S I X

Random things, courtesy of Phx.

1. My feet shrunk a size after having kids. A side effect I was pleased with.

2. I hate the telephone. I hesitate to answer it (and yes, I always check the caller ID). I get stressed over making calls on it. Why can't everyone operate via email?

3. When the doorbell rings I will rarely answer it. If we are expecting a delivery, I'll take off to the bedroom and let my husband deal with it.

4. I wonder if I have undiagnosed social anxiety disorder?

5. I let my kids watch PBS until I've had at least two cups of coffee.

6. When I was little, my sister and I decorated toilet paper tubes with markers, cut three holes on the top and then sold them door to door around our neighborhood for 25 cents a pop. We called the trumpets. My mom was not amused and made us go back to return the money.

If I've inspired you to be random yourself, please, consider yourself tagged and let me know.

Holiday Meme

It's late. I'm at work. Something light.

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate? Hot chocolate, I do not do the nog.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Predominately wrapped - unless the gift is too awkward or large.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No

5. When do you put your decorations up? First weekend in December-ish

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Mashed Rutabega (or turnip, as my mother refers to it)

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? Coming down the stairs and acting out miniature songs/skits with my siblings before opening our gifts.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? In the car with my mother. I was wearing a denim skirt and cried.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yes

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Simply. I grew up with a big-bulbed, brightly colored tree with a LOT of ornaments. Our tree is decked with small white lights and simple silver/gold and wooden ornaments, for the most part.

11. Snow: love it or hate it? Considering that I'm working the overnight shift and might not be able to make it home in the morning, due to an impending Nor'easter - I do not like snow. It's pretty to look at while it's falling, but not good for anything else.

12. Can you ice skate? I have in the past. Though, I don't think I know how to stop.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? A pool table, probably.

14. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you? Family

15.What is your favorite holiday dessert? We don't have any traditional desserts. I suppose my grandmother-in-law's Christmas cookies?

16. What tops your tree? A star (so original, I know)

17. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? Giving. I'm terrible at receiving, I think. I always worry that I'm not making quite the right face - too surprised? Not surprised enough? Happy? Bored?

18. What is your favorite Christmas song? Breath of Heaven, Amy Grant (that and the instrumental version of Sleigh Ride)

19. What is your favorite Christmas movie? A Christmas Story, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, The Santa Claus, White Christmas...really too many. I watch Christmas movies all year round.

20. What would be the best gift you could receive this year? Peace. Time with my family. Thankfully, both are free.

Three

Time for a Meme.
(Courtesy of Phx.)

Three things that scare me:

1. The fear of anyone close to me dying
2. Heights. I can't even climb a ladder without freezing.
3. Telephone calls between midnight and six am. They almost never bear good news.

Three people that make me laugh:

1. My Husband
2. My Siblings
3. My Friends

(So, I cheated on that one. Sue me.)

Three things I hate:

1. How quickly time passes, and how little I appreciate the moment as I live it.
2. Automatic toilets that flush before I'm done.
3. The fact that I can go out and buy a pair of pants with a ridiculously small number on the tag, and then still come home and find things to pout about in the mirror. Wasn't I supposed to be over that, like, months ago? (Years ago? Forever ago?)

Three things I don’t understand:

1. College football
2. Blind hatred
3. How my son can have a perfect day (potty training wise) and then follow it up with TWO episodes of peeing on the floor - right in front of me. Argh!

Three things I’m doing right now:

1. Playing Scrabulous (so addicted)
2. Rocking side to side (something I've always done, no idea why)
3. Thinking that there are better things to be doing with my time.

Three things I want to do before I die:

1. Be satisfied with something I've written, and hopefully have it be published
2. Travel more
3. Raise happy children to be compassionate, helpful, happy adults.

Three things I can do:

1. Make people laugh
2. Change a poopy diaper in the dark
3. Empty the dishwasher, make dinner & sort laundry - at the same time.

Three ways to describe my personality:

1. Sarcastic
2. Sweet
3. Silly

(I enjoy alliteration)

Three things I can’t do:

1. Work full time
2. Speak fluently in Romanian (anymore)
3. Beat my husband at basketball

Three things I’d like to learn:

1. How to use our fancy-pants new camera
2. How to do anything with my hair
3. How to lose a guy in ten days...Oh wait. I think that was a movie. I was just going with the "How to..." flow

Three favorite foods:

1. Hummus (shocker, I know)
2. Rotisserie Chicken (changing things up a bit)
3. Ice cream (not supposed to have it, thus, I want it. Often)

Three beverages I drink regularly:

1. Waist Watcher's soda (and yes, I know that it's probably altering my DNA and slowly mutating/killing me...)
2. Water
3. That's it, actually. Water and Waist Watcher's Ginger ale. I'm boring.

Three shows I watched as a kid:

1. You Can't Do That on Television (I had a crush on a boy named Alistair, I think)
2. Benson (we used to beg my mom to let us stay up past eight to watch it)
3. Kids Incorporated/Mickey Mouse Club

Eight

Susanna of Mommy Inc, has tagged me to post eight (random?) things about myself...the perfect challenge for someone always seeking a way to procrastinate.

1. I steal men's clothing. Beginning with my father when I was in high school - I stole his tube socks, and then t-shirts from the seventies (as fashion had begun to repeat itself), then other shirts and eventually even a pair or two of (quite baggy) jeans. Now, my husband frequently complains that I wear his socks (what can I say, I heart tube socks) and t-shirts. I suppose I just love getting lost in over sized cotton clothing.

2. My favorite board game is Balderdash, though I hardly ever play it "correctly" (or using the board for that matter.)

3. Vin and I are going on vacation in the fall as a belated five-year anniversary present to ourselves....assuming that we can afford the plane tickets to get to the port that our cruise ship is leaving from.

4. I eat weird things. Tuna with brown mustard and Red Hot and tabbouleh if I happen to have it. Or the occasional dish of Salmon Balls (which, according to my husband, smell as disgusting as they sound. I think they're tasty though.)

5. My sister and I wrote songs as kids - with stunning titles like Crash-Boom-Bang or Cathy's Got a Boyfriend. We also had a rap medley about saving the earth. (Perhaps we should have propositioned Mr. Gore to use it in his documentary?) We went so far as to choreograph dances with our songs and then perform them on stage at our town's Talent Show. The songs were catchy and sort of fun, but certainly not talent show worthy.

6. My grandmother had wanted me to be named Melania, which as a child I often thought sounded too much like something you would order from the deli case. Now I think it's quite pretty.

7. I have never lost anyone close to me, and the possibility terrifies me.

8. I'll be in two weddings in September, one as a bridesmaid and one as a groomsman.

I'm afraid I'm not much of a tagger though, but if you feel so inclined to do this yourself do let me know.

My Childhood Home

The ever-amazing Owlhaven (mother of ten and writer extraordinaire) has posted a call for stories about our childhood homes. To read her own story, click here.

If you post your own, let her (and I), know.





Outside

Our house was brown when we moved in, a two storied chocolate colored house perched at the top of a hill. Its windows were flanked with pale yellow shutters. The sloped driveway led to a tall pile of concrete steps. A workout just to reach the front door. The whole side yard was a hill, creating the perfect course for sledding in the winter.

There was an old birch tree at the edge of the lawn, pressed beside the neighbors chain linked fence. Beneath the tree, my sister and I would sit pulling up violets and smelling sweet, shiny tea leaves. When the lawn was neglected at the end of the summer, we'd lay in it, hidden between the tall stalks of browned grass, staring at the sky and waiting for the street lights to click on overhead.

Our backyard was shadowed by the house and lined with shrubbery and mounds of browned leaves. There were wild blueberry bushes - we'd pluck tart berries to bring in for pancakes, or to sit on the piano shaped rock and eat from our dirty palms.

In the winter, we could see clear through the bare trees into the backyards of the houses the next street over. In the summer, we did shows - performances with neighborhood children. Songs. Puppets. Crafts. We hung signs around the neighborhood. Offered snacks, Kool-aid.

Inside

First upon walking through the front door was the cream colored living room. The sunlight from the picture window was cut into the curved shape of the drapes and fell on the floor like a bright white Christmas tree on our carpet. We laid on it on Saturday mornings, belly down and playing Atari 800.

The picture window came to be marked with cat-nose prints and spotted with paw-marks. It's where Smokey, our cat, would come to let us know he had returned from his adventures, in the woods across the street. The woods where we once lost him - wandered for hours calling his name, until dusk was falling and we had to go in. Had to give up. And only then did his meek cry appear, his thin little body came from the edge of the forest, running toward us, running home.

The staircase was where we came running on holiday mornings - Christmas, we sat at the top stop, plotting our grand entrance. Cartwheels, songs, perhaps a dance. All on film now. Us, swishing in new bathrobes and pajama's, wild with bedhead and eyes wide with Christmas morning excitement.

The kitchen was carpeted for years - a thin, green and brown speckled monstrosity that stretched from dining room to family room. It was on that carpet that I first knelt and prayed for Christ, earnestly, and without simply repeating the prayer of another.

In the laundry hallway is where Smokey was brought when he first arrived, and where he stayed in a cardboard box - until he was brave enough to explore. Brave enough to be put in a plastic pink Easter basket and held up in the bedroom I shared with my sister - held up to see the posters of other kitties, just like him - and didn't that make him feel more at home?

Our bedroom was our clubhouse, where we charged our little brother an entrance fee. Where we hid a dying bunny in our desk drawer. Where we danced on our beds and hung posters of the singer's we skated to at the local roller rink. It was where I stuffed Barbie dolls down beside my bed and pulled them out after lights out to put shows for my sister. Stories.

Down the hall was the computer room - and there at the pressed-wood desk I would sit and learn to love the feel of my fingers on the keyboard, learn to create worlds out of words, and lose myself for entire afternoons.

It's the room I think of most often, the room I go back to when I start a story. I'm again surrounded by the cool mint-green walls. Sunlight spills through a smudged window and over my shoulder. I hear neighborhood children yelling and playing in the streets. I feel the keys beneath my fingertips. And I'm home.

Contents

The box is Italian and when opened it sings Edelweiss. On our honeymoon, I found myself hunting for the perfect one. One with the combination of shape, design, color and music that I wanted to bring home with me as a souvenir. But it was surprisingly difficult and we came home empty handed.

Six months later, we spent Christmas morning in our 500-square foot apartment just south of Boston, knelt side-by-side in front of a two-foot tall tree in a pot, decorated with miniature bows by the people at our local Home Depot. And my husband surprised me with this:

He even requested that they change the tune when he couldn't find exactly what we'd looked for. The ironic thing is that I don't even wear much jewelry - don't even keep my wedding rings in the box. (I keep those on a wooden fruit stand from Guatemala that's beside our stove - the obvious place for one's most expensive jewelry.)

And so when I came across a Meme (while procrastinating, of course) that asks you to open your jewelry box to the world, I thought it was inapplicable to me. But still, I opened the box - if only to listen to Edelweiss.

Here is what I saw:

Contents, originally uploaded by Mellahoney.

It was more like a memory box than a jewelry box, though most of the contents are 'jewelry', I suppose, most have some specific memory attached. The watch in the center was a hand-me-down gift from my aunt just days before I left for Romania, for example. You can click on the picture for details about the rest of the objects in my box - there are notes attached.

Not 103 Questions

Because I'm stressed and lazy, I dug a Meme from my draft's bin and decided to call it a post.

001. Last time you ran? On the treadmill, will do so again today.
002. Do your jeans have rips, tears, and holes in them?
As a rule, no - but I'm actually made a pair of cutoff denim shorts over the summer, out of necessity.
003. What are you dreading right now?
The dark cloud of school loans approaching my bank account. Badness. Very, very, just, bad.
004. Do you celebrate 4/20? No? Should I?
005. Do you like Mexican food? I like some - depends on my mood. I'm a big fan of salsa.
006. Favorite ice cream? Mocha Chip...if only someone would make a fat free, low-sugar version of it, I'd be in heaven.
007. When was your last doctor's visit? My 6-week post-partum check-up back in December. Haven't been to a non-OB doctor in years.
008. Do you get the full 8 hours of sleep a night?
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha....
009. How many pets do you have? None, unless you include the small-human variety.
010. "First Loves Are Never Over;" is this true for you?
I suppose it is. I never dropped the L-bomb to anyone prior to my husband.
011. Think of all your exes. Would you take any of them back?
I've only had one person who could be considered an "ex" - and he is a perfectly fine and wonderful guy. But he's no Vinnie, so no.
012. If anyone came to your house on your "lazy days" what would you be wearing?
I wouldn't open the door, first of all. I'd grab the children and hide out in my bedroom and wait for whomever was at the door to leave. And, no, I probably wouldn't be wearing pants. I hate pants.
013. What's your favorite shirt? At the moment? A super-soft, thin black t-shirt with capped sleeves.
014. Where are you at right now? Sitting in my very dark bedroom - it's a dreary morning.
015. Do you eat raw cookie dough? No, but I have in the past. Who hasn't?
016. Do you watch the news? Occasionally. I tend to read about it or listen to talk radio rather than watch television.
017. Do you watch Trading Spaces? Not in years.
018. How do you eat oreos? I don't.
019. Are you cocky? Oh, no. Unless your talking Fantasy Football. If I've had a good draft, watch out.
020. Did you have an imaginary friend as a kid?
No, though I did prance around the schoolyard on an imaginary horse and then feed it carrots while I sat in class. Huh. Maybe that was my imaginary friend?
021. What t.v. station do you watch the most?
ESPN is probably on the most at home. Either that or NBC (The Office, specifically), but either is rare compared to DVD's.
022. Last time you saw your best friend?
This morning, I kissed him goodbye as he left for work.
023. Do you still color in coloring books? Yes. I have a child.
024. Can you read music? Not anymore, I don't think.
025. How do you like your eggs? Egg whites only, boiled and topped with spicy brown mustard.
061. Your favorite restaurant you don't get to eat much at? We don't eat out much at all, so Bertucci's?
063. What do you drive? A banged up Dodge Intrepid and an aging Oldsmobile Bravada.
064. Do you actually eat Easter Peeps? Never been a fan.
065. Can you cook? Affirmative
066. How do you eat your steak? In the form of a soy burger.
067. Do you return your cart? Always.
068 where you at? This is a repeat of a previous question. I am still in my bedroom.
069. Do you have a dishwasher? Wouldn't buy a house without one.
070. What noise do you hear? Monster's Inc
073. What was the last thing you ate? Turkey breast with brown mustard
074. When was the last time you said I love you and meant it? About five minutes ago to The Boss
075. Who is the youngest in your family? Lila
077. Do you know anyone with the same name as you? Yes. It's not an uncommon name.
078. How many shoes do you own? Pairs? About ten. That I actually wear, four? 079. Do you mind flat soda? Yes I do. Unless I'm queasy and want flat ginger ale, I won't touch it.
080. When is the last time you ate peanut butter? Good question
082. What's for dinner? Boca burger?
083. What's the last thing you purchased? Groceries
085. Where is your cell phone? Dead. RIP
087. What brand are your pants right now? Old Navy, three years old, very worn sweats.
088. Ever been to Georgia? Yes
089. Did you do breakfast this morning? No
090. Do you like marshmallows? Yes.
092. What brand is your digital camera? HP and a new Canon
094. Do you write poetry? It has been a while, and most of what I wrote was fairly embarrassing, to be honest.
095. Is your refrigerator dirty? Cluttered, yes. Dirty? No.
096. What song best describes your life right now?
097. Do you own expensive perfume/cologne? Negative. I do have some good smelling deodorant though. Does that count? Probably not. It was a 4 pack at BJ's anyway.
098. Are you taking college classes right now? No, though I'm considering going for PhD, just to defer loans for another couple of years.
099. Do you have facebook? I do, actually. If only to play Scrabulous (I'm addicted) 100. Do you know how to change a tire? No. I'm a bit ashamed of this.
101. Do you like sushi? I don't think so. Nothing about it appeals to me. I don't like cold food. Don't like seaweed (have had that), don't eat much rice, or enjoy avocado or raw fish...so...no.
102. Do you get your hair cut every month? Try once every pregnancy. That's what we're going on now.
103. Do you go online everyday? Most days, yes.

Five

Tagged by Jacopo, I had to scrounge through the recesses of my mind for Five Things that I haven't revealed on my blog before. I'm afraid that rather than interesting facts, what I've come up with is "my brain is mush-here's some babble."

The problem is, having been typing away here for well over a year now - there isn't much that I've never touched on. In fact, I'm not sure there is anything new under the sun - which leads directly into my first thought...

One

I ascribe to the ecclesiastical everything is meaningless mentality when it comes to the big picture and the focus of things here on earth. This isn't to say that I don't stress about life (as the archives of this blog will tell you quite the contrary), however, when I do reach a place of peace it's because my focus is shifted away from myself. We live modestly, with modest income. We are WalMart shoppers, (should be) penny pinchers, used-car drivers. Our stress levels rise with the price of gas, of milk, of life. But, like repeating a word over and over again - to the point that it sounds like slush in your mouth and you can't quite remember what it means - life loses its meaning when you focus on it too hard. At least, it does for me. And so I lean back and look a the wide sky, at the horizon dipping over the edge of the road, at the sun setting - and I remember how small I am. How small I'd still be, even asleep on a bed made of money, in a mansion set on a hill. How small we all are.

Two

I am thin-skinned, shy and quiet - preferring to write rather than socialize, read rather than talk. I'm also loud and raucous and will approach strangers without apprehension.

I sometimes wonder if I have dual-personalities.

Three

There is something strange about me. Something that attracts strangeness. Something that made a man at an autoshop cross a busy street to give me his boss's business card as I passed by (walking to the grocery store on a lunch break) - because he wanted to meet me.

Or, a 35-ish divorcee on a cruise with his elderly father, who approached me out of the clear-blue, to thank me for my presence on the ship - even though I was married ("I'm sure everyone notices that ring right away") he wanted to be sure that I knew that I'd made his trip so much better, just by being there. Odd. (And a tad creepy, as my friend and I went on to discuss after he left...)

I've had many, many random and bizarre moments like these - and it's not because I'm cross-a-crowded-street-beautiful or stunning in a stalk-in-a-crowded-cruise-ship sort of way - it's not. I'm fairly positive that there is simply something strange about me. Perhaps it's overactive pheramones, of the weirdness variety?

In any event, as a result, I have met an assortment of strange and wonderful people, men and women, all drawn in by my apparent weirdness quotient (including my husband - who, oddly enough, captured my interest by completely ignoring me when we first met.)

Four

I'm bored with weight loss/body obsession. I feel like Danny Glover from Lethal Weapon when it comes to questions of diet or the scale - "I'm too old for this..." Bottom line: I feel good. Too good to spend more than three sentences discussing it, either here, or with people in person.

Five

I believe God speaks in unconventional ways. Through CD players and alarm clocks. Through airport ticket-tellers and checkbooks. At least, He has to me. But that's an entire other blog entry - or four or five.

And now that my first thesis draft is just about ready to be shipped off to my mentor - I've got to go research the heck out of the subject for my graduate seminar (the final requirement before I can officially graduate and begin paying back Sallie Mae.) But this was fun. Writing a post that wasn't entirely thesis-related. Hopefully I'll have time for more actual blogging in the near future...

Wiki-lazy-post

Thanks again, Zhoen.

1. Go to Wikipedia and type in your birthday (month and day only): August 19th

2. List events that occurred on that day of interest to you:

1692 - Salem Witch Trials: In Salem, Massachusetts, USA five women and a clergyman are executed after being convicted of witchcraft. (Bummer.)

1848 - California Gold Rush: The New York Herald breaks the news to the East Coast of the United States of the gold rush in California (Yee-Haw!)

1989 - Polish president Wojciech Jaruzelski nominates Solidarity activist Tadeusz Mazowiecki to be the first non-communist Prime Minister in 42 years. (I am Polish.)

1991 - Collapse of the Soviet Union: Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev placed under house arrest while on holiday in the town of Foros, Crimea. (Interesting the things you don't realize are happening as a self-absorbed pre-teen celebrating her birthday.)

3.List a Few Birthdays:

1881 - George Enescu, Romanian composer (d. 1955) (I heart Romania.)

1973 - Callum Blue, British actor (I enjoyed Dead Like Me.)

1979 - Jennifer Morrison, American actress (Exact same birthday, and a show I enjoy. Though this season isn't quite as good as the first two...and I hate her hair in it.)

(And a handful of rap artists...
1969 - Nate Dogg, American rapper
1970 - Fat Joe, American rapper
1980 - Jun Jin, Korean rapper (Shinhwa)
1989 - Lil Romeo, American rapper and actor)

Great.

4. List a death:

14 - Augustus, Roman Emperor (b. 63 BC) (Isn't the entire month of August named after him? Or am I showing the failings of public school with my ignorance...)

5. List a holiday or observance (if any):

Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the Saviour's Transfiguration, popularly known as the "Apples Feast" (it's the first day of the year when eating apples is allowed).

If you're reading this, I tag thee. C'mon, it doesn't get any easier than this (and I've done my fair share of lazy posts.)

Monday Meme

Lazy post, thanks to Zhoen and Darkmind. I actually filled this out over the weekend, but didn't bother to post it until now. (Turns out that I was chilly, as indicated in number 17, because we ran out of oil for our furnace sometime early on Saturday and by that evening the house was beginning to get, well, chilled. I spent the rest of my weekend running the pellet stove, bundling small children in blankets and boiling water on the stovetop for heat...)

1. Do you like cheese? Not particularly. My husband, however, could be called a fiend.

2. Have you ever smoked heroin? Never smoked anything, nor used any drugs.

3. Do you own a gun? I do not, though my father did give give me mace as a stocking stuffer once.

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Only if a scale is involved. How sad is that? Poke me? Prod me where? Draw blood? Whatever...just don't you dare try to weigh me.

6. What do you think of hot dogs? I only eat fish and some poultry - and I don't really care for chicken or turkey hot dogs. (And I don't imagine I'd care for fish-dogs much either...)

7. What's your favourite Christmas song? I heart all thing Christmas. I sing Christmas carols in July. For the purpose of this question though, I'll say Carol of the Bells.

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Coffee. Black coffee. Splenda if you have it.

9. Can you do push ups? Yes, but not well. I don't care for them.

10. Is your bathroom clean? Pretty clean...though it could always use a quick wipe-down before company comes over.

11. What's your favourite piece of jewellery? My wedding/engagement ring(s). I wish I still had my butterfly ring...

Where's 12? Wasn't my turn to keep watch.

13. What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex? A bottle of pheramone enhanced perfume I bought from a scientist that I found in an ad in the back of a magazine. What a bizarre question.

14. Do you have friends? More than I deserve, considering my lax phone skills.

15. Do you miss someone? Many friends, distanced by both time and miles.

16. Middle Name? Theresa. Eh. It's ok. I'm not wild about my first name either.

17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment?
I am chilly.
I hate being alone (Husband is away on a retreat with men from our church)
I wonder if I should get something to help facilitate the healing of the mark on my nose.

19. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink: Water - lots. Coffee - more than I should. Diet Gingerale - less than usual lately.

20. Current worry?: Will I be able to fall asleep alone?

21. Current hate? I don't hate. I get annoyed or let down or angered, but I don't generally reach a level of 'hate' - wait...now that I said that, it's not true. I have a hard time not hating people who harm children, in any way.

22. Favourite place to be? Anywhere with my husband. He makes me laugh, and I like that.

23. How did you bring in the New Year? Huddled beneath a blanket in front of our pellet stove with both of our children wrapped in our arms - fending off the FREEZING cold. We had been away for a few days and someone turned the heat off while we were gone. And so, we arrived home at 11 pm on New Years Eve, with two fevered and quite ill children, and no warm place to lay them down.

24. Where would you like to go? On a cruise someplace sunny and warm - miles and miles away from brown slush and March (or as LJ so affectionately referred to it last year - Farch)

27. Do you own slippers? I don't. But my feet are chilly tonight and I wish I did.

28. What shirt are you wearing? Hideous blue sweater that dips into a V-neck, in the front and back.

29. Do you burn or tan? Both. First burn, then tan - but only enough to look a little warmer than ivory. And my freckles pop out like mad across the bridge of my nose.

30. Favourite colour? Sage or indigo, depends on my mood.

31. Would you be a pirate? Yar. Actually, no. I'd imagine that the bathroom situation on board a pirate ship wouldn't be very pleasant, especially for a lady. I like a comfortable bathroom.

32. What songs do you sing in the shower? Ugh. Lately it's kids songs. Under A Shady Tree by Laurie Berkner this morning.

35. What's in your pocket right now? No pockets.

36. Last thing that made you laugh? Husband.

37. Best bed sheets as a child? Nothing special. No designs or anything that I can remember. Maybe once...maybe some Smurf ones from my grandmother? I can't recall exactly.

38. Worst injury you've ever had? In Romania, I went to check the mail at my apartment and didn't realize that someone had opened a hatch on the floor in front of the boxes. I fell down into it and twisted my ankle pretty badly - it swelled like I'd shoved a softball beneath the skin. A black softball.

39. What is your biggest pet peeve? You know, I just had one the other day - and I thought, man, if someone asks me what my biggest pet peeve is, this is it --- but apparently it wasn't that big of a deal, as I've already forgotten about it.

40. How many TVs do you have in your house? Two.

41. Who is your loudest friend? This is tough. I was a Communication Arts undergrad - I have loud, artistic friends. Probably the artist, still in school and getting married this year.

42. Who is your most silent friend? I don't have silent friends. Or even remotely quiet ones.

43. Does someone have a crush on you? Vin does. And it's pretty sweet. (You have my permission to gag and roll your eyes now...)

44. Do you wish on shooting stars? Not on shooting ones, just on any 'ol star we could see from the bedroom. I also have a vague recollection of leaving cornflakes out for someone to collect in return for granting a wish - I was a strange child. Or, I might have dreamt that up.

45. What is your favourite book? I honestly don't have a favorite, especially not now. My brain is absolutely clogged with so much fiction (reading for school) that I can't even figure out what's what anymore.

46. What is your favourite sweet? Lately - Cool Whip Free, frozen and eaten like ice cream. Historically? Ice cream.

47. What song do/did you want played at your wedding? We were announced as husband and wife, flowers a-wavin' to the tune of Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down, then danced to And So It Goes by Billy Joel. We love us some Billy.

48. What song do you want played at your funeral? Livin' on a Prayer, baby. Kidding, kidding. I don't have an answer for this. Depending on when I die, and who of my family is still alive, I'd love for my sister to sing. She has a phenomenal voice. Though, I don't know if she'd be able to do that - much like I don't think I'd be able to stand up and speak at the funeral of she or my brother if either of them were to die tomorrow.

49. What were you doing at 12 AM last night? Climbing into bed? Can't remember. Maybe giving Lila one last bottle.

50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? I can't remember exactly. Probably something to do with the baby or The Boss - whoever was making the noise that stirred me from slumber.

I Am From...

I found this earlier this morning over at Owlhaven (from there, you can play follow the link to find its origin in the blogosphere) and I fell in love with it. It's instant inspiration for the museless blogger - and so I tried to tackle it as soon as naptime struck. I'm sure I butchered the actual recipe for it, and I'll probably continue to play around with it, but for now, here is my first attempt.

(Also, I think this sort of writing exercise will come in handy in character development. I may use it on my Stealing Season characters, as I need to have that story finished in a matter of weeks to send off to my faculty mentor - Ack.)

I Am From...

I am from bicycles on hot pavement (gravel twisting beneath the wheels), from Popsicle sticks and skinned-knees on cool concrete steps, watching the yoke-yellow sun sink and streetlights stud the sidewalk.

I am from picking blueberries in the backyard and tagging tar-pocked telephone poles, playing kickball in the shadow of Silver Hill. I am from early morning Atari - Miner Fourty-Niner and Boulderdash, belly-down on the carpet. From Betwitched and I Love Lucy, with ginger ale and soup, and my mother's cool hand on my cheek.

I am from van-rides cross-country - from McDonald's pancakes on sticky LA mornings and pop-up trailer's set up at dusk. I am from lantern-lit, Tupperware suppers of beans and barbeque and from sandy footprints on rickety docks, feeding ducks from plastic bags of stale buns.

I am from my father's omelets and hash sizzling on Sunday mornings. From fried bologna, (curled into butterflies, spitting on the stove) and coffee ice cream frappes in Donald Duck cups with red straws, nearly too thick to suck.

I am from nightlights casting shadows on the ceiling and from listening to my sister's breath across the room. From my mother's silhouette - hands folded, kneeling between our beds. And from Pig Latin and laughter long after she'd left.

I am from advent calendars and Christmas eves with popcorn and a big-bulbed tree. From the chimes of golden angels spinning round a carousel of candles, and the soothing cadence of the Christmas story lifting from my mother's lips.

I am from church on Sundays and the knowledge that God is Good. I am from Amy Grant in my stockings and scripture based books on Easter mornings. I am from palm branches twisting in my fist and ticking my nose. I am from the faith that He is risen, He is risen indeed.

I am from a grandfather who lost his name, who died before my father was a man. And I am from Dawn's smoky kitchen with Victor slumped in a recliner watching Dances with Wolves. From my cousin's picking on spiral ham and drinking bottle after bottle until everything blurs into laughter.

I am from paper bags filled with photos and from albums yet to be filled. I am from home video's of junior high band concerts and talent shows - of science fairs and soccer games. I am from journals, with scribbles over every spare space - stacked away in boxes, in closets. I am from memories as cozy as sinking into soft sheets, and replayed as effortlessly as closing my eyes.

Strange-Mella

Since it's nearing midnight and I'm up with the chills/running nose/aches/sore throat evil virus that won't let me sleep easily (I belong on a Nyquil ad) - I thought I'd attempt a mindless meme. Something to jog the 'ol brain. This is one that I've seen around in a couple of different variations - most recently, I spied it over at Darkmind's page. Thought I'd give it a go...though I don't think I'm quite strange enough to hold much interest.

Six "Strange" Things About Mella:

1. I was once fired for stealing a kiwi. In high school, I worked at Victory Supermarkets, wearing a bright blue blazer and crisp red bowtie I scanned smalltown people's groceries through the check out lane after school and on weekends. The day of the Kiwi was a particularly busy one at the 'ol market - so busy that the manager on duty requested that I take my lunch break as quickly as possible (re: pay for the lunch that I was buying after my break, when the lines died down. ) So, I got my lunch together, slices of turkey and some rolls, a York Peppermint patty and two kiwi's and settled into the bright green break room to eat.

Turns out there was a "Victory Cop" on duty that day - thin, rat looking guy, with a trucker cap and slicked hair. He came in, not after me, but after the produce employee that he'd been eyeing all morning who made the mistake of taking a cucumber with him into the breakroom - without paying for it. I was an afterthought - he stopped by to explain to me what was going on, produce man in his grips, when he realized that he hadn't asked to see my receipts. At this point, all that remained of my lunch was a single kiwi, for which I had no receipt.

Long story short - I showed Rat-Cop the upc codes I'd peeled from each of my purchases (for scanning after lunch) and explained that I'd been told to eat first, pay later - but the MOD denied everything (wouldn't want to go against store policy, you know, telling employees to pay after eating) and I was canned. It was the first and only time I've hyperventilated. Breathing into a brown bag really does help.

2. When I was little, I used to draw pictures of hands with long colored nails and fancy rings, and cut them out to play with like paper dolls. I also used to stash my Barbie dolls in the crack between my bed and the wall - I'd take them out after lights out and put on shows - sort of like soap opera's. The dolls weren't necessarily clothed, but that didn't seem to matter. It was all about the storytelling.

3. I flex my abdomen everytime I'm riding in a car - like doing a perpetual crunch. Somehow it makes me feel better about sitting still for the ride...like I'm toning or burning calories or something.

4. My husband is the only person I've slept with. And, this is probably the strangest thing about me for some people, he's the only person I've ever actually wanted to sleep with. Even if I didn't live by the Christian moral compass that I try to, no one ever really did it for me, 'till him. Having said that, I did do my share of searching - kissing frogs, so to speak - looking for what all the fuss was about, and I would probably have been considered a tease had most of the guys not genuinely respected me.

5. I've had hepatitis and Mono and lice all at the same time. Big glands, yellow eyes and snowdrifts of dandruff from scratching at those little buggers. If that doesn't say attractive, I don't know what does. Ah, Romania...good times.

6. As an eight year old, I was convinced that I was either going to start a professional basketball league for women (and be the first star in it) or be a published author. Unfortunately, someone beat me to the WNBA (and I stopped growing at 5'5), and that leaves us here - evil-virus infected at midnight and procrastinating when I should really be working on that whole second aspiration.

One Word: AKA - Procrastination

Yet another Meme stolen from Zhoen...

You can only answer one word. No explanations.

1. Yourself
- Content

2. Your Spouse
- Wonderful

3. Your Hair
- Dirty

4. Your Mother
- Amazing

5. Your Father
- Challenging

6. Your Favorite Item
- Missing

7 . Your Dream Last Night
- Vivid

8. Your Favorite Drink
- Coffee

9. Your Dream Car
- None

10. The Room You're In
- Warm

11. Your Ex
- Kind

12. Your Fear
- Separation

13. What You Want to Be in 10 Years?
- Happy

14. Who You Hung Out With Last Night
- Hubby

15. What You're Not
- Clean

16. Muffins
- Yes

17. One of Your Wish-List Items
- Time

18. Time
- Nap

19. The Last Thing You Did
- Homework

20. What You Are Wearing
- Sweats

21. Your Favorite Weather
- Autumn

22. Your Favorite Book
- Many

23. The Last Thing You Ate
- Pita

24. Your Life
- Hectic

25. Your Mood
- Happy

26. Your Best Friend
- Husband

27. What You're Thinking About Right Now
- Treadmill

28. Your Car
- Eh

29. What You Are Doing at the Moment
- Procrastinating

30. Your Summer
- Fast

31. Your Relationship Status
- Bliss

32. What is On Your TV
- Black

33. What is the Weather Like
- Beautiful

34. When is the Last Time You Laughed
- Today

Ago (Meme)

Found this at One Word while wading through a weeksworth of online reading. And, since I love me a good Meme (especially while "on the clock") I thought I'd do it myself.

10 years ago
I was starting my senior year of high school. I fall into the category of people who do not consider high school to be the highlight of their life. Wouldn't go back if I could. The thought alone makes me shudder.

5 years ago
Graduated from college and began working in the school's Alumni/ae Department. My introduction to the 9 to 5 world of florescent lighting and office coffee (swill), chatter (gossip) and politics (turnover's galore) Again, wouldn't go back if I could.

1 year ago
We were given an offer on our condo and began the process of packing up our first home to move in with my parents "only for a few months..." Famous last words.

5 songs I know all the words to
(I've changed this to be five albums that I know all of the words to. Back when I listened to music more often - re: college - I listened to entire albums repeatedly, memorizing them in the process.)
Fashion Nugget - Cake
Galore - The Cure
Surfacing - Sarah McLachlan
No Angel - Dido
Everyone Else is Doing it, So Why Can't We - The Cranberries

Also, my brain is a vault of various hymns, oldies, showtunes and (more recently collected,) songs from children's television shows.

5 snacks
Hummus
Bread
Apple butter-chocolate chip cookies
Lowfat ice cream/yogurt
Berries (blueberries and strawberries especially)

5 things I'd do with $100 million dollars
Travel
Buy a big old farmhouse
Pay off Sallie Mae
Help people
Sip coffee and write all day long (inspired, of course, by the landscape surrounding my beautiful farmhouse.)

5 places I'd run away to
Sighisoara
Squam Lake
Coffee Break Cafe
The English countryside
A secluded beach town...

5 things I'd never wear
A parachute (My fear of heights and I have no intention of ever needing one.)
Shoes that cost more than $100/pair (I almost said $50)
A thong peeking out from the top of my jeans. (So glad this trend is fading)
A string bikini (far too modest for that)
Gaucho Pants (While very comfortable, they make me look like a load. Can't do it.)

5 favorite TV shows
Arrested Development (RIP)
The Office (British and American)
House
Barefoot Contessa
Paula's Home Cooking
(and most other Food Network shows...with the exception of Emeril)

5 greatest joys
My Faith
My Husband
My Son
Feeling my daughter move within me
Friendships

5 favorite toys
Computer (When not in internet-limbo land)
Husband (Not a toy, but lots of fun)
Blocks (Hours of toddler entertainment)
Kitchen Aid Mixer (I bake when I'm bored)
Digital Camera

Lazy Post

Stolen from a couple of brilliant bloggers who inspire me constantly, Zhoen & LJ

Accent: As boring and nondescript as a glass of milk, North American. No drawl. No twang. No misplaced R's (Despite growing up in Massachusetts with a parent who consistantly adds R's to words, such as: IdeaR.) And no, although I grew up in Massachusetts I do not pahk my cah in Havahd Yahd.

Booze: None at the moment, though I'm having an odd craving for cheap champagne.

Chore I hate: Seriously, only one? Wouldn't this be better phrased: Chore I Love? If forced to pick one, it would have to be cleaning the kitty litter. Thankfully pregnancy & a wonderful husband have spared me of this.

Dogs/Cats: I have a completely irrational fear of dogs, and I think cats fit my life better (re: I am too lazy to walk a dog every time it needs to relieve itself.)

Essential electronics: A computer, for writing & schoolwork primarily...and really, how else would I procrastinate without the internet?

Favourite perfume/cologne: None. Itchy nose just thinking about them. Although, I did recently buy a bottle of an essential oil that (supposedly) smells different on each woman who wears it, because it interacts with her chemistry. I don't entirely believe this - but it does smell pretty on me, and it doesn't make me itch. Most days though, it's just me and my Suave deoderant.

Gold/silver: White gold.

Hometown: Small mill town twenty miles west of Boston.

Insomnia: Either it happens, or I happen.

Job title: Student & Mama

Kids: See above.

Living arrangements: Limbo

Most admired trait: Loyalty, compassion, humor, humility (in others - and I hope that others find these in me.)

Number of sexual partners: One

Overnight hospital stays: Only for the birth of my son. Terrible sleeping arrangements, with my poor husband crook-necked on a chair beside me and nurses coming in to inspect my stitches (which were, understandably, not in the easiest place to prod) every couple of hours.

Phobia: Too many. Heights. Insects. Drowning. Flying. And so on and so forth...

Quote:What no wife of a writer can ever understand is that a writer is working when he's staring out of the window. ~Burton Rascoe

Religion: Christian

Siblings: Two of the most unique individuals I'll ever have the pleasure of knowing. My sister and I are 19 months apart, and despite years of taunting and teasing she's still willing to be my dearest friend. Aside from my husband, she knows me better than anyone else ever will. My younger brother can come across as the brooding artistic type but he has the cliched heart of gold and the sensitivity that can only come from being raised beneath two older sisters. And he's incredibly handsome.

Time I usually wake up: Varies, based on the Boss's whim.

Unusual talent: My lack of talent - I can't roll my tongue or whistle.

Vegetable I refuse to eat: None really, but I don't prefer eggplant.

Worst habit: Procrastinating. Whining to my husband about feeling bloated. Changing my outfit at least five times before leaving the house, no matter where I'm going. (Just to name a few.)

X-rays: Several.

Yummy foods I make: Low-fat chocolate chip cookies & Tira misu. I love to bake and to try to make traditionally unhealthy treats healthy (or at least less unhealthy...)

Zodiac Sign: Meow.

A Mella Meme

My first Meme courtesy of Teri:

Four job's I've had:
1.Grocery Clerk in smalltown USA. Bold blue blazer. Bright red bow tie. No sparkles allowed. I was fired for stealing a kiwi - which I did not do.

2. Girl Scout camp counselor. Muggy summer spent making crafts with yarn, glue sticks and tongue depressors. Swimming. Singing. Tents. The whole nine-yards. And yet my strongest memory from the entire summer is simply of eating cinnamon-chip muffins with my sister while we drove to the camp together early in the morning.

3. Coffee girl at a my favorite college haunt. I walked there before sunrise, crunching over ice and snow. Spilled coffee and milk and chocolate all over my clothes. Went home with a ziplock back of nickels, dimes, quarters and a few crumpled bills. Never much, but always more than I thought I deserved for the simple act of serving someone a good cup of coffee with a smile.

4. Administrative Specialist at Eastern Nazarene College. My first official job and my introduction to the world of office swill, water cooler gossip and living for five o'clock (though I did get to work with a few pretty amazing people.)

Four movies I could watch over and over again:
(I forget movies almost as soon as the credits start rolling - and so I could probably watch most any movie over and over again...but, here are a few off the top of my head:)
1. When Harry Met Sally - it's my sit in bed with PMS (or 1st trimester, or just plain hormonal) sappy-girly-movie.
2. Any of the Christopher Guest Mockumentaries (Best in Show, Waiting for Guffman, etc)
3. Everyone Says I Love You - this silly musical always makes me smile.
4. Grosse Pointe Blank - witty and well written script, catchy soundtrack, just plain fun.

Four places I've lived:
1. Smalltown, MA
2. Sighisoara
3. Quincy
4. Nashua

Four websites I visit daily:
1. Lopnet -family email/picture site
2. The blogosphere at large, including, but not limited to the links on the left.
3. Yahoo/Google
4. Pruverani.com - in search of a home.

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Hummus with garden ripe tomatoes and dense slices of fresh bread
2. Vegetables
3. Bertucci's Chicken Diavolo pizza, no cheese, no extra oil. With rolls on the side. Yum.
4. Coffee (or anything that is coffee flavored)

Four places I'd rather be right now:
1. In Venice, sitting across from my husband in a Chinese food restaurant sharing a plate of fried pineapple.
2. Summer. Dusk. On the edge of a dock, legs dangling in the water. Mug of coffee. Notebook. Music.
3. The Polynesian Resort at Disney World with my sister and her husband and our kids.
4. In my own house.

Four bloggers I'm tagging:
1.CJ
2.Skye
3.Junie
4.DavidC (whenever he and his wife return from their fabulous adventures...)

Thanks for the fodder for procrastination Teri - much appreciated.