Weds Blog Challenge: Remembering

Well hello again! I've been on vacation in Illinois and Indiana, but I'm back now. I have lots of catching up to do, I know. The Luna Moth Shawl is done, and 2 other wip's are almost done. I'll post picts soon, I promise. Since I was on vaca I missed last week's blog challenge, but I thought it was a good one so I'm going to use it for this week.

The question is: What do you want to be remembered for?
Here's Amanda's answer for reference (:{

I think this is a toughie, and I agree w/ Amanda, a little morbid. But a good challenge, nonetheless.
My fear here is that I'll be remembered the way my family chooses to see me and not how I am as an adult here in Boston. Every time I go home I am painfully reminded of how they refuse to accept me as I am now, a happy, balanced, grounded adult ( I'm not just saying this b/c I think its true, I've been told this by many co-workers and my pre-med adviser who's known me for 7 yrs); instead my family chooses to see me as the way I was as a teenager, moody, quick tempered, book-smart but common sense dumb, a bad driver, in my own little dream world, etc. This is also why they refuse to call me by my birth name, Cassandra, and insist on calling me by their nick-name, Cassie. And also why it pains me so to hear people calling me Cassie, it reminds me of that person that I left behind in Orland Park 7 years ago. So my hope is that if I die, all of my Boston friends and colleagues will make sure that they remember me as the person they know me as, not as the person my family will insist I am. Please? (Also, while we are on the subject, I want to be cremated and my ashes thrown in the ocean. Or some other environmentally sustainable disposal)

Anyhow, on to the question.
Well, I would like to be remembered for being goofy, quirky, quick to laugh, a book/science nerd but also social and fun to have around. A person who sticks to her guns on the important stuff (like values), opinionated and not afraid to argue but also not afraid to grow and change positions with new information. A loyal friend. A lover of all good food, good wine, and good beer. A staunch environmentalist who deeply cares for our planet and its creatures. An artist and a knitter. A little bit of a dirty and demented mind, but not in a scary way. Willing to try just about anything once and game for adventure.
Fell free to completely quote that paragraph in my obituary (:{
I think that is about it??

Weds Blog Challenge: Fav Things

Yesterday's Blog Challenge was a list of your favourite things, Oprah Style. As in, things that people could actually go out and buy not metaphorical things or people. So here it is.

1. Creative Zen V Plus 8gb player. This little guy is amazing! Its about the size of 2 books of matches and its a beast. Fits in my pocket, has loads of great features, great music quality, can handle my clumsy life, all around winner.

2. Peanut Butter. Trader Joes and Nature Promise (Stop and Shop organic brand) are my two winners. Both are just peanuts so no migraines from preservatives for me. And they taste great. Considering PB has been my lunch of choice for almost 20 years I honestly couldn't live w/out these two products!

3. Issey Miyake L'eau D'Issey Eau de parfum for women. Doesn't give me migraines -- which is huge considering soooo many perfumes do. And it matches my chemistry and smells great on me. Its understated too, wont overpower the sense of smell of those standing near me.

4. Oil of Olay Sensitive daily moisturizer. My mother uses this so I've always used it too. For awhile I tried other stuff just to make sure and always keep coming back to this. Its a perfect light moisturizer that doesn't make me break out.

5. Yarn. Yes, its low on the list. Too bad. (:{ I still love it.

6. DVR. Sad, I know. But I have to admit that being able to record shows and watching them at a later time is amazing. No more do I have to worry about making it home on time. And I dont have to watch commercials either. And being able to pause live tv to use the bathroom or see instant replays of things i missed is awesome too.

7. Asics running shoes. Simply the best. Ever. The end.

8. Teva sandals in the summer and my Naot black boots in the winter.

9. My digital camera: Cannon Powershot SD700 IS Digital Elph. Love it. Maybe too much.

10. National Geographic Magazine. I dont get to read it as often as I would like but even getting it just to look at the amazing pictures makes me happy. Every month. So wonderful.

And I think I'll end it there. Ten is a good number. Besides, If I keep going its not really a list of favourites anymore, just stuff I like. (:{

Stay tuned: next time: my tattoo odyssey. I promise!

Confessions

This weeks wednesday blog challenge is on the topic of confessions.
(Amanda posted hers yesterday but I was at work then class, so mine's 2 days late)

* Unless I've got somewhere fancy to be or I exercise, I dont shower on Sundays. I'm too lazy and it gives my hair a rest.
* On friday's I drink more than 1 pint of beer. Its generally 1/hour so it ends up being around 4-5. (technically thats binge drinking, I disagree). This is a confession b/c alcohol interacts w/ my diabetes medication (metformin) but my liver and kidney function tests show I'm super healthy.
* Sometimes I leave the lab and forget to wash my hands. But I wash them before I eat.
* I eat way more chocolate and sweets than a diabetic is supposed to.
* If something in my nose is bothering me, I pick it. In the bathroom where no one can see, of course.
* If my jeans dont look dirty or smell, I wont wash them for about 3-4 weeks. I just forget to throw them in.
* I dont like underwear. esp in the summer. When I get home from work if I change or take a shower I dont put them back on. The exception is once a month and during exercise. I have to wear underwear for exercising.
* I talk to myself, my plants, my experimental mice, and inanimate objects. I answer my own questions too.

Weds Blog Challange: Food Quirks

My life has been a little crazy lately and so this challenge is a bit delayed.

• The smell of meat cooking makes me nauseous (so much so that I was a vegetarian for 7 yrs b/c of it)
• now i eat plenty of seafood, chicken, pork, and other fowl, but I can't cook it.
  
• I don't eat cow. Since I was 13. It still makes me sick. Even cooked. Ewww.
  
• The above are all very Big deals when growing up in the farming midwest where all there is to eat is cow and veggies.
  
• Peaches make me ill. The smell, the taste, fake peach smell/taste is even worse. Love nectarines though.
  
• I'm a bit of a foodie and I like to pay attention to what I'm eating. It tastes better. Friends who have eaten with me often comment that I stop paying attention to the conversation and they catch me "intently studying" my food. Even at work everyone says I act like the Japanese in that matter. I take food seriously.
• I LOVE peanut butter. I have been eating PB and something (jam, banana, nutella, apple) sandwiches nearly every day for lunch for over 20 yrs and I still love it.
  
• I love yogurt. All kinds. Greek, tart, fruity, savory, in sauces, in dips. I love seeking out new kinds and trying them.
  
• I love milk and still drink 1-2 glasses a day. I feel weird eating breakfast and dinner if there is no milk. When I was growing up my parents gave us 2 drink choices for dinner: milk or water. Can you guess which I picked?
  
• A couple years ago I discovered organic milk. I will never buy regular again. Its awful in comparison. (The taste is worse and there is less nutrients and more harmful stuffs (hormones, antibiotics) in reg). Trust me, I'm a milk connoisseur.
  
• I like "strong" tasting things. Raw onions, garlic, vinegar, tart fresh yogurt, black coffee, black tea, beer, wine, dark chocolate. Yum
• Love dessert. I get this from my father who almost always orders dessert or goes home and has ice cream. Sadly I did not inherit his skinny genes, my sister got those.
  
• I have a strong dislike for coconut. My mom blames herself since when I was little I asked her what one was in the grocery store and she said they were fruit with milk in them. I didnt believe her. She said if she shook it, I would hear the milk sloshing around. Instead of shaking it Close to my ear she hit me in the ear w/ it (on accident). It hurt. But really I just dont like the taste/texture of it. I can tolerate it if its hidden and I dont know about it (Like in a 7-layer dessert bar).
  

I think thats about it......

I'll be posting another FO tomorrow since Liz is finally well enough to be back at work and I could finally give her her b-day gift.

Weds Blog Challange

I've decided to occasionally jump in on the blog challenges that Amanda posts that her friend invents (I think...)
Anyhow, this weeks challenge is "If I had a Million dollars"

1. Invest half for my future
2. Pay off college and other debt
3. Pay off my parents debt from my education
4. Buy a condo, ok at least put a down payment on it
5. Pay off my sister's car and education
6. Pay for my brother's education
7. Buy tracts of land and donate them to the National Park Service (why? b/c there are large areas of land that need to be protected that ranchers and such Want to sell to the NPS, but the feds dont have the moolah to buy them)
8. Donate whats left to Sierra club, World Wildlife Federation, Joslin Diabetes Foundation

You might be thinking that there is no way that a million could cover all that, but, I assure you that with the right planning, it would!

Later: why I've not been posting, Stanley Cup thoughts, etc