12 Pictures Worth 12 (or so) Words

I discovered this little mosaic maker, and I think its SUPER FUN to use cool pictures from Flickr to illustrate things about me and my life.

To play the game right, you have to enter your answer to the question into a Flickr search and then pick one image from the first set of results - no cheating now my little black-hearted cheaters. Some of the questions are hard, like Favorite Food? Just one? Impossible. Or describing myself in one word? Very tricky. But anyway, I think my favorite is that seal. That seal is crackin me UP!



Questions and My answers:

1. What is your first name? Gretchen
2. What is your favorite food? Dark Chocolate
3. What was the name of your High School? Loveland
4. What is your favorite color? Pink
5. Who is your celebrity crush? James McAvoy
6. What is your favorite drink? Diet Coke
7. Where is your dream vacation? Prague
8. What is your favorite dessert? Pie
9. What do you want to be when you grow up? Beloved
10. What do you love most in life? Laughter
11. One word to describe you? Happy
12. Your flickr name? ghanson

Photo credits:
1. Gretchen, 2. Handmade chocolate cupcakes filled with blueberry cream and topped with dark chocolate ganache and some more of these absolutely delicious wild blueberries, 3. Loveland Statue, 4. 3 different pink eyechips, 5. james mcavoy, 6. Amazing Circles: Diet Coke Cans, 7. Farewell To Prague, 8. I Heart Pie..., 9. Beloved, 10. {side-splitting laughter}, 11. Happy Birthday Flickr Account, 12. Mark Messier with the Hanson Brothers

To create your own Flickr mosaic use this mosaic maker.

Tag, I'm It!

Camie tagged me to fill out this little meme. What she doesn't know is that I love to fill out these things! To me they're totally fun. What's more fun that writing about yourself? Whenever I read them on other people's blog, I'm always thinking, "I hope they tag me! I hope they tag me!" So when I read that Camie had tagged me "to torture me" I was like, "YEEEESSSS! .... SUCKA!!!!!!"

So here I go ...

What were you doing 10 years ago?

Ten years ago I was smack-dab in the middle of my LDS mission in Santiago, Chile. Sometimes, just to myself, I call my mission The Emotional Rollercoaster of Doom so I was sure that if I looked back in my journal to see what I was doing 10 years ago I would surely find some gems. Here are some snippets from the July 4th, 1998 entry. I was with my favorite companion, Mary Kay Marshall, and had actually started to really enjoy my mission (you should see the entries from March or so ... talk about glum).

"Elder Cummings called tonight with his panties all in a wad because we got home late last night. Marshall was like, Listen dude, we NEVER get home late, only the times you have called - which is totally true." (I've mentioned how I feel about being micromanaged haven't I? Plus I like that I used the phrase "panties in a wad" while on my mission.)

"Turns out one of the people we were prepping for baptism is not only excommunicated, but he's been in prison, AND is a con-artist. Nice, eh?"

"We were so poor this week!!! We get $8.56 for each of us a week to eat 3 meals a day. Hello starvation. But Tuesday Marshall and I were so sad and all we wanted to do was drown our sorrows. So we went to KFC and combined all of the money we had left and bought a side of mashed potatoes and an apple pie to share. It was pretty sorry."

Here's a picture from my scrapbook from about this time. We were getting ready to go outside - it's winter in July there you know - and I had on 7 layers of clothing. SO COLD! I didn't take off my long johns for 5 months. This is the room we lived in, you'll notice how skinny it is, I think it was supposed to be a closet. Just cozy enough for two!


Ahh Mission Life. Good times, good times. Wow, I'm glad it's 2008!

5 Items on your to-do list:

1. Get a pedicure
2. Have a slurpee
3. Go to the pool
4. Go to the mall
5. Wash my car

(I think I have the hardest life of anyone I know.)

Snacks I enjoy:

I don't snack too much, but when I do almost any food becomes a snack food: fries, ice cream, cookies, candy, protein water, dried fruit, fresh fruit, ribs ... seriously, anything! Right now I am really into Special K snack bars - they're crazy Delicious! It'd probably be easier to tell you what snacks I don't enjoy. Hard Pretzels. Yick. No likey.

What would you do if you were a billionaire?

All you people that say that you'd keep your job if you were a billionaire have clearly never had an opportunity to realize how great life can be when you don't have to work. I will DEFINITELY not be working.

If I were a billionaire I'd buy some great luggage and gather an entourage to accompany me as I travel the world ... maybe twice. When I'm done with that, I'll publish my memoirs or a travel guide ... maybe both. (That's the great thing about being a billionaire with no particular agenda: "maybe twice" and "maybe both" are totally acceptable.) Of course, I'll have to spend a little time making sure I'm a success by going on the publicity book tour. But once the tour's over I'll be ready to snuggle down into one of my amazing homes for a while. If I get bored, I'll call up Warren Buffet and we'll go for cheeseburgers and cherry cokes and talk about things that billionaires talk about. Maybe we'll start a book club for Billionaires only.

Other things I will do:

• Buy books instead of check them out from the library
• FedEx my luggage when I go on vacation
• Have a chef
• Have a personal trainer that will come to my house. Maybe they will live in one of the wings of my house in case I want to work out at a moment's notice. We'll see.
  

Being a billionaire is just chock full of maybes!!!

Places I would live:

Without a second thought:

• New York City
• London
• Paris
• Sydney
• San Francisco
• Washington DC (of course)
  

With a little more consideration:

• Hong Kong
• Dubai
• Barcelona
• Prague
• Los Angeles
• Any quaint European places, like a farmhouse in Provence or something along those lines.
  

Only if circumstances (aka a husband) force it on me:

• The Midwest
• Idaho
• Salt Lake City
  
• Anywhere without ready access to 4 star restaurants, a museum of art, and an H&M or IKEA. (The true necessities such as a Wendy's and a Target are of course, non-negotiables.)
  

Jobs I've had:

My dad started us off young by having us kids clean his office on Saturdays. The older kids would sit around in the conference room for an hour eating Taco Bell and drinking sodas (purchased with money from the petty cash drawer) while us little kids would hang around idolizing them and thinking they were the funniest human beings to have ever lived on this earth. Then, sensing that we would do anything to gain their approval, they would con us into doing all of their chores as well as our own. As a 4 year old I was pretty handy with a vacuum, I'll tell you. It was here that I learned that if you can manage to turn a 15 minute job into a whole hour's worth of work you get paid a heck of a lot more money. This has been a lesson that has continued to reap rewards as I moved onto other jobs.

Some of which include:

• Assistant Innkeeper at a Bed & Breakfast
• An assortment of fast food/waitressing jobs
• Bartender (since I've never been a drinker, I always thought this was rather ironic. I said, "Here you go, hope that tastes like it should" a lot.)
• Accounts Receivable clerk
• Computer lab attendant
• Bookstore barista (again, ironic that I've never been a coffee drinker either. I suspect I served up a lot of really horrible coffee.)
  
• Shop girl at Ann Taylor Loft
• Librarian

I'm now a Product Manager, which is a fun job, but hard to explain to people. Generally I just tell them that I'm a librarian, since that connotes the appropriate mixture of smart and sexy that I always strive to achieve.


So that's it. And now for the moment you've all been waiting for ... the TAGGING!! Muwahahaha! I tag my brother Kevin, so he can provide a rebuttle (if possible) to the claims I made that he forced his younger siblings into child labor. And I tag Bryan, because he's just getting his blog started and needs a really good retrospective post to get things going. Even though it'll be depressing when he tells us that 10 years ago he was in Jr. High. And I tag Holly, who just moved to Oklahoma, and is about to have another baby, so we'll probably not hear from her until daughter #2 is three years old. Give us something good to remember you by, Hol!

7 Things About Mustard

Julie tagged Mustard to tell us 7 things we don't know about him. Since Mustard doesn't have any fingers with which to type, I agreed to be his scribe. Here is the transcript:

"Ok, Mustard, we need 7 things that people don't know about you yet."

"Hmm. Let me think. Ok. Well, first of all, I'm AWESOME. And then there's number two in which I am AWESOME. And Thirdly, some friends are apt to describe me as Totally Freaking Awesome."

"No, no, none of those are going to work. You've got to be serious about this. You can't just say that you are awesome for all seven things. Try again."

"Well I think that's limiting my creative output."

"Too bad. Think of something else."

"Fine. .... Alright, here's one. I like Kung Fu movies."

"My, my. That's a surprise."

"Are you being sarcastic? Just write it down."

"No, that's a good one. Keep your pants on, I'm writing it down."

1. I like Kung Fu movies

"OK, what's number 2?"

"Well, I love racing. Racing is my favorite."

"Racing? Like car racing?"

"Sure, cars, running, eating, drinking whatever. I like to win and the best way to win is to race."

2. I love racing to win at anything.

"OK, that's a pretty good one. Think of another."

"OH! Here's one. When you're at work I like to print out pictures of trees and nests and stuff and then prop them up on the window sill and see if I can trick any birds to try to land there. It's hilarious when they smack into the window going full speed. hahaha!"

"Are you kidding me?!"

"No, it's SO funny. Next time you have a sick day we'll do it. I can teach you how to do some wicked good bird calls."

"You're a little bit of a sick-o, you know that, right?"

"What? They don't get hurt. It gets boring here all day. Besides they like it. It's like a wake up call."

3. I spend my days taunting birds so they'll run into the windows.

"What's next Hannibal Lecter? Maybe think of something less violent. Like your favorite music or color or something."

"Ok. Let's see. My favorite music is smooth jazz. And my fav- "

"WHAT? You're favorite music is SMOOTH JAZZ?"

"Yeah, what's wrong with that?"

"Everything. Everything is wrong with that. Smooth Jazz is like the opposite of good music. Where did you even hear any smooth jazz?"

4. Inexplicably, I like Smooth Jazz.

"Hey! I didn't say 'inexplicably'. Erase that. Don't be such a hater. ANYWAY, as I was saying, my favorite color is blue. Like the blue on my label. I think it complements my skin tone very well. Don't you?"

"Oh yes, you're ravishing, dahling. Ravishing!"

5. My favorite color is royal blue.

"Alright, you have five. You're in the home stretch. Try to think of two more."

"Hmmm. This is kind of hard. Any more suggestions?"

"Er, Boxers or Briefs? Ewww - strike that, I can't even think about that. Let's stick with pet peeves. Got any of those?"

"Do I have pet peeves? I am entirely comprised of pet peeves. Let's see. My worst pet peeve is when people put the toilet paper roll in so it drapes behind rather than over the top. May the Hammer of Thor protect you if you ever take to installing it that way."

6. I hate it when the TP roll is put in backwards.

"Ok, but what are you doing worrying about toilet paper?"

"I use it as a jungle vine when I'm playing Tarzan in the bathroom. When it drapes from behind there's no traction, so the roll just unrolls and I can't get a good swing in. It's totally annoying."

"Uh-huh. I see. Ok. Let's finish this up. I think I've learned just about enough about you for one day."

"Alright. My seventh thing is that I'm totally AWESOME!"

"Didn't I tell you that you couldn't use that one?"

"You said I couldn't use it for ALL of them. Not that I couldn't use it for one of them. And besides it's the truth."

"Man, I hate it when you are right."

7. I am totally AWESOME!!

And there you have it. 7 things you may not have known about Mustard, and frankly probably never wanted to know about him. Boy, am I glad we're done with that exercise. I think I like him better when he's entertaining himself by strutting around the apartment practicing wrestling poses.

A Sucker for Lists

1. Were you named after anyone? No, not named after anyone. But my Dad wanted to name me Gertrude. Fortunately my Mom is the one in our family that appreciates the effects of childhood teasing, and she put a stop to that.
2. When was the last time your cried? Cry, cry? Like when I had a reason? I can't remember. I cry for no reason in particular all of the time. Like if a Hallmark commercial comes on, or if someone does a particularly good job on So You Think You Can Dance.
3. Do you like your handwriting? No. I consider my handwriting "impressionistic" - just giving the impression of what word it should say. I type at all costs.
4. What is your favorite lunch meat? Turkey
5. Do you have kids? Nope.
6. If you were another person would you be friends with you? Heck yes!
7. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Not really. I prefer irony, dry and on the rocks. Sarcasm is overrated, I think.
8. Do you still have your tonsils? Yes. The only thing I've lost is my wisdom teeth. That was miserable.
9. Would you bungee jump? Oh yea .... that's on my Life To Do list
10. What is your favorite cereal? Peanut Butter Captain Crunch or Shredded Mini-Wheats
11. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Yes, because I double knot them. Otherwise, I'd probably kick them off.
12. Do you think you are strong? No. Not at all.
13. What is your favorite ice cream? Strawberry!!! Strawberry!!!
14. What is the first thing you notice about people? Usually whatever I'm obsessing about. Right now it's Teeth (since I've got braces). But if I approach from behind I also check for visible panty line. I really hate VPL.
15. Red or Pink? Can I choose both? If not, pink.
16. What is the least favorite thing about yourself? Right now, my toenails because they really need a pedicure and I'm too cheap to go get one.
17. What do you miss the most? The days when I was busy and important at work. Good times, good times.
18. What color pants and shoes are you wearing? Blue jeans, barefoot (staring at those horrible toes).
19. What was the last thing that you ate? Dark Chocolate Peanut M&Ms - perhaps the most nirvana-inducing, utopia-achieving food that has ever been packaged for the benefit of mankind.
20. What are you listening to right now? Lily Allen
21. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? I'm feeling a little aquamarine right now. But I'm not sure what my permanent color would be. Probably something in the orange family. Because it's warm, but unexpected.
22. Favorite smells? Freshly mown lawns. Herb gardens. Rain. And that buttery smell the heater in my car makes when it's heating up.
23. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? My brother Kevin. It's his birthday. Happy Birthday Kev!
24. Favorite sports to watch: Motorcross! or any of the X-games, or those Strongest Men In the World competitions where they lift ridiculously heavy weights like cars or trains. Those are pretty awesome.
25. Hair color? Before I dyed it the last time it was a dark golden brown ... but I think it was starting to darken into a full fledged "dark brown". Hooray! Goodbye mousy hair!
26. Eye Color? Hazel.
27. Do you wear contacts? No - I have 20/20 and am SO thankful for it!
28. Favorite foods? Chicken enchiladas, Hot wings, a great Cheeseburger, hot dogs, instant mashed potatoes, and PIE - I love pie!
29. Scary movies or happy endings? Definitely happy endings. I can't even watch scary movie trailers.
30. Last movie you watched? Rented: Kinky Boots; Theater: Once
31. What color shirt are you wearing? Hot pink.
32. Summer or winter? Summer
33. Hugs or kisses? Kisses.
34. Favorite desserts? Pie. I love Pie.
35. What book are you reading right now? "The Penderwicks", but I just got Shannon Hale's newest book "Austenland" from the library, so I'm super excited to read that!
36. What is on your mouse pad? I don't have one at home - at work it's just plain black. I'm so boring!
37. What did you watch on TV last night? Actually nothing. But I watched 11 hours on Sunday, so I think I'm set for a while. (If you want to know what's going on on the Lifetime channel I can catch you up).
38. Favorite sound? A really good thunderstorm.
39. Rolling Stones or Beatles? Beatles.
40. What is the farthest you have been from home? Umm, I'm not sure. Which is farther? Cyprus or Chile? Probably Chile.
41. Do you have a special talent? I'm pretty good at coming up with creative skits or ideas. I sometimes think I missed my calling, and should be in a more creative line of work.
42. Where were you born? Loveland, Colorado. (Valentines Day is on a whole nother level in Loveland.)
43. What superpower would you like? Teleporting. I'd be so convenient for local travel.

I (heart) Lists!

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?
Chopped up seaweed bulb mixed with mayonaise. Barf-factor? 100%

What’s something you do that you wish you didn’t do?
Freak out when trying to flirt. I'm really pretty spaztic.

What was the last song you sang when no one else was around?
Billie Jean by Michael Jackson

In the movie about your life, which actor would you choose to play you?
Cate Blanchett - mostly because she's really cool, and can play pretty much anyone. Since I'm a bit of a chameleon, this is important.

Where’s the last place you went on vacation?
Seattle, sort of. Half work/Half vacay.

If you were arrested, who would be your “one phone call?”
Add this to the reasons why it's useful to get married.

What book are you currently reading?
A Town Like Alice, by Nevil Schute

What historical event would you like to have been present for?
The First Lollapalooza

What historical figure would you like to have met?
Princess Diana or Eleanor of Aquitaine

Name something you can’t do very well.
Anything that requires coordination. Or math. I'm really no good at math.

What's the worst injury you've suffered?
A rollerblading wipe out that bruised my ENTIRE right butt cheek. I couldn't sleep on my back for a month.

Name one thing that makes you a “freak of nature.”
The extra squishy cartilage at the end of my nose - it's quite fun to poke.

What’s one thing you would do as President of the United States?
Either get shot (to get that sympathy vote) or resign. Being POTUS is a thankless job.

What day in your life would you like to go back and watch as a spectator?
Family vacations to our condo in Beaver Creek for Spring Skiing. With each of us thinking we were hi-larious, it would be quite a show to watch.

What song currently tops your “most played” list in iTunes?
Sexyback - Justin Timberlake

Name something you intend to do but haven’t done yet.
Re-pack all of my Grandmother's china into the boxes it came in.

If you could do anything you wanted today, then rewind the day and start over fresh—no consequences—what would you do?
First, I'd take some ibuprofen before I went to the orthodontist's office. Second, I would definitely not be at work. I'd probably be at the beach with a couple of novels and some frozen alcoholic drinks (you said no consequences, right?).

What’s your favorite city you’ve ever visited?
London

If you could be transported for just one day anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Green Island, on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

What was your most recent purchase?
A slice of poundcake.

Name one thing you’re looking forward to doing this week.
Getting out of work early because it's Memorial Day weekend.

75 Things That Make Me Who I Am

Erin posted 75 things that make her her - and so here's my attempt at the same.

1. No matter how tired I am, I always read before going to bed.
2. One of my favorite guilty pleasures is reading all night, or at least until I fall asleep with the light on.
3. I wish I was the kind of person that knew my mailman's name.
4. At a new restaurant it takes me a long time to choose what I want, but every time after that I usually get the same thing.
5. I'm creative, but not in the way I wanted to be. (Can one make a living by creating the Work Density Measure?)
   
6. I have no "talent show" talents.
7. I worry that I won't handle difficult challenges gracefully.
8. I'm religious, but I don't like to talk about it.
9. Missionary work is my least favorite topic.
10. A cute outfit can make my whole day better.
11. I love the word "persimmon".
12. I'm a story-aholic. I'll pick up a new book immediately after finishing the first. I think of it as similar chain-smoking, lighting the next cigarette off of the last.
13. In my dreams I remember other dreams I've had. It's almost like an alternate life. Sometimes I get these lives confused and think I've done things that I haven't.
14. I watch TV with a blanket on me. Always. Even in the summer.
15. I don't like watching TV when its sunny. It feels wasteful.
16. I've been known to avoid people I know when I see them in public. It's an instinctive reaction and can be pretty dramatic. I'll turn around abruptly, or go into a building, or if I'm at home I'll hide under my covers.
17. I agree to do things I have no intention of doing, with the assumption that the asker won't follow up. I almost never get burned on this.
18. I like restaurants with short menus.
19. Mexican food is my comfort food.
20. I am not a collector. I don't like anything that much. (except maybe books, but I check them out).
21. I will not shop at gift shops.
22. I almost always wish I could share whatever I'm doing with someone, a friend or family member. But it depends on what I'm doing as to who I'd like to have with me.
23. I'm very independent. I'm often alone, but not usually lonely.
    
24. Charles, my stuffed penguin that I got when I was 12, is the only item I own that is truly irreplaceable. (except maybe my grandmother's china)
25. I am a chameleon. I take on the traits of others when I am with them.
26. I am a night owl.
27. I rely on my smile for a large part of my confidence.
28. I am good at talking to people, but as a formerly shy kid, I'm still scared. Even, sometimes, talking to good friends.
29. I enjoy public speaking.
30. Money has always been a motivator for me. Must not be a very good one though, since I'm pretty lazy.
    
31. My sense of humor and wit are my favorite things about myself.
32. There will always be something physical I don't like about myself. But I usually get over it and move onto something else to not like after a while.
33. I don't like doors slamming.
34. I have a math phobia.
35. I like children, but commercials where they make messes drive me crazy.
36. I'm a bad driver.
37. Like Erin, I believe in stereotypes.
38. I'm incongruently frugal. I'll happily plunk down $40 on a dinner out, but then dither over whether I should get the $1.50 or the $1.79 can of beans.
    
39. I greet my car and my house every time I see them. eg. "Hola Casa mia!" (my house speaks Spanish).
40. I am a HUGE self talker. HUGE. I actually have to tell myself (outloud) to stop talking to myself.
    
41. I hum when I'm eating food I really enjoy. Sometimes I'll dance in my chair and wave my fork around too.
42. I like to floss.
43. I like to dance.
44. I think I'd be less interested in alcohol if it didn't come with such fun bar ware.
    
45. I'm the 5th of 7 kids, and as the oldest of the second batch of kids I think I've got the best spot in the family.
46. I don't like to play team sports. Especially volleyball.
    
47. I love to ice skate.
48. I love to watch movies and don't feel weird going to them alone.
49. My favorite movie snack is chocolate covered peanuts. (dark chocolate if you've got it).
50. I love dark chocolate, and think white chocolate is an abomination.
51. I love strawberry ice cream.
52. I like pink, orange, and yellow best, but I like all of the colors.
53. Definitely Diet Coke over Diet Pepsi.
54. Chicken Lollipops and Lemon-scented Crepes are my signature dishes.
55. I cry very easily. Don't be distressed if you see me crying, it's probably nothing.
56. I hate snakes. I watch snake shows on Discovery Channel to try to cure my phobia. It's not going very well.
57. I like maps. I need to know where I am on a map to feel like I'm really there.
58. I like history and architecture.
59. Rather than going to the standard tourist spots, I like to walk around neighborhoods when I visit new cities.
60. I absolutely love having my own apartment.
61. I love listening to the evening edition of Marketplace. I especially like the theme music.
62. I will never get a tattoo. Not because I think they are bad, but because I could never pick anything I'd like enough to have on my body for forever. I'm way too fickle.
63. I have tiny ankles and wrists. I'm very proud of them.
64. As a former mountain girl I'm surprised at how much I love the ocean. In the spirit of #39I speak French to the sea, but since I don't know too much French it's a short conversation.
    
65. I don't like pets. I'm considering faking an allergy so I don't ever have to have one.
66. I love beautiful fruit and vegetables. The kind you get at a good farmers market - not at Safeway.
67. I hate knick-knacks.
68. I love when my house is clean, but I don't like to clean it.
69. I love technology and the Internet. Can't wait to see where it goes next.
70. 32 is the age I've always wanted to be.
71. I prefer British phrases to American ones. (eg. "take away" vs. "carry out")
72. I judge people on their English and grammar.
73. The longer I'm out of school the dumber I feel.
    
74. The worst job I could have would be being a door-to-door salesman. I would HATE that.
75. I have a high level of tolerance. But when I'm done, I'm done.
    

Best of 2006

... in no particular order:

Savannah, Georgia -
(special nod to Matthew B's bakery, winner of the Award for Best Fried Green Tomato Sandwiches of All Time)

Braces - so H.O.T!

Rockin down Bourbon Street in New Orleans

The Cornelian Room in San Francisco

Hula Hoop Hip-Hop Aerobics

Mississippi Station in Portland, OR
(when Derek was still the chef there)

Kevin and Maren's Wedding

College Park Ward

Being on a dating break

Thanksgiving break

Creative Nonfiction Class at USDA Grad School

Gym Membership

Booty from the Great Hanson Family Music Swap of ought 5 - Long live the tradition!

Fun Work Buddies

A whole year not getting back with my ex-boyfriend
(been a few years since I could say that)

Bring on 2007!