smokeysmom

I am married with no children. My husband and I host international students and love that. I enjoy reading, animals, nature, walking, cooking, baking and travel. My favorite color is yellow and I like usable things. Decorations are best when they serve a practical purpose too!

I love music but am especially drawn to Christian music. I like a wide array of styles but don't like jazz or heavy metal - yuk! I like the instrumental style of Tim Janis. And on occassion I purchase a movie soundtrack because sometimes the soundtrack is better than the movie!

I love, love, love John Grisham, Sue Grafton, PJ Tracy and mysteries and biographies and history. I never read sappy romances - which is most of them for me. But recently I was desperate and read a Nicolas Sparks book - that was good.

My family only watches G and PG movies - easier to avoid violence, crude language and sexual images. We truely enjoy Mr. Bean, The Princess Bride and comedies. We like action but there aren't very many of those rated G and PG. Sure wish the Ocean's Eleven series was rated PG! And then we like the good stories like Radio, Remember the Titans, Glory Road, etc.

And then one of our favorites is March of the Penguins!

We don't watch television these days other than NFL and Nascar. But we love some of the old stuff like the Carol Burnett show, ALF, the Muppets, the Waltons, Night Court, etc. We're thinking about getting Mork n Mindy from Netflix just because we can't remember if we liked it or not!

I enjoy counted cross stitch, making cards, baking/cooking, recycling items into gifts and vegetable gardening. I know not all of these count as crafts but that's about it for me. I enjoy homemade items but don't take the time to do a wide variety of crafts.

I feel compelled to be a good steward of what we have around us. I like freecycle, swapping, rescuing and living naturally. We are trying to avoid processed foods so I cook mainly from scratch (that means no cream soups from a can, boxes or cans in general). Sometimes I do use cream soups but they have so much sodium in them - bad, bad, bad!

We try to avoid plastics if at all possible which is why we avoid purchasing a lot of food at the grocery store - it always comes in plastic!

And I think we should care for the animals around us including the wild ones. My heart breaks when I see them suffer because of our carelessness. I would love to live closer to Best Friends Sanctuary so I could be actively involved in helping animals that no one else wants.

My mouth likes spicy food but my tummy doesn't. So I don't make very spicy food. But I love to have seasonings other than salt in my food. I especially like basil, garlic, oregano, dill, and asian. Unfortunately I can't do onions or peppers of any kind (usually good at taking them out of a recipe if it's included).

In general I enjoy hot chocolate, bananas, coconut anything, homemade bread with real butter on it and snow/snap peas! yum!

I love trying new recipes and do one a week. Poor family!

A Survey If you could, where would you max out a credit card? Crate & Barrel, Hallmark and Bed Bath & Beyond

What are your favorite colors? In order of preference: Yellow, earth tones, rich blue - maroon - forest green - terra cotta - purple. Fall colors are my favorite mix of colors.

What fires you up? People who don't use turn signals, accepting the news without thinking about it, customer service which is really just a thin veneer for making money from you.

Do you collect anything? Sarah's Attics Snowwonders - love those little guys!, bookmarkers, canning jars with Root on them, children's books for all the little ones that visit us.

What are five things you always keep with you? My cell phone, my keys, my credit card (always spend cash too fast), pen and calculator.

What's your dream job? To own a little cafe or a community supported agriculture garden.

Favorite Scents: scents give me headaches if they are too strong. NO FLORAL - yuk! But I do like the cooking smells you find in candles and the woodsy scents. My favorite is probably the butter cream from Yankee or Malibu rum.

Favorite Flavors: banana, coconut, orange, chocolate, mint, butter pecan, peanut butter and a lot of the Flavors of the Day at Culvers!

Favorite Piece of Jewelry: Blue and sterling silver earrings from Mexico. It's a circle with four little fingers hanging down. Also like my gold earrings from Somali. They tinkle when I walk!