Red Nose

My Own Great Books

I've been reading entries from various folks who have listed 15 books that are important to them, and I thought, "Hmm. What would mine be?"

So here they are. Some are important because they affected my life; some are important to me because I simply love the story.

1. The Stand -- Stephen King. I first read this book when I was in labor with SonnyeBoy. I finished it in one day. It's still my favorite Stephen King book.
2. The Once and Future King -- T.H. White. This is my favorite interpretation of the Arthurian legend.
3. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass -- Lewis Carroll. It's one of the first books I ever read for myself.
4. Summer Lightning -- P.G. Wodehouse. My favorite Wodehouse book, it makes me laugh out loud every time I read it, and I've read it many times.
5. The Kybalion -- Three Initiates. My equivalent of the Bible.
6. Be Here Now -- Baba Ram Dass. I still have the copy I bought in college for $3.33.
7. Slaughterhouse Five -- Kurt Vonnegut. I found it a little difficult to choose one Vonnegut, but Slaughterhouse Five is the one I read first. It turned me to Vonnegut, so it wins.
8. Fear of Flying -- Erica Jong. While it now seems dated, when FoF first came out it was liberating.
9. Giles Goat Boy -- John Barth. Barth is complex, but I love this book. I read it during my first season of the circus. Darryl Ponicsan, who was traveling with the show to research his own circus novel, was impressed that I was reading it. I said, "Well, I really want to keep my brain alive."
10. Freaky Deaky -- Elmore Leonard. Elmore Leonard is a dialog genius. I read the first two pages of this book in the bookstore and bought it on the spot.
11. Gone with the Wind -- Margaret Mitchell. I read it in seventh grade; my first real "grown-up" book.
12. Autobiography of a Yogi -- Paramahansa Yogananda. Another inspirational book from college.
13. Water for Elephants -- Sarah Gruen. I thought I'd better put in a recent book, and this is it. I love great writing; I love the circus. How could I not love this book?
14. The Vampire Lestat -- Anne Rice. Vampires. I mean, Vampires! Who are not lovesick teenagers!
15. Winnie the Pooh -- A.A. Milne. I remember my older sister reading to this book to me when I was a kid. I still remember her saying "It's Winnie Ther Pooh. Don't you know what 'Ther' means?"

What books would you choose?

For Better or Worse

Its a husband and wife meme! I stole it from LA, but Purple Chai's done it too, and probably a lot of other folks.

♥ What are your middle names?
Mine's Ramon. Joe's is Joseph. (His first name is William. Yes, I know -- Billy Joe. He knows too. Shut up.)

♥ How long have you been together?
We'll celebrate our 29th anniversary in June. We've been together a little less than 30 years.

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating?
I met Joe in April; we stared dating in August. I was dating Joe's best friend. I know!

♥ Who asked who out?
A month or so after the Best Friend and I called it quits, Joe called me up and asked me out. But I actually suggested it. During one of our "discussions," I told the Best Friend that if we were going to break up, the least he could do was fix me up with Joe.

♥ How old are each of you?
I'm 57. Joe is one year and three days younger.

♥ Whose siblings do/ did you see the most?
Mine, because they're in the area.

♥ Do you have any children together?
Why yes! We have SonnyeBoy, a splendid man who keeps the peace in Ocean City, Maryland.

♥ What about pets?
Our sweet kitty Pussle died several years ago. Since then, we made friends with two feral cats, Inky and Stinky; they've since moved on to larger territories. Now we're pampering three other ferals. We've dubbed them Brownie, Fluffy, and Smoothie.

♥ Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
Sometimes we get our signals crossed and it leads to frustration.

♥ Did you go to the same school?
Nope. Although we grew up about two miles away from each other, we were in different parishes. I went to St. John's for grade school; Joe went to Our Lady of Lourdes. I went to an all-girls Catlick high school; Joe went to an all-boys Catlick high school. I'm sure we crossed paths at dances and mixers and the like, but we didn't meet until much later.

♥ Are you from the same home town?
Yep. What's even odder is that both my parents and his parents are also from here!

♥ Who is smarter?
We are both terribly bright.

♥ Who is more sensitive?
I am, but Joe is Irish and thus a softy in his own right.

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Olney Ale House, although we haven't been lately. Hmm. It could be that we have eaten more often at the Potbelly Sandwich Works by Verizon Center, the scene of our pre-hockey game dining dates.

♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Tampere, Finland. It was wonderful!

♥ Who has the craziest exes?
Joe, totally. Although I'm the only one who can honestly say she dated a clown.

♥ Who has the worse temper?
We both have our moments.

♥ Who does the cooking?
Joe cooks more than I do; I clean up more than he does. It works out.

♥ Who is more social?
I am.

♥ Who is the neat-freak?
Neither one of us. We tend to work along the lines of "whoever gets most disgusted first, cleans." Evidently we have pretty high tolerances.

♥ Who is more stubborn?
I don't think either of us is terribly stubborn.

♥ Who hogs the bed?
I do, alas.

♥ Who wakes up earlier?
I do, alas. Except on weekends.

♥ Where was your first date?
Our first date was for pizza and beer. We went to a place on Capitol Hill called Duddington's (long gone) -- it was a fun date!

♥ Who has the bigger family?
I do, at least a bigger immediate family. We probably even out once you start counting aunts, uncles, and cousins.

♥ Do you get flowers often?
Yes! In fact, there's a beautiful vase of roses on the kitchen table right now.

♥ How do you spend the holidays?
With each other, and with SonnyeBoy whenever possible.

♥ How long did it take to get serious?
Three days or so. We started dating in August, moved in together in September, got engaged in December, and married in June.

♥ Who eats more?
Me, for sure.

♥ Who does/ did the laundry?
Joe does all the laundry. When we lived in an apartment, he didn't want me to go to the kinda skeevy laundry room by myself. So he took over the laundry. I'm fine with it!

♥ Who’s better with the computer?
I am, probably because I've been documenting computer software for 25 years.

♥ Who drives when you are together?
Joe drives most often, but I'll take over when he's tired.

What's In A Name?

Hi! I'm okay! Sorry about the lack of updates in the last couple of days, but...

I caught another cold.

I know! But I called in sick yesterday and spent the day in bed, and Thursday I was much better. Really. I had to be, because...

Friday Joe and I flew to Wisconsin for the annual meeting of The Imaginary Friends. That day was a clusterfuck of great magnitude, which deserves a post all of its own. The rest of the weekend does too, and it is not even over yet!

(In fact, this post was supposed to auto-publish Thursday evening, but it didn't. I forgot to switch the Posting Status from "Draft" to "Publish On...". Details, details. I'm sorry to have worried you. I'm not sick; I'm stupid.)

Anyway, at this very moment, people are heading over to the Bad Bar. Joe and I, however, are wiped out and staying in our lovely little hotel room and chilling out. While my soul yearns to party, my body is telling me to rest. I am listening to my body this time.

So instead of drinking and carousing and carrying on, I am going to offer you some thoughts about names -- mine, specifically -- inspired by the lovely and talented Paula and the lovely and talented Suzy.

My full name is Mary Ramon Therese Wise. There's a story behind each of those names.

When I was born, my mom was already in her 40s. She had started out naming each of her children with a "J" name, but lost her taste for that after my brother died. When I came along, she didn't have any thoughts about a girl name. Then my Pop said that every good Catholic family should have a "Mary" and that was that.

My middle name, Ramon, was the name of the priest who instructed my mom in Catholicism and then baptized her. He also comforted her after my brother's death. I think she had a bit of a crush on him, too. He was Italian, Father Ramon diNardo; therefore, Mary Ramon. (I think it's also nice that Father diNardo baptized me too, and that he married Joe and me.) Now, I admit that I did not like this name as I was growing up. I mean, it was a BOY's name. It was constantly misspelled (Raymond) or mispronounced (ra-MOAN) or mistakenly fixed (Ramona). I couldn't get away with just being "Mary" either, because in Catholic schools in the 50s there were always at least eight girls named Mary, so all of us were called by our first and middle names: Mary Elizabeth, Mary Louise, Mary Katherine, Mary Margaret, Mary Ramon... you get the idea.

Therese is my confirmation name, the name that identifies me as a "soldier of Jesus Christ." I was quite enamored of St. Therese of Lisieux at the time (sixth grade -- or fourth grade, perhaps?) and chose her name for mine. Of course, it had to be pronounced properly (tear-REZZ, not ter-EE-sa). I rarely think about that name anymore.

And finally, my last name, Wise. It's the name I was born with and the name I kept when I married Joe. He did not mind; in fact, when I brought it up before the wedding, he said, "Well, I'm in love with Mary Wise. I don't know anyone named Mary Flynn."

Gotta love a guy like that.

Of course, one of the best things about keeping my name is that I can say that my name -- Mary R. Wise -- is a complete sentence. Okay, ungrammatical, but complete.

And now, a meme, courtesy of Suzy:

1. REAL NAME:
Mary Ramon Therese Wise

2. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME:(mother's and father's middle names)
Louise Charles

3. NASCAR NAME:(first name of your mother's dad, father's dad)
Jarrett Edward

4. STAR WARS NAME:(the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name)
Wis Ma

5. DETECTIVE NAME:(favorite color, favorite animal)
Purple Cat

6. SOAP OPERA NAME:(middle name, town where you were born)
Ramon Takoma Park

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd fav color, fav car, add "THE" to the beginning)
The Blue Smart

8. FLY NAME:(first 2 letters of 1st name, last 2 letters of your last name)
Ma Se

9.STREET NAME:(fav ice cream flavor, fav cookie)
Peppermint Sugar (!!)

10. SKANK NAME: (1st pet's name, street you grew up on)
Molly Forest Glen

11. GANGSTA NAME:(first 3 letters of last name plus 'izzle')
Wisizzle

12. YOUR GOTH NAME:(black, and the name of one of your pets)
Black Puss (Oh my.)

13. STRIPPER NAME: (name of your fav perfume/cologne, fav candy)
Joy Toffee

Now it is time for me to feel even better, especially since I am flying away for the weekend tomorrow morning!

S Times Ten

The lovely and talented Kristen gave me an S.

See, there's this alphabet meme going around, where you get a letter from a previous meme-er. Then you write about 10 things that begin with that letter that mean something to you. Kristin had Letter A, and she gave me Letter S.

So! Here we go.

Spiders and snakes - are two animals that scare me. Snakes slither and spiders sneak and both of them can kill you. I know, I know; not all of them are venomous. I don't care – they are still scary and I do not like them.

Slapshot – is the eagle mascot of the Washington Capitals, a great hockey movie starring Paul Newman, and a type of shot in the sport of hockey. The mascot is a lot of fun; he delivers burritos to the crowd, slings t-shirts around, and referees the Mites on Ice. The movie is terrific – I love the scene where the mild and nerdy-looking Hanson brothers deliver a thunderous check on their opponent, but my favorite scene is the one where Paul Newman, as Reggie Dunlop, rattles the opposing team's goalie by yelling some very mean things about the goalie's wife. Delicacy prevents me from typing the exact quote, but if you've seen the movie you know exactly what I'm talking about!

Silly – I love being silly.  It's much more fun than being serious. Silly frees your mind and releases your soul. It also lowers your blood pressure, prevents acne, and cures hammertoes. What, you didn't know?

Sunnyside Up – a very good way to eat fried eggs, though I actually prefer mine over easy.

Supersede – this is the correct to spell the word. There is no “c” in “supersede.” There, I have just given you a very easy way to remember how to spell “supersede.”

Summertime – is my second favorite season. I love warm days at the beach, full of sunshine, the ocean rolling in and out. However, I hate the humidity. And the mosquitoes. Sometimes I feel like it's nature's  way of reminding us that only God is perfect.

Springtime – is my favorite season. It is full of promise and flowers and beautiful colors. The air becomes softer and breathing is easier. Coats get put away; days get longer. Life is good again, for the two or three weeks of springtime in DC. Then it gets hot and you have to go to the beach, so that's okay too, I guess.

SNAFU - my favorite acronym! It means, in case you didn't know, "Situation Normal, All Fucked Up." It has two siblings: TARFU (Things Are Really Fucked Up) and FUBAR (Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition). 

Spun Sugar - otherwise known as cotton candy, otherwise known as floss. Yummy. When I was little, one of my favorite treats was getting cotton candy at the beach, because you could watch it being made. The spinner poured some colored sugar into a tube and then... magic! The strands would appear around the cylinder and the spinner twirled the paper cone around those sweet strands until the big puff was ready. It melted in your mouth. And on your hands. And in your hair. And everywhere!

Sleepy - is what I've been feeling a lot lately. I rather like it, especially when I can cuddle up in my bed and take advantage of it!

Would you like a letter? Let me know in the comments and I'll send one along.

Falling On My Facebook

Yikes! The Facebook 25 Things meme is running around like wildfire; it even made it into an article in the Washington Post.

 

The lovely and talented Stefani was the first to tag me -- oh God! More random things about myself that I have to dredge up! Really, is there anything about myself that I haven't already revealed to the great and powerful internet?

 

Okay, but I won't do it on Facebook or tag anyone. If you want to do it, please be my guest. 

1. I had my first cup of coffee when I was 13. 

2. I had my first date when I was 15. We went to see the Righteous Brothers.

3. He also took me to see Woody Allen do his stand-up comedy routine. He was playing Shady Grove Music Fair, a tented, theater-in-the-round venue. There's an office complex there now.

4. I also saw The Temptations there, but not with him.

5. And Joni Mitchell.

6. The first play I ever saw was Little Mary Sunshine. I was nine.

7. When I was in ninth grade, the nuns brought in Miss Anne Culkin to present her Charm for Young Women course to the entire school. I learned how to sit down in a ladylike manner and to never allow a boy into my hotel room. I could, however, kiss him goodnight in a manner that would not arouse passion.
8. My first real kiss happened when I was 15, in Rome, with an older Italian boy named Luigi.

   The kiss was nice, but the espresso was better.

9. My grandmother once told me that sex was "not all it's cracked up to be." Thanks, Gramma!

10. I can't help it; I like The Three Stooges, especially the Shemp years.

11. I still giggle at their silly antics.

12. My sister and I used to play in the graveyard.

13. My first real job -- shipping clerk -- paid $8,500 a year.

14. It seemed like millions to me.

15. Have I ever squirted Redi-Whip straight from the can into my mouth? Oh yes.

16. I couldn't wait until I was old enough to wear a bra and stockings. When I finally did, I hated them.

17. The first time I ever purposely skipped church, I felt guilty.

18. I was a sophomore in college at the time.

19. I felt worse about that than I did about losing my virginity.

20. I have never smoked crack.

21. But I have smoked opium. (Drugs are bad. Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad.)

22. The dreams I had were fabulous, technicolor adventures.

23. When I was seven, I was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. It was thrilling.

24. But I never played "Car" again.

Thanks for the Meme-ory

The lovely and talented Cyndy tagged me for this meme -- I read and obey!

All About Me

10 years ago: I was managing a group of instructional designers at a software company, balancing on the bubble of the tech boom. Then the bubble burst, and I gained valuable experience in laying people off.

8 years ago: I woke up one morning with the worst headache I'd ever had. I was in bed, flat on my back, for a week. I went to the ER twice, had a spinal tap, discovered why people get addicted to Dilaudid and Vicodin, and eventually found out that I had viral meningitis. On the plus side, I did get to go to Zurich, which was a lovely adventure.

6 years ago: I had lost a lot of weight, which I eventually found again. (I have a Hide and Seek relationship with weight.) I was a couple of months into a new job, which I still have (but I'm kind of nervous about whether I'll get to keep it).

2 years ago: I spent a lot of time worrying about and taking care of my Mom. The summer sucked. But it wasn't all bad.

Five Yummy Things

1. A perfectly cooked, medium rare steak.
2. Vanilla milk shakes.
3. Daniel Craig.
4. A cup of really good black coffee.
5. Curling up in bed.

Five Songs I Know By Heart

1. Subterranean Homesick Blues (Johnny's in the basement, mixin' up the medicine...)
2. The Star-Spangled Banner (And the rockets RED glare, the bombs bursting in air...)
3. Help! (But now my life has changed in oh so many ways...)
4. The Hockey Song (Oh, take me where the hockey players face off down the rink...)
5. Frere Jacques (Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous?)

Five Places I'd Like To Escape To

1. Sunset Beach on Oahu
2. Ocean City
3. A villa in Tuscany
4. This little pond halfway up Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park
5. The Coney Island of My Mind

Five Things I'd Never Wear

1. A thong
2. Stilettos
3. A panty girdle
4. Low-rise pants
5. A bikini

Five Favorite TV Shows

1. True Blood
2. Friday Night Lights
3. The Office
4. The Daily Show
5. The Tudors

Five Things I Enjoy Doing

1. Writing
   
2. Snuggling up
   
3. Reading, especially if I'm sitting in a beach chair. On the beach.
4. Watching my Capitals win close hockey games
5. Juggling

Five Favorite Toys

1. My teddy bears
   
2. My juggling balls
   
3. My Dancing Cow (RIP)
4. My creatures from Pink Cheeks Studios
5. My whoopee cushion

No tagbacks! If you want to do it, please go right ahead -- but let me know, okay?

One Hundred Things

How about a meme? Okay, sure!

In this one, the stuff that I've done is in bold. I've also added some commentary to several of the items.

1. Started your own blog. This version of Red Nose is actually the rebirth. It originally began on January 1, 2002, on Diary-X.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii. How many times? - Once, in 2000. My favorite place was Sunset Beach.
5. Watched a meteor shower. I've seen several. We once got up at 2:00 am to see one; it was glorious!
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland (and Disney World). Actually, I have not been to Disneyland, but I have been to Disney World.
8. Climbed a mountain. I've climbed Old Rag mountain in Virginia (hell yes, it counts!), and hiked along Logan Pass in Glacier National Park.
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo. Karaoke counts. Yes it does too!
11. Bungee jumped. Not on your life.
12. Visited Paris. Twice; 1967 and 1998. I'd love to go back and spend days in the Louvre.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea. The storm was at sea; I was on land.
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. I have, however, walked to the top of the Washington Monument. It's a lotta steps!
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train. We took a cross-country train trip from Seattle to Washington in 1994, with stops in Glacier National Park and Chicago. It was great!
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked. No, but I used to pick up hitch hikers. I wouldn't do it anymore, though.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping. I was a hippie, remember?
27. Run a Marathon. Oh please!
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person. I'm counting seeing it from an airplane!
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language.
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. I don't think seeing it on TV counts.
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. It's hanging in my living room; it's me, in a nun's habit, juggling.
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. At Hanauma Bay in Hawaii. Gorgeous!
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. I have, however, done volunteer work at a food bank and my group at work makes 100 PB&J sandwiches every month that we give to a local homeless shelter.
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies.
62. Gone whale watching. We saw some, too!
63. Got flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma.
65. Gone sky diving. See "bungee jumping."
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy. It's my teddy bear, Marvin.
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. I was 18 months old, and I have no memory of it at all.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person. Again, from an airplane!
80. Published a book. Have you bought it yet?
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. I had chickenpox at the same time that my leg was broken. My mother was not a happy person.
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous. I've had several celebrity sightings, but the person I met is famous only to geeks. I met and had a nice conversation with Charles Goldfarb, who invented SGML, the precursor to HTML.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one. I've lost too many.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person. Only the outside, though.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake .
97. Been involved in a law suit. Joe and I were sued over a car accident, but it was resolved through mediation. The woman who sued us had actually gotten paid; she was trying to double dip and it didn't work.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.
100. Read an entire book in one day. I've done this more than once, but the one I really remember is that day that I read Stephen King's The Shining, because I was also in labor. Yeah, maybe that wasn't such a good idea.

Let's Have A Blessing For Turkey With Dressing

A Thanksgiving meme, lifted from Bev:

1.  What are you thankful for this year?

The serious stuff:

• My mom is still with us, physically frail but feisty as ever.
• I still have a job that I enjoy, that makes me think, and that keeps me learning new things.
• My son and my husband.
• Friends, both real and imaginary.

The silly stuff:

• Pie.
• iTunes.
• Comedy.
• Movies.
• Season tickets to the Capitals.
• Jim Zorn. (I'm horny for Zorny!) (Sorry, family inside joke.)
• Frozen fun-size Three Musketeers bars.

2. What does Thanksgiving mean to you?

Sleeping in, watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, turkey and five starches, pumpkin pie, and family jokes.

3. What is your favorite part of the holiday? / your least favorite?

My favorite part is the dinner, naturally. Or, maybe it's the anticipation of the dinner! My least favorite part is saying goodbye to everyone at the end. Unlike many folks and contrary to the generally accepted belief that all family gatherings are fraught with drama and angst, ours are joyful and fun. And believe me, I am very thankful for that!

4. Mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes?

Neither! I'm a stuffing gal! (Shut! Up!)

5. Do you own eating pants? Describe.

Of course I do. "Eating pants" is just another name for "yoga pants".

6.  What is your favorite thing to do with the Thanksgiving leftovers?

Eat them. Pumpkin pie for breakfast is splendid.

7.  Who are you most looking forward to seeing?  Least?

I really can't single out any one person -- I'm looking forward to seeing everyone. There's no one I'm not looking forward to seeing today -- see number 3.

8.  Do you go shopping the day after Thanksgiving?

Oh. Hell. No. Actually, I used to. I got over it.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Yes, Sis, I Stayed Home Today

I've pretty much slept away the day. After hearing me cough up pieces of my lungs, my sister made me promise to stay home. I do not disobey my sister, because she knows best.

So I called in sick this morning and I am glad I did.

Because I'm still not feeling up to snuff, I'm doing this meme. Cyndy tagged me -- you should check out Cyndy's blog, because she takes beautiful pictures.

Off we go!

Here are the official rules:
1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blog.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So. Seven facts about sick old me.

1. When I was a kid, I hated to blow my nose because it was too icky. I would snuffle all day rather than blow my nose. I have since gotten over this.
2. My cough sounds really bad, worse than it actually is, or at least worse than I think it actually is. I attribute this to the fact that I had pneumonia when I was five years old. Of course, it could have nothing to do with that.
   
3. When I had pneumonia at five years old, the doctor visited my house every day to give me a shot of penicillin.
4. I haven't had a real live full-blown cold in a couple of years. I'd forgotten how really miserable they make you feel.
5. In college, I dabbled in making my own face powders and fragrance tinctures and potpourris. One of the recipes in the herbal concoction book was for a homemade nasal spray for sinus congestion. It involved garlic, as I recall. I had a bad cold and was all stuffed up, so I made up a batch of this magic elixir. I snorted up a good bit and my sinuses snapped shut like a bear trap. So much for herbal remedies!
6. When I was 12, I had a bad bout of bronchitis. I remember lying in bed listening to the radio all day -- the number one hit was "Homeward Bound" by Simon and Garfunkel. I cannot hear that song today without wanting to reach for a aspirin.
7. NyQuil dreams are very interesting.

As for tagging, I tag you, you, you, you, you, you, and especially you. Go for it!

Easy As ABC

I just finished a big project. It's a course for mortgage brokers called The ABCs of Stuff (name changed to protect my ass). So in honor of ABCs (and also because I'm tired and my neck hurts), I present an ABCs meme that I've been saving up. I have, of course, forgotten where I got it from.

A is for age: 56

B is for beer of choice: Raspberry Lambic, or maybe Guinness

C is for career: I'm pretty happy with mine

D is for favorite drink: Coca-Cola Classic, regular, really cold.

E is for essential item you use everyday: Toothbrush

F is for favorite song at the moment: Falling Slowly

G is for favorite game: Scrabulous Solitaire

H is for hometown: Silver Spring, Maryland

I is for instruments you play: Kazoo and Nose Flute

J is for favorite juice: Grapefruit, really cold.

K is for kids: Done that!

L is for Laguna Beach: I've been there, watched the sun set in the Pacific, and ate a steak.

M is for marriage: 28 years last June

N is for name : Mary

O is for overnight hospital stays: Only two -- once for childbirth and once for appendicitis. The other two surgeries – gallbladder and hernia – were same-day surgeries. I do not recommend same-day surgery for either of those two conditions.

P is for phobias: Falling, spiders, sometimes heights

Q is for quote: Just when you think the sun shines out of your ass, all you have is an illuminated landing strip. (Nolan Bushnell, CEO of uWink)

R is for regret: I've had a few, but then again, too few to mention.

S is for self confidence: I'm pretty self-confident. Mostly. I think.

T is for time you wake up: 6:00 am is when the alarm goes off; I usually wake up earlier, look at the clock, and roll over again.

U is for underwear: Granny panties! I crave coverage and don't give a shit about panty lines.

V is for vegetable you love: Corn on the cob, the perfect platform for salt and butter.

W is for worst habit: Overeating.

X is for x-rays you’ve had: Dental, ankle, chest, neck, knee.

Y is for yummy food you make: Pumpkin pie.

Z is for zodiac sign: Sun -- Capricorn. Moon -- Libra. Rising -- Scorpio. I have no idea what that means, but I hope it's good.