This came to me via a literary agent's blog that I keep up with, and he stole it from the Washington Post's weekly book blog.  I think the answers from my friends could be utterly FASCINATING since some of you are decidedly book-ish, and some of you are...decidedly not.  Obviously, no matter how much a person reads, you can't read EVERYTHING (though it is an admirable goal).  So, the question of the day is, what book are you especially sad or embarrassed that you have not read (or did not finish reading)?

I'll kick it off - there are tons of classics that I haven't read that I'm NOT embarrassed about, either because I tried and they put me to sleep every other page (Moby Dick) or because I fully intend to read them some day and just haven't gotten around to it yet (The Brothers Karamazov).  I am entirely embarrassed at this point in my life, however, that I have never read A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens.  I never had to read it for school.  I did try when I was about 12 to read it on my own and got through about 2 chapters before I abandoned it as hopelessly boring.  I still have the copy that I started reading at 12, with the bookmark in the spot where I left off.  THAT's depressing.  I know I really should pick it up, but that memory of my 12-year-old self keeps telling me how awfully boring it was...

Okay, your turn.  SPILL!

It's been in the works for months, and the day has finally arrived where I'm ready to tell the world.  I've started my own freelance proofreading/copyediting business called Green Ink Edits.  Since I am well-known among friends and family for my skills as a proofreading ninja, and since I am a rabid reader, and since it's always nice to pull in a little extra income if possible by doing things you like to do (and would probably do anyway), I got the idea to do this several months ago.  I began researching, reading books on the publishing industry, talking to other freelancers.  And lo and behold, this August has given me the time and energy to get it off the ground.

If you know of anyone looking for a proofreader, it would be much appreciated if you'd send them my way.  My rates are cheap compared to most other freelancers, and I am very thorough (I can't help it, I was born with OCD tendencies).  Thanks for the support I've already gotten from everyone, and for the support I know I will receive in the future.  I've got a great gang of family and friends!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:15 am

2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds, preferably paired with sapphires or amethysts

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? The Incredible Hulk

4. What is your favorite TV show? Tough one.  I'm not good at picking favorites.  I am seriously jonesing for some HBO original series, though.

5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Cereal, coffee, cranberry juice.

6. What is your middle name? Michelle

7. What food do you dislike? Oh, there are so many...seafood, onions, turnips, cabbage, brussel sprouts, mayonnaise...I could go on, but I think that's probably enough.

8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Um...haven't really been listening to much music lately.  Probably ought to remedy that.  Last album I bought was the debut She & Him album.

9. What time is it right now? 8:14 pm

10. Favorite sandwich? Peanut butter and banana

11. What characteristic do you dislike in people? Close-mindedness

12. Favorite item of clothing? My faux indie rock star leather jacket.  Someday I plan to get a real one when I find the right one :)

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? There are so many places!!  I'd love to go back to London (with an unlimited budget), and I haven't been to New Orleans in 10+ years and I love that city.  I want to go to Savannah again.  I'm dying to see Ireland and Italy, and I think a sunny vacay in the Greek Isles would kick ass...  Really, I could probably list about 50 more places.  I should be a professional vacationer.

14. Where would you retire to? I don't know...the husband would want to be in a bigger city, and I would want peace and relaxation...maybe Savannah.  Or Phoenix.

15. What was your most recent memorable birthday? Well, I just turned 30 last year and that was pretty memorable...I spent a good portion of the night at the emergency vet with my dog while my birthday party continued back at our place :)

16. Furthest place you are sending this? Eh, I'm blogging, not sending.  Could go to the outer reaches of the universe as far as I know.

17. Person you expect to send it back first? A space monkey.

18. When is your birthday? 5 November 1977

19. Morning person or a night person? NIGHT OWL.  In all caps, just like that.

20. Pets? One little monkey-dog.

21. Exciting news? I'm thinking about starting to do freelance proofreading as a side job.  (Anybody know of someone who needs a freelancer?  I can do it for pretty cheap!)

22. What did you want to be when you were little? What didn't I want to be?  I wanted to be a pediatrician, a paleontologist, an astronaut, a singer and a teacher.

23. How are you today? A bit tired now, but I had a pretty good, productive day.

24. What is your favorite flower? I love tulips, daffodils, irises and pansies.

25. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? The one coming up next would be Sunday, when David's parents come into town for a little visit and we go wine-tasting!

26. What are you listening to right now? Myles of Style on HGTV and the dishwasher in the background

27. What was the last thing you ate? Party Cake ice cream (yay dessert!)

28. Do you wish on stars? Not usually, but sometimes when I'm in the right mood (or drunk)

29. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Dark, dark purple

30. How is the weather right now? Warm without being too hot, and not raining for the first time all week.

31. Last person you spoke to on the phone? A client at work.

32. Favorite soft drink? Diet Dr. Pepper

33. Favorite restaurant? It's a tie for me between the Ivy Inn and Copacabana in Charlottesville.

34. Hair color? brunette

35. What was your favorite toy as a child? I was really into My Little Ponies.  The only one with a name I remember was Firefly - she was pink with electric blue mane and tail and she had wings (a pegasus!) and I think a blue shooting star was the picture on her hindquarters.

36. Summer or winter? Summer

37. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate.  The darker and richer, the better.

38. Coffee or tea? Usually coffee, but when I'm sick or really cold, I want tea.

39. Do you want your friends to email you back? Sure, I like to hear from my friends!

40. When was the last time you cried? Last night over an episode of Deserving Design (I cry REALLY easily)

41. What is under your bed? Some off-season clothing storage.  And during a thunderstorm, possibly the dog.

42. What did you do last night? Watched a few episodes of Season 3 of Weeds, ordered in Chinese, played on the internet while watching HGTV, started a new book 

43. What are you afraid of? The very most in the whole world?  I'm most afraid of someone I'm really close to dying.  I don't know what I would do without David, or my mom or dad, or Amanda or Kristine...

44. Salty or sweet? I will almost always choose sweet over salty - I have an insane sweet tooth.

45. How many keys on your key ring? Six, I think...and then I have 4 more on rings that stay in my car for houses in Bedford.

46. How many years at your current job? Four

47. Favorite day of the week? Saturday

48. Do you make friends easily? Um...I am pretty shy, so I'm really not good about introducing myself to people or asking them to hang out.  But I'm easy to get along with.  So I have the potential to make friends easily, but I'm not good at initiating friendships.

49. How many people will you send this to? However many read it on the interburg.

50. How many will respond? No idea.  Probably none - it doesn't really require a response.

51. Do you like finding out all this stuff about your friends? Sure, it's kinda fun and sometimes you learn stuff about people you never knew before (even if you've known them for 18 years).

Don't know how many of you might be Netflix people, but in case you haven't heard, they're planning to discontinue their profiles feature as of 1 September.  I'm pretty ticked off about this development.  It means David and I will no longer be able to have separate queues, and all of the movie ratings I've done over the past 3 years, which generate my movie recommendations, will be eliminated then.  I'll have to re-enter all of the movies in my queue into David's queue, which is the main profile, or else we'll just lose the list forever.  And then we'll have to manually manage the single queue together to try and make sure we each get a movie we want to see.  This is a huge step backward from a process that already works fine and is automated.  The reason they claim for eliminating it?  Not enough people use it and some people find it confusing to set up.  WHAT???  So make it simpler or give them a tutorial or call them freakin' morons, but don't take that feature away from the rest of us!  This is a stand-apart feature for Netflix, one that has made many people sign up with them in the first place.  Now I'm really annoyed.

If you care, here is the announcement directly from Netflix: http://blog.netflix.com/

And here is a website attempting to make Netflix take it back, or at least implement a new version of it before the 1 September date.  They have a petition to sign and everything (yes, of course someone has set up one of these already; it is the internet, after all): http://www.savenetflixprofiles.com/

So, the working out is still going as planned, which is a plus.  Still doing it, still getting the dog to do some with me too.  So that's good and happy.  To add to the good and happiness, I was THRILLED this week to lay my hands on a Wii Fit when they came out yesterday.  You couldn't find them anywhere on the internet, but I waltzed into my local Target an hour after they opened yesterday and found about 30 still on the shelf.  Yay for getting of the couch and GOING to the store!  This thing is the entire reason that I was all gung-ho for a Wii before we got one - the Wii had been out in stores for over a year when we got it, and I was interested but not in a hurry to get one.  Then I read an article about Wii Fit, which was just getting ready to be released in Japan at the time, and I thought it sounded AWESOME.  So I talked David into wanting one, too, and here we are :)

So David and I played with it most of the night last night, and I used it for my exercise this morning.  I won't be using it every day for all of my exercise, but I will use it a couple of times a week just because it did get me working and it's FUN.  Which means I'll do it.  And that's kind of key to keeping going, right?  I know there are a ton of descriptions and videos and whatnot out there, but I'll give you my impressions/experience.

When you first turn it on, it starts a profile for you.  It gets your height and age, then makes you step on the balance board it comes with to measure your center of balance and weigh you to calculate your BMI.  It's a little painful for those of us who are, um, voluptuous, but it's important to an exercise program, I understand.  Then it lets you set a goal and takes you to the training part.  There are exercises in 4 categories: yoga, strength training, aerobics, and balance games.  Note here - I REALLY suck at the balance games, but I rule at yoga (and oddly, the yoga trainer keeps telling me how awesome my balance is - go figure).  You earn "Fit Points" in a weird little piggy bank for every minute you train in a day, and as you earn the points, more activities (or levels of existing activities) are unlocked for you to do.

So the yoga has a variety of yoga poses and breathing exercises that it walks you through, and it measures your center of balance in all of them.  The strength training has various exercises like squats, lunges, push ups, etc.  I think one of the things I'll eventually unlock is the number of reps for these activities, because it shows a place where you can increase or decrease the reps, but it's all greyed out and I can't push those buttons yet.  The aerobics, so far, show hula hooping, step aerobics and running.  The hula hooping is pretty fun (and surprisingly, I was a bit out of breath after going at it really fast), and I just unlocked Super Hula Hoop this morning, but I haven't tried it yet.  All I have now is Basic Step, though I think I can unlock the Advanced later, and it's kind of boring plus I can't figure out how it's measuring my rhythm - I'm stepping on and off exactly on the beat and it still says I'm not perfect, just ok.  The Basic Run was only for a short run at first (2 minutes), but I unlocked the long run this morning (4 minutes) - basically, you just run in place with the Wii remote in your pocket or hand, and the faster you go, the faster your Mii goes around a cute little island with wild packs of Mii puppies and other runners.  And there's also a 2-person run, which I assume you can do with someone else who has a Wii remote, but we haven't tried that yet.  And then the balance games - there's a soccer ball heading game (head the balls, avoid everything else), a downhill skiing game (go through the gates on the slalom course), a ski jump game (squat and then straighten your legs and keep balanced at the right moment to get a long jump), a marble tilt game (your Mii turns into a marble, and you have to lean on the balance board the right ways to maneuver it through a hole on a platform), and then I unlocked a tightrope walking game (walk a tightrope without falling over, jump over bad stuff sometimes).

This morning, I did 2 balance games (about 1-2 minutes each) to warm up, then a round of hula hoop followed by one short and one long run, and then a round of step (so about 12 minutes all together), then 2 strength trainings and 2 yoga poses to end.  It was 25 or 26 minutes, and then I had to get ready for work.  I think I need to alternate days of this with the elliptical, which is clearly a better workout but just isn't as much fun.  Good thing about the Wii Fit, though - you can add activities done outside the game to your Activity Log and it will track it for you.  And this morning, the dog and I went for a power walk, which I think will continue because he needs to go a little faster than his usual pace to get the exercise he needs, too.

So right now, I think my Wii Fit is really cool, and the technology in the balance board is pretty amazing (I can't even imagine what cool games will come out now that incorporate that piece of equipment!).  I definitely recommend - it's sort of like having a home gym that is much cuter and makes fun noises.  But for the serious exerciser...I just don't know if it would be a challenge, but maybe after you unlock some of the higher level exercises it would be?  I just don't know.  I think it's fun regardless!

So.  I've been absent from blogging for a while.  I got bored with it.  Not with you guys, just with sharing my life, which seems really boring to me.  We watch a lot of TV and movies, read a lot of books, work a lot.  And that's pretty much it.  Anyway.  On to the topic of this post.

Any of you who know me AT ALL know that I hate exercise.  Any shape, any form, I find it boring and horrid and torturous.  As a result, I have tended toward the chubby all my life.  It's partly genetic, as most of the women in my family, both past and present, have the same body type I do; but it also has a great deal to do with the fact that I am lazy and hate exercise and would much rather read a book that do any sort of physical activity (or cleaning, but that's a totally different story).  The best shape I've ever been in has been because Amanda put forth a tremendous effort to drag my ass to the gym every day.  The second best shape I've ever been in was partly because of Amanda and partly because I terrified myself - about a year after David and I got married, the comfy home life was great, but it had caused me to gain over 30 pounds in a year, so when Amanda proposed we train to walk a 50K, I was all in.  And I walked and walked and walked and walked and lost about 30 pounds.  It was great - and then the event came and went and I stopped walking.

Well.  Now, I haven't gained all of that weight back, but I'm on my way.  And I DON'T want to do it.  I'm disgusted with myself, my clothes are getting tight, I'm tired all the time, and I'm really stressed out, so I need some stress relief.  On top of it all, the dog's getting just a hair chubby too, making me feel all kinds of irresponsible for not walking him long enough or something.  So I wanted to make a plan for myself.  I talked to husband about it, and consummate non-plan, non-scheduler that he is, he didn't want to make a routine of anything.  Which means, of course, nothing would ever happen if we just agreed to exercise whenever we felt like it.  So I'm on my own, but okay with that.  I just have to make sure I get up when the alarm goes off the first time instead of 30 minutes later (which is my usual), so I set a second alarm for about 3 minutes later across the room so I actually have to get out of bed to shut it off.  I go down to our condo complex's little gym and hop on the elliptical for 20 minutes (not long, but I go as hard as I can) and then stretch.  Come back home, eat breakfast and check my regular websites, then the dog and I go on a mile-long walk.  Then shower, dress, head to work.

I've done it 2 days in a row now, and I'm pretty proud of myself.  I'm sore all over - that elliptical is a great workout! - and I'm excited to do it again tomorrow.  It's not a lot, but it's more than I was doing, and right now it makes me feel good.  I know I need to do strength training too, but one habit at a time.

I'm just afraid of my bad exercise feelings coming back, and I'm afraid of my not-morning-person-ness getting in the way of my getting up on time.  I'm afraid of failing myself and even more afraid of failing to give my pup the exercise he needs.  And maybe that's what will keep me on track - the guilt I will feel if I don't do what I need to for the dog.  It's too soon to tell - it's only been 2 days, after all - but I hope it sticks.  I want to feel healthy.  I want to wear a bikini for the first time in my adult life (maybe next summer, definitely not this year!).  If I ever have kids, I want to set a good example for my kids.  I want to have more energy during the day (which I did today) and feel happier and less stressed (which I also did today, despite the fact that my task list for the next 3 weeks is about 100 items long and my conference is currently looking at generating a $100,000 loss).

So what do you guys think?  Any tips on sticking with exercise?  Especially anyone who hates it as much as I traditionally do but has successfully managed to incorporate it.  I'm simultaneously happy over the last 2 days and terrified that I'm going to fail at this again.  I need a little more focus on the happy :)

Okay, so I have Sara to thank for telling me about this one - the entire Sugar network.  It's like this whole web-magazine-blog-networking sort of site, aimed mostly at women (though I think dudes would enjoy some of the sites, too, especially the entertainment and technology stuff).  I'm totally addicted - I look at it at least twice a day, sometimes more when I'm bored.  I get a lot of great news and tips there on things that I'm interested in, everything from new movies and TV shows coming up to great websites to check out to yummy recipes, etc.  Plus there are quizzes and polls (great for passing the time) and tons of giveaways every month to win cool stuff.

Basically, it's a network that is divided into topics, so you can only check out the things that you're interested in.  The various sites are:

- TeamSugar.com - the main site, where you can sign up for the network, check out what your friends have been up to, join groups, etc.

- PopSugar.com - all about celebrity news and gossip and info.  I don't really read this one because I'm not so into the celeb gossip thing, but I know lots of people who are and would totally love it.

- FabSugar.com - info on fashion trends, hot designers, great online stores, etc.

- BellaSugar.com - info on beauty - products, how-tos, where to buy, and a daily giveaway.

- CasaSugar.com - all about your home.  Products and stores, DIY, artwork, decorating, etc.

- BuzzSugar.com - entertainment industry news, like who's been cast in what new movie, reviews of movies and TV shows, a daily "What to Tivo" feature, etc.

- DearSugar.com - all about love, sex, life advice.  Several features where you can write for advice from either DearSugar, E Jean (a famous advice columnist, I think), or "Group Therapy" - where the other members post their advice in comments.

- FitSugar.com - for the health buffs.  News about all things health and fitness related, from websites to workout clothes and gear to recommended playlists, workouts and yoga poses to health food.

- YumSugar.com - for foodies!  Great recipes, kitchen gear, and general food information.

- PetSugar.com - for pet-lovers.  Info on pet products, caring for your pets, picking out pets, celebrity pets, etc.

- GeekSugar.com - for all the nerds :)  Lots of geeky info, particularly as related to technology, so there is info on new products and reviews of stuff, as well as some focus on geeky fashion and accessories.

- GiggleSugar.com - all humor, all the time.  I admit that I don't visit this site very much, mainly because when I checked it out, it seemed a lot less organized than the other sites.  I should probably give it another chance, though.

That's all for now, but they're adding more Sugars all the time (PetSugar just started a week or two ago).  A recent survey they sent out made me think that they're considering nodes on green/eco-living, career/finance, travel, news/politics, and more, so it will be fun to watch them grow even more!  Really, I have a great time checking out all of the stuff and using a lot of the features, and I find out about interesting things that I would never have heard of otherwise.

If you decide to join, be sure to make me your friend!  My screen name on TeamSugar is ScorpStar77, so if you search for me from the TeamSugar.com site, it should bring up my profile with a link to add me as your friend.

That's all for this edition because really - that's like, 11 or 12 sites all in one!  But I will be bringing more info in the coming days/weeks about other sites I love, so stay tuned!

Okay.  So, I know, I know, I've been AWOL from the blogging scene for like, 2 months or something.  I got busy at work, I went to London, I came home and I was tired.  I'm still tired, to be honest, but it's time to shake my tailfeathers and get back to doing stuff.

London was really hard for the work part, and really fun for the part where David came out and we went on vacation.  We saw lots of shows, ate lots of good food, did some shopping, rode the London Eye, walked and rode the tube a lot, did some pub-hopping, generally had a good time.  We really liked London a lot.  Since we came back, we have seen Elvis Costello and Bob Dylan in concert (Elvis RULED!  Bob put me to sleep a little on some songs, but was totally rockin' on others.), we've been to a UVA football game or two, we've visited with my family in Bedford and went to Roanoke to take Paul out for a birthday lunch, we went to the Small Press Expo up in Bethesda, MD (all indie comics writers and publishers - it was a good time, honest!) and celebrated David's birthday, we went to a fun wedding where there was FUNNEL CAKE!, and I drove down to NC to visit with Amanda and buy some crystal.  This weekend is another football game, and I desparately need to clean the house because I haven't really since like, July.  It's not TOTALLY disgusting, I have cleaned the kitchen and bathrooms since then, and I ran the vacuum a time or two, but really, it's time for a good, thorough cleaning - so I'll do that Sunday, so that I have time to relax and chill on Monday which I've taken off of work because, really, who wants to work on their 30th birthday???  Now you're all caught up on my life.

Over the next few days or weeks or whatever, I intend to share with you some of my favorite internet loves.  I have a bunch of websites that I visit on a daily (or almost daily) basis, and the mood has struck me to tell you about them.  I'll group them together in categories so you can skip parts that you don't care about.  That's all for now - got to get to work.  Talk more later!

Okay, so apparently, no one else really knows anything about laptop bags, because none of you commented to give me any advice.  So.  I now consider myself a self-proclaimed laptop bag expert, and if anyone else needs advice on finding and selecting one, I think I've seen every single bag out there at this point!  One new website I found and really liked to show various bags in various price ranges, sizes, etc: www.kolobags.com.

Still - did not end up buying the bag I selected from them; I just got it at eBags.  I love it, though; it's really cool and unique but still works quite well in a professional environment, and it will be here in time for the London trip.  I did spend a little more on it than I'd hoped, but certainly not $300.  And while it was a bit pricey, I do think it will last me for a long time, so I'm okay with it.  Want to see it?  Go to http://www.mckleinusa.com/wseries/9495.html.  That's the manufacturer's website instead of the eBags product page, because the manufacturer has a better photo of the interior of the bag.  I got the red one with black trim.

And seriously - if anyone else is on a similar hunt, let me know and I'll help you out.  I feel like an afficianado on ladies' laptop bags at this point!!

Okay, many of you know I am frantically trying to pull myself together for this conference I'm running in London, for which I'm leaving in LESS THAN TWO WEEKS.  I need a new, good, padded super-amazing laptop bag, a shoulder bag that can act as purse and briefcase and laptop carrier and withstand the slings and arrows and bumps and bruises of dragging it on a plane and throughout London.  Kristine gave me an adorable bag a couple of years ago, which I love, but just isn't big enough to tote my computer and all its accoutrements, all of my files and paperwork, and all of my purse-like things, and it's not padded to protect my computer.  It's great for toting my computer back and forth from work to home, but not across the Atlantic.  So.  I'm on the hunt.

I have looked at the offerings from Target, and while I think the MangoTango bags are cute, they don't hold enough crap.  And I'm frankly unimpressed with everything else they have - it's either boring or ugly or too expensive for a bag from Target (if I'm going to drop $150 on a bag, you can be damned sure it won't be from Target).

I'm looking for opinions here.  First, let me tell you that I have found a few bags that I LOVE, but they are super-expensive (we're talking $200-$350 here).  Notable examples of these are at: http://www.caseclosedbags.com/home_new/index.htm - The Big Steve from Case Closed, http://www.acmemade.com/thenewtote.html - The Tote from Acme Made, and http://www.francesandgrace.com/comersus/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=7 - The Marlo Bag from Frances & Grace.

Question 1: Anybody have a laptop bag they love that they'd recommend?  Where did you get it, how much, what do you like most about it, who makes it, etc.

Question 2: Should I splurge and get a bag that I really love, is likely to last me a long time (because of high quality, meeting all of my needs and me not getting tired of how it looks), or should I get something cheaper that I don't like as much but can then afford to replace next year if I'm tired of it?

I decided to do this survey purely based on the last question because it was so random, it cracked me up.  Of course, I'm feeling a touch under the weather, so maybe I'm just feverish

1. What are your initials? JMA

2. What is your favorite thing to wear? I have this one t-shirt, white with two big red cherries on it, that I think I look good in and I like to wear with jeans (oh yeah, it's the shirt in my profile pic!).

3. Last thing you ate? an apple

4. One place you will NEVER eat at? I don't like seafood generally.  I can't echo Holly's response of sushi because I adore vegetarian and non-seafood sushi, and sometimes tuna rolls.

5. I say Shotgun, you say: I get it on the way back!

6. Last person you hugged? David

7. Does anyone you know wanna date you? I think my husband still likes to date me

8. Would you date anyone you met online? Considering I married someone I met online, I'd say yes.

9. Name something you like physically about yourself: I have huge, color-changing eyes, though I don't particularly like the bags and dark circles that are constantly under them.

10. The last place you went out to dinner to? Um.  Hmm.  Well, we ordered pizza the other night.  OH!  I know - we went to Vivace on Friday.

11. Who is your best friend? I can't pick one.  David is definitely, but so are Amanda, Kristine and my mom.

12. What time of the day is it? Evening

13. Who/What made you angry today? My body, because it has decided to be queasy and dizzy during a week I can't take a sick day, so I brought all my work home and worked like a dog from my bed, which is miserable.  If you're going to stay home from work because you're sick, you should at least get to sleep all day with crappy TV as background noise.

14. Baseball or Football? Football, both college and pro

15. Ever gone skinny dipping? Yes

16. Favorite type of Food? Italian (ditto Holly)

17. Favorite holiday: Guy Fawkes Day (hey, it's my birthday!)

18. Do you download music: Yes

19. Do you care if your socks are dirty? I don't typically wear socks...

20. Opinion of Chinese symbol tattoos? I don't really care - if that's what you want, go for it.

21. Would you date the person who posted this? Ew, no, she's my sister!!

22. Has anyone ever sang or played for you personally? Yes

23. Do you love anyone? Yes

24. Are colored contact lenses sexy? Weird question... I don't know, sure as long as they don't look super-unnatural or creepy (like those snake-eye contacts?  definitely not sexy)

25. Have you ever bungee jumped? No, but I love that free-fall ride thing at King's Dominion, which is kind of like bungee jumping...

26. Have you ever gone white-water rafting? No

27. Has anyone ten years older than you ever hit on you? Yeah, I'd definitely say so.  Especially when I was a teenager and the old men at the Elks Home would hit on me...

28. How many pets do you have? Just 1 dog

29. Have you met a real redneck? Um, definitely.  I grew up in a small town in Virginia - that describes at least half of the population.  I'm even related to some.

30. How is the weather right now? Probably super-hot - I heard on the radio that there was a heat advisory today that the heat index would hit 107.

31. What are you listening to right now? A movie we're watching and the dog chewing on a rawhide bone.

32. What is your current favorite song? I can't pick favorites.  The most recent bands I've really come to like are Saturday Looks Good to Me and Tullycraft.

33. What was the last movie you watched? We're watching a movie called Laurel Canyon right now; before this, I think it was Hot Fuzz which was AWESOME.

34. Do you wear contacts? Yes

35. Where was the last place you went besides your house? Work, to pick up my laptop and all my crap to work at home today.

36. What are you afraid of? The dark.  Just kidding.  Well, just kidding sometimes - I have an extremely overactive imagination...

37. How many piercings have you had? 7, all in my ears.  Still have them all.

38. What piercings do you want? I'm good.  7's a lucky number.

39. What's one thing you've learned this year? That the UK is exceedingly difficult to do business in.  You think the US has bureaucracy!!

40. What do you usually order from Starbucks? Don't go to Starbucks very often, but when I do, usually a chai latte (or iced chai latte if it's hot out).

41. What Magazines are you reading? I love RealSimple.

42. Have you ever fired a gun: Just a BB gun and a water gun.

43. Are you missing someone? Always one person or another, lately.

44. Favorite TV show? Again, bad with favorites.  The ones that we're watching that are still currently on the air are John from Cincinnati, Entourage, Flight of the Conchords and Big Love.  I like them all a great deal.

45. Do you have an obession with WoW? I'll echo Holly - with what?

46. Has anyone ever said you looked like a celeb? I was once told I looked like Drew Barrymore, but I wrote it off as complete bullshit.

47. What celeb do you look like? None that I know of.

48. Who would you like to see right now? My family.

49. Favorite movie of all time? Boo to questions about favorites!!  I like many many movies and refuse to have a favorite.

50. Do you find yourself loved? Yes

51. Have you ever been caught doing something you weren't suppose to? Sure

52. Favorite smell? Wow, another Holly ditto - something sweet baking (I have a tremendous sweet tooth)

53. Butter, plain, or salted popcorn? Butter and salt, but really, I like kettle corn best.

54. Ever put a friend in a cop car on JukePix.com? Um.  I have no idea what that is, so no.

55. Ever been in a cop car in real life? As a passenger, yes - I was in a car wreck at 2 in the morning once (a hit and run on a bridge at 70 mph - NOT my fault, and NOT fun), my car too wrecked to drive, and I couldn't rouse any roommates or friends to come get me, so the state trooper drove me home.

56. Has anyone you were really close to passed away recently? My great-aunt Bee passed away in January; is that recently?

57. Our Lady Peace or Nickelback? Both are shitty, so I'll take Door 3.

58. What's something that really bugs you? People who are inconsiderate of others, whether that's leaving a shopping cart loose in the parking lot or ditching your family over something stupid.

59. Do you like Michael Jackson? His music? His stuff from the Thriller days, sure.  Him as a person? Hell, no.

60. Taco Bell or Burger King? Both.  But not at the same time (blech, what a stomach ache!).

61. What's your favorite perfume? You know, I've been kind of looking for "signature scent" for a year or so, but no luck so far.  My cheap fall-back scent is Navy.

62. Favorite baseball team? Gotto go with the home team, the Nationals (even if they suck).

63. Ever call a 1-900 phone number? No

64. Nipple or Nose rings? Nipple = OUCH.  Nose - well, I think those teeny-tiny nose studs are really cute, but I can't imagine ever having one - I have a hard enough time breathing as it is!

65. What's the longest time you've gone without sleep? All of college :)  Truly, I pulled at least a couple double-all-nighters.

66. Last time you went bowling? We went in Va Beach a couple of months ago.

67. Where is the weirdest place you have slept? Don't know...

68. Who was your last phone call? My mom, I think.

69. Last time you were at work? This morning.

70. What's the closest orange object to you? (wow, it took a long time to get to this question, and now that I'm here, I don't have a good answer) David's Leonard Maltin movie guide.

I had a couple of requests for photos of me in the new dress - they're not great, we took them at the end of the day, after sweating in 100-degree weather at the wedding for 3 hours or so, but here's what I got:

Thanks for the support for my whining yesterday, guys :)  I was considering taking Laura up on her generous offer to ship me her perfect dress, but I decided to give Dress Barn one more go this morning, because their website really did have a lot of cute stuff to show.  And I found one.  And it's adorable, and it's a little tight in the chest but it will zip without me looking poured into it or otherwise ridiculous.  I couldn't find a picture of it online, but the style of it is this:

But the print is different - it's a white background still, but it's got these pretty orange and black outlines of flowers and things on it - it's hard to describe, but it's really pretty.  AND I got it on clearance, so it was only like, $25 or something.  So yay!!

So, we're going to my cousin Frank's wedding this weekend.  It's a 5 pm wedding - normally a semi-formal sort of dress code.  BUT.  It's an August wedding, and it's OUTSIDE.  And another BUT - Frank and his bride, Elise, are the super-hippiest artsy kind of people that ever lived, and Frank's mom has assured me that attire is casual - no suits for the guys, sundresses or nice pants for the ladies.  So yay, no need to be very formal.  But BOO, I do not have an appropriate dress in my closet right now that actually fits me - some are too big and some are too small.  This weekend, I did some online browsing for a dress I could order (everyone knows I hate clothes shopping and do most of it online because it's just easier), but the dresses I found that I liked could not be ordered in my size - go figure.

So today, I left work for a real lunch break for a change, and went dress shopping.  I tried to go to Dress Barn first - a co-worker told me she had just bought a really cute dress there, and I purused their website for a while yesterday and saw several things I liked, so I thought I'd give it a shot.  I arrive, head toward the store, where two ladies are chatting it up in the doorway, with the door open, and I start to go in when one of them says, "Oh, I'm sorry, ma'am, we're closed today.  Just for today!"  Um.  Okay, that's really weird.  It's a Tuesday, not a holiday - nothing special that I know of, but they've just decided to be closed even though clearly at least one employee is there.  And it happens to be on the one day that I left work and drove 20 minutes across town specifically to go to this store.  BOO.  I am not happy when I get back to my car, but hey, sometimes things just go that way, so I head to the mall.

Belk is first.  I found 4 potential dresses and took them into a dressing room to try them on.  Two are my size in "normal" sizes, and two are my size in "Women's" sizes (you know, for we super-curvy ladies).  The first one is really cute, though I'm not sure it's really "me", but I might have gotten it if it would have zipped around my boobs.  That is ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS my biggest headache when trying on clothes - if they fit the rest of me, they won't fit my chest.  I hate it so much - I do not want to hear about how "some people would love to have that problem" because as far as I'm concerned, I wish they DID have it and I did not.  I would trade in a heartbeat.  Ahem.  So.  Anyway, that is the case with both dresses in "normal" sizes, even though the first is cute and the second is just ugly once I put it on.  Next are the W sizes.  The problem with these is that they fit my boobs, but are too big everywhere else.  I do not have the time or the money to have all of my clothes altered, so I really hate this.  Not to mention that the vast majority of clothes you find in the W section are completely hideous.  They just don't make many cute clothes for larger women.  Anyway.  The first dress is a good color for me, but the dress hangs really weird, so I veto.  The second one is really cute, and I would have liked it enough to buy it despite the high price tag, except it was a little too baggy in my waist and hips, and it was brown - and despite what you might think, I don't really look good in brown.  It was a nice brown - chocolate colored, with a robin's egg blue ribbon around the waist and generally really cute, but not so much on me.  So Belk loses.  Next.

I went to B Moss - nothing large enough for me there.  I went to JC Penney - everything in my size was ugly as hell, and there wasn't much that was cute in any size (which was diappointing, because their website had lots of cute dresses).  I found one dress I really, really liked, and of course they only had one of it and it was a size 8 (which I REALLY am not).  I tried on two dresses at New York and Co, neither of which would zip over my chest, of course, and that was it - I had to go back to work.

I hate shopping.  I want to be rich enough to have all of my clothes custom-made, where I can just point to something in a magazine that I think is cute, and someone will make one that fits me perfectly.  Clothes on the rack are stupid - and yet I can't afford anything else.  It's why I wear t-shirts and jeans almost all the time.

I am SOOO uncreative this summer....

Five Things In My Freezer

• Blue Bunny Sweet Freedom Sundae Cones  - Seriously, if you're looking for light or no-sugar-added ice cream yummies, I think Blue Bunny is the very best!  These are FAB. 
• Blue Bunny Light Triple Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwiches 
• Fla-Vor-Ice (aka freezy pops; you HAVE to click on this link and go see the photo on the web page...)
• Freezy mugs, the kind with liquid in the wall of the mug that freezes and keeps your drink cold 
• Batteries (this is all David's thing - the batteries that I've bought are just kept in a drawer like normal people do)

Five Things In My Closet

• A gorgeous pair of Manolo Blahniks
• Two tennis raquets
• A Super Soaker water gun
• My flute and piccolo
• My wedding dress

Five Things In My Car

• Directions to about 30 different peoples' houses, including some houses where my friends no longer live
• A plastic mermaid from a drink I had sometime ages ago
• A clip-on guardian angel on my sun visor that my mom gave me to keep in my car many years ago
• A blanket, coat, old towels and tarp/rain poncho in the trunk, just in case
• Brand-spankin-new front-right tie rod, spark plugs and spark plug wires, assorted engine fluids, and all four struts because I just had everything broken in my car fixed today

Five Things In My Purse

• Nail clippers and file
• A cool Van Gogh pill box with Aleve, Advil, Excedrin Migraine, Benadryl and 1 Relpax for serious migraine emergencies
• My iPod
• 1 packet of GU Energy Gel in Chocolate Outrage (in case of bad blood sugar drops in either me or my diabetic husband)
• Corkscrew (hey, you never know when you'll need one!)

Five Books On My Nightstand

• Mr. Timothy by Louis Bayard (almost finished with this - I've really enjoyed it) 
• Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (I've been looking forward to reading this for a while - I've decided that it will be next - at least, next after I finish the new Harry Potter, which will be my very next book I am sure)
•  Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates by Tom Robbins (I love and adore Tom Robbins.  I have 2 other books of his in my rather substantial nightstand to-read pile, and 4 or 5 others on our bookshelves that I've already read)
•  Stardust by Neil Gaiman (very excited about reading this because Gaiman is awesome, but also because they've made a movie of it that's coming out this year)
• Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi (I've been wanting to read this for a long time and finally broke down and got a copy from someone on BookMooch)