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6.03.2008

memoir

Just popping in to say that I walked yesterday, a mile to the far train station at the end of the day... my first real walk for a week, and it went well. I took extra time and wasn't sore by the end. So now I'll get back on schedule with my walking... tonight, 3-miles. But I'll definitely be taking it slowly and carefully.

In anycase, otherwise things are uneventful here. I saw a friend yesterday that I met through work. It was nice because we don't see each other often, and it was a lovely break in my day. Trav & I BBQed for dinner... the hardest part was when Trav was seperating the frozen burgers which took longer then normal since he was so nervous to do it! But all is fine and his fingers are in no more pieces then before. I slept like crap again last night, although the worst was from 10 (when I went to bed) to almost 1 (when Trav came to bed)... I guess I just sleep better with him there. Or his nerves were contagious (he was watching the hockey game which went into triple overtime before the Penguins, finally and thankfully, won!).

Anyway, now I'm here, but not feeling up to much today... so how about two memes that I've been working on and saving for a rainy day?


Meme #1:
This meme originated over an idea that was prompted by the book written by Larry Smith and Rachel Fershleiser, "Not Quite What I was Planning: Six Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure." It's a compilation based on the story that Hemingway once bet ten dollars that he could sum up his life in six words. His words were- For Sale: baby shoes, never worn.


Here are the rules:

1. Write your own six word memoir.
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.
3. If applicable, link to the person that tagged you in your post.
4 .Tag five more blogs with links.
5. And don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!


This took me a lot of time. It takes some real thinking to come up with a phrase that sums up the crux of your life, and especially when you add it the exact word count! But, here is what I came up with:

~ Smiling forward. Everyday a new beginning. ~


Maybe its not the most thoughtful thing ever blogged, but I think it really works for me.
And here are a few of my discarded ones:

- Sun. Rain. This flower has bloomed.
- Walking. Step-by-step towards the heady future.
- Young at heart. Always looking ahead.
- Restless, yearning, growing. Much to come.


I'm tagging Barry, Megan, Laurel, Sarah, and Sarah.


Meme #2:

A - Attached or Single: Attached
B - Best Friend(s): Travis, Heather, Ro.
C - Cake or Pie: Pie
D - Day of Choice: Saturday
E - Essential Item: My phone.
F - Favorite Color(s): Blue.
G - Gummy Bears or Worms: Gummy Bears
H - Hometown: Schnecksville, PA
I - Indulgence(s): Food, earrings.
J - January or July: January... a fresh beginning, not too hot!
K - Kids: Not yet.
L - Life is incomplete without: Love. Friends.
M - Marriage Date: Oct. 13, 2006
N - Number of Siblings: 1 younger brother, 1 older half-sister.
O - Oranges or Apples: Oranges.
P- Phobias or Fears: Spiders. Losing those I love.
Q - Quote: "Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
R- Ring size: 3 1/2 (I have the worlds smallest fingers).
S - Season: Fall.
T- Tag 3 Friends: Anyone, I'd love to read about you... let me know if you did it.
U - Unknown fact about me: What don't you know about me by now? I've never had a broken bone or had to go to the hospital for stitches.
V - Very favorite stores: Kohls, H&M, off-beat boutiques with unique items.
W - Worst Habit: Hmm... procrastination. Although I've gotten a lot better about it!
X-ray or Ultrasound: I've never had an ultrasound... x-rays aren't bad though, I've had a few of those.
Y - Your Favorite Food(s): Sushi, pasta, cheese.
Z - Zodiac: Leo.


Well, back to work for me... but I am going to end with an interview. You don't have to read it, its mostly just so I can save it for myself, but I found it interesting. Love this girl:




Jolie gets personal -- and protective ...

June 2, 2008

"If anybody comes into my home and tries to hurt my kids, I've no problem shooting them." That's Angelina Jolie, revealing her up-with-the-Second-Amendment maternal instincts to Britain's Mail on Sunday.

And, as an added warning, the protective mom of Maddox, 6, Pax, 4, Zahara, 3, Shiloh, 2, and the still-baking, Brad Pitt-spawned double buns in her oven, points out that she "bought original, real guns of the type we used in 'Tomb Raider' for security."

"Brad and I are not against having a gun in the house, and we do have one," acknowledges Jolie, who is out stumping for the soon-to-be-released thriller, "Wanted," in which she plays a weapons-wielding assassin. "And yes, I'd be able to use it if I had to. I could handle myself. I think there are certain combat skills that would come out. I tend to want to throw an elbow."

Says the goodwill-promoting earth mother, "There's a side to me that people know is humanitarian, and there's a side to me that's a mommy. But there's also the side that likes to get down and dirty and run and jump around and fire guns."

And while it'll probably be several years before any of her tots see her popping a cap or 50 in "Wanted," she's not going to shield them from violence on the big screen.

"It's just not a reality in this day and age to say, 'I'm never going to let my kids watch a movie that has a gun in it,'" explains Angelina. "It's important to know that this exists. But I'm very clear with my children about who's a good guy and who's bad."


Angelina graces the cover of the July issue of Vanity Fair.

Meanwhile, the actress and her heaving, ah-ooga!-triggering cleavage strike a scarlet-lipped, come-hither "Barbarella"-meets-Brigitte Bardot pose for the July issue of Vanity Fair.

In the interview, which was conducted before she confirmed she was carrying twins (by the by, their arrival is so eagerly anticipated that bidding on the first pics has reached an unprecedented $15 million, reports TMZ.com), she admits she didn't intend to fall for Pitt -- or any other actor.

"After my last divorce [from Billy Bob Thornton], I said I was absolutely going to marry somebody in another field, an aid worker or something," maintains Angelina. "Then I met Brad, everything I wasn't looking for, but the best man, the best father I could possibly wish for, you know?"

Besides, she adds, "I don't see him as an actor. I see him very much as a dad, as somebody who loves travel and architecture more than being in movies."

During the extensive sit-down, Jolie talks more about Pitt and life in their poopie-pants-filled household. Here are some highlights:

On bonding with Pitt over philanthropy: "This was actually one of the things that brought us together. Though he wasn't as publicly active, I found him to be very aware of the world, very curious, very compassionate. In his private way, he had been doing a lot. When we met, we realized our common goals were that we both wanted to be involved in the world and see what we could do. We have similar interests but different approaches. He's more involved in rebuilding New Orleans, environmental issues, green sustainability. I am more refugees. But when it comes to common goals -- orphans, orphans' rights, children -- we support each other. It brings us together and makes our relationship work."

On being knocked up: "I love it. It makes me feel like a woman. It makes me feel that all the things about my body are suddenly there for a reason. It makes you feel round and supple, and to have a little life inside you is amazing. Also, I'm fortunate. I think some women have a different experience depending on their partner. I think that affects it. I happen to be with somebody who finds pregnancy very sexy. So that makes me feel very sexy."

On their unwedded bliss: "People have made a lot out of it that we're not but we both have been married before, and it's very easy to get married, but it's not easy to build a family and be parents together. And maybe we've done it backwards, but we certainly feel married."

On the tabloids: "People always slow down for a train wreck. It's like junk food. If you don't feel good about yourself, you want to read crap about other people, like gossip in high school. You don't understand why it's there, but somehow it makes a lot of people feel better."

On their diverse nannies: "We don't ever have anybody spend the night. We may have to adjust that when the next one comes. But we do have ladies that work with us, and they're also from different cultures and backgrounds. One lady's a Vietnamese teacher -- wonderful. One is of Congolese descent from Belgium. Another is from the States and is really creative and does art programs."

On her blended family: "When I was growing up I wanted to adopt, because I was aware there were kids that didn't have parents. It's not a humanitarian thing, because I don't see it as a sacrifice. It's a gift. We're all lucky to have each other. I look at Shiloh -- because, obviously, physically, she is the one that looks like Brad and I when we were little -- and say, 'If these were our brothers and sisters, how much would we have known by the time we were 6 that it took into our 30s and 40s to figure out?' I suppose I'm giving them the childhood I always wished I had."

On how they chose the name Shiloh: "It's a biblical name but we didn't name her for that. It was a name my parents almost named their first child -- there was a miscarriage: Shiloh Baptist. Because my father had been shooting in Georgia and that was the most Southern name [my parents] could come up with. It's a name I always liked. I used to go under it in hotels: Shiloh Baptist. I'd gone under it when [Brad] called hotel rooms where I was staying."

On spirituality in the household: "Brad got me this great thing for Christmas. It's a bookshelf that has a book on every religion. That's how we plan to raise our kids. Teach them about all religions. They can pick one or be a student of all of them. We'll celebrate Kwanzaa for our girl. We'll celebrate moon and water festivals for our boys. We'll take them to temples in certain countries. Also to church."

On trying to maintain order: "You end up hearing yourself saying all those clichéd parent things: 'I don't care who started it, but I'm here to finish it.'" She also says she takes cues from "how my mom raised me, which is to figure out who I was and try to enhance my individual personality and not get in the way of it. But I can really discipline the kids when I need to."

On their child-rearing philosophy: "Artists raise their kids differently. We communicate to the point where we probably annoy our children. We have art around the house, we have books, we go to plays, we talk. Our focus is art and painting and dress-up and singing. It's what we love. So I think you can see how artists in some way raise other artists."



She's fab!

Have a great day!

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