Tuesday, February 27, 2007

impressed you say?

While you may have been impressed (or even skeptical) about my supposed reading list below I present for you this month's reading.
hmmm.
nothing.
wait some magazines --
O-thanks to Amy
Some free copies of Body & Soul
some random articles in
Electronic Musician, ReMix, Mix
and the ever classy Hollywood Life also free
as well as the ubiquitous...blogs.
Yeah, I am so smart S-M-R-T. But it is okay because Michael loves me. He went to the school library today to try to get a copy of In Cold Blood (misshelved, no luck) and The Jungle (both misshelved, no luck) (and yes, I read those two also), and while he was there he picked up books for me. Little Women and My Enemy, My Love:Women, Masculinity and the Dilemmas of Gender. This selection is very perfectly me. A nice reread and a smart person piece of non-fiction. However it also paints me as a very confused girl who will once again be crying over Beth's death scene while pondering the "Dilemmas of Gender".
And Michael got Uncle Tom's Cabin because he's apparently spurred onward by the reading bug and catching up on classics.

Saturday, February 24, 2007

books meme

I found this here and I am just lazy enough to continue using memes for posts instead of anything original.

Anyway here are Krissa's instructions.
Look at the list of books below. Bold the ones you’ve read, italicize the ones you want to read, cross out the ones you won’t touch with a 10 foot pole (I've got books I've READ that I wish I had used a 10 foot pole to avoid, thus they are both BOLD and STRICKEN, -KC), put a cross (+) in front of the ones on your book shelf, and asterisk (*) the ones you’ve never heard of.

I am adding that this list seems very random to me. Keep in mind that I read most of the books I will deem smart people books when I was forced to for smart people English class in high school before they decided I was not smart enough and no longer ivy leauguey enough for their ranks (do you think it was the use of the rogue -y to make things descriptive? I wish I did that in my papers then) Many times I reread the good ones for actual enjoyment because I am strange that way. Also I don't really own any books. This seems strange when I think of how my tall bookshelf overflows. However, it is full of textbooks, art books, and Michael's scores. Also, I am a library girl at heart but when I do buy books I enjoy I pass them on because I want everyone I know to read it too. Also my ten foot pole rule gets broken if I am stuck in a house with no other reading material. Then I would read anything printed.


1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. +To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. *Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. *A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling) read it with the U.S. title Sorcerer's Stone
17. Fall on Your Knees(Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie(Mitch Albom) I think I read the abridged version of this that Michael got as a gift. That was more than enough.
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. *The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True(Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. +The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. *Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller) tried once never finished, gave up
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. +The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. *The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving) this is everyone's favorite book except me
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. *Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. +Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. *The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. *Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. *Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. *In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth(Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

Thursday, February 15, 2007

My siblings started another one of those erase my answers and send this to everyone email that I thought died in the late 90's. Well I was wrong and here's another one. (oh and I am sure they are all over stupid myspace, but I try not to pay attention to that tripe.)
thanks to matt and then kate

Welcome to the new 2007 version of getting to know your friends. Who writes this crap? What you

are supposed to do is copy, (not forward) this entire e-mail and paste it

onto a new e-mail that you'll send. Change all the answers so they apply to

you, and then send it to a bunch of people including the person who sent it

to you. The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your

friends, that you may not already know about them. Because you obviously don't have time to actually call or send a real email you are too busy answering forwarded surveys. Inquiring minds want to know what is your favorite color, ice cream, puppy? It definitely reminds me of conversations had with Kindergartners. Except with Matt there is more cursing (not more than some of my student's but a little more). In several instances I am lazy and just decided to agree with Kate.


1. What time did you get up this morning? alarm 5:30am reset for 6:30 I think but instead I reset the time. wake up at 6:30am and see the clock says 7:30am fling off the covers, leap out of bed, turn on the light blinding Michaela and curse about being late. Notice it is very dark. Run down the hall and into the kitchen...it is 6:35. sleep in until 6:45am

I am nothing if not lengthy.

>2. Diamonds or Pearls? Neither

>3. What was the last film you saw at the Cinema? Children of Men

>4. What is your favorite TV show? nothing in particular, I like HGTV and food shows. I am watching L word through Netflix.

>5. What did you have for breakfast? an apple and tea (in the car)
>6. What is your middle name? Marie

>7. What is your favorite cuisine? sandwich I agree sandwiches

>8. What foods do you dislike? weird texture things, oatmeal, mashed potatoes, cottage cheese, cream of wheat, grits etc.

>9. Your favorite potato chip? Herr's... clearly no Herr's near me, Now I eat Lay's or Pringles

>10. Favorite CD you've listened to lately? a mix of KCRW stuff made by a friend very cool...ask me for a copy

>11. What kind of car do you drive? 98 honda civic

>12. Favorite sandwich? avocado

>13. What characteristics do you despise? extreme social awkwardness even after many get to know you type meetings. but I can't really say I despise this it just irritates me

>14. What are your favorite clothes? comfy jeans and long sleeve t-shirts (w/ fashion sneakers that have velcro, and offer no actual support like my rocket dogs)

>15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation where WOULDN'T you go? Antartica

>16. Favorite brand of clothing? things that fit (even after the washer and dryer)

>17. Where would you want to retire? beach house
>18. Favorite time of day? 3pm the kids go home

>19. Where were you born? havertown

>20. What is your favorite sport to watch? meh, competitive cooking shows? Iron Chef anyone?

>21. Who do you think will not send this back? this is a blog, maybe someone desperately bored will answer in the comments.

>22. Person you expect to send it back first? nobody
>23. Pepsi or Coke? Coke

>24. Beaver or Ducks? Duck, Goose... i don't get it (I'm with Kate here, and I'll add that I did play a stellar round of duck duck goose today)

>25. Are you a morning person or night owl? neither...can I be an afternoon person. I never want to get up at 6am but I do for work, then I fall asleep on the couch when I try to watch a movie that goes past 9:30pm

>26. Pedicure or Manicure? both

>27. Any new & exciting news you'd like to share? I think I am full of new and exciting from last year. Now I am ready for regular.

>28. What did you want to be when you were little? a doctor, or an artist (but secretly a teacher, I just thought it was lame cause that was the only profession you saw everyday)

>29. What is your best childhood memory? dancing in the basement to Billy Joel thanks to Dave... thinking i was the coolest 6 year old around to Kate--you were the coolest 6 year old around. I will add Jumping up and down on the beds, the above ground pool in all its 4.5ft water glory, jumping of the platform, big waves in the ocean with boogie boards, all the music...
>30. Piercing? ears, nose

>31. Ever been to Africa ? No

>32. Ever been out toilet papering? No (when I read this on Matt's I thought it said Ever been out of toilet paper and I think that is a no too)

>33. Been in a car accident? one, if you don't count when I scrape the side of my car against the house or fence trying to get it out of my very very narrow driveway

>34. Favorite Restaurants? I love restaurants. No favorite here yet, but there are so many we just keep trying new places.

>35. Favorite Flowers? blue hydrangeas

>36. Favorite Ice Cream? I like sorbets

>37. Favorite Fast Food Restaurant? Chipotle

>38. How many times did you fail your drivers test? None

>39. From whom did you get your last e-mail? Kate

>40. What store would you choose to max out your credit card? credit cards make me nervous. also I hate shopping at just one store how about Amazon I think they have everything

>41. Mountains or Ocean? Ocean but the beauty of California is that you can be at both

>42. Who are you most curious about their response to this? most curious for someone else to continue on with this thing
>43. Last person you went to dinner with? Michael, Jake & Ryland

> 44. How many tattoos do you have? none

>45. How many people are you sending this to? sending it to family, narcissistically posting on my blog for lack of actual content

>46. What time did you finish this e-mail? 6:47pm

>47. Favorite magazine? I love magazines. No current favorite but have started receiving all sorts for free Body + Soul (some sort of Martha Stewart thing), Spin (I don't know any new bands, it is boring to read about music you haven't heard, Hollywood Life (this is the most ridiculous magazine ever. it is like a magazine version of E!) also lots of ridiculous michael magazines like electronic musician etc.

>48. If you could meet any famous person, who would it be? Maya Angelou, I like this choice Kate, thanks

>49 If you could choose another first name, what would it be? I think the two I have are enough
>50. If you could change your profession right now, what would you be
doing? I'd like to choose independently wealthy. or maybe I could organize and decorate other people's houses...or be an artist that can actually sell art in order to support myself and my family and have health insurance...