what's the deal? yesterday an earthquake shook eastern alabama. this is the second time an earthquake has hit there since i moved to california two years ago! that's almost as many as i've felt since i've been here...

but, apparently southern earthquakes are not uncommon. when i was in 8th grade we went through earthquake drills for a few days (the alarm would go off and we'd have to crawl under our desk or nearest table). there's a bigger fault line to the west of alabama and it was predicted that a big earthquake was going to hit... never did though.

anyway, if alabama and california are trading natural disasters... i'm not looking forward to all the tornados. :)

...insert foot. such an awful, awful thing to laugh at...

1. what was the last tv show you watched? "cooking school stories" on the food network

2. what was the last thing you complained about and what was the problem? hmm... probably the neighbors who are loud.

3. who was the last person you complimented and what did you say? drawing a blank here...

4. what was the last thing you threw away? a stack of magazines

5. what was the last website that you visited? the yarn company

a couple weeks ago, i got an email from hoffman netter entertainment about submitting a video related to my blog, for a potential reality show on bloggers. it's pretty random and i'm not participating in it for a variety of reasons... my website has little point and/or focus, how in the world would i "encapsulate" quidnunc.org, to begin with?!

i did a search to see if others talked about the email in their blogs and i found a few, all with the general concensus of "huh?" also, how did they pick the people they emailed? i read a variety of different blogs and i haven't seen anyone else mention it.

so, i was wondering if anyone else had gotten the email as well and what they thought of the possibility of watching a show about blogging and/or bloggers -- i don't get the interest.

the email i got, for your reading enjoyment is in the comments section.

happy birthday to my fantastic boyfriend, jon!!

that's my youngest brother, david, me and my oldest brother, steve, sitting on a table on our back porch, in huntsville. i'd say it's from about 1980 at least... maybe '81. (aren't we cute with our matching hair!)

in celebration of easter, i've decided to tell my favorite memory of it from growing up. every year plastic eggs, our respective names written on the outside in black sharpie and filled with candy, were hidden around the outside of our house. we'd get our baskets that morning, which usually was holding something non-candy (like that cute little lamb i'm holding in the photo), empty them and venture out in seach of our eggs.

one year it was raining... not unusual for alabama, but our easter egg hunt was going to be ruined! what to do? since my dad owns a hardware store, and had 24/7 access to it our hunt was moved there. eggs were hidden in the bins along with nails and screws, hammers and lightbulbs. it was great. i still distinctly remember walking through his store, and that it was a little darker than normal because of the clouds outside. i can see myself sticking my hand into bins and looking on all the shelves for any eggs with "michelle" written across them. that will always be one of my favorite memories of my life because it was such a unique and creative easter. :)

anyway... that's the story. happy easter to all those celebrating!

1. who is your favorite celebrity? i don't think i could name one specific celebrity... i think hugh grant is a charming and funny celebrity, dave letterman is a very humble seeming celebrity and i like that... there's more, but i can't think of them right now.

2. who is your least favorite? courtney cox arquette, jimmy falon

3. have you ever met or seen any celebrities in real life? when i was younger i met courtney cox (before the "arquette") at a mall in birmingham -- it was just after that bruce springstein video and she was starting to break into hollywood. and before she starting disregarding being from the south.

i also met shaquil o'neil at this thing for sports memoribilia that i went to with my brothers and dad -- i stood in a line for four hours to hold a place for them, but they made it back just as it was my turn to meet shaq and i wasn't about to get out of line after all that time (plus, i think i was encased by a bunch of security guards and couldn't have traded places if i wanted to).

i've seen a lot of celebrities up close and personal, but haven't actually exchanged pleasantries with them -- i've seen plenty of music concerts, theater/broadway plays and sports events in person. here in l.a., i occasionally have seen them at the grocery store down the street, at the airport and walking down the side of the road. the most interesting from alabama: re-run from "what's happening, president reagan, the guy who physically played darth vader (not the voice). i was a back-up dancer for the guy who was the voice of sebastian in "the little mermaid" at an art festival in huntsville... :)

4. would you want to be famous? why or why not? i'd want to be famous just to have all that money, the traveling and for all the free stuff handed to you. but, i wouldn't want to give up my privacy or want to be photographed all the time.

5. if you had to trade places with a celebrity for a day, who would you choose and why? bjork -- because i heart her... she's quirky and it'd be fun to have the freedom to think like her, wear swanny outfits to uptight functions, skip around on occasion in public and wear my hair in lots of knots on top of my head.

i was rummaging around, trying to organize something... and i came across one of my favorite quotes from tigger, of winnie-the-pooh fame:

"i've got too much time to waste to stand here doing things."

1. what was the first band you saw in concert? either kiss or rick springfield when i was really young. i have distant memories of these events, but i'm not entirely sure if i just heard about my brothers going and overtime assumed i had gone too or what. but, beyond that -- i know for sure i went to it -- bon jovi in 4th grade.

2. who is your favorite artist/band now? most (not really)current -- maybe norah jones or john mayer. all time -- bjork and queen.

3. what's your favorite song? ever? something by queen. anything of theirs really... "who wants to live forever," "show must go on" and "one vision"... just to name a few. also, anything by bjork... all her stuff is great.

4. if you could play any instrument, what would it be? the piano. i have wanted to play since i was a kid, but i was involved in too many other activities to make time for it... maybe one day i'll take lessons.

5. if you could meet any musical icon (past or present), who would it be and why? freddie mercury because i think he was fascinating -- interesting personality, a curious mystery about him, seemed very kind and humorous and had an amazing talent of conveying intense emotion through the words of his music and his voice.

i've been thinking about making my own cafepress shop for awhile, and finally gave in and did it.

take a look at the new quidnunc store! it's full of adorable curious girl heads!

10 things we didn't know this time last week, brought to you by bbc news, is a collection of ten (possibly obscure) harmless and informative facts. good read. [link via: not so soft]

i wrote down the instructions on how i knit my little hat.

just thought i'd mention some useless information:

i'm in love with "rock your body" by justin timberlake. i can't help it.

1. how many houses/apartments have you lived in throughout your life? eight. my parents' first house in huntsville (which i barely remember and moved out of at age 2); parents' second house in huntsville (where they still live); freshman dorm at samford (one year); on-campus student apartments, sophomore year; study centre flat in london, junior year (four months); first off-campus apartment in birmingham (nine months); second apartment in birmingham (two years); current condo/town-house thingie in los angeles (almost two years).

2. which was your favorite and why? london flat, because... do you really want to hear me go on and on about london again??!! :)

3. do you find moving house more exciting or stressful? why? neither exciting or stressful. it's a pain. who enjoys the process of packing up your crap and physically moving it? i sure don't. between my moving around and helping out with friends and my brothers in college... i've been involved in the moving thing more than i can count. h-a-t-e it.

4. what's more important, location or price? location. i like to feel safe.

5. what features does your dream house have (pool, spa bath, big yard, etc.)? my current dream house would be small, one story with a nice front and back yard with grass, trees and flowers. wooden floors throughout, luscious colors on the walls, a spacious mexican or french bistro inspired kitchen, a pool would be fun but not essential, good sun streaming in through the windows, comfy reading chair, a room dedicated to my artsy-fartsy needs, french doors, a garage, and a fenced-in backyard for a dog(s) to play in.

watching the bravo channel's documentary on cirque du soleil each week had me lusting after one of the performer's hats: this chick's. (i don't have the little afro that she has, though, to help fill out the hat.)

i finally decided to make my own. it's fun and insanely easy because it involves no decreases. i'm pretty satisfied with it, although i might make another one because it's a little longer than i intended it to be.

i like the idea of the website, desperation dinners... "quick and easy recipes that taste good!"

it looks like it's a fairly new (kind of) website to accompany some books about simplifying dinner and entertaining. sounds good to me. not a whole lot of content up in it, but some tasty looking recipes that are there.