Exceedingly Mundane

Let’s talk about our hobbies… and so I don’t forget, thank you for playing and have a wonderful week! =)

1. How many hobbies do you have? 3 or 4, I guess
2. Name at least one of your hobbies. Reading
3. What do you like about your hobby? I love to read, would spend every minute reading if I could. Love to read about other people, other places, characters that are interesting, funny, sad or meaningful. I love the escapism that reading provides me
4. What keeps you from spending more time on any one of your hobbies? Getting busy with other things, or getting distracted on the computer 🙂
5. Do you have any hobbies that you haven’t taken up yet, but would like to? Not really
6. Have you ever decided to give up a hobby? If so, why? I’m trying to decide whether to continue with scrapbooking. I don’t enjoy doing it as much as I used to (it’s more of a chore, a stress now), but the $$ I’ve invested in it makes me feel guilty about trying to give it up

~Potluck~

By the way…

When you attend a potluck dinner, what item/items do you usually bring? Well, most of the potlucks we go to are at Tim’s extended family, either his mom or dad’s side of the family will have a get-together. Or a “gathering” as they like to call them. 🙂 Since we live farther away and have to travel, I try to take things that travel well, which usually means a dessert for me. I often make brownies or chess squares or gooey bars. I have made other desserts, and sometimes take the stuff to make Gail’s crunchy Asian slaw. All of them usually go over pretty well.

Do you pick up something pre-made at the market, or do you take the time to prepare something at home. The majority of the time, I make something. Sometimes we take drinks or pick up food, depends on who is there, the occasion, our travel arrangements and timing.

Are you the one whose dish always gets the rave reviews at the event? Not really. Tim’s mom and her sisters are great cooks and they can out-cook and out-bake me any day. My sister is a really great cook too, so if I take something to Gail’s (usually just at the holidays), it’s a certain broccoli casserole everyone loves. Especially me!

Share your favorite potluck dish if you like. All of my recipes are here on our family website, Hambones.org. The Fudgy One-Bowl brownies, Gail’s Crunchy Slaw and Broccoli casserole are perennial potluck favorites.

– a buffet for your brain

Friday, March 03, 2006
Feast Eighty-Three

Appetizer
How many pillows and blankets do you sleep with? Only one pillow. The covers depend on the time of year. In the winter, a sheet, comforter and quilt. In the summer, just the sheet and comforter.

Soup
What are you currently “addicted” to? WELL. I’m an addict on several levels. Always addicted to chocolate and sweets. Always addicted to TV. Currently addicted to reading, playing Sudoku and blogging.

Salad
If you could make a small change to your current routine or schedule that would make you just a little bit happier, what would it be? Well, for the last several weeks, Tim has been having to put in a lot of code at night. That messes up our sleeping schedule. I will be a bit relieved when that is not going on and we get back to a normal time of going to bed and getting up in the AM. I will also be happy when my ankle heals and I can get back into working out and walking. Ouch. My ankle hurts when I put much weight on it.

Main Course
Which adjective do you find yourself using often? Nothing that I can think of!

Dessert
Have you ever picked up a hitchhiker? NO. And I won’t.

This week’s questions are all about blogging… Have fun, and thank you for playing! =)

1. What time of year do you blog the most? I blog year-round, I try to write something every day, whether it’s blog worthy or not!

2. What time of year do you seem to blog the least? See #1

3. What time of DAY do you do your most blogging? Mornings, mostly, although I do blog in the afternoon and evening, just depends on the day and what we have going on and what we’re doing

4. When blog-hopping, do you tend to look at your blogroll list (or fave blogs) to see which ones have been updated, or do you visit your faves on a regular basis regardless? Yes, I check the ones on my blogrolling account daily (and they show me when someone has updated their blog). I also have a long list of bookmarks on my local PC of other blogs that I check periodically. I try to visit them 1-2 times a week, if possible

5. Do you change your blogroll often? No, but I add someone new every now and then!

6. How many times a day, after writing a new post, do you check for new comments?I have my blog setup to email me when someone comments, and I always have my email open, so that would be very frequently, I guess 😀

7. Do you leave comments on others’ blogs, or are you more of a lurker? Depends on the blog and the entry. I try to leave comments, because I know how much I enjoy getting them on mine. I do that more on blogs of people I know, or that I have gotten to know through the Internet or blogging. There are a lot of blogs though, that I only lurk at and don’t comment.

I say … and you think … ?

Baby step:: Abby!
Wasted:: trashed
Reggie:: Wayne (Indianopolis Colts :D)
Pitiful:: poor, poor pitiful
Acting out:: showing out
Tomato:: YUCK
Bad night:: nightmares
Trip:: vacation
Finance charges:: won’t pay ’em
Sport:: Football

~Live Events~

By the way…
Would you rather attend…

a rock concert or a bluegrass festival? rock concert
a car show or a craft show? craft show
the ballet or a Broadway show? ballet
a Garth Brook’s concert or a Celine Dion concert? BOTH!
Stars on Ice or a hockey game? hockey game
the Grammies or the Oscars? the Oscars

Stole this from Kelly’s blog… a bit late, it’s from last Friday. But I wanted to play along anyway!

As always, if you’d like to play along, post your answers in the form of a comment (or at your own blog 😀 ).

Friday Five

1. Rain? Love it or hate it?

2. Country music? Love it or hate it?

3. Rap music? Love it or hate it?

4. Valentine’s Day? Love it or hate it?

5. Oprah? Love her or hate her?

My answers in the extended section…

Read the rest of this entry »

1. Do you have a collection of anything? If so, of what? I used to collect scrapbook supplies, but those days are over. I have a small collection of cookbooks, I love to buy cookbooks, but try to restrain myself. I love to collect music for my iPod. I’m a gatherer when it comes to stocking the pantry or freezer. But, basically, no, I don’t collect anything like snowmen or unicorns or roosters or Disney memorabilia or anything interesting like that. 😯

2. What is your favourite book? How many times have you read it? Probably my most favorite book is any of my Rosamunde Pilcher books – Shell Seekers or September are my favorites. I don’t reread books often, maybe once or twice. Too many good books out there I want to read, to be re-reading many very often.

3. Do you usually prefer books or movies? Difficult question – the book is always better than the movie, but I like each for different reasons. For both, I like to be entertained and escape in a good book or a good movie. I don’t think I can pick, I love both. 😛

4. Do you tend to believe immediately what people tell you or are you cautious? I’m afraid so, I’m terribly naive and gullible. I tend to always take what people tell me at face value, even when it’s a blatant lie or joke or me. Duh, I’m like a brick wall that way

5. Where do you get your news information (TV, newspaper, internet) and why? All of the above, in equal measure. TV, Internet, local paper only

~Candy Dreams~

By the way…
Which do you prefer?

Milk chocolate or dark chocolate? Difficult choice. I like them both, but I’d probably pick milk chocolate if pushed.
Hard candies or chewy candies? Chewy
Tootsie Pops or Blow Pops? Surprisingly, Blow Pops!
Plain M&Ms or Peanut M&Ms? PLAIN
Are you tempted by the candy display at the grocery store check-out? Tempted=Always. Buy=Rarely
What is your absolute favorite candy? Probably Butterfinger, or the new Butterfinger Crisp. I absolutely love Godiva chocolates that Tim buys me. Then again, I never met a chocolate or sweet anything I didn’t like.

Cheney’s Got a Gun

1. Do you have good hand-eye coordination? Not nearly as good as I would like. I wish it were better, but all the video and computer games I’ve tried to play through the years have proved it ain’t what it could be!

2. Have you ever held a gun? Yes, shot one too.

3. What do you think of toy guns? In the age that I grew up in, they were probably ok for kids to play with. With everything in TV, movies and video games today, it’s probably not a great idea to teach kids about guns. Tim won’t agree with this, of course. I agree with him about teaching gun safety, but I don’t think it’s a great idea to have any kind of guns around kids.

4. When is the last time you asked for forgiveness? Probably the last time I said something to Tim that I shouldn’t have said. Open mouth, insert foot. I really wish I could stop opening my mouth and letting stuff come out that shouldn’t, I should learn to always think first. It’s probably my worst fault.

5. Your favorite Aerosmith song: WELL. Since reading the title of this, I can only think of “Janie’s Got a Gun”. I do like that one, but probably my favorite is the one from Armageddon, “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”. 😆

A day late, but I guess that’s ok 🙂

2006 Winter Olympics~

By the way…
Will you be watching the coverage of the winter Olympics? I’ll watch some, but probably not as much as I have in years past. Tim has never really enjoyed the Olympics, so I have watched less in the decade we’ve been together. He seems a little more interested this time, and even watched some of the downhill on Saturday night, so hopefully we’ll get to watch more this time around.

If so, what is your favorite event or events to watch? My favorite is the figure skating, but I also like speed skating, downhill skiing and some of the luge and bobsled events.

Who are you rooting for? A country, a particular athlete? Well, I really would have rooted for Michelle Kwan, she’s a class act, and I hated to see her have to withdraw. I’ll mostly root for the American team 🙂

Have you ever attended an Olympic event in person? No, it would be great though, but I doubt we’ll ever be that independently wealthy

Do you have a favorite winter Olympian from years past? Dan Jansen. He seemed like such a great guy, such a competitor, and he endured so much. I’m a huge Dan Jansen fan 😀

If you could add a sport to the winter Olympics, what would it be? Well, living in the Deep South, they are all foreign to me, so I have no idea!

Friday, February 10, 2006
Feast Eighty

Appetizer
What was a class or course you took while in school that you realize now was a total waste of time? I enjoyed most of the classes I took in both high school and college. Even though my degree is in mathematics and computer science, I really think I’d have to pick one of my math classes. The non-Euclidean geometry class I struggled with was the worst – it was the polar opposite of all geometry (Euclidean) that I had ever taken. A very “think outside the box” kind of class… in this one, parallel lines meet, and you had to plot them out. I had a lot of trouble with this class and I hated it.

Soup
Who is the tallest person you know? I went to college with a couple of guys that were 6’6″ and 6’7″.

Salad
What’s your favorite midnight snack? I try not to eat late at night. If I want something, I try to just drink some orange juice. I guess if I was going to be really bad and splurge, it would be something chocolate. Surprise, surprise! 😀

Main Course
Have you ever found money somewhere? If so, where did you find it, and how much was it? I find money all the time, I think because I’m always looking down. I find coins mostly, but I have found dollar bills before. The most memorable money I ever found was in elementary or junior high. I found 3 quarters lined up perfectly on top of one another in the circle where our house was. I remember being so excited, it’s like someone laid them out for me (there were only 3 houses in our circle), and I was so happy. That 75 cents was more than I got for my allowance for the week, so I thought I was so rich!

Dessert
Where would you like to retire? In the mountains, in a very large cabin with a huge kitchen, a huge great room (big stone fireplace is a must), a room with a pool table, a hot tub outside, and gorgeous views of the mountains. Rockers on the porch, to watch the sunrise and sunset.

::Premium Web Service::

Onesome–Premium – Have you paid for any access to web services? What services? What are they like? No, we don’t pay for any premium anything. The only thing we pay for computer wise is our internet access and domain name registration. I’ve never signed up for premium music or movie services, online or otherwise.

Twosome–Web – For the free stuff on the web, what it your favorite out there? What do you find yourself looking at everyday? Hmm, I find myself going to my favorite message boards and blogs every day, but as far as sites to get freebies…. I can’t think of any off the top of my head! 🙂 I get lots of free recipes at my cooking site, does that count?!

Threesome–Service – What goes on in your mind when you’re out and get bad service from a restaurant or store? Do you let it slide off your back like ducks do to water? Or, do you make sure the business knows your dissatisfaction?you make sure the business knows your dissatisfaction? WELL. Interesting question. I’m more opinionated in restaurants about food and service, but that comes from working in restaurants and serving people, I look at it differently. But, the overall answer is the same – I fume, fuss to Tim later, sometimes blog about it, but I am so non-confrontational, that I don’t ever tell the waiter/cashier/store manager or whoever that I’m dissatisfied. I don’t want to appear rude or inconsiderate, and I don’t like to cause a fuss about anything, so I won’t ever confront them or voice my opinion. In fact, we’ve had manager types come by our table before in restaurants and ask “is everything ok” or something like that, and even if it’s not, I won’t say a word. I just smile and say “fine, thanks” or something along those lines. I don’t like scenes. 🙂

True or False (and feel free to elaborate)

1. I consider myself to be very organized. Yes 😀
2. I tend to get more done when I’m pressed for time. Pretty Much, I think it helps me focus
3. Multi-tasking is something I do often. These days, I don’t have to multi-task as much as I did when I was working. But I can still do it, if required.
4. I might be a perfectionist. Hmmm, well, ok, maybe
5. I enjoy Mondays as much as I enjoy Fridays. True
6. If I didn’t make a list (or hang a post-it note) I’d forget what it is I need to do. Absolutely True
7. I have no problem asking for help when I don’t understand something. True most of the time, might depend on the task or person I’m having to ask 🙂

Dance, Dance, Dance!
Everyone is carried away with the newest craze, Ballroom Dancing.

By the way. . .
Do you like to dance? We never dance, at home or out in public. I’ve been watching Dancing with the Stars though, and trying to get Tim interested in taking ballroom dance lessons with me. Well. You can imagine how far I’ve gotten with that. Zero. Zilch. Tim relented and said he might consider line dancing at a local country place, but that’s the only concession he’s made.

If so, what is your favorite kind of dance? None yet, but I’ve enjoyed watching all of them on the show. I’d love to learn to waltz.

What’s your experience with dance?
Did you take lessons as a child or maybe you were a disco queen? None! No lessons ever. I was on a drill team in high school, but it was more precision moves than dance moves.

Be honest, can you move on the dance floor, or should you just watch? Well, honestly, I’m probably terrible, but I’d like to try 🙂