, but boy do I try to do it right. I care about so many things and while I wouldn't call myself a perfectionist, I would say I'm often pretty unsatisfied that I didn't do better. My sister says I do things the hard way. I think I just really try to do things the way I want them to be. I think the real danger starts when you stop trying.

I Believe.
I believe in God. I did long before my conversion and Big Fat Greek Wedding. I love the Orthodox faith. I believe in many other things as well; that childhood should last as long as possible. That teaching children to love books and music at an early age will stick with them for their whole lives, that standing up for what you believe in is worthwhile. I believe I can help make the world a better place.

I Love.
I'm writing this blog because I want to look back on it when I'm 90 and see all the love. We do a lot of silly things around here but love permeates this house and everything we do together. The love in a family is the glue of time. I want my kids to want to spend time with me when they're grown. I want all of us to spread our love through the people we meet. I get strength from the love of others, so I try to give that strength in return.

I'm supposed to tag 5 more people, but I want volunteers. So if you do this meme, leave a comment here, and I'll visit your blog and stumble a post. If you're not familiar with StumbleUpon.com, just trust me, it's a very good thing.

Seven Songs of Summer

I love memes. Such a great way to totally embarrass myself. I've been tagged by Elizabeth to list my seven songs.

The rules of this tag are: List seven songs that you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now, shaping your Summer of 2008. Post these instructions in your blog, along with your 7 songs. Then tag 7 other people to see what their favorites are this year!

The irony is, I recently made a youtube playlist of seven songs that I've been playing daily. Seven songs, just like the meme. Meant to be. As in, it's meant to be that I show what a total dork I am.

I set this going on my laptop every evening while I do the dishes. Because it's all about housework around here. The full list is as follows:

"Happy Working Song" from Disney's "Enchanted"
"Hi Ho" from Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"
"Girls Just Want to Have Fun" -- Cyndi Lauper
"She Works Hard for the Money -- Donna Summer
"Mr Clean Jingle"
"Whistle While You Work" from Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"
"We Can Do It!" from Disney's "Cinderella"

I know. Pathetic. But it gets the dishes done.

Who I'm tagging:

• The fabulous twins at Twinfatuation. I absolutely love their "Tuesday Twinterviews" and I bet they have some favorite songs.
• Monkey Memories, a great kindergarten teacher who is doing a training program called "Couch to 5k." I believe she is actually at Disneyland this week though.
  
• Maddie Lynn at "My Favorite Things." A very young, very talented little blogger. Go check her out!
• The Bouf kids. Whoever wants to can make their own list. Of course, since they're better at all this stuff than I am, they will probably have incredible multimedia presentations. I can't wait to see what everyone picks.
  

I'm sure to get at least a few Disney songs out of that crowd! Hopefully they'll make me look less silly.