New Year's Favorites Questions

 Bud asked me about our favorites questions today because he wanted to fill them out.  Here we go!

Sis
Book/Author:  Every Day, The Fault in Our Stars, Scythe
TV show: Supernatural
Movie: Wonder Woman, Star Wars
Musical: Hamilton  
Song: 

Musician:

Color: Teal
Number: 77
Food: Fried Chicken

Flavor: Chocolate

Ice Cream: Vanilla

Candy: Kit KatsAnimals: Horses and Bei Bei the panda
Dessert: Cookies

Drink: Virgin Pina ColadaRestaurant: Takumi
Toy/Thing: Special Prismacolor Colored Pencils

Game: Things to Do: Ride Murphy, Read, Bake

Place to go: Spring Meadow Farm
Saying/Words:
Job When I Grow Up: Horse Related

   

·      Bud:

Book/Author: The Mother Tongue: English and How it Got That Way by Bill Bryson
TV show: Doctor Who
Movie: Star Wars The Last Jedi 
Musical: Come From Away 
Song: Not Today

Musician: BTSColor: Blue
Number: 46
Food: Sushi

Flavor: Grape

Ice Cream: Cherry Garcia

Candy: TwixAnimals: Penguin
Dessert: Ice Cream
Drink: Purple Cow

Restaurant: Ola
Toy/Thing: 

Game: Super Mario Oddyssey
Things to Do: 

Place to go: 
Saying/Words: 
Job When I Grow Up:

·      

Mom:

Book/Author:  Outlander series, Maisie Dobbs series, poetry, 
TV show:  "Outlander," "Supernatural," "Elementary," "Arrow," "Supergirl," "Amazing Mrs. Maizel," "Doctor Who"
Movie:  new Beauty and the Beast, Wonder Woman, new Spider Man, Thor: Ragnorak
Musical:  Hamilton, Come From Away, Fun Home, 
Song:  "Tosche Station"!! (kidding; anything from above musicals)
Musician:  Indigo Girls, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Pink, Adele

Color: purple
Number: 12
Food:  fried chicken, pizza, biscuits, Indian buffet esp with gulab jamun and rasmalai
Flavor: almond, orange, 

Animals: cats, pandas, otters, hedgehogs, koalas, manatees
Dessert:  almond fantasy bars, panettone, 

Ice Cream: mint chocolate chip

Candy: dark chocolate, candied orange peels,

Drink: London fog tea, peppermint mocha frappuccino, "Arnold Palmer"
Restaurant: Bloodroot, Indian, breakfast places
Toy/Thing:  smartphone, yarn, 

Game: Mario Kart, Dragonvale, Tenzi, air hockeyThings to Do: Zentangle, crochet, read, listen to music, watch movies and tv,

Place to go: looking forward to Italy, want to return to England; museums, living history
Saying/Words: hope
Job When I Grow Up:  hospice chaplain

Previous years:  Jan 2016, July 2015, Sept 2012, Jan 2012, July 2011, Feb 2011, July 2010, Dec 2009, July 2009, April 2008

Happy Valentine's Day

In honor of Valentine's Day, here are 14 questions about me and my spouse:

1. Where did you meet your other half?  Shelving books at the university library

2. How long have you been with your significant other?  Since 1994

3. If you're married, when did you say "I do"?   August 1997.

4. What song did you walk down the aisle to? We had a whole playlist for the second wedding (or the first wedding, after the civil union.)  There were Indigo Girls songs and maybe Lover's Waltz by Jay Ungar.

5. Do you have any children yet? Twins and, in total, 5 cats (currently, Albus, Hermione, and Mojito, plus Mr. P and Morgan.)

6. What's your favorite thing about your other half?   Kindness, loyalty, caretaking, tenderness, intelligence and curiosity, creativity and inventiveness, organizational skills,   But best of all, we have such a good time together and laugh a lot.  She's so cute when she laughs.

7. Were you and your other half high school sweethearts?
No, but she was 19 (a few weeks shy of 20) when we met.

8. Where was your first date?
Early on, we went to "Rent."  She brought roses and we went out to O'Lunney's afterwards (or was it peppermint schnapps hot chocolate at the Marriott Marquis?)  Before that, we ate breakfast and lunch together everyday of the summer of 1994.

9. How long were you dating before you said "I love you"?
Hmmm, we were dating without knowing we were dating.  We said "I love you" as friends pretty early on (I wrote a long treatise on it in a book dedication!)  As more?  August 23, 1997.

10. How long were you dating your other half before he/she proposed? 4 years  We kinda proposed to each other, in the midst of an argument over the book, Bar Stories, on the phone between Chicago and NYC!!  I said, "What would you do if I told you I loved you?  and she said, "I'd buy you a ring."  Done and done.

11. Where is your favorite place you have traveled with your other half?  We have fun near and far, but some of the best trips were our first trip together to Galena, two trips to Door County, our Great Lakes lighthouse tour,  our "nano-honeymoons" in Union Square, London and environs three times now, two trips to New Orleans, three trips to Disney World, even just Old Sturbridge Village, Mystic Seaport, and Hancock Shaker Village, and all the lighthouses and living history museums.  I know I'm forgetting somewhere.

12. How do you and your other half plan to spend Valentines?  She hates Valentine's Day and so we never do much.  We're going into NYC with the kids.  I have some candy for everyone but didn't get to doing the Zentangle gifts I'd planned.

13. What does your favorite 'date night' consist of?  Now?  Locally, dinner and maybe some bookstore browsing.  Grandiose plans would be our overnights in NYC with a Broadway show or a museum exhibition and a meal or two.

14. What is the best gift you have received from your other half?  Early on, she gave me a beautiful silver hair clip.  It was always so romantic.  But exchanging rings (from Tiffany's) in front of the fountains at the Plaza Hotel is a favorite memory.

Questions, for Fun

I LOVE questions.  This has been making the FB rounds recently.


Twenty-six things about me...

A- Age: Not as old as I sometimes feel.
B- Biggest fear: Losing a child. 
C- Current time: 9:06 pm
D- Drink you last had: Orange Julius, in celebration of CPR recertification
E- Every day starts: feeling the cats moving around before the alarm
F- Favorite song: right now, "Keys" from Fun Home
G- Ghosts, are they real?: I tend to think not.
H- Hometown: Houston
I- In love with: Mama
J- Jealous of:  skinny people
K- Killed someone?: No
L- Last time you cried?: two days ago?
M- Most recent movie:  watching Jurassic World right now
N- Number of pets:  4 cats
O- One wish:  health and safety for all (and to see a Snowy Owl!)
P- Person you last spoke with on the phone:  Mama Teacher
Q- Question you're always asked: How's your back?
R- Reason to smile:  my family and my cats
S- Song you last listened to: "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"
T- Time you woke up: alarm at 6:45 a.m. but awake before then
U- Umbrella or raincoat?  raincoat
V- Vacation destination: upcoming--DC and Colonial Williamsburg; Providence; probably Philly; Kripalu retreat (and wouldn't NOLA be fun in April??)
W- Worst habit:  yelling before I think
Y- Your favorite food:  honestly, chicken fingers, pizza, and chocolate cake
X- X-Rays you've had: hand, back, arm,
Z- Zodiac sign:  Sagitaurus

New Year's Questions

Our sometimes bi-annual answers to questions, just to keep track as they grow and we all change . . . . (the last ones are here.)

Sis (she did most of the typing):
Book:  Warriors,Hunger Games,Wings of Fire series, 
TV show: The Great British Bake Off,("Switched at Birth," "Robin Hood"), Doctor Who (BBC),
Movie:  The Hunger Games trilogy
Musical:  Les Miz, Wicked
Song:  Riptide, Blank Space Taylor Swift
Color:pink
Number: 77
Food: popeyes fried chicken
Animals: bunny, horse
Dessert: chocolate
Restaurant: popeyes
Toy/Thing:  Amy, Shirt, Minecraft, splatoon ,Zoo Tycoon,Minion Rush
Things to Do:  ice skating, baking, draw and color, read
Place to go: my room
Saying/Words: n/a
Job When I Grow Up:  vet

   

·      Bud:

Books: Magnus Chase , Redwall, Menagerie series, Hunger Games Trilogy, Scratch 2.0 (Percy Jackson series)
TV show:  "Doctor Who," "Clone Wars," "Phineas and Ferb" "British Bake Off" "Super Girl"
Movies:  , Star Wars  The Force Awakens, Battle of Five Armies (Lego Movie, The Hobbit trilogy)
Musical:  Phantom of the Opera, Les Miz, Wicked
Song: 
Color: blue
Number: 46
Food:  sushi
Animals: penguin
Dessert:  homemade ice cream
Restaurant:  Sushi Momo
Toy/Thing:  Wii, Mr. Big, Scratch programming, magic card tricks, Smash brothers, Legend of Zelda games, (Legos, Minecraft)
Things to do:  kung fu, Scratch, read, video gaming
Place to go:  London
Saying/Words:  n/a
Job When I Grow Up:  actor, coder

·      

Mommy:
Book:  Outlander, Maisie Dobbs series, historical mysteries, cookbooks
TV show:  "Great British Bake Off," "Doctor Who," "Sherlock," "Downton Abbey," "Outlander," "Super Girl," "Midsomer Mysteries," "Last Tango in Halifax," "iZombie," "Jessica Jones"
Movie:  Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Musical:  Fun Home, Spring Awakening, Matilda
Song: "Ring of Keys" from Fun Home, "Revolting Children" from Matilda, "Uptown Funk," "Heartbeat Song," listening to my old Indigo Girls albums
Color:  purple
Number:  12
Food:  pizza, raspberry shrub, homemade soda,
Animals:  cats, panda, otter, hedgehog, koalas
Dessert:  Spritz cookies, Victoria Sandwich
Restaurant:  SmashBurger
Toy/Thing:  yarn, micro pens, my smartphone
To Do:  crochet, Zentangle, read, bake
Place to go:  looking forward to Colonial Williamsburg
Saying/Words:  metta meditation
Job When I Grow Up:  hospice chaplain

Answers

Have I told you how much I like questions?  You know, silly list-icle questions.  Like an interview.  Maybe it taps into my adolescent fantasy of being famous, which otherwise I have left far behind.  Or an almost-universal human need to be known and understood and remembered.  I think they're fun.  

So, here are some answers to a meme that's been floating around FB.  (And stay tuned for our semi-annual family questionnaire come January.)

Three names I go by
1.  Mom
2.  Jamie
3.  Hon

Three places I have lived
1.  Houston
2.   San Antonio
3.  Chicago 

(must also mention NYC.  And, interestingly, our house in CT is the home I've lived in the longest, at 13+ years, mainly because my time in Houston was split between two houses.)

Three places I have worked (choosing the odd ones)
1.  Kinder Care
2.  1 day for an independent baker in NYC (she was . . . odd.)
3.  picture resource library in NYC

(and, for the best stories around Christmas, a Hallmark in the mall)

Three things I love to watch
1.   Sis ice skating
2.  Bud kung fu forms
3.  "Tudors"

Three places I have been
1.  Greece (Athens, the Peloponnese, some of the islands)
2.  Tunisia (mainly Carthage, with trips to Sousse, El Jem, Monastir)
3.  Rome (for a summer in college)

(you know about London and environs, but also Munich and Berlin, a few other places in Italy, Paris for a weekend, a place in Turkey for a day, and various US states but not too many)

Three things I love to eat
1. pizza
2.  chicken fingers
3.  chocolate cake

Three things I'm looking forward to
1.  my birthday this weekend
2.  another Christmas holiday with the family
3.  more travels (on the short list:  England and Scotland, New Orleans, (old) Williamsburg, Quebec, Maine/Vermont)

Summer Fun: Birthday Questions 2015

It's been quite a long time since we've done these, but I thought we should revive the biannual tradition.  I've put recent likes (within the last year or so) in parentheses.  Some previous posts are, n regression: fall 2012, Jan 2012, July 2011, Feb 2011, July 2010, July 2009, April 2008, and this related one and this)

I haven't gotten Mama's answers yet--she doesn't like to be asked about herself--but I thought I'd post before I lost another year.


Sis (she did most of the typing):
Book:  39 Clues series, Wings of Fire series, Menagerie series (American Girl books, Little House on the Prairie series, biographies, Horrible Histories books)
TV show: "Switched at Birth," "Robin Hood"doctor who (BBC),
Movie: Minions (Frozen, The Hobbit trilogy)
Musical:  Les Miz, Wicked
Song:  Riptide" blank space (Katy Perry, "Let it Go," Taylor Swift)
Color:pink
Number: 77
Food: popeyes fried chicken
Animals: bunny horse
Dessert: chocolate
Restaurant: popeyes
Toy/Thing:  Amy, Shirt, Minecraft, splatoon (Zoo Tycoon)
Things to Do:  ice skating, baking, draw and color, read
Place to go: my room
Saying/Words: n/a
Job When I Grow Up:  vet

   

·   

B

Bud:
Books:  Hyrule Historia, Inheritance cycle, Menagerie series, Scratch 2.0 (Percy Jackson series, biographies, Horrible Histories books)
TV show:  "Doctor Who," "Clone Wars," "Phineas and Ferb"
Movie:  How to Train Your Dragon 2, Star Wars 2, Battle of Five Armies (Lego Movie, The Hobbit trilogy)
Musical:  Phantom of the Opera, Les Miz, Wicked
Song: "Revolting" from Matilda (Piano Guys)
Color: blue
Number: 46
Food:  sushi
Animals: penguin
Dessert:  homemade ice cream
Restaurant:  Sushi Momo
Toy/Thing:  Wii, Mr. Big, Scratch programming, magic card tricks, Smash brothers, Legend of Zelda games, (Legos, Minecraft)
Things to do:  kung fu, Scratch, read, Smash Brothers
Place to go:  London
Saying/Words:  n/a
Job When I Grow Up:  actor, coder

·      

Mommy:
Book:  Outlander, historical mysteries (again!), (last year:  History of Food in 100 Recipes, Clarissa Dickson Wright's book on food history, Michael Wood's Story of England)
TV show:  "Outlander," "Agents of SHIELD," "Agent Carter," "Vikings," "Parenthood" ("Battlestar Galactica" (new), "Sherlock," "Elementary," "Supernatural," "Downton Abbey")
Movie:  Marvel movies, (Frozen)
Musical:  Fun Home (Wicked)
Song: "Ring of Keys" from Fun Home, "Fight Song" ("Defying Gravity," "Cups," "Let it Go," Piano Guys)
Color:  purple
Number:  12
Food:  pizza, raspberry shrub, homemade soda,
Animals:  cats, panda, otter, hedgehog, koalas
Dessert:  homemade ice cream
Restaurant:  not so much
Toy/Thing:  yarn, micro pens, my smartphone
To Do:  crochet mandalas, Zentangle (crochet, blog, bake, juggle, read, cross stitch)
Place to go:  looking forward to Comic Con, Block Island, returning to UK, etc.
Saying/Words:  metta meditation
Job When I Grow Up:  hospice chaplain

Our Bi-Annual Tradition

Our birthday and New Year's tradition . . . (Note:  While Mama and I answered these in July, I just got the kids' answers today--Pokemon is a recent phenomenon and wouldn't have made the list on their birthdays!  Two months ago, favorites were Ninjago, Legos, "Phineas and Ferb", Harry Potter, Star Wars, etc, much like at Christmas.  Funny how similar the lists are, though, right?  Twin thing?)

Sis

Book: Runny Babbit

TV show:  "Pokemon"

Movie:  Pokemon:  Mew Two Strikes Back

Song:  Pokemon theme and Poke rap

Color:  pink

Number:  7

Food:  chocolate

Flavor:  chocolate

Animal: bunny

Day of the Week:  Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Ice Cream:  chocolate

Candy:  Tootsie Rolls

Restaurant:  Chinese food

Toy/Thing:   Pokemon figures

Thing to do:  play Pokemon and DS

Place to go:  swimming or the aquarium

Saying/Words:  "murph"

Happy thoughts every night:  bunnies, Pokemon, Pikachu

What she wants to be when she grows up:  vet

Bud

Book:  Hero Factory

TV show:  "Pokemon"

Movie:  Pokemon:  Mew Two Strikes Back

Song:  Pokemon theme and Poke rap

CD: 

Musician: 

Color:  blue

Number:   7

Food:   spaghetti

Flavor:  strawberry

Animal:  penguin

Day of the Week:  Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Ice Cream:  strawberry

Candy:  Skittles

Restaurant:  sushi

Toy/Thing:   Pokemon figures

Thing to do:  iPad apps

Place to go:   Antarctica

What he wants to be when he grows up:  an artist

Mama:

Book: Winnie the Pooh and The Emperor of All Maladies 

TV show: 2012 London Olympics

Movie:  Brave

Song:  "Ordinary Miracle"

Musician: Indigo Girls

Color:  forest green

Number:  13

Food:  Vietnamese banh mi

Flavor: sea salt 

Animal: panda-cat-manatee-koala-dragons

Day of the Week:  Saturday

Ice Cream:  Grapenut

Candy: gummi bears

Restaurant:  Wood's Seafood, Plymouth, MA or anywhere I can crack lobsters with Bud

Toy/Thing:  iPad

Thing to do:  Play DS with the kids or pet the cats
Place to go:  Almost anywhere overnight

Saying/Words:  What's your goal?

Happy thoughts every night: N/A

What she wants to be when she grows up: joyful

Me:

Book:  anything by Sylvia Boorstein; 97 Orchard by Jane Ziegelman; 

TV show:  "Glee," "Smash," "Taste of History," 

Movie:  Brave

Song:  "Born this Way"

CD:  Brave soundtrack; songs from "Glee"

Color:  purple; rainbow

Number:  12

Food:  smoothies

Flavor:  chocolate

Animal:  sea otters

Day of the Week:  Saturday

Ice Cream:  strawberry soda ice cream

Candy:  dark chocolate

Restaurant:  Jamaican, Middle Eastern, Ethiopian, Indian

Toy/Thing:  juggling balls

Thing to do:  be with family, bake, blog, 

Place to go:  bookstore, together; weekend outings anywhere with family

Saying/Words:  "Keep calm and carry on"

Happy thoughts every night: my family

What I want to be when she grows up: I don't know, which is why I ask little kids--for ideas (cribbed from Paula Poundstone!)

Our Favorite Questions

Here is our semi-annual blog questionnaire (last year's here), with two bonuses, from Gommie and Pop:


Sis

Book: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

TV show: "Phineas and Ferb"

Movie:  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Song:  Theme song of "Phineas and Ferb"

CD:  Mom's Glee CDs

Musician: 

Color:  pink

Number:  7

Food:  chocolate

Flavor:  chocolate

Animal:  bunny

Day of the Week:  Saturday and Sunday

Ice Cream:  chocolate

Candy: chocolate bar

Restaurant:  Bertucci's.

Toy/Thing:  Legos; Felicity doll; Shirt; Amy the bunny

Thing to do:  swim

Place to go:  I want to go to Hershey Park.

Saying/Words:  "Cat got your tongue?"

Happy thoughts every night: 

What she wants to be when she grows up:  a vet.

Bud
Book:  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

TV show: "Phineas and Ferb"

Movie: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Song:  N/A

CD:  Mom's Glee CDs

Musician: 

Color:  blue

Number:  6

Food:  sushi

Flavor:  strawberry

Animal: penguin

Day of the Week:  I don't have one.

Ice Cream:  strawberry

Candy:  Mike and Ike's

Restaurant:  Bertucci's.

Toy/Thing:  Legos; DS.

Thing to do:  play chess.

Place to go:  Antarctica.

Saying/Words:  N/A

Happy thoughts every night:  N/A

What he wants to be when he grows up:  paleontolgist

Mommy
Book: currently, How to be Sick by Toni Bernhard, The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Tova Bradley, and books by Sylvia Boorstein

TV show: "Glee"; "Tudors" season 3 and 4; "Firefly"; PBS special "Buddha"

Movie: Harry Potter series

Song: "Born this Way"

CD: Glee vol 7

Musician:  Indigo Girls;

Color: purple

Number:  12

Food:  PIZZA; homemade bread; beans;

Flavor:  chocolate; orange

Animal:  cats; pandas; groundhogs; otters

Day of the Week:  the weekend

Ice Cream:  I like the plain yogurt at Pinkberry right now

Candy: Teuscher's champagne truffles

Restaurant: Bloodroot

Toy/Thing: smartphone

Thing to do:  read; cook; date night; potholders with the kids;

Place to go:  anywhere out of the house

Saying/Words: It could be worse.  It is what it is.  

Happy thoughts every night:   my family.

What she wants to be when she grows up:  costumed historical interpreter!

Mama:
Book:  currently, Geraldine Brooks's Caleb's Crossing

TV show:  "Glee"

Movie:  N/A

Song: "Able to Sing"

CD: Beauty Queen Sister

Musician: Indigo Girls

Color:  forest green

Number: 13

Food:  sushi

Flavor:  cheddar sour cream and onion

Animal:  cats

Day of the Week:  Saturday

Ice Cream:  mango

Candy:  Gummi Bears

Restaurant:   Bloodroot

Toy/Thing:  Legos; iPad

Thing to do:  date night with Mommy; building Legos with the kids

Place to go:   NYC

Saying/Words:  What's your goal?

Happy thoughts every night: 

What she wants to be when she grows up:   fun and relaxed.

BONUS:

Gommie
Book:  currently The Greater Journey by David McCollough

TV show:  "The Good Wife"

Movie:  Avatar

Song: "Amazing Grace" (Judy Collins) and "Ave Maria"

CD:  N/A

Musician:  N/A 

Color:  light blue (it used to be green)

Number:  7

Food:  spaghetti

Flavor:  chocolate

Animal:  bighorn sheep 

Day of the Week: doesn't really matter

Ice Cream: caramel fudge

Candy: chocolate

Restaurant:  Via Emilia in Houston

Toy/Thing:  sudoku

Thing to do:  hike with Pop, go to movies

Place to go:  mountains

Saying/Words:  the Serenity Prayer

Happy thoughts every night: my happy family

What she wants to be when she grows up:  "I don't want to grow up."

Pop, as told mostly by Gommie
Book:  Empire of the Summer Moon

TV show: "Antiques Roadshow"

Movie:  Robin Hood

Song:  songs from Oklahoma, especially "Oh What a Beautiful Morning" and "Kansas City"

CD: N/A

Musician:  N/A

Color:  yellow

Number:  3

Food:  spaghetti

Flavor:   cinnamon

Animal:   ducks

Day of the Week:  Friday or the one when he's in nature

Ice Cream:  cinnamon or caramel apple

Candy:  Fire ranchers or Snickers

Restaurant:  Via Emilia in Houston

Toy/Thing:  binoculars

Thing to do:   watch wildlife

Place to go:   mountains, woods

Saying/Words:  "They're just loving life."

Happy thoughts every night:  "Tomorrow's another day."  "If some is good, more is better."

What he wants to be when he grows up:  a duck.

Birthday Questionnaire

In our bi-annual tradition, at birthdays and New Years, here are our favorites (mostly in their own words--you'll notice that not much has changed):

Bud

Book: any Star Wars books--Don't Wake the Zillo Beast, Pirates and Worse, Yoda in Action;

Junie B. Jones;

Movie: Star Wars, Totoro, How to Train Your Dragon

TV show: "Pingu;"

Song: "P.Y.T," "Born This Way," "Baby," "Somebody to Love," "Animal," (all "Glee" songs)

CD: "Glee" vol 1-6

Musician: "Glee"

Color: blue, purple, green, and red

Number: 6 (because that's his age)

Flavor: strawberry

Food: sushi; macaroni and cheese

Animal: penguins

Day of the Week: Saturday or Sundays

Ice Cream: strawberry (or Cherry Italian ices)

Candy: cherry tootsie rolls, Swedish fish, Skittles,

Restaurant: Bertucci's, hamburger joint, local Chinese, Japanese for sushi or hibachi

Toy/Thing: Legos; Hex bugs Nano; DS games; Tango, his penguin from the Central Park Zoo; Mr. Big Penguin

Thing to do: play, dance, kung fu/broadswords, watching "Glee" videos

Place to go: zoo, aquarium, Texas, beach with Ma and Gong, kung fu class, "outer space in Star Wars

Saying/Words: "Mommy, where is it? I can't find . . . oh, there it is!"

Happy thoughts every night: (we don't do these anymore :( )

What he wants to be when he grows up: dinosaur bone hunter/paloeontologist

Sis

Book: Elephant and Piggie series; any Star Wars books; Junie B. Jones; Cam Jansen; My Father's Dragon; lots of audiobooks

Movie: Star Wars 4,5 & 6; Lion King;

TV show: "Shaun the Sheep;" "Pingu"

Song: "Born this Way," "Bad Romance," "Rose's Turn," "Dancing Queen" (all "Glee" versions)

Musician: "Glee"

CD: "Glee" vol 1-6

Color: pink and red

Number: 6, her age

Food: CHOCOLATE! ; chicken tenders;

Flavor: chocolate

Animal: bunnies!

Day of the Week: swim lesson days and Saturdays and Sundays

Ice Cream: chocolate

Candy: Hershey kisses and Tootsie Rolls

Restaurant: Bertucci's; local pancake place; local Chinese place

Toy/Thing: Shirt, Amy the bunny, Playmobil zoo; Luke Legos; DS games

Thing to do: swim, bake, scooter, kung fu

Place to go: dioramas at AMNH;

Saying/Words: "No, Bud."

Happy thoughts every night: (we don't do this anymore :( )

What she wants to be when she grows up (the list from tonight was her idea): paleontologist

Mommy

Book: Pema Chodron's When Things Fall Apart; Karen Armstrong's Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life; Dianne Hales's La Bella Lingua; colonial histories; Geraldine Brooks's Caleb's Crossing; Sally Gunning's colonial triology

Movie: waiting for the next and last Harry Potter; liked Stage Beauty

TV show: "Hoarders," "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding," "Sex and the City," BBC's "Merlin"

Song: "Defying Gravity" (Glee version)

Musician: as always, Indigo Girls

CD: "Glee" vol 1-6, esp. Warblers

Color: purple, rainbow

Number: 12

Food: Heirloom beans; homemade bread

Flavor: Chocolate, cardamom, rose;

Animal: sea otters, groundhogs, hedgehogs, cats, koalas, pandas, owls

Day of the Week: Saturday

Flower: rose

Ice Cream: Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla; sweet cream

Magazine: Shambhala Sun; Buddhadharma; Saveur; Archaeology;

Restaurant: Bloodroot and pizza

Toy/Thing: my smartphone, laptop, iPod,

Poet: not currently

Author: no single one currently

Blogs: Sew and Sow; Karen Maezen Miller's Cheerio Road;

Thing to do: blog, read the paper, talk to friends

Saying/Words: mindful, breathe, "Mommy"

Place to go: Not getting out much these days, but anywhere except doctors' offices

New Year's Questions (Better Late than Never!)

Here we go, a recent list of likes and dislikes, to mark the passing of time and fashions, literally out of the mouths of babes for the first time:

Bud

Book: Boxcar Children

TV show: "Imagination Movers"

Movie: Clone Wars

Song: "Be Prepared" (Lion King)

CD: Lion King soundtrack

Musician: Imagination Movers

Color: blue

Number: "I like 10."

Food: "meat-sauce spaghetti"

Flavor: strawberry

Animal: penguin

Day of the Week: Thursday "because I like P.E."

Ice Cream: strawberry

Candy: marshmallows

Restaurant: sushi

Toy/Thing: Legos

Thing to do: build Legos; snowball fight

Place to go: birthday parties

Saying/Words: [giving thumbs up]

Happy thoughts every night: baseball (!)

What he wants to be when he grows up: "I don't know."

Sis

Book: Luke Skywalker's Amazing Story

TV show: Scholastic videos/stories

Movie: Star Wars (really wants to see Lion King)

Song: "no."

CD: Lion King soundtrack

Musician: Dave of Imagination Movers

Color: pink

Number: 5

Food: chocolate; chicken tenders

Flavor: chocolate

Animal: bunny rabbit

Day of the Week: Thursday "because of Daisy Scouts"

Ice Cream: chocolate

Candy: chocolate Tootsie rolls

Restaurant: Bertucci's

Toy/Thing: Amy and Shirt; Legos

Thing to do: build Legos

Place to go: Bounce U

Saying/Words: "I don't have one."

Happy thoughts every night: bunny rabbits

What he wants to be when she grows up: "Paleontologist."

Mommy

Book: right this minute, liking my American Pie book and inspired by Trelease's Read Aloud Handbook (did NOT like Stuart Little with the kids)

TV show: nope, well, maybe "Big C" but I can't watch the last two episodes yet (yes, I was addicted to "Tudors" for a long time, plus David Rocco's La Dolce Vita)

Movie: HP7 and the others

Song: Sugarland's "Stuck Like Glue"

CD: Sugarland's albums

Musician: Guess. No, Indigo Girlss.

Color: Purple

Number: 12

Food: still chocolate, lentils, bread, but now also pie

Flavor: jasmine, rose, cardamom

Animal: panda, koala, cat, otter, groundhog

Day of the Week: Friday/Saturday

Ice Cream: coffee ice cream in coffee

Candy: truffles or dark chocolate

Restaurant: Bloodroot

Toy/Thing: my 'droid

Poet: nope

Author: looking forward to reading some Sally Gunning. Just liked Physick Book of Deliverance Dane

Blogs: Karen Maezen Miller; sewandsow.blogspot.com

Magazine: Shambhala Sun

Thing to do: make new recipe, like crepes or pie

Place to go: anywhere is good these days

Saying/Words: counting my breaths

Happy thoughts every night: my family

Prime-Rib Princess and Other Answers

One of the gifts I received this Christmas was a dinner conversation game. You know, a series of questions to get the family talking. Of course, it could be pointed out that talk is something our family is really never short of. Perhaps we should play more of the quiet game at dinner!

Anyway, there have been some illuminating answers:

• Sis's favorite family recipe is Standing Rib Roast. Yep, she's a beef girl.
• Bud likes to ask Sis for advice; Sis prefers to ask her parents.
• Bud described himself as "leader of the pack." Sis was "an A+ student."
• Coziest spot in the house: the kids both said their beds; I said the kitchen.
• Superhero power: Sis would fly and Bud would be invisible.
• Place they want to visit: Texas. ("Why would we go to Rome, Mom?")
• A proper punishment for your parents? Washing dishes all the time..
• Least-favorite chore: cleaning up for both; washing hair and brushing teeth for Sis.
• Favorite day of the week: Saturday and Sunday.
• One word to describe your family: "super!"

Car Games

We drove down to the city this weekend to spend it at the beach with Ma and Gong. On the way, we played some car games, namely "30-second interview questions" from a pack Mama bought on Woot (yes, the Magic Trunk has produced again!). As you have probably guessed from my semi-regular questionnaire, I love answering "favorites" questions and such (I have lots of those If books . . . somewhere). And Sis does too, so we played both coming and going, often with the same questions. Though we didn't all manage to answer all of the questions. Here are some of our answers:

• If you could have a super power, what would it be? Sis, flying; Bud, leap tall buildings; Mama, stretchy arms; me, flying or invisible.
• If you could be anyone for a day, who would it be? Sis would be Dave on "Imagination Movers."
• Basketball, kickball, or soccer? We all said soccer.
• If you could have any talent, what would it be? Bud would know kung fu. I would be able to play the piano, sing beautifully, and/or speak Italian and Chinese.
• What's your favorite day of the week? Mama said Friday night.
• Sock color? Everyone answered in unison. Correctly. Blue, white, black, and white.
• If you could eat dinner with any 3 people, whom would you choose? Sis chose Arthur from the cartoon/book series, Dave (yep, Dave again), and Gommie.
• If you could go to any country, where would you go? Mama wants to see those penguins in Antarctica. Sis chose Texas (yep, it's a whole 'nother country. Don't mess with it.). Bud chose China. Picking from places I've never been ('cos I'd go back to England or Italy in a heartbeat), I chose the Netherlands and China, maybe Ireland or Scotland.
• What are your 3 favorite things about you? Sis said "my senses." I said creativity, baking skills, and (well, sometimes) unflappability. Mama said figuring things out.

But the one that got me right here was Sis's answer to the question about 3 wishes. She wishes for

1. Amy the Bunny to be real.
2. Shirt not to get any more holes.
3. Not to be sick anymore.

(For more questions for kids, see here and here.)

Birthday Questionnaire

Here we go, a recent list of likes and dislikes, to mark the passing of time and fashions:

Bud

Book: any books about knights or dragons, mostly nonfiction, like DK; Make a World and other how-to-draw books (esp the ones with dragons); Bearnstein Bears series

TV show: "Word World," "Jungle Junction," the "Trouble in Paradise" episode on "Imagination Movers"

Movie: nope

Song: "Hardware Store Song" aka Madonna's "Ray of Light" (which they recognized at the hardware store one day);

CD: nope

Musician: nope

Color: blue

Number: 5 (because that's his age)

Food: shrimp (fried, boiled, sauteed), sushi, noodles, chicken potstickers, all dim sum dishes like shumai, as well as lychees, strawberries, blueberries, mandarin oranges, apples, mango, Dorritos, Cheetos, Skittles (unfavorite: beans and anything made of potatoes, including mashed, french-fried, baked, boiled, whatever)

Flavor: strawberry

Animal: penguins

Day of the Week: days with Kung Fu, swim lessons, or Babysitter

Ice Cream: strawberry (or Cherry Italian ices)

Candy: skittles, marshmallows,

Restaurant: Dim Sum in Flushing; Tex-Mex with Spanish rice, Japanese for sushi

Toy/Thing: his knights (especially the jousters on horseback); his sword and shield with his name on it; Tango, his penguin from the Central Park Zoo; Mr. Big Penguin

Thing to do: draw; play knights; kung fu; swim; cuddle

Place to go: zoos, aquariums, and the American Museum of Natural History; visiting grandparents and their beaches;

Saying/Words: "Actually . . . ;" to Sis, "Wait for me!"; "Mommy, come play with me"; "I want 'me-myself' time."

Happy thoughts every night: baseball, Mommy, Mama, Sis, Gommie, Pop, NY/Norwalk/Mystic Aquarium, penguins, Kenai/Denahi/Sitka (This never changes.)

What he wants to be when he grows up: ??

Sis

Book: Bearnstein Bears books; Magic School Bus books; Arthur books; Clifford books; Dr. Seuss books

Movie: Toy Story

TV show: "Arthur"

Song: also "Ray of Light" (the "hardware store song");

Musician: Imagination Movers

CD: Imagination Movers in the car or books on tape like "Brother Bear," Tchin's Native-American folktales, and Dr. Seuss

Color: pink (and red, in a pinch, "because it's like pink")

Number: 5, her age

Food: CHOCOLATE! (esp molten lava cake, cocoa crinkles, and brownies), chicken fingers, dim sum dishes like shumai, fish balls, khao thom (rice porridge with soy sauce), cha siao bao (bbq pork buns), khanom toy (custard cups), chicken potstickers, mango, "anything crunchy," (unfavorite: anything with sauce or cheese or beans)

Flavor: CHOCOLATE

Animal: bunnies!

Day of the Week: weekends with Mama, Babysitter or swim lesson days

Ice Cream: chocolate

Candy: M&Ms, Tootsie Rolls, Hershey bars

Restaurant: Chinese, especially at the restaurant for the lunch special with soup; Dim Sum in Flushing; Japanese for shumai and yakitori; Bertucci's (esp the rolls) and "chip" restaurant which both have "crunchy" chicken

Toy/Thing: Shirt, Amy the bunny, little pieces (like Playmobil, Pet Shop, or dollhouse bits),

Thing to do: cook and bake (esp cookies); arts and crafts; computer games; talking to Gommie on the computer; having a "deli picnic"; play camp out;

Place to go: "dinosaur museum" (AMNH); library; visiting grandparents and their beaches;

Saying/Words: To Bud, "Wait for me!"; "Mom, Bud's doing . . . "

Happy thoughts every night: Mommy, Mama, Sis, and Bud

What she wants to be when she grows up (the list from tonight was her idea): artist

Mommy

Book: just finished Lonesome Dove and really enjoyed it; Karen Maezen Miller's Hand Wash Cold; Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

Movie: waiting for the next Harry Potter

TV show: just not watching any tv right now

Song: "Hollaback Girl" loudly when I'm alone

Musician: as always, Indigo Girls

CD: listening to Rent right now

Color: purple, rainbow

Number: 12

Food: Heirloom beans; CSA veggies esp kale; homemade bread

Flavor: Chocolate, cardamom, rose;

Animal: sea otters, groundhogs, hedgehogs, cats, koalas, pandas, owls

Day of the Week: Saturday

Flower: rose

Ice Cream: Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla; sweet cream

Magazine: Shambhala Sun; Saveur; Archaeology; Brain, Child; Mothering

Restaurant: Bloodroot and Bertucci's (talk about polar opposites) and Tex Mex

Toy/Thing: my laptop!, bread machine, iPod, olla de barro clay pot;

Poet: not currently

Author: no one currently

Blogs: KAF baking blog; Cakewrecks.com; Karen Maezen Miller's Cheerio Road

Thing to do: blog, breadbaking, read the paper, talk to friends

Place to go: craft store, bookstore, Starbucks, Silk Road exhibition at AMNH, Whole Foods, Bloodroot

Saying/Words: "health and safety"