Los Angelista's A to Z

This morning while I was over at the fabulous 1969's blog, I saw she'd made a list of herself from A-Z. She got the idea from an interview with Halle Berry in InStyle magazine. I told her I was going to steal it because it just looked like a LOT of fun. Plus it's sunny and 80 degrees here in LA and I can't concentrate on much else! I have all my windows open and there are two hummingbirds singing away. Gosh, I love Los Angeles. So here's me from A to Z. At least, for today it is!

A-Adam-12: Adam 12 is my teddy bear that I've had forever. I don't know how long I've had him but it must've been since I was a baby. My children are a bit afraid of him because he has no mouth and a bad leg. But he's a secret agent and he's been on a lot of spy missions over the years so he has the right to look a little jacked up. Plus he has no mouth because he's gotten a lot of kisses from me. Not that kissing me means you necessarily end up, with, er, no mouth...

B-Ballet: I studied ballet until I was 16. I loved dancing in my pointe shoes. I wish I'd never quit. I regret that.

C-Chai: I looove chai! Some people say, "I need a drink," when they feel stressed. I don't. I say, "I need a chai." I don't mind drinking it when I'm not stressed either. But since it doesn't come cheap from Coffee Bean or Starbucks, I'm trying to perfect my at-home chai brewing recipe.

D-Depeche Mode: My favorite band in the whole world since I was a young lass that tied boys to trees and beat them with sticks. I probably sang "Just Can't Get Enough" to my victim as I whacked him. Hmm. That makes it sound like "D" should stand for "Dominatrix", doesn't it?

E-Ears: I didn't get my ears pierced till I was 18. I have a very low tolerance for pain so after getting the left ear pierced, I almost didn't want to get the right ear done. But I figured that would look a little odd so I sucked it up.

F-Facebook: I was so resistant to Facebook but I've gotten to reconnect with so many people I'd fallen out of touch with. It is sort of awkward though when folks I don't really know request to be my friend. And just because we chatted once three years ago, that doesn't mean you know me. I just ignore these requests and I feel guilty about that. Maybe I should just send the person a message and tell them, "Hey, I don't think we can be Facebook friends because if my car broke down on the side of the road, I couldn't call you!" But I'm too chicken to do that.

G-Gentleman: The older I get, the more I see the value of a man knowing how to be a gentleman. And I see the value of mothers and fathers training their sons to become gentlemen.

H-Hair: I haven't straightened my hair since July of '07. I'm going to cut the straight parts off when my sister comes out to visit me in April. It'll be the first time in my entire life that I'll have short hair but I'm looking forward to not having two textures on my head.

I-I Love You, Mommy: Every time I hear my sons say this to me, completely unpromted, my heart just melts. If those are the last words I hear, I'll die happy.

J-Justice League: I didn't even know what the Justice League was before I married my comic book addict husband. Sure I knew about Batman, Super Man and Wonderwoman, but Green Lantern? Hawkgirl? I had no clue. But now, I am a total Justice League convert. I might even be Hawkgirl for Halloween this year.

K-Kick Butt Cardio: Violet Zaki's "Kickbutt Cardio" DVD has really been kicking my, um, butt. I don't feel bad having a hard time getting through the workout because it's fun and besides, SHE has a hard time doing it. Every time Violet says she's about to keel over and die, for some reason, I feel better. I wish I could hire her as my personal trainer.

L-
Leela Thai:
Leela Thai's my favorite Thai restaurant in all of LA. They have the best red curry with tofu there. I used to order from them every Friday night but now I'm down to twice a month.

M-Memory:
I have a terrible memory. The upside of this is that I've developed the habit of telling the truth because I can't remember what's true half the time, let alone any lies.

N-Narcissism:
The reason why I'm doing this A-Z list. But don't worry, I won't fall in love my reflection in a pool of water.

O-Orlando Bloom.
He's not the best actor on the planet but I don't really care about the acting. His name should be in the dictionary next to "Smokin' Hot Eye Candy". He's sooo hot, I even have a Legolas doll. Sometimes I take it down from it's place of honor on the shelf and... okay, I'll just stop that thought right there.

P-Pacifica's Spanish Amber. I've been wearing this scent for the past couple of weeks and gosh, it smells so good. I smell my clothes when I take them off because I like it so much. I want to get the candles too but it might be too heavy of a scent for summertime. We'll see.

Q-Queasy: I get queasy really easily. That Alice in Wonderland teacup ride at Disneyland is a nightmare for me. Riding in the passenger seat in a car is sometimes tough for me too.

R-Ranunculus: They're my favorite flower. I try to get them for myself at least once or twice a month and I once got them for free from a stranger at at the Trader Joe's on 3rd and Fairfax.

S-Santa Barbara: Will someone please just buy me a house up there? It's such a beautiful area. Okay, you can't afford a house? A small condo will do just fine. Email me and I'll send you my address so you can send me the key to my new digs.

T-Treasure Hunting. I used to read books about treasures found in lost cities and from shipwrecks. I wanted to be a treasure hunter for a while there. Now I just settle for watching movies like "National Treasure" and "The Goonies".

U-Underwears. My four year old likes to strip his off and run around the house yelling, "Mommy, I don't have on any underwears!" One of these days he'll stop saying "underwears" and instead it'll just be "underwear". And I'll feel sad because I'll know my little wild boy is growing up.

V-Virtus Sola Nobilitas: Also known as "Virtue is the only nobility". It's my family motto. Love it. I even have a key chain with the motto on it.

W-Winter: Did I mention that it's 80 degrees here? Yeah, I love winter in Los Angeles. And now I'm going to listen to "Love Like Winter".

X-Xavier Gold: One of my favorite old-school house tracks is "You Used to Hold Me" by Ralphi Rosario and Xavier Gold. Xavier Gold is the singer and wow, she can SANG!

Y- Youth: I've always liked the Sophia Loren quote about the fountain of youth:

"There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age."

Z-Zebra: I used to get called "zebra" all the time by mean children who teased me for being half white and half black. I'll never forget how mean those kids were. I know many of you got called names for a wide variety of reasons. Hopefully we each know better than to call other people names because we know how awful it feels.


A-Z, that's me as of today, the 27th day of February! I encourage you to try making this list because it was really fun. I would tag some of you and turn it into a meme, but I'll let you tag yourself. If you decide to do this, let me know.

Comments

Okay now I need to go to iTunes to see if they have You Used to Hold Me. That was one of my jams in college. Thanks for link.

Your A-Z list was fantastic.
Jameil said…
how did i know what d was gonna be????????? YOU GAVE Adam 12 CANCER OF THE MOUF!! not mouth. MOUF!! lol. i'm scared of him too!! underwears is the most hilarious thing ever. pointe is so cool!! i bet your feet are hideous, tho. you know me. i have no problem denying the randoms. i look, roll eyes and click. easily get rid of that problem no questions asked! orlando is beautiful-- the man. booooooo on your "winter"!!!!!!!!!!
Liz Dwyer said…
NYC/CR,
I had a whole lot of fun with the list. It was a very enjoyable list to make. And they do have it on iTunes so you can go get it and reminisce to your heart's content! :)
Liz Dwyer said…
Jameil,
Cancer of the mouf!!! LOL! And nope, my feet are not that cute but oh well. I can still walk just fine! ;0

"D" was the first letter I knew what I was going to put. And "O" came in a quick second!

You should make this list. I'll bet you'd have fun with it.
Jameil said…
i already made this list!! weeks ago!!
Liz Dwyer said…
Jameil,
How did I miss that? I'm sure it was fab.
Dena said…
hey....what happened to 'm'?
1969 said…
YOU USED TO HOLD ME...is my jam. You and I can hang. LOL

I am so glad you did the list. I love all of your answers. Oh and that teacup ride? Whew....just say no.

Did you see the Human Hair oufits on Runway? Ewwwww
Liz Dwyer said…
Dena,
Did I skip the letter "M"? OH NO! Thanks, Miss Eagle Eye, I'll have to go back and add something for it.

1969,
I was so grossed out by his hair outfits. The minute I saw that mess, I knew he was going to lose. I mean, what's the wearer supposed to do, throw some pink oil on that mess and brush it? People, not clothes, are the only ones that should be wearing human hair.
Anonymous said…
I can't believe you still have Adam 12 - I still have Freddy Beth and he/she looks alot better. That's cause we weren't always spying on siblings and then tattling!!!!LOL Adam 12 looks like that because your siblings tried to kill him several times to get you back!!!! LOL
Anonymous said…
Zebra? Never heard that one before. As you say, very mean. But then kids can be very mean if they want, they're not as pure and innocent as we like to think they are. And they home in so quickly on what's different about someone.
Liz Dwyer said…
Cyndee,
Yeah, the kids were shocked when I told them about how Adam-12's leg got broken. I sort of ended it right before I realized I was going to have to tell them that I pushed my brother out a window. I don't want to give "T" any ideas! It was hust a nice little game of keep-away that got out of control!

Nick,
Kids can be quite creative when they're mean. Zebra, oreo, banana... yes, quite creative but cruel.
Lola Gets said…
Hmm, I just might steal this idea as well, hmm....

L
Liz Dwyer said…
Lola,
Feel free to steal! :)
Nerd Girl said…
Great list! I liked 1969's as well. L should've been lucky - you won over at Afrobella! Congrats :)
Jen said…
LOVE the family motto! Great list altogether. What fun!
Anonymous said…
I love your list, Liz! I especially like the adorable story about the "underwears", your adam 12 bear (I have a similar one named "Girl Bear"), and the excellent quote about youth. Thanks for sharing! I was just in LA for a couple weeks but was so busy working, I didn't get a chance to call you. But I miss you and thought of you a lot. Hope to see you very soon. Love to you and the boys!
Liz Dwyer said…
Nerd Girl,
I won something??? OH WOW! I have to go check it out because I NEVER win anything! Is it the Mariah giveaway???!!!

Jen,
I love that motto too! I remember I discovered it when I was in high school along with the family crest.

Laura,
Three cheers for hanging onto the teddy bears of our childhoods! Hope to see you next time you're here too! I can only imagine how busy you are these days!
Toni Campbell said…
You should have put up a warning about Adam 12, I was eating!!
I use a lot of Pacifica candles and while they hold their scent a lot longer that others, I think they are okay even when hot outside.
It's always delightful to learn more about you, Liz.

I've tried nearly every brand of chai and the best one is Big Train Spiced chai. It makes a wonderful latte at home with milk beaten to a solid froth, and can be found at the Nordstrom coffee bars. The battery-operated frother is Bonjour Primo Latte - $20 at Williams-Sonoma. I cannot live without this drink, which makes Starbuck's version taste like dishwater.

You must go down to the Flower Fields in Carlsbad, which are all Ranunculus, when they're in bloom. It's right off the freeway, and worth the trip with your camera.
Liz Dwyer said…
Toni,
Aww, he's not that gross! :) I guess he was my first baby and I see him with a mother's love. Glad to hear that the candles aren't too overpowering when it's hot.

Heart,
Wow, this info makes my inner chai addict very excited! I'm going to try to head to Nordstrom this weekend! Delicious!

I would love to check the Flower Fields! Thanks for the heads up. I just went and looked at their website and it opens this Saturday but maybe I'll save it for when my sister comes in the first week of April! That will make a great day trip for us.
Anonymous said…
Thanks for stopping by my blog. This was a fun meme, I am going to bookmark it to come back to steal it. I had the saem experience with getting my ears pierced when I was almost 15 - I very nearly ran after the first one. (Btw, both my boys - 11 & 14 - still say "I love you, mommy" and I never, never get tired of hearing it.)

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