I have an awful headcold so I will blog about camping later, but for now to waste the time till Damian takes his nap. This is a random meme I was tagged for. Bold what’s true. Not tagging anyone, do it if you want. I don’t care.

I am 5′4″ or shorter
I think I’m ugly
I think I am beautiful
I have many scars
I tan easily
I wish my hair was a different color
I have friends who have never seen my natural hair color
I have a tattoo
I am self-conscious about my appearance
I have/I’ve had braces
I wear glasses
I’d get plastic surgery if it were 100% safe, free, scar-free
I’ve been told I’m attractive by a complete stranger
I have more than 2 piercings
I have piercings in places besides my ears
I have freckles
I’ve sworn at my parents
My biological parents are together
I have a sibling less than one year old
I want to have kids someday (want more)
I have children
I’ve lost a child
I’ve slipped out a “lol” in a spoken conversation
Disney movies still make me cry
I’ve snorted while laughing
I’ve laughed so hard I’ve cried
I’ve glued my hand to something
I’ve laughed till some kind of beverage came out of my nose
I’ve had my pants rip in public
I was born with a disease/impairment (does dyslexia count?)
I’ve had stitches
I’ve broken a bone
I’ve had my tonsils removed
I’ve sat in a doctor’s office with a friend
I’ve had my wisdom teeth removed
I had a serious surgery
I’ve had chicken pox
I’ve driven over 200 miles in one day (Michael drove, I don’t)
I’ve been on a plane
I’ve been to Canada (born there…)
I’ve been to Niagara Falls
I’ve been to Japan
I’ve Celebrated Mardi Gras in New Orleans
I’ve been to Europe (lived there…)
I’ve been to Africa
I’ve been to France (lived there… does France not count as Europe to the meme maker?)
I’ve been lost in my city
I’ve seen a shooting star
I’ve wished on a shooting star
I’ve seen a meteor shower
I’ve gone out in public in my pajamas
I’ve pushed all the buttons on an elevator
I’ve been to a casino (never gambled though)
I’ve been skydiving
I’ve gone skinny dipping
I’ve played spin the bottle
I’ve crashed a car (I wouldn’t say crashed, it was more the ditch attacking me…)
I’ve been skiing
I’ve been in a play
I’ve met someone in person from the internet (married him too)
I’ve caught a snowflake on my tongue
I’ve seen the Northern Lights
I’ve sat on a roof top at night
I’ve played chicken
I’ve played a prank on someone
I’ve ridden in a taxi
I’ve seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show
I’ve eaten Sushi
I’ve been snowboarding
I’m single
I’m in a relationship
I’m available
I’m engaged
I’m married
I’ve gone on a blind date
I’ve been the dumpee more than the dumper
I miss someone right now
I have a fear of abandonment
I’ve been divorced
I’ve had feelings for someone who didn’t have them back
I’ve told someone I loved them when I didn’t
I’ve told someone I didn’t love them when I did
I’ve kept something from a past relationship
I’ve had a crush on someone of the same gender sex
I’ve kissed a member of the same gender
I’ve had sex with someone of the opposite gender sex
I’ve had sex with someone of the same gender
I’ve had sex with more than one person at the same time
I am a cuddler
I’ve been kissed in the rain
I’ve had sex outdoors
I’ve hugged a stranger
I have kissed a stranger
I have had sex with a stranger
I’ve done something I promised someone else I wouldn’t
I’ve done something I promised myself I wouldn’t
I have lied to my parents about where I am
I am keeping a secret from the world
I’ve cheated while playing a game
I’ve cheated on a test
I’ve run a red light
I’ve been suspended from school
I’ve witnessed a crime
I’ve been in a fist fight
I’ve shoplifted
I’ve consumed alcohol
I’ve smoked cigarettes
I’ve smoked pot
I regularly drink
I’ve taken painkillers when I didn’t need them
I’ve been addicted to an illegal substance
I take cough meds when I’m not sick
I can’t swallow pills
I can swallow about 5 pills at a time no problem
I have been diagnosed with depression
I shut others out when I’m depressed
I take anti-depressants
I have an eating disorder
I’ve slept an entire day when I didn’t need it
I’ve hurt myself on purpose
I’m addicted to self harm
I’ve woken up crying
I’m afraid of dying
I hate funerals
I’ve seen someone dying
Someone close to me has attempted suicide
Someone close to me has committed suicide
I can sing well
I’ve stolen a tray from a fast food restaurant
I open up to others too easily
I don’t kill bugs
I curse regularly
I sing in the shower
I am a morning person
I paid for my cell phone ring tone
I’m a snob about grammar
I am a sports fanatic
I play with my hair
I have/had “x”s in my screen name
I love being neat
I’ve copied more than 30 CDs in a day
I bake well
My favorite color is either yellow, pink, red or blue
I don’t know how to shoot a gun
I am guilty of tYpInG lIkE tHiS
I laugh at my own jokes
I eat fast food weekly
I believe in ghosts
I am online 24/7, even as an away message
I can’t sleep if there is a spider in the room
I am really ticklish
I love white chocolate
I bite my nails
I play video games
I’m good at remembering faces
I’m good at remembering names
I’m good at remembering dates
I have no idea what I want to do for the rest of my life

Comment to this post and I will give you 5 subjects/items that I associate you with. Then post this on your blog and elaborate on the subjects given. Link the post to me if you do this meme so that I don’t miss it!

Or if you want, just comment here on five things that you associate with me and I will share my thoughts on what you say. I will only comment on each thing once though, (but I don’t mind if you say something someone else said!)

Zyleeth said:

Family: This is definitely one of the most important aspects in my life, though my definition of family is not necessarily defined by blood relation. In fact I think, for the most part, blood ties are a very shallow reason to want to be around someone. I have friends who are family to me. I don’t need to agree completely ideologically or spiritually with a person for them to be family, but I do need to feel welcomed, respected, and the other person needs to have an open mind.

Intelligence: How flattering! I suppose I do have a decent head on my shoulder. I really like to have a plan and to work through all the possibilities in my mind before executing an important task. That said, I trust my gut a lot of the time when results could fall either way.

Passion: Ice ice baby! Wrong kind of passion? I certainly have a passion for life, I adore this little blue ball of life we are riding around the universe. Greatest rollercoaster ever. I have some topics I am more passionate about then others of course, like homesteading and green living, but I love learning about just about anything. I am passionate about people too, I love meeting new people and hearing their stories. I truly believe we can learn from every experience, good or bad.

Phoenixes: Ah, Zyleeth knows! I adore phoenixes, though my views of them are not necessarily traditional. My avatar is a water phoenix, an blue, silver, orange and gold beauty with trailing tails erupting out of the ocean (or river, or well… not puddles though) dripping with flame and water. A symbol of rebirth from the Earth’s womb of course, as well as a reflection of the more mercurial aspect of my subconscious.

Spirituality: I am an intensely spiritual person, and I tend to view almost all parts of my life as some aspect of my spirituality. I am also a very open person so if people ask I will freely discuss my beliefs. Family, living with respect for to the earth, community and ancestor veneration are probably the most important facets of my spirituality. I do not put much faith in deities, nor do I see them as all powerful, but I do believe in wise spirits and they have my respect. When seeking other like-minded people I tend to connect best with Pagans and other Earth-based spiritualists, but I like that I can find common ground with almost any faith (though they do not necessarily see the same correlations.)

Zuca said:

(He also elaborated on each other items in his comment which he didn’t need to do, but is a pretty cool read.)

Belief: See Zyleeth’s list (spirituality.)

Hard Worker: I love having results, so I guess I am a hard worker, that said, if I do not really want to do something, I really won’t. Like right now, I could be cleaning the kitchen, but I would rather be answering this meme. It is important to kick back and have fun too.

Intelligence: See Zyleeth’s list.

Optimism: Probably one of my most recognizable personality traits is this. I am often the incurable optimist, oddly enough, it is not because I necessarily am inside, but it is because someone has to be, and optimists are in short supply in the world. More often then not it is harder to see the good in people then the bad so it is a personal challenge for me too. Besides I heard optimists live longer.

Stubbornness: I would be lying if I said I was not stubborn, but I’ll pick it over being walked on. Generically speaking people seem to correlate optimism with doormat and think I will be a pushover. Little do they know, mwahahahaha! Seriously though I can become really pigheaded if I do not watch it, especially when I have a new idea.

Sometimes when I ask Michael how his day at work was he says “It went.” That pretty much sums up life in the Stewart household lately. Michael is feeling under the weather, I’m doing my usual stuff, Damian is his usual self, though he is teething (teething biscuits rock.) He did figure out a brand new baby trick today, he pushed the diaper bag up to the baby gate and tried to use it to give himself a boost across it. 7 1/2 months old and he already has his goals set on escape artist. Having children is an adventure!

I have been working on expanding my knitting skills. My mother-in-law brought by my birthday gift the other day, almost every single thing was orange. My heart sings! Orange cotton yarn, orange dusting cloths, orange glasses and pitcher! As well as a few knitting patterns for washcloths and two books, a cookbook and Chicken Soup for the Mother’s Soul. I am halfway through one of the washcloths.

I found some really soft (non-orange) yarn while I was looking for my sketchbook today and am tempted to make a baby blanket for Raveness’s upcoming bundle of joy. Who says all baby items have to be in muted pastels (unless she says so. Rule #1: The pregnant woman is always right. Rule #2: If the pregnant woman is wrong refer to Rule #1.)

My father-in-law tagged me for a meme on Facebook today and since he has never done that before, I thought I would oblige. Or try to, coming up with 25 unique factoids about me could take some time.

Rules: read, enjoy, then have a merry day.

OR the Original Rules: Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people (more or less) to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it’s because I want to know more about you. — choose the rule you like best

1. I love orange. This should be decently obvious by now. I think it is one of the most under-appreciated colors out there. Orange peel is my favorite shade but I love all shades of orange as long as they do not venture to far into the realm of yellow. I also love white and green.
2. I never thought I would like children, much less want one. When I met my husband I knew I wanted children, funny how things can change.
3. I have Seasonal Affective Disorder which is just a fancy term for getting the winter blues. I prefer to say winter blues, it sounds less intimidating. Or SAD because that is the greatest acronym ever. Except maybe for GNU.
4. I also have dsylexia. I reread everything I type 5 or 6 times in a special way I learned in therapy to weed out errors. I still make mistakes of course, but I don’t feel stupid when I do anymore.
5. I would almost exclusively dress in floor length patchwork skirts all the time if I could. Jeans are a lot more practical with a baby though.
6. A lot of people think I am a geek because of all my websites and because I use Linux. In reality I am lucky I can find my way around a keyboard. Michael does all the techie stuff. My unofficial “job” is to break what he creates so that he can find the bugs.
7. I love the way my son smells.
8. After I left home I barely talked to my mother for about for two years. Now we talk regularily and and I think it is fantastic.
9. I am an intensely spiritual realistic and optimist person. It always amazes me when people find those terms to be mutually exclusive.
10. I intend on homeschooling my son and any other children I have. I feel I can do a much better job then the American school system and I am not worried about them being unsocialized since I meet people easily.
11. Except in the case of medical necessity I am strongly opposed to the use of formula. I tend to keep my opinions on it to myself though because I know how easily people get offended and I prefer to avoid arguing.
12. I generally feel that people use too many negatives to define themselves. (I don’t like yellow rather then I love orange.) It seems easier to focus on what we lack rather then what we are grateful for.
13. I try to always speak from a place of wholeness and love. No one was ever ever won over by anger and fear. That said sometimes my mouth goes faster then my mind.
14. I think Damian is starting to try to say Mama, but it might be in my head.
15. For some reason it really annoys some people that I can love without liking.
16. I sing when I am alone. I make up songs constantly.
17. I am learning to read music for the first time in my life as well as how to play instrument (the keyboard.) I wish I had learned as a child, I think it would have been easier, both to learn and find time.
18. I love music that makes me feel and books that make me think. On the flip side I love violent action flicks with little plot, as well as zombie movies. (There are a few exceptions to that though, I love movies with fantastic soundtracks, like A Walk To Remember, City of Angels and Donnie Darko.)
19. I also like M. Night Shyamalan’s movies.
20. I have been a very active dreamer since I was a child. I still remember vivid dreams I had as young as age six. I even sleepwalk, though not since Damian was born.
21. I try to avoid using the verb “to get”, I prefer “to receive” or “to understand”.
22. I am very much a DIY person, from making my own bread and pasta beginning with grinding my own wheat, to learning to knit and sew, I find it much more rewarding to accomplish something like that on my own.
23. I love camping, especially in places where I can see the Milky Way, that would be all the fire I needed if I wasn’t so fond of Michael’s cobbler.
24. Sometimes I feel like my body is too small for my soul. Sometimes I randomly feel filled with this amazing awakening flowing energy that wants to explode out of me in beautiful radiant light. I use to think it was the holy spirit.
25. I respect those who oppose me, they are my greatest teachers.

The Rules:
1. By the Hammer tagged me.
2. Post these rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Six random things about me:

1. Orange is my favorite color, and that is an understatement. I love orange, it makes me smile. The shade I love best? Orange peel I think, but I love all the shades.
2. I have two cats and I love them, but I admit, I am a dog person.
3. I like disaster, post-apocalyptic and zombie movies. It doesn’t need a good plot for me to like it. Michael and I are currently watching Jeremiah on Netflix, very cool. Even Michael needs it, and he needs a plot.
4. I like autobiographies, poetry, philosophy and spiritual books. While I don’t need a purpose in my movies I need it in my books. Though I do like the occasional lusty fantasy novel.
5. I am learning to knit (yes, with orange yarn!)
6. I think I am the only person left in Spokane who likes snow…

Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know your friends.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Usually paper, unless I have leftover gift bags from the previous year. I always wanted to get this kind of wrapping paper, it is embedded with wildflower seeds.

2. Real tree or Artificial?
We have a white prelit six-foot artificial tree. We have had a real tree a couple times but I don’t like cleaning up pine needles or figuring out how to dispose of a real tree in the city.

3. When do you put up the tree?
Usually the first week of December we decorate it a few days after.

4. When do you take the tree down?
Between New Years and my birthday (January 9th.)

5. Do you like eggnog?
Yes, with rum!

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Either my legos mindstorm kit or telescope.

7. Hardest person to buy for?
My husband. Most of the things left that he wants (like a new monitor) are out of my price range. I got him clothes this year (which he picked out.)

8. Easiest person to buy for?
Most people have a hobby or collections or something that you can work off of.

9. Do you have a nativity scene?
No. I celebrate Winter Solstice instead of Christmas.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail. I dislike getting email cards, it always ends up putting me on spam lists.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
No clue… I always enjoy my gifts. Even socks, I love colorful socks.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
A Christmas Story

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
I almost always make my Christmas gifts so I never really shop.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
I have made them out of recycled material…

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
homemade cranberry relish

16. Lights on the tree?
Prelit tree, even better the untangling wires!

17. Favorite Christmas song?
Carol of the Bells

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Stay Home!

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer’s?
Dasher, Prancer, Comet, Donner, Blitzed, Pedro, Juan and Bubba
and Dominic the Donkey
and Leeroy the Redneck Reindeer

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Wicker stars and pinecones.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Winter Solstice Day.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
How crazy people get when shopping.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?
Silver, gold or clear icicles

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?
Pot Roast

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?
A dvd teaching me how to knit and needles or one on bellydancing (my goals for the year.)

26. Favorite thing about Christmas?
When I was a child I most looked forward to waking up in the morning and having my stocking at the end of the bed full of neat little stuff and fruit and candy. I miss that. Now I am looking forward to doing that with Damian when he is old enough.

If you want to play along just copy this and then bold the things you’ve done.

I HAVE….

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris (lived there too!)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France (less than impressed)
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse (solar and lunar)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (and extra in a huge crowd)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (plasma and blood)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London (I think so… I was little when we visited.)
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life (maybe?)
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby (yay!)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

And…
100. Ridden an elephant

I usually avoid these types of entries, but Jaspy asked nicely, it’s 6am, and I have nothing better to do… sooooo….

The Rules:

• Go to Music Outfitters.
• Enter the year you were done with high school in the search function and get the list of 100 most popular songs of that year.
• Bold the songs you like, strike through the ones you REALLY dislike.
• I’m adding color to the ones I absolutely adored.
• Tag some people. Not going to happen

1. Lady Marmalade Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya & Pink
2. Fallin’, Alicia Keys
3. I’m Real, Jennifer Lopez
4. Family Affair, Mary J. Blige
5. Butterfly, Crazy Town
6. Thank You, Dido
7. Don’t Tell Me, Madonna
8. He Loves U Not, Dream
9. Gone, ‘N Sync
10. Love Don’t Cost A Thing, Jennifer Lopez
11. Hero, Enrique Iglesias
12. Hanging By A Moment, Lifehouse
13. Drops Of Jupiter, Train
14. Jaded, Aerosmith
15. U Remind Me, Usher
16. Hit ‘Em Up Style, Blu Cantrell
17. Survivor, Destiny’s Child
18. It Wasn’t Me, Shaggy featuring Ricardo “Rikrok” Ducent
19. All For You, Janet Jackson
20. Angel, Shaggy featuring Rayvon
21. Turn Off The Light, Nelly Furtado
22. All Or Nothing, O-Town
23. How You Remind Me, Nickelback
24. Someone To Call My Lover, Janet Jackson
25. Fill Me In, Craig David
26. It’s Been Awhile, Staind
27. I’m Like A Bird, Nelly Furtado
28. Bootylicious, Destiny’s Child
29. Again, Lenny Kravitz
30. Let Me Blow Ya Mind, Eve featuring Gwen Stefani
31. Everywhere, Michelle Branch
32. Stutter, Joe featuring Mystikal
33. Irresistable , Jessica Simpson
34. I Hope You Dance, Lee Ann Womack
35. Nobody Wants To Be Lonely, Ricky Martin & Christina Aguilera
36. Here’s To The Night, Eve 6
37. Beautiful Day, U2
38. Emotion, Destiny’s Child
39. Superman (It’s Not Easy), Five For Fighting
40. Southside, Moby with Gwen Stefani
41. The Space Between, Dave Matthews Band
42. Play, Jennifer Lopez
43. When It’s Over, Sugar Ray
44. Drive, Incubus
45. More Than That, Backstreet Boys
46. What Would You, Do City High
47. Be Like That, 3 Doors Down
48. I Wanna Be Bad, Willa Ford
49. Peaches & Cream , 112
50. Ride Wit Me, Nelly
51. Only Time, Enya
52. Where The Party At, Jagged Edge with Nelly
53. Standing Still, Jewel
54. Pop, ‘N Sync
55. This Is Me, Dream
56. Never Had A Dream Come True, S Club 7
57. Crazy, K-Ci & JoJo
58. You Make Me Sick, Pink
59. What It Feels Like For A Girl, Madonna
60. E.I., Nelly
61. Dig In, Lenny Kravitz
62. Get Ur Freak On, Missy Elliott
63. Breathless, The Corrs
64. Every Other Time, LFO
65. Yellow, Coldplay
66. Best I Ever Had (Grey Sky Morning), Vertical Horizon
67. One Minute Man, Missy Elliott
68. I Do, Toya
69. Fly Away From Here, Aerosmith
70. I’m A Slave 4 U, Britney Spears
71. Smooth Criminal, Alien Ant Farm
72. Still On Your Side, BBMak
73. No More (Baby I’ma Do Right), 3LW
74. My Everything, 98 Degrees
75. Ms. Jackson, Outkast
76. Start The Commotion, The Wiseguys
77. Free, Mya
78. Baby, Come On Over (This Is Our Night), Samantha Mumba
79. Hemmorhage (In My Hands), Fuel
80. Drowning, Backstreet Boys
81. Around The World (La La La…), ATC
82. Thank You For Loving Me, Bon Jovi
83. AM To PM, Christina Milian
84. Izzo (H.O.V.A.), Jay-Z
85. Flavor Of The Week, American Hi-Fi
86. What’s Going On, All Star Tribute
87. Stronger, Britney Spears
88. One More Time, Daft Punk
89. I’m A Believer, Smash Mouth
90. We Fit Together, O-Town
91. Differences, Ginuwine
92. Follow Me, Uncle Kracker
93. There You’ll Be, Faith Hill
94. So In Love With Two, Mikaila
95. In My Pocket, Mandy Moore
96. Mad Season, Matchbox 20
97. Bad Day, Fuel
98. What’s Your Fantasy Ludacris
99. Liquid Dreams, O-Town
100. Babylon, David Gray

The Rules:

• Go to Music Outfitters.
• Enter the year you were done with high school in the search function and get the list of 100 most popular songs of that year.
• Bold the songs you like, strike through the ones you REALLY dislike.
• I’m adding color to the ones I absolutely adored.
• Tag some people.

I haven’t heard a lot of these songs (or at least, they were not memorable) and I also didn’t like a lot of music from my generation, at least not mainstream stuff.

1. The Reason, Hoobastank
2. This Love, Maroon 5
3. Yeah, Usher featuring Ludacris & Lil’ Jon
4. Leave (Get Out), JoJo
5. She Will Be Loved, Maroon 5
6. Pieces Of Me, Ashlee Simpson
7. With You, Jessica Simpson
8. The Way You Move, Outkast
9. My Immortal, Evanescence
10. My Happy Ending, Avril Lavigne
11. My Boo, Usher & Alicia Key
12. Burn, Usher
13. Toxic, Britney Spears
14. If I Ain’t Got You, Alicia Keys
15. Breakaway, Kelly Clarkson
16. Dare You To Move, Switchfoot
17. Dip It Low, Christina Milian
18. Over And Over, Nelly featuring Tim McGraw
19. Hey Mama, Black Eyed Peas
20. Meant To Live, Switchfoot
21. Lose My Breath, Destiny’s Child
22. I Don’t Want To Be, Gavin DeGraw
23. Naughty Girl, Beyoncé Knowles
24. Let’s Get It Started, Black Eyed Peas
25. On The Way Down, Ryan Cabrera
26. I Don’t Want You Back, Eamon
27. Falls On Me, Fuel
28. Roses, Outkast
29. One Thing, Finger Eleven
30. Move Ya Body, Nina Sky
31. I Don’t Wanna Know, Mario Winans featuring Enya & P. Diddy
32. Broken, Seether featuring Amy Lee
33. Everytime, Britney Spears
34. The First Cut Is The Deepest, Sheryl Crow
35. Scandalous, Mis-Teeq
36. The Voice Within, Christina Aguilera
37. Take My Breath Away, Jessica Simpson
38. Turn Me On, Kevin Lyttle
39. Heaven, Los Lonely Boys
40. 1985, Bowling For Soup
41. Ocean Avenue, Yellowcard
42. Don’t Tell Me, Avril Lavigne
43. Confessions Part 2, Usher
44. Milkshake, Kelis
45. Eighth World Wonder, Kimberly Locke
46. Me, Myself And I, Beyoncé Knowles
47. Sunshine, Lil Flip
48. Baby It’s You, JoJo
49. Numb, Linkin Park
50. Goodies, Ciara
51. Welcome To My Life, Simple Plan
52. Drop It Like It’s Hot, Snoop Dogg
53. Come Clean, Hilary Duff
54. My Band, D12 featuring Eminem
55. One Call Away, Chingy
56. Hold On, Good Charlotte
57. Freek-A-Leek, Petey Pablo
58. Daughters, John Mayer
59. Tipsy, J-Kwon
60. Slow Jamz, Twista featuring Kanye West & Jamie Foxx
61. Are You Gonna Be My Girl, Jet
62. Just Lose It, Eminem
63. The Trouble With Love Is, Kelly Clarkson
64. Hotel, Cassidy featuring R. Kelly
65. I Like That, Houston
66. Bounce, Sarah Connor
67. Lady, Lenny Kravitz
68. Slow Motion, Juvenile
69. I Miss You, Blink-182
70. Feelin’ Way Too Damn Good, Nickelback
71. My Place, Nelly
72. Dirt Off Your Shoulder, Jay-Z
73. Vertigo, U2
74. You Don’t Know My Name, Alicia Keys
75. Gigolo, Nick Cannon
76. White Houses, Vanessa Carlton
77. Let’s Go, Trick Daddy
78. You And I Both, Jason Mraz
79. Overnight Celebrity, Twista
80. (I Hate) Everything About You, Three Days Grace
81. Only One, Yellowcard
82. Change Clothes, Jay-Z
83. 100 Years, Five For Fighting
84. Echo, Trapt
85. I’m Still In Love With You, Sean Paul
86. Breaking The Habit, Linkin Park
87. Shadow, Ashlee Simpson
88. What You Waiting For?, Gwen Stefani
89. How Come, D12
90. Slow, Kylie Minogue
91. Some Girls (Dance With Women), JC Chasez
92. Vindicated, Dashboard Confessional
93. God Is A DJ, Pink
94. Lean Back, Terror Squad
95. Accidentally In Love, Counting Crows
96. Just A Little While, Janet Jackson
97. Away From The Sun, 3 Doors Down
98. Angels, Jessica Simpson
99. Locked Up, Akon
100. Not Today, Mary J. Blige featuring Eve

I tag AZ, Autumn, my dad, Ginanne and Jett. (How much do you want to bet I will like more songs from my Dad’s list…)

Got this from my Dad, added a few at the end from my brother. This was a bit tricky for me because I am one of those people who will try just about anything even if I am not sure what it is.

Bold what you have eaten and strikethrough what you would never eat.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea – pregnant women drink it
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare – best way to have steak
5. Crocodile (or Alligator)
6. Black pudding – or was it blood sausage?
7. Cheese fondue – YUMMY!
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush – I get it on my pita at Pita Pit
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich – with bananas and honey
14. Aloo gobi – I love exotic vegetarian foods
15. Hot dog from a street cart – Does the sausage I got on a baguette in Porte de Clignancourt count? Granted I have had some form of sausage from street vendors everywhere I’ve been.
16. Epoisses – and I wouldn’t eat it again.
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes – peach, blackberry, dandelion, and probably some others…
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream – gross!
21. Heirloom tomatoes – I just finished dehydrating some the other day.
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn (head cheese) — maybe?
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper – unless there is lots of money involved and milk
27. Dulce de leche – soooo good!
28. Oysters – I’ve even had live ones that move when you squeeze lemon juice on them. Had nightmares about them crawling back out my throat.
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl – one of my favorite warming foods
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar – cigars are NASTY! Cognac should be aged +10 years please.
37. Clotted cream tea – I’ll pass.
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O – I prefer the rum watermelon.
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects – I’m taking it a worm as a kid doesn’t count? How about chocolate covered ants?
43. Phaal – I like spicy but I would rather not practice scorched earth on my taste buds
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whiskey
46. Fugu – my son needs a mother
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut – GROSS, gave me hives too.
50. Sea urchin – would love to try
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi – way too salty
53. Abalone
54. Paneer – I think I’ve had this at an Indian restaurant in Barcelona.
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini – not a fan
58. Beer above 8% ABV – not sure
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips – Nasty. Just give me chocolate chips please.
61. S’mores – campers stable
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin – the clay? Sure, it is used in some herbal remedies.
64. Currywurst – now that just sounds unappealing, and German. Not a big fan of German food.
65. Durian – I would try it but it is not like they import something that reeks that much…
66. Frogs’ legs – I like them, but so small that they are barely worth the effort.
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake – all of the above
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette – I AM NEVER EATING SOUTHERN FOOD AGAIN. UG!
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe – with sugar cube right?
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill – our neighbors son hit a Bambi
76. Baijiu – is this like Everclear?
77. Hostess Fruit Pie – also gave me hives. Kind of like that deep-fried Twinkly. America is weird.
78. Snail – smothered in garlic butter, also yummy
79. Lapsang souchong – this sounds good, I love tea.
80. Bellini, Mimosa, Kir Royale – while camping last week!
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky – craved this when I was pregnant
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef – too expensive
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers – I drink and make herbal remedies, what do you think? Rose, violet, chamomile, echinacea, chive, clover…
89. Horse – possibly?
90. Criollo chocolate – maybe?
91. Spam – I draw the line somewhere
92. Soft shell crab – caught on the North Carolina beach, an exception to the Southern food thing.
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish – another southern exception, whoops!
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor – this sounds good
98. Polenta – I make this!
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee – is this the one I accidentally used once that dad had a fit about?
100. Snake – would love to try

Ones my brother siggusted for the list:

101. Kopi Luwak – little weird but I would try it
102. Casu Marzu – adventuresome eater doesn’t mean insane.
103. Balut – no different then any other meat, I would be a hypocrite if I said no. I think there is an Indian dish made with goat fetus too…
104. Escamoles – cottage cheese ants… no.
105. Lutefisk – sure, probably wouldn’t like it though
106. Dog – why not?
107. Ortolan – it’s illegal anyhow.

My addition/question:

108. Jolt and a Moon Pie: My friend Rodney told me about this when I was a child, it was one of the first things I tried after I moved to the USA. I think the combination should be on some illegal drug list…
109. Corn Drink from Mexican street vendor: It had whole corn in some kind of liquid that I got when I wandered out of church. It was awesome.

Your result for The Perception Personality Image Test…

NFDS – The Guide

Nature, Foreground, Detail, and Shape

Take The Perception Personality Image Test at HelloQuizzy

I’ve been doing a lot of these lately, mostly it is something I can do with one hand while I nurse. Let me know if you do it.

[ ] the dark
[ ] staying single forever
[x] being a parent
[ ] giving birth
[ ] being myself in front of others
[ ] open spaces
[x] closed spaces (only man-made ones, I am totally cool with caves and such)
[ ] heights
[ ] dogs
[ ] birds
[ ] fish
[ ] spiders
[ ] flowers or other plants

Total so far: 2

[ ] being touched
[ ] fire
[x] deep water
[ ] snakes
[ ] silk
[ ] the ocean
[ ] failure
[ ] success
[ ] thunder/lightning
[ ] frogs/toads
[ ] my boyfriend’s/girlfriend’s dad
[ ] boyfriend’s/girlfriend’s mom
[ ] rats
[ ] jumping from high places
[ ] snow

Total so far: 3

[ ] rain
[ ] wind
[x] crossing hanging bridges
[ ] death
[x] heaven
[ ] being robbed
[ ] falling
[ ] clowns
[ ] dolls
[ ] large crowds of people
[ ] men
[ ] women
[x] having great responsibilities
[ ] doctors, including dentists
[ ] tornadoes

Total so far: 6

[ ] hurricanes
[ ] incurable diseases
[ ] sharks
[ ] Friday the 13th
[ ] ghosts
[ ] poverty
[ ] Halloween
[ ] school
[ ] trains
[ ] odd numbers
[ ] even numbers
[ ] being alone
[ ] becoming blind
[x] becoming deaf
[ ] growing up

Total so far: 7

[ ] creepy noises in the night
[ ] bee stings
[x] not accomplishing my dreams/goals
[ ] needles
[ ] blood
[ ] dinosaurs
[ ] the welcome mat
[ ] high speed
[ ] throwing up
[ ] falling in love
[ ] super secrets

Final Total: 8

… if you wish to post this in your journal, it’s been requested that you title it “I’m afraid of __ out of 72 common fears”

If you get more than 30, I strongly recommend some counseling.
If you get more than 20, you’re paranoid.
If you get 10-20, you are normal.
If you get 10 or less, you’re fearless.
People who don’t have any are liars

I am off bedrest today so Michael, Damian and I are going to go for a little walk shortly. My boys are napping at the moment though so meme time:

IF you came to my house…

You would see:
A clean downstairs! Michael has done such a great job of keeping the townhouse clean since I have been on bedrest. It kinda puts my cleaning skills to shame.

We’d probably feed you:
Pasta salad, I usually have a bowl of that lurking in the fridge in the summer time.

And offer you this to drink:
Ice tea or tap water (I have an issue with buying water…) We might have milk or very vanilla soymilk too.

We’d undoubtedly ask if you’d read:
I’m not sure, I mainly read spiritual autobiographies so probably ones of those. Maybe “In Search of Grace”.

We’d want to play this music for you:
Renfey or some Celticy background music.

We’d want to tell you the latest about:
My son!

We’d probably suggest a game of:
Scattergories or Scrabble

We might show off:
My son?

We might get on the computer and show you:
Photos or a humorous website.

I hope you enjoyed this… If you do it please let me know so I can remember visit! (My brain is a little everywhere lately.)

Oo my boys are up!

What we have here is the top 106 books most often marked as “unread” by LibraryThing’s users. As in, they sit on the shelf to make you look smart or well-rounded. Bold the ones you’ve read, underline the ones you read for school, italicize the ones you started but didn’t finish.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Anna Karenina
Crime and Punishment
Catch-22
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Wuthering Heights
The Silmarillion
Life of Pi : a novel
The Name of the Rose
Don Quixote
Moby Dick
Ulysses
Madame Bovary
The Odyssey
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Eyre
The Tale of Two Cities
The Brothers Karamazov
Guns, Germs, and Steel: the fates of human societies
War and Peace
Vanity Fair
The Time Traveler’s Wife
The Iliad
Emma
The Blind Assassin
The Kite Runner
Mrs. Dalloway
Great Expectations
American Gods
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Atlas Shrugged
Reading Lolita in Tehran : a memoir in books
Memoirs of a Geisha
Middlesex
Quicksilver
Wicked : the life and times of the wicked witch of the West
The Canterbury Tales
The Historian : a novel
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Love in the Time of Cholera
Brave New World
The Fountainhead
Foucault’s Pendulum
Middlemarch
Frankenstein
The Count of Monte Cristo
Dracula
A Clockwork Orange
Anansi Boys
The Once and Future King
The Grapes of Wrath
The Poisonwood Bible : a novel
1984
Angels & Demons
The Inferno (and Purgatory and Paradise) (Do they mean Divine Comedy?)
The Satanic Verses
Sense and Sensibility
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Mansfield Park
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
To the Lighthouse
Tess of the D’Urbervilles
Oliver Twist
Gulliver’s Travels
Les Misérables
The Corrections
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Dune
The Prince
The Sound and the Fury
Angela’s Ashes : a memoir
The God of Small Things
A People’s History of the United States : 1492-present Cryptonomicon
Neverwhere
A Confederacy of Dunces
A Short History of Nearly Everything
Dubliners
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Beloved
Slaughterhouse-five
The Scarlet Letter
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
The Mists of Avalon
Oryx and Crake : a novel
Collapse : how societies choose to fail or succeed
Cloud Atlas
The Confusion
Lolita
Persuasion
Northanger Abbey
The Catcher in the Rye
On the Road
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Freakonomics : a rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance : an inquiry into values
The Aeneid
Watership Down
Gravity’s Rainbow
The Hobbit
In Cold Blood : a true account of a multiple murder and its consequences
White Teeth
Treasure Island
David Copperfield
The Three Musketeers

I had not realized how many books I never finished. I need to get a library card. This list brings back memories if my dad’s beautiful leather bound book collection (which hopefully is willed to me. Is it sad that I always know where I would put their case in anywhere that I live?)

I found this on i am a butterfly…

Four things about me that you may or may not have known, in no particular order.

Four jobs I have had:
1. Bakery Cashier
2. Walmart Sales Floor Associate (aka Stocker)
3. Telemarketer
4. Parking lot Attendant

Four cars I have Owned/Shared:
1. Michael drives and ‘88 Honda Civic.
2. I am sure my dad had a few cars, damned it I know what make or model.
3. …
4. …

Four movies I would watch (or have watched) over again:
1. Little Nicky
2. Princess Bride
3. Wicker Man (1973)
4. Deeply

Four places I have lived:
1. Canada
2. United States
3. France
4. Spain

Four TV Shows that I watch:
1. Morning News
2. Evening News
3. Two and a Half Men
4. Bones

Places I have been abroad:
1. Mexico
2. Italy
3. Germany
4. England

People who email me:
1. Michael
2. Jett
3. People who want to enlarge my penis.
4. People with millions of dollars in Africa.

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Strawberries
2. Pomegranates
3. Tomatoes
4. Whole Wheat Pancakes with Blueberries

Four foods I hate:
1. Eggs
2. Liver
3. Hot Dogs
4. Tempeh

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. In the southern hemisphere (it is late summer their right?)
2. Somewhere where pregnant women have unsquishable bladders.
3. In a cottage in the woods with a roaring fire and smores.
4. Endless Strawberries and Whipped Cream Land?

Things I am looking forward to this year:
1. Being a mommy!
2. My friend’s handfasting
3. Temple Free Spirit gatherings
4. Living, Loving and Learning

1) Answer the questions below
2) Take each answer and type it into Photobucket (I used Google Images)
3) Take any picture from the first page of results and post. (click on the picture and copy the HTML code)
4) You can’t copy the persons answers who posted this before you!

(I actually will write something cerebral tomorrow… really!)

1. The age you will be on your next birthday?

2. A place you’d like to travel?

3. Your favorite place?

4. Your favorite object?

5. Your favorite food?

6. Your favorite animal?

7. Your favorite color?

8. The town in which you were born?

9. The town in which you live?

10. The name of a past pet?

11. The first name of a past love?

12. Your nickname/screen name?

13. Your middle name?

15. A bad habit of yours?

16. Your first job?

17. Your grandmother’s name?

Taken from Zyleeth (she is an awesome artist, you should check out her stuff.)

1. What are your first names?
- Michael and Jaspenelle

2. How long have you been together?
- Since September 4th, 2004

3. How long did you know each other before you started dating?
- Since 2001 maybe?

4. Who asked who out?
- It was mutual, but I think he initiated it.

5. How old are each of you/were you?
- He was 21 and I was 18 when we got together. Now he is 24 and I am 22.

6. What are your astrological signs?
- He is a Taurus/Aries cusp with a Leo moon and Leo rising
- I am a Capricorn with a Capricorn moon and an Aries rising
- Yes, I feel slightly geeky knowing that off the top of my head.

7. How tall are each of you?
- He is 6′3 and I am 5′4″

8. Who’s mother do you see the most?
- Michael’s as they only live an hour from us.

9. Who’s siblings do you see the most?
- Michael’s as they only live an hour from us.

10. Do you have any children together?
- Kind of? Pregnant with our first!

11. What about pets?
- Yes! We have furbabies!

12. If so, what kind?
- Two cats, Windigo and Aos.

13. Which bill is the hardest on you as a couple?
- All them? We budget very well though.

14. How do each of you work?
- He works Accounts Payable for a Charlie’s Produce and I work part time in a parking lot and have a craft business.

15. Is that what you went to school for?
- Neither of us have been to college.

16. Did you go to the same school?
- N/A

17. Are you from the same hometown?
- Nope! I grew up mainly in Europe and he grew up mostly here in Spokane, WA.

18. Are you from the same town now?
- Yup! Spokane, WA.

19. Who is the smartest?
- Me!
- Actually we both compliment each other with intelligence in different areas of study.

20. Who is the most sensitive?
- Him, though pregnancy is making me far more unpredictable.

21. Where do you eat out at most as a couple?
- Grocery store parking lot? Hehe. Or Subway.

22. Where do you shop the most as a couple?
- Grocery store (so sexy…)

23. Where is the furthest you have traveled as a couple?
- Indianapolis, IN (though I was living there at the time.)
- From Spokane we have traveled to Kalispel, MT and Seattle, WA. I am not sure which is further. I think we were in the traffic jam between Seattle and Tacoma longer then the total time it took to travel to both places though… hehe.
- I want to go to Yellowstone the most at the moment.

24. Who has the best group of friends?
- We have mostly the same friends.

25. Who has the craziest exes?
- Me, unfortunately.

26. Who has the worst temper?
- Probably me, when I finally blow it is not pretty or rational. We fight so rarely though it is impossible to really know, and I like it that way!

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet, current car) = Tippy Bus

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) = Cookie Dough Gingersnap

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (initial of your first name, first 3 letters of your last name) = J-Ste

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) = Orange Snake

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, a city where you lived as a child) = Lauren Paris

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name) = Steja

7. YOUR SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink) = The Red Calm

8. YOUR NASCAR NAME: (first names of your grandfathers) = Jack David

9. YOUR STRIPPER NAME: (favorite perfume, favorite candy) = Lavender Caramel

10. YOUR WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ) = Lucille Nathaniel

11. YOUR TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter) = I don’t remember his or her name.

12. YOUR SPY/BOND GIRL NAME: (favorite season or holiday, favorite flower) = Mabon Rose

13. YOUR CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”) = Pomegranate Jeanie

14. YOUR HIPPIE NAME: (what you had for breakfast, favorite tree) = Apple Maple

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”) = The Candle Sun Tour