3. I am living in denial.

A few days ago as I was doing my nightly beauty routine, I looked in the mirror and realized, wow, I am getting more gray hairs. And then that made me laugh because the fact that I was shocked by the increase in gray hair means that I thought somehow I would become less gray.

I think it's kind of fun how we physically change throughout our lives. Isn't it strange that in one lifetime you have so many looks? Or that you can change on the outside but feel the same on the inside? Or vice versa.

I am trying not to let advertisers convince me that wrinkles and gray hair are a bad thing.

Thank you Lovely Package for your pic.

2. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.

I love Thanksgiving. I love the food. I love the football. And usually I love the family.

Since Corey works on Thanksgiving my little vision of pilgrim homage has changed. The 2 of us have the Reader's Digest condensed version of Thanksgiving dinner: turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, and stuffing. I watch Home for the Holidays, one of the greatest movies of all time. This year when Corey goes to work I'm going to my friend's house to scrapbook. I feel thankful for my friend. Thanksgiving is not meant to be spent alone.

I am thankful for Corey, books, guinea pigs, the loving people of my inner circle, the moon, sleeping in, my class, Jersey, paper, pens, Barack Obama, Bookmans, doughnuts, and my shoes. And I am thankful for Carolyn Gavin at Designer Jots for making the above cute Orange Picnic.

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have many things to count and be thankful for today.

1. I am a list maker.

I am a list maker and love the many list makers in my life. You know someone you love is a list maker if they have several pads of paper and post-its on hand, and they have amassed an amazing pen collection. Some list makers I know will put things on a list just so they can check them off. We are a special breed.

SO when I came across the Well Seasoned Reader Challenge through a blogger of a blogger, what I saw was the perfect reason to put two of my passions together: reading and list making.

The books you are challenged to read have to fall within categories. I spent an embarrasing amount of time compiling a list of books I own and would like to read or reread that fall within three of those categories. Behold, the list:

1. Must Have a Food Name in the Title

~ Blessed are the Cheesemakers/ Sarah-Kate Lynch
~ Animal, Vegetable, Miracle/ Barbara Kingsolver
~ Chocolat/ Joanne Harris (I've been wanting to reread it since it's a favorite and now there's a sequel!)

2. Must Have a Place Name in the Title

~ Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas/ Hunter S. Thompson (Corey's recommendation)
~ The Road from Coorain/ Jill Ker Conway
~ The Bridges of Madison County/ Robert James Waller
~ Blackbird House/ Alice Hoffman
~ Here on Earth/ Alice Hoffman
~ A Year in Provence/ Peter Mayle (borrowed from a friend)
~ Pilgrim at Tinker Creek/ Annie Dillad
~ A Map of the World/ Jane Hamilton
~ Brave New World/ Aldous Huxley
~ In the Deep Woods/ Nicholas Conde
~ Alice in Wonderland/ Lewis Carroll (reread)

3. Must Be About One (or more) Person's Travel Experience

~ Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral/ Kris Radish
~ Liner Notes/ Emily Franklin
~ Zarafa/ Michael Walker
~ Three Cups of Tea/ Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin
~ Lost Highways/ Curtiss Ann Matlock
~ The Poisonwood Bible/ Barbara Kingsolver
~ Mister Christian/ William Kinsolving
~ The Alchemist/ Paulo Coelho
~ The Dharma Bums/ Jack Kerouac
~ A Wrinkle in Time/ Madeleine L'Engle
~ The Last Witchfinder/ James Morrow
~ Water for Elephants/ Sara Gruen

Thank god I'm a fast typer.
It would take me an entire year to read all of those books, and I only need to pick three. That is the life of a list maker.

I was tagged by Martha at http://marthamillerart.blogspot.com/, which means I have to, "Tell 6 quirky but boring, unspectacular details about yourself." Consider this the first installment.

Oh! and here is the website in case you want to sign up for the reading challenge with me:
http://melissasbookreviews.blogspot.com/2008/11/interesting-people-amazing-places-and.html

P.S. I borrowed that cool-o picture from google reader 1000.

Captain Nick Sparrow is an alias

My pirate name is:

Mad Ethel Vane

Every pirate is a little bit crazy. You, though, are more than just a little bit. You tend to blend into the background occasionally, but that's okay, because it's much easier to sneak up on people and disembowel them that way. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.

Little Kids Love Obama!

I spent most of Tuesday doing election things with my kids - comparing and contrasting Obama and McCain (did you know Obama's favorite color is purple and McCain's is lime green? These are the pressing issues we cover in first grade), coloring Obama or McCain pictures, having mock voter registration and mock voting. Obama won in my class by a landslide, and that was before I told them who I was voting for.
This morning when I got to school I was stopping all the kids I know in the hall. I asked, "Who did you want to win?" "Do you know who won last night?" EVERY kid I asked said Obama, and EVERY kid knew he won. A group of girls told me that their families let them stay up to watch who won. One girl told me, "When they said Obama won, my sister and I started jumping on the bed!"
The population of my school consists mostly of Somalian refugees and "Mexican refugees." I was inspired by not only how excited they were about Obama, but about the election process. Considering that most of their families aren't even able to vote, I was really proud of how they got their kids involved.
It makes me excited for the next four years all over again!

Oh my god! Oh my god you guys!!!