Sick of that picture yet? We still have a long way to go…

Day eleven asks me to list 15 of my favourite things. FIFTEEN. I don’t think I HAVE that many favourite things. Let’s give it a try, in no particular order. Given what we did on day 5 I think we’ll skip favourite band, and I think another day asks about food, so…

1. new notebooks
2. Tetley tea
3. East of Eden (have you seen my copy? I haven’t seen it in a year)
4. lilacs
5. hand-written letters and cards
6. naps
7. time alone in the house
8. cats
9. golden eagles
10. book stores and libraries
11. the random stuff my 5-year-old son says
12. when my kids tell me they love me, and they don’t even want anything
13. cuddles (husband, kids, cats… really with anyone who’s not too smelly. Sorry, dogs)
14. writing (obviously)
15. the sound of gentle waves lapping on the shore (bonus points if there’s a hollow spot and it makes that “thlock, thlock” sound)

Well, there you go. Not organized, not necessarily the favouritest of favourites (there are some things I’m just not ready to share with you guys yet, much as I adore you), but all favourites in some way.

Bad habits. Dun dun dunnnnnn…

Oh, don’t look at me like that. We’ve all got ’em.

Bad habits… Sadly, none of mine are very impressive. I’ve never enjoyed being drunk, and the only drugs I’ve ever used were prescribed or OTC. I do have a bad habit of overdoing the Advil when my head is bad, but my doctor said it was OK. Sometimes. I’m not a womanizer, or a man… anizer.

• I drink too much caffeine
• I have a habit of spending time on the computer instead of doing what I should be doing (usually housework)
• I pick at things. My mascara, birch tree bark, my husband’s sunburns… sick, I know. It’s a bad habit.
• putting my work ahead of– you guessed it!– housework (and having a social life, and leaving the house…)
• I only stick with things as long as they interest me
• I have a habit of not tidying up after myself right away, and then forgetting to do it later

Super boring, right? Sorry I can’t offer anything better. Really, my worst habits can be narrowed down to procrastination and laziness.

I’m a charming and mysterious woman, aren’t I?

*eye roll*

I don’t know why you people hang out with me.

Hey, did the title make anyone else think of this? Put some clothes on, Fiona… (public almost-nudity: not a bad habit I share)

Why, hello there. What’s a nice insert-gender-here like you doing in a place like this?

It’s Day 8 of the 31 day blog challenge, which brings us to…

“What’s in your handbag”

Dude, what isn’t in my handbag? I don’t have a handbag, I have a life-support system with a shoulder strap, heavy enough to knock out a gorilla if I swing it hard enough. Don’t ask how I know that.

Don’t take my word for it. A picture, and a no-particular-order list (let me know if I missed anything):

• make-up bag
• wallet
• kobo and case
• baby dragon notebook (I take my squid notebook if I need something larger)
• pens
• kleenex
• visine
• stash of band-aids (this one’s My Little Pony)
• business cards
• Advil
• spare earrings
• sea bands (for car-sickness, mine or my son’s)
• dental floss
• wet nap (not a condom)
• sugar packets
• spoon and coffee stir stick (because sometimes drive-through people forget)
• peanut packets (because they always give me too many)
• cleaning cloth
• ear buds
• tire pressure gauge
• cookies (for hungry child emergencies)
• hand cream
• hair elastic
• lip balms
• spare meds
• my phone is usually in there, too, but it was on photo duty when this was taken

I think that’s all of it. Yes, it’s a lot, but now that the kids are both out of diapers, this plus a juice box or two pretty much has me covered when we go out. My husband makes fun of all of my stuff (and the fact that I can pull pretty much anything out of here, like Mary Poppins’ carpet bag), but he’s never complained when I had something he needed!

Hello again, and welcome back to Random Crap About Me. Today’s topic in the blog challenge is (thankfully) less labour-intensive than yesterday’s music-palooza.

“Your 5 Senses Right Now”

Only five? Way to LIMIT me, challenge! I guess I’ll stick to the traditional five… But this is a little awkward. See, I’m going to describe my senses from yesterday, because as of right now, I’m in The Land That Wi-Fi Forgot, so I had to write this yesterday, not knowing what my senses would be sensitating right now. So this is “My 5 senses… 24 hours ago.”

Sight: Messy desk. There’s my library card I couldn’t find when I needed it yesterday, the ms I should be editing right now, a re-haired but half-painted doll head, and a portrait of my kids. Simon has bed-head and Ike is wearing his zebra costume; it was kind of an impromptu thing at Wal-Mart. The light in here this morning is very strange. It’s overcast outside, but the light has a brownish quality to it, and I keep checking to make sure I’m not wearing my sunglasses.

Thanks, that’s not at all creepy…

Hearing: I’ve got the TV on, set to the “hit list” music station. Right now it’s playing old-school Chantal Kreviazuk, which is interesting; usually they don’t play “hits” that are more than a few months old, and this one was big more than a dozen years ago. I can also hear clinking and splashing in the kitchen, where Ike is “doing dishes.” This means that he’s making a big mess, but he’s having fun, so that’s okay.

Touch: I have a very uncomfortable old kitchen chair under my butt, and my desk is pressing into my knees (my kingdom for a desk I can sit cross-legged at, or a stability ball to sit on!). Computer keys under my fingers. Soft old t-shirt, comfortable cargo pants that hug my legs, but not too much. I’ve got an itchy bug bite behind my ear, and my legs are a little sore (both from last night’s walk). Cat purring on my lap, warm and rumbly. Cool air, which I’m enjoying, because I know it will heat up later.

Smell: Bagel. Butter. This is what Ike’s having for breakfast (Simon’s not up yet, so his breakfast isn’t in the mix). Laundry detergent from me washing out the old container in the kitchen. And if I life this cat a little… Guys, no word of a lie, Lucy is the best-smelling cat in the world. I know a lot of people like to sniff their cats, because cats smell lovely*. But Lucy is the best. She smells like a cat, warm and feline, but she’s got other smells going on. She’s the only one of our cats who insists on going outdoors, and her fur seems to absorb the lovely smells of the trees (leaves and needles, lovely scent of bark), the fresh air and the sunshine. Even when she hasn’t been out in a while, she still smells like summer. Oh, but then in cool weather, she comes in smelling like a camp fire. I’ve never seen a good explanation of why this happens, but I’ve had many cats who smelled like smoke when it’s cold out. I LOVE it. But not today… today Lucy is all warm summer cat, and she’s happy to let me sniff. My husband, on the other hand, thinks I’m a cat-huffing freak. Whatever.

Taste: Oatmeal! Steel-cut. It should taste the same as rolled oats, being made of exactly the same stuff, but the texture somehow makes it taste better, just like the way Kraft Dinner spirals taste better than the regular shape. Milk and brown sugar. Tetley tea, with a little milk and just 1/4 of a teaspoon of sugar. Yes, it makes a difference. When I was a kid I had a LOT of sugar in my tea. I’ve cut back, but I still need that tiny bit of sweetness. Two healthy breakfast items ruined with sugar… delicious.

So there you go. You just travelled through time, 24 hours into the past. In my brain. Congratulations!

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*Except for my poor Harriet. Sometimes she’s a smelly cat, and I can’t cuddle her, and it makes both of us sad. We’re going to see the vet about that. 😦