The Sunshine Award {Sort Of}

This post is long overdue (sorry, NJ!) but better late than never, right? I'm also going to profess lameness in that I can't think of 11 bloggers to nominate. So, I'm going to half-ass this the best I can! 

I don't know why this is called The Sunshine Award but I like to think it's because the nominating bloggers bring a little sunshine to our corners of the internet. So, my task is to share 11 random facts about myself (let's see if I can come up with something new!), then answer 11 questions posed by my nominating blogger, NJ at A Cookie Before Dinner. Like NJ, I'll also throw in some nice pictures for you to look at. 

11 Random Facts About Myself

Stella, juicing apples for cider. 

1. I ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches almost every day when I was in middle and high school, for lunch. Before that, it was jelly and cream cheese sandwiches. 
2. I'm terrible at keeping house and have to work hard to not let my house turn into a total pig sty. 
3. I'm terrible at multitasking. I can do it but I never do anything well when I try. 
4. I took independent study English in tenth grade because I didn't want to be in a regular English class. 
5. The first semester of tenth grade, I studied Zora Neale Hurston and fell in love with Harlem Renaissance literature. 
6. The second semester of tenth grade, I studied Beat Generation literature. 
7. I have an entire living room wall (okay, it's a small wall) of Beat Generation-related images, including a giant movie poster for What Happened to Kerouac?, given to me by my stepmother, Wendy, who knows me too well. 
8. Wendy also gave me a signed, hardcover, first edition of a collection of Ginsberg poems. 
9. My 11th grade Humanities project was a study of the American Dream theme in... beat generation literature. (Are you sensing a pattern here? An obsession, maybe?) 
10. I was on the local news when Ginsberg died. I read a poem I wrote about him, at a memorial event held at a local club in Albany. I have no idea where my copy of the poem is now. Wish I did, though!
11. I didn't mean to turn this into a Beat-themed list, so here's something different: this one time, What Not To Wear called me after my sister and I submitted each other's names to be on the show. But I wasn't home when they called and my sister told them I couldn't do it. Yes, I still hold a slight grudge. It's my only grudge, really. What does that say about my priorities? 

Micah, accidentally waving to Alice in the pool during her swim lesson. 

NJ's 11 Questions

1. If you could only eat one type of ethnic food for the rest of your life what would it be and why? Indian food! It's warming, filling and fills all my carby needs while also being pretty healthy. Also, it's usually cheap and easy to make at home. 
2. Who is the last person you chatted with on the phone? I don't talk on the phone but I do text a lot, and the last person I texted with was my friend Anna-Bain. 
3. What was your favorite Halloween costume as a kid? Bonus points here for a picture ! I had an astronaut costume that I wore all the time but I don't know if I actually wore it on Halloween... in any case, I don't remember any of my costumes and to this day, I'm still not a costume person! 
4. If you’re married, where did you honeymoon? If you’re not married, where do you dream of going? We took our honeymoon in Italy. We spent two weeks there, mostly in Todi at our friend's villa, bookended by a couple of days in Rome. We are making slow plans to go back with our kids, my mom, and my sister's family. 
5. What is your favorite pair of shoes and why? My leather boots. I always feel put together when I wear them, even though they are completely worn out. 
6. Coffee or tea? Both, actually. I need at least a cup of coffee a day but my favorite hot drink is hot water with lemon, honey and ginger, which I drink throughout the day when it's cold out. 
7. What movie could you watch over and over? The Thing Called Love, with Samantha Mathis and River Phoenix. Please don't laugh at me. Runners-Up: Dazed and Confused and Labryinth
8. What does your ideal day look like? A day where I accomplish everything on my mental To-Do list. 
9. Do you speak a foreign language? If not, which would you be most interested in learning? Nope. I know a little Spanish but not enough to be conversant. I wish I were more fluent!
10. What is the latest “big” life goal you’ve accomplished? Ugh. I'm skipping this one. I don't have any big life goals, really. 
11. What is your favorite holiday? Sounds corny but any holiday that involves sitting around a table with my family. 

Alice and her cousin are best buds.