You asked… (the third and final installment)

I’ve had so much fun answering these questions! Thanks again to everyone who participated. This is the last installment, except for one question that Carrie asked that deserves to be its own post (see below).

Jenny asked: What is your favorite experience teaching at NAU?

Teaching you, of course! Lol! I have to say, seeing my students go on to be wonderful teachers (and parents) is very rewarding. I really like it when old students keep in touch with me. What’s REALLY scary is running into my former eighth grade students and seeing them married with kids. I keep thinking that can’t be possible, but the first group of students I taught at the middle school is now in their mid-twenties.

Kir from Kir’s Corner asked: What is your favorite thing about your hubby?

First of all, in the interest of full disclosure I will tell you that we are not married. We have been together since I was sixteen, so something tells me this is a life-long commitment.

My favorite thing about Darin is that he makes me laugh. He is the funniest damn person I know.  He is also an amazing father.

Loukia from Loulou’s Views asked: What is your favourite part of the day?

First of all, I love that you spelled favorite, “favourite.” Canadians are so cool.

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but my favorite time of day is in the morning when I first get up. That never used to be the case, but now it’s the only time when I don’t feel pressured and rushed. I love bringing Oscar to bed when he gets up and letting him play and goof around, then we get up and I make coffee and work on the computer a bit while he plays.

What makes your heart melt the most?

Watching Darin with Oscar.

Where is your favourite vacation place?

They have these “lakes” here in Arizona (created by dams–they are man-made) where we used to go camp and waterski. Lake Apache and Lake Powell. I used to love going, but we haven’t gone in years.

Where are you dying to go on vacation?

Last September we had an opportunity to go on a cruise with family and my favorite island was St. Thomas. All I can think about is going back.

Carrie from Heim Binas Fiction asked: Pirates or ninjas?

Both? I love the idea of dressing in black and being stealthy, but I like boats too.

What is one piece of advice you would give to other parent-writers?

This one deserves its own post! Stay tuned…

What is one thing you do really badly, and one thing you do really well?

I do a lot of things really badly. I am terrible at anything requiring physical coordination: sports, dancing, walking up and down stairs…

I think I am a good teacher. I tend to be “in the zone” when I am teaching. I love being in front of the class, making students laugh or explaining a concept. I am a completely different person at that moment.

Maria from Bored Mommy asked: What is the one thing you miss the most from your single days?

I miss sleeping in and hanging out. What I loved about high school and college was the way my friends and I would just naturally congregate and sit around for long periods of time just talking with nowhere else we had to be. It was a natural part of each day. Now getting together with friends usually means making arrangements ahead of time, and being “on the clock.”

Would you bathe in a tub of soup if it was really moisturizing for your skin?

Are we talking about a cream soup or a broth-based soup? Perhaps a lovely clear consomme, but I’m not sure about sitting in something that has chunks in it.

What are you getting me for my birthday?

When is your birthday?Anything your little Canadian heart desires, as long as it fits my $5 budget.

By the way, I love that you sent me a Christmas card.

When would you like my address to send said gift?

I think it’s on the Christmas card you sent me, which still on my mantle.

(I don’t really have a mantle but I’m sure your card is around here somewhere).

Jackie from Winded Words asked: What do you love most about where you live?

I love everything about Flagstaff except how much it costs. It’s a strange combination of California prices and Arizona salary. We call it “poverty with a view.”

You asked…(part two)

The only thing I like more than reading is eating while reading, so now I am going to tackle the questions about books, reading, and food.

Jackee from Winded Words asked: What’s your favorite book?

Really, I can’t choose just one. That would be like choosing only one of my children as my favorite. Well, I only have one child, but I have many more books (by the way, when I go to someone’s house and there are no books, I think that is weird).

So I will give you my top five:

1. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (Seriously, if you haven’t read this…)

2. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

3. The Secret History by Donna Tartt

4. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

5. The Spirit of St. Louis by Charles Lindbergh

Kristin from Dragondreamer’s Lair asked: Who is your all time favorite author and why?

My all time favorite author is Sylvia Plath. Although I didn’t list any of her books, that’s because I take her entire body of work, which consists of poetry, journals, and letters, and read it again and again. I also love Virginia Woolf and wrote my master’s thesis on her. Yes, both of these women took their own lives. But what I love about them is their writing, which is genius. They killed themselves because they were both clinically depressed during a time when there was no good treatment for depression. They did not kill themselves because they were writers.

Is there anything you like to read that you don’t want to admit to reading?

Oh, I’ll admit to it! I read People and US Weekly and Vogue. I read Dan Brown. I’ve read every single book ever written about the Kennedys.  I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggonit, I will read mindless crap.

What is your favorite guilty pleasure?

Buying and reading fashion magazines.

Corinne from Trains, Tutus and Tea Time asked: What is your favorite food?

I rarely meet a food I don’t like. I will eat airplane food and hospital food and cafeteria food and gas station hot dogs.

However, my favorite would probably be seafood. I love crab legs, scallops, clams, smoked salmon, and sushi.

Carrie from Heim Binas Fiction asked: What is your favorite hot-weather drink?

Coke (regular, not diet) on ice. Or a nice margarita if I’m eating chips and salsa or lounging on a beach somewhere.

Part Three Coming Soon!

I’m kissing my baby, but I really just want to get back to my book.