Thank heaven for memes!!

Otherwise I wouldn't post at all. This one is courtesy of P@.

a) Go to urbandictionary.com and type in your answers to the following questions.
b) Post your favorite definition it gives you -- or just post the first one. (or multiple answers if it's just too funny.)
c) Tag 4 people. Leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged.
d) Those people, if so inspired, should do the same. (I don't do the tagging thing. I believe that memes should spread on their own accord. ;))*

1) Your name?
2) Your age?
3) Your favorite drink?
4) Favorite color?
5) Birthplace?
6) Month of your birth?
7) Where you live now?

Your name?
Allison: coolest bitch on the block

Your age?
51: Number of states many people seem to think the USA has.

Your favorite drink?
Martini: a cocktail made with gin and vermouth and served with an olive.

Favorite color?
Royal blue: The color of blue that is brighter than most others. Many cars, shoes, and clothes come in this color. It is said to have been worn by royalty.

Birthplace?
San Francisco: San Francisco means so many things to so many people--a superlative in terms of the kinds of activity and diversity engendered in the most beautiful city in the world.

Affectionately known by locals as "The City" by the bay, it's unique topography and eclectic skyline lends a vertical appearance to a dynamic landscape, containing the world's most treasured examples of architecture--Transamerica Pyramid, Bank of America Center, Ferry Building, Golden Gate Bridge, et al.

Akin to Paris and London, San Francisco offers something special for those living--or visiting--in the area, leaving an indelible impression to come back for more: Financial District, Fisherman's Wharf, Alcatraz Island, Union Square, Chinatown, Japantown, etc.

I left my heart in San Francisco. And I can't wait to go back.

Month of your birth?
September: a month with a nice temperature and everything but it’s when school starts.

Where you live now?
Canada:
Here are some reasons to be proud to be Canadian:

1. Smarties
2. Crispy Crunch, Coffee Crisp
3. The size of our footballs fields and one less down
4. Baseball is Canadian
5. Lacrosse is Canadian
6. Hockey is Canadian
7. Basketball is Canadian
8. Apple pie is Canadian
9. Mr. Dress-up kicks Mr. Rogers ass
10. Tim Hortons kicks Dunkin' Donuts ass
11. In the war of 1812, started by America, Canadians pushed
the Americans back...past their 'White House'. Then we burned it...and most of Washington, under the command of William Lyon McKenzie who was insane and hammered all the time. We got bored because they ran away, so we came home and partied...Go figure.
12. Canada has the largest French population that never surrendered to
Germany.
13. We have the largest English population that never ever surrendered or withdrew during any war to anyone, anywhere.
14. Our civil war was a bar fight that lasted a little over an hour.
15. The only person who was arrested in our civil war was an American
mercenary, who slept in and missed the whole thing... but showed up just in time to get caught.
16. We knew plaid was cool far before Seattle caught on.
17. The Hudsons Bay Company once owned over 10% of the earth's surface and is still around as the worlds oldest company.
18. The average dog sled team can kill and devour a full grown human in under 3 minutes.
19. We still know what to do with all the parts of a buffalo.
20. We don't marry our kin-folk.
21. We invented ski-doos, jet-skis, velcro, zippers, insulin, penicillin, zambonis, the telephone and short wave radios that save countless lives each year.
22. We ALL have frozen our tongues to something metal and lived to tell about it.
23. A Canadian invented Superman.

BUT MOST IMPORTANT!
24. The handles on our beer cases are big enough to fit your hands with mitts on. OOOoohhhhh Canada!!

Oh yeah... and our elections only take one day.


*That's P@ talking at the end, but I feel exactly the same way. I intend to include this in all my memes from now on!

Cuz all the nerds are doin' it!

Heh. Doin' it.

Stolen from absolutely everyone!

Attention, Crafty People!

You have got to check out these fabulous fabrics!!

These make me wish I:

a: sewed
b: had a small child
c: that someone would make me jammies with this

Sunday morning

The dog decided at 6 o'clock this morning that she needed to go out. I got up, put on robe and slippers, picked up the dog and carried her downstairs, put her out, checked to make sure she was accomplishing something, coaxed her back up the icy steps outside, and carried her back up to bed.

At 7, she decided she needed to do the whole thing again. And again at 8:30. Since the alternative is an accident in the bedroom, I obliged her. Reluctantly. You may wonder why I didn't just get up and stay up the first (or second) time she got me out of bed. The answer is that Sunday is the ONE day I get to sleep in, and dammit! I really wanted to this morning. Fail.

But...

I am sitting at my computer, alternately reading and writing; I have a large cup of coffee at my elbow; I am listening to the glorious sounds of Audra MacDonald singing in "110 in the Shade"; the sun is just reaching the fence in the backyard and the smell of fried apples is filling the air. Soon there will be bacon and Scottish oatmeal. I guess there are worse ways to spend a Sunday morning.

What the...???

Yesterday, I received this in the mail:



The other side of the mailing. Please note the rosary, inscribed "God Bless Allison" and the lovely (plastic) red case to carry it in.



My question: what the HELL did I buy, surf or join in order to end up on a Catholic mailing list????????

The great Canadian pastime (as seen by an American)

This was a reply I wrote to a hockey post written by Wil Wheaton at WWdN: In Exile. I did not intend it to be so long, but that's how it ended up. I thought I would share it here.

I never played hockey. In fact, I never saw a hockey game until that guy I was cyber-dating came to visit from Canada and took me to see the Sharks in San Jose. About two years later, I found myself living in Ontario, Canada with him and his two teenage sons.

Both boys played hockey. The older played defence while the younger was a goalie. I quickly learned the special torture that is being the (step)mom of a goalie; agonizing over every shot, cheering like mad when he stood on his head. The first few years after I moved, I drove with my husband and either boy to hockey arenas all over southern Ontario; those trips are still my main source for remembering the geography of this area.

The guy and I got married. For various sentimental reasons, we decided to get married in February, which happened to fall smackdab in the middle of the minor league playoffs. My soon-to-be husband, who was coaching the younger son's team in the playoffs, specifically told the convener not to schedule any games that day because we were getting married. She didn't. She did schedule a game the night before and the day after, though. Yes, I got married in-between hockey games.

The day I received my Permanent Residence status for Canada (Canadian version of a green card), my husband and I went to a game at the old, wood-beamed, cavernous community arena to watch our younger boy play. We were standing aisle of the old arena, my hand in the pocket of his jacket and his arm around me, when one of the players fired the puck over the glass. My husband instinctively did the hockey puck duck, which unfortunately pulled me directly into its path. I had a lovely bruise on my upper arm for days.

And so I was officially made Canadian.

Things I did while on Christmas break

• Bought a Wii
  
• Played far too much Mario Kart
  
• Made candles
  
• Was ridiculously spoiled by my husband on Christmas Day
  
• Put a whole bunch of musicals on my brand new BLUE iPod Nano
  
• Poached eggs for the first time in my life
  
• Made Egg Benedict for Boxing Day Brunch (see poached eggs)
  
• Obsessively refreshed the Pandagon page to keep up with the endlessly entertaining trolls
  
• Read Twilight
  
• Hated it
  
• But really enjoyed this thread linking me to the BEST recap of Twilight ever
  
• Drank way too much
  
• Bought a new car
  
• The blue one
  
• On impulse
  

I wonder what tomorrow will bring?

Good stuff

Mmmmmm. I made the most yummy pasta the other night and I just wanted to share. Not the actual pasta--I intend to eat most of that, myself--but the recipe I concocted. Enjoy.

Rigatoni Verdi

Rigatoni
Onion
Red Bell Pepper
1-2 cloves of Garlic
Mushrooms
Chard
Pesto Sauce
Fontina
Gorgonzola

Cook the rigatoni in salted boiling water for 10 minutes. While it is cooking, roughly chop the onion, red pepper, garlic and mushrooms and saute in a small amount of olive oil. Chop the chard and add to the pasta water at the 6 minute mark. When the pasta is done, drain it and the chard. Toss with the veggies and pesto sauce and put in a baking dish. Top the pasta with sliced fontina and crumbled gorgonzola. Bake at 350 for 1/2 hour.

You will love it!