Exceedingly Mundane

Appetizer – Where do you go when you want to relax? Hmm, home. Home is my favorite place to be. 🙂

Soup – Tell about something that made you laugh this week. Tim always makes me laugh. Sometimes TV shows or commercials make me laugh. We love the 2 geeky guys in the Sonic commercials. I was reading my book last night and got to a funny part and died out laughing. Lots of little things.

Salad – What is your favorite texture? Chenille

Main Course – If you were to publish your autobiography, what would the first sentence be? I wouldn’t publish my autobiography, I’ve not led an interesting enough life!

Dessert – Do you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? If so, how? No, not really. I used to like to go to the Mal’s St Paddy’s day parade downtown, but I haven’t been in over 10 or 12 years.

Man, it’s been a drought all week at my usual meme sites… today was a banner day and I hit the jackpot!!!! Here’s another one!!! From the Thursday Threesome Meme site

::A Somewhat Aimless Hodgepodge::

Onesome: A Somewhat– We’re in somewhat of a lull between holidays. Are you decorating for St. Patrick’s Day or going right for the Easter season. …or are you just hanging on for margaritas by the pool? Hmm, don’t decorate for either. I have a St Paddy’s day avatar in my signature on Hambones, that’s about it. We don’t have kids so we don’t get to do fun things like dye and hide Easter eggs, wait for the Easter bunny, have a REASON to buy chocolate, etc. So I don’t decorate either. Next holiday for us to decorate is July 4th, when we put out our flags!

Twosome: Aimless– Aimlessly waiting for Spring? What are you just waiting to do once the weather clears up? Waiting to do more work in the yard, and mostly, I’m waiting to get out and go geocaching. And maybe have a picnic and fly a kite. Love those kinds of things, not that we do them much any more (sigh, I miss the romantic days of being newly married!) 🙁

Threesome: Hodgepodge– Where’s the hodge podge collection at your place? You know, that drawer or shelf or cabinet where ‘all the other stuff’ ends up when there’s no place assigned to it. Yeah, that one! Two places mostly. One drawer in the kitchen, and the closet in the study. That’s a hazard. One of those, open the door and hope nothing falls on you, kind of closets

from Blogcess

1) Do you use a bedspread or comforter? Comforter only. Haven’t tried a duvet yet 🙂

2) What side of the bed do you claim as your very own? Left. Unless we are in a hotel or something and I feel the need to be a) closer to the bathroom b) away from the windows or doors or c) next to the nightstand with the clock/phone. Mostly the left (as you lay down, not look at a bed) 🙂

3) How many pillows do you have on your bed? Do you use them on at bed time? Hmmm, we have lots of decorative pillows that get thrown off at night. During the day we have 9 on there, at night, just the two we lay our weary heads upon

4) When purchasing new sheets is thread count a factor in your decision? Absolutely. The older I get, the more important it gets. Soft sheets are important to me. As is a comfortable mattress. Heck, when you equate it to hours, we spend more hours there than anywhere else, all said.

5) Where do you like to purchase your bedding items? Hmmm, I’d like to splurge and get stuff at Bed, Bath and Beyond or Linens N Things. Our last comforter set came from BB&B and it held up really well. The one on our bed currently came from Target. We’ve had it since August and it’s already tearing up. I usually gets sheets either at Sam’s, or Marshalls. I’ve found several sets lately at Marshalls, by just scouring the shelves periodically.

A new meme site I’m trying…. 3X Thursday – from This Website

Yes, I know I’ve answered memes about books before, but I’m really in a reading mode lately, so here’s another one!

3x Thursday: 03/10/y2k+5: Looks Like We Got Ourselves A Readuh!

1. Do you like to read? How often do you take time out of your busy life to read? Yes, I love to read. I have all my life. I think it’s a wonderful gift to give a child, a love of reading. It’s something you can carry with you all of your life. I grew up loving to read, and I still do, although I go through phases of it now in my adult life. I’m definitely in a heavy reading phase right now. I’ve read 4 books since late January, and have 3 more checked out from the library currently.

2. What kind of books (subject matter) do you like to read? Who’s your favorite author? Why? Fiction. Usually total escapism, for entertainment. I like several authors, mostly “women’s fiction”, as I call it. Not Harlequin type stuff, but just average mainstream women’s stories. I like Rosamund Pilcher (but she only writes a new book every 5-6 years), Maeve Binchy (Irish author), Barbara Delinsky, John Grisham and Nicholas Sparks. I just discovered Janet Evanovich and the numbered Stephanie Plum books, and I love those!

3. What are you reading right now? Do you like it so far? Why/Why not? I started Janet Evanovich’s second Stephanie Plum book, “Two for the Dough” the other night. I’m already half way through it, and I love, love, love it. It’s such a fun, entertaining, light read. A little off-color, with some street language and humor, but in a very great way. I’m really loving these books, and definitely plan on reading all nine of them! I’m so glad to have found this series 🙂

Bonus Question for Comments: What’s your favorite book in the whole world? Why? Oh my. One of my all-time favorite books is September by Rosamunde Pilcher. Also loved the Lord of the Rings books by Tolkein.

From the Monday Madness Meme site

1. What’s on your refrigerator? (Please feel free to use a picture to answer.) Oh my, I’m classic middle-American, cover your fridge with junk, kind of person. Lots of magnets, holding up various photos, memorabilia, postcards, newspaper clippings, Christmas cards, pictures the kids colored, etc. Tim and I started buying magnets from places we have visited, so I have a ton on there of all the fun places we’ve been. And I have Christmas card photos on the side, where I pour my cereal every morning. Makes me smile all year long!

2. What color is your refrigerator? White

3. Is the freezer on the top, bottom or side? Top

4. How old is your fridge? Does it match your stove? Fridge will soon be 12 years old, like the house. I guess it matches, the stove is white with black accents.

5. How regularly do you clean the inside of your fridge Hmmm, this is a bad one for me. I hate to clean out the inside. I haven’t done an all-out, take everything out at one time cleaning, in years. I clean a shelf or section or drawer at a time if it looks dirty though. For some reason, the white plastic gallon milk jugs we buy tends to fleck off white plastic specks and they drive me nuts. I’m always wiping those out.

Didn’t get this one posted yesterday. I liked the questions, so here we go!

Sunday, March 6

Your Kitchen
“If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” -Harry Vaughan

1) What is your favorite kitchen appliance? Hmm, probably my new Cuisinart stuff, great can opener and coffeemaker.

2) What kind of cookware do you have? A set of Reverware… looking at some Calphalon ones

3) What color are your countertops and cabinets? Cabinets are white, countertops are a beige speckled laminate. Wish they were tile or granite!

4) Name one kitchen appliance or gadget that you wish you had. Wish I had room for a nice food processor, or room for more gadgets and appliances!

5) Describe your dream kitchen. HUGE. Tons of cabinets. Big walk-in pantry off the kitchen. Wood cabinets. Under cabinet lighting. Appliance caddy in corner with door that lifts, to hide small appliances. Stainless steel appliances, smooth top stove, double oven, built in microwave, huge refrigerator. Lots of countertop space to work on, and lay out food for when we have lots of people over. Island to work on. Space above island for pot rack (must have high ceilings). Eating bar on one side, or on the other side of the island. Love to have brick somewhere, in vented area over stove, or in a keeping room off the kitchen. Want a place to put all my cookbooks, and a space for a computer nook, to put a laptop. Want windows looking out to backyard or a flower bed. Lots of light. Open to the family room or a keeping room so I can see TV and Tim while I’m cooking or washing dishes. Getting the idea that I know exactly what I want?! 🙂

Well, I stayed pretty busy today and didn’t get this done earlier. If you’d like to play along, just post your own answers in a comment! 🙂

From this website.

Appetizer – Who is the one person you email more often than anyone else? Probably Gail.

Soup – So far, which year of your life has been the most enjoyable? Well, I would have to say 1995, the year that Tim and I dated and got engaged.

Salad – Name someone with whom you have lost touch but would like to reunite. Probably either Julie or Kate.

Main Course – What was the tastiest meal you had this past week? Hmm, the tastiest one I prepared was my beefy black bean chili with homemade butter wheat bread. Overall, it would be our dinner out tonight, I had shrimp quesadillas and they were delicious!

Dessert – Using the letters in your favorite color, write three words that describe your personality.

G-R-E-E-N
G – Gullible
R – Routinized (Routine-Oriented)
E – Envious
E – Entertaining
N – Naive

From one of my most favorite meme sites – Thursday Threesome Meme

::Routine Scheduled Maintenance::

Onesome: Routine– Tell us about your morning routine. Do you get up at the same time every day, or do you sometimes hit the snooze button on your alarm clock more often than you should? Do you head straight for the coffee or into the shower? Well, I think this meme applies to people who have a job! 🙂 Like most of the rest of the world. I set the alarm for Tim, but we end up snoozing a couple of times. He heads right for the shower, I get up and fix his lunch, get his clothes out, and get going on my morning routine. I have a very specific routine I follow. It works for me. Certain things every day, certain things on certain days of the week. As Suzie said years ago (and I think she made up this word), I’m very “routinized”.

Twosome: Scheduled– What’s on your schedule for the day? Do you schedule every minute or go with the flow? I schedule most everything in my life. I have things I do each day, like the trivia in the morning, that I do at a specific time. I have lists all over the place – in my head, on my computer, on the refrigerator, on little scraps of paper lying around. The nice thing now is that most of the time, if I don’t get something done, it can wait till the next day. Not all of them, but some of them can slide. The luxury I have now. But, again, this meme is perfect for me, because I’m very structured, very ordered, very routine oriented. A bit OCD, Tim would say 😀

Threesome: Maintenance– What do you do to maintain your sanity each day in this hectic world? Do you find a little time to yourself each day and meditate, or wait until everyone’s tucked in for the night and log on to the computer or settle down with a book? Or do you run off to the gym and maintain your body while maintaining your mind? Well, again, a question for the person I used to be. I have done everything in my power to live a more stress-free life, to take care of my health, physically and mentally, and to take care of Tim in the process. I have a much different set of rules for myself now than I did when I was working full time. And I feel about a thousand times better too.

OK, here’s some thought-provoking, utterly profound (yes, dripping with sarcasm here!), questions for the day. Enjoy!

What is the name of your imaginary friend? I don’t remember having an imaginary friend as a child. In fact, as previously stated, I remember absolutely nothing about my children, except a stray memory here and there. Completely pathetic.

Without peeking, what is under your bed? Two rubbermaid under-the-bed containers and possibly one of Tim’s guns. Would have to look to be sure.

When is the last time you were on stage? Hmmm, how about when I graduated from college and strolled up there to receive my diploma!

What is your favourite shade of red? Burgundy

How many tea parties do you attend a month? None. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a tea party. I did, however, have a cup of herbal tea last night while watching Amazing Race, does that count? 🙂

OK, here’s the question of the day:

Do you sing in your car (or house or wherever) when you’re alone?

Remember to post your answer in a comment, if you want to play along 😀

At this very moment…

1. Are you craving anything and if so, what? Not at the moment. However, if I crave anything, it’s chocolate.

2. What is the weather outside, and do you wish it would change? Sunny, chilly. Looks a bit windy. Haven’t been out.

3. What two websites do you think you will go to next after you are finished here? Blog-surfing and a scrapbooking site, more than likely.

4. Do you wish you were somewhere else and if so, where? With Tim.

5. Do you wish you were someone else, and if so, who? Somebody’s mother. 🙁

OK, I couldn’t figure out how to do this one in the regular poll/survey system on Hambones. It’s very limited, in that I have to “pre-program” the choices. I need to spend some time one day and look for a new polling system, I guess. But, of course, I will have to get Tim, the webmaster, to get it downloaded and installed in the Hambones system, so I guess there’s no rush in that.

Anyway, here’s your 1 question poll for the day:

List 3 items that you always have on your bedside table, not including the lamp.

Post your responses in a comment, mine will be in the first one!

From the Sunday Brunch meme site – Sunday Brunch

Sunday, February 27

Lunch
“Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what’s for lunch.” -Orson Welles

1) Do you take your lunch hour at work? N/A anymore, but when I was working, yes, if at all humanly possible. I had to stop and eat and always needed the break.

2) What is your favorite place to eat lunch at? Anywhere! I am a human garbage disposal, I will eat anything (just about!)

3) What do you usually eat for lunch? These days, either leftovers, or else a Morningstar or Boca thingie. I keep their hamburger patties, chicken patties, chicken nuggets and corn dogs on hand for quick lunches. I make things like chicken salad and tuna salad to eat too. Sometimes I will fix myself quick Chinese – egg drop soup and either an egg roll or stir fry. Most days, we have leftovers from either the previous night’s meal or from eating out.

4) Do you have anyone that you eat lunch with on a regular basis? Yep, my friends on All My Children. Every day! 🙂

5) If not eating, what do you usually do on your lunch hour? See #4, watch All My Children. Every day! 🙂

My “normal” Friday meme that I visit and normally like the questions on. There are several out there that I do not like! This one from This website

Friday, February 25, 2005

Appetizer – Name something that makes you scream. Well, lots of things! Tim will come up behind me in the house and I didn’t realize he was there and it scares the bejeebers out of me, so I scream. Snakes. Rats. Frogs. Often in the spring and fall, when I’m working in the garden, I think something is a snake or frog, and will let out a blood curdling scream. It usually turns out to be nothing, or a worm. 😳 People pulling out in front of my car, making me slam on the brakes, always elicits a scream/yell out of me, usually followed by a loud speech (not that they can hear me). 🙂

Soup – Who is a musician you enjoy listening to when you want to relax? Relaxing music to me is Kenny G, and some Harry Connick.

Salad – What was the last book you purchased? Bought Tim the latest Grisham for Valentines Day. For myself, probably either a cookbook or the Nicholas Sparks book I just read, but that would have been last year sometime. I don’t buy myself books nearly as often as I buy them for Tim. Want to, just hate to spend the money, so I try to be good and go to the library.

Main Course – If you could live one day as any historical figure, who would it be, and what would you do? These questions are hard for me. I don’t know. I like so much of history that it would be hard to pick. Maybe an early US President, maybe FDR or Churchill.

Dessert – Tell about a time when you were lost. Where did you end up? How long did it take you to get back to where you were going? Let’s see, I can’t remember being lost. Maybe driving somewhere, probably the first time I went to New Orleans when I had to live down there and I got lost trying to find places. Most of the time now, Tim does the driving, so we don’t get lost! 😀 If there was an episode in my childhood, I don’t remember. I don’t remember anything about my childhood. Tim has a good story about getting lost at the state fair. I don’t have any such entertaining stories. 😛

Found a couple of good meemes today, here’s the first one. From the website “Friday Fiver” – link Here

Strike a pose

1. Do you own a camera? Describe it: Yes, my beloved Kodak digital

2. Do you prefer digital or film? Digital, all the way, baby

3. When is the last time you posed for a picture? I was going to say Christmas, but got to thinking, and it was 1/24, when Abby was born. We got some pics with me, Amanda and Abby, as well as me, Tim, Amanda and Abby. 🙂

4. Tell us about your favorite photograph: Any picture of me and Tim by ourself is a favorite. I can never have enough pics of me and Tim.

5. Use the flash or flash the camera? HUH? I’m missing something here, maybe it will come to me later.