weirdness

I have been tagged for a meme by writermom and fineartist. My second meme (first here); my first tag (so honored). This ought to be fun. I am to list five of my weird habits. So here I go!

*Aside: Speaking of weird, the word meme, with which I am not very too familiar with, prompted me to pick up my dictionary for a precise definition. However, my copyright 1969 American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language fails to include this word, skipping from membrane straight to memento. (Are you starting to notice that many things I own are quite dated??) I then turned to Merriam-Webster OnLine which gave me the definition:

Main Entry: meme
Pronunciation: 'mEm
Function: noun
Etymology: alteration of mimeme, from mim- (as in mimesis) + -eme
: an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture

And that is our lesson for today. Onto my weirdness... excluding the fact that I like to look up every interesting word I come across... *

1. I have some sort of problem with closing things. Cabinets, drawers, doors... I leave a trace throughout the house of my presence. When I put away clean dishes from the dishwasher, I have to consciously remind myself to close the cabinets when finished. After I go into the closet, I am lucky if I remember to close the door when finished. Same with my sock drawer or jewelry box - or any other object that is capable of being open and shut. The only things I religiously close are my car door, the front door and the fridge door. Everything else stands a chance to be left open. (I can't help but want to connect this with some sort of psychological issue... afterall, closing doors does seem to be heavily symbolic...)

2. Just call me jingles. I have a head that sucks up television and radio jingles like a camel's hump stores water. Not only that, but when we are out and about around town, I can't help but sing a jingle if I go past the landmark that is associated with the jingle.

3. Now, all of us collect one thing or another, and I am no different in that manner. However, there is probably one thing I collect that is slightly out of the ordinary or, rather, weird. My super bouncy balls from the quarter machines at grocery stores? Innocent! My street signs of all kinds from my hometown? Illegal, but not out of the ordinary! But... my very long snapple-snake of hundreds and hundreds of snapple caps? A little on the bizarre side. Perhaps you would like to see a picture??

4. I eat my eggs in a very precise manner. There is no straying from this routine. Eggs done over easy. Must have with toast. Eat around the yolk; only whites first. Systematically break one yolk at a time and allow yellow-goo to drain. Place empty yolk sack on bread and eat. Use left over bread to soak up yolk. Repeat. Mmm...

5. I cannot, cannot, cannot stand socks with even the littlest hole in them. As soon as there is a hole, adios, suckers! This weird pickiness about me has been consistent since I was a little girl. I would throw temper tantrums if things didn't feel right on my feet. Oh yeah - big tatrums. Not pretty.

And to end this weirdness post:

You Are 40% Weird

Normal enough to know that you're weird... But too damn weird to do anything about it!

How Weird Are You?

Happy 2006 everyone!! May it be wonderfully weird!

answer

Alright all you smarty-pants' ... I guess I'm one of the few (with the exception of Lori *grin*) who doesn't know the gosh-dang number to the white house!!

Needless to say, here are the answers:

So, as I had mentioned earlier, we had discovered this game was rather dated. And upon the discovery of an alleged number to call the white house directly... my curiosity was most certainly sparked. Could the number for the white house actually work? Is it still the same?

I couldn't fight this strong yearning to call. All it took was a single dare from my friend, and I had that portable phone in my hand and ringing, faster than you could say "white house". And, sure enough, a lady answered: "This is the white house, how may I help you?"

What did I say... well, dumbfounded I muttered, "Oh, really?" followed by, "Thank you very much and have a good evening." What else could I say? Do you think the lady answering the phone in the nation's capital and the president's home would be the least bit interested about a game of trivial pursuit manufactured over 20 years ago? A curiosity about an answer? A foolish phone call??

That was my excitement for the evening :o) And the moral is: watch out for old board games... they may get you into a bit of trouble!

special eve

A special evening indeed. As I sit here, content and pensive, I realize I have blogged more this week than ever. And this is the post that qualifies it being above average. You would think with a holiday on the verge I would be here less but, lo and behold, I am here more. Why? Perhaps it is the year ending soon that has caused me to be more reflective. Or, maybe it is that my husband is here sharing this special time with our family, and allowing me more moments than usual to fulfill the activities that soothe me: reading, walking, writing and painting. My daughter and he are asleep as I type.

So I write. Stream of consciousness leads me so I warn you (whoever is kind enough to care what I have to say) that this may not be entertaining, per se. All I know is that it is from the heart; authentic and true.

I love Steven. He is the best. I went to pick up a few last-minute things at the market just an hour ago and when I got home I saw that he picked up around the house. It is nice to know, that when time is afforded to him, that he will invest it in things I typically do everyday; that he cares just as much.

And you would think that I would dread going to the market on Christ-mas Eve. I didn't. Normally I take care of things in advance, but today I actually enjoyed submerging myself in the business of the holiday spirit and chaos. It was a pleasant positive chaos. It was a great experience.

And it was just as rewarding to come home to our beautiful house and my priceless family. Steven and L, sound asleep, dreaming.

L had grown so much this past month. From teeth to rolling over she is evolving; mentally, physically, spiritually. I am starting to see signs of reciprocated affection: arms reaching out to be held. And ever since about two weeks ago she has been making this high-pitched squealing sound that could shatter glass! It is so exciting to watch her learn what she is capable of doing.

And I am evolving, on no level comparable to my daughter, but just as significant nonetheless. I am anticipating attending a course at the university next semester (which is fast approaching). I continue to read and read and read. I am coming along with learning Spanish. (Which I study, devotedly in my car when I'm driving, and just maybe L will even pick up a bit of it.) And my biggest investment - to my daughter family and home - brings me the most pride. A feeling of assuredness and well-being.

And I am grateful for all of the people who have came into my life this past year. So many wonderful, beautiful, good-hearted friends. I have L to thank for many of my new connections (ah, the power of networking- mommies) and myself to thank for others. Blogging has given me a sense of community and appreciation, especially being a stay-at-home mom. I am immeasurably thankful for those of you I have met through such means. I am honored to know you, and I mean that. Wishing all of you much happiness this holiday and countless blessings in the upcoming new year.

xo
Sarah

p.s.
I'll be filling you in on the answers to the previous post sometime soon. Just waiting to see what everyone speculates.... and looking forward to it! :-p

2024561414

The other night a friend and I were playing board games. (Oh, how I love board games.) Digging through my vast and rather old collection, we decided to partake in some good ol' Trivial Pursuit. It turned out that we were, for the large part, both pathetically awful. There were questions that we didn't even have the slightest of what was being asked!

Upon further inspection I realized the date of manufacture was 1981. Yeah, that might explain it.

There was one card, however, that caught our attention at one point later in the game (and this was after we learned the issue date of the game and had decided to keep on playing just for sh*ts and giggles.

I present to you, that card:

Please direct your attention to the first trivia question in the category of geography.

Do you know the answer?? (Don't cheat! I don't want anyone opening up another browser to do a search to figure it out. And don't call it! Please be honest... If you know it, say so, if not, fess up!!) Leave a comment!

orna - mental

SELF PORTRAIT TUESDAY

'Tis the season for craziness. Is it just American culture, or are there other countries that get just as insane this time of year? Rushing, fussing, consuming... it really is incredible. I have known a handful of people whose personality actually changes this time of year. They turn into psychotic nasty people. It is like an illness that can only be cured by the passing of the holiday.

I was driving a few days ago, leaving a local market, and proceeding to make a left-hand turn in through a break in a divided-highway style street, and this old woman, who failed to cut her wheel sharply enough to execute her U-turn, almost hit me.

Then, to my utter shock and disbelief, she becomes infuriated with me, and clearly mouths a extremely vulgar obscenity! This woman, who looks like the most charming grandmother with gray hair and glasses, swearing like a drunken sailor! I was so shocked and offended that, without even thinking, I did something completely - and I mean completely out of character ... I gave her the finger and big flashy smile and laugh. I'm typically understanding, flexible and patient with other drivers. A little wave and a "it's okay" is my motto. Friendly. But being bombarded by a potty-mouthed senior brought out something in me that had no tolerance for such behavior. And you know what? IT FELT GOOD!

The SPT picture this week is an ornament my husband and I purchased the night of the charity ball we attended. It is the most expensive ornament we have ever gotten. It was a special occasion, though, and we helped a good cause by getting ourselves something special that we can hang on our tree every year and remember that night by. My SPT portrait is also consistent with this month's challenge to work with reflective surfaces.

my voice is back

Literally and figuratively.

Two weeks ago to the day my husband got sick. For as long as we've been together, he always gets me sick, never vice versa. Every time I think it will be different; "I won't get sick this time." But it's always the same. Five days later I was sick. A week later, after I thought I was making a record rebound, I was even sicker.

Remember that charity ball we were to attend that I polled you all on which dress I should wear? I barely made it. I was S.A.A.D. (sick as a dog). I was Steven's mute date. Yep - I had no voice. But hey, I looked smashing, and after a cosmopolitan I forgot completely about my pains! And the event was like no other. The people in attendance were loaded - in both senses! I saw so many dresses that I could only imagine how many thousands of dollars they cost. A whole different lifestyle; a whole other world. It was fun to play amidst it for an evening...

Today I am finally feeling better. Voice is back. My now 5-month-old sweetheart (as of this very day) didn't escape unscathed, either. Yesterday was her worst day. Today she is doing better. We even made our first trip out into the "world" since this past weekend.

We went to the post office. There we waited patiently in the ridiculously long line making silly faces at one another. Towards the end of our wait a nun entered, took a number, and sat beside us. She observed L fondly and commented, "Children whose teeth come in early are usually very smart." Flattered. L gurgled and squealed. She then said, "You're enjoying life, aren't you? That's what we're supposed to do: enjoy life." Right on sister. Lastly she said, "You are going to be someone important some day, aren't you! You're going to be the one who finds the cure for cancer." Hey, if you say so!!

It's good to have my voice back and be out in the world again. It is such an entertaining place.

that's not a pocket

I was driving my friend Stephanie around the other day, seeing as she just had surgery on her foot. First we went to her podiatrist. Stephanie, being the nice person she is, let me come into the room with her so I could see her post-surgery foot, which I eagerly wanted to check out. During the appointment her podiatrist shared with us an intriguing yet perturbing story about his past experience of being a foreman on a jury, and the types of folks who, despite their questionable reasoning skills, have a say in someone else's fate. The podiatrist, obviously, had jury duty coming up and it was on his brain. All the while my almost 5 month old daughter L listened attentively - or not at all - perhaps considering taking up a living looking at feet.

Next stop: groceries. As I was driving us all to Safeway, out of nowhere during a traffic light, Stephanie studied the detail of the shirt I was wearing and noted, "That's cool; there's a pocket there," as she proceeded to unzip this 'pocket'. Being the occasionally delayed-minded person I can be, it occurred to me as she was unzipping what exactly she was unzipping.

SARAH: "Um... that's not a pocket Stephanie."
STEPH: "It's not?"
SARAH: "No, it's a special shirt with an easy-access panel for breastfeeding."
STEPH: "OH!!"

Insanely funny. Many jokes surely ensued with hardy belly laughter. I'd have to say that was the best laugh I've had in some time. And now, whenever I put on my zipper shirts, I'll still crack up thinking.... "Cool pocket!"

Ladies, if you want to get hit on, consider wearing a nursing top next time you go out! Maybe, just maybe, a hot guy will unzip your 'pocket'!

my first blog poll

A SELF PORTRAIT TUESDAY OF SORTS

Okay everyone... I need some input. My partner and I have a black/white tie charity ball event coming up this Saturday and like many women I am having trouble deciding what to wear!

I have two dresses: A red one (oh-so holiday appropriate) and a black one (classic elegant chic). Let me know what you think. I've posted "front" and "back" photos of each. I would greatly appreciate your vote and feedback! Comment away!!

Bring it on.... I can take it.

one life to live

I heard a snippet on the news the other night about something or things that claimed the capability of calculating how long one will live, the questionable accuracy of such a test and its outcomes, and its potential for altering your actual longevity by fostering awareness of lifestyle choices.

So, like usual, when something sparks my curiosity I poke around the internet. I wanted to find such a calculator. And though I did not find what I believe was what had been mentioned on the news, I did find this nifty, semi-thorough, and terribly entertaining longevity calculator. I highly recommend you go take a look-see and click on every option at every stage of the questionnaire. The graphics are a trip!