A Meme for Youyou

Rules:

• Answer at least three of the questions. Yes, I know a few look time-consuming and there are several of them. That's why I only ask for three. See? I'm nice!
• Post them and the rules on your blog, and please link back to me here. Pretty please?
• Comment here telling me and the rest of our little party where you're at and link to yourself. That's all!
• Oh yeah, don't forget to tag others!

What's the last book you read that you thought was really super, inspiring, you'd recommend it to most anyone?
I'm not sure if this is a cheat or not, since I have had it out from the library twice now and haven't finished it yet, but my answer is Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. If it has to be one I have finished all the way, I would pick Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. And yes, I only read books with titles comprised of three words, separated by commas (not really, but it kind of looks that way, doesn't it?)

What food totally grosses you out, you'd never be able to touch it? Ew. Gag. *hurl*
Pretty much anything that comes in the handy little bag 'o parts that comes inside the turkey cavity (or any of said parts from any other critter). Oh, and frogs' legs. I was brave and tried them and they do mostly taste like chicken, but, dude: Kermit!

Did you ever watch a scary movie that frightened you so much you were afraid of the dark afterward? I mean like you're lying in bed trying to sleep, but you have to pee, but you're scared to get up. It doesn't have to be recently; could be when you were a kid. So what movie was it?
Pretty much anything scary will do that to me, so I mostly avoid scary movies. I have always had an over-active imagination and can be kept up at night after reading a scary book, though I am getting better.

Is there a song that makes you dance every time you hear it? Would you tap you feet and sing along to it in public?
Pretty much anything in the '80s alternative/punk/new wave genre. Radar Love (Golden Earring), I Want Candy (Bow Wow Wow), Tainted Love (Soft Cell), Pop Muzik (M), Goody Two Shoes (Adam Ant), I Know What Boys Like (The Waitresses), I Want To Be Sedated (The Ramones), Sheena is a Punk Rocker (The Ramones), Add It Up (Violent Femmes), Blister In the Sun (Violent Femmes). And also I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor) and It's Raining Men (The Weather Girls).

Yeah, pretty much I'm an easy target for dancing, tapping my feet, and singing in public.

Tattoos: yes or no? Do you have any? Tell us! Do you think they're gross? TELL US!
Definitely pro-tattoo, but don't have one. I have thought about it, but haven't found the right thing. (Yeah, mom, I know, but you threatening to disown me if I get a tattoo just doesn't carry the same weight as it used to.)

When's the last time you laughed so hard your ribs ached and/or you nearly peed yourself? What made you do it?
Probably Last Saturday Knitting. Crazy ladies...all of 'em!

Draw or doodle a picture of your pet(s) and post it if possible. Nothing fancy, don't be shy!
Since I don't draw much, I commissioned art from the local talent. First, Mollie Dog (left) and Kitty Chai (right) as seen by Bug:

Next, the other wild life, captured by Bean (from left to right: Jack*, Bean, Bug, Beeb):

*Jack is Bean's brother. I'm thinking that I don't have to worry about using his real name on the blog. He's invisible, so it isn't like a perv could approach him, right?

Go through a stack or box of your old music. Stuff that you may not have heard in years. Pick one and tell us about it. Is it as good (or as bad) as you remember?
I have always had eclectic enough taste that there always something to be embarrassed about, as well as some really good stuff. Since I don't have a physical stack that I can get to, I'll pick a couple that jump to mind. In the category of "Oh, for the love of wool, did I really listen to that": Michael Jackson (Thriller era), everything Air Supply (dude, they totally spoke to me in my teenage years, *gag*, *barf*, pardon me while I Clorox my ears and brain).

Do you still sleep with a stuffed animal? We won't laugh!
Nope, I quit sleeping with blue bunny and my afghan when we got Mollie in 2001. (Not voluntarily. Oh! The carnage!) Now I sleep with anywhere between one and five warm fuzzies snuggled in. Beeb always, Bean, Bug, Mollie, and/or Chai if they wander in during the night. Kitty Daddy is in bed too, but he doesn't snuggle, except with Mollie.


Let's see, whom to tag? Whom to tag? How about Marianne, Deb, and anyone else who wants to play!

Go ahead, make my day!

I received this award from Yarn Thrower:

"Give the award to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blogland. Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware you may get the award several times."

Passing it on to others is too easy as there are so many blogs and bloggers that make my day: Marianne, Knotty Kitty, Knitty Mama, Mom in Madison, Molly Bees, Dale-Harriet, Yarn Thrower, No-sheep Cate, Mrs. Yes (as well as her goddess persona), Hege, my sister-in-law, and librarian Megan (she knits now!!!). And this is just a list of the first ten er, twelve I can think of that make me happy and inspire me regular or recently! Nor does it include any of the "big names" in blogland that I read, but don't (or rarely) comment.

Random, random, and more random

So, I have once again gotten behind and need to catch up...also, KnottyKitty tagged me, so I have a meme to do to. Since there is little hope of coming up with anything coherent in catching up, it is just as well that the meme is a random things one! At least we'll have a theme going!

Last Thursday, we got motivated to go out the door to Farmer's market a bit early, so we took the opportunity for a long detour and went to see the field that we saw burning the week before. Nothing but beautiful pale green new grasses as far as the eye can see! Okay, the kids weren't nearly as impressed as I was...oh well. Then on the way back, we drove through "Keys Park" and saw the carnival set up for Fitchburg days. Thus, once we got to Farmer's Market, Bug had to tell everyone he saw that Keys park had become a carnival. Now that's exciting stuff!

Since we have been watching "Electric Company" videos and Burger King's kid's meals have had Spiderman toys, Bug has become just a little obsessed with Spiderman (note that "just a little" means flinging webs at everyone 24/7 and centering every conversation around Spiderman). So we decided to rent the first of the Spiderman movies. We watched it twice. If we hadn't had to return in to the video store, we would probably have seen it every single day since.

In addition to Spiderman, Bug's current obsessions are Battlestar Galactica and Star Wars. He often mixes them together. When Spiderman was fighting the Green Goblin near the end of the Spiderman movie, Bug was feeling nervous about it and decided he was a Cylon and was "dunning" the Green Goblin with his "dunners" to help Spiderman ("Dunners" are guns that go "dun, dun, dun, dun"). Then, after reading one of Uncle J's vintage Star Wars books at bedtime last night, this morning he was chasing Ewoks around and shooting spider webs at them.

A couple of weeks ago, I had a barefooted Bean on my lap and we started playing "This Little Piggy," so for a while her feet would say "oak, oak, oak" to me. Then she decided that they weren't piggies, but cows, so now they say "mow, mow, mow" (rhymes with "ow," not what you do to the lawn). She also thinks it is an absolute hoot to try and put her cows up on the table while we are eating. We are discouraging it, but it's still pretty cute when they say "mow, mow, mow"

On Saturday, the four of us made a short road trip up to Susan's Fiber Shop so that I could spend my gift certificate that KittyDaddy got me for our anniversary and Mother's day. The kids enjoyed looking at the sheep and lambs and I got to wander and look at pretty fluff. What came home with me included a one-pound cone of pale green Jagger Spun laceweight

that will become a "Frost Flowers and Leaves" from A Gathering of Lace. I also got 100g of mystery sock yarn. I saw it and it reminded me of someone, so it will be gifted once it becomes a pair of socks. There will be pictures after the gift is received, just in case the recipient reads my blog. I also got one Fiber Trends pattern for adult and child sized felted ballerina slippers that I have been planning to get. On the spinning front, I got myself a Turkish Spindle.


I am completely taken by spinning skinny singles and have discovered that I can't do Andean plying to make a 2-ply yarn without completely cutting off the circulation to my hand. I had enough trouble doing it with thicker yarn. With a Turkish spindle, the spun single get wrapped into a center pull ball. Once the single is spun, the center shaft slides out the bottom and the two cross pieces slide apart, leaving the center pull ball, which (in theory), I should be able to do two-ply by joining the ends. I also got three little bags of fibers (about an ounce of each) to fill out the gift certificate: viscose (rayon), a merino/rayon blend, and bunny (angora, I think). The yarn on the Turkish spindle is the merino/rayon. I have the alpaca from the previous SFS trip on my other spindle.

In less than a week we are leaving for our vacation. We are driving to Oregon (the state, not the town in Wisconsin) starting next Sunday (it will be a three-day drive). So the kids and I have been running around trying to get ready. Two weeks ago, we got a two-screen portable DVD player to keep the kids quiet entertain the kids and in yesterday's paper, it was on sale for $50 cheaper! Fortunately, they refunded that amount most graciously! Of course, every day since we got the player, Bug has been asking if it is our trip day. We are all looking forward to visiting with Grandma and Grandpa and Great-Grandma 'Dell, as well as seeing the coast (and the aquarium at Newport) and the Oregon Zoo. Hopefully, I will also find some blogging time so I don't have to do a HUGE catch-up after the trip! I am also looking forward to some serious knitting time on the road...yay!

I have also discovered that I can't call my parents from the Taco Bell parking lot anymore...at least not before I eat. When we went in to order, the only thing I could come up with is "Nachos Supreme, no sour cream, Bean Burrito, Fresco style, Fiesta Potatoes, and two senior drinks." I had to slap myself around a little before I could come up with the right order (two kids meals, both with two tacos and a number three with softshells). I have also permanently confused the Banfield (in Portland), with the Beltline (in Madison). I inevitably get them reversed and then can't think of the other name to save my life. My brain cells have apparently marinated in pregnancy hormones long enough.

The meme I was tagged for requires eight random facts about me, so here we go...

1. Things that happened the year I was born: the moon walk, Woodstock, and the premiere of Sesame Street. Obviously a good year.
2. While the only language I have ever been fluent in is English (well, most days), I also know some French (two years in high school), German (four semesters as an undergrad), American Sign Language (one semester in summer school during college, plus a teensy bit of review in a Signing with Baby class when Bug was tiny), a tiny bit of Spanish from Sesame Street and Dora, and Chinese (four semesters in grad school). I really enjoy learning languages, but wish I was better at it!
3. I love music and play piano (not nearly often enough) and played clarinet and saxophone in high school.
4. I hate hot weather. Although I start to get cabin fever if winter stays too long, I would take 6' snow drifts over 90°F and humid without even having to think about it. Heck, I would even take it over 80°F and humid, though I might try to negotiate down to 5' snowdrifts. Of course, my first choice would be 60's during the day and 50's overnight and lots of green and flowers.
   
5. I love to read, especially mysteries. My favorite authors (that I have read most, if not all of their novels) include Robert B. Parker, Sue Grafton, Patricia Cornwell, Kathy Reichs. There are certainly others, but I can't think of them while a four-year-old is putting his feet in my face and asking me to smell them.
6. My tastes in TV tend to run along the same lines as my taste in fiction. Before we got rid of cable last fall, I enjoyed watching CSI (the original and sometimes NY, but NOT Miami), NCIS, Without a Trace, Cold Case, and House, M.D.
7. I find it difficult to think of things to put in a list when a four-year-old is trying to get me to smell his feet.
8. I have a tendency to march to my own drummer and do things the way I want, regardless of how I'm "supposed" to do them. This will become clearer in a moment.

Now I'm supposed to tag eight people, but I am going to fudge a bit and do it in three categories (see #8 above).

• People I am tagging: my baby brother and his wife (they share a blog, but I think they each need to post a list) and Nothing But Hnat (please include a gratuitous Ni pic, please!!)
• People I would tag if they had a blog: Namma and my (formerly Iowan) friend Cherie.
• People I am conditionally tagging (consider yourself tagged unless you have done this meme or a similar one...I can't remember what I ate for breakfast, much less what I have read where): Ms. K and Marianne
• People I was going to tag, but went to their blog and discovered that they tagged me first (crud, I really gotta get caught up with bloglines and dude, I'm only doing this once, so this one's for you, too, KnittyMama): KnittyMama...everyone else can go and read her list and pretend I was the one who tagged her ;o)
  

And here are the faithfully reproduced rules:

Rules:

1. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.

2. People who are tagged write a blog post about their own 8 random things and post these rules.

3. At the end of your blog you need to tag 8 people and post their names.

4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment and tell them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.