Janus on the Backpage

I have completely lifted these questions from Sarah at The Anvil Tree. Although my answers are my own, they are nowhere near as insightful as hers. Considering the Mom-a-palooza life I lead, I'll be lucky if any of my answers are at least interesting.

1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before? NaMoBloPo! Wow, that was a hike, but I'm glad I did it, and I plan to do it again next year. A few decades of improving my homework skills and I might be ready to go back to college.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Um, did I make any resolutions? The closest thing was that 2011 would be my year to get some mental health issues for ME taken care of. In previous years, we'd concentrated the time & the budget on the other family members' heath/development issues; so now that DLG's immunizations were up-to-date, Scott's BP & HDL were under control & all of MLB's issues were at a "good place," it was my turn. Might I say, my life finally feels like it has its feet back under it with my anti-depressant. As for 2012 resolutions, I will not call them that. As I told Scott last night, I look forward to blogging more, doing more small creative projects, turning my compost pile more often and doing more yard work. And order something on-line once a month-- I need to be comfortable with this, and not approach it like defusing an atomic bomb.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Nope, but a bunch of folks conceived! 2012 will be the year of the babies-- and not from me. I've been busy giving away my "baby" things to my cousins.

4. Did anyone close to you die? No, but I have helped some friends mourn and hope.

5. What countries did you visit? None, but my parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary by taking a trip to Ireland and they brought us back some fun mementos. Likewise, MLB's Godmother and family are currently working in Trinidad/Tobago and they also went to China over the summer. I travel vicariously until we can afford passports and airfare.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011? A full-body, 60 minute massage.

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? April 27, and the days and weeks that followed. Aside from being without power at my parents' house for just a little over a day, we were blessed to escape the tornadoes. But our hearts have been with all the others.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? My continuing success in cramming a bunch of stuff in a little house.

9. What was your biggest failure? That we have a bunch of stuff to cram in a little house.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? No, aside from the usual things I shared from my germ-catchers.

11. What was the best thing you bought? We bought a print of the War Eagle that I met while I was at Auburn. It's a beautiful pencil drawing of Tiger, and when I got the chance to pet her one evening, I just fell in love with raptors. (Second best was the set of organizing shelves that we're using in our room to help organize our son's stuff. Don't ask.)

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? My kids' behavior is fascinating. MLB is only getting better and better at socializing and finding his particular nitch in the world; DLG increases her vocabulary daily, and always has something amusing to say or sing.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? My parents' behavior is appalling. In my unprofessional opinion, they are "self-medicating" their depressions with alcohol. They drink entirely too much, and then yell entirely too much at each other while being entirely irrational. My dad regularly stays up only to pass out in his recliner; one night he lost his balance on his way to the liquor cabinet, tripped, fell, smashed his glass, and sliced his hand open. He was too drunk and dazed to get up; the breaking glass triggered the house alarm, which woke my mom who found him and forced him to the ER for stitches. My mom discovered Bushmill's in Ireland, and has added a bit of that to her nightly droughts. I'm not kidding. My dad can empty a 1.75 L bottle (or 2 bottles) of Rebel Yell in a week, while my mom keeps up by consuming one or two "box o' wine." You can also add "disgusted" to the question's adjectives; I've stopped  having an occasional glass of wine or beer because of them. Say a prayer for them, y'all, that they quit before it kills them.

14. Where did most of your money go? The usual... mortgage, utilities, bills, food.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Auburn won the National Championship back in January. Heisman winner Cam Newton was pretty AUsome! (This fall? Eh, rebuilding year and Auburn as usual. We'll live.)

16. What song will always remind you of 2011? "Frosty the Snowman" and "Let There Be Snow." DLG is in love, and we have watched "Frosty the Snowman" and "Frosty Returns" over and over and over....

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
      a) happier or sadder? Happier!
      b) thinner or fatter? fatter
      c) richer or poorer? Richer-- but not solely in money....

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Be outside-- walking, biking, yard work or just playing with the kids. We have such great nature trails and walkways available for free, we have a Botanical Gardens membership, and even the "fee" for Monte Sano is nominal. Yep, wished I'd gotten out more.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Wasted time playing computer games. But I have ditched all of those aggravating, so-called "social" games on FB.

20. How did you spend Christmas? We spent Christmas Day at home, as is our tradition. For the first time in several years, I was able to attend a Christmas Eve service-- MLB was bribed, with a fluffy lamb, into being a shepherd in the Christmas pageant. (We wore ourselves out on the twelve days surrounding Christmas by being everywhere else.)

21. Did you fall in love in 2011? Why? I fell in love with my husband years ago, and I plan to stay there.

22. What was your favorite TV program? We're weird. We don't have cable/satellite service. Being in a mountain cove limits our quality access to digital signals. Not much "live" TV beyond PBS. But we did get a Netflix subscription, so Scott and I are finally catching up on the "Monk" episodes we wished we'd watched a decade ago.

23. This question has been deleted because it’s SOOO teenage emo Xanga s***. I don't know what this was or means, but I'll be glad to leave those teenage years right were they are.

24. What was the best book you read? Any. I am a book-a-holic. A bag of M&Ms would last longer around me. I actually read the last few Harry Potter books in single weekends. Since I would lose more time reading therefore getting less done, I don't read as much as I would like to. I have no favorites among what I have read. But if I find one that stinks, by accident, I'll let you know.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? Birmingham Mountain Radio on-line.

26. What did you want and get? Well, I didn't want it, but my mom got it for me anyway. An iPhone.

27. What did you want and not get? Crown molding. (Sorry sweetie, I know how the year has been, believe me.)

28. What was your favorite film of this year? "Captain America." It was the only new release we saw, but it is worth being called a favorite. We're working our way through the other "heroes" so we're ready for the "The Avengers" in 2012.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I don't remember, and I won't say.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Living more in the moment.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011? Whatever is clean and fits.

32. What kept you sane? My husband.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? "Fancy?" None; please refer back to #21.

34. What political issue stirred you the most? Still not stirred, but I'm irate with the School Board. I  also cannot believe the "clown car" Republican Presidential nominee race. Might have to re-elect Obama and hope that those other self-serving, loud-mouth, hypocritical idiots all retire or something in the next four years.

35. Who did you miss? Sandra, as always. I'm glad she her family are following their calling, but I miss them a bunch!

36. Who was the best new person you met? Just one? Rebecca.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011. Two kids are enough.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
     "Just put one foot in front of the other,
      And soon you'll be walking 'cross the floor.
      Just put one foot in front of the other, and
      Soon you'll be walking out the door!"
      (From the Rankin/Bass show "Santa Claus is Coming to Town")

Thinking for an i-Pad: Questions 16.1 - 20

Sarah & Ronda at Southern Fried Snark wrapped it up during Episode 27 on April 29.

I listed it as Question 16.1, because there was a clarification offered by Gellman:

16.1) Can it be used more than once?

Technically, it can be reused, but it's really unlikely

because it is unsanitary after the first use.

And before they even got started with the questions, CraftyHope e-mailed in a guess. A very close guess that required verification from Gellman that it was not close enough.

17) Does go inside other things?

Ronda said she seen it in inside other things, but

it doesn't have to be. However, it is usually

dependent on other things for structural support.

18) Does it have cash value?

No.

19) Can you find it in a forest?

Yes.

They closed the questioning with the first question e-mailed in:

20) Does it grow on a tree?

No, it does not grow on a tree.

It does not GROW on a tree.

Hmm..... and while I was wondering how spaghum moss fits in with these questions, since the best I could imagine from the previous questions was a potted plant.....

CraftyHope emails in the correct answer:

A bird's nest.

Well. Sweet.

Big congrats to CraftyHope for winning the i-Pad!

And then it all devolved into a discussion on mashed potatoes & green peas "bird's nests" and Ronda's song about them, and Sarah just had to go.

********

Ronda & her husband will be "swimming with the fishes" during the coming week, so SFS will take a well-earned vacation. Wonder what fun & folly those ladies will have for us on May 13th?

Thinking for an i-Pad: No Questions Tonight

Due to equipment upgrades that will greatly enhance the total show experience, Southern Fried Snark did not air tonight. It is hoped to resume at its regular day & time at 9 p.m. Thursday, April 29th. Please check your RSS feeds, FB News Feeds and Twitter feeds for any further developments.

Gadzooks! Can you tell I used to watch TV back when there were only 3 1/2 channels???

In other news, Gellman did load the other previous episodes onto the website, and I have linked them in my corresponding posts.

We now resume your regular programing.

Thinking for an i-Pad: Questions 14 - 16

Southern Fried Snark's April 22nd Episode 26 celebrated Earth Day today in high style: LED lighting has been installed in Snarkvision Studios. Another random factoid: Hershey's Kisses are wrapped in foil made from recycled aluminum (at first I'd typed "Hershey's Kisses are wrapped in recycled aluminum foil," but that didn't sound right. Visions of folks trying match the wrinkled foils back with the casserole dishes after a church pot luck. Eww.)

I'm sleepy, so I'll get these typed before I forget them entirely. (And wallow in too many typos. Hate proof-reading & editing.)

14) Is the mystery item an indoor item or an outdoor item?

Outdoor item.

15) Is it something you buy?

No, it's not something you buy

(and they hinted that you might be weird to buy it.)

16) Can it be used more than once?

Yes.

And to prove how sleepy I am, all I've got so far is one of those stupid gumballs that fall off of trees, simply because Ronda mentioned having several of those trees removed from her yard. But I can't see how they'd be reusable unless you were a 10-year-old boy having a gumball battle, the impact thereof arguing for some mineral content. I have one of those trees. It's a nuisance, it's ailing, and its days are numbered. I'd like to replace it with a small oak like we've been putting in the backyard. Yes, oaks drop acorns, but those are biodegradable-- if the squirrels and blue-jays leave any.

See, I'm digressing. Nite-nite!

Thinking for an i-Pad: Questions 10 - 13

I am more sleep deprived than lazy. Otherwise, I would have posted this either after Southern Fried Snark, or at least on Wednesday. But DLG has seasonal allergies & her poor little nose is so runny that it wakes her (and her parents) up at night. And we are also having territory disputes with our computer. It's older than MLB, and we expect it to do everything a trendy young computed does AND run an anti-virus program AND a content manager. Although that content manager we've tried first is making Big Brother look like a libertine.......

I'm beginning to believe even an i-Phone has more multi-tasking capabilities than this computer, but it was essentially free, so I'm now through complaining.

Any-hoo....

10) Is it an "everyday" object?

Ronda replied that "it's not rare. It's not something I have or

hold daily." So the answer is Yes, based on the premise

that it is not, as Sarah observed, "specialized."

(Did you understand all that?)

11) Is it sparkly?

No.

12) Does it smell bad?

No.

13) Is it something talked about or seen on Southern Fried Snark?

No. "This has never come up."

They were very sweet to answer a 4th question during Episode 25 on Tuesday, April 20; that 4th one was submitted by (at least) moi. And I was being quite chatty (a pest) in the chat room that night. Sadly, Amy wasn't there. She'd mentioned on FaceBook that she'd submitted a question, and I'll guess it was the "sparkly" one, although she has a very sensitive nose & might have submitted the one after it, as well.

But #13 really changes the game. It is an "unmentioned." And I'm too sleep deprived to even hazard a guess at 2/3 way through the questions. Perhaps far more creative minds than mine will pose some key questions tonight. Or a few more good laughs.

Thinking for an i-Pad: Questions 4 - 9

Just finished watching another hilarious episode of Southern Fried Snark. Ronda did a great job as host & producer, since Gellman was out of town today (You go, girl!), Sarah kept them (mostly) on track, and they even enjoyed having interns-in-training!

And being the generous hosts that they are & loyal to their followers, they answered a total of six questions, in order to keep caught up from the missed broadcast day on Tuesday.

Here they are:

4) Does it belong to Ronda?

(OK, I submitted that question.)

No.

5) Can you walk on it?

No, they suggest that you should not walk on it.

(You can walk on anything.)

6) Is it smooth?

No.

7) Is it heavy?

No.

8) Does it go in your mouth?

No, again they recommend that it should not go in your mouth.

(Although you can try to put just about anything in your mouth.)

9) Is it natural or synthetic?

It is natural.

These questions are from April 15, Episode 24. Remember, keep those questions coming! But not to me. I'm merely another blogger. Keep in touch with Southern Fried Snark via Southern Fried Snark, Twitter, FaceBook, etc. And if you do figure out what it is and win the drawing, can I come over to your house & watch SFS on your new i-Pad?

Thinking for an i-Pad

Tomorrow is, once again, Friday Favorites over at The Other Mama. But I thought I'd make time to stick in a "regular" kind of post, just because I can & ought to.

Now, I don't know if this will be against the rules. I know that most people will think I'm nuts for helping the "competition." BUT, I'm going to keep track of things on my blog anyway. One less scrap of paper to lose on the computer desk.

Sarah & Ronda over at Southern Fried Snark are giving away an i-Pad. Really. Truly. I've seen it on their web show. It's up for a qualified grab. Show producer "Gellman," (known in real-life as Steve) got one for himself & one to give away. The Snarketts (as Amy calls them) have set up very simple rules. They have have agreed on a "Mystery Item" and viewers get to ask 20 questions during the shows in April in order to guess what the item is. Only 3 questions per show. At the end of the month, everyone submits their answers, and all correct answers go into a hat for a drawing for the i-Pad.

I don't think they will be posting the questions & answers on the web site (that'd be too easy & defeat the purpose of watching!); but they will be posting the episodes, so if you missed a week, you can catch up. The last episode posted is from April 1, Episode 22; the game actually began with April 8, Episode 23. (Due to circumstances beyond their control, they did not broadcast on April 6 nor April 13.) {I will attach a link to Ep23 when it is available.}

They may or may not broadcast tonight at their usual 9 p.m. Busy week for both of these fabulous ladies. But, to get myself ready, here are the first three questions :

1) Is it animal, vegetable, or mineral?

(Traditional 1st question & the only non-yes/no question.)

Both Sarah & Ronda agreed that it is part vegetable

and part mineral, but Ronda thinks mostly vegetable.

2) Is it bigger than a bread box?

(Going for another traditional opening question.)

No. They sounded a definitive, "no."

3) Is it blue? (This question was from in-studio guest Joe Martin

of Huntsville Adventure Boot Camp for Women.)

No.

And that's it so far. They're accepting suggested questions via Southern Fried Snark, Twitter, FaceBook, etc. I guess if you see them at Target, you can submit one there. But please hang up the cell phone & be polite!