Things have been really, really stressful around here lately. Family health troubles, money troubles, general day-to-day stuff, it’s all been building up. So I thought today would be a good day to just post something simple and amusing for everyone’s general enjoyment. Because otherwise I’m going to have to pour out a few gallons of woe is me all over the page, and no one wants to read that. I give you, the what’s in a name meme, which I stole from Deidra. I think the letters of my name fit me perfectly

E : You are easy to fall in love with.
L : Everyone loves you.
I : You are GREAT in bed.
Z : You are always ready.
A : You like to drink.
B : You like people.
E : You are easy to fall in love with.
T : You’re loyal to those you love.
H : You have very good personality and good looks.
What’s in YOUR name?

A : You like to drink.
B : You like people.
C : You are really silly.
D : You like to drink.
E: You are easy to fall in love with.
F : You are dead sexy.
G : You never let people tell you what to do.
H : You have very good personality and good looks.
I : You are GREAT in bed.
J : People adore you
K : You’re wild and crazy.
L: Everyone loves you.
M : Best kisser ever.
N: You like to drink.
O: Awesome kisser.
P : You are popular with all types of people.
Q : You are a hypocrite.
R : Easy to fall in love with.
S : Fuckin crazy.
T : You’re loyal to those you love.
U : You really like to chill.
V : You are not judgemental.
W : You are very broad minded.
X : You never let people tell you what to do.
Y: Best bf/gf anyone could ask for.
Z : You are Always ready

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I got tagged by Fraulein N to do a “6 Weird Things About My Childhood” meme, except my parents were far too strict to allow me to do anything that might at all be construed as weird. Instead, I’m going to take a look back at my 3 Best Childhood Memories.

1. The Detroit Institute of Art’s Brunch With Bach series: My parents took my sister and I to several of these when I was in the first and second grade. I don’t remember much about the performances, but I do remember two things very vividly. First, the Brunch included a chilled fresh fruit cup with grapefruit and orange segments. I can close my eyes and see the pretty glass bowl with the carefully sectioned fruit in it. I have no recollection of what else was served.

Second, the gift shop at the D.I.A. sold books of paper dolls, and one Sunday my Mom bought me one that featured the wives of Henry the Eighth. I never punched out any of the clothes, I just spent hours staring at the long gowns with the high ruffled collars, and the strange jeweled head coverings they wore. I read the biographies of each Queen and Consort, not really understanding what any of it meant, but fascinated nevertheless.

2.Lunch with my Grandparents at Big Boy: My paternal Grandpa and I had a very special relationship. Of all of my siblings and cousins I was his favorite, which he did not keep a secret from anyone. He had silver hair, and blue eyes, and smoked a pipe. After he retired from his lifelong job at Detroit Edison, he joined a local group of people who loved growing Violets. He set up a greenhouse in the basement where he experimented with breeding new types of Violets. Unfortunately he passed away when I was in the fifth grade, so I never really got to know him as a person. But he did leave me with lasting memories, one of which was the lunches we would have at the local Big Boy restaurant.

My Mom taught private school in another city, so our vacation schedules didn’t always match. On days that I was off and she wasn’t, I would go to stay with Gramps and Gram at their house. Lunch was always at Big Boy. I would start by ordering the Spaghetti with Meat Sauce. I don’t know what they put in that sauce, but to this day it is still one of my favorite places to eat spaghetti. When I had finished that, it was time for dessert-Hot Fudge Ice Cream Cake. Two thick slabs of moist chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream in the middle, covered with Hot Fudge and topped with whipped cream and a cherry. Even though there is a Big Boy in the town where my Dad lives and we have eaten there many times, I never order that dessert. I think the memory of those afternoons with my Grandparents is so connected to that cake that I don’t want to eat it again and have it disappoint me and ruin the memory.

3. Fort Walton Beach, Florida: In second, third and fourth grades my family spent Spring Break in a condo right on the beach. We had a large Rico van, which was so different from today’s vans and so perfect for transporting a family of four (later, five) from Michigan to Florida. Imagine the driver’s seat and passenger seat as large Captain’s chairs that could swivel all the way around to face the back. Next, two more Captain’s chairs, and then a small middle area with cabinets on either side. In the middle of that area was a hole into which went a large metal stand, on top of that went a round tabletop that was stored under the seats in the back. In the back on either side were cushioned benches. This was where my sister and I could spread out and not have to actually sit next to each other. The coolest thing about that van was that you lifted up those cushions and unfolded the benches until they joined in the middle with a support underneath, then put the cushions back down so it made a bed. Like a futon, sort of. So there we would be, driving down I-75 with my Dad listening to WJR for as long as possible, stretched out on a cushioned bed in the back. No seat belts at all. One year my Dad got a CB radio. That was the year that the song “Convoy” was playing continuously. I don’t remember what his handle was, but I do remember him calling “Breaker 1-9″ and then asking truckers up ahead if there were any traffic jams or road construction that might slow us down.

The condo apartment was comfortable and clean, decorated simply, with a large sliding glass door leading to a balcony. Early in the morning I would look out that door at the ocean and see the dolphins jumping up out of the water. We would spend the day at the beach, coming inside only to use the bathroom and eat a quick sandwich for lunch, then get dressed up and go out for a fresh seafood dinner. I would always make a friend with someone close to my age, and for those few days be blissfully happy.

These are three of my best memories of childhood. I’ll add more in another post. I’m tagging Radioactive Girl, Undercover Angel, Self-Proclaimed SuperMom, Suebob, SweatpantsMom, and Meg. And anyone else who wants to share!

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There’s this thing going around, it’s like a meme except everything in the list has to start with the same letter. I asked Fraulein N for a letter, thinking I would need something to post about anyway (ha!), and she gave me M:

McDonald’s - In an attempt to make up for contributing to the obesity problem in America, they have started selling an “Adult Happy Meal”. It consists of a new Asian Chicken Salad which sounds pretty good and is only 290 calories with the dressing, a bottle of water, and one of four exercise DVDs. That’s right. McDonald’s is sorry that you grew a second ass eating Quarter Pounders with Cheese all these years, and they’d like to suggest you do some yoga or cardio or strength training to make up for it. Too little, too late McDonald’s.

Music- When I look back at 2006, one of the things I’ll remember is that this has been the year I have rediscovered the joy of listening to music. I have dug all of my old favorite CDs out of storage, uploaded them to Windows Media Player and burned mix CDs of my favorites. I sing more to Kaitlyn than I did to either of the boys, and she listens and smiles.

Mission:Impossible III- Chris had comp time at work and took Monday off, so we packed up the baby and took in the earliest showing. I hate to admit it, but as batshit-crazy as Tom Cruise might be, he makes a hell of an action movie. I think it would help the movie if the trailers showed more of the other actors, like Laurence Fishburne, Ving Rhames, Billy Crudup and Keri Russell. Our little Felicity does some major action-hero work in the movie. Who knew?

Muffinest- I know it’s not a real word, but it’s what my sister-in-law and I call Kaitlyn, as in “she’s the muffinest!” Because she is a scrumptious little muffin baby, and that’s all there is to it.

Martha Logan- I watched every episode of “Designing Women”, and I always knew there was more to Jean Smart than naive Charlene Frazier. Her work on “24″ this season has been surprising. Martha Logan is a woman you just should not mess with.

Mushrooms- Can’t stand them. There’s nothing I find more disgusting than ordering Spaghetti with Meat Sauce at a restaurant and finding it contains those rubbery, grayish-beige sliced canned mushrooms. Gah! Even after I pick them out I can still taste them. I will, however, eat the dry, chewy black mushrooms that sometimes show up in Chinese food.

More Movies- In my DVD collection are some movies that I can’t really explain. I’ve never been a cheerleader, yet I love “Bring It On”. Especially the Finals competition with all the squads performing the most amazing moves. And the music is good. I’ve never been a ballet dancer, but I love “Center Stage”, especially the final performance when Jody, Cooper and Charlie dance to “The Way You Make Me Feel” and “Canned Heat”. And I’ve never danced on a bar but I love “Coyote Ugly”. I have a bit of a girl-crush on Bridget Moynahan, and I like Maria Bello. I’ve even been watching “The Ultimate Coyote Ugly Search” on CMT.

Meals- In a few short weeks, school will be out for the summer, and I will have to provide my kids with more than just a bowl of cold cereal in the morning and a sandwich/apple/juice box lunch. When they’re home all day, I feel like I should cook for them. Plus it gives me the opportunity to dust off my cookbooks. For even more ideas, I naturally turned to the Internet. It occurred to me that the one place that has to provide meals and snacks that kids will eat are daycare centers. And you wouldn’t believe how many websites there are that post daycare menus. Breakfast, lunch and snacks, well-balanced, lowfat, with dairy and protein and whole grains. There are even vegan/vegetarian daycare menus. I’m hoping the boys will appreciate the effort.

My hair - It’s been short. It’s been long. It’s been blonde. It’s been even blonder. It’s now more brown than blonde, with streaks of gray that defy any and all attempts at coloring. It’s had bangs, then after a good year and a half of growing it out it was all one length. Then, the day before Easter when the long front not-bangs layer kept falling in my eyes, I took a pair of sharp scissors and snipped it a little, and now it’s bangs again. I will never, EVER, be satisfied with my hair.

Matrimony- the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life. Next month Chris and I will celebrate 13 years of marriage. And 21 years of dating, living together, convincing my parents we weren’t making a huge mistake, getting engaged, breaking up a little, getting re-engaged, and then finally getting married. There will be a blog post, and photos, and much gushing about how lucky I was to find my husband and how much I luuuuv him.

And that’s Ten M Things! If you want to do one of your very own, say so in a comment and I’ll select a letter for you using a scientific method involving closing my eyes and pointing at a random collection of alphabet letter magnets.

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When I originally did the “Fours” meme, I skipped one-my four favorite foods. And, I keep thinking of more things I like that come in fours. Here’s a few of them:

My Four Favorite Foods:

1. Spaghetti and Meatballs-Emil’s in Lansing
2. Oriental Chicken Salad-Applebee’s-with the fried chicken strips and extra dressing
3. California Pizza Kitchen Five Cheese and Tomato pizza-bought frozen at the grocery store
4. Double Tall Mocha and a Blueberry Muffin-Beaner’s in Lansing

My Four Favorite Foods That I Make:

1. Italian Sausage spaghetti sauce-it has a secret ingredient!
2. “Cola Chicken”-Chicken breast simmered in sauce made with Coke and Ketchup, served with mashed potatoes. It is delicious.
3. Toll House cookies made with Mini Morsels.
4. Creamy Italian Noodles

My Four Favorite Kids’ TV Shows:

1. The Fairly Oddparents
2. The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron
3. Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends
4. Drake & Josh

Four More Movies I Love:

1. Galaxy Quest-”Let’s get out of here before that thing eats Guy.”
2. The Emperor’s New Groove-”A llama? He’s supposed to be dead! Yeah, weird.”
3. The Brave Little Toaster-”Oh, I’m really scared there, Kirby. What are you going to do, suck me to death?”
4. Road Trip-”Hey, it’s 10 feet. Bob Hope could jump this in his golf cart.”



So there you go. Some people like to be secretive and mysterious and make you wait a long time before they tell you stuff about themselves. Not me. I like to just put it all out there all at once. Raging insecurity, I guess. If I tell you everything, then you’re sure to find something you like about me! Because that’s the whole point, isn’t it? Lookin’ for the love…

Speaking of love, in case I don’t get a chance to do this tomorrow, Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Mimi Smartypants had a link to this in a recent post. It’s the kind of thing my kids will love, and remember, and sing over and over for days. Maybe I won’t show it to them after all.
Added: Geez, I sound like a grouch, don’t I? This link goes to a Flash File of an animated banana dancing to a rap song called “It’s Peanut Butter Jelly Time”. It’s cute! It’s catchy! It’s the new “Whoomp!There it is”. You’ll like it.

“Jesus Christ Dynamite” is also amusing, although not for the easily offended, since it does use paintings of Jesus and put words in his mouth. So click at your own risk.
Added: It’s not that offensive, really. It’s just paintings with Jesus in them and lines from “Napoleon Dynamite”. No one has mentioned clicking on either link yet, maybe my sense of humor is more warped than I thought.

If I were ever on “The Price Is Right”, and had to do the “Hole in One” game, I would just tell Bob no thank you and leave the stage. Because there would be no way in hell I would make that putt, and it would be so humiliating. Give me a good pricing game any day. I can tell you whether $4.99 for a can of coffee is Now or Then ( um, that would be Now, Bob).

My husband sent me this link, which he got from Fark. Take a look at the “drawing”-doesn’t his nose look like the one that comes with Mr. Potato Head?

Judging from the comments on yesterday’s post, the reason so many women watch “Lost” is for Sawyer. You ladies love the bad boys, huh? I know he’s all broody and stubbley, but his hair always looks greasy to me. And it’s not just the cheap hatch-shampoo, even in last night’s flashback it looked stringy. Too much hair product or something.

Speaking of “Lost”, did you catch what Hurley said after he and Sayid got the radio working? Sayid said that radio waves bounce off the ionosphere, so the transmission could come from anywhere. And Hurley said, “or any TIME”. Now, “Lost” is not known for making off-the-cuff statements. Hurley wouldn’t have said that if it didn’t mean something. Isn’t one of the popular theories that the plane went through some kind of rip in the space/time continuum and they are in the future? Which is why no one is looking for them? Hmmmm…..

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