Pieces of Eight

Are you wondering when I am going to announce the winner of the Paula Deen cookbook? With the autograph? Would now be a good time? I can always do it later if you are too busy today. Okay, okay...if you insist. Drum roll please...

After counting the entries. And submitting them to the random number site place thing...our winner is...

Michelle at Honest and Truly!

And now, can I get another drum roll?! Because I have not one...but TWO autographed books.

And the second winner is: Jane from Jumpin' in the Jungle!

Congrats ladies. Just email me with your addresses and I'll get your books right out to you.

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming:

I have seen this meme in several places. Most recently at Brandy's - and so I decided to crash the meme party and do it myself. But. I changed one of the categories. Because that is how I roll. So here are all my lists of eights. Minus the fruits.

8 things I'm looking forward to:

1. Both girls going to sleep away camp next week.

2. Sleeping in while the girls are gone and a weeks vacation from those 8am swim team practices.

3. August 10th

4. Going to Disney in September

5. Going to Vegas in October

6. Estrogen weekend in November

7. The next Harry Potter movie.

8. January. 2010. And the final season of LOST.

8 things I did yesterday:

1. Took the girls to swim team practice. At 8am.

2. Went back to the pool for the afternoon.

3. Read a guide book about Las Vegas. Tried to decide what all we would have time to do.

4. Tried to come up with new and inventive ways for Shannon and Brandy to convince their husbands to go to Vegas.

5. Shopped for new car insurance. Because for the first time, Michael has a newer car than me.

6. Cooked dinner

7. Read blogs.

8. Watched the movie "Seven Pounds."

8 things I wish I could do:

1. Lose weight. Easily.

2. Have all Michael's medical bills disappear.

3. Make the girls' scoliosis disappear.

4. Travel more.

5. Speak another language. That is not dead.

6. Sew.

7. Learn photoshop. By osmosis.

8. Exercise. Happily.

8 shows I watch:

1. LOST.

2. The Tudors

3. Weeds

4. Big Love

5. True Blood

6. Survivor

7. Millionaire Matchmaker

8. Fringe

8 books in my to be read pile:

1. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

2. Wings by Aprilynne Pike

3. Lover Avenged by JR Ward

4. One second after by William Forstchen

5. The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan

6. The Unofficial Guide to Las Vegas by Bob Sehlinger

7. Book of a thousand Days by Shannon Hale

8. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

8 places I'd like to travel to:

1. India

2. Tahiti

3. New York

4. Ireland

5. Scotland

6. Moscow

7. Cairo

8. Las Vegas

8 places I've lived:

1. Winter Park, Florida

2. Charlotte, North Carolina

3. Coral Springs, Florida

4. Atlanta, Georgia

5. Stone Mountain, Georgia

6. Athens, Georgia

7. Roswell, Georgia

8. Fayetteville, Georgia

So...if you haven't played yet...play along...and change one of the categories.

Gimme an "O"

I love memes. They are my salvation on days like today. Or most days really. Because I always struggle to find a blog topic. I am not like my daughter. Who can be inspired by anything. Including a walk to the mailbox.

And then last week, I found a great one over at Aubrey's blog. She made a list of ten of her favorite things. But there was a twist. She was assigned the letter "I" for her list. And I was so impressed that she came up with 10 "I" words. But my favorite - ice from Sonic. Oh how I love my Sonic pellet ice. Why can't my Frigidaire make pellet ice?

Anyway...I told Audrey to sign me up. And send me a letter. So, what did she send me? The letter "O."

1. Uh-oh. What does it mean when my first thoughts are firmly entrenched in the gutter. Because there is the BIG O! and ORGAN and ORAL and OBSCENE. And if we are here. Why not add ORGY to the list. Do you think that Julie Andrews will sing a song about my favorite "O" things?

Well, once one's mind is there. It's hard to progress. Because I cannot think of other O words. That could possibly be construed as favorites. I brainstormed. And came up with nothing. Unless you want to count: Outer Mongolia. As opposed to Inner Mongolia. Opium. Opiates. Operation. Opossum. Oprah. Followed quickly by Offensive. Oh...this is not going well.

There is old. Oysters. Ointment. Oil. Obituary. Ogre. Owls. Well. Those might be one of my favorites. Since they eat the evil squirrels in my yard. But the owls have flown away. And I am overrun with squirrels. So. No owls on my favorites list.

What about ogres? Oatmeal. Obscure. Oars. Onions. Obtuse. Ostentatious. Octopus. Octogon.

Okay...I think I have uncluttered my mind. And I might be able to get on track now.

2. ORVILLE Redenbaker microwave popcorn. Yum. Such a good snack. Especially for me. With my love of salt. And crunch. What would we do without Orville. Or the microwave.

3. And now that we have had our snack of popcorn. We really need to balance out that salt with some sugar. And OREOS are just the ticket. One of the simplest of cookies. But oh, so delish. And then at Christmas time. You can find the chocolate covered variety in the stores. And I am still kicking myself for not getting the OREOS of doom at the county fair.

4. How about something healthy? I love ORANGES. Especially clementines. I love ORANGE hard candy. ORANGE life savers. ORANGE starburst. ORANGE and citrus scents. But ORANGE circus peanuts. No thanks. I'll be sure to pass all of those along to Jennifer P. Who thinks that they are a great breakfast food item.

5. And speaking of food. I love to cook. And to use my OVEN. What I'd really love. Is a double oven. Or having Clive OWEN help me in the kitchen. Yeah. That would work, too.

6. Oh. And there is the OCEAN. I love the clear water of the Caribbean. Snorkeling. Swimming. Or the OCEAN at St. George Island. The crash of the waves. The scent of salt in the air. And the sand between my toes. It makes me feel all peaceful. Calm. And happy inside.

7. And while we are at the beach. We could read some books. And one of my favorite series is OUTLANDER by Diana Gabaldon. It was recommended to me by someone in my book club. And it was my first foray into the kingdom of smutty books.

8. And after we have had enough sun. And we venture inside. Let's put in one of my very favorite movies. "O Brother, Where art Thou?" This is a brilliant Coen brothers comedy. And I love homage to Homer's "Odyssey." Love the sepia tones of it. The names. The actors. And then really. What's not to love about George Clooney?

9. And this list would not be complete without mentioning my OFFSPRING. My whirly-girlies. Who make me laugh. Make me proud. And make me want to pull all my hair out.

10. And then. There is you. All of my ONLINE friends. Who I have loved meeting in "real" life. And I can't wait to meet more of you. Ya'll are my sanity. And my OUTLET.

So...what about you? Are you a fan of pellet ice? What are your favorite things that start with "O?" Do you wanna play too? If so, just let me know, and I'll give you a letter!

Have you entered the weekly winners contest yet? You can win a favicon and some Mommy "bidness" cards.

Theme song: Finger Eleven - ONE thing. And if you hang out for a while. You can also hear REM's ORANGE crush; U2's ONE; Bare Naked Ladies' ONE Week; and some songs from the O Brother soundtrack.

Seven Things

I saw this meme over on Sissy's blog. Sort of. I made some tweaks to it. And it kind of goes with my inability to come up with a Thursday Thirteen. I have 37 lists saved in word. All of them with 7 or 8 items on each list. Maybe I should do a Thursday Thirteen of all my 7 item lists. I am all about big talk. Big ideas. And no follow through.

So, along those lines, here are 4, 7 item lists. Cause 7 or 8 would be too much work.

7 things I can't do

• dance. I have no sense of rhythm at all.
• remember song lyrics
• watch gory movies
• speak plant
• speak car
• drink alcohol. It does not like me at all.
• drive slowly

7 Things I do well

• read prolifically
• teach
• swim
• play trivial pursuit. I have a bastion of useless knowledge on the tip of my tongue.
• speak pedantically
• procrastinate
• cook

7 Things I have never done

• Mowed the grass
• Shopped at a thrift store
• Cooked on a gas grill
• Taken the presidential fitness exam. In high school I refused to dress out for PE on those days.
• Watched an episode of "Friends"
• Worn a hat
• Had a cavity

7 Things I want to do

• Renew my vows. In Vegas. With Elvis. AND at a drive through chapel.
• Travel, travel, travel, and then travel some more
• Get certified to SCUBA dive - and then SCUBA dive
• Go back to school. And get that real PhD.
• Somehow aquire the patience to learn a new language or to play piano or something.
• See a play on broadway
• Host a blog stalkers convention to meet all the friends from inside my computer

So, what about you? What can you do? Can't you do? Never done? Wanna do?

Tagged Again! And Again! And Again! And Again...

Well…it’s my 100th post. And according to tradition, I am supposed to do a 100 things about me post. I have started it. But I only have thirty something things on that list. And it’s not too interesting. And I am a big fan of avoidance behavior. There could not be a better avoidance technique than doing a meme.

Now the first meme I did was about what was on my desk. I was tagged by my own daughter. Who was tagged before me. (Hey…she needs that “I tagged Jill” badge!) Then, Rhea tagged me for a list of 6 random things and a book meme. I was sure that the book meme sealed the deal on never being tagged again.

I have seen this particular meme played out on several blogs. And I even commented on Mrs. Romero’s blog that it looked like fun. I guess I crashed the party, because she then added me to the list. And then, I was tagged again for the same one by Heather, Lula, and Joye. Four tags for the same meme! I’m feelin’ the love! So…here we go:

What was I doing 10 years ago?

Let me think. End of May, 1998? Ummm…I had just bought a nanny placement agency, and I was trying to balance working that with having a 5 month old baby girl. Who was so happy…except when I paused in my adoration of her to take a business phone call. And she began to scream like a banshee. Phone call ends, smiles and giggles all around.

Five Snacks I enjoy:

Popcorn
Peanut butter crackers
Lazy apples (you know…the ones that are already cut up)
Do desserts count as snacks? Snickerdoodle cookies
Peanut M&Ms

Five Things On My To-Do List Today:

Pack the girls for camp
Finish cutting up strawberries to freeze
Take a shower (I’ve been informed that I must add get dressed as well. Who knew?)
Pick up my car from its check-up
Finished the dreaded “Little Women”

Things I Would Do If I Were A Billionaire:

Buy a house in Hawaii so I could stalk visit the cast of Lost with my other stalkers friends: Lula, Heather, Rhea, Tali, and whoever else wants to join us in our quest for restraining orders. (Thanks for the idea, Lula!)
Travel the world.
Give money to charity
Add three bathrooms to my house
New cars…
OH, the list goes on and on…I already have it spent. Now, who’s going to give me a billion dollars?

Five Jobs I Have Had:

Sales at Macys in high school and college
Nanny
Personal Assistant
Estate manager
Owned my own company
High school Latin teacher

Five of My Bad Habits:

1. Impulse shopping
2. Proscrastinating (ummm…how long have I had this on my to do list? Am I working on the 100 list? Yep…procrastination is also a talent of mine)
3. Gossiping (my favorite quote is from “Steel Magnolias” – “If you don’t have anything nice to say about anybody, come sit by me.”)
4. Taking things too personally
5. impatience

Five Places I've Lived:

Winter Park, Florida
Coral Springs, Florida
Charlotte, North Carolina
Athens, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia

6 People I Want To Get To Know Better (yes, this means you are tagged!)
Sugar at I Like Pi
Rhea at Word Tangle
Jill at One Wired Woman
Firefly Mom at Pack of Hungry Snails
Nissa at Nissa’s Niceties
Angie at Angie’s Spot

Five Random Things:

1. Today we finished watching the Indy trilogy with Katie to prep her for the new movie.
2. We canceled our “subscription” to HBO when the writers went on strike. The whole reason we had HBO was for the show “Big Love.” And now season three has been postponed until the fall instead of starting now for the summer. We will probably start HBO again when “Big Love” returns. Because as you read in my habits…I am not patient. I don’t think I could wait for it to come out on DVD. “Big Love” is my other obsession. Next to LOST.
3. I cannot dance. At all. I have absolutely no sense of rhythm. I can’t even follow an aerobics class or video. By the time I have sorta figured out what they are doing, they have moved on.
4. I switched my major in college from Political Science to Anthropology because the subject was fascinating. And because my professor looked just like Harrison Ford. I took all the classes he offered. By the end of my freshman year, I had accumulated a number of 400 level classes by following him around.
5. I met my husband in a bar. I wasn’t interested in him at all. I was actually dating someone else. But we did exchange numbers. And I did not return his calls. Until a week later when I had an argument with my boyfriend. And, the rest, as they say, is history.

Are you SURE that you want to tag me for this meme?

I’ve been tagged again. My second this week. My second ever. Not that I am bitter or anything. I want to be like Sally Field and yell “you like me. You really, really like me!”

So…what is this meme about? I'm supposed to pick up the book nearest me, go to page 123, find the fifth sentence and then type and post the next three sentences after the fifth one.

Okay…what is closest is the last book I finished: “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell” by Tucker Max. Ummm…it’s closest because it’s here to give to the next guy that wants to read about such debauchery. It’s hilarious…but just wrong. In oh SO many ways. I think Tucker Max might have an aneurism if he knew that a late thirty something, home schooling mom read his book. And laughed out loud. But…this is a dangerous assignment.

Okay…I’m going to look now. You have been warned. You might just want to stop reading here. If you are my daughter, stop reading here. Go do your school work. This is a post that is not for you. Go away. Find something important to do.

Okay…really going to look now. Found page 123. Yep…this is a mistake. But…you know, I follow rules. (no comments from the peanut gallery) And here is what is there:

“I wait patiently for about three minutes, then I start pounding on the door, screaming at him that I am going to sh*t on his bed if he doesn’t get out of there. A short time later he opens the door laughing his *ss off, and says, “That was perhaps the most prodigious sh*t ever. I just put that toilet into therapy.”

Somehow, I think I’ll never be tagged for a meme again. Or at least not for books. You never know what I might be reading. And that is a pretty “innocent” excerpt. Really. (And for those of you with a love of debauchery and some morbid curiosity…the events after this quote are gross beyond words…and leads to Tucker Max being PERMANENTLY banned from Embassy Suites. And if your interest is truly piqued now…click on the book in my “kat has read” section…so that I can have a veritable river of cash flowing into my coffers from Amazon referrals.)

Now the hard part…who to tag now. I think I have tapped out my "regular" readers. When I did the meme over the weekend…I went to read what everyone did…and who they tagged. And some of those people were so excited to be tagged. I am sure they will be thrilled to be tagged again, right?! What on earth will they think of being tagged by me…when I have only read their blogs once. Will they refuse to get this far down in the post because of my book selection? Will they be so thrilled to be picked, they will ignore my obviously bizarre taste in books? I guess we’ll all find out:
Jill at One Wired Woman
Tracey at Make Room For
Heather at Mindless Junque
Ctina at Tinalina Time

Ten on Tuesday

I was searching the web trying to find an easy definition for the word "meme" when I found this site just full of cool ideas for blog topics. Because I don't have enough fodder in my daily life. So...today, let's do "10 on Tuesday." Today's topic is the 10 places you would take a tourist to see in your hometown. Well...we live in suburbia...so we'll just pretend that the entire metro Atlanta area is my hometown:

1. Georgia Aquarium - we are actually going here on Saturday! My cousin Jennifer and her daughter Liv are visiting for Easter weekend and they are really looking forward to checking it out. Texas Cindy and family are visiting this summer...and we plan to go there with them as well. It's a pretty amazing place. I think the biggest draw is the whale sharks...but for me, I could sit and watch the beluga whales all day.

2. Zoo Atlanta - I have not been in forever! I am not a big fan of crowds - and with the birth of a baby panda, the crowd factor increases exponentially. But now that Mei Lan is getting bigger, maybe we'll head out there without tourists in tow. If you check out the website, they have a "panda cam" so that you can watch all the time!

3. Stone Mountain Park - Again...it's in my own back yard, but we don't go very often. They have a great children's playground...and there are always cool things going on from the Yellow Daisy Festival, Japan Fest, Highland Games, Chili Cookoff, Purina Incredible Dog show - and they are quite well known for the laser shows on the front of the mountain during the summertime.

4. Braves or Thrashers game I think that hockey games are a lot of fun. It's like going to a rock concert - and there is always something to see or do. We took the kids to see a minor league (is that what it's called for Hockey?) game - and I was telling them about how much fun it would be. I was telling them about how much the crowd loves it when there is a fight - but they were both so disappointed that there was not one. I had no idea the girls could be so bloodthirsty! Michael likes to take them to Braves games. They like it...he likes it...I get alone time (it's too hot!)....everyone wins!

5. CNN tour Another thing I have not done in forever. Actually...I have only done it once...during the 1996 Olympics. They had such a large group that they split us up...and somehow my group of 5 got a private tour. Chuck Roberts was wondering around before his shift started, so he was chatting with us and walking along with our group.

6. Atlanta Botanical Gardens This is my favorite membership that we have. The gardens are beautiful - they have a wonderful children's garden and play yard - and in the summer the kids love to play in the fountain.

7. To see the play "Peachtree Battle" This is the longest running play in Atlanta history - and it's hysterical. It's about this wealthy "Buckhead" family whose favorite son has decided to marry a black Hooters waitress.

8. BAPS Hindu temple Here is one that I have never been to - but the only one on this list that is actually in my town. I have driven by - I watched it being built - now I need to get myself over there and check it out.

9. American Girl store You all know I have been here - and been here recently. It's just a fun place to see and and a great place to spend your retirement money (weather you were looking to spend it or not)

10. High Museum of Art I just got a membership here. This year they have antiquities from the Louvre - so we'll be there when we cycle back to ancients in history next year.

I like quizzes almost as much as I like lists

Firefly mom had this fun quiz posted on her blog:

Go to photobucket and

1. Answer the following questions

2. Type the answer into the search bar on photobucket

3. Post the picture answer from the first page.

Here goes:

1. Age you will be on your next birthday: (do I have to answer? Thirty(mofaegebwef) - excuse me

2. A place you would like to travel: China

3. A place you would like to live: Scotland

4. Your favorite place: my house (as if)

5. Favorite object: books

6. Favorite food: chips

7. Favorite animal: owls

8. Favorite color: green

9. Town in which you were born: Winter Park, FL

10. The town in which you live: Lilburn, GA

11. Name of a pet: Frannie (except mine was a cat)

12. Favorite celebrity: Goran Visjnic

13. Your name or nickname: Kat

14. Favorite song. Mine changes daily. Today it's Galileo by Indigo Girls

15. Your middle name: Lynn

16. A bad habit of yours: procrastination

17. How do you feel about your life? Happy

18. One word to describe you: Spontaneous

19. Favorite TV show: LOST

20. Favorite Movie: Thank You for Smoking (if you haven't seen this gem...go netflix it!! Now.)