super-dooper POOPED!!!

[jessica b]

I am tired. I must be the laziest person on earth, because being on my feet all day has done me in. I've been fighting to keep my eyes open since 9pm! LOL

Haven't done a single creative thing all day, really, and I have had ideas flowing non-stop! Iugh. 'm going to bed early, and I hope to wake up early and get some creative time in.... I hope you all have left some new stuff in the gallery for me to see in the morning, too! :D

Okay, off topic question for discussion: Tell me about where you live, but you don't have to mention specifics about location (unless you really wanna). Just tell me about your home and what you love about it the most!

[kygirl]

Yep, kygirl lives in Kentucky. What do I love most about where I live?

I've been told that there are more shades of green here than anyplace else --that's because so many varieties of grass, trees and bushes grow here. Someone once wrote that the whole area looks like one gigantic country club, with its manicured pastures and white plank fencing. I love traveling, but I always love coming home -- back to the horses, the rivers, and the rolling countryside.

[Nevermore]

I live in a fairly rough section of Etobicoke (First Nations for "by the mall")--actually part of Toronto but at one time a small city just outside Toronto proper. Takes me twenty minutes to commute downtown for work. We have had a few family conferences on whether or not we should move but we always vote to stay. What we love is that it is not a suburb. Every single house is different. We walk to the library, we walk to the corner store, we walk to school, we walk to the hairdresser. We live two minutes from Lake Ontario which has miles of parkland on its shore. Our neighbourhood is an ethnic smorgasbord: Polish, Ukranian, Russian, Somalian, Jamaican, Japanese, Korean to name just a few of prominent nationalities crammed like sardines into the highrises and all the little tiny shops reflect this. I can probably buy the best rye bread and sausage outside of Cracow. Nearly half of the kids in my son's kindergarten class do not speak English as a first language. Quite a few of them didn't speak English at all when they started school. There are a number of parents on the student council that communicate only with smiles. It is enough. If we didn't go to the suburbs, the only other choice would be an older neighbourhood downtown but they have all been appropriated by white middle class people. I love that my son can say hello in umpteen different languages because he knows kids (not because he is plugged into Baby Einstein) to say hello to! I grew up in a small protestant town devoid of any colour outside of British colonial and I dreamed that the city would be a cornucopia of exotic stores and people and places. Our funny little downtrodden neighbourhood is exactly that and we always end our family conferences by reaffirming how much we love our painfully small house in our internationally humungous neighbourhood.

[Nevermore]

please note that I am not getting very much further with my post count. If I started posting by word count, I suspect I would have peaked over 500 a couple of posts ago.

[SteinwaysMom]

Wow, NM your neighborhood sound like my kinda place! I visited Toronto years ago and loved the multicultural smorgasbord there...

I live in Columbus, Ohio which is, in comparison, more bland and middle America. Any strip mall shop or superstore your heart desires can be found here along with a plethora of fast food restaurants. On the positive side there is a nice arts community and several universities so while it's not glamourous it's a very pleasant and livable place - not too big and not too small. I live on the East side now which is a cultural desert but I can walk to the nearest shopping center and browse WalMart or JoAnn Fabrics. I'm now the happy owner of a modest townhome and my neighbors are very down to earth and cool to talk to.

Cols used to seem very homogeneous but in the past few years I've noticed an influx of immigrants - Ethiopian, Somali, Mexican, Indian, Russian, etc. It's a refreshing change for sure...

[AmyK]

I can't wait to see what your creative juices come up with tomorrow, Jessica!

I am in a suburb of Seattle known for its breweries and wineries. I can walk to farmland and horse pastures, which amazes me being this close to the city. I have always loved the Pacific Northwest, even for all the grey days I love the green and I have to have that feeling of being held together by mountains. I love all the crazy hippies who live out here too (myself included). It is just so laid back and chill, I can do my own thing with no worries.

I'm not all that fond of my apartment at the moment though. The neighbors are not laid back and chill... they like to throw things at each other and scream obscenities, and the kids upstairs (I call them kids because they are younger than me, ha ha) are rather annoying. She uses her sewing machine at 2am, which is quite obnoxious. I long for a home of my own that I can paint, with a yard, where I can drop spider bombs to get rid of all the big hairies. *sigh*

[Vania16]

I live in Tucson - we live in a midtown neighborhood and I like that. I can't really take all the developments around here, so we're happy to live in a house that isn't identical to the one next door :) We rent our house, so we're limited in what we can do, but we really like it. We have a big yard for DH to grow plants and I've hung enough stuff on the walls that you hardly notice the white anymore LOL. I moved to Tucson about 7 years ago and I really like it here - the University's great, there's tons of outdoor stuff to do here, we have an almost never ending supply of fantastic Mexcian restaurants and it's a big basketball town, so that's lots of fun!

[Fiddlette]

Sidebar....Debra...I knew you went to Oberlin, but wondered why you chose Columbus to settle in permenantly....friends and family?

I didn't think you were born and raised there, but maybe I'm just having a lapse in memory...I'll go look at your bio again!!

It is always fascinating to me why people choose the places to live that they do!! :)

[Fiddlette]

Oh, and I'm in LA...born and raised Valley girl...hate it, though, but will probably never move...unless our ship comes in before we retire, which, if that is the case, we will probably move to Cambria, CA...a favorite place we vacation every summer.....right on the ocean...so beautiful!!

[Fiddlette]

Sidebar, Lisa...I love Tucson, too!! I thought I never tasted such wonderful Mexican food as I have had in Tucson...but I also enjoyed hearing their symphony...love the ice cream at Austins...loved Sabino Canyon!! The Wildlife Museum is spectacular!! the Saugauro Nat'l park is BEAUTIFUL, especially after a rain, and especially at sunset...so many great things there...but...


EEEKKKKK!! The Scorpians!! I couldn't live there because of them!! lol!!

[Vania16]

Yeah, we definitely have a lot of scary critters here! The first time I saw a rattlesnake I just about died! I've gotten a little used to it now - my last place had black widows a lot, so that definitely got me in the habit of looking before I touch! But, all the other stuff you mentioned keeps me lovin' it - well, that and the fact that my DH is a native LOL Do you live around here or visit? Sounds like you've spent some time here :)

[Kazadoodle]

I live in Australia, which I love, in the State of Victoria, which is the best (and speaking of snakes - I have to tell you that every snake native to this State is venomous).

I live in a suburb which is a 10 minute drive from the CBD (central business district - being wonderful Melbourne) and it has the feel of a small town community. Before my daughter started school, we would regularly visit our shopping area and they would know us by sight and name. We also have a very multicultural city and suburb - Lebanese, Turkish, Greek, Italian, Irish, Ethopian, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, even Australians - LOL - just to name a few.

I can walk to the library, the school, the kindergarten and day care (when my daughter was there), the shops, the pool, the trams (street cars), trains and buses. People ask me why I don't have a car - because I dont need one.

I've heard that Toronto is much like Melbourne and after having been to Toronto - I have this to say - in atmosphere, yes, in looks, yes but as to the people - no. I found that the people are nowhere near as friendly or helpful as they are in Melbourne. I had better luck in NY, which is supposed to have a reputation of rudenes, which I personally found to be most untrue.

[Nevermore]

Ah, Kazadoodle, sorry the natives were not so nice. I have to agree with you. I was brought up to believe that we were ever so much nicer than the Yanks but truth be told I have always loved travelling in the US because the people were very helpful and friendly. I have come to the generalisation that we are politer but not as friendly. An example I heard on the radio last night was a guy talking about his slow loss of sight (some eye disease). He said in America if he was anywhere near the curb, people just hauled him off and dragged him across the street. In Canada, the majority of people left him standing there with the odd person offering to verbally cue him if he so desired. We see that as polite but it is not necessarily friendly or helpful! He was Canadian so he found the whole thing a hoot. My personal favourites are Denny waitresses who call me hon and dear and chide my breakfast choices or inquire after my health. There is a good chance you would get fired in Toronto, it is just so in your face. I would love to visit Aus. but figure I would need a good chunk of time to make it worth the very long flight there.

[akissling]

I live south of Debra in the boring midwest! My parents moved our family (native NZers) from Australia (my brother and I were born there) to the US in the 60's (yes, I am OLD). He came to Ohio for a job at Children's Hospital. My parents loved it so much they never went back. I now live in the inner city a few neighborhoods away from my childhood home. I was spoiled before because my parents had a HUGE home bought after the riots. We can walk to the library, Walgreens and Target is a dangerous 4 minutes away by car. Our neighborhood is very integrated (I like that as I was brought up in the same type of place). We have some very bad things that happen around us (can't let the kids go one their own anywhere) but I am mostly happy with the neighborhood (older houses, lots of trees, gaslights etc.). We have the four seasons which I guess is nice but ideally I would love to live just outside of San Diego. It isn't going to happen but it's nice to dream. I have lived in Auckland NZ and Seattle near UW (so pretty but too far from my family) after college and before having kids. It takes me 10 minutes to drive to work. I guess that concludes my ho-hum addition to this thread!!!!!

[Kazadoodle]

Yeah - my experience in Toronto the first time - I was with my DH and 2.5 year old, who was in a stroller, we were with DH's aunt, in her 60's, also with stroller with her 2 year old grandchild. DH had arm full of packages - we were going down a bunch of stairs in the train system and not one person offered to help either of us - in Melbourne, I would have had to bat back the number of people who would be offerieng their assistance. I'd have to agree with the polite though and yes, polite ain't helpful - LOL

[Vania16]

That's so funny, when I used to go to Toronto, I was just so happy that I didn't feel like I was going to be robbed every minute that I didn't even notice if people were friendly or just polite LOL After spending time in Detroit and New York and even Chicago, it was so clean and seemed so safe that I just loved it. But, I went to New York in the pre-Giuliani days, so I think it was a little different then. Also I lived at the YMCA, so perhaps that added to my general sense of "I'm going to be robbed any minute" LOL

[Ursula]

Wow, it sounds like ya'll are from a collection of really cool places. I'm with Lisa, from Tucson, although we actually live in Vail which is about 15 miles SE of Tucson. It was a very small community of ranchers, horse people, and the sort who want to be left alone. We moved here 4 years ago and it has suddenly become the new mecca for cookie cutter houses. It breaks my heart to see so much prisitine desert be dozed to add a bunch of roof tops. I like our place though. We have five, well treed acres (something special in the desert) and we can't see to much of what's around us. Our house sits right in the middle of the property so it's very secluded. I love our home and I love Tucson for it's unique culture. Lots of hispanic influence but there are more and more people moving here from all over the world so I guess it's a pretty well mixed community. The U of A keeps our city young and vibrant and there is a wonderful art community!

[happyrobyn]

I am a Michigan-born Texan!! LOL! I have moved many times in my life. We only lived in Michigan until I was 6 months old then to Texas, Indiana and back to Texas when I was in 3rd grade. I lived in Dallas from 3rd grade until I got married in 1995. Most of the time was spent in the Dallas area except the 4 years I was at Texas A&M University. Right after we got married we vowed to get out of Dallas as fast as possible and we did. We moved to Nova Scotia, Canada! Talk about culture shock! Funny that you are talking about the politeness of Canadians. Well let me tell you ... Texans do everything s - l - o - w! And most everyone is polite! Well ... Nova Scotians do everything slooooooower and more polite. When we first moved, I was getting my utilities hooked up and it took me over half an hour to get off the phone with the cable lady!! LOL! They were fascinated with my accent. Anyway, I can save my Canadian stories for a later time. So I'll fast forward a bit. Six years and 4 kids later (what can I say ... it was COLD up there) we decided to move closer to family. We moved to Arkansas where my husband is from. And after a year or so there - we were both ready to come back HOME! It took us almost a decade but we came full circle. I love it here. A bit flat and hot but I am comfortable here. Lots to do - a great place for families. I forsee only one more big move in my future and that is to retire in a log cabin on a lake in Northwest Arkansas hopefully in about 20 years. And there's my life in a nutshell and all you asked for was where we currently live. LOL!

[Cre8tvlyYrs]

please note that I am not getting very much further with my post count. If I started posting by word count, I suspect I would have peaked over 500 a couple of posts ago.

Your so funny girl!! ;)

[Cre8tvlyYrs]

Well...I am a Southern Californian all the way! Although I was born in El Paso, Texas as my parents were 'passing through' on their way back to Cali to have me (I guess that's the 1st time I was ever early! Lol!) But all my life I've lived in California!

[Cre8tvlyYrs]

I currently live in Moreno Valley...it is a cookie cutter house. We are in a really cool location because we are like on the way to Palm Desert or Arizona, not too far from most of the Indian Casinos and by two mountain communities such as Big Bear and Idyllwild. I'm also down the street from Perris Lake but I don't really go cause of all things I'm very sensitive to sunlight! As we are also not too much of a long distance to San Diego and DISNEYLAND, although it is a couple of hours drive depending on the lovely traffic around here!! :rolleyes:

[Cre8tvlyYrs]

One thing I love about this area is it's so multi-cultural!! I find it refreshing and at the same time I wish they'd stop 'developing' already!! We have a cool little mountain nearby our home and I was so disapointed when my neighbor built his patio as it blocked part of my view!!:mad:

[mishou]

I was born and raised in Sudbury, Ontario. For those of you who know where Toronto is, it's about 4-5 hours north of there. It's a big ole stinky mining town. Up until the 1980's I think we were producing something ridiculous like 80% of the entire world's supply of nickel. The main attraction if you visit Sudbury is, get ready for it . .. a giant shiny nickel. Classy, right? LOL! I absolutely hated it there. It's a smallish city (150,000 pop. I think), people are very close-minded and there's no culture whatsoever. Not even one decent historical museum. So what was a girl who wanted to study history to do? MOVE AWAY

So when I graduated highschool I came here to Ottawa, the nation's capital. I love it here. It's very beautiful. It's much smaller than Toronto (I think we have a pop. of 1 million here) so it's very clean, lots of wide open green spaces. We have a canal here (the Rideau Canal) that runs through the downtown area. In the winter when it's frozen over it becomes the largest skating rink in the world according to Guiness. It's a big tourist attraction and there's a big festival around it but also just on an everyday basis it's fun because you can literally just throw your skates on and skate to work if you wanted! But of course my most favourite thing of all is that there are lots of museums. Lots of big, national museums that can pay me big, national pay cheques LOL Took me like 8 months to actually get hired by one, but better late than never!

As much as I love the city my actual living arrangement isn't ideal. I live in a two bedroom apartment with a roommate. Wouldn't be so bad except that my roommate is my younger brother LOL! I had just come out of a string of really bad roommate situations so when he called up looking for a place to live in Ottawa I welcomed him with open arms. But that was a few years ago so now it's just starting to get old LOL We actually get along okay so I guess it could be worse. The last guy I lived with turned out to be a drug dealer and was so dirty I had trouble keeping the bugs away . . .but that's a whole other story for a whole other thread . . .LOL

[happyrobyn]

ROFLOL!!! Sorry to be laughing at your expense MG!

[Vania16]

I can totally relate to younger-brother-as-roommate problems MG! Mine lived with me for a mere couple of months and it made me a little nuts - we had lots of fun, but the constant drain on my supply of food and beverages was insane! But, a step up from the drug-dealing bug guy I guess LOL

[akissling]

My older brother lived with us for five years...and the only reason he moved was because we did!!!! He had some great qualities (when I have my second daughter and she had her days and nights mixed up he would sit and talk to me while I cried or watched late night tv...husband was fast asleep!)!

[CathyRose]

This is so interesting! Love threads like this. I live in southern Maryland, USA.
About 45 minutes from Washington, DC, and about 30 min south of Annapolis where the Naval academy is. We live in a neighborhood about where everyone has about 1-3 acre lots and the houses are traditional farm house, 2 story and vary in appearance. Lots of green here, trees, lawn and mostly rolling low hill terrain. If I drive down the main road 4 miles I come up over the hill and there is the Chesapeake Bay. I love that! Two small towns side by side and a few businesses the closest library, and grocery store. That's were I head most days for errands. We love our house but it is really too big for us now that it is just the two of us. Four bedrooms, and 3 and a half baths are too much cleaning for me. It cuts into my creating time! The residents of our county are very friendly, there is still a small town feel here even though the area has developed beyond that.

[jessica b]

I really loved reading everyone's responses!

I, boringly enough, have lived in the same middle Tennessee town my entire life. I am having a hard time coming up with any favorites right now. I constantly wish there were more to do here, but as a nature lover (seriously, just laying on the grass outside and staring up at the sky is enough for me some days) there are adventures to be found - if we're in the mood for just a little driving. One of our favorite places to go is along the Natchez Trace... there is hiking, picnicing, and plenty of opportunity to get wet under the (small, LOL) waterfalls and in the creeks and ponds. The boys love it, too.

As far as our home - We have a great backyard and a quiet neighborhood. I love that it is convenient to what little shopping, dining we have around here. And the interstate is also close by when we feel like high-tailing towards Nashville. The inside of my home leaves a lot to be desired. We were renting it for a while, and I didn't feel the urge to put anything into furnishings or decorating. But, now that we have bought it from the landlord...I am very eager to start working on that sort of stuff!!!

I have a crazy southern accent. I've been told by a friend in Nova Scotia that I sound a lot like Dolly Parton over the phone. That really cracks me up!

[happyrobyn]

I would love to hear your accent! Tennessee has Texas beat on accents!

[mishou]

I honestly can't picture any of you with accents. In my head you all talk like I do LOL!

[happyrobyn]

We all talk alike, eh? Well all I know is that I must stop reading this message board because I have dinner plans FOR 5:00! ROFL!