What’d she have to do that for?

Well, because she’s a sweetheart, that’s why.

So I’m going to keep the warm happy feelings going and list five — make that six — of the best Lemonade Makers I know, though I’m sure to leave at least as many off the list as are included. This is supposed to be awarded to “a blogger who demonstrates great attitude and gratitude.”

(And yes, if you were wondering, they’re in alphabetical order. By first name. Because I’m just that Type A.)

1. Ginny at Mary and Me
2. Heidi at Extraordinary Moms Network and Mommy Monsters
3. Lisa of CatholicMom.com and Faith & Family Live
4. Margaret of Minnesota Mom
5. Michelle at Rosetta Stone
6. Kate Wicker at Momopoly

Yeah, six is a weird number. I was going to take it up to ten, but as it happens, my mother-in-law is almost here (she just called) and we have to go to the hospital to coddle that new baby (well, I’m going to take pictures, she’s going to fight the four-year-old for coddling rights).

Who would you award a Lemonade Award to? Some of my favorite recipients don’t have blogs. My mother-in-law, for example.

Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church. There, I’ve said it. It’s just so big. I know it’s not so hard to read, because I’ve read chunks of it. I know it’s essential information (which I often find online through searches when I need it). I just haven’t.read.it. Maybe something to tackle for the new year…

If you could bring three characters to life for a social event (afternoon tea, a night of clubbing, perhaps a world cruise), who would they be and what would the event be?
Only three? Well, on the one hand, there’s the Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley approach. On the other hand, what about the much-loved Rebeeca of Sunny Brook Farm, Anne of Green Gables, Dot Peerybingle from Cricket on the Hearth? If I didn’t have my husband to influence my choices, it would be some combination of the last few (I haven’t put enough thought into this and don’t have time to go on and on thinking – only three?).

Come on, we’ve all been there. Which book have you pretended, or at least hinted, that you’ve read, when in fact you’ve been nowhere near it?
Here again, I must admit, sheepishly and yet, honestly, that it’s the Catechism of the Catholic Church, though I’ve been near it (it’s on a shelf, and it comes off the shelf for reference work).

As an addition to the last question, has there been a book that you really thought you had read, only to realize when you read a review about it/go to ‘reread’ it that you haven’t?
Drawing a blank here.

You’re interviewing for the post of Official Book Advisor to some VIP (who’s not a big reader). What’s the first book you’d recommend and why? (If you feel like you’d have to know the person, go ahead and personalize the VIP)
I would probably recommend Innumeracy, by John Allen Paulos. It’s my standard “book to recommend,” and it’s a great read. What? You haven’t read it or heard of it? Well, then, here’s your Christmas assignment: go to your library and get a copy. It’s a fast read and highly entertaining!

A good fairy comes and grants you one wish: you will have perfect reading comprehension in the foreign language of your choice. Which language do you go with?
Let’s say Latin, because then I’d have the base to understand most other languages, and I would be able to read the original text of some of the really great works. Then again, that’s assuming an awful lot of motivation to Lazy Sarah. Hmm. I’ll stick with Latin, all the same.

A mischievous fairy comes and says that you must choose one book that you will reread once a year for the rest of your life (you can read other books as well). Which book would you pick?
Theology of the Body, for how it has continued to change my life and affect my outlook.

I know that the book blogging community, and its various challenges, have pushed my reading borders. What’s one bookish thing you ‘discovered’ from book blogging (maybe a new genre, or author, or new appreciation for cover art-anything)?
I have really discovered the joy of fantasy/science fiction. I know, I know, I’m late to this, but thanks to the encouragement of readers who know far more than I do (bloggers and others), I have picked up books I would not have touched otherwise (the SFF section having always been a part of the bookstore/library that’s been unfamiliar, and therefore intimidating, to me).

That good fairy is back for one final visit. Now, she’s granting you your dream library! Describe it. Is everything leatherbound? Is it full of first edition hardcovers? Pristine trade paperbacks? Perhaps a few favourite authors have inscribed their works? Go ahead-let your imagination run free.
Yes, yes, yes! Oh, and there would certainly be a cataloging system. :)

Now, let’s see if I can really answer all of these with just one word…

1. Where is your cell phone? Pocket

2. Where is your significant other? Daddying

3. Your hair color? Undecided

4. Your mother?
a. Southerner
b. Efficient
(An explanation on this answer: I have two mothers, and each deserve their own answer.)

5. Your father? Griswold

6. Your favorite thing? Reading

7. Your dream last night? Dream?!? (thus implying enough sleep?)

8. Your dream/goal? Peace!

9. The room you’re in? Waspoffice

11. Your fear? Monotony

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Blissful

13. Where were you last night? Up-and-down-all-around

14. What you’re not? Male

15. One of your wish-list items? Books!

16. Where you grew up? O-H-I-O

17. The last thing you did? Blog-reading

18. What are you wearing? Sweater

19. Your TV? Football

20. Your pet? Terror

21. Your computer? Must-have

22. Your mood? Achy

23. Missing someone? Weezyannians

24. Your car? Blue

25. Something you’re not wearing? Barrette

26. Favorite store? Amazon.com

27. Your summer? Sticky

28. Love someone? Many!

29. Your favorite color? Red

30. When is the last time you laughed? Earlier

31. Last time you cried? Mass

How to play: BOLD anything you have done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (DisneyWorld)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run (does it count if it was an electronic game?)
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (in general)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible (over the course of years, not all at once)
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Open the closest book to you, not your favorite or most intellectual book, but the book closest to you at the moment, to page 56. Write the 5th sentence, as well as two to five sentences following that.

“Unfortunately, many of us suffer from the scars of hurtful relationships. Saint Bertilla Boscardin’s life testifies to the fact that God can heal these deep wounds and put charity in their place. Born to peasant parents, hardship marked the early years of Anna Francesca Boscardin’s life. Her father was an abusive alcoholic who helped destroy her self-confidence. The family’s poverty forced Anna to work at a young age instead of attending school regularly, and the few studies she attempted did not come easily for her.”

Unlike me, a firm ENTJ for years and years, my blog, it appears, is just another floozy in the blogosphere. (And I’m OK with that. We’re in good company, after all!)

ESFP – The Performers

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead – they are always in risk of exhausting themselves. The enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation – qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.

As if that’s not intriguing enough to keep me occupied for hours, check out this chart (there’s a part of me jumping up and down, I tell you!):

Analysis

Thanks to Ironic Catholic for the diversion. :)

The sixth picture from the sixth folder (or, in iPhoto, the sixth event) on my computer:

Aunt Nenny and Babs playing “musical instaments” with baby Noonie looking on (read as: plotting how to get her hands on that guitar!) a month ago when we were visiting Nama and Poppa’s house.

In any event, I’m sure I’ve done this before, but since it’s quick, I’m going to do it again. :)

Tagged by Christine for this one…

Four places I go over and over:
Work
Nanny’s (my mother-in-law’s)
Babby’s preschool
Home

Four people I email most frequently:
Workmates (yeah, that’s more than one)
Vicki
Kate
Prince Charming

Four favorite places to eat:
Ali’s (a good friend’s house is always fabulous)
Grandma’s (need I say more?)
Longhorn
Woody’s (a local barbeque place that is just fantabulous)

Four books from the to-read pile:
Mary and Me, by Ginny Kubitz Moyer
One Door Away from Heaven, by Dean Koontz
Mouth Wide Open, by John Thorne
How to Peel a Peach, by Russ Parsons

Four tags:
Jean the Meme Queen
Wendy the Now-Been-Tagged
Julie my Fairy Bookmother
Ginny the Babymooner