Sunday Stealing #10

Sunday Stealing: The Favorite Meme

Fill in your favorite for each of the following:

1. Political show: Hardball

2. Picnic food: Potato chips

3. Mixed drink: Cranberry juice and vodka

4. U.S. President: JFK

5. Kind of student to teach: I don't know how to answer this, as I've only ever been a student

6. Hobby you do or wish you still did: So many! The first ones that come to mine are learning to play an instrument or speak another language.

7. Sports commentator: Cubs legend Ron Santo, who does color commentary on the Cubs radio broadcasts

8. Sport to watch on TV: If I'm not listening to Cubs baseball, I want to be watching Cubs baseball (I like Cubs baseball)

9. Animal to have as a pet: A cat, like the one draped across my lap as I answer these questions

10. Halloween costume you have worn: Harpo Marx. I loved that horn.

11. Kind of dessert: Strawberry rhubarb pie

12. Comic strip: I haven't read the comics in decades

13. Ice cream flavor: Mint chocolate chip

14. News source: National -- MSNBC; Local -- Channel 5 or the Chicago Tribune

15. Vacation spot: Chateau Elan in Atlanta

16. Wine: White Zinfandel

17. Way to waste time instead of working: Doing this

18. Reality show: American Idol

19. Children's movie: Mary Poppins

20. Celebrity you wish would retire: Madonna

Happy Birthday to me, pt. 3

Today is my real-live, honest-to-God birthday. I treated myself to a massage, which might be my last one with my regular therapist because she's looking for a new job closer to where she lives. I hope she finds what will make her happy, but I'll miss her. She's not only very nice but she does wonders for those knots between my shoulders, too.

Then I went to my mom's for my family birthday party. My niece got me coconut lotion and shower gel. My mom got me a book about the Bush administration's legal problems, a set of body butters and some eye cream. My sister and her husband gave me foot scrub and lotion. My little nephew gave me two novelty pennies -- one adorned with Wrigley Field, the other with the Chicago skyline. I am touched that he put so much care into this.

We all had pizza, black forest birthday cake and mint chocolate chip ice cream. A fine time was had by all.

Saturday 9 -- Dreaming of You

1. What did you dream about last night? I don't remember the context, but Smokey Robinson provided the soundtrack. Considering how I feel about Smokey's voice, I suspect it was a dirty/romantic dream.

2. Do you often have nightmares? Not often. And when I do, I can usually blame it on something specific that I'm struggling with.

3. Do you have any special talents? I have a way with critters, and I can wiggle my right ear.

4. Who is the most talented person that you know? I recently worked with an art director named Steve who was very good at coming up with the absolute perfect graphics to accompany my copy. He had access to the same photo libraries as all the other art directors, but somehow he could zero in on the right image. Often he'd manipulate the shot, like cropping it tight or converting it to black and white. He moved to Portland earlier this year. I miss him. He was a joy to collaborate with.

5. What did you watch on TV last? Larry King Live, though Larry had the night off. Paul Begala was discussing Madame Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. I'm having a hard time letting the election go and am watching stories about the new Cabinet obsessively.

6. Is there a new TV show that you would recommend? I don't know how long it's been on, but I am a recent convert from the Today Show to Morning Joe on MSNBC. They cover politics/current events well, present a variety of opinions, and at times it's very funny. (I love the references to cohost Mika Brzezinski being on Ambien and vodka that early in the morning -- we've all had days at work where Ambien and vodka would help). Hearing Scarborough accidentally slip and say "fuck" when he clearly thought he'd said "the F word" was a lovely moment of schadenfreude. (He was telling a story about Chicago's own Rahm Emmanuel). The show is now on 7-second delay. Also, I've developed serious crushes on two regular contributors, Willie Geist and Harold Ford, Jr.

7. Who was the last person you phoned and why? I returned my mom's call. She wanted to know what kind of ice cream I want at my birthday party tonight. (Mint chocolate chip.)

8. Who was the last person who phoned you and why? My mom wanted to know what kind of ice cream I want at my birthday party tonight. (Mint chocolate chip.)

9. What was the last snail mail letter that you received? The last personal letter was from my cousin Rose.

Why not play along? Saturday 9: Dreaming of You