Pseudotherapy

Found this little meme somewhere …

The idea is to respond to each prompt by writing a short scenario that includes your answers.

The perfect outfit: I pulled a peasant blouse on over faded jeans, slipped into flip flops, and hung my favorite silver hoops in my ears. No makeup. He was mildly pleasant, but hardly mascara-worthy.
The perfect meal: I set a steaming plate of my made-from-scratch chicken enchiladas on the glass table, tinted peach by the vibrant sunset. Even the tumbler holding Bret’s Perfect Margarita was sweating, moisture trickling down its sides. The intoxicating aroma of Brenda’s Coconut-Pineapple Cake wafted out from the kitchen, teasing our tastebuds toward orgasm.
The perfect beverage: Wiping sweat from my sticky neck, I tilted my glass, spilling the minty crispness of Bret’s Perfect Mojito across my rejoicing tastebuds.
The perfect hangover cure: Cradling my throbbing head on my hand, I gulped down a B-Complex tablet with Alka-Seltzer fizzing in orange juice. It worked like a charm. Within minutes, I had emptied my guts into the toilet bowl — after which I felt remarkably better.
The perfect facial feature: Looking into Juli’s eyes, I see unconditional love reflected within the green depths. Mother and child — there is no stronger bond on earth.
The perfect song: He stubbed out his cigarette and swiveled toward me. As the smoothness of Rob Thomas’ voice drifted from the speakers, Bret held out his hand. I rose, moving into his arms in time to the sensual throb of All That I Am. His lips nuzzled my neck as I breathed in the scent of his skin.
The perfect sign of affection: We are walking, me a step behind, lost in our own thoughts. He reaches back with open hand seeking mine, clasping tightly as I slip my palm against his. No words, no glance, undeniable love.
The perfect weather: A hellacious thunderstorm raged outside, rattling windows and punching through the gloom with strobes of eyeball-impaling brightness. When the power flickered out, we grabbed beers from the fridge and adjourned to the breeze-cooled sunroom for a few rounds of Texas Hold-’Em by candlelight.
The perfect afternoon: The weak sunshine of late October angles through the window, kissing my cheek while I nap under a quilt, my book fallen from my grasp.
The perfect road trip: My camera captures each glorious vista as the serpentine curves of Pacific Coast Highway seduce us north to Big Sur and Bixby Bridge.

I am exhausted and feeling mildly braindead. That’s my excuse for resurrecting a week-old meme for today’s post, which I wrote last night when I was even more tired than I am now.

Accent: I loved it on popcorn when I was a kid! Who knew it could kill us?

Breakfast or no breakfast: I seldom voluntarily skip ANY meal. (SHUT. UP.) I love big breakfasts with bacon, eggs, fried potatoes and biscuits.

Chore I don’t care for: When I come up with a chore I DO care for, Bret will announce it on a billboard along I-5.

Dog or Cat: Bret often declares that he’s a dick in a houseful of pussies. He’s half-right.

Essential Electronics: My cameras. I am never without one.

Favorite Cologne: J.Lo Glow. Hate the name, LOVE the scent.

Gold or Silver: The only metal I can wear is steel. Everything else gives my skin a blistery rash.

Handbag I carry most often: My own.

Insomnia: I have narcolepsy. I can fall asleep while talking to you.

Job Title: Legal assistant/Gatekeeper.

Kids: I made more mistakes being a mom than in anything else I’ve done. Oddly, she turned out great.

Living Arrangements: Not here, so what does it matter?

Most Admirable Trait: I have a wildly vivid imagination.

Naughtiest Childhood Behavior: Sex in the family pool.

Overnight hospital stays: Three: Major surgery, childbirth, severe sleep-deprivation.

Phobias: The Dark. And birds. Raise your hand if that’s news to you.

Quote: “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.” ~ Plato

Reason to smile: Ghost Hunters International returns tonight!!!

Siblings: Some.

Time I wake up: 3 a.m. every day, almost as if a 15-pound orange cat jumped onto my stomach at exactly that time every morning.

Unusual Talent or Skill: I can tell when it’s 3 a.m. without opening my eyes. Bizarre, huh?

Vegetable I Refuse to Eat: Okra. You absolutely cannot fry the slime out of it.

Worst Habit: Jumping to the worst possible conclusion.

X-rays: Of every part of my body, scalp to sole.

Yummy Stuff: Dark chocolate peanut clusters. Oatmeal raisin cookies. Macaroni and cheese. Shredded beef tacos. Peanut butter, pickle and ketchup sandwiches. And PIE.

Zoo Animal I Like Most: Ugh, NOT a fan of zoos. And most animals smell BAD. If I *must* pick, I’ll say iguanas.

Hey everyone, don’t forget my 5th Anniversary of Blogging Celebration (aka The 5th) kicks off tomorrow! It’s going to be a fun week for me, and hope you’ll all help me celebrate. My new self-therapy is working well, and the Dark Dearth Of Joy mood has passed. If you guys enjoy reading this week half as much as I’m enjoying putting the posts together, my time will be well-spent! In the meantime, here’s a meme thing I’ve been working on in between 5th projects.

If you only look at the questions for this meme, it’s pretty blah. What makes it delightful is the way it’s getting “twisted” as it circumnavigates the blogiverse. Clever and talented bloggers are taking this barebones meme and fleshing it out with their imagination and creativity. Take a look at kat!’s, Vahid’s and Hilly’s, and you’ll see what I mean (and if you’ve also done this one, be sure to leave a link in the comments!).

Being the lover of memege that I am, I couldn’t let this pass by without taking it for a spin. And me being me, the spin I gave it was inevitable. Here are the mundane questions (edited by me because they changed person for no good reason):

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?
2. What five things are on your to-do list for today?
3. What snacks do you especially enjoy?
4. If you suddenly became a billionaire, what would you do with your fortune?
5. Where have you been all your life?

And my answers are (click images to view larger):

1. Ten years ago …

2. To do today …

3. Snackalicious …

4. Billionaire dreams…

5. Been there …

See you all tomorrow for the festivities kick-off!

Making a stop at?the Wordle playstation. I fed it the first ten chapters of my in-progress novel (seriously, I should just change the title to In Progress). Here’s a graphic depiction of the 100 most frequently used words. Of course, being me, I had to tweak the offered colors to make them more appropriate. Because I always have to tinker.

Hmmn, wonder who the protagonists are? (Click image to view larger.)

Totally Related Aside: Statistics indicate that 62% of female bloggers are writing a vampire novel. Or they would if anybody was counting.

Previously done by Adena, Penelope, Kevin, Karl, Hilly, Bec, Suze and apparently, most of the blogiverse …

I love memes. I love photos. I love Flickr. Therefore, this may be my dream meme. If not, it’ll do for now.

The concept:
1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
2. Using only the first page of results, pick one image.
3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into Big Huge Lab?s Mosaic Maker to create a mosaic of the picture answers.

The questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food right now?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. What is your favorite drink?
7. What is your dream vacation?
8. What is your favorite dessert?
9. What do you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. What is one word that describes you?
12. What is your Flickr name?

The result:

1. suzi-tattoo-love, 2. tuna melt innards, 3. Poway High School - Witch Creek Fire, 4. Do I have enough pink electronics?, 5. Alex O?Loughlin 3, 6. Mojito Power, 7. View From Our Room, 8. two pumpkin pies, 9. I am Wise, Wealthy, Healthy and Strong, 10. May 28, 2008, 11. v2.196: September 12th (Insecure), 12. Mother’s Day 1956 AFTER

Yes, I cheated on #10. No matter how I entered her name, I couldn’t get a picture of Juli to come up. I refuse to have a photo of a total stranger illustrate what I love most in life. Feel free to report me to the Meme Police. And #7? That’s my sister’s timeshare complex in Las Vegas. Yeah, I get to have my dream vacation at least once a year.

Fun, fun meme! But definitely not a quickie.