Friend Makin' Mondays -- Getting to Know You

Happy New Year, readers!  Here's the thing...by now I've usually done my "Year in Review" post for the recently-ended old year, but I haven't gotten any further than getting all the accompanying pictures saved into a "2011" folder...and that's on my HOME computer.  So...it's coming. Just not yet.  Maybe not even til February. 

But until then!  It's time for another Friend Makin' Mondays post courtesy of Kenlie.  You know the drill!  Answer the prompt, then go leave a comment on Kenlie's most recent FMM post with a link back, and enjoy the comments!

1) What is one of your favorite ways to spend a Saturday? At HOME.  I have a very busy schedule most of the time (self-inflicted, naturally), and my favorite Saturday would include waking up around 10am, making coffee, sitting in my big chair wrapped in a quilt and watching bad/awesome movies til about 1pm, then making lunch.  Maybe going for a run.  Finally getting dressed/cute around 8pm, and going out and having drinks with my husband and my favorite gal-pal Jo. 

2) List your top three favorite TV shows. Oh Geez....in no particular order (I guess), Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond and The Office.

3) Would you rather be in pictures or take them? That depends. I do love a good picture of myself, but I can be highly critical of myself if I don't take the picture myself.  I love taking pictures with my stepdad's fancy-pants camera, though. I took all the pictures for my cousin's baby shower and had a LOT of fun with that.

4) Why do you blog? Guh. I hate this question, actually. I have a REALLY LONG answer, but I don't feel like it, so here's the answer in a nutshell: I like to write and I'm a narcissist.  There. 

5) Share five websites that you visit regularly.
a) Twitter
b) Flickr
c) My Fitness Pal
d) Tumblr
e) Goodreads

6) If you could have lunch with one person from your Twitter list who would it be? I refuse to follow the rules on this question, because there are so many.  So I'll pick one CITY where a lot of my Twitter friends live and say that I'd like to have lunch with the following people in Halifax, NS (Canada): Mike, Neil, Nicola, Morgan and Scotty.

7) List a few of your favorite snacks. Apples, almonds, HUMMUS OH GOD HUMMUS, smoothies (usually post workout)....

8 ) Do you have a pet? If so, what kind? I have the BEST pet.  A pit bull named Carmen.

9) Which three material possessions would you struggle to live without? Definitely my iPhone. Television. Ummm....the money to buy Starbucks?? haha

10) What’s your favorite drink? Alcoholic: rum & Diet Coke with a lime.  Non-alcoholic: Coffee or Dr. Pepper

11) Do you enjoy cooking? Very, very much

12) Do you have children? Nope. A husband and a dog keep me busy enough at the moment.

13) What are your favorite hobbies? Running, reading, singing, theatre

14) Would you consider yourself to be shy or outgoing? Seriously?

15) If you could change one thing about yourself, what would you change? I'd care a little bit less about what other people thought about me.

16) Who is your favorite actor/actress? You know...I never really think about this question, but a couple of weeks ago I was watching the Kennedy Center Honors, and never fully appreciated what a beast Meryl Streep is until I saw the montage of her work.  So for females, she'd be the most talented, in my book.  Male? Hmmm...the first two who came to mind were Tom Hanks and Gary Oldman.

17) What’s the coolest thing you’ve done this week? Uh, well...seeing as it's only Monday morning? I guess it's cool that I got myself AND all my shit out the door on time this morning AND had enough time to stop for coffee. Cool.

18) Do you live near your family or far from them? Very near. Most of my family is within 15 miles of me.  It's a blessing and a curse.

19) List three of your talents. OKAY!  Singing, acting, writing well (mostly academically).

20) What is your greatest attribute? Playing up my narcissism today, are we, FMM?  I can deal with that.  I think my greatest attribute is the willingness and desire to constantly better myself in one way or another, whether it be academically, spiritually, physically, etc.  I never want to settle for a current version of myself.

Wordless Wednesday -- Four More Sleeps til Christmas

#reverbbroads11 Day 20 -- After the Storm

Today's Reverb Broads prompt could not be more perfect and necessary for me after the day I had yesterday.  Because of some personal (some private and some of which will be blogged about later) issues, yesterday was just a shitty day.  I was on the verge of tears (and succumbed to them more than once) all day long and just in a craptastic frame of mind. 

This morning brought with it not only some much needed sunshine, but also a much better mood and a determination to do the things in my power (because those things are always there) to change the course of my week. 

So without further ado, here's today's prompt:

Life is a work of art, or so they say.  What beauty do you regularly appreciate/revere in your life? from Neha

For me, it's the sky.

I love sunsets, sunrises, beautiful cloud formations, light rays peeking through the clouds after a storm, or even just a perfectly clear, blue sky on a sunny day. 

Every time I see the beauty of the sky, I feel small compared to the magnitude of the sky, the universe, and the God who created it all. 

Small...but not insignificant.

I feel peaceful and grateful that we have such beauty around us at all times if we would just open our eyes and look up from our phones (which, admittedly, I used to snap the next two photos...) for a moment to see it.


A storm brewing.  No editing was done to this photo.



An absolutely magnificent sunset after yesterday's thunderstorms.

Thank you, Neha, for today's prompt.  It further reminded me that some of the most perfect beauty can come after a storm.

I’m taking part in a blogging group called Reverb Broads that will be suggesting daily blogging prompts this December. If you want to join in, feel free! Go here or here to learn more!

#reverbbroads11 Day 19 AND Friend Makin' Monday

It's a double post day!  Sort of.  I'm just combining two things on which I've fallen shamefully behind:  Reverb Broads posting and Friend Makin' Monday participation.  So here goes!

FMM: Have You Ever?

1. …traveled outside of your home country? If so, where? I've only been to Mexico.  Twice.  Once was in the 6th grade, and it was a mission trip with my church.  The second time was to Cancun when I was 17.  But I went with my mom and my little brother, so no big crazy Cancun Senior Trip stories here!  Lame. I REALLY need to travel more...

2. …performed on stage in front of at least 1,000 people? If so, share some details! Not 1,000 people in the same place, no.  Not yet anyway.  I've been onstage TONS of times, though, but just not for houses or theatres that large!

3. …watched an episode of Jersey Shore? I can proudly answer "No" to this one.

4. …baked a cake from scratch? I have not!  BUT, I have made sugar cookies from scratch, iced with homemade buttercream frosting.  I just started those last Christmas, so this year was my second year to make them both. 

5. …worked in a grocery store? I have not. I feel like I've done just about every other "first job," but never made it into the grocery world. 

6. …dated someone who was your best friend first? No.  Michael and I were very good friends before we started dating, but we weren't BEST friends.  I was, however, madly in love with my best friend in high school...and introduced him to his girlfriend.  "le sigh."

7. …made a difference in someone’s life during Christmas? Oh man...I sure do hope so.  And not just at Christmas time. 

8. …been on TV? Yeah!

9. …had cosmetic surgery? Nope. But it's something I sometimes think about.  I'll most likely never do it.

10. …learned a second language? I'm not disciplined enough to do this.  I took Spanish in high school, and four semesters of it in college, and retained pretty much NADA.  (See what I did there?)

And now for today's Reverb Broads post:

Self-Portrait: Post a picture of you that you like, write about yourself, post a video - what do you want your self-portrait to say about you? from Kristen 

Wow.  What a day to ask me something like this.  Normally, as you may well have noticed, I'd jump at the chance to be narcissistic and post a photo or video of myself. 

Today, however, I'm feeling kind of down and blue and a little weepy.  Maybe it's the holidays.  Maybe it's the cloudy weather.  But my emotions are very close to the surface today, so perhaps it's best that I pull out this one again:

Just me. 

No makeup. 

No perfectly angled camera position. 

Natural light.

I hope that photos of me show that I'm happy.  Happy in that moment and happy with who I am as a person, how I look and feel, where I am in my life...Most often I'm smiling in photos...but today I feel a little more like the photo above.  Quiet and contemplative.  But it's still me.  Maybe it's more me. 

This is way too deep for me today.  I'll come back tomorrow more like myself, I hope.

I’m taking part in a blogging group called Reverb Broads that will be suggesting daily blogging prompts this December. If you want to join in, feel free! Go here or here to learn more!

#reverbbroads11 Day 13 -- Well if you're asking me to brag...

Happy Tuesday, lovelies!  On with the prompt for today! Today's prompt comes from the lovely Catie, whom I know from the 7 Days group on Flickr:

What are three things you are better at than most people?

Well if this prompt isn't just asking me to brag about myself, I suppose I don't mind doing that! 

1) Singing

I guess this is the obvious one.  Though, I don't think that I'm "better than most people."  I think I'm good...I think there are songs/roles I do better than others.  But, I have a strong belief that anyone can be taught to sing. It's harder to teach musicianship than actual technique, which is a conversation I have with my opera singer/voice teacher husband all the time. 

But I'm happy to have had the training I have had...and I'd love to take more lessons and get better.  But since it's just a hobby of mine, it sadly falls to the wayside and I only get to sing at the occasional cabaret (like in the clip below) or if I audition for and get cast in a show.  More clips are here (if I weren't a shameless self-promoter, I'd be nothing). 

2) Empathy

I wear my heart on my sleeve...I mean why not?  It goes with just about all of my outfits. 

No, but seriously...I'm a very emotional person and it's hard for me not to feel things strongly when they are affecting those that I love or care about.  Hell, even when I watch certain movies/t.v. shows/theatre pieces, I find myself emotionally invested to sometimes extreme levels.  (Example: when we saw Ragtime on Broadway in December of 2008, I was WEEPING after the Act I Finale...so much so that when the lights came up and the woman next to me saw me sobbing, she couldn't get out of the aisle quickly enough.  Ha!)

Sometimes I curse myself for being so emotionally aware...but I think it makes me a better friend, wife, listener, audience member, what have you.  Now when it makes me get all teary-eyed in a meeting or something, that's not so fun...

3) .......

Hmmm....

I'm starting to be uncomfortable with this topic...

OKAY OKAY....

Being Photographed

I've always been told that I'm very photogenic.  I think this is to make up for the fact that I'm only 5'3", I have thick legs and a round butt and ZERO waistline...and flat feet.  I mean I got all the "wrong" qualities from the "wrong" parents.  My mom's legs and my dad's butt (this is getting weird) would've been better than the other way 'round. 

But!

I've got really decent skin (read: great, actually. I rarely break out...too badly.) and great hair!

And I've learned how to find my good side in photos and angle my face so as to minimize the double chin, how to turn my body so that it appears as though I have a waist, etc...you get the idea.  I also kind of think I have a great smile.  So that helps. 

Photo by Lindsay

All natural.  A photo I did for the 7 Days fall cycle.

 Okay okay stop making me talk about myself!  I'm gonna go read other people's blogs on this prompt and go tell them how awesome they are to balance out the karma of bragging.

I’m taking part in a blogging group called Reverb Broads that will be suggesting daily blogging prompts this December. If you want to join in, feel free! Go here or here to learn more!

#reverbbroads11 Day 12: Guilty Pleasures

Well, so I'm not so good at the blogging over the weekend...I'm okay with that.  So without further ado, here's today's prompt from Neha:

Name and explain the one guilty pleasure you can't live without.  ie: that cupcake shop you visit weekly, a book you repeatedly read to find solace in, etc).  Then explore the idea of how you would feel if you gave that thing up for a year.

Hmm....well, I guess the idea of this is that it should be something I feel guilty about or, at the very least, embarrassed to admit to people...and I am kind of known for owning up to my quirks proudly and loudly. 

This is tough!

I suppose if I had to choose, it'd be coffee/caffeine.  I love coffee so much that it's bordering on obsession.  When I was in Seattle and Portland last week, I felt like I had arrived on the MOTHER SHIP of coffee obsession.  The original Starbucks.  Stumptown.  Tully's.  Home-brewed and ground coffee that my friends made.  COFFEE COFFEE EVERYWHERE.

So. Many. Profile pictures of me drinking coffee. 

So...yeah.  I know that it's not good to have too much caffeine. It'll stunt my growth (at 5'3" I'm not too fussed about that).  It'll stain my teeth.  Blah blah blah.  But I love it.  I love the comfort of the warm mug.  I love the way it smells.  I love the different ways it can be brewed and flavored.  I love the conversation that happens across the tops of two steaming cups between friends. 

If I had to give it up for a WHOLE YEAR?  I'd be very very very sad, and I'd try to find a loophole.  Can I have decaf? Can I have TEA?  It would be a very sad year, indeed.
I’m taking part in a blogging group called Reverb Broads that will be suggesting daily blogging prompts this December. If you want to join in, feel free! Go here or here to learn more!

#reverbbroads11 Day 9 -- Wombat Stew

Today's prompt comes from Niki from http://nikirudolph.com/, and the prompt is:

What is your favorite children's book?

Well, this is the easiest one yet!


Source

 My VERY FAVORITE book as a kid was Wombat Stew by Marcia K. Vaughan.  I used to go over to my friend Whitney's house to sleepover and her mother was this total hippie who would let us sleep on the screened in back porch, and we'd have nachos (you know, tortilla chips with grated cheese on top and stuck in the oven for a few minutes) and ice cream soup (ice cream stirred and stirred til it was soupy and with sprinkles on top) and read Wombat Stew. 

I didn't see this book again for years.  Then, in 2001 I was dating a guy named Kevin that I'd met online (yeah yeah, I was on a matchmaking site for a while) and it was going really well.  I mentioned on our first date, during the "getting to know you" part of the evening, that this had been my favorite children's book.  A few weeks later he showed up unannounced at my house to take me on a surprise date, and when I got in the car, this book was on my seat with a flower and a card.  He'd searched HIGH AND LOW for this book, because it's pretty elusive now, apparently. 

Things didn't work out with Kevin, but we remained friends and eventually lost touch with each other...but this remains one of the most thoughtful gifts I have ever been given.  I am very grateful to him for finding this book for me, and I look forward to reading it to my niece and eventually to my own child some day. 

***

I’m taking part in a blogging group called Reverb Broads that will be suggesting daily blogging prompts this December. If you want to join in, feel free! Go here or here to learn more!