7 Things

So Katie tagged me way back in February, and as usual, I wasn't paying attention. Sorry about that! I will do my best to answer said questions.

By the way, you find out the most interesting things when you do a Technorati search on your own blog. Some weird bot-blog has a link to me because of the words "britney spears" and "pink". I don't even want to know.

Anyway, here goes:

Seven things to do before I die:
1. Learn to speak some Italian and German
2. Travel the world (I'm going to Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland in two weeks--that counts!)
3. Write a book that gets published
4. Grow my own food in a big garden (first we need the dirt)
5. Raise children who aren't jerks
6. Live in France Own a vacation/retirement home in France
7. Learn to really play the guitar (my studies were cut short by carpal tunnel syndrome) though I already play the clarinets, piano, oboe, flute, trumpet, trombone, saxophones, euphonium, tuba, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, timpani, spoons, tin whistle, etc. etc. etc. (Ah, the band director is definitely a Jill of all instruments, master [?] of one.)

Seven things I cannot do:
1. Be a bikini model
2. Speak with a Cockney or Brooklyn accent
3. Surf, ski, snowboard, roller skate/blade, skateboard or anything which requires balance except for riding a bike and walking/dancing in high heels, which actually took quite a bit of practice (First part stolen from Katie)
4. Ride or watch a roller coaster (they absolutely terrify me)
5. Eat Boston Baked Beans or Refried Beans (Yech!)
6. See a friend being hurt or picked on and not jump in to defend them, even if they're wrong
7. Stop setting high standards for myself and do everything I can to achieve them (I am a bit obsessive.)

Seven things that attract me to my mate:
1. His smile (joy/warmth)
2. His openness
3. The way he treats me
4. His idealism and ambition
5. His way of making people feel that they are normal even when they are totally stressing about something (he gets this from his Dad who is the KING of making you feel like it's all going to be fine.)
6. His artistry and ability to see the beauty in everything
7. His steadfastness

Seven things I say:
1. Et puis, voilà!
2. So, there you go, then. (This is Norwegian-American for "et puis, voilà!")
3. Literally (I use this word a lot, because people think I exaggerate.)
4. Freakin' Jack-Wipe! (This comes out of my mouth when I am driving and someone does something stupid or dangerous--it's a combination of several not-so-nice phrases, though each of these pieces are totally benign. I guess it's due to teaching Catholic school for so long.)
5. It's like a party in my mouth! (refers to food: said when I am eating something incredibly delicious and intense.)
6. I think it's about beer-thirty.
7. Oh-fer (insert descriptive word here.) Yes, I grew up in Fargo, ND. "Oh, fer cute! Oh, fer stupid! Oh, fer dumb!" Annoying, I know. I'm trying to stop, but it's kind of ingrained.

Seven books I love:
1. The Girl with the Pearl Earring
2. Gone With the Wind (I know, cheesy, but it's a big old romantic story--I love it.)
3. The Poisonwood Bible
4. The Scarlett Letter
5. Plainsong (Kent Haruf)
6. Giants in the Earth
7. Old Turtle

Seven movies that I've loved: (I didn't stop at 7, either. But 14 is divisible by it.)

1. A Foreign Affair
2. Marie Antoinette
3. Harry Potter 1,2,3,4
4. Le Divorce
5. Say Anything
6. Charade
7. Gone With The Wind
8. The Goonies
9. Legally Blonde (Yes, I like it! You wanna make something of it?)
10. Monsters, Inc.
11. West Side Story
12. Hello, Dolly!
13. Hellboy
14. To Catch A Thief

Seven People I Tag:

Yep, I'm taking the wimpy route. Do it if you want, don't if you don't. No pressure!