Vogue 73 questions non-vlog

You may have seen this Vogue’s 73 questions thing that’s making its way around the interweb. Most people answer them in vlog form, but because:

a) I have no idea how to edit a video

b) I’m too impatient to watch most other people’s vlogs to the end, so I can’t exactly expect them to watch one of mine (That’s not an insult to vloggers – I blame the internet for giving me a stupidly short attention span. And I’m not alone. Apparently, the most popular videos on YouTube are around 3 minutes long or shorter.)

c) All of my child-free time is spent either at work or in my pajamas after the Popple has gone to bed, which no one needs to see

I am answering the questions in boring ol’ blog form.

I was tagged for the challenge by the fabulous Ellen from Babies, Biscuits & Booze. You should stop reading this and go check her stuff out now. She’s one of the loveliest people in the blog world.

Anyway, onto the questions.

1. What’s your favourite movie? Dirty Dancing or Sister Act II, which I love totally unironically.
2. Favourite movie in the past five years? Room. I loved the book and just watched the film recently. It’s really well done but…intense.
3. Favourite Hitchcock film? Err…Rear Window? I saw that one once, maybe.
4. A book you plan on reading? Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood.
5. A book that you read in school that positively shaped you? Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. I’ve written about how important that book was to me as a writer in this post.
6. Favourite TV show that’s currently on? Black Mirror, even though each episode freaks me out more than the one before.
7. On a scale of one to ten, how excited are you about life right now? Let’s go with a solid 6-7.
8. iPhone or Android? iPhone for now, but there is a big chunk of the screen missing, so I’ll probably have to start using Adrian’s old Android phone soon.
9. Twitter or Instagram? Twitter. I’ve resisted Instagram so far, mostly because of this This American Life episode. I’m heavily influenced by middle-class public radio.
10. Who should EVERYONE be following right now? Check out The Secret Diary of Agent Spitback. She’s a brilliant writer and totally unique.
11. What’s your favourite food? CHEESE.
12. Least favourite food? Meat. I’ve been a vegetarian (mostly) for nearly 20 years. Also, raw tomatoes are the worst.
13. What do you love on your pizza? CHEESE.
14. Favourite drink? Processo and sparkling water.
15. Favourite dessert? Ben & Jerry’s eaten straight out of the tub.
16. Dark chocolate or milk chocolate? Dark chocolate.
17. Coffee or tea? Coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon.
18. What’s the hardest part about being a mum? The loss of freedom. I miss being able to go for improptu drinks with friends. Plan a last-minute holiday. Pee alone.
19. What’s your favourite band? These days, it’s the Atención Atención band, thanks to the Popple’s love of Puerto Rican children’s music.
20. Favourite solo artist? Billy Joel, because I’m from Long Island, so it’s kind of required.
21. Favourite song? Sweet Child O’ Mine, because it’s the first song Adrian and I danced to at our wedding. Note: this is not, as we quickly discovered, a very good dancing song. Kick ass guitar solo, though.
22. If you could sing a duet with anyone, who would it be? Beyoncé, even though that would be totally embarrassing for both of us.
23. If you could master one instrument, what would it be? The zylophone. No wait, I ALREADY HAVE. I’m basically a zylophone genius.
24. If you had a tattoo, where would it be? I have no idea. I have no plans to tattoo myself ever.
25. To be or not to be? That is the question.
26. Dogs or cats? Cats, even though the one I have is a real a-hole.
27. Bird-watching or whale-watching? Whales, obviously. Birds are just dinosaurs with wings.
28. Best gift you’ve ever received? The Popple. Awwww.
29. Best gift you’ve ever given? A framed drawing of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as archaeologists that I gave to Adrian for his birthday. My cousin designed it – and my blog header. She’s amazing. You can check out her work on the Jenny Haines site.
30. Last gift you gave a friend? Flowers for a colleague who turned 40.
31. What’s your favourite board game? Scrabble, even though I get really sulky when I lose.
32. What’s your favourite country to visit? I love all the Scandinavian countries. So clean! So much social equality! So many attractive, athletic-looking blonde people!
33. What’s the last country you visited? Ireland.
34. What country do you wish to visit? Japan.
35. What’s your favourite colour? Kelly Green.
36. Least favourite colour? Puce (a sort of purplely-brown grossness).
37. Diamonds or pearls? Don’t buy me either – I’ll just lose them.
38. Heels or flats? Flats every time.
39. Pilates or yoga? Yoga because you get to lie down on the floor at the end.
40. Jogging or swimming? Swimming – not that I’m that keen to put on my swimsuit, which I bought in 2010 and is somehow both too small AND too big.
41. Best way to de-stress: Veronica Mars TV marathon with a tub of Ben & Jerry’s.
42. If you had one superpower, what would it be? Invisibility, so I could people watch all sneaky-like.
43. What’s the weirdest word in the English language? Discombobulated.
44. What’s your favourite flower? Gorse, those yellow flowers that smell like coconut.
45. When was the last time you cried? This weekend when the Popple was throwing all of the tantrums at me.
46. Do you like your handwriting? God, no.
47. Do you bake? Badly.
48. What is your least favourite thing about yourself? My social awkwardness.
49. What is your most favourite thing about yourself? My sense of humour.
50. Who do you miss most? My family back in America.
51. What are you listening to right now? The sound of Adrian washing the dishes. Music to my ears.
52. Favourite smell? Freshly brewed coffee.
53. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? Work people – a big conference call where no one was really paying attention.
54. Who was the last person you sent a text to? Adrian – “If we’re eating baby-free, wine?”
55. A sport you wish you could play? Roller derby – man, I miss getting knocked over all the time.
56. Hair colour? Brown with reddish and golden streaks. My hair colour is great. My hair itself is a frizzy mess.
57. Eye colour? Green.
58. Scary film or happy endings? Happy endings, even though that sounds kind of…wrong.
59. Favourite season? Autumn.
60. Three people alive or dead that you would like to have dinner with? Tina Fey, Barack Obama, David Sedaris.
61. Hugs or kisses? Hugs, because the Popple gives the best ones.
62. Rolling Stones or the Beatles? The Beatles are more musically significant, but the Stones rock WAY harder.
63. Where were you born? Long Island, New York.
64. What is the farthest you have been from home? Slovakia, maybe? Damn, I need to get out more.
65. Sweet or savoury? Savoury followed by a little bit of sweet.
66. Lipstick or lip gloss? Lip gloss.
67. What book have you read again and again? Me Talk Pretty One Day. Seriously, go read this book.
68. Favourite bedtime story? Pajama Time by Sandra Boynton. Pajama to the left. Pajama to the right. Jamma jamma jamma jamma P! J!
69. What would be the title of your autobiography? Americannae. (That’s American’t for all you non-Scots speakers)
70. Favourite sound? The Popple’s laughter.
71. Favourite animal? Owl.
72. Who is your girl crush? Tina Fey.
73. Last photograph you took? The Popple dragging a hummus and yogurt-covered spoon through her hair.

I haven’t tagged anyone, but you know the drill. Answer the questions if you want to – I love learning more about the bloggers behind the blogs.