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- What word irks you every time you hear someone say it? Doh!
- What is your favorite word?
 and I share a love for the word “deliquesce.”
- What does it mean?
- What word do you say far too often? Fabulous!
- Name three words you think other people overuse: (I use these too much as well) wicked, random, sweet
- What is the best thing that happened to you personally this past year? A lot of really great things happened in 2005, but I think at the top of the list is leaving that
 job. I’m so much more relaxed and happy, and have time for all the other wonderful things that happened after that.
- What is the best thing that you saw happen in the world around you? I sadly don’t pay enough attention to the world around me to be able to answer this.
- What is the biggest lesson you learned this year? It’s OK to put plans on hold, even if they’re big things that will affect the rest of your life in positive ways (like grad school), if you’re not ready for it yet. Do things on your own time frame and screw what the rest of the world thinks. I was worried everyone was going to be disappointed in me, and everyone was so supportive and completely understood (mom included).
- What things do you hope change for you personally in the next year? I’d like a new roommate. I’d like to be able to spend more time with my friends who are really busy these days (no guilt implied there, girls – I just miss you, that’s all). I’d like to get better at mornings in general. But I’m pretty content these days.
- What things do you hope change in the world around you? See #2.
- Do you have any resolutions? I’ve answered this way too many times today already, but in short, no.
THE MORE OR LESS EDITION
- Time: Comparing the last 365 days to the previous 365, do you have more, less, or about same amount of free time on your hands? If more or less, what changed over the last year? Much more free time, since I’m only working 40 hours a week these days. Things have gotten much more relaxed, especially without a car, because then I’ve learned to be patient and that waiting is just part of life.
- Money: Do you think having more money would buy you more, less, or the same amount of happiness as you have in your life today? If more or less money, how much more or less would it take? Money doesn’t buy happiness, so… yeah. I do know though that if I had more money that I’d be less stressed, could get out of debt, that sort of thing, and there’s a certain amount of happiness that could be related to that. But still. I’ve never thought I would have any quantity of money in my adult life, with the career paths I’ve chosen and so forth, so my idea of happiness hasn’t been related to it at all.
- Dating & Kissing: Thinking back to when you were in junior and senior high school, do you ever wish you would have kissed/dated more, less, or about the same number of people that you did back in the day? I dated so very little in junior high and senior high, and for the most part I’m really OK with that. By the time I graduated, all of the guys I knew were quite unattractive (they might have been fine physical specimens, but most of them were jerks and had other undesirable character traits), so there’s no one I can think of I really wish I’d had a chance with. The only thing I can say about the kissing issue is that when I started dating this year, my complete and utter lack of experience in that arena had me more freaked out than anything, and part of me wishes that I’d been able to stress about that when I was 17 instead of 27. But there’s another part of me that knows why I waited and am glad I did and know that it’s part of who I am, and I wouldn’t trade that for the world. There’s a few other benefits I can think of as well, but I’ll keep those to myself.
- Exercise: Do you plan to exercise more, less, or about the same amount in 2006 as you did in 2005? Oh, the ambitious, health-conscious part of me would love to say more, simply because 2005 involved a lot of sitting on my butt. However, I also know that while I was working at the church I did a lot more running around and playing with the kids, and I won’t have that anymore. I do walk more now that I don’t have a car, so that’s good. Since the only thing I really like to do is go running, and the sidewalks are snowy or iced over 6 months of the year, it gets hard to make a habit out of anything.
- Virus:: Definition Software
- Poop:: On You
- Smart:: As A Bug
- Agent:: Finn
- Wrap:: It Up
- Brass:: Bed
- Waste of time:: Don’t let it be a
- Suspicious:: Malicious Intent
- 360:: Full Circle
- Dummy:: Test
If you were an entry in the dictionary, under which word would people find you?
Because I used it (aka “looked it up” yesterday) and it seems appropriate…
loquacious
I seem to have lots of words to share these days. Not important words, or even words that when strung together make tons of sense. But words nonetheless. I’ve been writing long emails, long blogs, even spending lots of time chatting with  (daily conversations of at least half an hour, compared to our usual exchange of a few sentences if that). I’m sure  will love that when I get home, having thousands of words to share with her (we’ll be fighting to get words in edgewise!). OK, maybe not, because by Saturday I could be spent. Who knows? Wordy seems better than quiet and withdrawn, yes?
If you’ve got even just a spare 30 seconds at work today, you should visit this site and make your own paper snowflake. ( , you’d really like this!)
Here’s mine:
 
Already this morning I’ve been asked how my weekend was, and I was able to say without hesitation, “good!” enthusiastically and really mean it. It was a good weekend and I was happy enough at several points for others to point out that I looked happy.
Friday night came over and we watched A Charlie Brown Christmas (it was on TV, which was strange, because it had been our plan to watch it on VHS and then it showed up in programming) and made dinner (thanks, Real Simple magazine, for the fabulous recipe that I wish there were leftovers of because it was that good). We went to bed early and got nearly nine hours of sleep before I had to get up and get ready for my last day volunteering at the Science Museum. The kids were amazingly quiet and dedicated to finishing their pages, so the morning went rather smoothly. I quick skedaddled out of there at one to go home and change into warmer clothing. I had one pair of long underwear on and while waiting for the bus got cold, and decided that was unacceptable for a 2-hour shift ringing at Cub. In a stroke of genius, I put on two pairs of long underwear pants, two pairs of socks including a wool pair, an undershirt, turtleneck sweater, and wool sweater on top of it all. By the time I made it to the bus stop I was sweating, but thankful for the warmth later.
Ringing bells Saturday at Cub was cold and I was a bit grumpy about the change in plans (because I signed up for the entrance door and they decided to move me to the exit, and while that’s not a big deal, the line I kept getting was, “I know that’s what you signed up for, but sometimes that’s not how it works out,” which was annoying since I signed up for my shifts back in November with their neato online system and received multiple emails from them confirming my exact schedule and even phone calls the Friday night before, all of them confirming my exact schedule, only to have, each Saturday, run into some confusion about my shift – first week they had the time wrong on the sign that says who it is that’s volunteering, then last week there was a guy there who didn’t know I was coming and eventually he just wandered off, and then this weekend with the doors, and it just put me off a bit from wanting to do that again – I don’t need more confusion in my life). Anyways. I still enjoyed ringing the bell and was thankful for the brick wall that blocked me from the wind. I’d set my cell phone alarm to go off at 3:45, 15 minutes before my shift was to end, and then fought with myself the whole time about looking to see what time it really was. I knew I didn’t want to know what time it was until the alarm went off, because anything else would mean way too much time left in the cold. Amazingly enough, my will power won out and I was pleasantly surprised when the alarm went off, having told myself that it was really probably only 3:30 at the latest. showed up right at 4 to pick me up and help me thaw out.
Relaxed/took a nap for a bit once we got back to my house and I changed into more human clothing, before rallying ourselves (or maybe it was just me that needed to be rallied) with hot cocoa and more of ‘s Christmas cookies that will turn me into the Goodyear blimp if I continue to eat them at this pace, and then we were off to ‘s birthday party. (Speaking of which, I really need that artichoke dip recipe, .) Yummy food there and later when we went out for dinner. Back at ‘s, we gave up on trying to stay awake much longer, after a foray with ‘s laptop and the new Mac OS.
We slept in Sunday (because I really wanted to, and because I really didn’t think that even if I got up and made it home and showered and dressed that I would actually make it to church when it was 3* outside – a 20 minute walk just doesn’t sound good at that point), and then he dropped me off at home and went to a farewell lunch for a friend. Later he came and picked me up to go over to another friend’s for crepes and several episodes of Stargate SG-1, and then we hung out at my place until it was clear that sleep was quickly approaching and so someone needed to drive home.
I stayed up later than I should have after that, but I can’t exactly remember what I was doing that kept me up until 1. Huh. I was tired when I woke up this morning, and the negative 3* outside wasn’t too encouraging, but I made it into work anyways. I’m quite sure that most people don’t check the weather/temperature before going outside, because I was the only one bundled up for the cold. Sure, people had on winter coats, and some had on hats, but where were the scarves, the mittens, the ear warmers? I don’t get it. I’m obsessive (OK, not really) about checking the cable for the current weather before getting dressed and/or before leaving the house. It’s such a handy feature.
 left this morning with a packed suitcase, which I can only assume means her grandfather died and she was flying out to Colorado for the funeral. She didn’t say as much, but it was to be expected. Not too much sympathy is required – he had been put in hospice last week, and this was the third time he almost died in several years, so she was ready for it.
My workload is amazingly light compared to the last few weeks, and for that I’m glad. It’s sad that my blog still isn’t fixed, but I’ve gotten over it and keep writing anyways. When it comes back up, there’s going to be a lot to read, that’s for sure.
- Name 1 toy you owned when you were younger, that meant a lot to you. I had a wonderful teddy bear (named “Teddy”) until I was, like, 12 (when he got lost – otherwise I’d still own him, and probably still sleep with him when things get rough). He had his eyes replaced twice (once because my cousin Dave threw him up in the air and when he hit the ceiling one of his eyes broke, and the second time because when replaced them the first time they were the wrong color). He was nasty by the time I was 12. When I was upset or sad or hurt or whatever and crying, I’d hold him and chew on his ears. He had two cute little outfits made him – one red and navy striped shirt with navy corduroy shorts, and one baby blue sweater with his name knit into the front in navy. I never had a “blankie” like
 did, but I had Teddy, and that was really all I needed.
- Name 2 games you enjoyed playing as a child. Candyland and Clue. Candyland because I could play it with when she was still too young for a lot of other games, and Clue because I got it for my 8th birthday and promptly won the first game I played. That made me feel smart.
- Name 3 foods you didn’t like as a child, but do now. Mustard. Strawberries. Yogurt.
- Name 4 foods you didn’t like as a child, and still don’t like. Tomatoes. Onions. Eggplant. Zucchini.
- Replenish:: Source
- People:: Purple ___ Eaters
- Trend:: Fashion
- Girlfriends:: are wonderful
- Spirit:: de corps (I know, it’s espirit de corps)
- Banshee:: Scream like a
- Oasis:: in the desert
- Thrills:: rollercoaster
- Fountain:: of joy
- Boxes:: moving
- Saturday Night Live: Last Saturday, Alec Baldwin guest hosted Saturday Night Live for the 12th time. Who, out of anyone either dead or alive, would you like to see host an upcoming episode of SNL? I’d like to see Sean Connery, because they make fun of him all the time, and I like it when celebrities can laugh at themselves (like when Janet Reno showed up on Will Farrell’s last episode).
- Air Travel: Do you keep track of your frequent-flier miles? If so, approximately how many do you have, and, have you ever used frequent-flier miles to obtain a ticket? If so, where did you fly? Since I fly once a year or less, no, I don’t keep track of frequent flier miles. I think they expire before I acquire new ones generally. I’ve never used frequent flier miles either.
- Perception: Generally speaking, how do you think others perceive you? That all depends on where they know me from. If it’s a party or social gathering where I don’t know anyone, they usually think I’m shy or a b*tch or just generally no fun. If it’s work, they think I’m young and “perky” (because all old people think younger people are perky) and opinionated and brilliant. If it’s church, they perceive me as someone who has all the answers (which so isn’t true, but whatever). I’m sure there’s a lot of other ways people perceive me, but whatever. I don’t think I make a very good first impression, but once people get to know me they figure out that their first instinct was completely wrong (I’ve had several people tell me that they were sure they weren’t going to like me, and then they got to know me…).
- Reading: What’s the last book you read, and, what book are you planning on reading next? The last book I finished was In Her Shoes, and I’m trying to read Pride and Prejudice right now so I can go see Kiera Knightley on the big screen.
- How many books do you read per month? How many are for work/school? One or two, depending on the nature of the books (Jane Austen takes longer to read than average fluff). I don’t read books for work unless I’m at work, and that’s rare (though I talk about it here when I do – the last one was my 1200 page Access 2002 book that I “read” in a week, but that was back in September-ish).
- What is your favorite genre of book (fiction, self-help, etc…)? Fiction all the way. It’s why my bookshelves are filled with books I haven’t read – all the non-fiction ones (that I really want to read) get put aside for fiction ones that I can get into much easier. Plus, I like reading as entertainment and a way to relax, and most of my non-fiction books are definitely thinking books, about theology and psychology and homelessness, etc. Not so much a “free time” activity, or something to read before going to bed.
- Do you subscribe to any magazines? Which? Are there any you’d like to subscribe to but haven’t? got me a subscription one year to Real Simple but I let it expire, so I purchase it when I think about it and I’m at Target. Other than that, I haven’t had a magazine subscription since high school, when Teen and YM and other silly magazines were the source of divine wisdom about boys and how to be pretty.
- Where do you get your reading materials? Online? Bookstore? Library? I buy most of my books at the Borders across the street from Target, because it’s easy for me to get there. Amazon is another favorite, but I haven’t used it much lately. I’m technically not allowed to buy any more books until I read the ones I’ve got, but that hasn’t stopped me (just slowed me down).
- List 5 books you recommend people read:
- Anything Jane Austen
- The Red Tent by Anita Diamante
- Anything by Jennifer Weiner (if you like good chick lit) or Kristen Billerbeck (if you like good Christian chick lit)
- The Bible (you know it was going to show up here, didn’t you?)
- Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard
Fantastic post here [link removed]. Reminded me of me. And (humorously though not so glamorously so, more like the average girl/boy-next-door version rather than the Manhattan version). Did that make sense at all? I’m losing my ability to speak/write clearly – I blame my broken blog. I dreamt last night that I had an email in my inbox this morning from my ISP saying the problem was solved. There was no email when I got in to work. Second day in a row I dreamt about getting a specific email, only to have it not be there in reality. What does that mean?
I have discovered several causes of wardrobe malfunction. Long strides (really, all walking in general) and going up stairs. Oh yeah. And for anyone who thinks a garter belt would solve that problem – you obviously haven’t tried to use one. I will have to apologize to for scoffing at her hatred of them. I now understand.
Oh, and one other cause. The kind I like to buy are no longer made, so I’ve been buying what are apparently inferior thigh-highs. Or at least ones that aren’t tall enough. Or something.
Or my thighs might not be big enough. But no woman on the face of this planet in the entire history of time has ever thought her thighs weren’t big enough. Seriously.
So I will avoid stairs. But I’m doing OK today, really. Not like you care. Not like anyone will get to read this today anyways.
Heard this at the very end of a movie last night, but it seemed to me more of the beginning of a story:
I got lost once on a road very similar to this.
So I made up the gingerbread men last night (and a few gingerbread angels/ladies). They are kinda dry, and I’m not super-happy with the recipe, but they turned out cute anyways and make me happy to look at them.
 Here's the whole army
 One of these things doesn't belong... (I was short a whole 3 red hots)
 Waiting for their marching orders
 Some gingerbread ladies (or angels - I'm not sure which)
 Aerial view of my army
 Close-up of a soldier
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thankful
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