rising to the challenge

OK, there must be something in the air, because I’ve been tagged again. I’m such a sucker for a good meme that I haven’t turned down a tag request yet, and here I am, keeping my streak alive.

The lovely Vanessa (from the blog that shares a name with this post) has passed along some rather unique questions from Create a Connection, an interesting site I'm just getting to know.

Here's the Q & A:

I'm eating a leftover hamburger (w/ mayo, on wheat bread) and sautéd zucchini as I type this. What did YOU eat last?
A cappuccino and a cornetto, which normally I don’t have in the morning, but it was calling to me, and who am I to reject a Nutella-filled cornetto?

Update: I originally did this meme in the morning but then couldn't get onto the Internet because of severe thunderstorms. Since then, I've eaten some minestrone. Full disclosure here on Q & A.

I am totally head-over-heels for a very tall man named James, who has a very sexy new haircut (picked out by me, of course! lol) What about YOUR love life? Anyone special?
Yes, someone affectionately known as P on this blog, but as a different, disgustingly cute nickname in real life that shall never be disclosed in a public forum. Read more about how we met here. P is about 5’10”, extremely thin even though he eats twice as much as I do, is an excellent cook, and treats Luna like a daughter (which, of course, she is).

I live in a little house, with lots of trees, on a dead-end street. What is it like where you live?
Right now I live in a redone, medieval house in a village in southern Italy overlooking the Ionian Sea. Although I won’t go into more details just yet, this may be changing—but only by a few paces down the corso, so don’t get too excited. And forget I mentioned full disclosure.

I love my hair, and my cute wittle nose. What are YOUR favourite features about yourself?
I really like my brain the best (it usually works pretty well), but physically, I suppose my hair because it’s really quite manageable so long as I keep it reasonably clean, and my eyes—even though they’re just brown, I rather like the shape and shade.

Today, I pondered about the need for mentoring in young women's lives. What deep thoughts have YOU been pondering upon?
I’ve been thinking a lot about the Italian school system even though I don’t have any children (yet). We were discussing it in one of my English classes, and it has me thinking about what works, what doesn’t, and what I would probably have to provide for any future children with regard to education. Scary stuff.

I love cheese (cubed colby & monterey jack) and green growing things! List 2 random things you love about life.
Sliding across a tile floor in socks and climbing into fresh, warm sheets. And so many more. I actually started making a list of such things several years ago, so I think I’ll start posting some periodically.

I found CAC (Create a Connection) through Melba, who I found through A Mindful Life, which I stumbled on by doing a random search for Buddhist blogs, for no apparent reason! How did YOU find out about CAC?
I just found CAC through Vanessa who tagged me with this meme; it looks fabulous! I’m not quite sure how I found Vanessa (Sunday Scribblings perhaps?), but I’m sure glad I did.

I absolutely *heart* thunderstorms! What do YOU love most about spring?
Increased daylight, which really hadn’t been a big deal to me until this year. I just love that when I’m done teaching in the evening, it’s not pitch black and cold anymore. It also means my balcony stays warmer in the sunshine a little longer in the mornings, which is great for the plants.

* * * * * * * * * *

Dearest Vanessa then continued the meme party by listing 5 things about herself. Well, you all know how much I love to talk about me, so I played along with this as well, adding my own slant since I've already done so darn many things about me. I needed guidance, and I found some.

Five things about me connected to the 5 senses:

1. Taste. I love chocolate, but I really don’t like overly chocolate things, e.g., chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Blech.

2. Sight(ish). I have really good visualization skills, so that I can see in my mind the way I want a room to look and know that it will be something I like. P doesn’t have this so much, so when it comes time to move furniture, I have to convince him that what I see in my mind will be pretty, I swear. And then I whine for good measure.

3. Touch. I love walking with P, my arm linked through his or vice versa. I’m not sure we’d do this so much if he weren’t Italian, or if we weren’t in Italy, so I’m glad he's him and we’re here.

4. Hearing. I absolutely hate a loud television; this is why surround sound is wasted on me. It actually sometimes makes me sick in my stomach.

5. Smell. I love, love, love the smell of onions and peppers being fried. Love. I don't even have to eat them later as I get (mostly) full on the smell. But I eat them anyway just so they don't feel sad.

I’m not going to tag anyone specifically, but do play along if you fancy doing so with either or both of the memes. And don’t forget to leave me a link so I can find you!

Buon weekend a tutti!