6 posts tagged “qotd”

"What's the best thing about today?"

One thing that I love about church is that no matter what, even if the message doesn't resonate as strongly as previous messages have, I always take something away. Today was no exception. Pastor Thom is away doing a wedding in Southern California, so Pastor Kevin delivered today's message. He made a good point today about there being a difference between being "happy" and being "joyful." Happiness is inconsistent and situational, whereas joyfulness is secure and permanent. Not to downgrade the idea of being "happy," but given that happiness is fleeting, I would rather spend more time in becoming joyful. One of the most wonderful things about having a working, loving relationship with God is that you can have joy- even in times of grief or distress- because you know that in the end, there is an eternal home for you that is greater than anything we can imagine. And that's just awesome!

I'd like to share more, but as it turns out Uptown Espresso is frigid and I'm a-goin' home. Perhaps I'll add on once I get in front of the fireplace? We'll see. 

Who is your favorite wizard of all time?

Are you cereal? Must you ask this question? Harry Potter himself, of course! I'm almost offended by this question ;)

Tell us two truths and a lie about yourself.

You figure it out!
1) I once got drunk with the Prime Minister of Samoa
2) I had the opportunity to be the "Queen" of Budget-Rent-A-Car
3) I called Kobe Bryant "Mr. Fancy-Pants" to his face

The great thing is they all (even the lie) has a story!

Melissa

What character in a book can you connect with or relate to the most? 
Submitted by Eating A Book.

The Bell Jar

 I used to tell people that if they want to know me, then they should also get to know Esther Greenwood from Sylvia Plath's, The Bell Jar. I'm relieved to say that I'm not experiencing depression as deeply or frequently as I used to, but at my "height," it was awful. Very Esther Greenwood.

The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel

I read a book recently called The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield. Setterfield's main character Margaret Lea  was a young woman that I could identify with, although not fully like as a person. (Says a lot for me, huh?) Margaret is far more bookish than I am, and she lacks a general desire to be social or have any contact with living people at all. Bookishness is great but that doesn't mean that one should reject living people.

What is your favorite scent?
Submitted by Erinen. 

I'm a fragrance-oriented person and as such it would be impossible for me to pick just one all-around "favorite scent," so here are my favorite scents for different occasions/circumstances.

Burberry_Classic

My Favorite Scent to Wear: Burberry Classic. It's a good fragrance for year-round use, and certainly my "signature fragrance." The makers of it say it much better than I do: This fresh, clean scent, spiked with crisp notes of green apple and peach, is the epitome of understated elegance. Sandalwood and vanilla round off the notes for a warm, sophisticated finish. You might catch me wearing Dior Addict on the rare evenings that I go dancing with my friends, because Addict is headier and more suited for evenings spent on a packed dance-floor.

My Favorite Scent on Men: Call me crazy but I love the smell of the Old Spice deodorantin the red bottle. I can smell that on a guy from fifteen feet away (you'd be surprised how many men wear it!). As far as fragrances go, I like Abercrombie & Fitch's Fierce and Georgio Armiani's Armani Code.

My Favorite Scent in the Kitchen: Garlic. I love love love the smell of something being sauteed in garlic and olive oil.

My Favorite Scents in Nature: (Most people I've talked to have no idea what I'm talking about when I mention this one. Just a warning.) I love the smell of the pier at the beach. It's not the ocean water or the seaweed, but the wood that the pier is made of. Some piers, I suspect, are made of different kinds of wood because not all of them smell as strong as my favorite pier back home. If you want to know what I'm talking about, visit North Beach in San Clemente California, and you'll smell the best pier of your life. :) It's sweet and salty and slightly burnished. I also love the smell of Star-Gazer Lillies, they're the white flowers with the deep-pink centers that they sometimes sell at the grocery store. Of course there's the traditional scents of Vanilla, Lavender, Bergamot, and Rosemary, but those go without mentioning.

My Favorite Scented Products: I love the smell of "A Perfect World" body cream by Origins, it's really light and refreshing. Also, Palmer's Cocoa Butter makes me salivate (which may not be a good thing considering that it's a body lotion). There's a soft-spot in my heart for Hawaiian Tropic sun tan lotion. I don't like it so much as it brings back strong (pleasant) memories of my childhood.

My Favorite Oddball Scent: Recycled air. I love the way the air smells when I'm being sent through the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. (They just renovated that ride, and I'll be very upset it the air doesn't smell a little dank like it used to.) Not just any recycled air, though. The air on airplanes is just gross and if I could manage to hold my breath the entire flight, I would. Air that's just coming out of the air conditioner smells a little different, and I like that.

Scents That Should Meet Their End: (I'm expecting to offend people here, and I pre-apologize. This is not meant as an attack, but rather, an intervention.) Any and all* scented products by Bath & Body Works and Victoria's Secret need to go. Now. Cucumber Melon smells like my locker room when I was in P.E. in the seventh grade, and Love Spell/ Endless Love/ Secret Crush make me want to vomit. It was acceptable (encouraged, even) to smell like like cheap candyflowercrap in high school, but if you're on the verge of graduating college it's high time you adopted a fragrance that doesn't smell like a one-night-stand. Men don't know this, but they're programmed to treat the girls that smell cheap, cheap. On that note, ladies, quit it with the upside-down hair re-fluffing, it screams "do me and never return my phone calls." That's an entirely different topic, which I'll most likely explore later tonight.

I know that I've left out a ton of scents that I love, but if I were to include everything the list would be unbearably long.  Scent (to me) is a subtle way of sending a message; if you're a scent person, I recommend you find one or two signatures and not fuss with all of the scented lotions and body-splashes that seem to be everywhere.

Books, movies, music; what's in your top 5 right now?

I'm sure you all understand how hard it is to pick a top 5 of anything, so with that in mind, here's my best shot (lists aren't in any particular order, just five favorites):

Music:

1. The Foo Fighters, The Colour and The Shape
2. Fiona Apple, When The Pawn...
3. Death Cab For Cutie, Transatlanticism
4. The Postal Service, Give Up
5. Yo-Yo Ma, Bach: Cello Suites Nos. 1, 5 & 6

1. Cruel Intentions
2. Sleeping Beauty
3. Ocean's 12
4. Gone With the Wind
   
5. Amelie

1. Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar
2. Crosby Bonsall, Piggle
3. Edward Gorey, The Gashlycrumb Tinies
4. Pierre-Ambrois-Francois Choderlos de Laclos, Les Liaisons Dangereuses
5. J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter