Step through the web into my life. Read the ramblings of daily existence. My life, though by no means mundane in the overall picture, possesses such poignant moments that sometimes I just shake my head and wonder where the cameras are because it can't be real. Then I realize -- THIS is what it's all about!
... you let me know! Okay? Okay! Can you write your name in a foreign language? My name in French is Avril. French. Sigh. Yeah, I wasted years of high school learning French. It has never done me one bit of good. I mean, yeah, I can ask someone to pass me a book or a piece of paper or a pen, but I've never had to ask anyone where the bathroom was in French. I did have a French penpal and we wrote exclusively in French. That was pretty cool. Who needs penpals anymore when you have the likes of Twitter and Facebook? You can talk to anyone with a built in translator.
Oh, but back to Avril. Just so we're clear... although I can write my name in French and it IS "Avril" it shouldn't be confused with THIS Avril... which is the only real "Avril" that I know.
... I am clearly not her (obviously). I struggle with wearing the most minimal of make up as it is... the thought of having to clean the charcoal off my eyes would cause me heartburn and angina! Though, I do kinda hate that she's married to Chad Kroeger. I'm not jealous. I just hate her for that. {wink wink} When you’re getting ready for something, do you listen to music? It depends on what it is. If I'm getting ready to do a set of lunges on leg day, I like to get pumped up and I listen to this...
Completely on the other end of the spectrum is my ab music... gotta keep it light and peppy.... I like this rhythm.
What is your favorite day of the week? I don't have one. What is something you did yesterday and wish you could’ve done today? Made breakfast. I was out of sausage. Who lets themselves run out of sausage? On a weekend? GASP! The horror! If you woke up tomorrow and knew/spoke a different language, which language would you want it to be? Spanish. Nothing else makes much sense where I live. I'm in Texas... we have a small illegal immigration situation here if you hadn't heard. I'm all for people coming to America to make a better life, but if you're having to break the law to be here... well, you're a criminal and you're breaking the law. Period. OOOOoh I was almost about to go off on a rant....
Do you have any specific hobbies? Do you have an hour...maybe two?? YES! Cooking, reading, scrapbooking, blogging, learning, photography, volunteering with Cub Scouts and being a cheerleader for my kids!
What’s a song you recently discovered that you want to tell everyone about? Dierks Bentley... I Hold On. He's just awesome and dreamy and I love his voice! Plus, he lets his little girl get up on stage and sing with him and that's super awesome!
Favorite fall or winter accessory? Flannel. I loved flannel before it was trendy. Pisses me off that now it just is trendy so I look like I'm trendy... but I'll still wear it when it goes out of style and just flip the bird at everyone that THINKS I'm out of style.... but I wore flannel before it was cool.
What did you last eat? I ate a deconstructed hamburger from MooYah. Basically... a hamburger salad. (No wheat, you see. No bun.) Look to your left. What’s there? A window. Exciting stuff I tell ya! How long does it take you to fall asleep? Depends on how long it takes Ambien to kick in. I have a severe insomnia problem. I will state that I have learned to go to bed within 30 minutes after taking it.
Is there a TV in the room you are in? Yes. I'm in the family room. Where the fam is... the television is usually on. It's usually on SpongeBob. You see, in my household, I let the little one dictate the programming because I at least know that whatever is on... is age appropriate. Teen Titans is pretty hilarious.
What comes to your mind when I say red? Taylor Swift's lipstick. She's always wearing red lipstick. It looks quite lovely against her porcelain skin.
1. Are you celebrating Thanksgiving at home or elsewhere this year? With whom will you spend Thanksgiving Day? Holidays are at home. Lucky for me my son's football team won the last two play off games so instead of spending the holiday with his dad in Iowa, he gets to be here with me! He gets to go to football practice every single day (except Thursday) of his week off from school and they play another game on Saturday, but it is always a blessing to have my babies with me on the holidays! So, it'll be the five of us, my parents and a family from Josh's baseball team that relocated to Keller from Abilene last year. I love having new friends to celebrate the holidays with! 2. What do you have for breakfast on Thanksgiving? Thanksgiving breakfast is always a casserole that has been made in the crock pot overnight so I don't have to cook. Want to know one of my favorites? It's this one from Eat At Home Cooks I mix it up because I change out the cheeses, the meat, add in green onions, etc. but this is a great place to start! 3. Do you go to a Thanksgiving parade or watch one on TV? I love to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade at home. It makes me happy. I DVR it so I can fast forward through the commercials. I hate commercials... and most commentary.
4. Do you serve appetizers, lunch, or snacks during the day? Yes. Ha! I almost just left "yes" there as my only answer. We eat Thanksgiving "dinner" at noon, so after breakfast, we really have no appetite for snacks. Everyone just waits until the meal is served. I generally have the appetizers leftover from lunch and they're out for people to snack on for supper, too. I actually call "supper" dinner, but since I used the term dinner when referring to lunch, I decided to mix it up. Does anyone really say "supper"? I'm curious. For me it is usually breakfast, lunch and then dinner... but since the Thanksgiving meal is called "Thanksgiving dinner" it screws everything up.
5. What do you wear on Thanksgiving? Nothing fancy... jeans, shirt... though I do think it would be cool to request everyone to dress in their "Pilgrim" best. Although, you know, if you know your history, you would know that this actually wasn't their traditional dress. Just like any other Puritan, they just wore simple clothing... not necessarily the black/white as depicted in all the children's books. Trivial information to help you embrace your inner Cliff Claven.
6. What's your Thanksgiving table like -- do you use special plates/silver/glasses, etc? Do you have a centerpiece? A color scheme? Candles? Funny thing, I have china, but I never use it. I decided I'm really NOT a "china" person. Some years we've used really big sectioned disposable plates to eat lunch from and other years, we use our regular everyday dinnerwear (Fiestaware). I don't have two plates that are even the same color. Not a fan of the whole idea of matchy-matchy.
I use no "special" anything other than this old enamelware serving dish that was given to me by my grandmother. She taught me how to cook and it was what she used every Thanksgiving so I use it, too. I have no centerpiece, no candles, no color scheme. No pomp and circumstance, just friends, food and fellowship. I'm about the company and the food... not the superficial. In fact, I actually already have my Christmas crap out! I got antsy today and didn't want to wait! 7. Do you serve buffet-style or family-style? What do you have to drink? Buffet style is a must because we generally have more people than space at the table so we just gather wherever and dig in! Drinks are sweet tea, water, wine, coffee and usually some type of punch for the kids. 8. Once you're at the table, do you say grace or a toast or does everyone go around and say what they're thankful for? Before anyone digs into anything to make a plate, everyone gathers in the kitchen and grace is said. We've done the shin dig where everyone says what they're thankful for... but I really hated being put on the spot as a kid so I tend to not make anyone do that now. I've done the "thankful" tree. 9. Do you have dessert right after the main meal or later on? Dessert is available immediately afterwards. Most guests aren't spending hours at my house so they eat... talk... eat dessert... talk.... leave. And this... this beautiful thing... is always on my plate! Calories be damned!
10. What do you do with your leftovers? I LOVE leftovers! I make all kinds of things with leftovers. We always have ham and turkey leftover so I'm making tons of leftover dishes with those! I'll be sharing those on my blog next week! Come join in the theivery at Sunday Stealing!
I had to give it a go again! These are always so fun! Welcome to Sunday Stealing which originated on WTIT: The Blog authored by Bud Weiser. Sunday Stealing is where they steal all types of memes from every corner of the blogosphere and make a promise to you that they will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent memes. Cheers to all of us thieves!!! The Blue Meme From Brighter And Wider Than Snow 26) Are you happy with the person you've become? Generally speaking, yes. There's always room for improvement and I never settle with what or how anything is because there is always something new to learn. I plan to never stop learning... stagnation would be death for my creative spirit. 27) What's a sound you hate; sound you love? I hate whining. I HATE WHINING. I don't speak "Whinese" and detest it with every fiber of my being. I have a four year old. He whines. A sound I love? Rain. I absolutely LOVE being in the mountains and hearing a light rain fall through the trees hitting all the leaves on the forest floor. The sounds of nature are the most beautiful.
28) What's your biggest "what if"? I live the "what if" because I don't really like think in terms of "what if." It really seems like most bad ideas start with that phrase, however. Hmmmmm.... I have boys, "what if we.... [insert bad idea here].
29) Do you believe in ghosts? You know, I want to say "yes" because of all the funky things that have happened to me in this house but I'm just not sure. I'll give you a firm "maybe." 30) How about aliens? I would think it incredible narrow-minded to believe that in the entire unexplored universe we are the ONLY planet with intelligent life... although after the recent political race, it seems like "intelligent life" is a complete misnomer for a great deal of the population. This one gave me the shivers, however...
31) What is the single best decision you have made in your life so far? To put me on the top of my "to do" list instead of putting everyone else before me. I am important, too. 32) What's the worst place you have ever been to? I went to this bizarre Asian market in Haltom City and it STUNK.... and there were dead things hanging everywhere... and did I mention it stunk? Yeah, it smelled bad. Really bad. 33) Can insanity bring on more creativity? If you're insane, do you even know you're being creative? I think insanity would bring on more "I don't give a f#@k" so you may think you're creative but you're just mad. 34) Most attractive actor of your opposite gender? Billy Currington or Dierks Bentley. And, to clarify, they're singers ---NOT actors, however, they DO act in their videos so this constitutes acting to me. And thus, they are my drool worthy fine specimen of a human being hunka hunka burnin loves!
35) To you, what is the meaning of life? Leave the world better than you found it. 36) Define "Art". Art is a subjective rendering of some medium that makes the creator feel as if he's done something worthy of the title "art." I mean, I've been to an art show where there was a large white canvas with a red circle painted in the center. They called it "art," I called it the Japanese flag.
37) Do you believe in luck? No... though I do say "good luck" which is rather ironic. 38) In your opinion, what makes a great relationship? Maintaining your individuality while evolving together with someone. 39) What's a song that always makes you happy when you hear it? Always. Always.
40) Where were you yesterday? DFW Adventure Park (Drew was shooting paintballs at his friends for a birthday party) and Cabelas... the only store I think I could max out everyone's credit card at. Seriously, I walk in and want to go hunt, fish, shoot archery, camp, kayak.... it's just ... awesome! 41) What's the worst injury you've ever had? A broken spirit. 42) Do you have any obsessions right now? Everything I do becomes an obsession. 43) What's up? An adverb. 44) Ever had a rumor spread about you? Hasn't everyone?
46) Do you ever hold grudges against people who have done you wrong? Nope, they don't deserve the energy. 47) What's your favorite (non-pet) animal? My children. 48) What is your secret weapon to get people to like you? If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret. 49) Where is your best friend? She's in her bed next to my chair.
50) What do you think is Satan's last name? I don't think Satan has one. Much like anyone else worthy of single-name-fame. Madonna, LaBron, Obama. They are all self-sufficient one namers who need not the crutch of a secondary identifier.
2:How long is your longest relationship? Lifelong... Shannon, my first best friend, is still one of my closest friends. I've known her for 36 years. Hey, Shannon, I stole your picture off Facebook! :) Doesn't she have beautiful blue eyes?
3:What is something not many people know about you? I have Crohn's disease. Silent trouble.
4:Two truths and a lie. Go. I drove through an automated, gated parking garage arm, breaking it off. No, I didn't leave a note. I would rather be in the company of people than be left alone. I refused to pull over on a highway, forcing my friend to throw up in her new cowboy hat.
5:Do you believe in fate/destiny? I may say it, but it's just because it's something to say but do I actually believe that future events are just left to chance by some controlling power is the explanation for what happens in the world... yeah... no.
6:Where is somewhere you’ve always wanted to live? I've always wanted to live in an urban area... in a high rise apartment in the downtown of a city. I nearly did when I lived in Ohio before we chose a townhome because we just wanted some "yard" too badly. I think it would have been worth it to do then, before having kids, but I never did.
7:Has there ever been a song that made you cry? Of course. Music is a huge part of me. Angels Among Us is one I still - to this day - cannot listen to because it reminds me of my grandmother.
8:Do you jump/scare easily? Yes. I also hit, slap and punch the offending parties. You've been warned.
9:Which birthday has been your favorite? They all kind of equally suck. The ones from when I were younger were much more fun and it seemed nice that people actually went out of their way to do something for ME ... You know... that I didn't have to plan myself to celebrate "me". Now, if anything is to happen, I have to plan it. That's totally f'd up and so I say f that and I don't want to do anything. My grandmother ALWAYS made me a homemade birthday cake. She took the time to wrap a present. Little things like that -- they mean the WORLD to me. Now I get zero effort. Zero cake. Zero nothing. It's pretty sad so I would rather just not bother with anything. Isn't that nice? Frankly... since you asked, I think birthdays are pretty damn special. Without them, you'd be DEAD! You SHOULD be celebrated and effort SHOULD be put forth...
11:Have you ever been to a fortune teller? Does my grandmother count? My maternal grandmother thought she was psychic, had crystal balls all over the house, read tarot cards and did numerology. She even did a radio show. I don't believe any of that crap. Never have. Never will.
12:What’s your favorite series of books? I don't have one. I am, however, rereading Harry Potter right now so it's ONE of my favorite series, but again, I don't play favorites. It's not fair.
13:Who is someone that you think knows the most about you outside of family? I'll never tell because divulging that information means that someone would know who to waterboard should the shit ever hit the fan since... ya know... I'm Batman. You mustn't divulge such secrets. 14:What is the weirdest thing you've eaten? I don't eat weird things. Fear Factor... I would NOT be a contestant.
17:Has a scary movie ever given you nightmares? YES! There are too many to list... why the hell I watch those stupid things is beyond me. I did see Paranormal Activity and then would freak out wondering if I was the one that left the door open or wondered if something was set down in another place but was moved. I guess I would't say they were "nightmares" but it did freak me out!!!
18:When was the last time you got your hair done in a salon? A long time ago... I am not real good on the maintenance thing. I'm the anti-high-maintenance thing. Seems like you need to find a way to live within how you're made rather than throwing away ridiculous amounts of money for vanity purposes. 19:What was the last thing you did with your friends? Went to the movies 20:What’s something that you like to do that others might see as weird? Camp. I like to be unplugged and in the middle of nowhere... in the quiet... cooking over a campfire... sleeping in a tent. No electricity. No phones. No running water.
