day 9 - a list of things hanging on your walls

I have a lot on my wall, so I will see how much I can think of off the top of me head...  I guess I could just go to each room and look, but...

Office (I am in here so I can see)

I painting of a ferret

An Eiffel tower bulletin board

A 2010 calendar of interesting places around the world

The hall:

Wedding pictures

Lennon pictures

My room:

A Catherine Hyde print I got for John as a wedding gift

A photo of Lennon's feet

Lennon's room:

An kids solar system painting

Toy story stickers

Little Prince Painting

Plaques with cute little sayings

Monkey prints from baby's r us

Alien Robot prints I got at an art festival

Kitchen:

Photos from my trip to Mexico in 2001/2002

some sort of painted wooden Russian saint guy

The rest of the 1st floor:

A painting by my Great Uncle's mother, Bea.

Original pastel I got at an art festival

3 movie posters

Pictures of Lennon

Pictures of my and John on our travels

Sketches of stone henge

My basement as a lot of art on the walls, mostly by me.  Some swiped from family members getting rid of stuff.

day 8 - write about something you believe in, anything at all

I believe that we do not live in a black and white reality.  

We exist in shades of grey.  

I believe that people who do really bad things usually do them for a reason they think is good.  

I believe when someone does something bad, the retaliation should first be to find out why they did it.

 I believe we should all try and avoid hate.  

Hate isn't good for anyone and it never really solves any problems.  

I believe when we are angry with another person, we should try to think of a reason that person should be loved, rather then think of a reason that person should be hated.  

I believe that everyone has loved and or has been loved at some point in their life, therefore I believe that we are all lovable.  

Most importantly, I believe that we should all be open to changing what we believe.

day 7 - your favourite 10 people right now and why

This is kind of difficult for me.  After John and Lennon I have a lot of favorite people.  Every time I meet a person they are my new favorite people.  Am I suppose to include dead people? fictional people?  family, friends?  I am going to keep family and friends to a minimum on the list.  Mainly because I have so much family that I love I cannot list them all.  So, here is a list of my top 10 favorite people right at this moment!

1 and 2 would of course have to be John and Lennon.  They are my favorite people because they are my whole life.

3. Christopher Hitchens - Close to the top of the list mainly because he has recently past, so I have been thinking a lot about his influence on my life.  The man was not always pleasant, and I did not always agree with his approach, but he was incredibly brave and, I think, deserves a lot of credit for bringing taboo issues to the forefront of conversation.

4 , 5 and 6 is a tie between Lucy Ann, Andrew Mykle and Benson Urijah. - Three of my most recent family members.  They made the list because I am so excited to discover the people that they will grow to be.  It is so exciting to see adorable little babies grow into fascinating individuals.

7. John Titor - The mystery of this, most likely fictional creation, can pull me out of being a rational person to an obsessed conspiracy theorist, in seconds.  He is most likely not a time traveler from the year 2032, and he is most likely not even a real person, but his insight into the state of our society as it is and how it evolves is amazing.  I have read and reread his online forum transcripts countless times and never get tired of it.  Every passing year brings new perspective to his words.

8. Ron Paul - On most issues I am on the complete opposite side of the fence of this man.  However, I am fascinated by him in general.    His ideas are often so off the beaten path compared to the average american politician, and they never waiver.  He knows what he wants to say, he knows what he wants to do and he has a passion and a drive that is infectious.  I don't think he will win the republican primaries.  I certainly don't want him as the leader of our country, but he sure is fun to watch.

9.  Jane Austen - Because her stories are always timeless and entertaining.

10. Anyone who is not afraid to be themselves no matter what the consequences may be.

day 6 - write 30 interesting facts about yourself

Hopped on my blog for the first time in a while (obviously).  I was doing this blog challenge, went on vacation (in August) and completely forgot about it.  So, I am going to hop back in starting with day 6.

Wow, facts I can do, but  interesting ... I don't know.
1.  I was born in West Palm Beach Florida.
2. I have been to 16 different countries.
3.  I took one semester of Japanese in college...  I did not do well.
4.  My heart has stopped and has had to be revived on two occasions.
5.  I can fit my fist in my mouth.
6.  I have been kicked out of the Vatican.
7.  I have skinny dipped.
8.  I have gotten a '98 Ford Escort stuck in a sand dune in the middle of nowhere.
9.  I have taught High school.
10.  I have never gone into labor, but I have a two year old son.
11.  I lost a daughter.
12.  I don't like cheese.
13.  My first time skiing was in the Alps.
14.  I have been in an airplane when the engines went out and had to make an emergency landing.
15.  I have been overseas, on a vacation, with no reservations.
16.  My son was 3lbs 2oz when he was born.
17.  I would put olives on everything if I could.
18.  I started riding horses when I was 6 years old.
19.  I have never had a cavity.
20.  I LOVE the dentist!
21.  I never get sick of reading the John Titor Archives.
22.  I have studied French, Russian and Danish, but I don't know how well I could speak at this point.
23.  I have been bitten by a mysterious bug in the jungle that made my arm go numb.
24.  I have been swimming in water with crocodiles (I got out once I saw them)
25.  I have paid a toll with pennies.
26.  I have worked in Canada while living in the United States.
27.  I had ferrets for 7 years.
28. In May, 2012 I will have been with John for 13 years.
29.  I love musicals!
30.  For three of my first 5 dates with John we went to go see the Matrix.