An Avalanche of Questions

I had the good fortune of being tagged by three of the most incredibly beautiful people in this world: Birdie, Petal, and Andy to answer some questions about myself.

The first to tag me was my favorite birdie, the extremely gifted, lovely, whimsical, ethereal les jeune fille a les oiseaux:

1. if you could be anywhere in the world, at anytime and with anyone, where would you be and why?

There is a secluded island in Norway in the middle of the sea where my ancestors used to live. It’s very small and only about 10 families lived there. I’ve stood on that island only once, but it is the one place in the world where I felt I truly belonged. When I was there in the summer, it was covered in wildflowers and there were some remnants of my family’s old cottages still standing. So, I would be there with my mom, reclaiming the island. You all can come with me if you want, though we would have to bring some battery powered space heaters and lots of blankets because the winters are brutal. :)

2. who do you look up to, celebrity, family or other?

I look up to my mother and my grandmother because they are endlessly strong and compassionate.

3. what qualities do you wish you had?

I wish I had more confidence and that my self esteem wasn’t so low.

4. what qualities in yourself do you have that you love?

Even though I have a huge amount of social anxiety, I nonetheless am able to get along with just about anyone.

5. what do you most admire in a person?

Strength, sincerity, and kindness.

6. define beauty for me, in your own words.

I’m going to cheat a little bit here and direct you to Petal’s page because I absolutely loved her answer to this question. For me, I would say that beauty doesn’t have so much do with surface qualities that are physical and tangible, but rather more to do with intangible qualities or feelings that are very real, but at the same time, impossible to grasp.

7. what would you die for?

My niece and nephews.

8. what is your favorite way to express yourself and why?

Writing is the only way I know how to express myself, but I envy those who can paint or draw.

9. what about your future are you most looking forward to?

I’m really looking forward to watching my niece and nephews grow up to see what kind of wonderful people they will become.

10. tell me something random about yourself.

I have two fake teeth. But I would like to point out that they are very classy fake teeth.


Next to tag me was the brilliant, wonderful, stunningly gorgeous Petal:

1) What is your favourite kind of cake, pie, biscuit, dessert, or sweet thing? (To
eat, smell, look at, destroy...)

When my niece was six years old (so, last year) she made up a recipe all on her own for a pie she calls “World Famous Coconut-Banana Cream Pie” and it is actually really, really good :)


2) If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Oh I love questions like this!! It would be such a hard choice and no doubt my answer would change daily, but if I had to choose at this very moment, it would be either “Suzanne” by Leonard Cohen because it makes me feel safe, Losing my Religion as covered by Tori Amos, or How I Made My Millions by Radiohead. I’ll go with Radiohead because I use music to help me fall asleep and this song makes me feel calm. Plus the end of this song reminds me that sometimes, even though it is very difficult to do, we have to be able to let go and let certain things fall, because they just might be falling into place…




3) What is your favourite part of your body?

My hands, because they look like my mother’s hands.

4) Do you paint your toenails and fingernails? If so, what colour, and why?

I do! I paint my toenails red in the spring and summer because it cheers me up.

5) Do you prefer baths or showers?

Showers, because I like to just get them over with as quickly as possible.

6) Have you seen Alice in Wonderland? If so, what was your opinion on the dancing scene?

Hahahaha :D I have seen Alice in Wonderland and I found the dancing scene to be unspeakably appalling. Still, I feel strangely compelled to learn the inexcusably atrocious moves to said dance. Maybe you can learn it too, and in the future if I ever run into you (in a club or café or even perhaps just in the street) we can spontaneously break into that dance together and leave all the witnesses at the scene awe-struck. Let’s do!

7) What means the most to you, and why? This could be anything, an item, an emotion, a person, a place... you decide.

I would have to say my mother, because she is such an amazing person and my biggest source of support and inspiration.

8) Would you eat spaghetti with a spoon and fork, or a knife and fork?

Spoons make for easier noodle twirling.

9) Can I have a kitten?

I will give you an entire basketful of kittens! And I’ll put little bonnets and tiny earmuffs on their heads to keep their teeny kitten ears warm, and I’ll make miniature scarves for them to wear so they can be extra snuggly :)

10) Do you prefer hand-written letters, or emails?

Hand-written letters because I love to see other peoples’ handwriting.



Finally, I was tagged by the courageously strong, impressively intelligent, future astrophysicist Andy:

1. Where was your first kiss?

In a back alley with a neighbor boy named Adam. But it was a very elegant, romantic alley ;)

2. What are you feeling right now this very moment?

I am feeling like I could use some coffee. I have no idea why warm weather makes me crave coffee instead of lemonade or something else that is cold.

3. If you could fly, but had to leave everything behind, would you?

No, I think I have too much to leave behind.

4. What color are your socks?

One is black and one is blue…for some reason I have always had a hard time matching my socks.

5. Do you have a morning routine? What is it?

Do I ever! My OCD makes for very rigid routines. I wake up at 5 a.m. and walk, then I get ready for the day, then I drink a whole lot of coffee, then I get my niece and littlest nephew out of bed and make them breakfast and get them ready for school. Then I take my niece to second grade and take my nephew to preschool. When I get back I drink a whole lot more coffee, clean the house, do the dishes, and then I read the newspaper in a particular order while I eat breakfast in very ritualized (EDs suck suck suck) way which could be a whole blog post by itself :)

6. If the world was going to end tomorrow, how would you spend today?

I’m not sure, but I do know it would involve a whole lot of beer and cupcakes.

7. What is your favorite thing about yourself?

I feel really fortunate to have inherited my great grandmother’s patience.

8. What is your favorite quality in others?

Sincerity and kindness.

9. What is the scariest thing you've encountered?

I have kind of a strange life and I have encountered many scary situations. But I think the scariest moment for me was drowning in a lake when I was four years old.

10. When do you feel alive?

Whenever I am laughing really hard. Or when I see a beautiful sunrise or sunset, like this one from last night:




And now it is my turn to ask the questions. I am a notoriously bad decision maker, however, so I’m going to cheat a little bit here and tag anyone at all who wants to play or who has some extra time on their hands :)

What is your favorite line from a song?

What is your favorite quote from a book?

What was the single happiest day of your life?

What has been the most significant moment or event of your life this far?

If you could eradicate one emotion from mankind, which emotion would you remove?

If you had to be an inanimate object for one day, what would you be?

What is your favorite scent?

What is your favorite season and why?

If you could only celebrate one holiday a year, which holiday would you choose?

If you could have one superpower, what would you choose?

Phew! Okay, then :)