50 Questions

1. FIRST NAME? Terri Jean
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Yes, Terri was to rhyme with my adopted father Jerry, and Jean is my mother's middle name (and her mother's middle name)
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Friday... but not due to sadness. I had a BAD virus and was whining like a baby.

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Nope. Hate it.


5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Oven roasted turkey

6. KIDS? 4: Chrissy, Alex, Jake and Silas. + 2 "foster daughters": Shannan and Amanda.

7. IF YOU COULD BE KNOWN FOR JUST ONE THING, WHAT WOULD IT BE? A great mother

8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? I have lots of unfinished journals.

9. NAME A FAVORITE CHILDHOOD MEMORY. Camping out at Grandpa's pond with my grandparents.
10. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST REGRET? I only regret the things I didn't do, people I haven't made up with or lost a connection with, things I should have said but didn't, work I passed over, and all the days I beat myself up for procrastinating, rather than getting the job done.

11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? I did a modified jump at King's Island a few years back, and I can't wait to do the real thing. I'd do it today if I were offered the opportunity.

12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Puffins

13. WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO SLEEP IN AND WITH? Well... 'with' would be my children when they're babies. Silas still likes to snuggle at night and he's 4, but he'll probably want to sleep in his bed before long. And sleep 'in' would be a pair of shorts and a tank top.

14. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? All natural French vanilla or pecan.

15. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Their face - and their facial expressions.


16. DO YOU HAVE ANY PET PEEVES, AND WHAT ARE THEY? People who don't accept responsibility, people who need others to blame or to make themselves happy, and people who don't care for their children.
17. RED OR PINK? Pink

18. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOUR SELF? I procrastinate way too much, and then spend far too much time beating myself up over it. It's a vicious cycle, and it wastes a lot of time and energy. Which is the second thing I hate about myself.

19. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My mom. I want us to live much closer.

20. IF YOU COULD ACCOMPLISH FIVE THINGS WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR, WHAT WOULD THEY BE? 1) Finish a children's book 2) Finish an adult book 3) Get in shape 4) Print all my photos and organize them into albums 5) Get my websites up and functional.

21. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Black drawstring Capri pants with tweetie bird on the butt and white socks.

22. THE LAST THING YOU ATE? An apple and a glass of tea.

23. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? A quiet house. The kids are gone.

24. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Forest Green.

25. FAVORITE SMELL? Springtime, when all the flowers are blooming - honeysuckle, privet bushes, and lilacs - and the scent lingers on the breeze that comes through all the windows.

26. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Jake's guidance counselor - about his grades. Ugh.

28. FAVORITE DRINK? Hot tea with cream

29. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH? Umm.... poker.

31. EYE COLOR? Green.

33. FAVORITE FOOD? Chinese/Mexican. And anything hot.
34. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING? I hate scary movies... so a happy ending please.

35. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Jake and I watched Office Space the other day.

36. WHAT TV SHOW IS YOUR CURRENT FAVORITE? The Office.

37. SUMMER OR WINTER? Neither. One is too hot, the other is too cold. Bleck. I like spring and fall.

38. HUGS OR KISSES? Depends on who I'm hugging and kissing.
39. FAVORITE DESSERT? I make this lemon custard that is absolutely amazing. I can eat way too much of it though.

40. THE ONE PLACE YOU'D LIKE TO TRAVEL TO THIS YEAR. I want to go deep into the Appalachian mountains and camp for a few days with a few pals and rough it.

41. THE ONE PLACE YOU'D LIKE TO TRAVEL TO IN YOUR LIFETIME? Italy

42. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING? Uncommon Genius by Denise Shekerjian and a manual on using Frontpage.

43. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Pic of the kids

44. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST ON TV? PBS's Frontline.

45. FAVORITE SOUND? Alex singing lead in his band. He's fantastic.

47. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Near Tulsa Oklahoma

48. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Writing and photography

49. WHAT'S ON YOUR GAMEPLAN FOR TODAY? Clean house, play with Silas, do a few photos, and try to organize the tons of notes and photos I have on my computer.
50. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Zanesville, Ohio

Hanging Around

To the park

It was such a beautiful fall day... we spent a some of it at the park. Scott played with Si while I walked The Ridges and snapped a few photos. The Ridges was once a mental health hospital, and at one time, a residency farm for the mentally ill. It is said to be haunted and one of those TV programs that goes in and investigates haunted places came to visit - because Athens is supposed to be one of the most haunted areas in the United States (with the ridges being a huge part of it). There's a floor in the old hospital that's blocked off, and the imprint of a woman who died there (and her body, from what I understand, "melted" into the floor) is visible. I haven't seen it, but I know people who have. Plus I've seen photos. It's creepy. She went off into an abandoned part of the building and died. It took quite a while to find her, and when they did, she was a puddle-ish mess. Bleck!

I don't know if we really are all that haunted, but I do believe in such things. I'll let ya'll know if I ever come across anything!

* The brick building behind the trees is part of the old state mental hospital, but now it's called The Ridges. Ohio University bought it and it's now part of the campus. The Kennedy Museum is up there, and it's a nice place to visit. I enjoyed my last walk though.

* I love the brick roads in Athens.

Should I really be thankful for Thanksgiving?

Okay, anyone who knows me knows I absolutely hate all the anti-Indian crap that goes on in this country, without most people even realizing it's happening. Thanksgiving is a national holiday that celebrates the burning alive of hundreds (around 700) Pequot Indians, and then the Pilgrims gave an official thanks in honor of their God allowing them to commit murder. It's a horrible day, and yet most people have no idea what they're really celebrating. They think it's about some meeting between First Peoples and Invading Peoples, but that's not the case. And we don't learn about this in our history books... rather the books and the lesson plans and the TV and the media continue this myth, regardless of how it affects Native people. This month I saw quite a bit of Native crap, and I started taking photos. Some were directly linked to Thanksgiving - such as the cute little Indian and Pilgrims standing with a turkey between them. This was on a local banks teller window. Nice, huh? I also saw a character dressed as a " chief" for an episode of my (current) favorite show, The Office. (Sigh... I was soooo disappointed!) Another character in Indian Princess costume was in the Click film, again, I was disappointed. I thought that such stereotypes and offensive costuming was disappearing in Hollywood. No such luck. I also went into a local store in Nelsonville, Ohio to find a HUGE wooden Indian statue greeting shoppers at the door, and inside all the dreamcatchers, toys, dolls, puzzles, figurines, and so forth that you see here. Not once did I see anyone portray Native people as anything more than what you see here. What a shame....

Gourd Burning

No, it's not some weird ritutal. Jake and I were messing with some gourds we had drying, and those that weren't going to make it were put to death - by fire. As they were burning, Jake thought they'd make great photos... so I snapped a few. He was right! They're pretty cool.... and the bottom two kinda look like faces.

Jake is 14! Oh My Gosh!

Seems like just yesterday I dropped him off at the park in Athens with Heather and her 2 kids while I ran just up the road to get all the boys ice cream. Gone no more than 5 minutes, by the time I got back, Heather was chasing Jake - who, by that time, was just about naked - screaming at him to get come back to her, to behave, and to get some clothes on. I think he was about 3 years old. We've called him Nakie Jakie since he was a baby, because of his fondness for nudity. But now he's 14 and usually keeps all his clothes on. HAPPY BIRTHDAY NAKIE JAKIE! XXOO MUAH!!

Snarling Pumpkins

Mister FrontMan

Mister FrontMan Nov 4 2006

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The Night in Black and White