Useless trivia you never wanted to know

October 30, 2009 | My Jottings

My children know probably better than anyone that I’m a list maker and a list lover. I enjoy useless trivia, and whenever I see one of these lists on someone’s blog, I’m fascinated. That doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be fascinated, however, when you learn some things about me you probably never wanted to know. 🙂

Here are some questions going around in blogland, and I’m jumping in.

1.  What is your favorite thing to snack on while you’re blogging? In the mornings when I do most of my blog writing, I always have a homemade concoction I call my Cappuccino Cooler, made of cold milk, instant coffee granules, Hershey’s chocolate syrup and hazelnut creamer. Other than that, not too much eating goes on at the computer. That isn’t to say a lot of eating doesn’t go on elsewhere. Just not at the computer.

2. What is one thing you wouldn’t want to live without? Well the obvious would be all my family members. My husband Michael, my daughters Sharon, Carolyn and Sara. Their husbands Chris and Jeremy. And their children (and my grans) Clara, Elijah, Vivienne, Audrey, Mr. McBoy, Mrs. Nisky and Little Gleegirl.

But now that I look at it, the question did ask “what is one thing,” so I think the one inanimate thing I wouldn’t want to live without would be books. The Book. And many other little b books.

3. Beach, Mountains, or Farm? Where would you live if you had a choice? I’ve roasted myself too many times at the beach, and when I visit it doesn’t feel like home anymore. Farm? That sounds like a lot of work, with an awful lot of poop involved. I would have to say the mountains. The Alps, preferably. Wouldn’t you love to live in the shadow of the Alps? That sounds like heaven to me.

4. What’s your least favorite chore/household duty? I am slightly allergic to paperwork these days. And I’m not crazy about dusting, so I just don’t do it.

5. Who do people say you remind them of? I was told in my preteens that I looked like Twiggy. twiggyDM200207_468x515(I’ll pause here while you stop chortling and pick yourself up off the floor.)

T1054033_04In my twenties someone I didn’t know once actually tapped me on my shoulder to inform me that I looked like Stevie Nicks.

In my forties I started looking more like my mother.

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Now that I’m in my fifties I’m guessing it would be Doris Roberts.

6. Prefer parties and socializing or staying home with the fam? I would rather stay home. I enjoy a nice gathering with a friend or two also, but the very word “party” makes me tired. Although I did have several women from my church over last week for a Mexican potluck and it was one of the more delightful times I’ve had recently.

7. What’s your all time favorite movie? The Sound of Music. And One True Thing. And Anne of Green Gables.

8. Do you sleep in your make-up or remove it like a good little girl every night? I hardly ever wear makeup anymore. If I wear mascara, I always take it off first, or am asking for eye trouble the next day.

9. Do you have a hidden talent or a deep desire to learn something that you’ve never had a chance to learn? What is it? I would like to learn to play an instrument well, but don’t have the time to pursue it. The piano or the guitar would be my first choices. And I would like to learn how to write something publishable.  🙂

10. What’s one strange thing you’re really good at? I am good at remembering useless trivia and details, especially from long ago. Things like what color sweater Gail wore when the SAGs ate at The Olive Garden two Christmases ago, and where the four of us sat in the booth, and what the weather was like that night, and what kind of hubcaps were on my friend Denel’s family’s Ford station wagon in the sixties, and the colors of the ballerinas on her bedroom wallpaper, etc. I’m also pretty good at anything that takes quick and detailed manual dexterity.

11. What first attracted you to your spouse? His love for Jesus. His voice. His smile.

12. What is something you love to smell? Since I have suffered from anosmia for almost a year, I have missed smelling things. I have recently begun to smell some things again, though – like lemons and chicken cooking in the oven, and some perfumes. I’m thankful for that. My favorite smells used to be newborn babies, Beautiful perfume by Estee Lauder, pine trees and Michael’s neck.

13. Tell something about you that you know irritates people. I talk too much. I am a little controlling. 🙂  I think this list could be really long, but mercifully my loved ones don’t tell me often what bugs them about me.

14. When you have extra money, what’s the first thing you think to do with it? I think of giving it away.

15. Are you a silent laugher or a loud laugher? What makes you laugh the hardest? I think medium. I’m not sure. My daughters make me laugh – they’re all funny in their own ways and I love that. I also have a memory of laughing uncontrollably at my son-in-law Jeremy’s brother Jordan doing an amazing silent impression of a Velociraptor.

16. Where is your favorite place to shop? Online. Never in a mall.

17. What’s one thing you’d do more often if you had more time? Travel. To Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Israel, and many other places in the U.S.

18. Are you a big spender or frugal? This is strange, but I’m both. I rarely want to go out and spend money, and I’m a saver at heart. I like to be out of debt, but I would think nothing of spending a lot of money on something a loved one needed.

19. Who is your favorite character of all time? (from a movie or a book, can’t be real) I have long loved Jean Valjean from Les Miserables. But today I think it would have to be Cynthia Kavanagh, from the Mitford series. There are certainly other characters in literature who have deeper, more memorable attributes, but at this point in my life, she is who I wish I were more like.

20. Would you want to be famous? No. Who would want pictures of their cellulite on tabloid covers? Who would want paparazzi stalking them day and night? Anonymity is a blessed thing.

Comments

  1. Susan Denney says:

    I love The Mitford Series! When I read it I would only read a bit at a time, to savor its sweetness. Know of any other series like this one? Thanks for sharing your tidbits! And, I am glad to hear you are beginning to regain your sense of smell (which is both a good and bad thing). Love you, Sue

  2. Deb says:

    Was I just saying this morning how long it’s taking me to read my first Mitford book because I just have to ponder and savor (yes Sue – that’s a good word!) each new chapter!
    Thanks Julie for sharing such interesting details about your beautiful self!

  3. Savannah says:

    Oh Aunt Julie…
    I know that this might seem extremely silly, but everytime I hear you say that you love to make lists, I feel just a tad bit closer to you and love even more than ever. I love making lists. I think we had this conversation before. I have decided to write a new blog (finally!) about lists, so you should go read mine within the next couple of days. =)

    I laughed when you said in #10 that you remember odd things. So do I! It’s actually more of a curse than a blessing, in my eyes, because everytime I say something that I randomly remembered outloud it turns out to be very awkward.
    I remember that two years ago a checker at Walmart named Heather told me that she was a double major (Spanish and Psychology). I saw her again for the first time and freaked her out completely when I told her that I remembered her and asked if she had finished her degrees.
    I remember that, my freshman year of college, we played video scavenger hunt and the guy who was our leader, Josh Lambert, gave us the team name of “raisen bread haters.” He called us that because when reading Hosea 3:1 from his NKJ Bible during quiet time he thought it was funny that the pagans loved raisen bread.
    I remember a girl on the soccer team and when she got married, and her husbands name, and where she lives — all because I overheard a friend say those things 2 years ago.

    Also, I loved #15. I love it because of what I would answer for myself. I am the world’s loudest laugher. Whether this is because I love to laugh, or that I only laugh loudly when something is extremely funny (I am easily amused), or I have great lungs… I don’t know. But I do know that sometimes my laugh is embarassing… and that in the past week three people have told me I cackle, and one guy said that he liked my laugh because, right before I get ready to laugh REALLY hard, I wrinkle up my face. He then demonstrated. So now I think that I have a dumb prune face when I laugh.

    Anyways… I love your blog. =) It brings me great joy to read it.

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