The Blogroll Game

Play the Blogroll Game! Go see Dewey at The Hidden Side of a Leaf to find out how and why. I'm always looking for new blogs to read so I'm playing.

Kids Say . . .

You know those plastic, plain picture frames that have magnets on the back for refrigerators or file cabinets? Where you just stick the picture into the slot and then usually the picture falls right out the bottom when you stick up the frame? Well, anyway, Little Guy was sitting in front of the refrigerator the other day and pulled one of those apart until it broke.

"Why did you do that?" I say, throwing the plastic pieces in the garbage.
"Was there a picture in it?"

"Yes," he says and shows me the picture.

It was of my brother and me on the Spirit of New Jersey cruise after his high school graduation in 2001. I had on a sundress and my hair was a little past chin length.

"Don't you know who these people are?" I say, joking to Little Guy.

"Uncle John," he says.

"And?"

"I don't know," says Little Guy.

"Who's this?" I ask, pointing to myself.

"I don't know," he replies again.

"It's Mommy!" I say.

He draws in his breath in amazement.
"I didn't know you were a lady!" he says. "And now you're a Mommy!"
All of this with wide eyes and a shocked expression.

C'mon. Can't you be a lady in capri-length sweatpants, maternity T-shirts, and flip-flops?

Pulitzer Summer

So, if you used to read my old blog or the book blog I started just before I shut down operations on those blogs about a year ago, you might know that I have a plan to read all the Pulitzers. (I shut down because I was getting creeped out by a weird comments from a commenter with no link to anywhere, and I was newly pregnant, so the hormones and the creep factor led me to drastic measures.)

Anyway, I don't want to make a challenge or anything (unless anyone else wants to). It's just a personal challenge or goal. I used to have this little plan written in my About Me section but now maybe I'll put it in the sidebar in some kind of way. I was going to start with the very first winner which is His Family by Ernest Poole and read them in order from the beginning. I think the first book won in 1918. It's out of print so I had a bit of a time finding it. I started it a while ago but stopped for some reason. Now I'd have to start all over again.

From 1917-1947, the prize was for a "novel."
From 1948-present, the prize is for "fiction."
There was no award given in 1917.

So maybe I can make it a summer goal to get through the first half of the list--the awards given up to 1947. Or I can alternate between the first list and the second. But maybe there would be some educational value in doing them in order because it would keep me in the era of the writers and I could maybe make some observations or comparisons about writing in the early 20th century and how it evolved as mid-century approached.

Nymeth at Things Mean a Lot recently posted about reading the Pulitzers,too, but for now, it's just a personal one-woman challenge to myself. I'm certainly open to company on this endeavor, though.

Eight Things About Me

Since I'm a wannabe book blogger and like to hang out with the big kids, I'm going to be like the Little Sister in Mercer Mayer's "Me, Too!" and do this ubiquitous meme. (If I had known about blogs before I had two little kids, I would have been able to post a lot more about books. But now I'm down to my 30 minutes a day of reading before I fall asleep with the book on my face.)

Here are the details:

1: Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
2: People who are tagged, write a blog post about their own 8 random things, and post these rules.
3: At the end of your post you need to tag 8 people and include their names.
4: Don't forget to leave them a comment and tell them they're tagged, and to read your blog.

1. I was born and raised in Union, New Jersey, and lost most of my accent in college when all anybody wanted to do is hear me say, "I'm getting cawfee at the mawl." Then they laughed and said I was from the "Armpit of the United States" or "The Garbage State." Nice, huh? I'm proud be a New Jerseyan, though. I moved to Virginia when I was 23.

2. I never drank coffee until I worked in a Barnes & Noble cafe (Springfield, NJ Rt. 22). Then I couldn't stop.

3. I used to be a litigation paralegal for a big law firm and applied and got into law school. I put down my deposit and then realized that I didn't want to be a lawyer. So I went to graduate school and got a Master's in Writing and Rhetoric.

4. I've only been out of the country twice--and both times were for spring break. I went to Cancun one year and the Bahamas the next. I used to be a bit of a party girl.

5. I put my sister through hour after hour of "playing school" when we were little. Sometimes, if she weren't available, I'd teach my stuffed animals and dolls. I am now a certified elementary school teacher. I was teaching first grade when I became a stay-home mom with my first. I love what I'm doing now, but I'm excited to get back to teaching. Case in point: We went with my mom's walking tour group to a historical house the other day and five yellow school buses drove by for a field trip there.

I got goose bumps.

6. I love to be barefoot. But flip-flops are a close second.

7. I have a short name that can't really be turned into a nickname and so does my husband, but both our kids have longish names that are not used because they go by the accepted nickname. By accepted, I mean, Bill for William, Katie for Katherine, Judy for Judith, etc.

8. If I had a full free day all to myself I would: sleep until I woke up on my own, go out for coffee, read, take a walk, write, blog, run errands, read, do a little housework, and listen to music, either in the car or blasting in the house. Right now I'd put on "November Rain" by Gn'R (still a sucker for the old Axl even after 15 years), the Guinevere soundtrack, Beethoven's Seventh Symphony (my very favorite), and that song from Curious George by Jack Johnson. (I have a big Curious George fan in the house.)

Memorial Day Shed Building

Here's what going on here this weekend. Hopefully getting a roof on the new shed.



We used to have a tiny shed that M. packed full of tools and mess so that it looked like footage from one of those documentaries about hoarders. So his dad came and hauled it away. A year ago. Little Guy wasn't even two yet. M. is a procrastinator.



Finally, we will have outdoor storage. No more Riyobi and Craftsman battery chargers for flashlights and drills on the washing machine. No more toolboxes on the dryer blocking the lint trap so you have to move everything to do laundry. No more full-size cooler in the kitchen. No more big plastic bin of painting supplies in the living room. And Little Guy can have his little bike outside instead of in the playroom.

Judging Mommy

I don't like judging other moms. I'm sure I've been judged by other moms myself but so often, as with judging anyone, you just don't know the whole story. I believe that almost all parents are doing what they think is best or OK for their children. But (and here comes the hypocritical part) I had to share what I overheard at the park the other day.

Two moms with three toddlers who looked like they were about 18 months old. The toddlers are all gathered around one of the moms who is handing out and unwrapping Starbursts. She says, "Eat your candy. Eat your candy and then we'll go to McDonald's as soon as we leave here."

That's all I'm gonna say.

For mother-judging karma, here is something you can get me on: Little Guy watches either PBS Kids or Playhouse Disney every morning. Or some Nick Jr. because they have Dora and Diego, the Backyardigans, and Wonder Pets.

Book Meme

Saw this on Bookfoolery and Babble. Too fun not to steal.

A book that made you cry: Lonesome Dove; I did not expect to love this book as much as I did. It was such a surprise. But I fell so hard for these characters, especially Gus.

A book that scared you: The Shining and that book that was made into a movie with Linda Blair (I'm so scared of it, I don't even want to name it). I could only read The Shining during daylight hours and that second book, I mailed away to an ex-boyfriend because I didn't even want to keep it in the house. The only reason I read it was for a Gothic literature course in college.

A book that made you laugh: The Country Life by Rachel Cusk. I loved this book, but I don't think I like any of her others.

A book that disgusted you: From Here to Maternity by Beth Teitell. Some of it was funny and right on, but most of it was horrifying to me. I'll say no more because I don't want to get into the whole moms judging other moms stuff.

A book you loved in elementary school: What book didn't I love in elementary school? I loved all of Judy Blume (except Forever, I hadn't gotten to that yet) and all of Beverly Cleary. I remember my very first chapter book was called Betsy's Little Star. Ooh, I remember loving From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg. I'll go with that one.

A book you loved in middle school: I had an insatiable appetite for the Sweet Valley High series in 6th grade. I read Gone with the Wind in 6th grade, too, and loved it. (Our teacher showed us the movie in class and we discussed it so I got obsessed and was even Scarlett O'Hara for Halloween that year.) Sixth grade is also when I started getting into magazines like YM and Teen. I remember reading Who Put that Hair in My Toothbrush? by Jerry Spinelli. I read a lot of Richard Peck, Cynthia Voight, Madeline L'Engle and Katherine Paterson. I loved Watership Down. There was Little Women and The Secret Garden. And, of course, I couldn't get enough of Lois Duncan. Then I went through the scary, creepy Christopher Pike phase. Strange because I hate horror books now. OK, who knew I had all this in me to say about middle grade reading?

A book you loved in high school: Ah, here we move on to V.C. Andrews and Dean R. Koontz. I really loved the creep factor back then. I read a lot of modern classics like Willa Cather's Death Comes to the Archbishop and My Antonia, Richard Wright's Native Son (gross). This is when my love of 19th-century British novels began and I read Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice for the first time. Wuthering Heights. Villette. Thomas Hardy. I read the Lord of the Rings books. Basically I just used to go down the suggested summer reading lists they gave us each year and just read the books in order. Oh, and I discovered James Michener in high school. But my answer is This Side of Paradise because it was in high school that I discovered my love, F. Scott Fitzgerald.

A book you hated in high school: The Scarlet Letter; I should give old Nathaniel another try now that I'm older.

A book you loved in college: Michael Crichton's Travels.

A book that challenged your identity: not sure what this means

A series that you love: I liked The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books. Is that considered a series?

Your favorite horror book: Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice; I also have an anthology of horror short stories called Black Water II edited by Alberto Manguel. An especially creepy story in it is "It's a Good Life" by Jerome Bixby.

Your favorite science fiction book: Green Sky Trilogy by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

Your favorite fantasy book: Earthsea books by Ursula K. LeGuin

Your favorite mystery book: I haven't read a mystery in forever. I used to read the Mary Higgins Clark books in high school. Maybe I should try one soon. I'll need recommendations.

Your favorite biography: How about autobiography. I liked Angela's Ashes and 'Tis.

Your favorite “coming-of-age” book: The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

Your favorite classic: The Grapes of Wrath

Your favorite romance book: Jane Eyre

Your favorite book not on this list: The Known World by Edward P. Jones, The Handmaid's Tale, there are other but I've been working on this meme for so long that I have to quit now.

Dystopian Challenge: Book 3: The Handmaid's Tale

I feel like I'm cheating on the Dystopian Challenge because I would have been reading all these books anyway. It's like it's too easy. I really think I might finish this challenge, and that means it'll be the first challenge I EVER completed.

So, the Handmaid's Tale. Wow. I loved this book. I'm now a huge Margaret Atwood fan. Well, I guess I should read a few more before declaring that. I did read Oryx and Crake a few years ago and really liked that. I'm not going to summarize the book anymore than to say that it's the story of a new society built on top of an old one, one we know very well. For more info, see 3M's and Jen Robinson's reviews.

The book is written very anthropologically, as the main character describes her life in the new society as compared with her old, normal life. And by this method, she describes the way the society works as well. The language is beautiful in its simplicity. The writing style is very appealing to me. It was a treat to read this book after The Postman which I read just for plot. With The Handmaid's Tale, I enjoyed the riveting, fascinating story and the intriguing characters, as well as the literary qualities of the writing. It was also fun to guess the setting by reading for clues. In the beginning, there are a few subtle clues that led me to believe I knew where it took place and then towards the end there are more direct clues that affirmed my guess was correct.

Super highly recommended, whether you're into dystopians or not.

My Latest Creation

This was our niece's 9th birthday cake from two weeks ago. She wanted something with dolphins.

Mother's Day

Everyone's telling about their lovely Mother's Days and Hot Wives Days, so I thought I'd share mine. It seems that everyone got super-sweet cards, breakfast in bed, time alone with their laptops or books, and some nice family togetherness. When Little Guy was 8 months old (his first Mother's Day) I, too, got breakfast in bed and a supercute letter "written" by Little Guy. I don't remember last year's Mother's Day when Little Guy was 20 months.

Well, I didn't get any free time like I was hoping, but I did get this. Which was very nice. And not at all what I expected. And it's pink like my fake iPod. I never knew I liked little pink gadgets, but that's what M. keeps buying me. And they are cute.

In the morning, I didn't get to sleep in. M. did take the baby downstairs to feed her at about 7:30, but then a few minutes later, Little Guy woke up so I went and got him. Then I drove to Starbucks to get myself a vanilla latte and a hot chocolate for M. When I got back, M. was making pancakes. Which means he was standing in front of the stove making strange, thick, dough patties and complaining that the recipe on the back of the Aunt Jemima box was wrong. So I took over and made the pancakes.

Then we loitered around for a few hours and tried, unsuccessfully, to get Little Guy to take a nap. After fifteen minutes, he stood up in his bed and yelled, "I'm ready to go to Ashland!" So we went to Ashland which is a small town close by. Everything was closed on a Sunday. But it's known for its train tracks that run down the middle of the main street and the trains were running. So we got to watch an Amtrak and a CRX freight train go by. I love trains. When I was little, my grandparents lived exactly below the Roselle Park, NJ, train station and so I saw and heard trains almost every day. So that was exciting. We walked around the closed town for a little while and then went to eat lunch at a really gross restaurant attached to a hotel. Why did we go there? I don't know, but Little Guy's hamburger was raw when they brought it to the table and the server for the next table kept complaining about how he was supposed to have gone off duty by then.

But that was OK. It was interesting. We ended up going to my parents' house for dinner where Little Guy got so tired, he said he was going upstairs to go to bed. Which made me feel guilty that he didn't take a nap. But we tried. The naps are an issue for contemplation right now.

So that was Mother's Day. It was a good day.

Here is Little Guy with me circa our first Mother's Day, two years ago.

What Just Happened Because Little Guy is Still Asleep and I Have a Minute

OK, what do you need to know? Let's see. I'm having trouble deciding what color to get of these. M. says the lighter orange and the lilac mist. They're only $10! At first I thought the lighter pink, but I'm thinking no.

Yesterday we went with my moms walking group (it's not like a playgroup, different moms show up for different things. It's like a sign-up-for-what-sounds-good kind of thing) to a very beautiful downtown park in the city to get pictures taken of us with our kids by a photographer. Then we'll meet again to make frames and there you have a Father's Day gift! The photographer was fabulous. She has a three-year-old and a four-year-old and was amazing with the toddlers and babies. One mom was so impressed when she sang the Jay Jay the Jet Plane song for her son.

M. just left for work kind of mad. It's because last night I was nagging him about the fact that he does zero housework lately. He's to the point where he walks past the full kitchen garbage without taking it outside. He even stopped taking the outside garbage to the curb on garbage day for two weeks. I put a full kitchen garbage on the deck thinking he would put it down in the can when he got home, but no, he left it there, a raccoon got it overnight (I saw his little wet footprints) and I had to clean up the mess. Gross. But whatever. I hate being naggy. It's so cliche and stereotypical. It's just because we went in the bathroom to brush our teeth and get ready for bed last night and I saw how much the bathroom needed to be cleaned and I took it out on him. So this morning he talked all about how he is so stressed and has to work on the shed and that he thinks I think it'll never get done. (Have I mentioned we're building a shed? We have NO outdoor storage and we have two kids and three strollers plus a toddler bike, a lawnmower, two adult bikes, and some other stuff that belongs in a shed or garage.) And then he said that I never do outside work in the yard, like weeding. Well, this is true. I hate yardwork. I've never mowed the lawn in my life. I've pulled weeds maybe five times in 31 years. I loathe raking (although I did do some of my own volition last fall). I do like to plant seeds and flowers sometimes if the mood and season strike me right. So of course, I was like, oh so you want to split everything and you are in the charge of outside and I'm in charge of inside? But that argument went nowhere because he said no, it's not like that and then he went to work. That was a boring argument.

White Wedding

For those of you who were curious, the true statement from the Dessert section of this post is #2. I was pretty drunk by the end of my wedding reception and yes, I was drinking gross, horrible white zinfandel. (I've never been to England.) I mean I wasn't falling down or passing out, but I was pretty tipsy and so was everyone else who was still there at the end. Then I changed out of my wedding dress at a friend's house and a big group went out to a pub after the reception, my parents included. I was really nervous to get married and I hated all the attention on me. It was just all very surreal. And, I don't know if this has anything to do with it, but it was almost exactly one month after 9/11. Probably has nothing to do with it. But we did have to be at the airport awfully early because of that. In the picture they take of the passengers as they board a cruise ship, we look like tired, bedraggled wayfarers. It's a pretty funny picture.

Friday's Feast

Feast 143

Appetizer
Tell about a time when you had to be brave.
I don't know about brave, that might have been my first day of teaching.

But the time in my life that I had to be the strongest was when M. (husband) had a brain aneurysm burst. He had brain surgery to stop the bleeding and clip the aneurysm. Then he was in the ICU for about two weeks and then a "step-down" unit for about a week and half more, which is short for a brain bleed. It happened all of a sudden while we were hanging around the house one weekend and he was studying for the P.E. (professional engineers exam). I suddenly had to be the decision-maker. I chose a hospital, drove him there, ran in the ER to get a nurse to come out with a wheelchair (he could barely walk by that time). I signed the release for his surgery after the surgeon told us the risks (33% of people die; 33% of people are never the same, sometimes physically, sometimes mentally; and 33% are fine.) M. was one of the lucky ones. But after surgery, we weren't so sure for awhile because he seemed to be having a personality change. He was mean as a snake, and that's not like M. at all. He was sarcastic, rude, all kinds of mean. It turns out it was probably a mix of lack of sleep, pain, and narcotics. He was talking crazy half the time as well. So I kind of resigned myself to the fact that he might be like this from now on. But he wasn't. People kept telling me how strong I was, during his surgery, during his recovery, once he got home, etc. I think, coming from a dysfunctional family growing up, I'm better in dire situations than tiny, daily problems that come up.

Soup
Which upcoming movie are you excited about seeing?
I'm not sure what's out right now, but I really want to see "The Pursuit of Happyness" on DVD.

Salad
Name an item you try to always have on hand.
toilet paper, dishwasher detergent, laundry detergent, hand soap, soy milk, baby formula, apples and bananas, diapers and wipes; that about sums up my life

Main Course
Imagine the most relaxing room you can think of. Now describe it!
A living room in a beach house with sliding glass doors that open to the beach. There is a veranda that leads to the beach outside the doors. There are bookshelves full of books in the room, but they are not damaged by the salty air or dampness. The room has wood floors and cream colored couches with slipcovers. I don't know. I'm bored of this.

Dessert
On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being highest), how spiritual or religious are you?
Religious: 3
Spiritual: 7/8

Booking through Thursday

Today's Question:

Where DON'T you read?

Ok, well, I've read in every room of the house including the front steps and back deck. When I was growing up, I read in every room also, including my parents' bedroom and my sibling's bedroom's, for whatever reason.

I've read in cars, trains, airplanes, boats, and buses.

I've read in the hospital, both waiting rooms and when I was a patient.

Maybe I would have to say that I don't generally read in stores. I wouldn't walk around Target or Babies R Us reading a book. I have, though, followed my husband around Lowe's and Home Depot reading a magazine I got from the front of the store. I really don't like home improvement stores. But that's not common and it's only a magazine. So I'm going with stores as my answer.

A Week in Suburbia

Sometimes I like to book my weeks up solid so we have a plan for every day and sometimes I like a week where we have no obligations and we can hang out around the house and watch Curious George and do laundry and change bedsheets and stuff. Last week was of the former type, this week is like the latter.

Last Monday we went to the Little Gym, but that's a weekly thing anyway. I'm not signing Little Guy up again after this semester because he'll be three at the end of the summer and that's when the toddler classes end and it turns into real gymnastics. Maybe we'll switch to Romp and Roll because I think they have music and art and classes like that. That would just be for the summer because, if all goes well with potty training this summer, he'll be in preschool twice a week starting this fall.

OK, WHY does Little Guy ask for ice cream or gummies for breakfast every single day? He doesn't get to have it, for breakfast, ever. Yet he persists.

Anyway, then Tuesday we went with my "moms walking group" for a walking tour of an old neighborhood. Gorgeous. Never knew it was there.

Wednesday we had Art in the Park with the walking group moms. We sat with our toddlers under the picnic enclosure at the park and did sculpture (played with Play Doh). Next week it's making a "stained glass" thing, the week after that is with stickers, etc. It's a 4-week event.

Thursday we went as guests to a moms group that one of my friends belongs to and which she wants me to join. It's in a church building and you leave your kids in the daycare rooms downstairs and then go upstairs with the other moms. (Q. is young enough that I could take her upstairs with me.) Little Guy, however, had never been left before to play anywhere. He screamed, of course, but I knew he'd be OK after a little while and we have to start somewhere with me leaving him. He starts preschool in the fall. If he were any younger, I probably would have freaked out the whole time wondering how he was, but he'll be three in August so I figured he could hold his own.

The group itself kind of reminded me of a religious sorority meeting. It didn't entirely match with my personality, but the other women there seemed nice and interesting. We'll see. I won't be joining this fall, though.

Another reason I'm not jumping to join is when I went down to get Little Guy, as I was zipping up his jacket he said, "I didn't like that preschool." I was like, "No, that wasn't preschool. That was just a playroom where you went to play with J. (the son of the friend who brought us.) I don't want him to associate that experience with preschool. Then the next day, we were at my parents' house and he told my mom about a toy he played with in the "scary playroom." Also, on the way home that morning after the moms group, he told me that the teacher said I would be mad. I said, "She said I would be mad?" And he said, "Yeah, because I was crying." So that didn't sit well with me either.

Then Friday we had Q.'s two-month well check-up. She is in the 50th percentile for weight and 97th for height. It was so nice and different to see those numbers as opposed to Little Guy who was ALWAYS 110th for height and weight every single check-up. I wonder if he will be now. I guess most 2 1/2 year-olds don't weigh 39 pounds. We'll see in August.

And lastly, I'm reading Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale right now, and I can't put it down. Well, I frequently have to put it down, but if I didn't have to, I wouldn't. It's amazing.

The Postman

Second book for the Dystopian Challenge. Post-Apocalyptic/Dystopian. Author: David Brin

First of all, no wonder Kevin Costner played the main character in the movie (and produced and directed as well) because his most common role in movies is that of the reluctant hero. Just think of him in Waterworld, Field of Dreams, Dances with Wolves, I'm sure there're more.

So The Postman is the story of a reluctant hero. It's 16 years after the Big War and the country is decimated. There are little enclaves of people here and there, scattered about the country, but the cities are pretty much gone. Gordon was a sophomore in college when the Big War happened and has been wandering alone for the past 15 or so years, looking for hints and sparks of intelligence and civilization, for like-minded people who are trying to keep things going. He insists that he is a follower, not a leader, and simply wants to join one of these villages. In the meantime, he travels around like a minstrel, performing bits of Shakespeare in exchange for food and lodging for the night. During his travels, he must deal with the wild, cruel band of survivalists called Holnists, after the teachings of their late leader, Nathan Holn.

One night, just when things are looking bleak for him, he stumbles upon an old U.S. Mail jeep and finds a new way to gain access into the communities without having to perform his little shows anymore. Yet, in the process of living out his farce of being a postman, he inadvertently begins sparking hope in the destitute and down-trodden people.

So a fascinating concept, but the writing left a little bit to be desired. David Brin has written a lot of sci-fi books, but he also has a Ph.D. in space physics. Nothing I like more than someone with a hint of the polymath going on, but there were some things happening with the writing that kept distracting me from the story. There were a lot of repetitive reminders of plot points and character traits that I didn't need. For instance he told how the main character felt so many times, it felt like he was hammering it into my brain. For one thing, I already knew how the character felt because he told me the first time, and I could also read the character's actions and dialogue and get lots of information that way--more meaningful information. There were two sentences that ended with exclamation points, things along the lines of, "And then he threw the man off the cliff!" (I'm not quoting directly.) And once he says that the main character "felt badly" about something.

But these were just a few distractions. The whole concept and theme of the book kept it going no matter what and kept me reading every chance I had. The idea that Gordon had inspired hope and renewed energy in these people resigned to a crappy life by acting out a big lie really interested me.

We started the movie last night. I thought I had seen it before but now I don't think I have, or else I don't remember a blessed thing. We watched about an hour (out of three) so far and it's REALLY different, but not in a bad way. Since I wasn't so concerned about the integrity of the book, but more about the ideas in the book, I really like the movie so far. It gives you the gist of the book, keeping close to characterizations and main ideas, while melding certain characters, settings, and action sequences. I find myself admiring the screenwriter rather than being annoyed at him for changing things so much.

I do recommend this book, but, as with A Canticle for Leibowitz, you have to be in the mood.

Friday's Feast

Feast 142

Appetizer
Name something you would not want to own.
a cat (I'm allergic and just not a cat person.)

Soup
Describe your hair (texture, color, length, etc.).
Well, it's brown. I've always said that it's the same as Eddie Vedder's hair from Pearl Jam when he had it long. (I couldn't find a good picture from the early 90s, sorry.) So what I mean by that is that it has a frizz/wave to it with sometimes actual curls. I've always wanted poker straight hair. I straightened it every day in high school (with the blow dryer; I use a straightener now) that when I occasionally went to school with it natural, people always asked me if I got a perm So it's a few inches past shoulder-length now. I've been just letting it grow. I haven't had it long in a long time. And, I have my first all-over dye job now, but my roots need touching up. My mom did it a few months ago. I'm just like her, grays at 31. Her mom was a colorist in a salon as a career and my mom has the gene for doing good hair.

Salad
Finish this sentence: I’ll never forget ______the days my kids were born_____.

Main Course
Which famous person would you like to be for one day? Why?
Oh, if there's one thing I don't ever want to be, it's famous. I'd be too freaked out thinking about all the people who know who I am. Writers can be famous, though, without too many people knowing what you look like or too much about you. So let's say Elizabeth Berg or someone like that. Very successful and well-liked but not too much in the public eye. Then again, it might be fun to be Oprah, just for the day.

Dessert
Write one sentence about yourself that includes one thing that is true and another thing that is not.
So I guess you have to guess which is the true one and which isn't. OK, here they are:

1. I went to London in my early twenties and LOVED it.

2. I got really drunk on white zinfandel (yuck!) at my own wedding reception.