Jan 3, 2008

Yet another thing to do in my "spare" time

The Countess at the 32-Aker Wood tagged me for this meme. (And what does "meme" stand for, anyway?) Since I'm away from home at the SCE conference, I actually have more spare time than usual, at least until tomorrow. So, here goes...

8 Things I'm Passionate About
  • My faith community, Communality. After almost 10 years, I still love sharing my life with these folks.
  • Traveling. I love going anywhere, anytime. Seriously -- just throw a dart at the map, and I'm up for going there, right now.
  • Reading. I love reading new books, the excitement of the newness of the tale. And I love re-reading old books -- James Herriot, Anne of Green Gables, Watership Down, Louis L'Amour, Stephen King, Tolkein, Barbara Kingsolver -- and re-experencing the tales that I've grown to love. Billy once said that I'm a true lover of books, and I'm flattered by the label.
  • Staying connected with my friends and family (and I hope my friends who are out there reading this will agree!)
  • Making a home. I'm realizing more and more that I love homemaking, cooking, decorating, hosting, making the people I love feel at home.
  • My dissertation topic (sorry, my thesis topic, in British parlance). I'm really enjoying thinking about temperance and the ways in which it could help us think about consumption more clearly.
  • Being a parent to Miranda. I love her so much! I really see how parenting is a magnum opus, a life's work that has to be entrusted to God for its completion. (I feel this very distinctly right now, being away from her for a few days.)
  • Learning how to be a life partner to my husband.
8 Things I Want to Do Before I Die
  • Travel to Iceland and ride horses around the old volcanos (doesn't this sound awesome???)
  • Be able to say that I've read each and every book in my house (yeah, right)
  • Reach and maintain my ideal weight
  • Own a clawfoot tub, where I can steep like a tea bag
  • Make a real contribution to the field of moral theology (Christian ethics), something that makes a difference
  • Be a real part of the lives of my extended family
  • Watch Miranda grow up and have a good life of her own
  • Take an extended roadtrip across the US, really seeing the sites

8 Things I Say Often
  • No MA'AM!
  • What do you say? ("Please" and "Thank You" are the usual expected answers.)
  • I love you (to various people that I love)
  • Hey Munchie!
  • Why did I decide to do a PhD???
  • Honey, have you seen my... (keys, phone, purse, etc etc)
  • What time is it?
  • I'll get up in five minutes.
8 Books I've Read Recently (and by recently we mean in 2007)
  • Wealth as Peril and Obligation: The New Testament on Possessions
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
  • The Confessions of Saint Augustine
  • Sitka (Louis L'Amour)
  • Donde Viven Los Monstruos (Where the Wild Things Are)
  • Ruthless Trust: The Ragamuffin's Path to God (Brennan Manning)
  • Ender's Shadow (Orson Scott Card)
  • Wizard and Glass (Stephen King)

8 Songs I Can Listen to Over and Over
  • "Whisky River" Willie Nelson
  • "Hammer and a Nail" Indigo Girls
  • "Gift to Me" Martyn Joseph
  • "Scarf Dance" Psalters
  • "You'll Be Mine" Stevie Ray Vaughan
  • "Somebody" Depeche Mode
  • ""Volcano" Jimmy Buffett
  • "Spring" Vivaldi

8 Things That Attract Me to My Best Friends
  • A sense of fun, wanting to experience life in all its craziness
  • A shared sense of purpose and meaning
  • A shared willingness to prioritize our friendships over time and distance
  • An amazing sense of humor (almost always)
  • A willingness to speak to me clearly, directly, and candidly, not coddling me or pulling punches
  • A willingness to love me despite my faults and through my failures
  • A history of shared experiences ("Remember when we...?)
  • The value of a deeply invested friendship

8 People Who Should TOTALLY Do This Meme
  • MeesheMama, because she's absolutely hilarious
  • LazyMom, ditto
  • Melinda, ditto
  • Loco Lara, because she needs a break from her 3 girls and her job
  • My sister (even though she doesn't have a blog), because she needs a break from her twins and her pregnancy
  • Lisa Samson, because she's a great author and so good with words that I like reading anything she writes
  • Her daughter Ty, because she's exceptionally cool
  • My husband, even though he doesn't have a blog

5 comments:

melinda said...

I love your new hairdo as well!

Janet said...

I should have known when I tagged you that you would make me look shallow! :) But that's OK, too. I'll just strive to live up to your example. And I'm not being sarcastic here either!

MeesheMama said...

I have never done one of these "meme" things, mostly because I refused to do one until I knew how the heck you pronounced that word. I still don't know. I am honored that you'd like to see me do one, and I will consider it. (Although those questions are challenging to someone like me, whose deepest thoughts have something to do with tactics for tricking my kids into getting dressed every morning/afternoon.)

I will say that I am surprised that I can cross off 2 things on your "before I die" list. You are welcome to soak in my clawfoot tub, and I highly recommend an extended road trip.

Finally, I forgot the song "Somebody" existed. Holy crap, I have to buy it RIGHT NOW. A serious serious trip back into high school. Thank you. Oh, thank you.

Anonymous said...

i love all the ender books - when i read them, i couldn't put them down:)
-Rose

Lazymom said...

Hot mama hairdo!!! Wow!!! You look amazing.
Alright....first of all EIGHT is way to high a number to do in a list. That requires actual thinking which causes discomfort in my squishy brain.
But in the cause of friendship i will undertake this difficult task of self examination.
Secondly....is meme perhaps pronounced ME, ME?!

8 THINGS IM PASSIONATE ABOUT
*My marriage. That may not always manifest itself into sexual passion, but physically, mentally, and emotionally i cant think of another relationship i have put more into and gotten more out of over the last 15 years. Ive learned a little about me and alot about what it takes to maintain a partnership. And hopefully on occassion the sexual passion flairs its hot little head.
*Motherhood- A privilege to carry, transport, and then care for another being. And nothing compares to making your child smile.
*Reading- love it. Do it obsessively.
*My family
*The power of touch. Yes, my work is touch based, but outside of that, i think in a culture where we are so isolated and closed up nothing can be as powerful as reaching out and taking someones hand.
*Treating others with respect and kindness. Something so easy, is so easily discarded in our society.
*the world of joss whedon...Buffy, Angel, Firefly....books, movies, comics, and tv shows he has written..Ok maybe passion is a bit strong of a word here...but as far as pop culture goes this is about as excited as i get. (Battlestar Galactica is right up there) shallow, i know.
*love. You cant love to much, to many, too often. I dont think anything else makes as much of a difference or impact on our lives and our world. The real kicker is trying to love the unloveable. But isnt that what true love can manage?

8 THINGS TO DO BEFORE I DIE
*Truly live, freely
*Truly love, unyielding and without expectation
*Travel overseas
*Drive across the country with my hubby and children
*Give my children the tools they need to get on in the world.
*Front a band at a live gig
*Have one more fun evening full of laughter with the hubby
*Thank God for my life and brush my teeth

8 Things i say often

* "Actually.."
* "Do you need a little mommy time?"
* "When do you rehearse?"
* "Wolverine, sit on your bottom please"
* "Let your arm go."
* "I love you"
* "Hey sweetie"
* "ugh"

8 books ive read recently

* Lost In Austen by Emma Campbell Webster
* Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
* The Trumpet and the Swan by E.B. White
* A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeline L'Engle
* Redeeming Love
*Buffy and Angel comics by Joss Whedon (when your mommy of a toddler i think comics can pass as "books")
*Kate, Katherine Hepburn bio that i could only get 1/2 way thru so far
*Wicked by Gregory Maguire (read this years ago and reread this year)

8 songs i could listen to ad nauseum
*Ramblin' Man- The Allman Brothers
*Down in the River To Pray- Allison Krauss
*the entirety of George Winstons December album
*A Murder of One- the counting crows
*Everlong- Foo Fighters
*Juke Box Hero- Foreigner
*anything the wolverine sings
*number 8 is a revolving one...depends on what im currently listening to. Right now it would be Gone, Gone, Gone by Allison Krauss and Robert Plant

8 things that attract me to my friends
*Timing..arent so many of our dearest friends found in random places and moments that all have to do with where we are at that moment of our lives more then specific qualities they hold?
*humour
*down to earth quality
*they understand my direct and candid nature arent meant to be rude or shocking, simply that i dont like to dance

Honestly im not sure about the rest. My closest friends are quite different and bring different things to the table. Maybe that is the thread....i like diversity in friends. I dont know what attracts me to them as a whole....only individually. And im not the type of person to have alot of close friends. Having a truly intimate friendship for me is few and far between. I guess that is why it is so special.