From Greeble Monkey

==================
8 Things I’m Passionate About

1. My dogs. Even when Wolf picks a fight with Max on Christmas Day and he gets banished to the outside, I still love him, stupid feisty shiba!

2. My friends. I don’t ask for much from them…just be there for me and they are.

3. Photography. I’ve loved taking pictures since I was a kid, and I love it still, after a bit of a longish break. I may not be that good, but damn it, I enjoy it!

4. Recycling. It’s such a small thing to do…but so important! Things aren’t like they used to be, people

5. Food! I love to shop, cook, create, taste, touch, smell.

6. Dreaming. My dreams used to be incredibly interesting and detailed, but lately they’ve been full of death and scary things. I MADE myself wake up and get out of bed this morning cause the dream I was in the middle of was so … NOT pleasant!

7. Scents; in particular, spicy scents. I love perfumes, lotions, and natural scents, too, such as the woods on a very hot day, lilacs, the ocean, freshly shampooed hair, baking bread, etc., etc..

8. I asked some friends what they thought I was passionate about and these are their answers “traveling“, “photography“, “Snape and Johnny Depp! Photography. Friends.“, “loving life and enjoying it“, “photography“, “experiencing life“, “the reading experience“, “photography and the filthiest martini you can find“, “Books! Dogs!!“, “animals“, “…photography…quickly followed by the puppies, traveling, johnny depp…“, “photography, with Snape and Johnny running neck-in-neck for second. “, “Japan“, “WOLF“.

==================
8 Things I Want To Do Before I Die

1. Become a godmother!
2. Go back to Japan for at least a month.
3. Swim with the dolphins
4. Right some wrongs
5. Be accepted
6. Talk to an old friend again
7. Dance in the light of a full moon with the Eiffel Tower as a backdrop with my lover
8. Be in love again!

==================
8 Things I Say Often

1. Sweet pea
2. Crikey
3. WOLF! NO!!!
4. Um…I don’t remember/I forget/forgot…
5. I know not. [10 points if you know where's that from and 20 points if you know who said it!]
6. WTF!
7. Sorry!
8. MFer!!!

==================
8 Books I’ve Read Recently

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
2. The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs
3. Heat by Bill Buford
4. The three Twilight series books by Stephanie Meyers
5. Rises The Night by Colleen Gleason
6. Alone In The Kitchen With An Eggplant by Jenni Ferrari-Adler
7. Come Back by Claire & Mia Fontaine
8. The Problem With Murmur Lee by Connie May Fowler

==================
8 Songs I Could Listen to Over and Over

1. Werewolves of London by Warren Zevon
2. The Show by Doug E Fresh
3. Almost anything by Led Zeppelin, especially Ramble On
4. I’m So Tired by the Beatles
5. Suffragette City by David Bowie
6. Jeepster by T. Rex
7. Lola by the Kinks
8. Ain’t Talkin’ ’bout Love by Van Halen

==================
8 Things That Attract Me To My Best Friends

For those of you I didn’t have pictures of (cough, Deb, Laura, Lauren, anyone not pictured that I adore, etc., cough)…next time you’ll LET me take your picture, right?!
1. Sense of Humor
2. Intelligence
3. Spontaneity
4. They “get” me
5. They like to talk; I like to listen
6. Acceptance
7. Adventurous
8. They make time for our friendship, no matter what
==================

That’s it for the year! Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog, looking at my pictures, commenting…and most of all, for your friendship! I hope you all have a fantastic, happy, healthy, prosperous and FUN 2008!

January:

- Had one day early in January where the temp hit 70 degrees…in JANUARY!
- Got lots of new scents from BPAL
- Bought new eyeglasses
- Traveled to CT to visit ME and watch her skate; got to see Deb & Laura, too!
- Visited my cousin and the new puppies!

Movies:

- Night at the Museum
- The Departed [excellent movie!]
- Notes On A Scandal [very good, but I went around calling myself Judi Dench for a long time afterward...also, it was FREEZING that day!]
- Little Children

Books:

- The Secret History by Donna Tartt
- S Is For Silence by Sue Grafton

February:

- Decided to keep my Honda Civic Si and buy out the lease
- Bro’s 17th anniversary
- Heather’s birthday
- Tried a new tomato sauce recipe that has since become my standard!
- Started working my way through the alphabet on Thursday Thirteen!
- Joined WeeWorld and made my first WeeMee
- Dad’s birthday

Movies

- Hannibal Rising [eh on the movie, but the actor who played Hannibal was hot!]
- Music and Lyrics [cutesy type movie]
- Pan’s Labyrinth [beautiful but sad]

Books:

- Predator by Patricia Cornwell
- For One More Day by Mitch Albom
- Next by Michael Crichton
- Hard Truth by Nevada Barr

March:

- Went to the Boston Flower Show

Movies:

- Venus [good...but a bit freaky!]
- The Host [lol loved this one, a Korean horror story]

Books:

- no books, at least none that I can remember!

April:

- Took a photography class
- Visited ME in MD
- Visited my cousin and the puppies
- Went to DeCordova Museum & Sculpture Park

Movies

- Hot Fuzz [eh]
- Snow Cake [eh]
- Blades of Glory [eh]

Books

- nada [i.e., can't remember, didn't write it down!]

May:

- Visited MB (my cousin)

Books:

- Nada [i.e, see above lol]

Movies:

- Shrek 3 [cute]
- POTC 3 [fantastically trippy eye candy!!!]

June:

- Trip to Vegas with friends to celebrate my 50th!
- Cirque du Soleil’s LOVE
- Got my first poppet!
- Had my first taste of Cucumber, Mango and Black Bean Salad

Movie:

- Ocean’s 13
- The Astronaut Farmer
- Bridge to Terabithia

Books:

- The Good Guy by Dean Koontz

July:

- Trip to MB’s w/Michelle
- 4th of July at my cousin’s
- Day trip to Portsmouth, NH
- Fuller Gardens
- Trip to VT w/Diane & her two girls to visit Mo, and then Betsy & her three girls!

Books

- Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
- Heat by Bill Buford

Movies:

- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix [first time I liked the new Dumbledore]
- Hairspray
- Sunshine
- Ratatouille [saw it at a drive in!]

August:

- Hosted, all month, Photo Thursday at Create a Connection
- Megan’s birthday
- Got a new tattoo (mandala)
- House & dog sat for Diane
- Photographed & attended Diana’s wedding!
- got a new phone with GPS and named her Jessamyn
- Finished working my way through the alphabet on Thursday Thirteen!
- My Tivo died!

Books:

- nada!

Movies:

- Stardust [loved it!]

September:

- Went to see the comedian Lewis Black w/Pat in Hampton Beach, NH
- First anniversary of A Girl Must Shop; have you checked it out? Cool site! Happy shopping!
- Bought my first laptop
- Got a replacement Tivo
- Bought a Dyson vac
- Took Dad to his adopted grandchild’s wedding
- shot Krista’s wedding
- Krista’s birthday
- Shot Aislinn’s wedding in St. Thomas; took a day trip to St. John

Books:

- Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause
- Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer [LOVED them!]

Movies:

- Into The Wild [so damn sad]

October:

- Michelle’s birthday
- Aislinn’s birthday
- Visited Mo in VT
- Great new tv shows like “Pushing Daisies” and “Reaper”
- Started a new home for “What Is It Wednesday” and “Friday Fill-Ins“
- Paid off all my charge cards
- Saw Van Halen in concert!!!

Books:

- Strangers by Taichi Yamada
- Rises The Night by Colleen Gleason [one of the sexiest passages I ever read are in this book!]

Movies:

- Gone Baby Gone [excellent and thought provoking]
- Some old horror movies with Krista [one was an old Vincent Price movie!]

November:

- Participated in Carla’s My Sacred Life and NaBloPoMo
- Pat’s birthday; went to her surprise party in NH and on my way home got pulled over THREE times because one of my brake lights was out
- Maribeth’s birthday
- Laura’s birthday
- Started an Etsy Shop; sold one picture so far
- Heard a rumor that Led Zeppelin might tour!
- 11/28/07 – fondofsnape.com crashed…and it WILL be resurrected!

Books:

- The Problem with Murmur Lee by Connie May Fowler

Movies:

- Wild Hogs
- Live Free or Die Hard [great adventure flick]
- Sicko [makes one sick to see what goes on in the states, medically speaking]
- American Gangster [I forgot how sexy Denzel is!]
- Fred Claus [abysmal]
- The Song Remains The Same (an old Led Zeppelin movie)

December:

- the house next door caught fire was rebuilt!
- blogging at http://fondofphotography.blogspot.com for the time being
- Visited ME in MD; went to her work Christmas party…hoity toity!
- Saw Hall & Oates in concert
- Yes!!! The Hobbit will be made into a movie!!! Jackson will produce!

Books:

The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs
The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar
Sundays With Vlad by Paul Bibeau

Movies:

- The Golden Compass
- Sweeney Todd! [that man can sing!]
- I Am Legend [I heart Will Smith!]
- The Kite Runner [made me want to read the book]
- Juno [an adorable movie, go see it!]
- Charlie Wilson’s War [ahhhh, reminds me of the 80s!]
- Enchanted [a bit slow at the beginning, but ever so cute later on!]

Onward to 2008!

Here are the rules for Photohunt!

1. snowdog, 2. stuck, 3. shell littered beach, 4. cluttered city view, 5. dump heap in the woods, 6. purple berry stained paw

Last night I went to a Yankee Swap; while there, we played a game called “What would Fred do?“. These are the rules:

Players take turns drawing cards that require them to pass a test. There are six types of tests: uncomfortable, revolting, awkward, mischievous, easy, and self-serving. When players pass a test [and some ARE truly revolting], they receive Credit or No Credit. If a player does not pass a test, he may be eliminated from the game. If a player cannot pass a test due to circumstances outside of his control, the test is declared a dud and the player draws again [however, if she refuses to do what the card asks of her, she is out...and I was out after the first card!]. The goal is to remain in the game and collect 4 credits.

It’s vile! But…it made me laugh my rear off! Having to say Sacageawea for two minutes, having to take a 3 minute shower while singing nursery rhymes, having to mix butter & jelly in another player’s hair…getting the drift? It gets worse…but human nature being what it is, it’s great for a laugh.

I’ve been away from the Round Robin Challenge for awhile, but I’m back and happy to be here! The topic is “Going, Going, Gone!” as suggested by Nancyluvspix.

Going…

Going…

Gone!

Or…

Captain Jack Sparrow has decided to give up the rum as it has started to give him hallucinations…

Going…

Going…

Gone!

Here are the correct quotes:

1. “I don’t expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses.” [Professor Snape, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone]
2. “Why is the rum always gone?” [Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest]
3. “Harold, *everyone* has the right to make an ass out of themselves.” [Maude, Harold and Maude]
4. “Nine companions, so be it. You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring.” [Elrond, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring]
5. “Nonsense, I have not yet begun to defile myself.” [Doc Holliday, Tombstone]
6. “Mama says they was magic shoes. They could take me anywhere.” [Forest Gump, Forest Gump]

These are MY answers:

1. “I don’t expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, turning you into a vampire, the vampire of your dreams.“
2. “Why is the freaking toilet paper always gone?“
3. “Harold, *everyone* has the right to make an impressive meal out of chips and chocolate.“
4. “Nine companions, so be it. You shall be geekiest of the geeks.“
5. “Nonsense, I have not yet begun to fill my magic goblet.“
6. “Mama says they was magic shoes. They could work like a magic carpet, taking you wherever you want.“
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to whatever comes up, tomorrow my plans include a good old-fashioned Yankee swap and Sunday, I want to do whatever moves me!

Wolf, enjoying his Christmas presents!