she's just saying...

Top 10 Tuesday: blogging edition

Given that tomorrow is my one-year blogoversary, I thought I'd share my thoughts on Why I Blog.

1. I started in order to learn about the mechanics of blogs to add to my marketing skills. Then it turned out to be fun.
2. There's an never-ending demand for information about badgers, kittens and chicken garments out there.
3. It's a on-going way to stay in touch with friends and family I never see IRL ("in real life" - interesting there's an acronym for this.) I love receiving your comments and observations back.
4. I'm narcissistic. I never actually thought I was, but isn't keeping a blog the definitive empirical evidence?
5. It's a creative exercise of words and photos that continues to challenge and reward. And because I have an audience waiting, it motivates me to exercise that creativity frequently.
6. Blogging has given me a new lens through which to explore my life, and
7. I clearly have a fascinating life that it's my duty to share with the world.
8. I have a lot of time on my hands. It's either blog or do laundry.
9. I love the friends I've made through it. There's a warm and supportive community of other bloggers out there. It's surprising given the level of invective on the web, but true. Check out their blogs listed over there to the right.
10. I couldn't come up with an answer when Kristin asked why I didn't.

Top Ten: Breakfast edition (by Henry)

1. My mom's leftover pad thai, without shrimp. She makes the best.

2. Pesto.

3. Pancakes or french toast with butter and syrup.

4. Frozen egg rolls in the microwave.

5. Eggs sunny-side up with bacon.

6. Cereal. My favorite is Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

7. Oatmeal. With cinnamon sugar.

8. Egg McMuffins. Only the ones on the biscuits.

9. Biscuits and gravy!

10.And my mom's steamed vanilla milk with all of it.

Biscuits and gravy, Seattle 2008

Top 10 Tues: Even better than the real thing

OK, enough emotional, personal, soul-searching posts. Let's talk tuneage.

I have mixed feelings about cover versions (songs that are re-recorded by other-than-the-original artist, to explain the term to my sister). Often there seems to be no point to them other than an attempt to link the new artist to the popularity of the original. Then there's the cover that becomes the definitive version to me, the one I hear in my head when I think of the song.

Here's my top 10, in no particular order. Please share yours!

(Disclaimer: I'm not going back to the Beatles, Elvis Presley, etc. covering even older songs. This isn't a music history blog, it's a personal favorites list. Plus, Christmas songs don't count.)

Top Ten Covers that I like better than the original:

1.  Patti Smith belting out Van Morrison's "Gloria," live in Paris in '77 and on "Horses"

2. Johnny Cash's wrenching acoustic version of Nine Inch Nails "Hurt" (not his version of "My Own Personal Jesus" - not better, but weirder)

3. Cowboy Junkies: "Sweet Jane" - I'm guessing Lou Reed would agree

4. Talking Heads "Take Me to the River" vs. the wonderful Al Green's

5. Speaking of Al, "Funny How Time Slips Away" with Al Green and Lyle Lovett

6. Jerry Garcia singing "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" on his birthday, right before his '92 collapse

7. "Run on for a Long Time": The Blind Boys of Alabama - a crazy pounding gospel threat

8. UB40's reggaed-up "Can't Help Falling in Love With You" versus you-know-who

9. "All Along the Watchtower" (written by) Bob Dylan by way of Jimi Hendrix' psychedelic interpretation

10. "Mucho Mas," Frankie J's Spanish version of Extreme's ballad "More Than Words." Sweet.

 

As the French say, "comment?"

Hey! I think this qualifies as a  on Friday post!

Just when I think nobody but fowl-wear fetishists read this blog, I get some great comments on my posts. The posts I think will get lots of comments often don't, but other random ones stir my readers up.

Hear's a shout-out (do people still say that?) to my most common commenters:

Kathi D. She always entertains, she gets me, she's a great commenter and blogger, and her blog is my must-read every day.

YrBigBro, aka Steveh, aka Henry's uncle, aka any number of aliases. He was an early reader and a frequent and generous commenter.

Susan, my big sis. Occasionally ascerbic, but always honest and thoughtful.

Chris the Monkey, who does witty and elaborate photo illustrations on his own blog; even if he is a Yankees fan.

Elise and Jen, Bend women compadres who I never see but am in touch with via facebook, twitter, blogs and the like.

PJ, Sarah, Julie and Cindy, wonderful knitters and wonderful friends.

Together, the above folk account for probably 90% of my comments, and I hope I show up on their blogs as much.

Everybody else, please say hi now and then! Clearly bloggers are narcissists and attention-seekers; otherwise we wouldn't be broadcasting our blatherings to the interwebs. So we love knowing you're out there.

my sister knows my weaknesses

PS: I forgot KG! but that would make 11, so I wouldn't get my Top Ten tag. Hey, Kevin, thanks for reading/commenting! One of my first!  And your dad says hi.

Top Ten: Year in Review edition

You know the purported Chinese curse: "May you live in interesting times." This has been an interesting year, both globally and personally. Because this blog is ALL ABOUT ME, here is a top ten list of interesting things that happened in my life this year. (in chronological order - I'm not about to rank them!)

1. I started the Bend Knit-Up, which grew from six people to over a hundred in a year.

2. My dad turned 90, and we all celebrated together in NC and everyone got along.

3. AT&T bought Edge Wireless, and we no longer had any work, though we still had jobs.

4. Neighbor X and I broke up, got together, and finally broke up.

5. I taught myself the whole blogging thing, that which you are reading at this instant.

6. Henry and I went back east for a family trip and went to Fenway. Go Sox!

7. We were finally released from AT&T, though were still paid, allowing me a summer off.

8. I spent the summer off shoveling dirt and hauling rocks for my waterfall.

9. I got a new job at the High Desert Museum - yay! and patted a badger.

10. My dad broke his hip and I flew back east for the third time.

What were your interesting times?

Top Ten Tuesday: airport edition

Top ten airports I frequent, and my notes:

1. RDM: this is the local Bend airport. Very small, but growing. Easy parking, militant TSA ladies, basically no services, but who needs them?
2. PDX: I've always liked the Portland airport - it had great retail back when most airports didn't yet. Long-term economy parking is well-managed. Good beer/wine/pizza bar and Powell's Books. The commuter air gates are a little funky and overcrowded, but there's good coffee everywhere.
3. SEA: Great art throughout. Fish inlays in the floor. Great wine bar. Great sushi. Great coffee. Quick massage and pedicure spot. Like it all.
4. AVL: the local Asheville NC airport. A lot like Bend's but southern. Free internet. No food options, but lots of rocking chairs.
5. ATL: I kind of hate the Atlanta airport. Old, crowded, long long terminals. Crowded train system between terminals. Bad fried food everywhere. Sullen service. Poor retail. Charge for internet. Yuck.
6. and 7.  LGA: Old, crowded, nasty. Buses between terminals. Avoid. EWR: Same for Newark.
8. CIN: It took me a long time to figure out why the Cincinnati airport is in Kentucky. Plus I can't ever tell what time zone it is. Decent, but chain, food and retail. Not bad overall, except the very inconvenient bus to the commuter terminal. Pain in the butt.
9. SLC: I like this airport: clean, easy to maneuver, new, nice retail. Mormons are very pleasant, really. The whole place smells like Cinnabon.
10. LAS: I don't actually use the Las Vegas airport much, but had to add it to the list as it stands out. The moving walkway tunnels between terminals have really cool disco light action. However, I don't know about you, but it makes me nervous to see airline pilots gambling at slot machines before the flight.

Top 10: Annoying song edition

Oo that's big!

Don't you just hate it when you catch yourself singing the same brief phrase of the same song over and over in your head all day? You don't do that? It's just me? Oh. Well, anyway, here's my list of:

Songs I Can't Get Out Of My Head:

1. "Zoboomafoo" theme song, drummed into me steadily for at least 3 formative years. Picture below, for you non-parental types.

2. "Oo Baby Baby," Smokey Robinson's masterpiece.

3. "Groove Is In The Heart." How can you not repeat: "The chills that you spill up my back give me a thrill..."? I can't. Not repeat it.

4. "Clifford" theme song. See #1.

5. "Don't Fence Me In" Roy Rogers version.

6. "Let It Snow" my own personal version.

7. Wilco's "Either Way."  I love how the drums come in halfway through the first phrase. I sing that part too.

8. "Love Hurts" Gram and Emmy Lou.

9. "China Doll" Two perfect sentences: "...just a little nervous from the fall."

10. "Crimson and Clover." Over and over.

 

Super cute. The puppet and piglet too!

So, anyone else? Time to share those songs with the world!

Top 10: Strange comments edition

It's back! Not that anyone noticed it was gone.

Top Ten odd phrases I've uttered in the pursuit of my profession.

1. The goat is ready for his close-up.
2. Cue the seagulls!
3. Can someone fluff the curds again?
4. Just don't let Tom Skerritt fall through the floor this time.
5. Trim his hair another inch and we're good.
6. You can't use the fake scoop for the hero shot.
7. Can you lick the Twinkie a little less suggestively?
8. Let's wipe off the cow snot and do it again.
9. Can we dub in the fart later?
10. I think we've got to cut the Chihuahua.

Shout out to RayO!

Top Ten: Happy Homemaker edition

Here's a quickie:

Top ten main dishes I make for dinner:

1. Pasta with pesto sauce. This is (strangely) Henry's favorite food. He'll eat it for breakfast lunch and dinner, and even after dinner. I have to buy the bulk jars of pesto from Costco in order to afford this. I add fresh tomatoes to get a little more nutrition in it.
2. Spaghetti with tomato sauce, homemade with turkey sausage added.
3. Pad Thai. This is easier than it seems, using jarred pad thai sauce. It uses a lot of pans though.
4. Fish tacos. Easy.
5. Caesar salad with grilled salmon. Another surprise is that Henry loves salmon. Praises be! I make a killer Caesar dressing that I've perfected over the last 25 years. Secret ingredients and all.
6. Lemon chicken stir-fried with veggies.
7. Zucchini risotto. My sister Susan's award-winning recipe, minus the heavy cream and 1/2 the butter.
8. Roast chicken on the grill. No clean-up.
9. Grilled teryaki tuna. Super easy, with Japanese sides.
10. When we're out of time, Spaghettios or chicken pot pie. For him, not me. I go to cheese, crackers and a glass of wine.

(PS: I don't eat beef or pork, which is why meatloaf isn't on the list. Henry can if he wants, but I don't cook it.)

Top Ten Tuesday: Thursday hottie edition

This post will expose me as a shallow girly-girl chick worthy of the title "Pink Hat" as they say in Boston, but so be it.

Top ten MLB hotties:

1. Jacoby Ellsbury. Yes, he's a baby. I'm not saying I want a deep meaningful relationship with him, just that he's super-cute. Now if I were 24 (or even 34) ...
2. Johnny Damon, traitor to the Red Sox nation that he is
3. Alex Rios
4. through 10. The Phillies line-up: Chase Utley, Pat Burrell, Cole Hamels, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, Greg Dobbs, heck, even Jamie Moyer.

The World Series could be fun to watch, even without (shut my mouth!) the Bosox.

Top 10: manly qualities edition

I recently read an article about how you can manifest your ideal man by identifying and writing down the 100 desired traits you're looking for. (This was not in a trashy magazine. Really.) 

Sounds like casting a spell with eye of newt and hair of dog, but less messy. So, here are:

Top 10 qualities I look for in a partner.

(If I list only 10, does that mean I'll get only 1/10th of a man?)

1. Intelligence. This is the deal-breaker. I've met a lot of nice friendly guys, but they just don't have it upstairs. I'm not talking about academic intelligence, but the ability to understand, challenge, and stimulate.
2. Sense of humor, of course. I remember saying: "Everything he says makes me laugh, even when it's stupid." My friend Hans replied that's what every guy hopes to hear. Maybe I'm just simple-minded.
3. Compassion. Kindness, caring, warmth, tolerance; however you put it, it's another deal-breaker, really. I could never date a man who's rude to a waiter, as a minor but telling example.
4. Chemistry. Since my mom occasionally reads my blog, I'll leave it at that. Crucial, but is occasionally misleading. I'm just saying.
5. The ability to dredge up a positive attitude, even in the face of discouraging situations.
6. Energy. Vim, vigor, drive, what have you. Not a slug.
7.  Self confidence. Not the in-your-face kind, but the ability to trust and like oneself.
8. Able to give and receive support -- it's the basis of a partnership.
9.Open to commitment. To me. (Well, that rules out the last eight guys I've been involved with. Hmmm, could that possibly be a pattern of some kind?)
10. Passion. Of all kinds, for all kinds of things.

Reading this over, I realize this quite accurately describes Neighbor X. With the notable exception of #9, of course. Am I asking too much?

Top Ten: High Desert edition

Ten things I've learned in the last three weeks:

1. Regurgitated owl "pellets" must be frozen for a month before use
2. Centipedes are venomous, millipedes aren't (or is it the other way around?)
3. Foxes have stinky scent glands and smell like skunks
4. There's a bear named Henry at a gas station in Mitchell, Oregon
5. Badgers buck and rear when they're mad
6. Hissing cockroaches really hiss, loudly
7. "Hoofstock" is the preferred term when referring to horses, elk & antelopes
8. Porcupines "scent-mark" everything with quite pungent urine
9. Badger fur is really very soft
10. Bobcats like to poop in water

Top Ten Tuesday: Fantasy Jobs edition

(you thought I'd forgotten, didn't you?)

I really love my new job, as much as I can love an 8:30-5:00 job in an office. I'm surrounded by beautiful wilderness with an animal refuge complete with owls, eagles, bobcat, lynx, porcupine, fox, an otter and horses. (They're all "special," which is another story.) I work with smart, funny people who are dedicated to what they're accomplishing. And, there's a cafe on the premises!

But sometimes I think about the paths not taken. Or not open to me due to lack of talent or independent income. Forthwith, my:

Top Ten Fantasy Jobs:

1. Backup singer for Stevie Wonder
2. Doggy daycare worker
3. Food & wine writer for a travel magazine, or travel writer for a food & wine magazine
4. Pastry chef
5. Mural painter
6. Voice-over talent
7. Yarn shop owner
8. Divemaster on a live-aboard boat off the Great Barrier Reef (wait - I did this already! But I'd do it again)
9. Goat farmer: you got your goat cheese, goat's milk and cashmere wool. No goat meat though.
10. Professional flamenco dancer

How about you -- what's your dream job?

Top Ten Tuesday: Japanese Dollar Store edition

OMG. How could I have forgotten Top 10 Tues? I attribute it to the fact that since I was in Seattle yesterday and started work today, it's really Monday. Until I realized that it's garbage night, which makes it Tuesday, which means I broke my blogging pact of having fun fascinating top 10 lists for you weekly. Which ain't easy. I'm just saying.

OK: Top 10 cool things from the Japanese 100 Yen store:
1. Handheld sesame seed grinder. (Why do you need sesame seeds to be smaller?)
2. "Let's Baking!" We're not positive what these were, but they might be disposable baking pan liners. Susan just liked the name.
3. Mini Briefcase: tiny little plastic divided boxes -- very cute.
4. Sponges with their own terrycloth towel wraps. Apparently the Japanese have an obsession with sponges.
5. Chihuahua Kleenex.
6. This:

7. Egg slicer.
8. Insect Folding Paper.
9. Rubbing Propeller toy.
10. Vinyl-covered Wire String. (twist-ems by the meter)

Top Ten Tuesday: Back to School edition

For my four readers who don't live in Central Oregon, a weather update: we woke up to frost on the ground yesterday. I realize that Labor Day is the symbolic end of summer, but did we need such an obvious reminder?

I'm really not ready for fall and I resent it being thrust on us so quickly. But in an effort to get back to UPBEAT!, here are the top 10 reasons I welcome the end of summer:

1. Baseball playoffs (especially when the Bosox are involved)
2. Knitting in public doesn't seem as weird
3. No mosquitoes
4. Less temptation for the recovering tanaholic
5. Best tomatoes at the farmer's market
6. Foster kitten season is over til spring
7. Hot flashes are more tolerable (not that I'm having any)
8. Don't need to mow as often
9. I can wear the fingerless mitts I'm knitting
10. OK, scraping the barrel here: um, can't smell the compost bin from the hot tub?

Compost pile with Wonder Worman worms

What are yours? Give me something here, people!

c'mon get happy

I'm all about UPBEAT! on this blog, and last night's post didn't measure up.  So here is a list of

Things making me happy this morning:

1. Not working
2. The perfect weather for not working
3. Getting kitty hickies from my latest kitten
4. The consulting work I'm doing (& getting paid for)
5. Henry's summer of camp, bikes & squirt guns
6. Blueberries are on sale at Costco
7. My knitting group drinks wine meets here tomorrow
8. My friend Mary & her crazy puppy who stay here weekends
9. The tadpoles growing in my pond-ette
10. Dressing like I was 12 all day (shorts/tank top/flipflops)

Top 10 Work edition

Today is my department's official last day at our company, though we haven't actually been there for awhile. The swallowing and digesting of Edge by the Big Blue Globe is complete, and we've been spit out. Today we turn in keys and go to lunch, this time with margaritas. So, to mark the day:

Top ten things I'll miss about Edge:

1. My team, my peeps, my kids - I miss their energy and their stories.
2. Working with smart, motivated people who all like each other.
3. The candy in accounting.
4. Casual Friday every day.
5. Playing with the latest "devices" (cellphones)
6. Brainstorming on silly radio spots.
7. Hanging in PJ's office talking about knitting.
8. The warmth and openness of our CEO.
9. The company plane, stocked with donuts and beer.
10. Getting a paycheck every other week - sweet!

Top 10 Summer edition

Around here, we measure the summer in daycamp weeks. First Multisport, then Gymnastics, Bike Week at the club, British Soccer Camp, Flag Football, etc. We're on Island Week now, so that puts us halfway through the summer. Hence the list:

Things I planned to do this summer but haven't*
      *plus the likelihood of them happening

1. Clean out the garage                                  Unlikely.
2. Go camping at the lakes                             Fairly unlikely.
3. Lose the last 5 pounds                                Fat chance.
4. Go to a Mariners game with my boyfriend    Problematic as we've broken up.
5. Take Henry to Universal City                      Could still happen.
6. Work out regularly                                     As of tomorrow. Really.
7. Build the water feature                               Still digging.
8. Practice math problems with Henry            We're starting tonight.
9. Get a job                                                  Still have 6 weeks-don't rush me!
10. Hang out at the pool                                Headed there right now.

Top 10 procrastination activities

1. Look up projects on Ravelry - the MySpace for knitters
2. Take more pictures of the cats
3. Sudoku!
4. Sharpen all the pencils in the house for Sudoku
5. The Jumble (but only if you're really desperate)
6. Pluck your eyebrows (don't get carried away with this one)
7. Google ex-boyfriends
8. Just one more row on the Clapotis
9. Deadhead the pansies
10. Think up top 10 lists

So what's on your list?  Commenting on blogs is a good one, for sure.

"Things I've done that you probably haven't" meme

Ten things I've done that you probably haven't (censored for public consumption):

1. Peeked into Faye Dunaway's underwear drawer.

2. Dove to 260 feet to get "narced" (nitrogen narcosis). Really dumb, but cool.

3. Pulled a just-born kitten out of a placenta (the mom was busy having another at the time).

4. Taught Mandy Patankin to scuba dive.

5. Toured a vineyard with Ernest Gallo.

6. Laid on the sidewalk in lower Manhattan at 3 am on my 30th birthday.

7. Boarded a train in southern Italy and ended up in Fairbanks, Alaska by the end of the day.

8. Sailed a boat single-handed through the LA shipping channel with no wind and no engine.

9. Scored a perfect 800 on the verbal GRE's for graduate school.

10. Gotten laid off via car phone.

So what's your list??