WEDNESDAYS

Treasure Boxes...

  LJ and I were talking/gossiping/settling it all/surveying the details sometime last week.  This isn't new information.  However we touched briefly on this idea that inside of us all, perhaps, is this little box of treasures.  And it isn't just that we have it, but we haven't opened it...maybe since we were very young, maybe never.  Inside this place we hold our most treasured dreams or ideas about ourselves or others.  Could be anything in there really.

  Since we first discussed this, the subject has come up in conversation again and again.  Maybe that is why I have taken on the task of going through ALL the boxes and closets in this house.  The proverbial searching for the little something I had inside of me all along.

  There is much more to the idea than this but for now I am going to chill with the idea that there is more to myself that I need to uncover or discover.   I invite all 12 of my readers to do the same and later we can compare notes.

Obama Is Our President

  I have to admit that I wasn't feeling all the excitement of the inauguration like many, well most, of my friends and family were over the last couple of weeks.  Not because I didn't vote for Obama because I did.  And not because in the course of my day to day life I am personally not that drawn to or into politics.  I think I have just been so wrapped up in my little house rearranging (life rearranging) that I hadn't caught the bug.  I am kind of glad I saved myself for today.

  When we turned on the tele this am the inauguration was on every channel.  I was so moved just watching this historic occasion that I actually cried a little.  So many people travelled to watch the ceremony on one of the video screens in the freezing weather.  The coverage was more than complete and the things the news channels were showing were beautiful.  The music played was incredible.  The poetry, the speeches, the commentary were all good.  It was great to watch some of this with my children who are old enough to understand how important this is to our country and their future.  I even watched one channel downstairs and dvr'd another channel upstairs.  I want to sit with them tonight and review the actual swearing in ceremony.  Forget American Idol.

  I am proud to be part of a generation that has taken over the responsibilities in caring for this country.  I feel like I grew up a little bit today.  We are going to do something with all this new energy.  I can feel it.  No more schlepping it old school in the White House.  The rainbow has arrived.

surveys and more surveys

Maria has tagged a bunch of us to take her latest and greatest survey.  This one is a bit different and so I have taken longer to find the answers to her questions:

What is my biggest language pet peeve?  The award goes to the misuse of their, they're and there.  Don't get me started.

What am I wearing right now?  Black pants, a t shirt from Comic Con that says Klaatu barada nikto and a grey sweatshirt.

What is in my shower right now?  Many types of shampoo and more types of conditioners, five kinds of liquid soap, razor, three body scrub pouffy things and a cat.

If I could go back and change one thing, what would it be?  I would have gone to study in France for a year instead of staying home and doing the boyfriend thing.

Who was my fourth grade teacher?  A nun who was tortured by our class...I can't remember her real name because we called her Rabbit rabbit brave and tall, doo dah, doo dah so many times. 

What is the last thing I drank?  Green tea.

What did I want to be when I grew up?  writer.

How many colleges did I attend?  Just the one  Fresno State.

What is something strange about me?  I read Tarot cards.

What is something that the opposite sex wears that I find sexy?  I like white oxford cloth shirts with jeans.

What is the last book I read?  Click which was written by ten different authors. 

What errand/chore do you despise?  I HATE HATE HATE paying the bills.

Get up early or sleep in?  I don't sleep in but I am not really fully functional until the afternoon.

What was my favorite cartoon character growing up?  Tasmanian devil! He said it ALL.

What are three perfumes I wear?  Cartier, Jake from Hollister and Ryan ?  from Hollister.  I LOVE the way that store smells.

What is my favorite lunch meat?  Does tuna count as a lunch meat?

Describe Hell in seven words?  funerals, bills, starving children, insanity, unnecessary suffering.

Beach or Lake?  Beach.  Lakes freak me out.

Do I think marriage is an outdated ritual?  No

What is my drink of choice at a bar?  Stone IPA

Name one famous person you would like to have dinner with?  Bono of course.

Names of 3 pets I had while growing up?  Burglar-Siamese cat, Heineken-black cat, Casino-Yellow Naped Amazon parrot.

What is my Starbucks order?  Caramel frappacino.

What is something you could eat every week and never get tired of?  Japanese food.

Do I speak any other language?  Yes.  I studied French for 12 years.  I know enough Greek to get me in trouble, some Spanish that might get me killed, a bit of Itallian, cat and kid.

What are four words that describe a person I like/love:  Hyper intelligent, beautiful, funny, all good.

What am I listening to right now?  Cold Play.  "Tears stream down your face, when you lose something you can't replace..."

When I travel on a plane ny essentials are:  Dramamine,  neck pillow, book, snacks.

When I get nervous I giggle.

Chocolate is: something I like as a candy but not really as a flavor for ice cream or cake

I will always remember the day I found out I was pregnant with Avery.  I had gone to the doctor because they thought I had cervical cancer.  It turned out I was pregnant instead.

The proudest moment of my life thus far:  not sure, proud isn't an emotion I deal in very often.

What is one thing I worry about alot:  money.

What is something this year that I am looking forward to?  Couldn't say as I am living by the day right now.  Scratch that...U2 is releasing a new cd in March.

Is there anyone who truly loves me unconditionally:  I can think of a bunch.

What is a goal I have in the next couple of months?  Finish cleaning out my house.  Sell off some stuff.

What is my favorite cookie?  Mint Milanos, the devil's work in a light fluffy bar.

What are 3 things that are a total turn off for me:  the smell of alcohol on someone's breath, fighting or arguing, boasting.

Finish the sentence:  Don't confuse: your mind and your heart.

What game am I really good at?  hmmm, I got really lucky once at Backgammon.  I rolled double sixes, the double fives, then double fours, then double threes, then double twos and then double ones.  Impossible odds of ever doing it in the first place.  Overall games make me nervous.

Our Red Room

  When we first moved into this house, Dan and I took one of the rooms and made it into a home office.  I had my scrap/art stuff in there and he had the main computer with a huge desk.  After a few years we decided to paint the room a deep red and we haven't regretted it.  I still love the color today as much as I did when we chose it.  In our first home, Dan's condo originally, we had painted our office a royal blue.  While I liked the color it didn't wear so well on me over time. 

  Meanwhile, in other parts of the house, the girls have been sharing a room.  This worked because the room is huge at about 15 x 20 with a huge walk in closet and because they were babies when we moved here.  That room is painted yellow and has green curtains.  Alyssa likes all pink all the time and Abby went through a long lasting blue/green phase.  The decorating in there was difficult at best trying to get those two styles and color schemes together.  Over the past year or so Abby has been changing, growing up a little and wanting more of her own space and becoming increasingly hard on her little sis.  She also began moving toward the reds and blacks color wise.  She was even given the antique bed with all the red and cream bedding to match.  She also picked up other items along the way that went along with this.  

  I thought it wouldn't be that big of a deal for us to switch it all up so that Abby could have a room.  My idea was to switch the scrap/art portion of the office with her bed and voila, instant space.  The job was a hugge undertaking because a lot of things had to be moved around to accomodate.  I moved all the sheets and games out of the hall closet.  I moved most of my scrap stuff in there.  Then we moved Alyssa's bed to where Abby's bed was.  Then the big white desk went into the spce where Alyssa's bed had been.  Amazingly it is all a better fit for the two rooms.  Abby's bed is much smalled than the desk had been and fits the room better.  Plus it all matches.  The white desk looks like a normal size in Alyssa's room plus all the furniture is white in there.  I am very happy about this movement. 

  I haven't done much in the last year in terms of myself and my home.  Too busy taking care of my dad and his stuff.  I was just out there all the time.  Now I feel like I am finally coming home a bit and taking care of some things that I never really got right the first time around. 

  Another thing I have done is get some darker window coverings for many of the rooms in our house.  On Lisas's blog I mentioned that my word for this year is 'enough'.  And those of you who know me well know I love symbolism and I am always trying to see the signs.  So the covering of the windows is a big thing for me.  I feel like I am not letting in all the energy/opinions/whatever that I was and this is huge.  Maybe a kind of self protection that I didn't have so much of in the past.

  Here are some photos:  And I did order pink satin curtains for Miss Alyssa.  She needs the pink and I am not opposed.  And for Abby I think everyone knows I would do anything including giving her my red room.

     

Because It Is All About Me

So here goes something with the tagged by Trevor survey de trois:

3 names I go by: Jenn with two n's, mom and the crystal lady.

3 screen names I have:  J-LO, JRock, jennzenn.

3 physical things I like about myself:  my hair, my eyes, my feet.

3 physical things I dislike about myself: my stomach, the back of my arms, some of the wrinkles on my face.

3 parts of my heritage:  Polish, Austrian, English

3 everyday essentials:  computer, car, blistex.

3 favorite musicians:  Bono, Billy Joe Armstrong, my Avery.

3 favorite songs:  Jesus of Suburbia (Green Day), Running to Stand Still (U2), One Day (Bjork).

3 things that scare me:  spitting, surgery, skydiving.

3 things I want in a relationship: equality, humor, stability.

3 lies I tell: just one more game of pathwords, I don't care when I really do too much, I tell people I am fine when they ask.

3 things about the opposite sex that appeal to me:  eyes, body heat, strong arms.

3 hobbies I have: paper crafting, rock collecting, singing along with my favorite songs.

3 places I want to go on vacation:  Italy, France, Greece.

3 kids names I like:  Avery, Abigail and Alyssa.

3 things I want to do before I die:  publish my children's stories, travel, help my children become...

3 things I am most grateful for:  my children, my husband, my consciousness.

This one is for Lisa

Noone I know deserves a shout out as much as Lisa does right now.  She is an awesome person in pretty much every way:  friend, mom, sister, photographer.  You name it and she gets it and gives 100 percent of her attention and love to it all.  She has a fire that I don't really have and yes I am a little jealous of that fact.  Last weekend she had an unexpected test thrown her way and I am proud to say she passed it with ease.  When I heard the following song from the 'ella' girl I laughed and knew I had to send it out there just for Lisa.

  Enjoy.

Take A Bow