Me Meme

This is cool.  Blogging is all about what you say you are.  Few visual cues.  Oh maybe you can know something by the font they chose, the background.  But we never get to see any writing.  Hand writing, that is.  (Does anyone ever write anymore?)  What does it say about you?  What does it reveal?  We architects spent hours practicing our writing..."lettering."  In fact, we might even get hired or not based on our lettering.

The Rules
Write the following:
1) Your name/blog name.
2) Right-handed, left-handed, or ambidextrous?
3) Favorite letters to write.
4) Least favorite letters to write.
5) Write “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.”
6) Write the following words in capital letters:
- CRAB
- HUMOR
- KALEIDOSCOPE
- PAJAMAS
- GAZILLION
7) Write your favorite song lyric.
8) Tag people!
9) Any special note or picture.

Seven

I'm It.  Incognito Mom, who became a little less so, has dared me to reveal 7 things about myself that I haven't before.  I'm supposed to tag others but I'm not gonna play.  Because I have this rebellious streak.

1.  I have this rebellious streak.  I know, I'm this conservative Christian, and you might think I'm all into institutionalized everything, but I'm not.  I hate being told what to do.  Unless you have the right to.  Like you're my boss.  Or you're God.





2.   I used to be a cheerleader.  OK, it was in 9th grade but I was the captain, y'know.  It was the hardest thing I'd done.  I was totally incompetent to lead a group of 15-year old girls.  But then, who is?



3.  I'm an introvert.  Reading me on this blog, you might not be too surprised, but if you met me in person, you would be. I'm loud and straightforward and pretty much not scared of anyone.

4.  I think I look better than I do.  I realized awhile ago that I never seemed happy with how I looked, that I was always criticizing this or that about my body.   When I was 24 and a size 4.  When I was 26 and a size 6.  When I was 38 and a size 8.  So, I reasoned, why not like where I am now?  Did I know at 30 that I'd go up a size at 40?  Do I know now what I'll be next year?  I just try to look my best and enjoy it.


5.  I didn't like my husband on our first date.  Let this be a lesson to any of you who aren't married yet!  I was terribly underwhelmed on our first date.  Oh, he was pleasant and all.  It was a friend who convinced me that if it wasn't a bad date, to give the relationship a chance.  I think God sent me that friend just so she could tell me that.  Because you all know I think HH is the best thing since...well, the best thing.

6.  I was a total slacker goof ball in school.  From the beginning of time up until grad school, I did only enough to get good grades.  It's a wonder my parents didn't beat me up.

7.  I am a genius.  BWAhahahahaha!!  That was for AmyA.

Everything You Always Wanted To Know About How We Celebrate Christmas **

** but didn't care enough to ask

For the actual FUNNY, original version, go visit Missy!


1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Oh Egg Nog.  I take little sips of it, roll it around my tongue, squish it through my teeth, then feel it gliiiiide down my throat while my eyes roll in the back of my head.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Who's he?

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? The little white kind.  On the tree.  But lately?  I've wanted to put up those big fat multi-color ones that can set your house on fire.  No lights on the house.  Noooooooooooooooo.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No. No frou frou.

5. When do you put your decorations up? Never. See #4. Unless you make me.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Anything that someone else makes.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? My mom and brother sitting there changing all the big fat multi-color light bulbs and replacing with all blue.  We were the only classy-looking house of our neighborhood in 1970.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I was already too old by the time I came to the U.S.  And my parents would never have gone for anything like that

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? No.  Umm . . . why?

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Whatever inspires me at the thrift stores.  Last year and this year I'm doing red and pink.  Yeah that's right.  I know you think that clashes.  It depends how it's done.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love.  Love love.  Want to take the Boo Kidlet skiing this year.  Yeah!

12. Can you ice skate?  I can remain semi-vertical without holding onto the sides.  Is that a yes?

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?  Money.  Cash.  Mullah.  Donn.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Shamelessly stealing from Missy: "Oh, I guess if I were really pressed, I would have to say THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? see #6

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Not really having one.  I like that Christmas isn't about tradition for us.  I know that can be all warm and fuzzy and I don't blame anyone else.  It's just that I like to try to remember only what He was annointed to be.

17. What tops your tree? A cocoa-skinned, dark-haired beauty of an angel.

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? Giving. My tastes are too quirky to pin.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Hands down: "Mary Did You Know" by Kathy Mattea.

20. Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum? Tonsil-stabbers.

21 Favorite Christmas Show? Hate em all.  Hate sappy.

22. Saddest Christmas Song? See #19.

Name Meme

I'm playing with incognito mom and musings mom today.

1. Do you have any cultural or religious naming traditions?

My husband's family does the mother's last name as the middle name or first name WASPy thing. My bifurcate monosyllabic family name wouldn't have made a good middle name and certainly not a first name. Johns Hopkins would have had nothing on us.

Koreans generally have two-syllable (first) names. One of the syllables is what is called the "doll-lim," the generational character that is shared by all the boy cousins on the father's side. So I'm the daughter but we kept that tradition anyway have another way to tie our Boo into our family. It falls in a certain order that has something to do with a Confucian poem. So my dad gave us Boo's name, which means "Bright Metal." The Metal is like tin, or solder, and I like that concept of someone who is humble and binds things together.

His first name is Biblical. I wanted one that represented an obedient man that stood up against the ridicule of his neighbors. HH wanted the warrior that fit the battle. I gave in.

But he goes by his middle (Korean) name. Heh.

2. Did you or your partner come to the marriage with pre-selected names?

I came into the marriage not even wanting a kid, let alone a name.

3. Did you consider the sound of the first and middle and last names together? Did this make any sad eliminations?

HH's Mennonite last name, sadly, sounds like an aluminum can being crushed. Combine that with a Korean name and it wasn't going to be pretty. We concentrated on the first and middle names sounding okay.

4. Did you have veto powers?

Of course. We both did.

5. Did the baby naming cause arguments?

In our own way. Which is to maintain our opinions and be conspicuously quiet about it. As I said, I gave in. Wives, submit and all that.

6. Do you think it is easier to name boys or girls?

It depends. I like unusual names but HH wasn't having that for a boy. Girls, we would have had more flexibility, but then too many options!!

7. Did you eliminate names because of people from your past or present who you don’t like or because a certain image comes to mind?

I love the name Sophia but it's associated with a goddess movement.

8. Did you / would you survey your children to get their thoughts on the name?

We have an only. Future perfect tense.

9. Did you tell people the name or possible names before the baby was born or were they “in the vault”?

Hmm, I don't remember! It was sort of a blurry time!

10. Did you use baby name books?

Yes, but seeing the different definitions for the same names I decided they were mostly bogus.

Drumroll please … What did you name your kid?

Those of you who are allowed to know, know. And if you know how to read this, you can know too!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Play along! Let me know so I can read your kid’s naming story.

6 Unimportant Things That Make Me Happy

I have many posts in my "draft" file. Something about the summer and it's unstructured days makes me lazy. Laaazy, I tellya. I have the luxury of writing when I'm inspired. (Can you hear me yawn?) Good thing I don't have to feed my family this way.

But a meme? A meme, I can do. I read this one at Musings of a Housewife. Six everyday, unimportant things that make my toes tingle. Oooh, how can I keep it to just six??

1. A great pen. I think a number of us went into architecture just for the sheer joy of laying down pen or pencil to paper. Or vellum. Or mylar. The joy of seeing a beautiful stroke of pen gliding from one side of the sheet to the other. Or turning a pencil just so to get chiseled strokes. A great pen doesn't have to be expensive, although there was a time when every poor intern owned a $200 Mont Blanc fountain pen. Those Pilot Razors are one of the best. I found this Koh-i-Noor on a sale bin at an art store. In sepia even!

2. Great paper. Or fabric. Just to look at. Just to touch. I loved going into the interior designer's room at my old firm just to see the latest. And that paper place at the mall? Looove to go in there.

3. Fab graphics. I love good graphic design. When you have an inkling of all that goes into graphic design, you understand the subtle undertones and how effective and powerful the message is made by the typeface, the paper, the placement of one letter.

4. A great pun. Of course I can't think of a single one. A great pun to me is often considered a "groaner" to others. But I like the ones that come on the spur of the moment, sitting around the table after dinner. These are inspired by love and laughter, and the ease and comfort that let the creative juices flow.

5. Finding a great toy for Boo. You know all about those toys that are laying about unused, unloved - the result of birthdays, indulgent relative, or their own dying wish. I search for toys that engender creativity and try to avoid ones that just "perform" via AA batteries. I got this Fisher-Price vintage town and all the pieces a couple of years ago at a yard sale, thinking I'd eBay it. As soon as I got home, Boo got ahold of it and literally played with it for three hours. (I timed it.) Straight. Three. Without looking up.

6. . . . and of course, Blackbelt Deals. Like the town above. And like this. And this. Oooh ooh - and this:

44: Talk About Random

I saw this on someone's faceBook and thought it was random enough that it was actually sort of funny. Whether I am or not is another story.

1. Do you like blue cheese?
Absolutely not. Never.

2. Have you ever smoked pot?
Absolutely. Loved it.

3. Do you own a gun?
Absolutely not. Never. Right up there with blue cheese.

4. What flavor of Kool Aid was your favorite?
Vodka. Oh wait. That was Jello. I don't know.

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments?
Nah.

6. What do you think of hot dogs?
I don't think about them. Do you??

7. Favorite Christmas movie?
Ewww. Hate mushy and hate slapstick and those are the 2 genres they seem to fall into.

8. What do you drink in the morning?
Coffee. And don't talk to me until I have.

9. Can you do push ups?
Yes, in a girly way.

10. Favorite piece of jewelry?
My engagement ring. It really defines our relationship. . . his generosity to me.

11. Favorite hobby?
I'd say reading. Thrift-shopping and yard sailing.

12. Do you have A.D.D.?
Q: How many kids with ADD does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: Hey, let's ride bikes!

I stole that from the faceBook page. Seriously, I think I do! That's why I literally could not read text books. My eyes would just skip and careen all over the place!

13. What is one trait you hate about yourself?
When I get bi...I mean "cranky."

14. Middle name?
Oh.
No, that's my middle name.

15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment.
1. Is this boring?
2. Why am I doing this? I sound so boring
3. I should stop.

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink.
Coffee. Vitamin Water. Cranberry Juice.

7. Current worry?
Being 49.

18. Current hate right now?
Insensitivity and racism against the poor.

19. Favorite place to be?
Anywhere with Hubs and Boo.

20. How did you bring in the New Year?
Like every year: asleep. We awaken to distant fireworks, roll over and mumble "hppy nw yr" and go back to sleep.

21. Where would you like to go on vacation?
Almost anywhere if it were free. :-)

22. Name three people who might complete this.
Such a dumb question. I refuse to answer it.

23. Do you own slippers?
Yes. It's a Korean thing.

24. What shirt are you wearing?
Eddie Bauer fleece.

25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets?
I've never done that and it doesn't sound appealing to me. I prefer crisp cotton.

26. Can you whistle?
No, can you?

27. Favorite color?
Any color is beautiful in the right context.

29. What songs do you sing in the AM?
Right now? "Fireman Sam" theme song.

30. Favorite girls' name?
Sophia.

31. Favorite boy's name?
Noah. Easy to say in Korean.

32. What's in your pocket right now?
Pocket? I'm female. I don't put things in my pocket.

33. Last thing that made you laugh?
Boo. Of course.

34. What vehicle do you drive?
Beat up 97 Honda Accord. I know that doesn't sound like me. But you don't know how cheap I am. And plus, it wasn't beat up until I had an altercation with our trash can.

35. Worst injury you have ever had?
Not being able to get out of bed after being in a car accident.

36. Do you love where you live?
I'd shout it from the mountain tops: YyyEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSsssss!!

37. How many TV's do you have in your house?
That work? Two.

38. Who is your loudest friend?
Francesca Calabretta.

39. Do you have any pets?
No pets. That's a condition of our marriage.
We have goldfish, but that doesn't count.

40. Does someone have a crush on you?
I wouldn't want to know.

41. What is your favorite book(s)?
Too many to list! History of Love is up there.

42. Do you collect anything?
Clothes. Fabric.

43. Favorite pro-sports team?
Ewww.

44. What song do you want played at your funeral?
My Hope is Built on Nothing Less. The words are on my grandparents' headstone in Korea.

It's My Bag

I promised HH that I'd go to bed early tonight, but I'm playin with Lora, cuz I'm blackbelt and I gotta. I love my bag cuz it's really sharp, just the right size and it's got that zippered part like Lora's and lots of other little pockets for me to put litte stuff that we women are always feeling like we have to have just in case. I love the top stitching that matches my gloves that are black and have topstitching and it also matches my super comfortable black pumps that are black and have topstitching that I can wear with jeans. I carry it everyday that I'm wearing black which is almost every day unless I'm going to church or something or feeling extra spunky. I've been carrying it with my very warm black cashmere coat that I got at Neiman's which I don't have to tell you the price of cuz that's not this meme!

My adorable, totally functional bag was $6 at a thrift store. Blackbelt scooooooores!

This meme is Beth's from Total Mom Haircut and here are her rules:

1) Post a picture of whatever bag you are carrying as of late. No, you cannot go up to your closet and pull out that cute little purse you used back before you had kids. I want to know what you carried today (or the last time you left the house - it’s freaking snowing here so you know I’m in my velour pants today and the green precious is sitting on the steps).
2) I want to know how much it cost :) and this is not to judge, because I’m honestly telling you I was ready to put down some cash; I just got lucky. This is for entertainment purposes only. So spill it. And if there is a story to go along with how you obtained it, I’d love to hear it.
3) Tag some chicks. And link back to this post so people know why the heck you’re showing everyone your diaper bag/non-diaper bag.

I tag Carla, of Four by 40 cuz she's so not a bagaholic. Unless it's for Aldi. But we'll have to wait until she gets home from doing her great work. And Grace at Serious Whimsey cuz she should have some Whimsey now.

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