Contrary Meme

Taken from Diana ♥
__________________________________________________________
15 Things you DISLIKE, HATE or CAN'T STAND & everyone else seems to like/love

1. FOOD
The very best Tamales made by YOUR grandmother. Still gross.
(same goes for her specialty dish containing any variety of internal organs)
Diana wrote that. I am so keeping it. Because it rings true for me.

2. DRINK
Diet sodas.
Martinis. I don't care if Martinis are cool now, and if they contain things martinis actually don't contain. I was over it before it started.

3. BAND/MUSIC GROUP/SINGER
I can't make friends with RAP. I try. I can't. It's ok for certain applications, but as for sitting around on a Saturday, or going out at night, or road tripping? Hell no.

Country Twang Music. Makes my eyes bleed. New country? Really old Country? Soft rock faking as country and actually getting air play? Ok. Tractor, I'm-a-redneck-and-God-Loves-it Twang Country is not ok.

4. SEASON
Summer vacation season - I don't want to be anywhere where everyone is going to be at the same time. Sweaty crowds are not my thing. I will take this and run with it. Summer also involves taking off more clothes than my body type generally makes attractive. It is the season of complete self-concsiousness and self-loathing for me.

5. SPORT
Basketball, specifically NBA. They took a great, approachable sport that everyone can enjoy and turned it into fake, slick, eye popping commerce. Add "pro"-athleticism in here and we're good. No one should be paid that much to be a lout who literally gets away with murder.

6. MOVIE
Any horror film, especially those based on true events. I don't get the point. Aren't you terrorized enough by what really happens in the world? Taking someone else's tragedy and sensationalizing it into a date movie is horror enough.

7. ACTOR
There's quite a few I don't "get," but Vin Diesel and Clive Owen number among them.

8. ACTRESS
Barbie, in any of her iterations. Yanno, Tara Reid, Pamela Anderson, etc etc

9. TV SHOW
American Idol. Any other form of faux "reality" television. Even though I watch some. It's scary.

10. BOOK
My opinion here would really be offensive to some people I care about so I will just leave that one alone.

11. CAR
Giganto vehicles that are never used for their purposes. You do not need a Hummer if you live in downtown ANYWHERE. Suburbans, purchased only for the new infant, have no place.

12. HOLIDAY
Valentine's Day. I celebrate it in my own fashion, but I could reeeeeally do without it being considered a holiday.

13. WEATHER
Freezing Rain. I can deal with snow. I love the rain. Combine "freezing" with "rain" you get instantly ice-slicked roads, which I do not like. And there's nothing romantic or pleasant about walking in freezing rain.

14. COLOR.
That weirdass shade between green and yellow that dominated the 70s formica production. WTF was up with that?

15. RECREATIONAL ACTIVITY
Karaoke. Don't get it.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

I was tagged with this fun meme on FB.

Copy this note, ask your child the questions and write them down exactly how they respond. Tag me back if you haven't done this, I'd love to hear the answers.

Ask you kids the following questions and write their answers down just as they say them ... Have fun ... lol

I asked G-girl, age 8

1. What is something mommy always says to you?
Brush your teeth or else your teeth get icky.


2. What makes mommy happy? Scratching her back


3. What makes mommy sad? Acting like you don't care at all about her.


4. How does mommy make you laugh? Attacking me with tickles!


5. What was mommy like as a child? I do not know that.


6. How old is mommy? 36


7. How tall is mommy? Don't know


8. What is mommy’s favorite thing to do? Be with her whole family, especially on Christmas


9. What does mommy do when you're not around? If I am not there, how am I supposed to know?


10. If mommy becomes famous, what will it be for? Probably kitchen stuff because she used to be a chef.


11. What is mommy really good at? Kitchen


12. What is mommy not very good at? Climbing trees

13. What does mommy do for her job? Being a Mommy

14. What is mommy's favorite food? I think it might be lasagna. (that's pretty close)

15. What makes you proud of mommy? I don't know. THere is a lot of stuff you do and a lot of it is when I am asleep.

16. If mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be? someone on Stargate

17. What do you and mommy do together? Stuff. We do this, we do that, we do about everything.

18. How are you and mommy alike? We're both girls and we both have brown hair. We both like to cook.

19. How are you and mommy different? Mommy can't do troll toes.

20. How do you know mommy loves you? Because she's my Mommy

21. Where is mommy's favorite place to go? With her favorite friends.

A meme. Yes, I did.

From Lapaz, I grabbed this meme. How boring are you?

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (DisneyWorld)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (at a camp where I was a counselor--and I lost my suit in the lake murk)
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse (sun and moon!)
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 your ancestors (the Native American ones, anyway)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (I’m working on it, ok?)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (in general)
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 your 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
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
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 (My childhood Teddy Bear is still in my grown-up closet)
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
77. Broken a bone (my arm, age 7)
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 your 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
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
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
100. Read an entire book in one day (Oh, please. I homeschool.)

Probably the most important post of my year

After much soul-searching, I have decided upon a huge course of action. It's mired in conflict and hope, in energy and forgiveness. It's the most important undertaking I have ever considered.

Just.... this is better explained here:

Blogging Strike

With the notable exception of Reeciebird, it's like my local blogosphere is on strike. Come on people! Update your blogs!

I didn't see this one coming....

Possessing a rare combination of wisdom and humility, while serenely dominating your environment you selflessly use your powers to care for others.

Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.

Galadriel is a character in the Middle-Earth universe. You can read more about her at the Galadriel Worshippers Army.

Spicy?

You Are Cumin

You are warm, unique, and pretty dominant. It's also pretty likely that you smoke or like fire. You are energetic and intense. You definitely stimulate people.

What Spice Are You?

I tag Mackenzie, Niki, Marie and Danelle!

Ah yes-- A Carol for Our Community

Twas the Night Before Solstice
By Kristie Burns
www.thedreamangels.com


'Twas the night before Solstice and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even our pet mouse

Knitted wool stockings were hung with care
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there

The children were tucked in organic cotton sheets,
The air filter blocking pollution from the streets.

While mama stayed up to make handmade gifts
I co-slept with the kids and watched auras shift.

When out in the herb garden arose such a clatter
I sprung out of our futon to see what was the matter!

Away to the solar panels I flew like a flash.
They took me hours to install, I hoped they hadn't crashed.

The crystals we'd laid out to absorb the moonlight
Sparkled like fairydust and blocked my sight.

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh without any reindeer.

At that moment I knew that the little old man
Had received my last letter so bold and so grand

Could you stop using reindeer? Last year I wrote him,
And enclosed with the note a PETA pin.

As he neared the house in his all-wooden sleigh
I noticed it was powered by wheatgrass and hay.

Ostheimer! Kinderkram! Stockmar! Fair Trade!
Don't bother landing if the toys aren't handmade!

"Hey Arriana," I called to my wife with chagrin,
"With that body mass do you think he's vegetarian?"

She paused only a moment from her crafting and said,
"One moment dear! I'm shaping this gol-darn Waldorf doll's head!"

On our roof I strained to hear the ole boy
But I'd recently insulated it with soy.

So I drew in my hand and was turning around,
When in through the front door came St. Nick with a bound.

The Advent wreath had caught in his hair
As I said, "Why in the world did you enter from THERE?"

The soot in your chimney contains poisons galore.
You should consider the environment more.

But he was dressed in fur from his head to his foot
So I said, "Look whose talking about my soot!"

A bundle of felt he had flung on his back.
"I hope you like handiwork," he said with a laugh.

His eyes - how they twinkled! His dimples were treats!
His cheeks reminded me of when I dye silk with beets.

He must be of the choleric type I mused.
It's a good thing with lavender the stockings I infused.

With his fur boots he slipped on the bamboo wood floor.
I offered him Arnica and then closed the front door.

After all that I'd paid to the energy company this year
I didn't want one bit of that cold air in here.

He had a broad face and a little round belly
I asked him, "Have you seen your naturopath lately?"

He was so chubby and plump I worried for his health
But I laughed when I saw him in spite of myself.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to task,
Needle-felting dragons and weaving a mask.

He knitted a pure cotton sweater and two pairs of mittens,
Then picked up a knife and carved 2 wood kittens.

He finger-knitted an entire nativity scene.
With the most amazing skill I'd ever seen!

When he sprang from his seat on the floor and arose
I yelled, "Arianna - watch - there he goes!"

With the unfinished doll she was struggling to sew,
Arriana went to watch him out the window.

And I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight!
"Arriana, my dear, the stiches are too tight!"

I am a product of the 1980s, it is true.

Which Tim Burton character are you? Ed Wood Voted worst director of all time, but you sure look good in that sweater!

Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

Sad, sad, sad...

I knew it would be bad when the questionnaire asked "Do you quote movies?"


Um.......well..........

Teaching meme from Summer

I was tagged by Lillake for a teaching meme. I think this was not intended for homeschoolers, but apparently that is the circuit its making now.

1. I am a good teacher because… I get excited about what we're learning with them, and I try to see things the way they do.
   
2. If I weren’t a teacher I would be a… scientist. I'd probably get my masters in ecology and go back into the workforce if I weren't a homeschooler.
   
3. My teaching style is… laaaaaaaaid baaaaaack.
   
4. My classroom is… the world. Everything and every one is part of our classroom.
5. My lesson plans are… printed out and installed in three ring binders I rarely access.
   
6. One of my teaching goals… extreme proficiency in whatever they do without being uptight about it or realizing how fabulous they are.
   
7. The toughest part of teaching is… balancing actual scholarship in the oldest while fending off the toddler being a toddler.
   
8. The thing I love about teaching is… being home with my kids every day and watching them develop.
9. A common misconception about teaching is… that I am somehow a supermom because I stay home with my children. I get tired of the "I could never do that" and "You must be very patient" comments.
   
10. The most important thing I’ve learned since I started teaching is… children are amazingly competent in their own right to learn anything, once they've been given the freedom to do so.
    

Blogging Genius

Tagged

I got tagged again, this time by Louisa over at MamaMidwifeMadness. I am thrilled when I get a meme tag because I like updating my blog, but find it difficult to do so in the summer. A meme lets me fill the day when I really have too much going on in real time to wrote a concise blog.

RULES - Post rules before giving the facts - Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves - People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules - At the end of the your blog you need to tag eight people and list their names - Leave them a comment on their blog, telling them they have been tagged and not to forget to read your blog.

1. I don't feel like I have completed my shower unless I have brushed my teeth as well. I do this in the shower, and even have two toothbrushes because sometimes I forget to bring it in with me. I blame the Bob Newhart show. On one episode when discussing parenting, they were arguing whether ones instructs children to "brush their teeth and take a bath" or "take a bath and brush your teeth." In disgust, Bob says "You take a bath with dirty teeth?" and it stuck in my tiny head for some reason.

2. I love homeschooling but I resent having my kids at home all day every day. The only reason I feel this way is because our house is messy. I know I could clean it if I didn't have a toddler following me around in elliptical fashion, destroying the rooms I have completed. I feel bad as a mother because I would rather have my children absent than have a messy house.

3. I am actually, physically excited about the YMCA opening tomorrow. It is 6 miles from my house and they offer huge support to home schoolers. Because we have 5 people in the family we are maxed out on the monthly dues, but that equals just two classes a month using private teachers. (For instance, for N and L to take dance classes for one month would be 50.00 each. Instead of paying for that at a studio, I can give the money to the Y. N&L still get dance classes, but Mom and Dad get to work out and D gets to go too! And they get to have soccer, swimming, etc etc etc.....) I feel fat and ugly and I need a break!

4. The perfect time of day is the dawn of civil twilight, especially in the northwest. Waking up and being outside with a cup of coffee steaming into the swirling morning mists, when the sky is lightening but the sun has not yet risen is, in all ways, magical. Moments like that make this entire life we're building here make sense.

5. I love to bead. I love to knit. I love to draw. I love to paint. I love to sculpt. I love to sing. I love to write. I even love to make sewing-things but I can't do it very well. But please don't call me an artist because that makes me feel pretentious and well, my Mommy might hit me for being all full of myself.

6. Sometimes I really feel like I am dreaming and that if someone wakes me up, I will find that my wonderful life was really just in my imagination.

7. I'm a cheapskate who has a fondness for expensive things (like Jane), but I have turned frugality into a competitive sport. Unlike the average American, my family and friends and I compare notes on how little we paid for the things we bring into our homes. I am embarrassed sometimes by the things I badly want, but I also know I won't spend the money for those things.

8. My affection for all things nautical is true and genuine, not just a decorative bent. I feel most whole when I am on the big water, and I would feel ill were I not to live near it. It would be inconceivable to me as a parent to raise my children away from it.


I tag
Xidama, Dalicious, Chikngirl, JubilantTulip, Djinneyeh, Overproducktion, ShadyViolet and Alwaysdreamin

According to this test,

I am an ENFJ

Extraverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging
by Joe Butt

Profile: ENFJ
Revision: 3.0
Date of Revision: 23 Feb 2005

---

ENFJs are the benevolent 'pedagogues' of humanity. They have tremendous charisma by which many are drawn into their nurturant tutelage and/or grand schemes. Many ENFJs have tremendous power to manipulate others with their phenomenal interpersonal skills and unique salesmanship. But it's usually not meant as manipulation -- ENFJs generally believe in their dreams, and see themselves as helpers and enablers, which they usually are.

ENFJs are global learners. They see the big picture. The ENFJs focus is expansive. Some can juggle an amazing number of responsibilities or projects simultaneously. Many ENFJs have tremendous entrepreneurial ability.

ENFJs are, by definition, Js, with whom we associate organization and decisiveness. But they don't resemble the SJs or even the NTJs in organization of the environment nor occasional recalcitrance. ENFJs are organized in the arena of interpersonal affairs. Their offices may or may not be cluttered, but their conclusions (reached through feelings) about people and motives are drawn much more quickly and are more resilient than those of their NFP counterparts.

ENFJs know and appreciate people. Like most NFs, (and Feelers in general), they are apt to neglect themselves and their own needs for the needs of others. They have thinner psychological boundaries than most, and are at risk for being hurt or even abused by less sensitive people. ENFJs often take on more of the burdens of others than they can bear.

TRADEMARK: "The first shall be last"

This refers to the open-door policy of ENFJs. One ENFJ colleague always welcomes me into his office regardless of his own circumstances. If another person comes to the door, he allows them to interrupt our conversation with their need. While discussing that need, the phone rings and he stops to answer it. Others drop in with a 'quick question.' I finally get up, go to my office and use the call waiting feature on the telephone. When he hangs up, I have his undivided attention!

Knitting Meme

Tagged from Emily

If you read this and you knit -- consider yourself tagged! Be sure to leave a comment so I can see your list.

Bold for stuff you've done, italics for stuff you plan to do eventually
and normal for stuff you don't intend to do

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with bananafiber yarn
Domino knitting (=modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with Bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/Doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Baby items
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffitti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Continental Knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Buttonholes
Knitting with Alpaca
Fair Isle Knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colors
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies...)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items)on two circulars
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone else's handspun yarn
Knitting with dpns
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Knitting two socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars simultaneously
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured Knitting
Kitchener Bind Off
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac
Knitting and Purling Backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with selfpatterning/selfstriping/variegating yarn
Stuffed Toys
Knitting with Cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with Linen

Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mits/armwarmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug.
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/Bolero/Poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

Mind Reader?

From Melissa's Blog

The Brain Profiler

Lory, you possess an interesting balance of hemispheric and sensory characteristics, with a slight right-brain dominance and a slight preference for visual processing.

Since neither of these is completely centered, you lack the indecision and second-guessing associated with other patterns. You have a distinct preference for creativity and intuition with seemingly sufficient verbal skills to be able to translate in any meaningful way to yourself and others.

You tend to see things in "wholes" without surrendering the ability to attend to details. You can give them sufficient notice to be able to utitlize and incorporate them as part of an overall pattern.

In the same way, while you are active and process information simultaneously, you demonstrate a capacity for sequencing as well as reflection which allows for some "inner dialogue."

All in all, you are likely to be quite content with yourself and your style although at times it will not necessarily be appreciated by others. You have sufficient confidence to not second-guess yourself, but rather to use your critical faculties in a way that enhances, rather than limits, your creativity.

You can learn in either mode although far more efficiently within the visual mode. It is likely that in listening to conversations or lecture materials you simultaneously translate into pictures which enhance and elaborate on the meaning.

It is most likely that you will gravitate towards those endeavors which are predominantly visual but include some logic or structuring. (Beadwork much?)You may either work particularly hard at cultivating your auditory skills or risk "missing out" on being able to efficiently process what you learn. Your own intuitive skills will at times interfere with your capacity to listen to others, which is something else you may need to take into account.

---------------
The coloration is mine, because they are points I clearly see in myself.

Why I blog

As tagged by the lovely Niki. I used to think blogging was a huge waste of time, and somewhat egotistical.

1. Since before my children were born, I have journalled. Never very consistently, and somewhat dully, since when I did write it would be with great emotion about something going on in my life at that time. It would pop up in my journal without any context or seeming relation to what had just gone before. After the birth of my daughter, I committed to keeping a journal for her specifically, so that we could both watch her grow. By this time, I had moved my journal to electronic format, but I kept hers in a lovely paper book. However, even with one child I found finding the time to write it all out tedious, and inserting photographs, as all parents are wont to do, even more annoying. So within the first year I switched hers to Word.

When ~N~ was born, same thing. Soon it became insane, and maintaining three journals in electronic form was just as unpleasant for me as one in written format. Further, our lives were so entwined it didn't make sense. It seemed contrived to try to break out parts of our days to write to them individually, and typing the same thing into each journal just wasted time in my opinion.

2. The pictures became the most efficient way for me to express myself anyway. There is little need to write a two page missive when a sequence of three shots carries the story so much better. I enjoy photo entries so much, and they really do speak more than words.

3. Even before we moved to Washington, we had family and friends far away. Even people who do not have direct access to my blog benefit from a handy cut-and-paste into an email. It's so much easier to have everything in one place, even for me, and it becomes a powerful record of our life here. Even in the short two years I have been actively blogging, I have watched the children grow and change dramatically and I value capturing that metamorphosis.

4. Blogging has given me access to a form of Internet community I really enjoy. The blogosphere is filled with as many opinions as there are people, but unlike chat boards, you can be very specific as to who and what you allow to cross your personal mind's eye. When I was preparing for my last two births, I read blog after blog, grateful for the generosity of the women who shared their home birth stories and images, as they bolstered my own courage and informed my expectations. I pay that forward with my own published birth stories. With our homeschooling journey, it is the same, but I get to do in the now and actually exchange practical ideas and philosophies in real time. Even with activism, we in the blogosphere actually learn from one another, alert one another, and bolster our scattered communities with a unified purpose when we need to.

5. I have also found that the blog has strengthened our shared experiences with our real time community. Writing about our adventures engenders a fondness and a shared memory that we all get to revisit from time to time. Going through the archives often brings a smile and a "Oh yeah, I remember that!" Because I know they are reading everyday, it helps me to update on things that have happened when they may not have been around.

Before blogging I didn't really realize how varied and full our lives are. I simply found myself so caught in the day-to-day race of diapers-cooking-cleaning-laughing-loving-learning that I lost sight of how much was actually transpiring. I value this record now, and I like to think it serves a purpose greater than just my personal journal for our lives.

Hmm. To tag? I tag Danelle78, simply because her blog name is the titular question, and Mack, because she needs an excuse to update her blog, and MelissaTulip, because I'd be interested in the answer!

Memery

Pixie

What type of Fae are you?