Saw this fun new meme at Jean’s blog. Just answer the following twelve random questions to play along. Link your answers up at 2nd Cup of Coffee.

1. Tell me the absolute best way to watch a movie.

Snuggled up on the couch, under a blanket on a cool evening, watching a fantastic movie with my husband while… both kids are asleep… and we’re eating some fantastic snack that we both magically have enough calories left for.

2. Do you ever think about your own funeral? If so, do you have specific ideas about how you would like it to be?

Not in a specific sense, no. I’ve thought about it in passing but I don’t do well with death thoughts so I generally just gloss over the idea and try to think of something else. I have been lucky enough so far that I haven’t had a major death in my life yet though so that’s probably a big part of it.

3. Are you more of a giver or a taker?

I think I’m a healthy mix. In that I occasionally give to an unhealthy level and occasionally take just as much. A healthy mix of two extremes.

4. Vacations: planned activities and schedules, or play it by ear?

I definitely have a tendency to plan anything I can, but I don’t mind playing things by ear once we get there. We can blow off some of the plans or add something in, I just like to have a game plan on the mundanities – like where are we staying, what are we hoping to see, what restaurants are in the area that we might want to check out. Budget. All that boring stuff that for some reason I absolutely looooove to plan out. Like it’s almost as much fun as the vacation.

5. What is one often overlooked item in your home that needs to be cleaned regularly?

the bathroom? I ignore it more than I should for sure. But I think ::knock on wood:: that Dan tends to it more than I’d ever notice because things do get cleaned even if I’m not cleaning them. I’m lucky that he was raised by a clean freak and some of those tendencies have stuck.

6. Name a cause that means a lot to you.

There’s no one big cause that stands out to me. I’m a fairly compassionate person so lots of things tug at my heart strings – if I gave regularly to all of them I’d go broke. I have a cousin who is autistic so I am always listening for news in the autism world although I don’t do very much personally to support the cause, if we were wealthy, I might. I am fairly passionate about the environment and health and also literacy, but I mean… I’m a bit of a bleeding heart like I said, so I just dip my feet into all of it, have a strange probably unnecessary beef against corn and corn by products – oh and the treatment of cows in beef farms… but I mean, it’s really all things that I think about as opposed to do much about on a global level. If that makes any sense at all. Should I just say no? haha

7. Do you eat a regular old peanut butter jelly sandwich, or do you customize it? And by the way, jelly or no jelly?

Both? It depends on my mood and my pantry. I like to mix up what kind of jelly or sometimes use fluff and occasionally I’ve put fresh fruit in the sandwich in addition to or instead of the jelly.

8. If we were having a conversation in person, how would I know if you were nervous?

I might look kinda jumpy or stammer a lot. When I’m nervous I tend to forget to eat enough (like at parties) so you’ll notice when my blood sugar drops.

9. Do you have an elaborate bedtime routine, or just the basics of tooth brushing and jammies?

I do like to read before bed and I tend to clean up the apartment as I walk to the bedroom but other than that, it’s pretty standard – oh I also started journaling before bed in a paper journal right before I read. That’s new though.

10. Have you ever regretted something you wrote on your blog?

Maybe a little bit but I’ve deleted anything I decided later was just dumb.

11. Has anyone ever told you that you look like a famous person or celebrity? Did you agree?

When I was in high school some people said I looked like Katie Holmes. I don’t really agree with them but it was a nice compliment so I’ll take it.

12. If you were going to dedicate a song to a loved one or friend, what would the song be and to whom would it be dedicated?

“You Can Be My Yoko Ono” to my husband because it makes us both smile. I get that kind of love that they were talking about and I like the song and the message. And I love my husband – I will follow him wherever he goes. :OP

What do you think of when you see the words or phrases listed below?

1. What pleases you? :: chocolate
2. Whatever :: floats your boat
3. Chime :: wind chimes are pretty
4. Pleading :: begging for mercy!
5. Simulate :: one of Dan’s friends does something where he like shows the effects of any action (economics I think?) and then sometimes simulates those results on his computer. Or else I’m wrong. But that’s what I thought of, so sue me.
6. Flashing :: pop up ads – grrr!
7. Directional :: turn signal
8. Pink :: “Listen up, it’s just not happening, you can say what you want to your boyfriends, just let me have my fun tonight, a’ight?”
9. Access :: Isn’t that one of those Microsoft programs? I use Open Office. :OP
10. Ugly :: Betty – I miss that show!

From Unconscious Mutterings:

“Free association is described as a “psychonanalytic procedure in which a person is encouraged to give free rein to his or her thoughts and feelings, verbalizing whatever comes into the mind without monitoring its content.” Over time, this technique is supposed to help bring forth repressed thoughts and feelings that the person can then work through to gain a better sense of self.

That’s an admirable goal, but for the purposes of this excercise, we’re just hoping to have a little fun with the technique. Each week I’ll post ten words to which you can respond to with the first thing that comes to mind.

“Rules are, there are no rules.” There are no right or wrong answers. Don’t limit yourself to one word responses; just say everything that pops into your head. AND you don’t have to have your words up on Sunday. Take all week if you want! Read the FAQ for more information.”