#-#-# SPOTLIGHT ON... Ozzy! Jan 19-21 #-#-# « Back to Group Discussions

[forestmushroom]

Welcome to your spotlight on thread, Ozzy!

Some starter questions:

Where do you live?

What do you do (day job, profession, SAHM, etc.)?

How did you select your MDC name?

How many children do you have?

Ladies, ask away!

[Sky]

What is your favorite book?

What's your favorite color? Number?

Favorite food?

Edited by Sky - 1/19/12 at 1:30pm

[persephassa]

What makes you happy?

[ozzy]

Ooh, my turn already???

Here goes:

I live in a midwestern city. One of those places with a little pocket of city that's extremely "blue", surrounded by lots of suburbs, surrounded by rural expanse that's "red" through and through. My husband and I moved this year and wanted to stay in the city, though considered a few more suburban areas because of the atrocious school system, but eventually bought and are very happy with our city house. We love having places to walk to, and it is an interesting mix of housing and people. Absolutely NONE of our family or friends live in the city besides us, though.

I am a social worker/therapist. It's never dull, but sometimes more stressful than I would like. 

My name comes from one of my favorite poems, Ozymandias by Shelley

This is my first baby and it is still a little weird to see myself as a mom. 

I don't know if I have one favorite book. I love Blind Assassins, or anything else by Margaret Atwood. Other authors I enjoy are Sylvia Plath, Chuck Palahniuk, and Joyce Carol Oates. Clearly I have morbid sensibilities.

My favorite color is orange, favorite number has always been 6. 

Food loves are sushi, indian (sweet though, not spicy), and spaghetti. Though my real love is dessert and I would gladly skip the entree - pie, cake, chocolate, anything loaded with fat and sugar will do. 

What makes me happy? When I complete something that I am proud of. Other than that, I find that I am happiest in those small moments of safety, comfort, and connection. With my husband's arm around me in bed, or when I actually get my best friend all to myself and we have a nice conversation. That's one thing I look forward to having with my child - maybe being inside on a rainy day and just having a few minutes of peace together. When it comes down to it, those moments are actually pretty rare. 

[poppyseed2012]

Where is your avatar from? Did you make that cupcake?

[persephassa]

what books do you want to read to baby?

i was trying to think if shelley or those others wrote anything child-appropriate... apparently plath did a couple children's books, but they're out of print: the bed book & it doesn't matter suit. of course oates is too creepy to ever write anything for children. i like her work a lot, too, especially because of its mordbidity.

i found this poem, it has a sad feeling though:

Child / Sylvia Plath

 

Your clear eye is the one absolutely beautiful thing.

I want to fill it with color and ducks,

The zoo of the new

Whose name you meditate--

April snowdrop, Indian pipe,

Little

 

Stalk without wrinkle,

Pool in which images

Should be grand and classical

 

Not this troublous

Wringing of hands, this dark

Ceiling without a star.

it is also odd for me to think i will be a mom soon! but i like to imagine what kind of "mom" things i will do, such as going to the library for storytime and checking out books and reading bedtime stories, and teaching him to read and write... what kind of things are you excited about doing?

i like how you singled out happy, small moments of comfort, etc--it will be lovely to share that with yr new, larger family.

[ozzy]

Yeah I made that cupcake. I like to make and decorate cakes in my spare time, since it gives me a hands-on creative outlet.

Here are a few cakes I have done:

[Kamiro]

Wow, Ozzy! Those are so neat. I really love the Mario one. The only book I read by margaret Atwood is "Handmaidens Tale". My grandma died and she had all these books. Being 14 and bored I went through them and that one caught my eye. I have read it multiple times and love it. After this term I am going to look up Blind Assassins.

Have you ever read Barbara Kingsolver? The book The poisonwood Bible is one of my favorites. She's a talented author, also.

That shift from first time mom to second time mom was so difficult for me. The third and fourth are easy as my identity seems already established and I am happy with it. But with the first (and even the second) there was so much unknown.

You'll do well as millions and millions of other women have taken that first step down this path.

Your sentiments on peace and how rare those moments are? Especially beautiful and so true. Those moments are so beautiful and bittersweet for me. I know that truly "This is as good as it gets". *sniff*

My question:

What memory do you want to make during this pregnancy?

[forestmushroom]

I love the cakes!

Rudyard Kipling has some hysterical stories for children without racism, a lot of his work is spoiled by the racism of his time. And Milne is a hoot to read. 

Blake has some amazing poems and pieces of/about children and childhood.  And Robert Louis stevenson has some lovely lovely books.  But there are amazing books published for children these days, picture books, novels, etc. I just started reading Wildwood by Colin Meloy from the Decemberists and it is really lovely.  Kind of too creepy even for my oldest, but I can't wait to share it with him... it is set in our neighborhood of portland!

Okay, sorry for hijacking your thread, Ozzy!

What would you do if you could do anything in the world, without consideration to making money (the lotto question)?

What is your favorite TV show or Movie? 

[poppyseed2012]

Awesome cakes!!

[cristeen]

How many kids do you want?

What is your life's ambition? 

What do you want to be remembered for?

If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

[ozzy]

Persephassa - I like the poem! Don't remember that one, but I like even my sappy reading to have a tinge of the eerie. Things I am looking forward to are similar to yours - teaching things, bedtime stories, that sort of thing. My husband is looking forward to showing him all of his favorite places around the city. Not sure what books to get for the baby. There are two big time used book sales close to me a year, and I was planning on scarfing up whatever I can get my hands on.

OneMore - I haven't read Barbara Kingsolver, but will check her out. 

As far as pregnancy memories...I have struggled to enjoy the moments in this pregnancy as much as I know I should. I got pregnant the first month we went off contraception, had a miscarriage, then got pregnant again with this guy the next cycle. By then I was resolved to be cautious. His fetus name was Maybe, and I have done less - less regular pictures, etc - to lessen the sting if something went wrong. I have thought several times about doing like a pregnancy diary, or little notes to baby like "today was your first snow!" etc, but hesitate, and time is getting away from me. 

Forestmushroom - If money were no object, I would probably make cakes, maybe learn to do metalwork or something, be a foster parent, do a little therapy on the side focusing on trauma. 

My favorite shows and movies I guess are similar to my taste in books: the X-Files, Weeds, Dexter, Parks and Recreation (that one's an outlier), Fight Club, Memento. Two movies I love that have a strong female character, and are somewhat pregnancy related are The Good Girl (Jennifer Anniston) and Waitress (Keri Russell). Check them out if you get a chance. 

Christeen - I'm thinking two kids is my max, at least two biological. Later we may foster and/or adopt as well. 

My life's ambition, that's deep for a Friday night. I guess I want to contribute something tangible to the world. I'd like to be remembered as a kind, competent person who stood up for what was right even when it wasn't easy or convenient. 

I've always wanted to visit Sicily, where some of my family came from. I don't know if I would want to live anywhere different, since I would lose having my friends and family close by.

Thanks for the interesting questions, and the book ideas!

[Ruby2]

Ozzy and OneMore - I am a huge Margaret Atwood and Barbara Kingsolver fan as well. I thought I had read everything Barbara Kingsolver had ever written but a copy of "Animal Dreams" caught my eye on the giveaway shelf at work last month and I realized I had never read it. I was home sick a few weeks ago and read the last few chapters when dd was napping and just curled up in bed and sobbed and sobbed. It really struck a chord with me at this point in my life...plus I cry easily these days! I thought it was the perfect book to read while pregnant. My other favorite Kingsolver book is "Prodigal Summer." I recommend staying away from her newest book, "The Lacuna"...it did not do it for me. :-)

I live in a small midwestern city too and can totally relate to your "blue surrounded by vast areas of red" description! We love our city house as well but are growing tired of the constant action now that we have a toddler...thinking of moving before she starts school.

[Kamiro]

Ruby, I picked up LaCuna and it did not sound interesting to me.

The Bean Trees was good, but I could not get into the sequel. Poisonwood Bible was my fave of hers, and than next Bean Trees. I will check out Animal Dreams next chance I get. Shes a great writer...some books 'hit' you and some don't...