The Remarkable and Unremarkable ME ME

I don’t like the word “meme.” First of all it I just learned it is pronounced like “cream,” and I think that sounds kind of creepy. Having only been exposed to the written word “meme,” since I began blogging less than a year ago. I thought meme was two syllables and pronounced, MEE MEE, or MeeMAY or MayME all of which sound cute, goofy and incredibly self focused. In blogging or any first person writing, do we really want to call any more attention to how incredibly self focused we are? Even though we are? Humm… let ME ME think about that.

So I will call these two memes something else. I just don’t know what. One was given to me upon my request from the lovely Joanna at The Fifty Factor. She sent ME ME five words to write about. In my own writing, I use this technique often for brainstorming. Sometimes I write in full sentences, and sometimes I just do a form of map minding, using list of phrases and words and see what happens. It can be a big old mess of feelings, a paragraph of prose, generalities, details, snippets of dialogue – whatever works for you at the time. If you’re in a hurry, it can also be a great way to journal. Here you go:

Suburbs: Contained, orderly, symmetrical, closed garage doors, know people’s pets, shiny cars with darkened windows,perky cul de sacs, trash day, no sidewalks, purple and orange Halloween lights, settled, overgrown shrubbery, few hardwood trees – only skinny Loblolly pines, smells piney after rain, azaleas – stunning for 3 weeks in April, mowed and edged, curb appeal, Southern, gentrified, traditional, homogenous, private,

Laughter: essential, elusive, unplanned, uncontrollable, spiritual, family, life, spark like from a match, explosive energy, sometimes I can’t find it when I should be able to, sometimes find it when least expected , puckish, I become asthmatic when taken too extremes, gives me hiccups when combined with carbonated beverages, childlike but not childish

Lifestyle: label or box, relaxed, rebellious, different, introverted yet gregarious, quiet yet energetic, ground hog day, mundane, interior, exciting, different than expected

Parenting: amazing, exhilarating, depressing, creative, happy, sad, painful, hilarious, emotional, one shot at getting it right, lots of ways to do it right, individual, loud, messy, busy, always changing, important, fast

Confident: meaning, hopeful, belief, peace, indifferent to opinions but not feelings of others, a journey, fluctuating, can be evasive and then suddenly come from unexpected places, my husband – always, myself on many days, difficult on most days, strut or slump

This second  (*shudder*) comes from Snap, one of my best new blogging friends at Tales from Twisty Lane. The very cool award she gave me is over in the sidebar. This exercise was really fun and I’m glad I did it.

The directions are: Copy and change the answers to suit you and pass it on. It’s quite tricky to use only one word answers!  (so tricky, that I couldn’t do it)

1. Where is your cell phone? charging or missing

2. Your hair? blonde

3. Your mother? loved

4. Your father? loved

5. Your favorite food? lobster

6. Your dream last night? cartoon

7.Your favorite drink? coffee

8. Your dream/goal? Novel

9. What room are you in? family-room

10. Your hobby? knitting

11. Your fear? lethargy

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? waterfront

13. Where were you last night? Thai restaurant

14. Something that you aren’t? mean

15. Muffins? mix

16. Wish list item? Provence

17. Where did you grow up? Richmond

18. Last thing you did? sipped

19. What are you wearing? pajamas!

20. Your TV? off

21. Your pets? labradoodle

22. Friends? loved

23. Your life? patience

24. Your mood? balanced

25. Missing someone? no

26. Vehicle? odyssey

27. Something you’re not wearing? stilettos

28. Your favorite store? Studio 77

29. Your favorite color? periwinkle

30. When was the last time you laughed? minutes

31. Last time you cried? weeks

32. Your best friend? husband

33. One place that I go to over and over? beach

34. One person who emails me regularly? Dawn

35. Favorite place to eat? al fresco

Want to try either of these? Go right ahead and just let me know when you post! If you want to do the first one, mention it in the comments and I’ll send you your own five words.

I was also very excited to receive an honorable mention for best read from Suzanne at Tales of Extraordinary Ordinariness. I think she is an excellent writer with a great blog, and I am flattered and pleased that I made her laugh with Random Thoughts on The Bono. Her cute badge is also in my sidebar!

Happy Sunday to all!  xoxoxo