I'm Such a Conformist...

One of my fave authors, Holly Black (read Valiant if you haven't yet, it's disturbingly good), posted this on her website with the following request: "I want everyone who reads this to also fill it out and post it on their blogs, so the procrastination can flow between us all." Sounds good to me, so here goes:

Disclaimer: This thing is, like, 50 questions long...even if you read my blog every day, you probably have no real reason to slog through this unless you really, really want to.

1. FIRST NAME? Right...I've been using a pseudonym on this blog since it started so that I can just type my name in the first random Web survey I do. Um, no.

2. ARE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My middle name is Michelle - a tribute to my mother's father, Michael.

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? A few days ago. The new-job/wedding/messy-house/crappy-hospital-stay stress of last week got to me.

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? When it's legible. This is an infrequent occurrence.

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? What an odd question. Ham, I guess.

6. KIDS? Two of them.

7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I'm amazing. Everyone should be friends with me.

8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? This is it. I have a poetry journal too, but it hasn't been updated much in the last five years. Bad, bad little writer.

9. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Not as much as my fiance, but I hold my own.

10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes.

11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? If it was a life or death situation, I could probably force myself. Choosing to do it for fun? Not my idea of a good time.

12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Min-wheats. It's all about the frosting...and they have a higher fibre content than my bran flakes! Hurrah!

13. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No. And now our son copies me which is annoying for J, who is much more meticulous about not wrecking his shoes than I am.

14. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? (laughs hysterically) Not really.

15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Mint chocolate chip.

16. SHOE SIZE? 6 1/2

17. RED OR PINK? Red.

18. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I always feel tired. I need to take better care of myself.

19. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? I miss a lot of my friends and family who live far away. I can't say I feel comfortable choosing between them, so I won't try.

20. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Eh. If they feel a need to procrastinate. Otherwise, the librarian thinks they could better spend their time with a good book.

21. WHAT COLOR OF PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING RIGHT NOW? Dark indigo blue jeans. I am not wearing any shoes.

22. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE WRITER/BOOK/MOVIE (at the moment, anyway)? Writer: Terry Pratchett/Holly Black/Neil Gaiman; Book: Stardust; Movie: Benny and Joon.

23, WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Dar's annoying toy cellphone music as he runs screaming around the house with it.

24. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Periwinkle.

25. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE SMELLS? Books, fresh laundry, cinnamon buns, Autumn.

26. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU SPOKE ON THE PHONE WITH? Julia, calling about supper tonight.

27. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? The way that they talk. I cannot be attracted to someone who cannot hold down an interesting conversation.

28. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I've never met Holly Black, but I am a huge fan of all her books.

29. FAVORITE DRINK? Cranberry juice and gingerale. No contest.

30. FAVORITE SPORT? I am so not a sports person. Does belly dancing count?

31. HAIR COLOR? Currently darker than I had intended.

32. EYE COLOR? Hazel.

33. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No, they aren't as geeky-chic as my glasses.

34. FAVORITE FOOD? Mom's homemade stew. I'm also a big fan of french fries.

35. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING? Happy endings. Scary movies are fun too, though.

36. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

37. COLOR OF SHIRT YOU ARE WEARING? Black.

38. WINTER OR SUMMER? Winter, Winter, Winter!

39. HUGS OR KISSES? It depends on who's giving them out.

40. FAVORITE DESSERT? Sex in a pan. This is a real dessert. It's chocolate pudding and whipped cream, and nuts. It's heaven.

41. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Probably nobody. Maybe Yak if she's really bored.

42. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Everybody else.

43. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? May Bird and the Ever After by Jodi Lynn Anderson and a whole schwack of how-to-be-a-wedding-maven type books. I recommend Jo Gartin's Weddings as the best I've read.

44. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? The colour blue.

45. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Rain, J's voice.

46. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? Friends - I had the Season One DVD playing as background noise while I stamped wedding invitations.

47. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles.

48. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Canterbury, UK.

49. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I can research and write a really good essay the night before it is due.

50. WHEN AND WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Red Deer, 1977.

Lazy Hazy Days of Summer

Have you noticed how lazy everything gets in August? I've noticed it in particular with the blog world. Nobody is posting much right now. Everyone is trying to suck the last little bits of summer out before Fall really sets in by lounging around on their decks and balconies. Who wants to sit in front of the computer? Time enough for that in the winter, right?

I wish I could blame summer haze on my blogger absence, but everyone knows that I am an Autumn girl and avoid my deck like the plague in summer's blast furnace. In truth, my life has been so hectically boring, that I can't think of anything to post let alone have much time to post it.

Today, though, I actually have a little blogger shout-out. I had a lot of fun at my bridal shower yesterday - Yak did an amazing job - and everybody seemed to enjoy getting overfed on fortune cookies (in bed) and Jules' amazing icingalicious cupcakes. It wasn't as big as the upcoming hometown shower, but it was a blast with some fab friends. Who knew Miss T could make me blush so much? My colour is only now returning to normal.

I am also recovering from my sugar-induced hangover this morning. Enough so, that I should probably get off the blog and go rescue my Mom who was sweet enough to take the kids for me this morning.

'Til later, then.

Autumn

Autumn arrived yesterday. Oh sure, September 21st is the official debut, but she's here all the same. There's just something in the air, in the bones, that changes. The air gets a touch crisper, a touch cooler. The sun goes all mellow and the colour of the sky pales just a bit. The trees get that slight touch of yellow in the leaves. Summer is clinging to her throne, but Autumn is already making her presence felt in the wings.

I, for one, am happy. I'm an Autumn girl. Summer is too hot and vivacious for my taste. Summer is all bikinis and barbecues and acres of sand. Autumn is wool and tweed, school supplies, canning and baking. It just makes me want to curl up with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate under a tree full of copper coloured leaves.

So, summer can have her final hurrah. In the meantime, I'll occupy myself with knitting patterns, wandering aisles of school supplies (maybe buying funky pens for nostalgia's sake and a journal to write in), baking muffins when the mornings are cool enough for it, and slowly watching the leaves turn from green to gold to crimson.