Category Archive

100 Things continued: Items 27-37 (You can find items 1-26/A-Z here).  Sorry for today’s brevity, but my husband has a literature paper due on Friday and I have some heavy editing to attend to.  Back to the regularly scheduled program tomorrow or Friday.

27. I can weave my fingers into something that resembles an ostrich’s head. AND, I can give him a tongue. Maybe I’ll show you sometime, if you’re lucky!

28. I am an only child.

29. I have a 36ish-year-old stepsister, but we’ve never been close and haven’t lived in the same city aside from when I first came into the picture and she was too cool for school. Her loss - I always wanted a big sister, but she wasn’t obliging.

30. I can make 3 loops with my tongue, but I can’t tie a cherry stem despite my best efforts!

31. I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up career-wise, but I know unequivocally that I want to be a mom more than anything.

32. I love love love to rollerskate. I grew up on 8 wheels and even took figure skating classes when I was younger.

33. My father doesn’t have a bellybutton. When I was little, he told me his parents found him under a cabbage leaf. I didn’t believe him.

34. I have been to Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Louisiana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. I’ve set foot in Arizona, California, and Ohio, but not for more than a few hours.

35. I’ve also been to England, France and Spain.

36. I lived in Madrid for 6 weeks in 1998. I had a lot of fun, but was too young and intimidated to take full advantage. I never kept in touch with my host family and I deeply regret that.

37. My first car was a 1985 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. It was a big white land-yacht with a blue vinyl roof and the thing was a tank. Good thing too, because I totaled it 4 months later

This family is faced with an epic battle.  I’m inspired by their story and at a loss for words.  Please read about their pleight, spread the word, send positive thoughs and prayers their way, and make a donation to ease the financial burden if you are so inclined.  Emily’s got a lot of fight in her, I pray that she and her family make it through this obstacle and come out the other side strong, happy and blessed.   

I detest spam and I thank my lucky stars that spam filters were invented so I don’t have to change my email address left and right to avoid the mass offenders.  That said, as I was clearing out my junk mail the filter had caught, I noticed one of the “senders” listed as Mayja Paine.  Kudos to this particular spammer.  If you have to solicit my very clearly non-penised self with promises of satisfying the ladies with new girth, do it with a sense of humor!

the first warm days of spring when the sun kisses your cheeks and suddenly the world is a beautiful place and anything is possible.  I love newborn baby cries and sweet toddler hugs that fall onto you and hold on for dear life.  I love the clacking of my heels as I walk and feeling like a grown-up.  I love belly laughs that bring tears to my eyes and watching sappy movies that make me sniffle.  I love the smell of a wood fire and feeling the warmth of the flames licking my back.  I love pulling on a cozy sweater after a long humid summer.  I love completing a sewing project and basking in the fact that I created something someone might enjoy.  I love folding laundry and tidying up things to fulfill the organization junkie in me.  I love driving, windowns down, on a warm evening when the perfect throw back song comes on the radio and sets the mood for the night.  I love gerbera daisies and palm trees.  I love Christmas and birthdays and getting a little extra cash to splurge on the things I long for but would never spring for otherwise.  I love interior design and diy magazines.  I love vintage jewelry and imagining the stories it could tell.  I love buying office supplies and pretty handwriting.  I love chocolate and pasta and sausage bread.  I love old houses and historic districts, and would love to restore a home myself someday.  I love feeling proud of myself and accomplishing things.  I love celebrity gossip and peach tea and falling in love.  I love rocking chairs on deep front porches, thunderstorms, and the crashing of ocean waves.  I love the color pink, lace, ruffles, and most things feminine and girly.  I love looking a decade younger than my am, being a mere 5′3″ and being a DD cup.  I love getting lost in a good book, befriending the characters, and the slight sadness I feel when I finish reading.  I love music and how the purfect song can make me lay on the floor, close my eyes, and take every note in.  I love holding hands, entwined pasts, and easy conversation.  I love buttered toast and instant gratification.  I love Gilmore Girls, strong family bonds, and witty banter.  I love polka dots, an excellent filet that’s cooked masterfully between medium rare and medium, and candlelight.  I love the perfect shade of shimmery blue/red on my toes and breaking out the flip flops on warm days.  I love peeking in pottery barn kids or the baby section at target and imagining the future.  I love writing on white boards.  I love unexpected emails and hand written notes on cute stationary.  I love goofiness and not giving a damn what other people think and the days when that’s possible.  I love slobbery puppy kisses and unconditional love.  I love climbing trees and reliving the freedom of childhood.  I love stars - both geometrically and in the sky.  I love cheese.  I love high heels and purses and chunky bead necklaces.  I love filing up my my planner and lazy blockbuster nights by myself on the couch.  I love friendship and trust.  I love planning for the future and the grand uncertainty of it all.

**Inspired by Jenny over at She Likes Purple.  Check out her love list  or make one of your own.  There’s just one catch:  You can’t include a single person you know.  This is all about who you are and what you love. 

What inspired you to start a blog?

There are 2 reasons I started blogging.  The first is that I have a terrible memory.  I can’t even remember what I did for my birthday last year.  The hope is that chronicling my life online will help me remember things a little better, take things a day at a time, and be more accountable for the things I say I’ll do.  The second reason I started blogging was to become part of the amazing community I’ve witnessed among bloggers – the sisterhood that can be found online.  I realize what we post on our blogs is only a tiny peek into our lives, but it’s nice to follow someone’s life and have them follow yours.  Technology is an amazing thing, and I’ve witnessed friendships forged via the internet.  I hope to be a part of that someday.  I already feel a kinship to the lovely ladies that read my not-so-fabulously written posts regularly.  Hi ladies!  You rock! 

Where did the title “Crooked Halo” come from?

I look like a sweet, innocent little girl and I’m easy to pick on…but the older I’ve gotten, the more comfortable in my skin I’ve become.  I’m still an easy target, but I’ve become increasingly more capable to hold my own!  (Something my mother is very proud ofJ).  About 4 years ago, I was having my bridal portraits taken by a couple of amazing photographers who happened to be a husband and wife team.  I had a great rapport with the photographers and we joked while I posed and smiled and tried not to get grass stains on my pretty designer gown.  I can’t remember what he said, but the male photographer made some sort of joke and I quickly reciprocated.  His wife looked at me, a young, sweet 24-year-old in a pure white dress, and told me I had a crooked halo.  I think the phrase suits me to a tee, and I’ve adored it ever since.    

When did you start making purses/bags? Who taught you how to sew? 

I started sewing around 2 years ago.  A good friend of mine had a “purse party,” where we got to pick out fabric, a purse design, and then had a bag custom-made.  I signed up to have my own party, and then started thinking about just how much I was paying for something I could probably make myself!  My mom got me a sewing machine for Christmas in 2005 and I taught myself how to use it.  I now make purses, wallets and other crafty items under the name Crooked Halo Designs. 

What are your two degrees in?

I went to UNC Chapel Hill and graduated in 2002 with 2 B.A.s – Spanish and Interpersonal/Organizational Communications.    

What is your dream job? If possible, would you ever blog for a living?

I would love to do something rewarding.  As a child, I wanted to be a singer, and actress, and a pediatric oncologist.  I also had aspirations of working with autistic people (after watching Rain Man of course!).  In college, I toyed with the idea of studying audiology and speech pathology.  I took a couple linguistics classes (including a Spanish phonetics class!) and loved the subjects.  Sadly, I had slacked off too much in my first year or two of college to have the GPA necessary for grad school in such a competitive field.  FYI, I made Dean’s List my entire senior year – I wasn’t a complete slacker!  I still don’t know exactly what I want to be when I grow up, but I think very few people know what they want out of life.  As I get older, my interest change, I develop new strengths.  If we’re being completely honest though, I’d give up my salaried job in a heartbeat to be a stay at home mom. 

 As for blogging for a living, I would do it in a heartbeat, but I’m no Heather Armstrong.  I am not sure I’m eloquent enough for someone to pay me to write.   

 I, too, am nearing thirty. I think everyone has a list of accomplishments that they hope to have checked off by their thirtieth birthday. Focusing on your resolution to live for the present, what things have you accomplished/checked off already?  

I’ve never really had a laundry list of things I hoped to accomplish by 30.  I have traveled a fair amount, though nowhere near as much as I hope to.  I’ve married a wonderful, hard working man.  I’m working on living a healthier lifestyle, but haven’t gotten to that exercize thing yet.  Bah!  Overall, I’d say my biggest accomplishment is that I’m happy with who I am.  I’m still awkward at times, and I still have the nasty habit of comparing myself to others, but I like who I’ve become.  I’m more assertive, more independant, and I look forward to knowing myself more as the years pass.  Who we are is anything but stagnant - getting to know who you are is a lifelong, beautiful process and I’m learning to enjoy the ride.

You’re a self-proclaimed “procrastinator.” What are you currently putting off?

Answering this question. 

10 minutes later…  I’m putting off these things (in no particular order):

• tidying my house
• learning how to use Elements 6 because the instruction manual I bought is intimidating
• purchasing interfacing so I can make a wallet I promised someone as a Christmas gift – it means I’ll have to go to Walmart!  Gah!
• exercising – I’m waiting for daylight savings to spring forward so I can start the couch to 5k program.
• photographing and posting some items for sale at my etsy shop – I want to learn to make the pictures prettier in photoshop!
• drinking water – my diet pepsi is so much tastier! 

What is your favorite “$100 word”? 

My favorite lately is probably the word trollop.  I don’t think we use the word trollop nearly enough these days – and it sounds so much nicer than calling someone a skanky ho!  

Answer your own question: What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?

The best gift I have ever received is my Yorkie, Rex.  I had begged, pleaded, and been particularly obnoxious in regard wanting a puppy for several months leading up to Christmas.  B is a saint for not knocking me out and stowing me in the apartment storage room for the puppy pleading hell I put him through.  I was so sure I was NOT getting a dog for Christmas that I spitefully bought him a little bendy dog magnet for his stocking so I could say that I gave him a dog for Christmas, even if he didn’t love me enough to get me one.  I know – I act like a 5 year old sometimes!  Anyhow, I came home from that exact shopping trip to find a little 1.5lb fuzz ball sitting in B’s lap.  My husband can keep a secret like no other!  While we’ve felt like sticking Rex in the microwave from time to time because he’s so damn stubborn, I love the little mongrel.  I still regularly tell Brian (4+ years later) that Rex was the best gift I’ve ever gotten.    

Write a brief personal ad for your dad.  

Fifty-nine-year-old gentleman seeking female companion of similar age.  Ladies with the personality of a dishrag and those who are high maintenance need not apply.  Must love to travel, enjoy random conversations about off-the-wall subjects, and deal well with being interrupted (as we’re bad about that in my family) during conversations.  Must also like dogs, aviation, be family oriented,  and receive the stamp of approval from my daughter. 

What’s your favorite piece of marital advice?

Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each
other but in looking outward together in the same direction.
Antoine De Saint-Exupery

While I wasn’t given this bit of advice before marrying, I think it rings extremely true. Marriage is not all rainbows and sunshine. You don’t spend a lifetime gazing into eachother’s eyes and rolling in puppy love. Marriage is about working together, realizing you’re on the same team, and making the best life you can together. Boy has B’s time in school taught me that lesson! He barely has time to touch ass to the couch to relax these days, but we endure because we know working his butt off now will result in a better life for us in the future.

Thanks for the great interview t.w.i.t! 

It has been proclaimed on a few of my favorite blogs that this is delurking week.  Do I have any lurkers?  I feel like I haven’t really posted consistantly since the start of this blog to warrant many people returning on a daily basis…and yet they do!  Hi ladies;)  This whole blogging thing hasn’t become second nature to me yet.  Throw in a husband that actually has free time while he’s on break from school and the craziness of the holidays, sprinkle in a few calls to the Dell IT department to get my beloved camera to connected to my damned computer (which it still will NOT do, thankyouverymuch!!!), and you’ve got a recipe for Erin neglecting her little spot on the interweb.  I apologize, my loyal few readers, for the neglect.  I promise better content soon!  B went back to school today…I should be facing some neglect here myself.  So…with that said, I want the Crooked Halo wallflowers to make themselves known…if they would so oblige.  Declare yourselves!  Why don’t you say hello and tell me your favorite…something!  Surprise me with your favorite color, flower, smell, book, movie, etc.  Pretty please with sugar on top?  And a cherry for good measure!

Coming soon, a lovely list of resolutions for the new year…which shall surely include the curbing of procrastination, as it is already January 9th and I’m just getting to it.  Oh well, better late than never!