A is for apple...

Okay, first things first:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!! :)

Eric is in Austin at the moment, hoping that his presence on mom's birthday will help him attain "favorite child" status. But mom is much too smart to fall for such an obvious ploy... (I, on the other hand, shall promise fajitas and key lime pie to anyone who grants me Favorite Child status...)

Hope you're having a great day, mom!! :)

So this is one of those things that has been making the rounds in the blog world for a couple months now... and I've finally decided to cave to blogger peer pressure and submit my own answers. (Must be one of those "writer's block" kinda days...):

A. Age: Oscar Wilde said, "One should never trust a woman who tells one her real age. A woman who would tell one that, would tell one anything." That Oscar Wilde was a smart guy...

B. Bed size: King... I can never sleep in anything smaller than that. Well, at least not for a long period of time. I like to stretch out when I sleep so I need lots of room. Maybe I'd be better off on the floor...

C. Chore you hate: I'm not fond of scrubbing floors or cleaning shower grout... in fact, Rick was usually the one who cleaned our giant shower back in Austin (now we have a tiny little shower, so it's not as bad... :))

D. Dogs: Awww... now I miss Echo...

We probably won't get another dog for a while... harder to take care of them in a big city...

E. Essential start to your day: I believe I recently mentioned my love of coffee. Must. Have. Coffee.

F. Favorite color: Purple!

G. Gold or silver: I prefer silver to gold, although I don't really wear much jewelry anyway...

H. Height: 5'4"... and a half... maybe 5'5" if I stand up reeeeeaaaaalllly tall.

I. Instruments you play: I took about six years of piano lessons... so technically, I CAN play the piano... I'm just not all that good at it. If you want to hear me play anything, you'll have to give me a good week to practice... especially since I don't have a piano at the moment...

J. Job title: My last "official" job title was Communications Specialist. But now I'm a random occasional freelance writer/editor/proofreader. So if you need anyone to do any of those things, let me know...

K. Kids: I don't have any, but there seems to have been a strange baby boom amongst my Facebook friends recently. If I read one more status update about a baby, I'm quitting that site. Apparently Facebook = spontaneous pregnancy...

L. Live: from New York it's Saturday Night?? Oh, wait -- I suppose that was a short vowel sound in "live." I think I've made it pretty obvious that I live in Chicago. :)

M. Mom’s name: Leilani (happy birthday, Leilani!! :))

N. Nicknames: There's not a lot you can do with Lisa except chop off a syllable... so most people call me Lis... Rick drops off one more letter and calls me Li (which, interestingly, only one other person -- one of my high school friends -- has ever called me). Eric wins the prize for coining the most nicknames for me... Lease, L, Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam, L Dawg, Second Favorite Child, etc.

O. Overnight hospital stays: None so far... well, except for the day I was born, I suppose. I was probably overnight in the hospital for a day or two...

P. Pet peeve: I'm really annoyed by impatient drivers, especially when everyone is pretty much going at the same pace and impatience isn't going to change anything.

Q. Quote from a movie: "I know! You can construct a weapon... look around you -- can you form some sort of rudimentary lathe?" (50 points to anyone who can tell me what movie this is from... but not dad or Rick, because it's too obvious... :))

R. Righty or Lefty: Righty... although I'm not bad at eating with my left. And I once won a contest when I was a kid where everyone had to draw a Sesame Street character with their opposite hand -- my stunning portrait of Burt had everyone convinced that I was ambidextrous... 

S. Siblings: My older brother, Robert, who lives in a cabin in the middle of nowhere (seriously -- he lives in a very sparsely populated area of Montana... although I should mention that he built the "cabin" himself, and it has a really awesome gourmet kitchen...); and my younger brother, Eric, who lives next-door... practically. :) My long-lost half-sister Aimee died in 2002 -- I miss having a sister...

T. Time you wake up: Lately, between 8:30 and 9 most mornings... hey, I was getting up no later than 5:30 when I was working, so I'm catching up on my sleep now...

U. Underwear: Uhh... yes? (Is there a question here??)

V. Vegetables you dislike: Carrots (which, as I have mentioned before, taste like dirt. I mean, not that I've ever actually eaten dirt -- they just taste like what I ASSUME dirt would taste like), and I'm not a fan of raw onions, tomatoes or cucumbers, although I don't mind them as much if they're surrounded by other foods on a sandwich. Oh, and I think eggplant tastes like metal and has a really icky texture... (do I just have weird tastebuds or something??)

W. What makes you run late: Underestimating the amount of time I need to get ready? Also, Rick... Rick makes me run late because Rick is always late... ;)

X. X-rays you’ve had: Just teeth... I think that's it...

Y. Yummy food you make: I make all KINDS of yummy food, although I have to say I'm especially proud of my baking abilities... I'm WAY too good at making cookies and cake...

Z. Zoo animal favorite: I love all the big cats, because I'm always fascinated by the fact that they act so much like my little cats... and then I realize that my little cats would probably eat me if their claws and teeth weren't so tiny...