• maura_ea
      • hello Maura
      • Username: maura_ea
      • In response to: "Even if you aren't a chef, what's your favorite dish to prepare?" Any Japanese dish - I love how simple, fresh, and flavorful it is without always being overly spicy and complicated. Sure, some dishes are hard, but you could whip something together easily.
  • maura_ea's latest answers
    • Why I'm Going Digital

      • Would you ever get an e-book reader?


        Amazon Kindle eBook Reader

        I already have TWO. I really love them, and would have stuck with one but found my husband really enjoys it too. So we got one of each variety (Kindle & Nook) and are able to enjoy the best of both worlds.

        I think it's completely changed my reading habits. It's easier to read in bed, it's easier to read in the bath, it's easier to take with me, it's quicker to get new books. I find I read more, a bigger selection, quicker, and more enjoyably.

        The only downside for me: None of the libraries in my area rent eBooks so I'm unable to borrow a book and have to pay for them all. It's not that I want everything for free, but right now I only buy an eBook if I KNOW I'm going to enjoy it so I don't take many risks. Plus the cost of eBooks are only going up and that makes it harder on my pocketbook.

      • answered by maura_ea on 12/16/2010
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    • My Dating Deal Breakers

      • List 5 of your top dating deal breakers.


        Smoking.
        Smoking is a personal choice. You had to choose to start. You have to choose - every day, multiple times a day - to light up. You have to choose to throw your money away. Bad choice.


        Cursing.
        It's one thing to curse on the uncommon occasion when you're really upset, it's something else to do it within the norms of conversation. If we're having dinner at a decent restaurant, I don't see any reason to be cursing. Keep it for later in the relationship when you're more familiar with my cursing limits.


        Phone use while we're talking.
        If you're expecting a call/text that's really important, let me know at the beginning and I can give you some lenience. But if we're having dinner, enjoying a conversation about a book I just read, and you pull out your phone to answer a call/text - not cool. Especially first date.


        Angry political views.
        I'm not saying that you're not allowed to have opinions, what I'm saying is that it's important to be REALLY familiar with your dates opinions before you start spouting off about the last election and how the nation is going down the crapper. Whether your party is or isn't in office is not first date material - at least not for me.


        Unconversational.
        Trying to round out my list - this seems like a given for dating but I've been on a date or two where the guy was a complete dud in the conversation. Unable to start it. Unable to hold it. If you're conversational, that just leads me to believe you don't care - at all. If we're dating, that means you shouldn't know everything about me - ASK.


      • answered by maura_ea on 10/27/2010
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    • Halloween

      • Do you celebrate Halloween? Why or why not?


        I've had a love/hate relationship with Halloween, so this is a bit of a loaded question.

        As a child, I celebrated and I remember having fun. I don't remember much, but I don't remember being scared, disappointed, or left out.

        As a tween, I celebrated Halloween by visiting my church for a Fall Festival which was more about having fun on a day when other kids were having fun than dressing up or getting candy. There were no carved pumpkins, no ghosts or goblins. I remember having a LOT of fun during this period.

        As a teenager, I was too old for the fun of the Fall Festival and yet still pressured to celebrate Halloween for some odd reason. I often spent Halloween at home or with friends watching scary movies. Halloween can land on any day of the week though, so more than once I've spent Halloween doing nothing special because of class the next day.

        As an adult, I gave Halloween one more try - with my soon to be husband and best friend. We dressed up and walked around a very decorated neighborhood but didn't try and collect any candy. It was fun to dress up, but it quickly wore off. Without a party to go to, Halloween is pretty boring for adults.

        Until... You have kids :D As a new mother, we've celebrated Halloween with a lot of anticipation and fun. Last year was my daughter's first Halloween, but she was sick (well, teething, but not full of life all the same) so this year we're hoping it goes better. It's fun to dress them up and not feel any of the pressure I remember.

        I hate the pressure that females are under when it comes dressing up for Halloween. It's either, make your own costume which is hard for most, or buy a stripper inspired costume from a local shop. Every thing is labeled as, "sexy" or "naughty" or something to that effect. I'm hoping that by the time my daughter is older (and with a womanly figure) she understands that Halloween is not an excuse to dress like a "sexy" or "naughty" character.

      • answered by maura_ea on 10/27/2010
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    • What I'd Do With a Million Dollars

      • What would you do with a million dollars?


        debt

        First, I would pay off our debt, which really isn't that much - especially compared to a million dollars. Then, I'd see about investing it verses the immediate good it would do my family. I know there is some of my family who could use a bit of help now - but I also know that letting the money build will help everyone around us in the long run.

        I would probably also buy a house, but not with the intention of keeping it - just with the thought in mind that not paying a mortgage/rent payment each month will KEEP more of that million dollars. So it would be something modest and fitting for our one child family - while we wait for money to build so we can build the perfect house in the perfect location :D

        I don't know if I would quit my job at first. I think that the cost of retirement and health/ dental/ vision insurance for the duration of my working years is more than a million dollars - no matter how well I invest it. I could be wrong though. I would probably wait until we were ready to build and move into our dream home, because I can guarantee you it would not be built in the Inland Empire of Southern California.

      • answered by maura_ea on 10/15/2010
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    • I could listen to these forever!

      • Name three songs you never get sick of.


        Cosmic Love by Florence and the Machine

        There is something about the combination of features in this song that make it simply amazing. Her powerful voice. The backup vocals. The harp. The beat. The decrease and then explosion of song - just as you think it's completed. I hope that I never get sick of this song, it gives me gooseflesh every time I hear it.

        The Beginning is the End is the Begining by The Smashing Pumpkins

        This song, which has two different versions - a fast and a slow - is by far the biggest reason I was so attracted to the Watchmen preview when it hit theaters. The slow version, is... intoxicating. There's something about the humming beat that makes me feel calm and concentrated. I'm not sure why. I often listen to it while I'm writing because it's not distracting and yet is inspiring.

        Running up that Hill by Placebo

        This song, another I heard on the preview of a movie called "Daybreakers" is another with a humming beat. That sound, that slow beat that draws and doesn't push, will always get me! I don't know why - it just does.

      • answered by maura_ea on 09/22/2010
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