I should mention that these are in no particular order, and I reserve the right in the future to do another post with "A" words in them. I actually had to get out the dictionary to jiggle some ideas loose. I probably ended up with way too much, but it was sort of fun. Hopefully I've managed to refrain from anything that's in the TMI category! I suppose I could have also tried to illustrate some of these with photos or something, but enough was enough already!
Alphabet – This
one seems pretty obvious, I guess. I
like letters and words. I love to
read. Although, in the past I’ve often
wondered who it was that said the alphabet has to start with A and continue on
to Z. What’s so special about A that it
gets to be first all the time? Growing
up, my last name started with an S. I
was so excited to marry “up” in the alphabet and become an E. When I help at school, I often take kids one
at a time into the hall. Sometimes I
start at the top of the alphabet, but a lot of times I try to start from the
other direction – or even mix it up and do something random. Maybe next time I’ll try to do it
alphabetically by first name.
Apple – We eat a
lot of apples and applesauce. We used to
eat only Red Delicious apples, but I sure got tired of the lack of consistent
quality. Sometimes they were nice and
crunchy, but sometimes they were nasty – mushy and not sweet at all. We have switched to Gala apples – yum. I think they are even better than the best
Red Delicious. The boys sure hated it
when we started making them eat the peels. Every so often we “treat’ them and peel their apples for them. Mostly we just do that when they are losing a
tooth.
Angel – I have a
small collection of angels. When I
started collecting, though, it seemed like all of a sudden EVERYBODY was
collecting angels, so I pretty much quit. I wanted something that wasn’t a dime a dozen. I do have some pretty ones, and a few weeks
ago I posted a picture of my favorite. One of the funniest pieces in my collection is a plaque that my mom gave
me that reads “I collect angels. My
husband thinks I started with him.”
Astronaut – I
have 3 wanna-be astronauts in my family. I hear quite often about how the boys are going to go to the moon or to
Mars or someplace even further away when they grow up. They talk about being other things, too, but
this is one of the few that comes up consistently. The “big” boy still dreams about being an
astronaut, too. NASA will be holding
another round of astronaut selection in 2007, and I think he’s going to
actually submit an application. It turns
out that most astronauts get selected in their mid-30s, (which he is…), he is
pretty danged brilliant (if you ask me), and is in great shape physically. I know his chances are pretty slim, but it
doesn’t hurt to try, right? And I’d hate
for him to be 80 years old and wonder what might have been.
Art – I have read
some pretty interesting conversations about just what exactly art is or is
not. I’ve actually been pretty amazed at
how heated those conversations can get. I’m not really sure I could give you my definition right now, because
I’m still not sure myself. What I do
know is that I’m trying to learn about art and the elements and principles of
good design, so that hopefully I can think and speak about it much more
intelligently.
Artist – This is
a word that I have had a hard time applying to myself. I suspect that there are some who consider
themselves artists that would argue with my use of it. I think part of my trouble has always been
that I thought that art = drawing/painting, a misconception that I think a lot
of people hold, although the ability to draw is a useful tool for any artist,
regardless of their medium of choice. I
always thought that you either knew how to draw, or you didn’t. What I know now is that nobody really
*taught* me how to draw, and that I can actually draw, and that while I may
never be super-talented at it, it is a skill that requires practice.
Aragorn and Arwen
– I am a huge fan of the Lord of the
Rings – both the books by Tolkien, as well as the movie trilogy by Peter
Jackson. For awhile, a picture of Viggo
Mortensen as Aragorn was my computer wallpaper…. I know the movies aren’t
perfect, but I enjoy them, and accept them as one interpretation of the amazing
work that Tolkien created.
Acreage – I live
on a small acreage (2 acres…) on the edge of town. We are surrounded on 3 sides by crop
land. We can pretend that we have no
neighbors and that town doesn’t even exist. But when we want town – by golly, it’s just across the road, and we can
still walk to school.
Actress – In the
past I participated in a number of local musical theater productions. I really enjoyed doing it, but don’t have any
opportunities like that in this area. Well, there probably are, but they would be further away than I would
want to travel, plus they would probably take away too much time from my
quilting.
Adult -- Even
though I’m a mother, own a small business, have been married for 10 years and
am a homeowner (6 houses in 10 years…), I don’t always feel like an adult. I know some of my family probably thinks my
husband and I are too serious, but inside I think we are just as silly as
anybody else. For example, my husband
is terribly embarrassed about my new purse. It’s tiny and has Tinkerbell on it.
Agriculture – My
father-in-law farms (corn and soybeans, got rid of the hogs many years ago…)
and my husband works for a large manufacturer of agricultural equipment. He’s a mechanical engineer. Some day he would like to retire from his day
job and be a farmer. I’m not sure he’ll
ever be able to farm full time, mostly because of the costs of health insurance. Having grown up on the East
Coast, the experience of living in small town rural Iowa has been eye-opening for me.
Allergy – I
suffer from seasonal allergies. June is
pretty bad – all those grasses. Late
August through the very freeze is even worse, though. Ragweed is the worst. Yucko.
American – I am
glad and proud to be an American. I
don’t think that the US is perfect, and I don’t always agree with what our government does. I’d like to visit other countries, but I
don’t think I’d want to live anywhere else.
Anniversary – My
husband and I celebrated our 10th Anniversary on March 2, 2006. Time sure flies when you are having fun!
Australia -- I would dearly love to visit Australia someday. I have several quilting friends in Australia, one
of whom has even been to my house! Some
day – some how!
Alcohol – I’m not
opposed to alcoholic drinks, but I don’t drink much of anything. I think it is an acquired taste that I missed
acquiring. If I’m going to have an adult
beverage, it had better be something glike a Strawberry Daiquiri – in which you
can’t actually taste the alcohol at all. Come to think of it, I did have a drink in Duluth this summer that was pretty yummy –
but again, it had ice cream and chocolate syrup in it – so it probably doesn’t
really count!
Autumn – My least
favorite season. See above, allergy for
more information.
Age – I am
currently in my mid-30s and have been quilting for 10 years. I have been longarm quilting for 5 of those
years. My chiropractor asked me my age
the other day at my adjustment. This was
right after he asked me about doing my exercises. I replied with my age and then laughed –
“That means I’m old enough to know better, right?” Yes, I really need to take
better care of myself. Particularly when
it comes to my back – between my height, my tendency to slouch, the weight I
carry on the front side of me, and the fact that my quilting keeps me bending
over much of the time all add up to a need to be careful about my posture and
the future shape of my back.
