Category Archive

Appetizer
What is your middle name? Would you change any of your names if you could? If so, what would you like to be called?

My middle name is Damara. I used to not like it, but I’ve gotten quite used to it, and I think I’d keep all my names! After experiencing the agony that goes into naming babies, I think it’d be pretty rotten (to one’s parents) to go and change your name…

Soup
If you were a fashion designer, which fabrics, colors, and styles would you probably use the most?

If I were a fashion designer, it’d have to be for baby, toddler, and children’s clothing. That’s one of my favorite things to do anyway! I’d lean heavily towards the vintage (as in 30s-early 60s) mixed with some more modern prints and styles. I would not use synthetic fabrics, that’s for sure!

Salad
What is your least favorite chore, and why?

Is it a bad sign to not have a favorite chore? I do love to make the bed, but it has to be done just so, or I’d rather not make it. In fact, one time I came home, and freaked out because my bed was made, and knew that I did not make it. When I say freaked out, that may be putting it a tad mildly. In reality, I saw the bed, grabbed the phone and called Dan to see if he had been home and made the bed. He hadn’t. So I called my grandma who lives nearby to see if she had been over. She hadn’t. I knew it couldn’t be my mom, because I had been out with her. So, I did what any logical seven-month pregnant woman would do, and I got out the gun, went to my neighbor’s house (he’s a sheriff’s deputy) and asked him to come check out my house, “Because I knew someone had been in there”. He asked me how I knew, and I told him because my bed had been made by someone other than me. He had the nerve to give me a strange look and ask me to stop waving the gun around and go stand by the door while he checked out the house. He found no one, and went home. Just about then, my mom called. She had stopped by my husband’s office, and had heard that I was freaking out over my bed being made, and called me to tell me that when she came to pick me up, and while I was in the bathroom, she had made my bed for me! That evening, when we went for a walk, we saw the neighbor again, I thanked him for dealing with my hysteria and he asked if I figured out what happened. When I told him that my mom had made the bed, he said “Yeah, usually criminals don’t make beds”.

Main Course
What is something that really frightens you, and can you trace it back to an event in your life?

I’m scared of earthquakes. But I don’t think that resulted from anything in particular in my childhood. Actually, I hate this kind of question.

Dessert
Where are you sitting right now? Name 3 things you can see at this moment.

On a clifftop in Ireland, overlooking the sea. Okay, not really. I’m sitting in my computer chair, in my sewing room/office, typing on the computer, where’d you think?

I can see my keyboard, my one year old, an abacus, a Curious George book, about a million yards of fabric, a plastic pink pig, a miniature dachshund named Frances - oh three. Never mind the last few then. But what I can smell, that’s another story. And now I know what I’ll be doing when I get done here - changing a diaper, that’s what.

Appetizer
What was the last game you purchased?

Sorry. As a Christmas gift… don’t tell!

Soup
Name something in which you don’t believe.

So many things! I’ve been a skeptic all my life.

Salad
If you could choose a celebrity to be your boss, who would you pick?

Strange question. I don’t much care for celebrities. If you could call Ron Paul a celebrity, and the job of president the position of boss, then I’d go with that. Otherwise, I’m not interested!

Main Course
What was a lesson you had to learn the hard way?

Be careful how you choose your friends. Especially if you have a handsome brother.

Dessert
Describe your idea of the perfect relaxation room.

Oh - I love this question!

Once when we were first married, I had a dream which I have remembered ever since. It was of a lovely room - high up in the trees, with lots of open windows and fresh, lilac scented air wafting through the room. It was a light room, with wide plank walls, brightly painted white. The couches were white and cushiony, with a soft white ottoman. There was a sisal grass area rug, and vases of peonies and lilacs. There was soft jazz playing in the background, and we were sitting on the couch, playing a game on the ottoman with a puppy at our feet, a little girl playing with a pile of blocks, and a baby in a basket nearby. I’ll never forget the smell and feel of that room!

Appetizer
Name a great website you would recommend to others.

I hope it doesn’t have to be only one. Below is a list of sites I use and or visit often, minus the obvious like eBay and Amazon…

Martha Stewart

The Pioneer Woman Cooks

YouTube’s “You Choose ‘08“

Reddit - though it tends to lean towards the liberal, non-family oriented type.

Etsy

Craftster

Pandora

Bebo

OnePlace

Homeschool Alumni

Sewing Mama

Sense and Sensibility

Okay, I’ll stop there…

Soup
On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 as highest), how often do you dream at night?

When I’m not pregnant, maybe a 2. If I’m pregnant, more like a 9. And then they are crazy, crazy dreams!

Salad
Did you have a pet as a child? If so, what kind and what was its name?

We had farm animals, mostly. But always dogs and cats around the house. We raised cows, sheep, goats, rabbits, chickens, and a pony. Pets we had (at various times) were Sheba (an Irish Setter), Princess and Avenger (two cats who lived up to their name) Bear (a Newfoundland), Gertrude (a barn cat who caught and drank milk shot straight from the goats udder), Klaundike (a Pomeranian), Heidi (a very fat lab), Arnold, some stinky wire-haired mut, a pot-bellied pig (it was dumped and never really loved), a miniature lo-eared rabbit (Pearl) Chad and Cheili (mini schnauzers), Emily (another cat), Magnus (a blue and gold Macaw), Torque (an English Bulldog), and Sam and Sadie (Great Pyrenees guard dogs). I think there were more, but that’s all I can remember right now.

Main Course
If you had the chance to star in a commercial, what would you choose to advertise?

I have no idea. Maybe a Bumbo? We love ours - Either that, or Crocs. They may be our favorite product ever.

Dessert
What is your favorite kind of hard candy?

I’m not a big candy fan. I like things that are sour. Or maybe cinnamon-y.

Appetizer
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you look forward to your birthday?

Probably about a seven.

Soup
What is one word you don’t like the sound, spelling, or meaning of?

Wow, I guess I can’t think of any one particular just now…

Salad
Do you wear sunglasses when you’re outside? If so, what does your current pair look like?

Usually. My eyes tend to pretty sensitive to the bright sunlight. My current sunglasses are a pair that I love. They’re great big square-ish retro tortoise shell sunglasses. I had been looking at very similar pairs online for a while, and one evening when we were driving in a nearby town, I spotted this pair of sunglasses right in the middle of a busy four lane road. Dan stopped and let me run out into the road to get them. Did I mention that I was nine months pregnant? But gosh darn, I got the perfect pair of sunglasses!

Main Course
If you were to write a book, to whom would you dedicate it?

My husband. Without a doubt in the world.

Dessert
Name a beverage that you enjoy.

My main deviation from the old water standby is Dr. Pepper. But a good dry Norton wine is pretty hard to beat!

Appetizer
Who is the easiest person for you to talk to?

My husband. He knows exactly what I’m trying to say, even when I can’t say it in any legible way. And we think in such similar ways!

Soup
If you could live in any ancient city during the height of the quality of its society and culture, which one would you choose?

Based on culture and society, I am not sure. I guess my history isn’t so hot! I imagine that I would like Seville, because I picture crisp white sheets blowing over fields of lavender with neat and simple light colored adobe buildings rising in the background. I could imagine chewey, crusty bread baking in huge stone hearths, filling the home with it’s fragrance.

That’s what I want, good bread and wine, crisp white lavender scented sheets, and a clean home. Give me those things and I could live anywhere.

Salad
What is the most exciting event you’ve ever witnessed?

Exciting? That’s an interesting choice of words…

I once witnessed a vehicle accident in which a truck was air born and spinning over the top of my own vehicle. That was exciting in the sense that it got my heart pumping.

But as far as a happy/exciting, it may have been our wedding day. Or at least the ten minute ride in the trick to our wedding night cottage. Talk about anticipation!

Either that, or when I was giving birth to my first daughter and reached down and felt the long damp hairs of her pointy little head when it first peeked out to check out the world. That was probably the most amazing/exciting thing I’ve ever experienced.

Main Course
If you were a celebrity, what would you do for a publicity stunt?

Nope, not for me. Can’t even imagine it.

Dessert
What do you consider the ideal age to have a first child?

Well… I was 22, and I think that worked OK. But then again, she is pretty darn crazy.

Appetizer
Describe your laundry routine. Do you have a certain day when you do it all, or do you just wash whatever you need for the next day?

I wish I had any routine at all! My laundry doing comes in spurts. I hate it. I hate folding it and putting it away most of all. I need to become more organized. It’s just laundry, right?

Soup
In your opinion, what age will you be when you’ll consider yourself to truly be old?

I don’t know. Maybe 70ish?

Salad
What is one of your goals? Is it short-term, long-term, or both?

Short Term? To return order to my home.

Long Term? To raise my girls to be gentle, loving, and Godly women.

Main Course
Name something unbelievable you’ve seen or read lately.

The story of Madeleine McCann has really touched me lately. I can’t imagine how hard it must be for her parents.

Dessert
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how happy are you today?

When I first saw this question, I was thinking somewhere around a 6. But after re-thinking of the McCann family, and thinking of my two sweet little daughters who are at home, safely napping in their beds, I think really I’m about a 10!

Appetizer
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being highest) how much do enjoy watching sports on television?

1. Or Maybe even zero.

Soup
If you could completely memorize any one work of fiction, which one would you pick?

Maybe the poem, The Highwayman

Salad
What is your favorite breakfast food?

Meat! Sausage, bacon, ham, steak - you know, good ol’ fattening meat!

Main Course
Name something fun you can do for less than $10.00.

Maybe go to Meramec Springs Park. Or go to Onodoga. Or maybe even just go bowling or stay home and watch a movie.

Dessert
How long does it usually take you to fall asleep?

Like 20 seconds. Or less.

Appetizer
What do you consider to be the ultimate snack food?

Coffee with lots of freshly shaved nutmeg.

Soup
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 as highest), about how popular is your last name?

Popular? I don’t know - Jacobson is the 851th most common name in Brittain, I hear.

Salad
Who is your all-time favorite sitcom character, and why?

Would Barney Fife count?

Main Course
Do you shop online? If so, name some sites you like to browse for goodies.

eBay and Amazon - my favorite places in the world to shop (not counting thrift shops, of course). As my postal clerk says of Amazon… “That place just makes me weak in the knees”.

Dessert
Fill in the blank: I think ___________ should be ___________.

I am opinionated and all, but I can’t see how to answer this question at all - there are just too many options for me!

Appetizer
Tell about a time when you had to be brave.

When having my babies. I know I’m a whimp, and every mom does it, but that was the scariest thing I’ve ever done, with the possible exception of leaving my oldest with her great grandparents and my siblings while my parents took us out to eat for Dan’s birthday. I know - it’s silly. But that doesn’t make it any easier!

Soup
Which upcoming movie are you excited about seeing?

I have no idea what’s out there! I do have a DVD of Nero Wolf in my library bag, and I am excited about that, does that count?

Salad
Name an item you try to always have on hand.

Juice. Neither Dan nor Kinsley seem to be able to drink plain water. Juice is right up there with TP as far as stuff we can’t live with out.

Main Course
Imagine the most relaxing room you can think of. Now describe it!

The living room of our dream tree-house. It’s open to the kitchen and dining room and has fluffy tan colored sofas and ottomans. It has a neat and organized play area for the girls, lots of good books, lots of sunlight, and open windows for the spring smelling air to come in. There would be no mosquitoes and no clutter…

Dessert
On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being highest), how spiritual or religious are you?

That’s a loaded question! Religious isn’t a good word as far as I can tell. It’s been has too many negative associations. And anyway, I believe that everyone is religious. Even a self proclaimed atheist. As far as I can tell the definition of the word is:

1. Having or showing belief in and reverence for God or a deity.
2. Of, concerned with, or teaching religion: a religious text.
3. Extremely scrupulous or conscientious: religious devotion to duty.

Number one - I, of course, believe in God. I also believe that every single person does believe in a god, though some choose to believe that they are god, as that makes everything easier.

Number two - I hope that I am teaching “religion”. My greatest desire is to see my little girls desire to walk with God.

Number three - I am not extremely scrupulous. In fact I find it all to easy to forget everything I claim to believe and just go with the flow because it’s generally the easier thing to do, thereby setting myself up as god, and treating my desires as divine.

Appetizer
When you were a child, which crayon color was your favorite?

Blue. All shades of it!

Soup
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being highest), how likely would you be to change jobs if it required you to move?

Since I don’t have a job, that’s a difficult question to answer. But I do know I’d love to live in a new place just for the excitement of it all, but it’d be very hard to leave this town where my family is and has been for generations. I’d have to say and even 5.

Salad
Take all the numbers in your birthday and your phone number and add them up, one by one. What’s the total?

99

Main Course
Have you ever “re-gifted” anything? If so, what was it and who did you pass it on to?

Nope - but I wouldn’t be opposed to the idea!

Dessert
Name something you need from the store.

Pedialyte, Jello, Yogurt and Fruit Juice. All in an effort to make my tiny sick baby well again.

Appetizer
When you travel, which mode of transportation do you prefer?

Great question! When I was a teen-ager, we drove cross-country in an RV, and I loved it. Since having kids, I HATE traveling by car. I’ve only flown once, and I loved it, and I also loved a trip I once took via Amtrak. So, we’re trying to decide which way to go for this summer’s vacation. It’s looking like it’ll be plane, so far…

Soup
Have you ever met a blogging friend in person?

No, but there are several I would love to meet!

Salad
When was the last time you were really, really tired?

The night before last. I laid down to nurse the baby at about nine o’clock, and didn’t even wake up whan Dan put her in bed about two hours later!

Main Course
If you could have dinner with any one fictional character from a book or movie, who would it be?

Fictional? That’s no fun! I would love to have dinner with C.S. Lewis, George MacDonald, Alexander Whyte and J.R.R. Tolkien, if it could be non-fictional characters. What a dinner party that would be! Fiction - I think it’d be Bertie Wooster.

Dessert
Fill in the blank: One day, I hope to see _______________.

Scotland.

Appetizer
What are you proud of?

Not that much, I guess. I’m proud of my little family. Whenever I bake good bread, I’m proud of that!

Soup
What is the best thing you’ve ever won as a prize?

I can’t recall ever winning an actual prize!

Salad
Name something you do that is a waste of time.

My internet addiction.

Main Course
In what year of your life did you change the most?

Probably the year I got married.

Dessert
Where is a place you consider to be very tranquil?

MY own home, when it’s clean.

Appetizer
Who is your favorite news anchor/reporter? Why?

Yikes! I never knew that people could have a favorite news anchor person. Isn’t that like having a favorite villain, gangster or politician?

Soup
Name 3 foods that are currently in your freezer.

It’s Friday, so there’s not all that much in my freezer - but let’s see… A chicken, a box of tilapia, and a bag of chicken nuggets.

Salad
If you were to have the opportunity to name a new town or city, what would you call it?

Gentlewood, of course!

Main Course
What will most likely be the next book you read?

Well, I am in the middle of an Agatha Christie novel called The Third Girl and I just finished Lemony Snicket’s seventh book The Vile Village and currently I am listening to the audio book At Home In Mitford while I sew, do chores etc. So, what was the question again? Oh yeah, what is the NEXT novel on the list. If the library has it, I’ll be reading The Hostile Hospital next.

Dessert
What’s the first thing you notice about the opposite gender?

Eyes. Followed by personality, hair and hands. Pretty much in that order.

Appetizer
Name two things that made you smile this week.

Kinsley and Sophie.

Soup
Fill in the blank: Don’t you hate it when ________?

Goodnight! How can I choose? When the babies hove rough nights and no one gets any sleep…

Salad
When you can’t go to sleep, what is your personal remedy to help yourself drift into Lullabyland?

Believe me, I never have trouble going to sleep!

Main Course
What is something about which you’ve always wondered but have not yet found a good answer?

How to raise children…

Dessert
What is your favorite pasta dish?

You’re not going to believe this, but it’s ramen noodles!

Appetizer
What is your usual bedtime? Do you like that, or would you rather it be different?

I generally drop into bed as soon as both girls are asleep. I need the sleep, but on the other hand I usually am kicking myself that I don’t have the fortitude to stay up for at least a few minutes and do a tiny bit of re-ordering about the house.

Soup
When it comes to advice, do you give more or receive more?

I’m afraid I’m a giver of advice. I tend to be highly opinionated. Which is something I hate about myself.

Salad
Describe a memorable meal you’ve had.

I think of two straightaway. Both were meals during our courtship. You would have to understand that our courtship took place in a somewhat unusual (but highly effective, it seems) way. Dan works for my Dad in the family business, as I’ve mentioned. The family business is located just up the road from my parent’s home. So, after every work day, Dan would drive down the driveway and we would eat dinner together, and then spend the rest of the evening talking out in the cottage garden. It was an intense courtship! The times when we went somewhere were rather rare, so those are the meals that stand out in my mind. The first was when Dan and I went to his brother’s house for dinner. Dan made blackened tilapia and the house filled with smoke. Thick peppery smoke that made breathing nearly impossible!

The second was our first official “date” where we actually ate out. Dan ordered a mushroom burger and I followed suit, even though mushrooms are my most dreaded food in all the world. I had a hard time eating that thing - in the end, I had to leave most of it on my plate.

Main Course
Name a work of fiction that affected the way you think about something.

This one is easy! CS Lewis’ The Chronicles Of Narnia has got to be one of the most influential pieces of writing I have ever read. Every single time I read it, something new and exciting jumps out at me. It’s one of the deepest works I can think of, in any genre. In my opinion, it is crucial for children in that helps to grow their imagination in a way that is very important to their spiritual growth. And each time it is read to them, or they read it to themselves in all the different walks of life, they will come away with something new and excellent for their minds to digest.

Dessert
What is your favorite type of fruit juice?

Peach! This stems back to when I was a preschooler, and the times when I stayed over night with my grandparents on a weekend. My grandma worked in the nursery at their church, and I was too shy to go to the appropriate class, so I went with her. They had a snack time about half way through for the toddlers where they served animal crackers and what I now know is peach juice (which I adored). Now, my mom never bought peach juice, and when I asked for the “Sunday School kind of juice” she (for some odd reason) had no idea what kind I was requesting. So it wasn’t until my married life that I saw peach juice in the grocery store and thought it sounded unique. Imagine my thrilled delight to finally rediscover that long forgotten taste!

Appetizer
What does the color pink make you think of?

Things feminine and vintage. Sweet and gentle little girls. Delicate and ladylike women. All the things I want for my tiny daughters.

Soup
Name something you thought you had lost, but later found.

Perhaps this is a bit of a stretch, but when I was 16 and madly in love with my husband (before he was my husband) he lived in another state. I laid eyes on him one Sunday when he visited our church. I could never put him out of my mind after that. Then lo and behold he moved to a nearby town two years later. Then I thought I had found him.

But then I learned that he in a long distance relationship with another woman and figured I had lost him. I thought it was pretty much hopeless due to that fact that I was 15 years his junior, and she was only five years younger than he. As it turned out, the relationship had dwindled and most likely been doomed from the start. So I thought I had found him again.

But then because his relationship hadn’t worked out, he was unsure of where to go from there and decided to move pretty much for the change of it all. He has a master’s in entomology and jobs in that field are few and far between where we currently live. So he sent job applications out all over the world and planned to move wherever looked the most interesting. Then I was sure I’d lost him. I learned that he did this on a Sunday evening. That night I dreamed that he was offered a job here in our tiny town (1600 people). It was such a strange dream because it was absolutely impossible. The following night (Monday) I learned that my dad’s office manager had cut back on his hours and that my dad had offered Dan (my future husband) a job as Office Manager in the family business (now would be a good time to mention that my dad didn’t exactly know that I was madly in love with Dan). And Dan accepted. And then I knew I’d found him! We began our courtship that June and were married that October. And - he’s as perfect as I had first imagined!

Salad
In 3 words, describe this past week.

Crazy, Insane, Whirlwind.

Main Course
What are you obsessed with?

Sewing. Vintage things. Organizational tools and lists *this does not transfer into actual organization though.

Dessert
What kind of perfume or cologne do you like to wear?

Lavender is my everyday smell. Right now my body spray is Fig and Lavender. My special occasion perfume is Tommy Girl.

Appetizer
Where on your body do you have a scar, and what caused it?

Well - since I was such a graceful child, I escaped childhood with very few scars. Yeah right. Let’s see, about three hundred on my arms from various burns, and a memorable one above my left eye which occurred in a shooting accident. I was the one holding the gun, and yes, it was pointed the right direction. I simply held it too loosely and it kicked me right-smack-dab above the left eye, knocking me flat on my back and causing an impressive amount of blood to appear. Then there’s that scar on my calf which I got when I fell through a heat vent - yet another testament to my natural grace.

Soup
What is something that has happened to you that you would consider a miracle?

I birthed two babies. In my opinion, that whole entire pregnancy process is a miracle. It’s a miracle I met the most wonderful man in the world and got him to marry me before anyone else got a hold of him. It’s a miracle when my seventeen month old daughter makes it through the day without choking. The exquisite moon last night was a miracle. Really, I think we look to hard for miracles which causes us to miss the ones God is doing every minute of every day.

Salad
Name a television personality who really gets on your nerves.

Oprah. Well, about every single person I’ve ever seen on TV annoys me in some way. I’m very critical of people, can you tell?

Main Course
What was a funny word you said as a child (such as “pasketti” for “spaghetti”)?

All my brothers called spaghetti pasketti! I, on the other hand, had perfect pronunciation and dictation. I actually can’t remember any words like that, but I have very few early memories. I do remember that I would have killed to have an English accent, though.

Dessert
Fill in the blank: I have always thought ______ was ______.

WoW! That could be anything.

Coffee was good.
Shakespeare was interesting.
I don’t know, but one of my brother’s insisted that a cloud was “smoke from hell”. Does that count?

Appetizer
What sound, other than the normal ringing, would you like your telephone to make?

Well, my cell phone plays Mission Impossible, and I like that a lot. But maybe I would choose something more soothing for a home phone. Maybe a Lewis Armstrong song?

Soup
Describe your usual disposition in meteorological terms (partly cloudy, sunny, stormy, etc.).

At the moment I feel like a stalled out high pressure system.

Salad
What specific subject do you feel you know better than any other subjects?

I think I know sewing better than any other subject. Not that I even know it as well as most other people, but it is my most favorite subject in the world…

Main Course
Imagine you were given the ability to remember everything you read for one entire day. Which books/magazines/newspapers would you choose to read?

A book on smocking. And maybe a Geography textbook. Books about teaching toddlers and children. Cheryl Mendelson’s “Home Comforts”.

Dessert
If a popular candy maker contacted you to create their next confection, what would it be like and what would you name it?

Maybe I could convince them to swing over into the world of jerky? Candy doesn’t really hold that much excitement for me.