It's all about ME

See Dora's post and enter her Pay It Forward challenge. The anonymous donor to U.T.E.R.U.S has.

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Now, back to ME. Per Topcat.

1. Where is your cell phone? Here.
2. Where is your significant other? Work
3. Your hair color? Brown
4. Your mother? The Best
5. Your father? Also The Best
6. Your favorite thing? Time alone
7. Your dream last night? Involved a waterpark, Topcat, and a ball of yarn (?)
8. Your dream/goal? Write/publish a book
9. The room you are in? Family room
10. Your hobby? Blogging!
11. Your fear? Getting dirty
12. Where do you want to be in six years? Here. Wiser.
13. Where were you last night? Dinner with my sister and our kids.
14. What you're not? Martha Stewart
15. One of your wish list items? iPhone and someone to set it up.
16. Where you grew up? Here.
17. The last thing you did? Yoga
18. What are you wearing? Nice-looking workout clothes
19. Your T.V.? Old-style (not flat).
20. Your pet? None
21. Your computer? HP laptop
22. Your mood? Anxious.
23. Missing someone? No
24. Your car? Blue Honda CR-V
25. Something you're not wearing? Fishnet stockings.
26. Favorite store? Old Navy
27. Your Summer? I'm mourning its passing
28. Love someone? Yes
29. Your favorite color? All shades of purple
30. When is the last time you laughed? With my husband at our kids. They put on a "show."
31. Last time you cried? Several weeks ago at a funeral.

If you want this meme, consider yourself tagged.

Balls. Bourbon Balls.

(Lori's Childhood Trivia is below the recipe part of the post.)

Emma is hosting a recipe exchange for the holidays. I'm getting my entry in early because, well, when you see how yummy these are, you're going to want to have a batch on hand from now through, oh, Halloween 2009.

Emma has asked us to tell why the recipe is special.

This recipe in my 3-ring kitchen binder is a tattered photocopy of my dad's handwriting, dated 1969. Now, my dad knows his way around a grill but he most definitely does NOT make cookies. So the fact that he wrote down a recipe and hung on to it means that it made him a hit at work. He and my mom made it every December for him to bring to his aerospace facility (think Mad Men for chemical engineers). The treats held a fascination for me because the whole time I was growing up, I was unable to partake.

Now I can. And I do.

Bourbon Balls (or, as I prefer, Rum Balls)
2 1/2 C crushed vanilla wafers
1 C confectioners sugar
1 C chopped pecans (optional)
2 T powdered cocoa
3 T white corn syrup
1/2 - 3/4 C bourbon or rum or scotch. Pick your poison.

Mix ingredients in order given. Form balls, roll in confectioners sugar. Store in covered container.

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Now I pick at least 5 blogger buddies to include in the recipe exchange. We are all to leave our permalinks at Emma's post, with the end result being a delicious compilation of bloggy goodness.

I pick Bloorb (gotcha back!), Pamela Jeanne, Luna, Steph (as always, just to tick her off), and Marge.

See AK's post for more specific directions.

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Lori's Childhood Trivia Round 9, Clue #8

It's Lori's Childhood Trivia, where I dredge up something from the 1970s you (hopefully) enjoyed the way I did, and you figure out what it is by my carefully meted out clues. Here are the all available clues, with some depth added in.

Clue#1: Anita (as in West Side Story)
Clue #2: Violet (as in Willy Wonka)
Clue #3: Chauffeur
Clue #4: David
Clue #5: Cliff
Clue #6: Bismarck-ish. Or maybe Moorhead-ish.
Clue #7: Furniture-philia
Clue #8: Coco

For the scoop on this game and for past rounds, click here. Rummage around for some happy memories, songs, toys, and laughs, and get your player bling.

What's your guess?

Take Five

Hop over to All Thumbs for a discussion on how your supermarket treats you. Is your grocery store in the hall of fame, like mine, or the hall of lame, like Donna's?

____________________

Joanna tagged me to reveal these things to you.

1. Five things I was doing 10 years ago:

• Saying goodbye to my students in Syria
• Traveling through Egypt and Israel
• Studying Spanish in Granada, Spain
• Buying and furnishing a home in Denver
• Returning to the job I'd left before we moved to the Middle East

2. Five things on my to do list for today:

• Come up with a post (check!)
• Catch up on Google Reader
• Attend Vacation Bi.ble School show my kids are in
• Finish the book that was due back at the library yesterday
• Clean up from a play date

3. Five snacks I enjoy:

• Chocolate chip cookies (homemade only)
• Archer Farms cheese straws (from Target)
• Cappucino Chip ice cream
• Fresh raspberries
• Guacamole

4. Five things I would do if I were a billionaire:

• Travel the world with my extended family and nannies
• Address education issues locally
• Do some service learning with our family in Cambodia
• Donate to a few non-profits I support
• Go back to school...PhD in something at the Naropa Institute
  

5. Five places I have lived

• Utah
• New Jersey
• Kansas
• Japan
• Syria
• Spain

Yeah, that's six, but it felt wrong to leave one out.

I'm not tagging anyone (except Steph, but that's really just to be mean), but if you are looking for a topic and haven't already done this, knock yourself out.

Ladies & Lunch

Name a handful of women you'd like to have lunch with. Not as a group, but one at a time. Like your own Charlie Rose session. With food. Catered, of course.

Let's make this about women with some celebrity. Otherwise, we'd just put each other on the list :-).

Aimee Mann: I love her lyrics, narratives, melodies and harmonies. And I have done so since her big-hair days of 'Til Tuesday.


America Ferrara: I probably just love her Ugly Betty character, but I'd like to see if she is as grounded and content with herself as Betty is.


Condoleezza Rice: While I admire her for her intelligence, determination, and talent, I would love to talk with her once she leaves her current job to see if I could get the inside scoop. And find out if she has any regrets. And I'd like to play a piano duet with her.


Carol Burnett: she and Gilda Radner make me laugh. Hysterically. I'd love to sit across a table from both of them. I'd like to ask each how she reconciles joy and sorrow.


Sarah Jessica Parker: What can I say? The Sex and the City marketing blitz has gripped me, like millions of others. There is just something magnetic about SJP. I'd like to try to find out what it is. I wonder, though, if I could handle the pressure of dressing for the occasion.


I'm sure there are more, and the list could be completely different on another day. But I'll stand by these until the next time.

So if you're looking for a post idea in the near future, write up your own Ladies & Lunch. And leave your link in the comments below. I'll keep a running list of players at the bottom of this post.
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Do you have a favorite something you rave about? A lemon you'd like to warn others to avoid? Write up a review for All Thumbs. And see what Chicklet and I have to say on everything foot fashion to phones.

Image meme

I found this one at Doc Grumbles.

Type your answer into a “search” box.
Pick an image from the first page.
Copy and paste answer into your post.

1. My name

(Lori)

2. My relationship status

(happily married)

3. Favorite color

(purple)

4. My celebrity crush

(Mike Myers)

5. My favorite princess

(Nefertiti)

6. Favorite adult beverage

(duh!)

7. Favorite vacation

(Greece and Turkey, our backpacking honeymoon eons ago)

8. When I grow up I want to be:

(content)

Leave your meme post permalink in a comment so I can check out your images.

Happy weekend, everyone!

The meme that will make me rich

Well, remember when I (meanly) awarded a nice, sweet, flowery meme to DeathChic, a blogger I knew would, upon receipt of said meme, roll her eyes all the way to the back of her skull? And then want to bash ME in the skull?

Well, my efforts have been rewarded. You see, Steph has CONNECTIONS. With a dead dictator. And Swiss banks. And, apparently, the company called Hormel, famed maker of the meat-like product, S.pam.

She has tagged me with this meme that is guaranteed to (shhhhh) make me rich. My part in this is minimal: just provide a few numbers and some information on my mom. As soon as my portion of the $30 million arrives, I'll be able to take my windfall and fly all my bloggy friends to a Tahitian island for some serious mojito drinking. I'll work up a circuit for the Lear Jet soon. Let me know if you want me to make a stop for you at your local airport.

But why should I hog all the good luck? Consider yourself tagged as well.

What will you do with your $24 million?

My-my book-book me-me

Niobe, queen of the arcane, who writes the blog I go to when needing to learn something new and really cool, has passed along this meme.

I must admit that when going to someone's house for the first time, I love to check out what books are on the shelves. It's a good way to find commonalities and topics of conversation. It's like a secret peek into someone's values.

When I look at one of our Walls o' Books, I know that I married the right man -- a fellow bibliophile. Anyone who judges me on the books that I have will think I'm very, very smart. Truth is, most of the consequential ones are Rob's. He was the English major.

But I have my own impressive stash, too. Ours are completely commingled after so many years of marriage. We are such reading geeks that when we DO get away together for a weekend, we luxuriate not only in each other, but in a stack of reading material that is much too big to ever get through.

I tag Melissa, Furrow, Wordgirl, Mary Beth and Pamela Jeanne to share your tomes. And anyone else, too. Just leave your link here so we can all snoop your spines.

Navel gazing for Chicklet

Chicklet from Blurb This! tagged me, thereby saving me the hard work of thinking of a topic to write about. Her answers were great, so go on over and read about Chicklet. Then come back to indulge me.

The rules:
1) Link to the person who tagged you.
2) Post the rules.
3) Share six non-important things / habits / quirks about yourself.
4) Tag at least three people.
5) Make sure the people you tagged KNOW you tagged them by commenting what you did.

Now you can witness my navel gazing (which may not be quite as fun as naval gazing):

1. I like to sleep in an L-shape. As much as I love sharing a bed with Rob, I secretly delight when he gets up an hour or two earlier than I do. Then I can stretch out my legs while lying on my side, usurping his formerly occupied sleeping space.

2. I am drawn to other things that start with L. We adopted through Lutheran Family Services. The lady who does my taxes is named Linda LaLxxxx. My kids go to a school that starts with "L." Even thought I'm right-handed, I prefer the word "left." Ls are luscious.

3. I hate having my hands dirty or yukky. I wouldn't mind having them hermetically sealed.

4. I classify colors as "boy" colors (blues, greens, browns, blacks, greys, purples) and "girl" colors (reds, oranges, pinks, yellows, whites). When I was a small child I thought everyone had the same schema , and I was surprised to find they didn't.

5. I have lived in Japan, Syria, and Spain. I have visited Egypt, Jordan, Oman, France, Germany, Andorra, Lebanon, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Israel, Mexico, Canada, Turkey, Cyprus, Italy, Costa Rica, and the Bahamas. And I'm not in the military.

6. Apparently I think in 5s.

Tagging Excavator, Mrs X, Working Girl and MB. Let's see if you can out-quirk me.

Mishmash

Violet at Miserable Bliss directed me to this test:

INFJ - "Author". Strong drive and enjoyment to help others. Complex personality. 1.5% of total population.

Free Jung Word Choice Test (similar to MBTI)
personality tests by similarminds.com

Reading further, I find my possible careers. Maybe I'll pick something new when Reed hits first grade:

• Clergy / Religious Work
• Teachers
• Alternative Health Care Practitioners, i.e. Chiropractor, Reflexologist
• Psychologists, Psychiatrists
• Counselors and Social Workers
• Musicians and Artists
• Photographer

On relationships:

INFJ is a natural nurturer; patient, devoted and protective. They make loving parents and usually have strong bonds with their offspring. They have high expectations of their children, and push them to be the best that they can be. This can sometimes manifest itself in the INFJ being hard-nosed and stubborn. But generally, children of an INFJ get devoted and sincere parental guidance, combined with deep caring.

Hey! I don't remember answering Yes to the "hard-nosed and stubborn" question!

***

But really what I want to share tonight is a video I found for a song I love by a band Rob introduced me to. Apples in Stereo has had a prominent place in my playlists lately. How can a song called "Same Old Drag" make me feel so happy? Enjoy.



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And finally, check out my latest post on Drama 2B Mama, The Death Throes of My Fertility Hopes.

Meme: 8 Random Facts

I've been tagged by Furrow.

The rules:
Let others know who tagged you.
Tell 8 random facts about yourself.
When you're tagged, post these rules and 8RF about yourself.
Tag 8 other people.

My 8RFs:

1. I have lived 8 time zones to the east of home (Syria) and 8 time zones to the west of home (Japan). Like those 8s.


2. I proposed to Rob. At a Bronco game. On the DiamondVision scoreboard.


3. I have never had a PBJ sandwich.


4. I played the piccolo in high school.


5. I would go to great lengths for a really good mojito.


6. I was told by a ski instructor my first time out that I had "rubber knees." The nickname stuck (the comment was overheard by a member of the church group) and it took me two decades to get back on skis.


7. When I was a Brownie, I won a baking contest for a recipe called, "Rickety Uncle."


8. I can usually guess the time within about 5 minutes.

So, if you're reading and you haven't already blogged 8 Random Factss, consider yourself tagged. Comment here when you post your own.

Now, click on over to Drama 2B Mama.