Jan. 26: Thursday Thirteen

In an effort to return to semi-regular blogging, I’m trying on some old habits again. Here’s a Thursday Thirteen, which I haven’t done in ages.

Yesterday Jack came home with a National Geographic Kids Weird but True! 3 book—300 outrageous facts. I think they’re playing “outrageous” a little fast and loose here, as a lot of these facts are pretty dumb. A handful of the 300 are worth sharing, though. (“Handful” = 13, today only.)

1. A man once ate 49 glazed doughnuts in eight minutes. Anyone who’s sat in the car with a warm box of Krispy Kremes on their lap knows that is totally doable. Well, tempting, anyway.
2. Scorpions glow under black light. Does black light ever detect anything anyone really wants to see? I mean, you never hear about people using a black light and screaming, “Look! Next to the scorpion and semen stain and blood drops! A tower of money!”
3. Some moths drink the tears of elephants. Poor, sad elephants. I’d cry if I had moths hanging out on my face too.
4. A ripe cranberry will bounce. Gotta test this.
5. The bombardier beetle can shoot hot poison from its rear end 500 times a second. I’ve changed diapers that suggest humans are quite capable of this as well.
6. Male woodchucks are called “he-chucks;” females are called “she-chucks.” Fascinating, no? Yeah, um, NO.
7. The oldest chocolate ever found was inside a 2,600-year-old pot in Belize. And here I thought the oldest chocolate ever found came from the stash of prizes we gave out at last year’s school carnival. Hm.
8. You are more likely to be in a bad mood on Thursdays, according to a recent study. Really? What increases my likeliness to be in a bad mood is when people tell me I’m in a bad mood. Shut up.
9. Studies show that painting your room blue could make you more creative. My bedroom is blue, and so is my office, and I don’t think it’s helped my creativity one bit. Now, if this said “painting your room blue could make it messier than it’s ever been,” I would totally believe it.
10. Months that begin on Sundays always have a Friday the 13th. Pretty simple math, this one. There are three in 2012.
11. Smelling good scents, such as roses, when you sleep may give you happy dreams. I am sooo trying this. The scary TV shows I’m newly addicted to are giving me whatever the polar opposite of happy dreams are. Gah.
12. Mosquitos prefer to bite people with smelly feet. Camping = no showers = extra sweatiness = smelly feet = mosquito bites = malaria = death. That’s why I hate camping. Because camping makes you die.
13. Raw termites taste like pineapple. Can you imagine the research dares that led to this conclusion? “No, you taste the termites.” “I’m not tasting the termites!” “Fine, I’ll taste them, but that means you have to lick the bombardier beetle’s butt.”

Happy Thursday, y’all! I’m gonna go get in a bad mood now. Apparently I’m supposed to.

May 14: Thursday Thirteen #18

I’ve been reading up on some local trivia lately and thought I’d use a set of fun facts I’ve found for this week’s Thursday-13. Here are 13 of the more well-known celebrities who came from Portland, Oregon, my hometown. Wikipedia’s complete list can be found here.

1. Beverly Cleary, children’s author (grew up here). Portland has erected park statues of Cleary’s most popular characters.
2. Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons (born and raised here). Many of the Simpsons character names come from Portland streets (Lovejoy, Kearney, Flanders, Terwilliger, Quimby, etc.).
3. Tonya Harding, controversial figure skater (born and raised and just won’t leave). I speak for many when I say this is the resident of which we’re least proud.
4. Katie Harman, Miss America 2002 (born and raised). She was the first Miss Oregon to win the Miss America title. Almost makes up for the Tonya shame.
5. The Kingsmen, musicians, best known for “Louie Louie” (band formed in Portland). If you’ve heard that catchy tune at a parade—because who hasn’t?—you have them to thank/blame.
6. Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club (moved here as an adult, still lives in the area).
7. Sally Struthers, actress (born and raised).
8. Gus Van Sant, filmmaker, most recently recognized for Milk (grew up and currently lives here).
9. Thomas Lauderdale, musician, Pink Martini bandleader (grew up and currently lives here).
10. Mel Blanc, voice actor best known as the voice of Bugs Bunny (grew up here).
11. Sam Elliott, actor (grew up here).
12. James Beard, food expert (born and raised here).
13. Phil Knight, co-founder of Nike, Inc. and on bunches of gazillionaires lists (born and raised, and still lives here).

And what is Thursday-13? Read all about it here.

May 7: Thursday Thirteen #17

Here are 13 of the books I’ve read this year. Book title links go to their Amazon pages; additional links are to blog posts I’ve written about some titles. Several of these books have been made into movies, but I haven’t seen any of them.

1. The Teahouse Fire, by Ellis Avery. I just finished this one the other day. The story is told from the point of view of an American girl, raised in Paris, who is abandoned in Japan. Got that? It’s hard to imagine what it’d be like in her shoes, but the story moves quickly and the characters are well developed. There’s great detail about Japanese culture and specifically the significance of tea ceremony.
2. Me Talk Pretty One Day, by David Sedaris. In preparation for the reading I attended last month, I re-read most of Sedaris’ books. I recommend them, every one of them, because they will have you laughing out loud unless you’re made of stone.
3. Naked, by David Sedaris. Not so much reviewed as quoted here. Such a great book, as are all of his.
4. Atonement, by Ian McEwan. I did not enjoy this book. I tried, really. Never got into it.
5. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker. I read this right after seeing the stage musical on its tour through Portland. Good story, very well written, and easy to read. Tough subjects, yes, but told in an intriguing way that easily held my interest.
6. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer. This is about a quirky kid whose father dies in the World Trade Center on 9/11. The boy finds a key in his dad’s belongings and begins a quest to find what the key unlocks. Along the way he meets fascinating people and makes friends, and ultimately is comforted by the answers he finds. It was tragic but heartwarming in many ways.
7. The Mermaid Chair, by Sue Monk Kidd. Ugh, I hated this book. Trash. Reviewed in January.
8. The Future of Love, by Shirley Abbott. Another 9/11 novel; this tells stories of a handful of people who are all connected in some way and how they deal with New York life in a post-9/11 era. Disappointing; it could have been hugely fascinating but never quite took hold.
9. Far From You, by Lisa Schroeder. Young adult novel, written in verse. Lisa used to be my Pampered Chef consultant, and now she’s an accomplished author of several genres of books. Cool, huh? Reviewed in January.
10. I Heart You, You Haunt Me, by Lisa Schroeder. This one is Lisa’s first young adult novel. Very quick read—also written in verse—and bittersweet story. Reviewed in January.
11. Life of Pi, by Yann Martel. This is one of the best books I’ve read in a while. If you’re looking for a unique and compelling story that leaves a lot of interpretation up to its reader, check it out. Reviewed in January.
12. Shopgirl: A Novella, by Steve Martin. This was very short (thank goodness) and a complete waste of time. It was trashy and not in the fun beach-read way.
13. The Cider House Rules, by John Irving. It took me a long time to get through this book—it’s a tough read—but it was incredibly detailed (in a good way) and thought-provoking. I recommend it.

If you’ve got any book recommendations, please share them in a comment. I’m always looking for new authors to read. Also, every time I blog about reading I try to remind y’all of the fabulous book trading site Bookins, which is where I get most of my books nowadays.

And what is Thursday-13? Read all about it here.

Apr. 30: Thursday Thirteen #16

For today’s Thursday Thirteen, I present 13 random and amusing bumper stickers I’ve collected from around the ‘net. These are the best of those in the non-political and non-religious categories. Enjoy!

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What is Thursday-13? Read all about it here.

Apr. 23: Thursday Thirteen #1 or #15

It’s been ages since I last participated in Thursday Thirteen. The thing is, the site disappeared and after a couple months someone started up another one at Thursday-13, and it’s taken a while for the news to get around. Technically, I’m not sure if this is my first or 15th edition. Anyway, my thirteen things for this week are wedding-related because one of the authors of Thursday-13 is getting married. Congratulations, Megan!

13 things about our wedding

We got married February 23, 1997.

1. We chose a wedding date exactly halfway between our birthdays. Romantic, no? Problem is, it’s also a week after Valentine’s Day, so either our anniversary or Valentine’s Day get the shaft every year. Not the best planning after all.
2. We didn’t want to leave any of our closest friends out of our wedding party, so we had eight bridesmaids and six groomsmen, two junior ushers and three flower girls. People joked that there were more people on the platform than there were wedding guests, but we had 200+ guests so those people were exaggerating a teence.
3. The week before the wedding I went to my hairdresser for a trial run on my hairstyle. She did it up a few different ways and we liked them all, so although we didn’t settle on anything for sure, I was confident that whatever she did would look fine.
   
   On the morning of the wedding she did my hair up in a zillion bobby pins and I left with what she called “a Gibson girl look.” I thought it looked like a butt crack up the back of my head. My veil covered it, though, and except for the groomsmen who kept lifting my veil to show people, no one even noticed.
   
   The funny thing is, I didn’t mind; I mean, it was funny and memorable and really looked just fine. People still remind me of it. And I still have the same hairdresser because she’s FAB.U.LOUS. Really.
4. Our wedding video is really lovely, with music we chose and lots of slow-mo shots, etc. But the ceremony itself has some sound problems; we think it’s probably a microphone that wasn’t working correctly. Unfortunately, it sounds like someone farted through the whole wedding.
5. Speaking of farts, my dad was kind of a butthead leading up to the wedding. He kept saying he wasn’t going to wear a tux, didn’t want to give me away, etc. I never took his threats seriously, but his refusal to cooperate beforehand sometimes had me a little concerned. But for the rehearsal and wedding/reception, Dad really came through. He was perfect.
   
   This photo was taken just before we walked down the aisle and is one of my favorites from that day. It means even more now that Dad’s gone.
6. I tried on dresses at several bridal shops, but didn’t LOVE any of them. I found the perfect dress in the window of a formal dress shop—it was ivory silk with a shimmery organza overlay and a sash that criss-crossed in the front. I added some pearl trim around the neck and armholes, and got long gloves to wear during the ceremony. (Click the photo to see a larger version, pretty much the only place the dress detail can be seen. Also, see? My hair looks just fine!)
   
   I made the headband to which I attached my veil, using organza ribbon and pearl beads, which I also used on the ballet slippers I wore so I wouldn’t tower over my groom.
   
   To complete the match-iness of everything, we used organza bows on the wedding invitations and throughout the wedding and reception decor.
7. February is not usually a very nice time of year in Portland, but on the day of our wedding the sun shone brightly. It was a gorgeous day. We were able to take a big batch of outdoor portraits, which we never expected we’d be able to do.
8. I talked to my church’s wedding coordinator several times before the wedding. She gave me information about the church’s candelabras, lighting, sound, etc., but we never talked about any ceremony specifics  because I had my own coordinator. Somehow she did not understand this, and tried to take control of the proceedings during the rehearsal.
   
   First, she said we couldn’t use tape to mark our spots on the platform because people would see it. Then she yelled at my nephews. But when she said I couldn’t have my sister walk down the aisle before everyone else, I decided not to put up with her anymore. I was tempted to say to this woman, “Guess what? I can have my sister cartwheel down the aisle if I want her to.” Instead I explained to her very clearly that I wanted things a certain way, and unless those things were violations of church policies, they were going to be done my way. And then I stabbed her with the screwdriver I carry for just such an occasion. OK, not really. She got pissed and refused to help the rest of the rehearsal—fine with me.
   
   On our wedding day, she unlocked the church, turned on the lights, and then left until after the reception was over.
   
   As most of my friends said, WHAT IS HER PROBLEM? AND WHO ARGUES WITH THE BRIDE? Best news: not a single guest was aware of any of her attempts to make our wedding NOT go off as planned. HA!
9. Our toasting goblets were crystal with Mickey and Minnie Mouse on the stems because we are dorks. We use them every year to toast each other on New Year’s Eve because we are still dorks.
10. My sister did not want to be called a “matron of honor,” so I declared her to be an “attendant of distinction.” She sang at the wedding, so in the program I noted that she was a “vocal artist of distinction.” This made my maid of honor, Sherrice, who also sang, a “plain ol’ vocal artist.” Sherrice has a good sense of humor and my sister was pleased with her titles. Win-win.
11. Victor broke a finger on his right hand a few days before the wedding. If you look closely, you can see his splint in a lot of the portraits. You can also tell he wore lens-less glasses for the portraits—no glare! We found a generous optician who let him borrow the frames for a couple weeks.
12. Our reception food was delicious. The original caterer we planned to use backed out a few weeks before the wedding so I was panicked and didn’t know if the new one would work out. But the new one worked out and then some—people still talk about how good that food was.
13. I didn’t want Victor to see me before the wedding, but I knew it made more sense for us to have the portraits taken before the guests arrived. What we ended up doing: Victor stood in the chapel and waited for me; when I was all ready I came in and twirled for him (actually, for the videographer). We talked for a few minutes, practiced our kiss, and went out for portraits. The private moment made for a very nice memory. 
    

What is Thursday-13? Read all about it here.

Oct. 9: Thursday Thirteen #14

I think my TV viewing habits are fairly average—I faithfully watch The Office, 30 Rock, all three CSI shows, all the Law & Order series, The Simpsons, My Name is Earl, the early episodes of American Idol each season, and a few other shows here and there. But when I look at ratings lists, I see that there are a lot of popular shows I know very little about. Alphabetically, here are 13 of them.

13 popular TV shows of which I’ve not seen a single episode

1. 24. I’ve never been a Kiefer Sutherland fan.
   
2. According to Jim. Courtney Thorne-Smith married to Jim Belushi? Yeah, right.
   
3. America’s Next Top Model. I hate most reality TV.
   
4. Desperate Housewives. Seems trashy-but-fun, but has never appealed to me.
   
5. Extreme Makeover. I don’t need all the drama and tears, thank you very much.
   
6. Grey’s Anatomy. I stopped watching ER when Dr. Greene died and I went into a deep depression. I realized that for something that was “just a TV show,” I was getting way too emotionally involved. When Grey’s started, it seemed interesting but too ER-like for me to tempt myself to get hooked.
   
7. Heroes. I’ve never enjoyed the supernatural stuff.
   
8. How I Met Your Mother. Why have I never watched this show? It seems like a good one.
   
9. Lost. The premise is cool but I don’t like being jerked around by my TV.
   
10. Survivor. It’s extreme camping. No thanks.
    
11. The Amazing Race. Don’t know, don’t care.
    
12. Two and a Half Men. Not a huge Charlie Sheen fan, and I’ve always thought of Jon Cryer as the poor man’s Matthew Broderick. I also don’t like overly clever kids on TV.
    
13. Ugly Betty. Another show that seems fabulous and I’m missing out on it all.

What about you? Any popular shows you’ve opted not to watch regularly?

Every Thursday, bloggers jot down 13 things about their week, 13 secrets they’ve never shared before, 13 random things about themselves or their lives that give the reader a better idea of who they are. Then the fun begins; you go blog-hopping! Find other Thursday Thirteeners, spend some quality time getting to know your fellow bloggers, interact with them through their lists, and invite them to yours!

Oct. 2: Thursday Thirteen #13

In honor of this being my 13th Thursday Thirteen, I’m doing numbers today.

13 things, 1-13

1. I have been married ONE time (so far... heh heh)
   
   
   
   
2. We have TWO children
   
3. I regularly use THREE different e-mail addresses
   
4. We have owned FOUR Volkswagens—ʻ97 Jetta, ʻ99 Cabrio, ʻ04 Passat, ʻ08 Jetta—they are just so fun to drive!
   
5. The highest number of years (in a row) that I ever attended the same school was FIVE; it was the university from which I graduated
   
6. We have SIX nieces and nephews on my husband’s side; there are just two on mine
   
   
   
   
7. I take SEVEN prescription medications regularly (I hate this but the number used to be even higher)
   
8. At our wedding I had EIGHT bridesmaids
   
   
   
   
9. There are NINE Christmas storage boxes in our attic (yikes—I really need to sort through all our décor)
   
10. This is kind of embarrassing to admit, but since we’ve been married we’ve been to Disneyland, Disney World or on a Disney cruise TEN times
    
    
    
    
11. Our first baby—our Beagle, Scout—is now ELEVEN years old; we adopted her just after we got married
    
    
    
    
12. Today I have no less than TWELVE bloody claw marks from interactions between the dogs and the new kitten
    
13. Hooray! This is my THIRTEENTH Thursday Thirteen!

Every Thursday, bloggers jot down 13 things about their week, 13 secrets they’ve never shared before, 13 random things about themselves or their lives that give the reader a better idea of who they are. Then the fun begins; you go blog-hopping! Find other Thursday Thirteeners, spend some quality time getting to know your fellow bloggers, interact with them through their lists, and invite them to yours!

Sep. 25: Thursday Thirteen #12

Last weekend we traveled a few hours north to Vancouver, B.C. with two of our favorite traveling companions, Jim and April. The trip fell between April’s and my 40th birthdays. We had a fabulous kid-free weekend, even with the bad weather, and tried to feel young amid crowds of people born after we graduated from high school. So, for Thursday Thirteen this week, I share...

13 things we did in Vancouver last weekend

1. “Ate” at the Cloud 9 lounge on the 42nd floor of our hotel. It is a revolving restaurant, and very, very slow/boring. The tapas in the lounge was crazy-expensive and barely edible. It was a regrettable meal. Jim and April went to Earl’s for real food later. Vic and I got a crepe.
   
2. Watched a guy pee in the street. Vancouver may be a pretty clean city, but it ain’t as clean as you think, folks.
   
3. Looked in tons of crappy gift shops for stuff with the 2010 Olympic mascots on it. April and I thought they were cute and our kids would like them but kept thinking we’d find them cheaper at the next store. We didn’t. Here’s some info about the mascots’ origins if you’re interested; apparently their weird, multi-animal features are intentional.
   
4. Walked a lot of blocks of Robson in a lot of rain. It made for a lot of pretty hair.
   
5. Rode a water taxi to and from Granville Island. It was rainy so there were no outdoor markets, but the indoor shops were fun to browse.
   
6. Watched an episode of Law & Order in our room. It was the one when someone gets killed and they try to figure out who did it.
   
7. Ate a very tasty meal at Italian Kitchen. I had the gnocchi, which was good but I remembered that I don’t really love gnocchi. Still, it was vaguely similar to pierogi, and, y’know, when in Canada... The mojitos were amazing. Amazing, I tell you. Everything brought to our table was quite delicious, and I look forward to dining here again at my earliest opportunity.
   
8. Freaked out for a minute when we saw on the news that a plane had crashed. Y’see, Jim, April, Vic and I were on vacation in Manhattan Beach when Princess Diana died, and in Palm Springs when JFK, Jr. died. I think it’s safe to say Jordan/Manullang vacations are bad luck for huge celebrities. And not to discount the tragedy of the Travis Barker/DJ AM plane crash last weekend, but... um... whew.
   
9. Got cupcakes at Cupcakes. I tried “Envy,” a pistachio cake with pistachio-flavored buttercream frosting. Yum. But I have to be honest; the cake was dry and not nearly as delicious as this one. Still, everything they sold was decorated so cute, you just had to try something. We bought a mini-cupcake pack to take back to Katie and Jack.
   
10. Walked through a few blocks of Chinatown. All the stores were the same after a while—junky crap and more junky crap—and the food looked too frightening to eat. The Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden was peaceful and had really cute little turtles. We all found out what our Chinese zodiac symbols are. Mine and April’s is the monkey—this is distressing because I am not a fan of monkeys—and Vic thinks he’s super-cool because his is the dragon. I can’t remember Jim’s and I’m too lazy to look it up.
    
11. Stayed in a hotel with the smallest and slowest elevators in the history of the world.
    
12. Waited a long time to cross back over into the United States. Figured out the secret of getting through the line quicker: go through the Duty Free Shop parking lot and they let you cut way in front of everyone else. We figured this out too late to actually try it, but we know it will totally work next time. Either that, or we’ll do the smartest thing and take Amtrak.
    
13. Saw Stanley Park. Didn’t drive or walk through it, just saw it. Pretty.

Every Thursday, bloggers jot down 13 things about their week, 13 secrets they’ve never shared before, 13 random things about themselves or their lives that give the reader a better idea of who they are. Then the fun begins; you go blog-hopping! Find other Thursday Thirteeners, spend some quality time getting to know your fellow bloggers, interact with them through their lists, and invite them to yours!

Sep. 18: Thursday Thirteen #11

Today is my 40th birthday. Last week I listed 13 things that changed my life in my 30s. This week, in honor of today, I’ll share:

13 things I hope will happen in the next ten years

1. I’d like to lose this damn pregnancy weight once and for all, and feel my age instead of 10-15 years older.
   
2. My hair will give up trying to hang on to its color and finally go completely grey. But it’ll be a nice grey, a lovely skin-complementing shade of grey, and wherever I go people will be envious. Yep. Envious.
   
3. I’ll still be writing in this blog, I figure. It’s a fun, creative outlet and keeps me from having to write the same e-mails to 15 different people every week. Of course, at some point my kids will probably start censoring me...
   
4. Travels: I will finally visit New York City, where my sister and I will leave some of our dad’s ashes at Yankee Stadium. Vic and I are planning a trip to Ka’anapali for our 20th anniversary, which is where we honeymooned in 1997. We’d definitely like to go on a Disney cruise again, maybe with the Jordan and Shahrokshahi families. And a trip or six to Disneyland and/or Disney World wouldn’t be too bad.
   
5. Work: I’m not sure what I’d like to see happen job-wise. I have no complaints right now, so maybe it’d be fine if things just continue as they are. Maybe if my work was a bit steadier, rather than have the busy-busy-busy times and then the slo-o-o-ow times... That’s too much to ask for, isn’t it?
   
6. Politics: I hope the next president elected has some common sense and will end the pointless war we’re in. I’d like to see marriage legalized for any two people that want to be married.
   
7. Katie and Jack will become teenagers—yikes! Katie will graduate high school with a minimum of tattoos and piercings. The kids will get to do things Vic and I never did, like go to prom, apply to colleges (we were automatically accepted into ours if we were church members and could write a very large check), take college prep courses, play competitive sports, etc. Ah, normalcy.
   
8. Katie will be old enough to vote in 2018. Will she rebel against me by registering as a Republican, then vote simply to cancel out mine? Or will she see the brilliance of Mom’s view on every little thing that matters in our world?
   
9. I’ll catch up on my scrapbooking. Right now I’m about four years behind and it’s just getting worse. I have actually considered not taking pictures at some events, just to save myself on layouts. Bad mother! Bad!
   
10. I’ll be married to a 50-year-old come July 2014. Buddha almighty. Victor and I will celebrate 20 years of marriage in 2017.
    
11. I plan to attend my 25th high school reunion in 2011 and 30th in 2016. We’ll go to Vic’s 30th in 2012.
    
12. (Kathy will hate me for this, but) I am determined to become a great-aunt. My nephews are 20 and 21 right now, so I don’t think it’s too lofty a dream, is it? The best thing about me being a great-aunt is that it will make my sister a grandmother. HA! I, on the other hand, will not become a grandmother in the next ten years. Did you hear that, Katie and Jack?
    
13. I’ll hire a housekeeper to deep-clean my house. And then I’ll keep her on to do all the day-to-day stuff I don’t like to do. And she’ll do all the yard work I hate. And she’ll do laundry and wash windows and disinfect the cat box and clean toothpaste globs out of the kids’ sinks. WAIT! I want a wife! And I want a good wife, not an incompetent one like me.

Every Thursday, bloggers jot down 13 things about their week, 13 secrets they’ve never shared before, 13 random things about themselves or their lives that give the reader a better idea of who they are. Then the fun begins; you go blog-hopping! Find other Thursday Thirteeners, spend some quality time getting to know your fellow bloggers, interact with them through their lists, and invite them to yours!

Sep. 11: Thursday Thirteen #10

I haven’t participated in Thursday Thirteen for a few weeks. Life got really hectic and I couldn’t put the time into coming up with 13 anythings. But I’m back this week. Being that today is an anniversary, I feel I should do something related to September 11 but I don’t want to because it would be depressing and bring everybody down. Instead, I’ll do a list related to me and bring myself down.

Next week I will turn 40 years old; thus, today I start the last week of being thirty-anything. Here are 13 things that happened in the past decade that changed my life.

Thirteen thirtysomethings

1. The biggie: I became a mom. Katie was born when I was 31; Jack when I was 33.
   
2. I hung on to much of my pregnancy weight and hate myself for it.
   
3. The other biggie: My dad died when I was 36. People who say adults don’t need their parents are wrong or lying. My dad was far from SuperDad, but I was not done with him yet, and I miss him every single day.
   
4. I re-claimed my mother when I was 36. She got a long-overdue divorce from a “man” who was selfish, judgmental and completely farked in the head. (I should be commended on my restraint in leaving the description of him brief and profanity-free.) It was dreadful to watch her go through the divorce, but the bonus is that now my mom is my mom again. I adore her, I admire her, and I am very, very proud of whom she is.
   
5. I finally made a break from the church in which I was raised. This happened gradually, but I reached the point of no return when I was 34. Later, when my mom’s 23-year marriage crumbled the way it did and I saw how “our” church handled it (by pretending they didn’t notice), I was more sure than ever that I had made a good decision. For me, this feels right. I am happy living a life that has nothing to do with organized religion.
   
6. At almost 33 I watched in horror as the events of September 11, 2001 unfolded. Like many people, I feel that my priorities in life changed that day.
   
7. Although I can’t pinpoint an actual age that it happened, I became more convicted about my political views in my 30s.
   
8. I attended my 20th high school reunion when I was 37. I know some people dread these events, but I thought it was an absolute blast.
   
9. My husband and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary when I was 38. I never doubted we’d make it that far, but I (we) still feel very proud of that milestone.
   
10. I was laid off a job that I loved when I was 31. The company closed during my maternity leave, and when I was ready to go back to work, there was no job to return to. I started doing the same kind of work as an independent contractor and am still doing it almost nine years later.
    
11. I started a family web site, which evolved over the years into this blog, when I was 31.
    
12. At 38, I became an ordained reverend of the Universal Life Church. Their doctrine? Do that which is right. No Jesus-freak, holier-than-thou stuff.
    
13. Exciting travel firsts: I traveled to Europe when I was 32, went on a Caribbean cruise when I was 34, turned 36 while at Disney World, and went to Canada when I was 39.

Next week: Things I hope to see happen in my 40s.

Aug. 14: Thursday Thirteen #9

Visit Thursday Thirteen if you want to read some fun lists written by talented and interesting bloggers. Here’s mine for this week.

13 of my favorite non-blog sites

1. Twitter. Oh my goodness, I could pee myself on every visit because I follow some wickedly funny twitterers. You can see who I follow by looking at my profile: www.twitter.com/jmanullang
   
2. Internet Movie Database. IMDB is the absolute best resource for movie info.
   
3. Some E-cards. These are not your standard e-cards. Their slogan is “when you care enough to hit send” and they are addictive.
   
4. Facebook. I signed up because a friend said he’d created a page and I wanted to see it, and since then have been pretty much hooked. I’ve found a lot of old friends and acquaintances, but the best part has been to reconnect with one of my closest friends from the early years of college. Even if I eventually spend less time on Facebook, I know I’ll stay in touch with her for a good, long time. (Lovies, Sherilee!)
   
5. Google Reader. I used to spend so much time chasing my favorite bloggers all over the ‘net. Now they come to me, in a way, by collecting in my reader. I keep this open all day and it updates regularly. If you think there’s a better reader out there, please let me know—I signed up with Google because I use Blogger, but haven’t looked around much to see what else is out there.
   
6. Go Fug Yourself. Snark, anyone? This site pokes fun at celebrities’ odd wardrobe choices and can occasionally raise your self-esteem points a notch or two (no guarantees).
   
7. Café Press. Looking for anything—ANYTHING—with some kind of saying or image on it? You’ll find it here. It’s easy to create your own little store too.
   
8. eBay and Etsy. I’m putting these together because even though they’re very different kinds of sites, I use them both for finding unique items. eBay has everything; Etsy has tons of amazing handcrafted goods. I guess craigslist sorta fits into this category too, at least for the way I use it (though the Best of Craigslist is some pretty great entertainment).
   
9. Amazon. I shop here way too much but it saves me trips to the mall. I really hate going to the mall.
   
10. Bookins. I’m a new-ish member here and so far am fascinated by how easy it is to use. Basically, it’s a site that facilitates trades of used books and DVDs with other members. Whatever you receive costs $4.49. Whatever you send out costs you nothing; you print postage from home on regular paper and simply drop the envelope in a mailbox. If you want to register and “thank” me for alerting you to the site, use this link.
    
11. 6pm. This site has great prices on shoes and runs frequent sales.
    
12. Spot The Difference. Do you miss those search games like the ones we used to do in Highlights magazine? Here you go. The games get harder with each level, but you can do them over and over to increase your gold/silver/bronze levels. Pretty fun.
    
13. The DIS Discussion Forums. If you’re going on a Disney vacation, there’s no site better than this one to prepare yourself.

What are some of your favorite web sites? Please share!

Aug. 7: Thursday Thirteen #8

Thursday Thirteen time again. Even if you don’t participate yourself, follow the link—you may discover some fabulous blogs.

13 random things that sometimes enrage me

1. Waking up with a headache. It just says, “Hey, Jen! Your day’s gonna suck!”
   
2. The doorbell. It rings all day. It’s not that I mind visitors or that our doorbell is an especially unpleasant sound. It’s the reaction of our dogs, who bark for five minutes straight, that makes me want to scream. (And sometimes I do.)
   
3. The smell of natto filling my house. Victor and Jack both like natto, which is garbage. More specifically, it’s fermented soybeans and is slimy like mucus and smells like ass. I am not kidding.
   
4. People merging on the freeway at 40mph. This does not work, people. It creates traffic jams and you will get flipped off. (Though not by me; my interaction with other drivers is limited to things that are not likely to get me shot.)
   
5. Reruns in prime time. I pay good money for… oh wait, I don’t pay anything at all. But I still hate reruns when there should be new episodes of my favorite shows.
   
6. Zits. WTH? I’m almost 40 years old. I rarely had zits as a teen but I’m more than making up for that now.
   
7. People driving/walking like no one else is around. I don’t know how people can be so completely oblivious to their surroundings. Use your turn signal. That’s the bike lane, genius. You’re blocking the doorway. You’re driving 45mph in a school zone. The light is green, so MOVE.
   
8. Forgetting my cell phone. Every time I leave the house without it, I’m sure I’ll get a flat tire or worse. When I have my phone with me, of course, I rarely need it.
   
9. Ann Coulter. Words cannot express how rude, ignorant and horrible she is.
   
10. Traffic in non-rush hour times. I don’t plan for this, and I’m always running behind—which, yes, I know is my own fault.
    
11. Skips in my CDs or DVDs. Might as well just throw them away. I’ve never found a repair product that really works. Of course, maybe if I stopped storing my CDs with the sandpaper…
    
12. An hour-long wait for a table when I’m really hungry. Why does everyone else want to try this new restaurant at the same time as me? Oh, because it’s new? And they’re all hungry too? Dang.
    
13. My husband’s habit of leaving drawers and cabinets open. As accident-prone as I am, is it any wonder I am always running into the drawers and cabinets he’s left open? I don’t know why he can’t close them but I’m pretty sure he’s trying to kill me.

What makes you want to kill someone? Leave your aggravations in a comment or your own blog. Happy Thursday!

July 31: Thursday Thirteen #7

It’s time for Thursday Thirteen.

I’ve been visiting many new (to me) web sites lately. Not all of them are corporate sites; some are personal interest, some research-based, and lots are blogs. And when I’m searching for something in particular, be it a product I want to buy or an exciting blogger, I have realized there are certain things I look for. More specifically, there are certain things I don’t want to see, and most of them will make me click the BACK button quicker than you can say you’re sorry and it’ll never happen again.

I share a list similar to this as a DON’T to students in my web design classes. Of course, some of these are my own personal preferences, and I’ve also limited the number to 13. If you’re looking for a boat-load of really great design tips, check out Web Pages That Suck. It is, in my opinion, the Holy Bible of web design.

13 web design elements to avoid

1. Hard-to-read color scheme. High contrast is important. Is this a site for secret messages? Green text on a blue background is impossible to decipher. Hot pink background? Electric lime green? Bye-bye.
   
2. Animated images. There are exceptions to these, of course. If they’re small, not too obnoxious, funny, etc. then I don’t mind. But I’d really prefer not to see them at all. Same goes for scrolling or animated text. Use in moderation, folks. Moderation is the key.
   
3. Bad navigation. A landing page that gives me no clue how to move around your site. Give me an obvious clickable link, a short menu, anything. I don’t want to have to guess that the clever graphic in the middle of my screen is the entrance to actual info.
   
4. Sound. Music, goofy sound effects, any kind of sound is so totally annoying, it makes me want to kill whoever thought it would be fun to play for site visitors. You think if you have an easy way to turn off the sound, then you’re being thoughtful? How about this: leave it off and let me decide if I want to turn it ON.
   
5. Pop-up windows, I hate you. Pop-under windows, I hate you too.
   
6. Slow loading pages. Why? Why must you do this to me? At least give me a warning.
   
7. Bible verses. Yes, you’re a religious person. Yes, you are proud of it. Good for you. But if a Bible verse is the first thing I see on your site, I will probably move on. I don’t mean to be a jerk, but I have a problem with people that wear their religion like a badge. “You can trust me” or “I’m a good person” can be expressed better ways.
   
8. Crowded text and images. If your site is hard to read I will not read it and I will not return.
   
9. Misspelled words in the headers or other large text. I don’t like to see misspellings anywhere, but on personal web sites, blogs, etc. they’re slightly more forgivable. Exception: headings. Seriously, how can you miss those?
   
10. Serious punctuation errors, like Capitalization where It Does not Belong and Apostrophe’s in place’s they should and shouldnt be.
    
11. If your site requires Flash or other browser add-ons/plug-ins, warn me. If your site breaks when these add-ons are disabled, you need to do some re-design. And if your page crashes my browser because of one of these things, I shall curse your URL.
    
12. Unidentified or broken links. Hyperlinks should be obvious. Broken links should not exist (exception: in archives, broken links are almost unavoidable; a disclaimer might be nice).
    
13. Undated data. When was this site last updated? If you talk about an exciting event coming up “next month,” how do I know when that is?

July 24: Thursday Thirteen #6

Time again for Thursday Thirteen.

For years, my roommate and I threw huge parties that were loads of fun. People would send us thank you notes afterward, just for being invited. Although my husband is not quite as interested in party planning as my roommate was, he follows directions well and is a lot of help to me when I do it. And even though we don’t have these big bashes as often as we used to, we still put a lot of effort into making them memorable and fun for our guests.

Last weekend was an early celebration of my 40th birthday party, an honor that I shared with four other friends also turning 40 this year. We had approximately 80 guests stuffed into our house—a bit larger than our usual party size—but, like old times, it was a fabulous evening for nearly everyone. Using this event and the planning that led up to it, here are some suggestions for throwing large parties in your home.

13 of Jen’s party planning rules

1. If, when hearing about the party, a friend tells you they’re willing to help, remember that. If you can’t find anything for them to do, you will as the party date nears. It’s hard for me to ask for help, but when I remember that time I had an hour left before guests arrived and I still hadn’t showered or made the hollandaise, I remember how important it is to enlist the help of friends. Even more important: Do not ask unsanitary folk to handle food, especially if I’m invited to your party.
   
2. Use your party date as motivation to get projects done around your house. Been meaning to paint your kitchen for months? Do it now. Do not, however, start anything that can’t be finished on time; an unpainted kitchen is better than a half-painted one.
   
3. Make a list of ALL items that you’ll need for the party, not just the big things. With cake, you need candles, lighter, knife, serving spatula, etc. Don’t wait until cake time to start looking for them.
   
4. Even if you don’t want to do much decorating, make a few bouquets of helium-filled balloons. They’re festive, fun and very easy. Send them home with the kids after the party.
   
5. Confetti is also fun and festive—I love to sprinkle handfuls on the tables—but you’ll be finding it long after the party’s over. Consider alternative décor, or keep that vacuum cleaner handy for a few months.
   
6. IKEA has glassware and tableware that is inexpensive (and sturdier than plastic, obviously). Consider spending a little bit more for party supplies that you can use several times.
   
7. Put a few people in charge of specific tasks, à la Joe Mayo. Want everyone to wear name tags? Ask someone to make sure guests get them when they arrive. Want a guest book signed? Ask someone to take care of passing it around. As a host, you can’t take care of everything, and not having to worry about the little things will give you more time to socialize with your guests.
   
8. If some of your guests are kids, make sure some of your food is kid-friendly.
   
9. If you don’t want leftover food or cake, plan to send it home with your guests. Have disposable food containers, plastic wrap, plates, zip-loc bags, etc. ready to fill.
   
10. Nobody ever eats as much as you expect them to. Don’t provide less food and risk running out; just make sure you LIKE what you serve because you’ll probably be eating it for a week afterward.
    
11. Ask a few different people to take pictures throughout the party. Make the photos available to your guests on a site like Flickr, so they can view them and order prints if they choose.
    
12. This is your party; give yourself the opportunity to enjoy it. Only jackass guests complain to the hostess about other guests, food selection, or crappy beer (um, it’s free! SHUT UP!). Don’t let them ruin your otherwise enjoyable evening.
    
13. Schedule a massage for yourself in the day or two after the party as a little pampering reward for a job well done. But a brow wax and spray-on tan? They should not be done the day of the party. Have them done earlier in the week. Trust me on this.

Please share your valuable party tips in a comment. Thanks!

July 17: Thursday Thirteen #5

Time again for Thursday Thirteen.

The other night I tripped on my front porch. The amount of dark purple skin I have now is unbelievable. And the muscles that are sore are muscles I don’t think I even had before. If you’re a regular reader of this blog—or a person that’s actually met me—you know that I am not a graceful person. I never took ballet but I doubt it would have helped. My dance moves are not admirable. Even walking can be a challenge for me. But in addition to being clumsy, I also make idiotic mistakes that cause injury to me or stuff or other people or other people’s stuff. (Don’t feel guilty, Mom; I blame Dad’s genes for this.) I would like to point out, however, that I have never been the cause of a car accident of which I’m aware. So… y’know… there’s that.

13 ways I’ve been clumsy or unfortunate or stupid

1. I slipped while walking on a short brick wall when I was two years old and scratched the side of my face. It left a scar near my eye that looks like a dimple when I smile.
2. Third grade. Picture day. Our class was sent to recess just before we stood in line for pictures. I ran across the blacktop to the swings, where I slipped on someone’s jacket and landed on my face, tearing all the skin off the side of my nose. Those were some pretty school portraits that year.
3. When I was in grade school, my friends and I were always challenging each other to try daring things on our bikes. We would try to pop wheelies, ride backwards, put our feet on our handles, etc. One time I came up with a brilliant idea: how many times can I clap while riding with my eyes closed? I crashed (duh) and got a fat lip and mouthful of gravel. Clumsy AND stupid.
4. While walking into a grocery store, I slipped on ice and fell against the bar separating the entry/exit doors. I broke two ribs. I was in an incredible amount of pain for quite a while, and the area was sensitive for several years. I think it’s only less painful today because there’s a good layer of blubber around it now.
5. My senior year in college, I was making dinner for a date. I had visions of it being a fancy meal with soft music, candles, and him realizing how completely fabulous I was. During my preparations I started my kitchen on fire. The only thing I had to put it out was flour, so I dumped my entire canister on my stove. It put out the fire, but not before my entire studio apartment was filled with smoke and flour dust. I started waving a towel around and when the smoke and dust cleared, I found him standing in my doorway, his jaw on the floor. I think we ended up eating microwaved Rice-a-Roni.
6. I broke my foot when I stepped into a pothole while walking across a parking lot; the fall twisted my ankle and knee so bad that the tendons actually yanked one of my metatarsals apart. That was the only time I ever wore a cast.
7. Victor would pick me up from work occasionally in downtown Portland. It was a busy street at the end of the day, of course, so I would wait outside my office building and when he pulled up I would jump in the car. Every single time, I bonked my head on the door. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
8. I fell down our stairs and strained my shoulder trying to catch myself. This injury wasn’t especially serious but my doctor put my arm in a sling that made it impossible to drive or teach for a few days. It also made the injury look much worse than it was.
9. I broke my foot during my first pregnancy but I don’t know how. One day it was swollen and I couldn’t put any weight on it. I was on medical leave the last couple months of my pregnancy because I couldn’t stand (I was a full time trainer at the time). I broke both my feet during my second pregnancy. The first break happened when I ran into a door frame. This was the week before I left for my first trip to Europe, so staying off my feet, as instructed by the doctor, was difficult. I toured Europe wearing my walking cast from another injury. The second break was much later in the pregnancy, but still a result of extreme clumsiness. So began a new question in my weekly OB appointments: “How many bones did you break since your last exam?”
10. I overflowed the kitchen sink and slipped in the puddle on our new hardwood floors. I remember very little about it because I hit my head on the way down. When I came to, the kitchen looked like a crime scene; there was blood everywhere. I went to the emergency room, where they had a heck of a time finding the gash in my head through all the matted hair and blood. When the nurse finally found it, the “gash” was a teeny-tiny hole.
11. I was setting up computers for a class when I tripped on a chair leg and fell, twisting my ankle. Only one person was there to witness my clumsiness, but it was still quite embarrassing. Within ten minutes, when students began to arrive, my ankle was swollen and I couldn’t put any weight on it. I taught class from my chair that day, and could hardly wait to get back to my car and take off my freakin’ shoe.
12. I contracted E. coli poisoning in 2004, a few days before I was to have 50 people at my house for my husband’s and sister’s 40th birthday party. Thankfully there were none of the horrific symptoms you hear about when people eat tainted meat; apparently I had a different strain of E. coli that pretty much just shut down my kidneys. I was weak and delirious during most of this illness and while my mom saved the party by taking on all my hostessing duties, I lay upstairs and missed the whole thing.
13. I saved my favorite one for #13. I had been sick for a few days and started picking at a zit that showed up on my jawline. Like an idiot, I couldn’t stop messing with it—but instead of going away, it just kept getting bigger. I finally saw a doctor and he said it was a bad infection, gave me antibiotics and told me to get some rest. The next morning it had gotten even bigger and was all the way up to my cheekbone. I was told to get to the emergency room immediately, where two nurses actually met me at the car and grabbed my hands and ran me into an exam room. There they picked and excised and drained and then put me on IV antibiotics for three days. The doctor said another few hours and the infection would have gone into my eye and blinded me, by the next day it would have gotten to my brain and killed me. And that is my story of how a zit nearly killed me in 1986.

What are some of your crazy injuries or foibles? Write about them in your blog or in a comment below.

July 10: Thursday Thirteen #4

It’s Thursday again and time to participate in Thursday Thirteen! Get the details here.

My name is Jennifer. I have a love-hate relationship with this name. I love that it’s familiar enough that I don’t usually have to spell it for people, it’s easy to find personalized items—though they’re often sold out—and there are a variety of nicknames that can be made from it. What I hate is that it’s so very, very common, it’s one of those names by which my age can be pretty easily guessed, and at eight letters, it’s a long one. Like most people, I’ve had lots of different nicknames over the years. Some are perfectly fine; others I’d just as soon forget.

13 Names I’ve Been Called

1. Jennifer. This is my first name. I was named Jennifer because my mom’s maiden name is Jenny, and I think my parents wanted to pass the name onto their favorite child (my sister might disagree).
   
2. Jen-Jen. Apparently this was my nickname as a baby/toddler, but it wore off around the time I started school.
   
3. Jenny. This nickname never really fit me. People that didn’t know me well sometimes assumed I went by Jenny, but they were wrong. It wasn’t until college that friends started calling me Jenny, but even then they did it only because they knew it bothered me. It stuck with some friends, and eventually Jenny actually became endearing. In fact, Vic frequently calls me Jenny (but he says it like Forrest Gump so it makes me laugh). I don’t mind being called Jenny anymore but my sister still gets all worked up when she hears it: “That is not your name!”
   
4. Toad and Bucket were Dad’s pet names for me and Kathy, as well as our friends whose actual names he never bothered trying to remember. I don’t know why Dad couldn’t use sweet nicknames like Princess or Baby like our friends’ dads did. It was always Toad or Bucket or, if he was feeling generous, Toad Bucket.
   
5. Fer. My friend Sherri’s dad thought this was cleverer than Jen. I always thought it was sorta weird.
   
6. Lynn. In fourth grade I wanted to start going by my middle name. This was short-lived.
   
7. Sally, as in Charlie Brown’s sister. In high school, my friend Janelle said my head was in her way and she called me Big-Headed Sally. I think it was actually my hair that was big, not so much my head (this was the mid-80’s, after all). A bunch of us took on Peanuts character names but mine was the one that hung on. Yay.
   
8. Teacher Jenny. When I taught preschool the administrator paid no attention when I introduced myself, and she referred to me as Teacher Jenny to the children. I corrected her many times but after a few weeks of Teacher Jenny-ing, I figured it was easier for the kids to pronounce, and I let it go.
   
9. Buttercup. I dated a guy that was a real jackass and whenever he pissed me off or hurt my feelings—frequently—he’d call me Buttercup while apologizing. I’m embarrassed to admit that I melted into a pool of forgiveness every time.
   
10. Ed. A guy I worked with insisted that I dressed like I walked right out of the Eddie Bauer catalog. He was right; I shopped there a lot back then. Every time he thought I was looking especially Eddie Bauer-ish, he’d call me Ed.
    
11. Katie’s mom/Jack’s mom/Victor’s wife. When I was younger I thought being called names like these would feel like a loss of my own identity. Turns out I really don’t mind them. I even kinda like them.
    
12. Mrs. Manullang. A lot of the kids’ classmates are instructed to call parents Mr./Mrs. It feels strange, but I understand the reasoning; it sounds respectful. When it’s followed by “why are you here again?” or “you look like Chewbacca,” though, I want to beat me up some little grade schoolers.
    
13. Jen. This is the one nickname that has stood the test of time. It is, evidently, “me.”

July 3: Thursday Thirteen #3

Time again for Thursday Thirteen. In honor of tomorrow’s holiday, I thought it was a good time to present just a few of my random thoughts about our country.

13 things about being an American

1. Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays because it typically involves meat on a grill, good weather and a lot of people. I do not, however, enjoy the illegal fireworks some Oregonians purchase over in Washington and bring back to my neighborhood.
   
2. Although I think the war is a bad idea, I am in full support of our troops for doing the job they are asked to do.
   
3. As an adult I now realize I didn’t pay enough attention in U.S. history classes in high school and college. It would be embarrassing to confess some of the things I’ve had to look up on the Internet so certain issues make more sense.
   
4. Hearing The Star-Spangled Banner sung at baseball games always makes me teary.
   
5. I like apple pie.
   
6. Seeing the ratty, faded flags people have had on their cars since just after 9/11 makes me angry. If you’re proud enough to wear/display a flag, show some respect for it!
   
7. I hate that so much of the world thinks we Americans are jerks and I hope that can change because some of us are really quite nice.
   
8. I am thankful for U.S. seat belt laws, helmet laws, and the new cell phone laws, even though the fact that they’re laws shows how little common sense people have.
   
9. Red, white and blue are my favorite colors but I don’t wear all three together because that just looks ridiculous.
   
10. It is important to me that my children grow up to be politically open-minded, but I don’t think I’m going to be very good at teaching them to be open to opposing points of view. They already ask why I mute the TV and “make that weird face” whenever George W. Bush speaks.
    
11. I have been to 25 of our 50 states.
    
12. People that don’t vote really piss me off. It is incredibly ignorant.
    
13. U.S. currency is not as colorful or interesting as other countries’ but I still like it, especially when it’s in my pocket.

June 26: Thursday Thirteen #2

It’s Thursday and time to participate in Thursday Thirteen! Get the details here.

The foods regularly purchased and consumed in our house are different than those before we had children. Some of these “kid” foods that have come back into our lives are still strictly for the kids. Froot Loops? Ack—so sweet! Apples, sliced and peeled? Why bother—they’re just as good without all that work. Other foods, though, have been welcomed into our diets again. These are 13 of those tasty treats.

13 kid foods I still enjoy

1. Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. I’ll be honest; I never stopped eating this stuff.
   
2. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I always had peanut butter around for baking and occasionally to spread on toast or waffles, but I had forgotten how wholesome a good PB&J tastes.
   
3. Kool-Aid. Truthfully, I put a little less sugar than I’m supposed to, but I still love this sweet nectar.
   
4. Smarties. I open up the wrapper, sort them by color, and eat them from the largest number to the smallest; exactly the way I ate them as a child.
   
5. Strawberry milk. As a kid I’d put three or four times as many spoonfuls of that sugary powder as I should have. Now I add the correct amount but it tastes as good as I remember.
   
6. Spaghettios. I don’t eat these often because I really don’t like them very much, but just the smell brings back memories of lunchtime in those olden days.
   
7. Graham crackers. Yeah, they’re better with chocolate and toasted marshmallows. But even by themselves, I had forgotten how much I loved these.
   
8. Tater tots. The cafeteria in college served these deep-fried a few times a week, and I swore I’d never eat them oven-baked again. But I refuse to own a deep fryer, so we’re back to oven baking. And they’re still pretty tasty.
   
9. Popsicles. Nothing refreshes on a hot day like these.
   
10. Canned peaches. Yes, nowadays I prefer a fresh peach, but sometimes these will do the job.
    
11. Top Ramen. I ate this through college too, but stopped the minute I could afford real food. Now I usually eat it not as soup, but noodles. Sometimes sautéed a little, maybe with soy sauce.
    
12. Toast with cinnamon sugar. And when the sugar melts a little into the hot butter? Oh my.
    
13. Fruit Stripe gum. I don’t remember it being so sticky. But oh, those sweet, artificial fruit flavors. Yum.