20 Questions: January 22, 2011

1. Soup or sandwich?
I would really prefer that they come as a pair, but if you're making me choose, I guess it will have to be sandwich. Unless the soup of the day is clam chowdah.

2. How many cookbooks do you own?
Six. Seven, if you count my recipe blog, which is an ever-evolving collection, part of which you can see (the recipes I've tried & will make again) and part of which you can't (my drafts are jam-packed with recipes I have found online, in magazines, on packaging, from friends, you get the idea, that will eventually be tried & either deleted or published). The six "traditional" cookbooks I have are: The Pioneer Woman Cooks. Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Get Real Meals and 2, 4, 6, 8: Get Real Meals for Couples or Crowds. The classic Betty Crocker's New Cookbook, as well as Betty Crocker's Good & Easy Cookbook. And a compilationstyle cookbook that was part of a fund raiser.

3. What operating system do you have on your computer?
I am a Windows girl. My desktop has Windows XP and my laptop has Windows Vista. At work, I have Windows XP Pro.

4. What is one place you haven't yet been that you'd be ridiculously bummed to never travel to in your lifetime?
Hawaii, maybe? So many places I haven't been. And so many places I've been that I want to revisit.

5. If you could pick an age to be on your next birthday, which age would you pick and why?
I'd choose to be 35. I've done all the earlier ones but I'm in no hurry to rush forward either. ;-)

6. Why did you choose your blog name?
When I first created my blog, I was in an..."interesting" place in my life. My gut knew that something wasn't quite right but I was in no way ready to admit that to myself...or all that came with such an admission. I heard the Rascal Flatt's Song "Bless the Broken Road" one day & it just fit, in some resonating internal way. I knew, deep down, that I hadn't reached my destination yet; I was still traveling that broken road. My life has taken some twists & turns since the day this blog was born. And yet the title still fits. The road through this life is always broken in places, because this is a flawed world we navigate through. But bumps & potholes are more spaced out now, the road itself has become considerably smoother. It has emerged from the "Dark & Twisty" shadows that hid the stumbling places, and now it winds gently through patches of sunlight & shade. This road may be broken but it is beautiful even in its imperfection.

7. What three foods remind you most of your childhood?
Apple pie. Boiled potatoes with butter & salt. Sugar cookie Christmas trees.

8. What part of your day-to-day life requires the most patience?
Tolerating the other commuters on the road. I'm actually ok with this. There was a time when they were the least of my problems.

9. How seriously do you take gift-wrapping when you wrap gifts?
I love to take my time & make a gift look lovely. Sometimes having to ship said package kind of sucks the fun out of it though. Pretty packages rarely survive the journey.

10. What is the first book that you can remember reading by yourself as a child?
'Twas the Night Before Christmas.

11. Which is worse when you're trying to sleep: being too hot or too cold?
Being too hot. I can always grab another blanket to snuggle under. When I'm too hot, there's really only so much that can be done. And the more annoyed I get at being too warm *and* being awake, the warmer I get.

12. What is your favorite cheese?
Mmmmm... cheese. So many different options! It really depends on the day & the purpose of the cheese. Maybe Colby Jack? It's pretty versatile.

13. What is your favorite curse word?
Rats. What can I say? I don't really curse.

14. Does weather affect your mood?
Only in the following situations: It is preventing my flight from taking off or landing or being non-turbulent. It is preventing me from doing something I was really looking forward to doing. It is scaring me with its ferocity. It has interrupted my electricity. I am soaked to the skin from being forced to walk from Point A to Point B in the rain.

15. When was the last time you put gas in your car?
Last Sunday. I almost always top off my tank on Sundays while I run my errands after church. Needed a whopping five gallons this week.

16. What is on your bed right now?
Sheets, a comforter & a bunch of pillows.

17. What is the last sporting event that you watched?
Ugh. The AFC Divisional Playoff game between the Patriots & Jets. Thank you for the reminder.

18. Have your ever built a snowman?
Not in years & years, but plenty of times as a kid.

19. What is your favorite kind of soup?
Ha! Clam chowdah. Absolutely not a contest in any way, shape or form.

20. What do you do with all those photographs you keep taking?
I look at them & smile. Some I share on my blog or on Facebook. They all get uploaded to my Web Albums & copied onto my external drive. My goal is to eventually get them all into printed form in books for my bookshelf.