Ah, a delayed Ask Jana…but a hopefully still informative one.  Thanks for all your questions!

Erin: Greatest kid cereal – Capt. Crunch’s Crunch Berries or Cookie Crisp?

Cookie Crisp all the way because when you’re a kid, the illusion of getting away with eating cookies for breakfast is a real bonus, also the milk tastes delicious. In the Cap’n Crunch line I am a fan of the “bloody mouth” peanut butter variety. You know it hurts, but it tastes good anyway.

If you’re gonna eat Cap’n Crunch you might as well eat this for breakfast instead.

Rush Center, Kansas is where I spent many happy times as a kid, but I have never been there for St. Patrick’s Day, and I have never seen my Uncle Dave in a kilt. So this was a winning proposition right here.

Deb: Will you look at art in a Museum or gallery setting differently from now on, as a result of viewing an exhibition with a practicing visual artist? Do you think it makes a difference in art appreciation to experience a living visual artist speak about someone Else’s art?

YES, Deb. To fill you all in, Deborah Burge is an amazing artist in California, and when Susan and Elizabeth played in Huntington Beach at the art center, there was an art exhibition happening and I walked through some of it with Deborah. I was like walking through Giza with an Egyptologist or something, because Deb pointed out things I would just glance at and wander on by. She made notes on perspective and technique and form and shape, and after 15 minutes I felt smarter. If only a smart artist was provided ever time I went to a museum or a gallery.

John: If you could take a vacation to anywhere, where would it be?

I have never been to Europe, which is sad, and I really want to see Paris. I want to see all of it (London, Prague, Rome, Athens, insert major old city here), but for some reason Paris holds a mystique for me. Maybe because lots of artists and writers I love have done great things there.

Chad: Georgia O’Keeffe paintings…once you see it, can you ever unsee it?

I love O’Keeffe, though I gravitate toward her New Mexican landscapes rather than her flowers…but I do enjoy it all. She was a smart woman; I bet whatever you see she never wants you to unsee.

Callie: Why do stamps not have how much they are worth printed on them anymore? I have one stamp in the desk and one letter to mail, but I don’t know how much this stupid stamp is worth.

I have had the very same problem, Callie, which means I just end up using the unmarked stamp as adornment on the letter and stick another stamp on, which is probably how the post office has any prayer of staying open…making us overpay for mailing by anywhere from $0.03 to $0.50 at a time…which is a horrible business model…which is why we won’t get mail on Saturdays anymore. Thanks, USPS.

Thomas: Why is there no B# or E#?

Ah, but isn’t B# just C? Which is really just Cb? Whoa.

Tiffany: ambition vs. contentment. go.

Love this question…something I struggle with daily. I don’t necessarily think the two are opposites, and in fact I think ambition is best practicing with a sense of contentment, and that likewise contentment is best when coupled with ambition. Ambition without some degree of contentment can bleed easily into desperation, which hasn’t ever really worked out for me. Contentment avoids falling into ignorant stagnancy with paired with a little ambition. The balance sounds quite magical. I make it sound easy but as we know…it’s hard.

Justin: What is the most comfortable shoe you have ever worn?

Great question. I have a pair of red Adidas Samba shoes that I love and that have never hurt my pinky toes. They are a winning pair. As a general rule, I don’t like things on top of my feet, which means I have bought so many pairs of flip flops while traveling, thinking I could get through one trip with normal shoes. Latest pair: California. Comfy.

These flip flops rocked my 13k steps a day during SXSW.