Quote: Enjoy your Food

What some call health, if purchased by perpetual anxiety about diet, isn't much better than tedious disease.

--George Dennison Prentice

I think the media programs us to worry about diet more than we need to. Everything in moderation. That's what I believe. However, moderate portion size is something I constantly struggle with. How about you? What is your diet challenge?

Two Choices (Tag Game)

Saw this on another blog. You post two choices of your choosing. Coke or Pepsi. Cats or Dogs. Marble or granite. Whatever. Then, you post your choice and tag someone to post their two choices on their blog.

So I ask you...Paris or Rome?

I'd choose Rome in a heartbeat. I haven't met an Italian food I didn't like. The language makes me want to melt. The people are so so friendly.

I tag Robin B. (And that reminds me she tagged me to do something a while ago...)

Question: Whatcha Plannin'?

Tonight I’m looking forward to _____, tomorrow my plans include _____ and Saturday, I want to _____!

My answer: Tonight I'm looking forward to watching the movie Juno with my husband. Tomorrow my plans include working an eight hour shift at work and being exhausted.
Saturday I want to have a fantastic time at our cousin's son's bar mitzvah.

Question: Waste of paper?

My son is selling magazine subscriptions as part of his junior high school fundraiser. I am letting some of my subscriptions lapse:


Martha Stewart's Living - I've subscribed to this for many years, mainly because it's a beautiful, beautiful magazine. But I've come to the reluctant conclusion that, even though I cut out many of the recipes, it's not that valuable to me since I don't really entertain or garden on the same level as Martha does.


Woman's Day - This isn't a bad magazine, however, I just can't stand how thin the pages are. How ridiculous is that? It bugs me so much that I am willing to forgo the entire magazine.

So, what to order???

I don't want is fashion and beauty suggestions that are WAY too expensive. I used to subscribe to In Style, but it was too Hollywood oriented, and I didn't recognize half the celebs in it.

I want articles that apply to women who aren't trying to snag men with sex tricks and who aren't size zero. I like recipes. I obviously like pages that aren't like tissue. LOL.


Do you have any suggestions? What magazines do you subscribe to, if any?


I'm considering Everyday with Rachel Ray, Marie Claire, and Lucky. Suggestions, recommendations?

Question: Taking on Two

Menages have been on my mind of late. The third heroine in my Be-Wished series wishes for a dynamic duo of the male persuasion. The novella I'm finishing for EC right now is about a triad.

So, actually I have two questions.

1. Do you like reading about menages? Why?

2. If you had the opportunity to engage in one (without consequences), would you?

The High School Experience

i have a book of questions I use for blog topics and one such question is, "What one word sums up your high school experience?" I like this question, but am going to let us answer with two words, since I'm a writer.

My high school experience was enjoyably fringe. I was on the drill team, which was so much fun and made my years at Birmingham High a blast, though looking back, I realize it was a little geeky. We were involved and active, but not really cool which is why I chose the word "fringe."

How about you? What two words sum up your high school experience?

At Your Service

I've worked as a Starbucks barista for over two years, and it's really opened my eyes about the service industry. You know how Israel requires all of its young men to serve in the military? I think in America we should require everyone to hold a job in the service industry for just a couple of weeks. That way they'd get an idea of what it's like to be on the other side of the counter.

Don't get me wrong. I actually really enjoy serving people. I think I'm good at it. In 98% of the cases, my smile is genuine, my wish to help you, sincere. (The only time I smile even though I don't want to see you is if you've been in before and are a pain in the ass, ungrateful, curt, or act entitled.)

But some people just need to get a clue. Like, what's with taking your drink without saying thank you? How is it possible to look at someone who smiles at you and not smile back? Do you not realize that throwing your money on the counter comes across as condescending? And, really, how hard is it to pick up your straw paper off the floor when you clearly see it didn't make it into the trash can?

Apparently, it's really hard.

So, I'm just wondering, have you ever worked a service job?

My brother emailed me this photo of my fraternal grandmother (center), my dad (to her right) and my uncle (to her left.) It has always puzzled me as to why people never smiled in "old" photographs. I wonder when it was that it became de rigeur to smile for the camera. Maybe once movie stars hit the scene.

Do you know the history behind "saying cheese?"

Collections

I have always liked collecting things. I do and have collected stamps, souvenir spoons, *recipes, *the state quarters, *the presidential dollars, teapots, and *Santa Christmas tree ornaments.
The problem with collections is that you have to have a place to house them. I stopped collecting the spoons when I was going on my third rack. They're not that attractive on the wall, so right now the two racks and my vast collection (people would bring me spoons from THEIR vacations) are in the garage. My stamps are long gone. I collected those as a teen. I filled many a summer hour floating stamps off bits of paper and finding their places in my international album. I do still need a folder for collecting the presidential quarters, of which I have four.

Do you collect anything?

*Still collecting these items

Water Water Everywhere

I haven't posed a question in a while, so here we go. What is your preference? Cruise ship, powerboat, sailboat, rowboat, kayak, or inner tube?

I just went on a cruise, and I have to say, that's my preference. However, I really enjoy driving powerboats. We used to rent houseboats on Lake Shasta every summer, and friends we knew who lived in nearby Redding owned a boat. I water skiied a couple of times, but am not a thrill seeker and didn't really enjoy the worry that I was going to get a Lake Shasta enema, which I did one time. Not fun, let me tell you. Give me the luxury of a cruise ship any day of the week.

What type of water vehicle do you like best?

Free vs. Fee

Question: Why can you get free internet at cheap hotels like Super 8, but at fancy places, like the Hyatt, you have to pay a fee? I just don't understand how that works.

Question: You Can Call Me...

In the past, I have had many nicknames. Half of which my sister gave me. All her good friends in high school had alternate names that she used so much my mom and I would forget their real names! When she was about four she up and decided that she was not Trish anymore. She would only answer to Pooh. And she kept this up for quite a while.

Anyway, here are all the aliases I've had that I can remember. If it has an asterisk, people still call me by this.

Hooty (6th grade club name, not a reference to my chest!)
Woman
Wo
Wo-Face
*Face
Kimmers
*Buffy
*Lil Kim
*Inga

What are your nicknames?

Flying

Aisle or window?

I recently made reservations for a flight to San Francisco and I prefer the aisle. I HATE having to bother someone to go to the bathroom and would much rather be the one who moves out of their way.

What about you?

Imagine Your Ink

I haven't posed a question in a while, so here goes.

If you were to get a tattoo, what would it be and where would you put it?

I would never get a tattoo, but if I did, I think I'd emulate my friend Eden Bradley's example and get something in Chinese calligraphy put on the back of my neck. Maybe the word "creativity" or "gratitude".

I tried to find a picture, but found this website, Chinese Tattoos Designs, instead. This woman does beautiful work, some of which looks like she does the actual brush calligraphy and then translates it to the skin. Some of the tattoos look more stylized. I especially like that she cautions people about mistakes easily made, like character reversal (which sounds like a problem that might come up in fiction writing. LOL)

What about you?

Deserted Isle

Question #450 from The Complete Book of Questions:

If you were stranded on a deserted island, which three people would you most wish to join you?

I would want a hunky Navy SEAL, a man trained for survival and physically fit. I'm smiling, just thinking about it. Here's a picture of some SEAL trainees. Look! Their hands are tied behind their backs. That gives me all sorts of naughty ideas.

But I'm going off topic.

Who else to have on my island? Maybe Oprah. She's a resourceful woman and full of interesting stories. If we were rescued, she and I would probably be friends by then and I could convince her to incluce romance books in her picks.

So, for a third person, I guess Oprah can have a SEAL, too. Otherwise my SEAL would be doing most of the work and wouldn't have any time to devote to my physical satisfaction. Or maybe I should ditch Oprah and have three SEALS. Decisions, decisions.

So, who would you want along with you?

Theatre for Kids

I bought four tickets for Wicked today. A fantastic night at the theatre will be my birthday present to my husband. I read the book and liked it, mostly. I didn't particularly like the end, but that often happens when I read "Literature." I have no idea how closely the play follows the book, but I do expect GREAT things.

We have center mezzanine seats because I couldn't see paying $85 per person for orchestra, and that's not counting the $10 fees they attached to each ticket. I plan to bring the kids to see it, too, but I wonder if they'll appreciate it. Do you think it's worth it to bring children to see premium theatre like this?

Hello, My Name Is...

I got this book so that if I ever needed a topic for my blog, I'd have a resource to turn to. So, today's the day we break it in.

When I was about five years old, we were at the airport and my mother told me to go into this limo and ask the person for his autograph. So, not knowing any better, I strode boldly into this white car (without having to duck my head) and said, "Can I have your autograph?" The man smiled and asked me what my name was and signed a scrap piece of paper. It wasn't until I was much older that I realized what I had done and that the man was Johnny Carson.

So, the question to you is, who's the most famous person you've ever met?

Delivered to your Door

I like receiving fun stuff in the mail, so I subscribe to magazines. Plus, I'm naturally cheap, so I like getting the magazines for less than you'd pay on the stands.

So here's my list of subscriptions:

1. Martha Stewart's Living - It's kind of pretentious in tone, but, it puts me in touch with my art education/background because the photographs and design are exquisite. I almost never do any of the things they write about, especially the gardening. So, I don't really know why I subscribe. Recently she showed how to organize a basement. Shit, my HOUSE doesn't look as nice as her basement.

2. Everyday Food - I love this magazine because there is always a picture to go with the recipe and the format is small, so it fits in my recipe notebook nicely.

3. Family Fun - I love the craft ideas they have in this magazine.

4. Maxim - There is great wit in this publication, even if it is unabashedly un-PC. I like tapping into the male psyche.

5. Real Simple - Great ideas, even if I'm not quite into the sort of yoga/crystal/New Age tone they sometimes adopt.

6. Woman's Day - I'm new to this one. I'll see how I like it this year.

7. Woman's World - I get this for research, to keep up on what they're buying.

Sheesh. It seems like so many when I actually list them! I think that it's tax-deductible, though.

So, my question is...what magazines do you subscribe to?

Valentine's Day Ideas?

My New Year's Resolution was to be a better wife. I think that since my children were born, I've concentrated so hard on being a terrific mom, that my husband was relegated to the back of the bus. To that end, I'm making 2007, the Year of the Hubby.

Valentine's Day is coming, so I'm going to send him an email everyday, from February 1 -14, telling him what I love and appreciate about him. I'm also going to make a sign for his parking spot at work, anchored in a pot of sand.

Do you have any ideas you'd like to share, big or small?

Pleasure Island

Okay, reality shows are a fact of life these days. The only one I ever got hooked on was Project Runway, the one where the fashion designers duke it out for money, a spread in Elle magazine, a car, and probably some other stuff I can’t remember right now. How they could create clothing out of the strangest materials amazed me. The challenges that the show presented to the contestants were very creative, too. One time they had to design an outfit for Barbie. Another time they had to redesign the U.S. Postal Service uniform.

Anyway, I’m getting off the subject. What I wanted to do today was have you imagine that you are the star of an extraordinary reality show - and I mean that literally - Pleasure Island.

The object of Pleasure Island is to take five men and decide who is the sexiest. Now, you can populate your island with whomever you like. They can be celebrities. They can be characters from books, movies, or TV. They can be people from your past. They can be historical figures.

These five men will have to meet many sexual challenges. Maybe the first challenge would be to turn you on with only words. Maybe you want to find out who can make the best use of a scarf and rose petals. Perhaps, you naughty girl, you might even present a team challenge. It’s your choice.

So, name your five men and come up with a challenge for them! Everyone who participates will get a chance to appear in a cameo role in my next book. Good luck!