A Mustache on Monday
I believe in full disclosure.
Translation: I was delighted to fall on the number in the TToT link-up Sarah designated as one to answer these questions because neither of the other two posts I’ve been working on are ready to go this morning.
I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling seriously behind the eight ball this morning and there’s only enough coffee creamer for one cup this morning. It’s going to be that day.
So here’s a little light reading for your Monday morning until the pace picks up a little tomorrow…
Four names people call me other than my real name:
- Mamma is what Kidzilla calls me most often. She told me about a week ago that someone told her only babies call their mothers “mamma.” I assured her that was not the case and Mamma was just fine with me. Always has been. I shared several examples of folks I know who use “mamma,” even as adults. She’s must happier now.
- My Sister calls me Weez. It has something to do with the movie Sixteen Candles and goes way back to when that movie was actually a current hit.
- The Hub most often calls me Hon. Oddly, he rarely calls me by name. The only time I hear him speak my actual name is when he’s speaking about me to someone else. He was unaware this was true. Still trying to decide if it’s weird or not.
- I could not come up with a fourth.
Four jobs I’ve had:
- High school teacher
- Editorial assistant/legal assistant/human resources assistant. All PC names for “secretary” which became socially unacceptable at some point. Pfft. My Grandmother was a secretary most of her adult life and a damn good one. Wear it proudly, people.
- Martial arts school manager/program director
- Produce clerk, which is where I gained much of my knowledge about produce and much of my fear of bugs and spiders. Ever encounter a banana spider? Evil.
Four movies I would/have watched more than once:
- Moonstruck
- Steel Magnolias
- Pretty Woman
- Selena – Wish I could explain this one. I wasn’t any particular fan of the singer. But if this movie is on, I will watch it from any point in the film. Maybe it’s well done. Maybe I secretly love Edward James Olmos. Or Jennifer Lopez. Maybe it’s because I still think I might be a rock star one day.
Four books I would recommend:
- Walden by Henry David Thoreau – Did anyone not see that coming? The rest are actually more than one book, but absolutely have to be considered a whole work. And I sense a theme…
- Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
- Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis
- The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien
Four places I have lived:
- Um, I have to put the same answer for all four. Seriously. While the name of the town has changed and I’ve certainly lived in more than once place, I’ve never lived more than fifteen miles from where I was born.
Four places I have been:
- San Antonio, TX (too hot)
- Hilton Head Island, SC (too hot)
- Toronto, Canada (oddly, unseasonably too hot)
- Boston, MA (just right)
Four places I would rather be right now: In truth, there is no place I would ever rather be than tucked in my home with my Kidzilla and my Hub safely nearby. But how about four places it might be nice to go?
- Near the beach – not on it, but near enough to see and hear the ocean and not a hot beach anywhere south of the Mason-Dixon line, but rather a nice cool New England beach. Such a Yankee.
- In the woods at our favorite spot – no bugs allowed. And no bears.
- Mediterranean tour
- Anyplace in New England
Four things I don’t eat: Like Sarah, I’ll try just about anything once. But there are a few things that do not pass my lips.
- Jell-O – Disgusting in every way.
- Pork – never developed a taste for it and my body really just doesn’t like it. On rare occasion, I will enjoy a very small amount of very lean and extremely thin-sliced ham.
- Ill-prepared eggs – this means eggs of any variety that are what my Father called “runny” and eggs that are what I consider “flat.” Scrambled eggs and omelets should be fluffy, not flat. Period.
- Blue food – in general, nothing blue occurs naturally and therefore I will not eat it. I know you’re thinking blueberries right now. They are more purple than blue and are the only exception because, well, they grow that way.
Four of my favorite foods: Come on…everybody knows by now that I don’t do favorites well. And in the category of food I’m supposed to limit myself to only four? Ridiculous.
- Steak, medium rare – but only the most beautifully lean cut of filet. Other than that, not worth it.
- Homemade soup
- Popcorn with real butter
- Cheese
Four television shows I watch: If we watch anything, it’s never when it actually runs. We stream something after the fact or catch re-runs on late night TV.
- Frasier – smartest show ever.
- Big Bang Theory – I live with a real-life version of these dudes, so…yeah.
- Madam Secretary – I loved The West Wing and this is of similar ilk. Well done.
- Brooklyn 99 – Can’t explain why, but I find this one surprisingly hilarious.
Four things I’m looking forward to this year:
- Knowing for certain that I will not be going back to a classroom in the fall – Last year it was a hope and a goal, not a reality.
- Continuing to grow my self-employed life
- Progress on my books
- Painting the walls in our house – Nine years later, we’re still living with construction white with the exception of Zilla’s room. We’ve finally decided it’s time. And that we have time. Yay!
Four things I’m always saying: Bonus points if you can guess who I’m addressing in each case.
- Get off my chair.
- You’re not funny.
- Stop shaking the bed.
- Get your butt off the table.
And with that final bit of trivia, I must take my leave, friends. I have things to do today…many more than will fit into the available hours, but I have to at least make a dent.
It’s Monday, people. Let’s be careful out there.
I sure do hope it’s the Rottens that have their butts on the table
You know, actually, it is. But now that I think of it, I’ve said that to Zilla more than once as well.
Had to go find my computer to comment because there was no way I was doing it on my phone:
1. Ms/Mrs. Listwa? I used the Ms./Mrs., why can’t you?
2. Banana spiders, yes. Not on produce, but where I grew up. Fantods.
3. I left you another quote in the comments on my post. I might have a thing for EJO too. But that’s from Battlestar Galactica or that movie about the teacher.
4. All the comments about your intolerance for the heat crack me up.
5. Yes, we agree on most foods, but I will eat jello and I love pork.
6. I thought about putting Brooklyn 99 too. I remember we both love West Wing. I haven’t tried MS, and I’m annnoyed by it because it comes on in place of The Good Wife sometimes.
7. Yay for painting! I have a draft post on that. Maybe I should get on publishing it. I’m sure you’re hoping for my helpful tips from my expertise in this area.
I could. But I didn’t use the Mrs. because it is my name and the thing said besides your given name.
Ooooh, Stand and Deliver. Also a GREAT movie!!!
I have zero tolerance for heat. Over seventy degrees and I’m probably crying and fanning myself somewhere.
I think if you like West Wing you’ll like Madam Secretary.
Right now we’re at the “I’m home during the day. I could paint.” “Well, I could paint on the weekend.” phase. He did a great job on Zilla’s bedroom, but I really think I could knock out some small stuff like the bathrooms during the day. We’ll see. His work weeks are short in the summer, so maybe the weekend thing will be the best way to go. Yes, I’ll be looking for tips.
I just wrote THE longest comment, and it is GONE!!!!!!! Leo’s screaming for my attention so the rewrite will have to wait. Ugh!!!!!
No, you’re here – for some reason it threw you into the spam folder. I just released it!
All of your favorite books have a home on my bookcases. Popcorn–yum! And there is something so grounded about living in the same area for your whole life–a real sense of history and connection.
Great minds think alike, right?
There really is something special about having lived right here all my life. Just yesterday at a brunch, people were fascinated by stories I could tell of places that are no longer here (progress?) and what it was like years ago. It’s pretty cool.
While Bryan and I haven’t lived in the town we were born since graduating from college, we really, really hope our kids will stay here. There is a good chance at least some of them will, since so many people we know have always lived here.
I just watched Steel Magnolias the other night on TV. Great movie.
I really need to read those LOTR books…
There’s something cool about being surrounded by people you’ve known forever. It’s kind of like the way the characters are in Steel Magnolias, come to think of it. Love it.
The Lord of the Rings books are some of the best stuff written. So much in there to love. So much Christian symbolism.
Fun list!
And, seriously, I think there should be a pile of these and when you can’t get a blog post to work you can “ask” someone to tag you so that you have an excuse to not finish.
I could use some better excuses these days, lol.
Thanks, Jenn, and thanks for visiting! I’m a sucker for these – always have been. Sometimes I surprise myself with the answers. They kind of make you think about things you might not otherwise.
Enjoyable read, getting to know more about you. I just started Madame Secretary free on demand. I binge watched the whole thing. We have lots in common and lots not – but we have a connection and that is great!
If everyone liked all the same things, Val, it would be a mighty boring world. Our differences are how we learn to appreciate new things! And yes, connection is a very great thing!
I’m so relieved not to be the only one – I just realised that I have only ever lived within TWO miles of the hospital I was born in. Wow. And most of my life (I’ve lived in 5 homes) has been in houses all within about four streets of each other. I’m a proper little homebody, but this city is BRILLIANT and I want for nothing. I see no reason to move.
I LOVE BLUE FOOD THOUGH! The POINT is that it’s not natural, and so it gets you HIGH!
*sigh* This was fun. I cheated on Sarah’s link and thought she meant the comments, but she said I should do this anyway (though I think that was just a pity inclusion because I’m such a goof). Maybe I will.
I liked reading yours though, because it was a nice distraction for my mind from the 1000Speak post I’m trying to stay awake to write!
You are so funny. And no, not the only one. I definitely qualify as a homebody – you got that one about how right here is the only place I’d rather be, yes? 😀
Just promise you will not give my Kidzilla blue food. You may have all you like, but none for her!
These are fun. It’s why I do them. Do it. Take a brain break. I have to stay awake to finish something, too. Not my 1000Speak post, though. That’s second on the list tonight. Somehow my “ahead” status changed to “how the heck did I get behind?”
It’s a Monday…
My husband usually only calls me by MY name when he’s talking to someone else, too. I do the same thing to him.
I was a legal secretary for almost 4 years and I was freaking amazing at it! It was in the mid to late 80s and I was one of the first ones in the office to get a word processor that had a full screen rather than one line that ran across like a ticker tape. I typed over 100 wpm (which is a feat, considering I failed typing in high school for typing negative words per minute).
I KNEW Walden would be on your list 🙂
And soup.
We have lived in our house for almost 17 years. Our bedroom was an addition that had just been completed when we bought the house, and it was painted white. 17 years later, it’s still white, because we can’t decide what color to paint it. Thinking this summer, I might actually do it.
Last one:
cats
hub
cats
cats
I also used to type over 100 wpm. Now I go anywhere from about 80-100 depending on what the old arthritis is doing that day. Still, not bad for an old girl, eh?
I love you for still having white walls, too. I feel much better about it now. And maybe we don’t have to paint after all yet! 😀
Last one…nope! Not quite. You have three out of four correct. 😉
You can tell Zilla that my 25 and 22 year old daughters both still call me Mama and I love it. My son always calls me Mom…always has. So maybe it is a daughter thing.
You and I could totally get our bowls of buttered popcorn and watch a season of Frazier, and a season of West Wing, and the latest episode of Madame Secretary (which is the only TV show other than what is available on Netflix that I watch).
I’ll tell her!
That sounds like a splendid way to spend an evening, May!