Girassol

Whatever I FEEL like I wanna write, GOSH!

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Recent Comments

  • thesis writing on Three Things
  • balabo3_gv on ESL Tidbit of the Day: Beef, It's What You Wear On Your Feet
  • Miss Hass on Teaching in a rural high school is awesome
  • Girassol on 2007 in places
  • Girassol on Officially the last remaining single member of my family
  • Miss Hass on Home
  • Libby on Officially the last remaining single member of my family
  • Del M. on 2007 in places
  • Nancy on I have been looking forward to this moment for five years.
  • Girassol on I have been looking forward to this moment for five years.

Recent Posts

  • Teaching in a rural high school is awesome
  • Speaking clearly, or not so much
  • Home
  • 2007 in places
  • Officially the last remaining single member of my family
  • So the new school year is going OK
  • I am a curmudgeon
  • They're sharing a drink they call loneliness, but it's better than drinking alone
  • I have been looking forward to this moment for five years.
  • Three Things

Home

Because I am feeling uncreative about what to write these days, I present another little meme.  I saw this one over at Miss Hass' blog and thought it was cool in a sort of voyeuristic way.  There are people you think you know, people you know pretty well, and people you know everything about, but I bet most of the things in this meme are not things you would know about anyone but your own family, although they are some of the most mundane things -- the kind of things you never pay attention to, but which really do tell you something interesting about people.  Enjoy this proverbial peep through my windows.  Does anything here surprise you?

What kind of soap is in your bathtub right now?

I just finished a bar of soap this morning and have not yet replaced it.  I have a whole basket of soaps in my bathroom and am undecided about what to use next.  I am considering Milk soap from Whole Foods, or else this delightful Lemongrass and Chamomile soap that I got at Christmas.

Do you have any watermelon in your refrigerator?

No, and why would I?  I live by myself, and it's not July.

What would you change about your living room?

I really like my living room, actually.  It's purple and red, which are my favorite colors.  There is a lot of velvet in my living room.  I also have a piano, which thrills me to no end.  The only bad thing about it is that it is located at the front corner of the house which means it is a full six feet from traffic noise and sometimes it is drafty because I have a mail slot in the front door.  And I've been sort of hesitant about my chandelier ever since my sister insulted it.  I covered the bulbs with these paper shades to which I glued multicolored beaded fringe that I thought looked so cute.  She said it looked like a lamp from a whorehouse.  My question is, HOW WOULD SHE KNOW?

Are the dishes in your dishwasher clean or dirty?

I don't have a dishwasher, which means the dishes in my sink are usually dirty.

What's in your fridge?

Milk, orange juice, a bottle of Martinelli's, some ginger ale, my Brita pitcher, pizza sauce, yogurt, string cheese, Gruyére, mozarella with sun-dried tomato and basil, deli turkey, raisin bread, eggs, fruit salad, applesauce, apples, baby carrots, celery, fresh salsa, minced garlic, ketchup, mustard, relish, barbecue sauce, Miracle Whip, Salsa Lizano, apple butter, lime curd, Annie's Naturals Goddess dressing, Annie's Naturals Shiitake and Sesame Vinaigrette, butter, tooth whitening gel, spare batteries, and a box of Arm & Hammer.

What is on top of your refrigerator?

Cookbooks, a box of recipe cards, my roasting pan, and an onion.

White or wheat bread?

Wheat for sandwiches and raisin bread for toast.  I'm not a big bread person in general, though.

What color or design is your shower curtain?

Multicolored stripes, with a clear plastic horizontal panel at eye level so you can see out.

How many plants are in your home?

One philodendron.  It has lived with me for about six months without dying.  This is amazing.

Is your bed made right now?

Yes.  I don't like getting into an unmade bed.

Comet or Soft Scrub?

Old Dutch cleanser.

Is your closet organized?

Yes. Shelves on the left contain my purses and sweaters, which are in storage containers with little cedar balls to keep the moths out.  Then from left to right I have jackets, dressy shirts (satins and velvets and that kind of thing), button shirts (short sleeved, then 3/4 sleeved, then long sleeved), dress pants, short skirts, long skirts, short dresses, long dresses, one suit, and one spring trench coat which is lavender and looks kind of like a medical lab coat but I love it and can't get rid of it yet even though I haven't worn it in a couple of years.  My shoes are on the floor on a shoe rack.  Also, all my hangers must face the same way and all like items are hanging the same way on those hangers.

Can you describe your flashlight?

I bought a pack of two, which are both grey and red.  The smaller one is in my nightstand and the larger one has a heavy-duty magnet so it hangs on the side of my refrigerator.

Do you drink out of glass or plastic most of the time at home?

A Nalgene bottle for water, and if I drink something else, it goes in a glass.

Do you have iced tea made in a pitcher right now?

No.  Ew.

If you have a garage, is it cluttered?

I don't have a garage, but I do have a little vestibule between my kitchen door and the back door, and I recently bought one of those chrome shelving racks that has a shelf each for my food storage, painting supplies, appliances that don't fit in my tiny kitchen, extra boxes and bags, and sports equipment.  For a week or so after erecting the shelves, I would periodically open the kitchen door and just stare happily at the organized little corner.  Would someone please find me a boyfriend so I can stop spending my evenings staring at my organized vestibule?

Curtains or blinds?

I vastly prefer blinds.  Although I do have some fun multicolored patchwork curtains in my living room that remind me of stained glass.

How many pillows do you sleep with?

Two.

Do you sleep with any lights on at night?

Two night lights. One in the kitchen and one in the bathroom.

How often do you vacuum?

Whenever the house needs it, which isn't often since I'm rarely there and don't have much carpet.  I sweep much more frequently.

What color is your toothbrush?

White and green handle with blue bristles.

Do you have a welcome mat on your front porch?

I don't have a front porch, just a stoop.  The stoop has a mat, but it doesn't say welcome.  I have a new mat for the back door (which is the door I use most).  It has this cute little lawn gnome resting under a mushroom.

What is in your oven right now? 

One oven rack and an oven thermometer.

Is there anything under your bed?

The window fan I use in the summertime.

What chore do you hate doing the most?

Anything that involves paper -- grading, filing, paying bills, sorting the mail, etc.

What retro items are in your home?

Basically everything I own.  All my furniture, with the exception of a papasan chair, my piano, a butcher block cart in the kitchen, and those chrome shelves in the vestibule are either secondhand, antiques, or hand-me-downs from friends or family.  I like the quality of older things, I like that they have a history, and I like the quirky, mismatched look they bring to my house.  The house was built in 1843 so it all sort of works in a house like that.

Do you have a separate room that you use as an office?

Yes, and I LOVE IT!  That was a non-negotiable when I was looking for my own place.  I need my bedroom to be a paper-free haven.

How many mirrors are in your house?

Six.  Small, dark rooms look bigger and brighter that way.

What color are your walls?

Royal Plum in the living room, Peapod Green in the dining room, Sunflower Yellow in the kitchen, Ladybug Red in my bedroom, and the office, spare room, and bathroom are white.  I LOVE that my landlords let me paint!

Do you keep any kind of protection weapons in your home?

No.  Unless you are a stalker or robber, or other type of creep who happens to know where I live, in which case the answer is an uzi and a pitbull.  And a very scary Hell's Angel boyfriend.

What does your home smell like right now?

I don't know.  Me?

Favorite candle smell?

I like fruity candles.  Vanilla is OK.  I can't stand anything with cinnamon in it.

What kind of pickles are in your refrigerator right now?

Just relish.

What color is your favorite bible?

My English one is burgundy, my Spanish one is red, and my Portuguese one is black.

Ever been on your roof?

No, but if the damn squirrels keep running around and mating on my roof in the middle of the night, I will go out there with my uzi and pitbull and take care of them once and for all.

Do you own a stereo?

Yes, but a CD recently got stuck in it and I can't fix it.  I listen to my iPod on the dock a lot, though.

How many tv's do you have?

Two.  One that I watch movies on, and another that my sister and brother-in-law passed on to me that is sitting in a corner because I get no channels so I have no reason to plug it in at the moment.

How many house phones?

None, just a cell.

Do you have a housekeeper?

Seriously?

What style do you decorate in?

I like bright colors and I like mismatched old things and stuff I bring back from my travels. 

Do you like solid colors in furniture, or prints?

Solid.  You can make a tan couch work in any room.  And I like wood for pretty much everything else.  Then I can paint the walls whatever color I want and when I get sick of it, it's a lot cheaper to change.

Is there a smoke detector in your home?

Yes, 3 of them.  And I just changed the batteries!  Go, me!

In case of fire, what are the items in your house which you'd grab if you could only make one quick trip?

My journals, photos, and laptop.  They're the record of my life.  Everything else is replaceable.

Posted on Friday, 25 January 2008 at 06:20 PM in Memes, Talking About Myself Again | Permalink | Comments (1)

Three Things

Three Things That Scare Me:

  1. bats
  2. the future
  3. not being good enough

Three People Who Make Me Laugh:

  1. Conan O'Brien
  2. Bill Bryson
  3. my family

Three Things I Love:

  1. old school PacMan and Tetris
  2. sunflowers
  3. traveling

Three Things I Hate/Severely Dislike:

  1. when people spell things wrong on purpose to be cute, or when people who can't spell don't use spell check, or when people think that spell check will catch problems like their/there/they're -- basically, crappy spelling really bugs me!
  2. feeling misunderstood
  3. cinnamon buns (actually, anything with that sickeningly strong cinnamon smell)

Three Things I Don’t Understand:

  1. time management
  2. bigotry
  3. males' obsession with physical attractiveness, and how otherwise intelligent, spiritual, together men can turn into rude, immature, base horndogs at the sight of a huge rack -- and how they don't seem to realize (or care) when it's fake, and that most women do not naturally look like Pamela Anderson, AND that so many of these same males are not particularly attractive themselves, yet they all think they deserve a woman that gravity-defyingly hot and see no problem with holding women to a much higher standard than the one to which they hold themselves.  This all makes zero sense to me.  (Whew... That's been waiting to spew out for a while now.)

Three Things On My Desk:

  1. my Nalgene bottle, full of water
  2. lots of piles of paper, books, and files
  3. an hourglass that a glassblower friend in Brazil made me

Three Things I’m Doing Right Now:

  1. blogging
  2. enjoying the sunlight and the breeze coming through my window
  3. taking a break from writing my thesis

Three Things I Want To Do Before I Die:

  1. get married and have kids
  2. drive the Panamerican highway
  3. ride the rails in a boxcar

Three Things I Can Do:

  1. speak three languages fluently
  2. play the piano
  3. cut hair

Three Things I Struggle to Do:

  1. math
  2. lose weight
  3. keep deadlines, whether I set them myself or they're imposed on me

Three Things I Think You Should Listen To:

  1. music that speaks to you, regardless of the genre, its age, or its degree of popularity
  2. people who have your best interests at heart
  3. your conscience

Three Things You Should Never Listen To:

  1. people who have a selfish agenda
  2. people who tell you it's not possible
  3. your own fears (easier said than done, I know!)

Three Things I’d Like To Learn:

  1. Japanese
  2. drums
  3. how to drive a motorcycle

Three Favorite Foods:

  1. ice cream
  2. potatoes, any style
  3. rice and beans

Three Shows I Watched As A Kid:

  1. Sesame Street
  2. Little House on the Prairie
  3. The Cosby Show

Three Shows I Watched As A Teenager:

  1. My So-Called Life
  2. Beverly Hills, 90210
  3. Saturday Night Live

Three Shows I Watch Now:

  1. American Idol
  2. Lost
  3. What Not To Wear (and everything else on TLC)

Three Things I Regret:

  1. lost friendships
  2. not finishing my thesis sooner
  3. all the times I've done or said something hurtful to someone else and not realized it

Posted on Sunday, 22 July 2007 at 05:53 PM in Memes, Reflections, Talking About Myself Again | Permalink | Comments (1)

Life in Photo

It's raining and I'm feeling uninspired today.  Nothing even remotely noteworthy going on except that today in the middle of the rain I heard an ice cream truck coming down the street playing "London Bridge is Falling Down."  I almost went out to buy something just because it was so quaint and so out of place on a rainy day but I couldn't even muster up the energy.


There's some stuff I've been wanting to post but I have spent the entire weekend cleaning out my room and moving all my school crap into the Hebrew Speaking Roommate's old room so we can now have an office.  And this morning I took the PRAXIS tests so I can prove that I'm smart enough to eventually teach public school.  I had to do math.  MATH, people!  For the first time in ten years, and without a calculator!  I'm a language teacher.  I do not need math, except to teach my students how to say the numbers, and to tally up grades (and thank heaven for Micrograde which does all the tallying for me!).  And now I'm too tired to remember what any of the stuff I wanted to post was, so here's an interesting take on a photo meme. 

I stole the idea from Poppy Mom (whose recent post, "This is our new American Idol?", made me laugh until I cried [warning to those who are f-word-sensitive]). 

Directions:

Go to Google and click on the “Images” link. Type in the following and post the first (or your favorite) picture the search engine finds.

- The name of the town where you grew up
- The name of the town where you live now
- Your name
- Your Grandmother’s name (yeah, I know you probably had 2 (or more); just pick one)
- Your favorite food
- Your favorite drink
- Your favorite song
- Your favorite smell

So, here we go:

-The Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania library
-Orem, Utah
-My name
-Nana
-Mmmmmmm...
-This is what holds my water all day long.
-Suite: Judy Blue Eyes
-The best smell in the world.   
-The second best smell in the world.

Posted on Saturday, 11 June 2005 at 09:57 PM in Memes | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy

Not surprising, given that I grew up a mile north of the Mason-Dixon line.  I'm just glad I've stayed true to my roots, even with the nine years of time I've had to start calling a bag a "sack" and a soda a "pop" while living in Utah.  I will not be corrupted!

Your Linguistic Profile:

50% General American English
35% Yankee
15% Dixie
0% Midwestern
0% Upper Midwestern
What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Posted on Saturday, 14 May 2005 at 01:57 PM in Linguistic Oddities, Memes | Permalink | Comments (1)

Return of the living meme

This is the second time I've run across this little get-to-know-you questionnaire in the past week.  So, it's a sign.  Here you go.

1. IF YOU COULD BUILD A SECOND HOUSE ANYWHERE, WHERE WOULD IT BE?
I'm still looking to get my FIRST house.  But I would SO much rather buy an already existing house with character than build a new place on already-scarce farmland in some cookie-cutter development. 

2. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE ARTICLES OF CLOTHING?
My tan Rocket Dog shoes with the velcro straps.  They are so cool that my sister actually bought my first pair of them OFF MY FEET.  And they are absolutely the most comfortable things I have ever walked on.  I'm also really fond of my new jean jacket.

3. THE LAST CD YOU BOUGHT?
I really can't remember!  I'm quite a fan of pirated burnt offerings and I rarely ever buy CDs in an actual store anymore.  I think it might have been the mix of Christmas songs I picked up at the Bath & Body Works' after-Christmas sale.

4. WHAT TIME DO YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING?
Usually around 7:00.

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE KITCHEN APPLIANCE?
My crock pot. 

6. IF YOU COULD PLAY AN INSTRUMENT, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
I play piano and a little bit of guitar, and I played french horn 7 years in school.  I'd love to learn drums, though.

7. FAVORITE COLOR?
I like purple, red, and sunny yellow.

8. WHICH VEHICLE DO YOU PREFER, SPORTS CAR, MOTORCYCLE, OR SUV?
I like the old Toyota 4Runners.  Dark blue ones.  But I'm also secretly a sucker for a really pretty Harley-Davidson.

9. DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE AFTERLIFE?
Absolutely, yes.

10. FAVORITE CHILDREN'S BOOK?
I love the Eloise books, by Kay Thompson.

11. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON?
Fall on the East Coast. 

12. IF YOU HAVE A TATTOO, WHAT IS IT?
I am WAY too wimpy around needles to ever get a tattoo!  I've held friends' hands while they got tattooed and after watching that, there is no way I could do it.

13. IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE SUPERPOWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
The ability to snap my fingers and produce a complete, publishable Master's thesis.

14. CAN YOU JUGGLE?
Yes, but not nearly as well as my brother.  The boy juggles knives and flaming things.  While riding a unicycle.  I can toss 3 oranges for 10 seconds or so, before losing control and having to chase them all over the room.

15. ONE PERSON/PEOPLE FROM YOUR PAST YOU WISH YOU COULD GO BACK AND TALK TO?
Fernando Farías -- this Argentine boy I had a very complicated friendship with for five years or so.  The last I heard from him, he had made a conscious decision to leave his Church and stop believing in God, and I really came down hard on him for that.  I wish I could go back and be more understanding and compassionate.

16. WHAT IS UNDER YOUR BED?
Some picture frames that I got for a dollar each when my local Papyrus was closing, and a duffle bag with all my purses in it.

17. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DAY?
Thursday. 

18. WHICH DO YOU PREFER, SUSHI OR HAMBURGER?
That totally depends on the day.  If I'm feeling swanky, exotic, adventurous, then sushi.  If I'm feeling carnivorous, rushed, or PMSed, then a hamburger.

19. ON WHICH BLOG DID YOU FIND THIS MEME?
The Little Professor.  I also got it in an e-mail from my friend Ruth.

20. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLOWER?
Sunflowers.  Surprised?

21. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEAL?
Breakfast, although I rarely leave myself enough time in the morning to eat it.

22. DESCRIBE YOUR PJS.
Comfy drawstring pants and a big t-shirt.

23. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BREAKFAST?
The all-American two eggs (sunny side up) with toast, hashbrowns, and bacon.  And apple juice, please.

24.  WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CARTOON?
The Simpsons.

25.  WHAT WAS THE LAST MOVIE YOU SAW IN A THEATER?
Ocean's Twelve.

26. DO YOU LIKE YOUR JOB?
I LOVE my job.

27. WHAT IS YOUR DREAM JOB?
I'm in it.

28. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE HOLIDAY?
Thanksgiving.

29. WOULD YOU RATHER WATCH A SUNRISE OR A SUNSET?
Sunset.

30. WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO THAT YOU HAVE NEVER DONE BEFORE?
Oooh, I'll have to post about this tomorrow.

Posted on Tuesday, 15 March 2005 at 01:01 AM in Memes | Permalink | Comments (0)

Songs Currently Stuck In My Head

  • Joshua Radin & Schuyler Fisk - Paperweight

    Paperweight
    Joshua Radin & Schuyler Fisk: We Were Here

  • Elvis Perkins - While You Were Sleeping

    While You Were Sleeping
    Elvis Perkins: Ash Wednesday

Books in which my nose is currently stuck

  • John McWhorter: Doing Our Own Thing: The Degradation of Language and Music and Why We Should, Like, Care

When I'm not here, I'm visiting...

  • A Girl Who Wears Glasses
  • Aunt Marvel Salad
  • Cicada Song
  • dooce
  • Eric D. Snider
  • Go Fug Yourself
  • karinka
  • lolcats
  • Miss Hass's Happenings
  • Miss Nemesis
  • Nancy B.
  • Susannah's So-Called Life
  • Thinking it Through
  • Wet Feet
  • Zannah
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