Wednesday Random Dozen Meme

If it's Wednesday, it must be time for the Random Dozen Meme from "Lidna" at 2nd Cup of Coffee. Sorry it's so long - apparently I had a lot to say this week! P.S. - if you want to participate just go to Linda's site to link up.

1. On an average, how often do you splurge and buy something for yourself?

Maybe once a quarter? Unless you mean chocolate, which would be pretty much every day.

2. Are you more like Hall or Oates? Just kidding. Real question: What is the last creative project you began/finished? Feel free to post a pic of it.

I used to be very good about making cards for all of our family members' birthdays. Kept right on top of it. Lately I've been either in a funk or maimed (slight exaggeration). But before my surgery I made a batch of cards - nothing special. Here is one I made for a male relative.

3. OK, Goldie Locks, do you consider your house too big, too little or juuuust right?

A little bit too small. Dr. M’s office could be bigger (it’s about the size of some people’s walk-in closets). And I’d like a separate room for the washer & dryer – they’re in the kitchen, which will be nice & toasty in cold weather, but was a bit moist this summer. And loud.

4. What is your favorite outdoor chore?

Working? Outdoors? Wow – that’s an interesting concept. Just kidding! I actually like to mow, but got to do it exactly once this summer because of my surgery. But next year, I’ll be fighting Dr. M for that mower! There is something so satisfying about watching the grass being neatened, row by row, until at last you’re done.

5. If you knew that cigarette smoking was not bad for your health but would be a weight loss tool, would you use it? Why or why not?

I’m not gonna be politically correct here – I think smoking is a disgusting habit. I don’t like the smell, and I don’t like how people get addicted to it (of course, I’m not really even addicted to caffeine, so I’m probably just being smug). So, the answer is a resounding NO. But I’m willing to accept all other suggestions for losing weight (except for that boring one of expending more calories than you consume LOL).

6. On a road trip, would you rather drive or ride?

Ride! That way it’s less dangerous when I nod off about 30 minutes into the trip. Yes, I’m just like an infant that way.

7. What do you consider a trivial pursuit?

I have so many trivial pursuits of my own that I’m loathe to condemn anyone else’s. I don’t really understand the attraction of reality TV, but I’m sure other people don’t understand my compulsive need to read Bill in Portland Maine’s Cheers & Jeers column on The Daily Kos every day.

8. This weekend, we downloaded the movie "Duplicity" with Julia Roberts and Clive Owen. Within 5 minutes, I was bored and annoyed, but I kept watching 5-10 minutes at a time hoping it would get better between small chores. I finally gave up and Jorge watched it alone, and then regretted wasting that time because he disliked it intensely, too. So ... how long do you watch a movie or read a book before giving up on it?

Ooh – this is tough. I have a REALLY hard time not reading to the end of a book even if I hate it. Dr. M gets frustrated & amused when I start yelling at the book. I think that one time in the last 20 years I skipped to the end because I was so annoyed – but even then I had to read the rest of the stuff in between to find out how the end made sense. These days a lot of my “reading” is audio books – you should see me yelling at the radio in my car LOL.

Movies are a little different – although I tend to want to see what happens even if it’s really bad. I’m not as invested in a movie, so I can let it go sometimes – but it has to be early on – in the first 10 minutes or so, or else I’m stuck.

9. Is there a song that you really love but are embarrassed to admit because it's not cool or it's racy or because it's by Hall and Oates?

This is going to mark me as a nerd (a quiz on facebook has already confirmed that fact anyway), but as a Southern Baptist I loved to sing hymns – it was my favorite part of church. When I joined the Episcopal Church I was less than impressed with their hymnal (thank goodness our church also used Lift Every Voice and Sing and we had a fabulous music director). But there is this one hymn we sang that just caused me to have such a depth of feeling. I can’t explain it – the tune is very dirge-like. It's called "I Bind Unto Myself Today" (also called Saint Patrick's Breastplate). I wanted to find a video of a choir singing it, but all I found was a group of vacation bible school children - & they don't sing my favorite part. You can watch them here, but here are the words (turn off the horrible electronic music while reading - it gets kind of monotonous without any singing!) These are the words I like best:

Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me. Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

10. On a scale of 1-10 (10 = extremely) how spontaneous are you?

I’d say a 6. I like to think of myself as spontaneous - & I can be when making shopping decisions (I think that’s just because I don’t like to shop & want it to be over as quickly as possible). But, really, I do think twice when someone says, “let’s run off to Cancun on Tuesday.” Well, I would think twice if anyone ever asked me that.

11. Are you a food and/or beverage snob?

Nope – I will eat the pizza from the convenience store just as happily as the one from Dewey’s. I do have my favorite soft drink – but since it’s the Kroger store brand I wouldn’t call that being a snob. Here’s a quiz for my readers – what do you call a soft drink like Coke? Growing up, it was just that – as opposed to a hard drink. Here in Ohio they call it “pop” which amuses me no end – that’s what my cousin calls her father. But now I use it like a native.

12. Who/What are you trying to control in your life?

Boy, this one is TOUGH. Apparently I’m not doing a good job of it because I can’t even think of anything. I’m sure Dr. M could offer some suggestions. Heh. I sure gave up trying to control him a LONG time ago.