What Is Your Travel Personality? (A Quiz to Find Out)

Malta: More to offer than just Maltese dogs

I'm getting the itch to travel again. This happens from time to time. Last weekend, I entered so many giveaways promising a free trip to [insert cool place here] that I lost count. This week, I took an interesting, brief online quiz that diagnose your travel style and offers a list of recommended places for you to consider visiting.

My quiz results were right on, classifying me as a Mid-Venturer Type. According to the author, this means that I am curious and adventurous, but well-balanced and avoid extremes. I laughed when several of the recommended spots were locations I have already visited (and loved!) including (domestically) my native Northern California and Monterey, Utah, Seattle, Portland; and international spots like Thailand and China.

Also included were places I indeed have long desired to see (Argentina, Boston and India) and places I hadn't thought of before, but am now interested in exploring (like Malta and New Brunswick, Canada). So if you need inspiration and advice on planning your next trip, check out the link here! Happy planning.

Water Footprint?

In a recent article by National Geographic, I learned that the average American household is fueled by 2000 gallons of water a day. The surprising part is, the obvious suspects here such as dishwashers, showers and lawns only make up 5% of this amount. The rest comes from factors we generally don't see and therefore fail to consider.

I took this fun, 10 minute Water Footprint quiz about my lifestyle that measured the water I consume. If you take the quiz, some of the questions might startle you as they did me, as you realize that the number one culprit in water consumption is our food system.

I consider myself an occasional meat eater. I put down on average a modest estimate of twice a week consumption of pork, beef, and chicken, with very little dairy. (This is far below the national average of 6-7 weekly servings of each.) My lifestyle equated to about 1130 gallons of water a day, which is far below the national average of 2000; yet even still, my diet constituted 65% of my Water Footprint.

Surely there is something we all can do to be a little better at conserving one of our most precious resources. Check out the quiz and see how well you fare in comparison, or try this list of the amount of water it takes to create popular, common commodities.

A St. Patrick's Day Quiz - How Well Do You Know the Holiday?

How did you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Our small law office had a potluck - all employees brought something green or Irish to share!

The spread was impressive, and included: lime green punch (orange and pineapple juice, ginger ale, and green jello mix); fried cabbage (contributed by a good ole Southern gal); glazed corned beef and Irish stew; Irish soda bread; green salad; green jello with whipped cream frosting (and pineapple - not crushed, nor tidbits, nor chunks, but rings for some reason. Yes, it was brought by a male); green shamrock cupcakes; and a pistachio cream cheese pie.

All of these delicacies were enjoyed with my husband’s selection of traditional Irish jig tunes (that he procured from who knows where, but they really added a festive ambiance!). We even held a contest of wits, awarding a prize to the person with the highest score on a quiz I personally put together for the occasion. Care to try your luck?

1) What city famously dyes their river green with vegetable dye in honor of this holiday?
a) Dublin b) Philadelphia c) Chicago d) St. Louis

2) In the US, Irish ancestry is the second most frequently reported race, second to:
a) English b) Spanish c) German d) Mexican

3) Where are the two biggest celebrations of this holiday held in the US? (1pt each)
a) Pittsburgh b) Los Angeles c) New York d) Boston

4) In Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day was traditionally a religious occasion, for which the pubs were closed. When did this policy (and the nature of the holiday) change?
a) 1895 b) 1785 c) 1995 d) 1965

5) Irish ranks in the top 5 ancestry in every state except these two (1 pt each):
a) Texas b) Hawaii c) New Mexico d) Arizona

6) Which of the following states is Irish NOT in the leading ancestry:
a) Vermont b) Delaware c) New Hampshire d) Massachusetts

7) St. Patrick was born in:
a) a barn to poor parents b) Britain to wealthy parents c) What is now France to pagan parents

8) After being kidnaped by Irish raiders from his home, St. Patrick spent six years in captivity working as a(n):
a) shepherd b) priest c) carpenter d) sailor

9) St. Patrick studied for how long in order to become a priest:
a) two years b) seven months c) five years d) fifteen years

10) True or false: St. Patrick is credited with introducing Christianity to Ireland.

11) True or false: St. Patrick drove all of the snakes out of Ireland. That is why the island to this day is snake-free.

Answers:
1) c
2) c
3) c and d
4) c
5) b and c
6) a

7) b
8) a
9) d

10) F (There were already a small number of Christians in Ireland, and his mission included both ministering to them and to the pagan population)
11) F (This is a popular, but not necessarily literally factual, myth)

What Type of Yogi Are You?

My recent discovery, since discovering the world of yoga, is a company called Gaiam. Their slogan: “A lifestyle company.” They sell everything from natural fiber furniture and bedding to organic yoga clothes and exercise DVDs.

I was browsing some of the information they offer on their website and found a fun little quiz called, “What kind of yogi are you?” The test supposedly tells you what kind of yoga would be best matched to your personality. When I took this quiz, I was equally parts “Neat Freak” and “Frazzled”. Don’t I sound like a charmer? Hopefully, the yoga class I’ve been taking may help me curb my occasionally neurotic tendencies. Here’s the link for the quiz, if you’d like to find out what your yoga personality is:

http://life.gaiam.com/gaiam/p/QUIZ-What-Kind-of-Yogi-Are-You.html