Memorial Weekend 5QF

It’s been forever since I participated in Mama M.’s Five Question Friday! Today is pretty emotional for me, so I think it’s a good day to play along and not have to think hard, or cry much.

(It’s not a bad emotional. It’s a good one. Jeep finished 6th grade today, and will move on to middle school in August. I’m just struggling with the whole “Where did the time go!?” aspect of all that.)

If you aren’t familiar with 5QF, it’s an easy-peasy game to play along with. If you join us, be sure to click to today’s 5QF post and link up!

1. Do you wake before the alarm or stay in bed until the last possible second?
2. Who should get a baby shower? Is it just the first baby or all babies?
3. How will you spend Memorial Day?
4. Do you have a Storm/Hurricane/Tornado/Fire plan for your kids, house..?
5. What is your favorite morning drink?

1. Do you wake before the alarm or stay in bed until the last possible second?         Sleep! I’m a HUGE fan of my snooze button. I then run through the house like a mad woman trying to  make sure we’re really all ready to leave, but I’m not a morning person AT ALL.

2. Who should get a baby shower? Is it just the first baby or all babies?   I think it’s situational. I ended up with showers for both boys, but part of that was because a friend knew that because the boys were so close in age and so off in seasons that I wasn’t going to be able to reuse a lot of Jeep’s stuff for Eli. She wanted to do it, and I didn’t fight her on it. (I did, however, get to bring Eli with me, since he showed up early. They all claimed it was their favorite shower ever since they got to pass the baby around while we were there!)

3. How will you spend Memorial Day?      I’m actually meeting a client for a little bit tomorrow, but after that, it’s going to be a nice, relaxing weekend. We’re joining some friends for a cookout for a bit tomorrow, and we are hoping to do some pretty serious clearing out of stuff it’s time to get rid of, and maybe even get our new TV (that we got for Christmas.. sigh..) out of the box and mounted!

4. Do you have a Storm/Hurricane/Tornado/Fire plan for your kids, house…?    Mostly. Everyone knows where to go in the event of severe weather or a fire. The part I’m working on now is “jump kits” for each member of the family. The kids are now old enough that  they can have a role in our preparedness. I have a bag with essentials, but a true jump kit for our family of 5 plus 3 pets would require more than one person could carry or be responsible for. I’d like to have smaller kits of essentials for each of the kids, so that if we were separated (God forbid) they would be able to take care of themselves and their immediate needs easily until we could be reunited.

5. What is your favorite morning drink?     Coffee. Lots of it. Black, strong and hot. I don’t function well before I have a good cup or two in me!

Ok! Just a few minutes left and my crew will be home from school, so I’m off to get things ready for tonight’s completion ceremonies! Have a fantastic holiday weekend.

Tears

Today is the first day of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

My first goal was to not simply repeat all the things I’ve posted about childhood cancer in this space, so I was re-reading things I’ve posted about childhood cancer.

And then?

I found this post, a Pour Your Heart Out from almost two years ago.

And I was brought to tears again. So? Instead of repeating the things I’ve written about childhood cancer? I’m just going to ask you to read this again. Read it knowing that nearly two years later, it still is powerful enough to ME, to the person who put those words to the page, to bring me to tears.

Because it’s still so true. And raw. And real.

Love the Thunder!

It’s a little late in the day, but I’m jumping in here with Mama M’s 5 Question Friday!

Since I’m so late getting started tonight (it’s already 7pm – how did that happen!?) I’m going to just get right down to it. You can play too, just hit up Mama’s blog for all the deets!

1. Thunderstorms – love them or hate them?

LOVE! Love love love a good storm. I love the beauty of the clouds as they come together, the stunning displays of lightning, the wild energy that courses through the atmosphere. I love them.

I do NOT love that they are usually a migraine trigger for both me and Jeep.

2. Do your kids get back to school clothes?

Sometimes. We tend to be more of a shop based on need family, and Indiana doesn’t do the “tax free weekend” or anything, so I watch for good sales on things we like, and just roll with it. I’ve found that if I do things like buy long pants for back to school, it stays hot until late October, and everyone outgrows them in that 2 month window. So, if the price is right, sure, but if we don’t need to yet, we’ll wait.

3. Do you golf? Do you watch it?

It’s worth watching me golf, because it is hands down one of the funniest things you’ll ever see. My dad and brothers golf. I’ve tried. I laugh so hard at myself, I’m glad they put Porta-pots along the course, because seriously? PIMPL.*

Because I do have golfers in my family, I’m not unfamiliar with the game, and I’ve been known to watch on occasion, but it’s not a go-to sport for me.

*PIMPL – Pee In My Pants Laughing

4. Showers or baths?

I love indulging in a good, steamy hot bubble bath with a great book and a glass of wine. However, real life dictates that it’s mostly showers for me.

5. What’s the strangest meal you ever ate?

I was served fried pig brain once. I didn’t know that was what it was when I ate it, and I wouldn’t intentionally hunt it out anytime soon, but it wasn’t awful. Tasted like chicken nuggets, honestly.

So there you are!  My 5QF! If you are a blogger, play along & be sure to link up over at Mama’s. If not, but you want to play, just post your answers in the comments! 

Back at it with Five Question Friday

One of my most favorite ways to get back into the blogging rhythm after tax season is to play along with Mama M. and do 5QF. I even thought about it today, and it was Friday, so I can play and not look lame! Yay me!

Today’s questions are:

1. What advice would you give a couple getting married?
2. If you could tell your 16 year old self ONE thing, what would it be?
3. What do you do to keep cool in the summer?
4. What did you (or your wife) crave most while pregnant?
5. Who is your favorite TV mom? Why?

1. What advice would you give a couple getting married?

Oh my gosh. So many thoughts roll through my head when these things come up! It’s ok to disagree, and even better to respect that your spouse has a different opinion. Find the compromise that works well for both of you. Enjoy each other, but don’t be afraid to still do things on your own/for yourself. Make time for each other. Communicate however best fits your lives (my husband and I text or email the important things to one another, that way we “have it in writing” that we really told the other one!) Trust each other, and be a person worthy of that trust.

2. If you could tell your 16 year old self ONE thing, what would it be?

You have friendships that are valuable to you, and that you will miss if you lose them. Do not throw them away on boys and bad decisions.

3. What do you do to keep cool in the summer?

Whatever it takes! Our A/C is a last resort for us – I keep the air off for as long as we can hold out. With kids and dogs running in and out all summer long, it feels wasteful to me to have it on! We swim, play in the hose, go to the library, have (another) popsicle, hang out in a shady spot. Oh – and LIVE in tank tops and flip flops!

4. What did you (or your wife) crave most while pregnant?

The cravings weren’t bad with pregnancies 2 & 3, but that first one? Corn dogs and spicy ANYTHING. Buffalo chicken, wings, Thai food, Chinese food, whatever I could get that was spicy, I neeeeeeded it. And corn dogs. Like 4 or 5 of ‘em at a time. I should have been a house.

5. Who is your favorite TV mom? Why?

I worried that I’d have to think really hard about this one, and then? It hit me.

Sophia, from The Golden Girls.

Seriously, we all need some tiny little Sicilian woman with a charmingly crude sense of humor in our lives.

Love her.

Ok, people! There you have it – my Five Question Friday fun! Be sure to link up over at Mama’s place!

Hero Moms, Flannel Sheets & Squeaky Toys

Time for 5 Question Friday with Mama M.!

First, though, my Hero Mom link!

And now, my not quite seven minutes of : Hero Moms, flannel sheets and squeaky toys! 

Complete with ridiculous frozen image. Thanks for that, YouTube.

A Thank You! Note Thursday

I’m going to steal a page from This Daddy here for a minute and do my very first:

Thank You!

Note Thursday

As I mentioned before, last Friday was E’s birthday. My mother had purchased a really cool gift for him that she had spotted and KNEW he’d love. It was this watch, a Real Tech Spy Net watch. It has a lie detector, camera, records video and photos, a voice recorder, yada yada, and then you plug it in to your computer and get spy missions from their website. Just right up a nine year old boy alley.

Only, it wouldn’t charge. We opened the whole thing up on Sunday when our family got together to celebrate our birthdays, and I plugged it in, and it would SAY it was charging, but as soon as I unplugged it, nothing.

Now, first, understand that my mom has had it, in hiding for him, for almost a year. My thought was that the battery was probably shot, so off I went to the battery place.

The guy there couldn’t help me. Told me he wasn’t even sure what kind of battery pack it was (he didn’t want to void any warranties by taking it TOO far apart, which I appreciated!) so he recommended I contact the manufacturer and ask for battery specs and he’d see what one cost. He did mention it looked similar to what was in an iPhone, so his best guess was around $30. (Ouch!)

Home I went, and off to the manufacturer’s website, where I exchanged a series of emails with one of their customer service people. I described the problem, they gave me a few suggestions, we tried some stuff. Still not charging. Unfortunately, after all that, he left off with letting me know that it was outside of their warranty period, and that I could ship it to them and they’d SEE if they could fix it, but if they couldn’t, they’d just have to send it back.

Honestly, that was pretty much what I expected. After all, it is a kids toy, and she had purchased it literally last October. She had already had it almost a year, and the fact that we had just gotten around to opening the box didn’t mean much.

Enter: The Seller.

On a leap of faith, I emailed the place where it was purchased. They asked me to give them a call, so I did. I spoke to a very nice lady named Sharon and explained the situation. She was hesitant too, no real hope that we could return or exchange it. But she was willing to give it a shot, so she plugged the information into the system.

And she gasped. Just a little, but definitely out loud.

“We can let you return it!”

So cool! I can send back the broken toy, and we are ordering a replacement for him tonight, so E is going to get the cool Spy Watch. So for all that I want to say

Thank You!

to the fabulous people at QVC! Thank you for not making my mom eat the money she spent on this watch just because she’s a planner and KNEW my son would love it, so ordered it way ahead of time. Thanks to Sharon for giving it a shot, and even thank you to the battery guy and the customer service guy at the company who were at least willing to try to help me fix it since we all assumed I wouldn’t be able to return it. 

I love a good customer service story, and I have to tell you, I’ve NEVER had a bad experience with QVC. Don’t let that home shopping channel concept scare you – give ‘em a shot!

 

Five Question Friday for July 29

I’m working on a post (which may have to become more than one in an effort to not bore you all to tears!) about our Florida trip that came right on the heels of our Virginia trip, but it’s not done. So, today I thought I’d hook up with the lovely Mama M. and play along with:

If you’ve never participated in 5QF before (or if it’s just been a while!), there are a few rules, but they’re easy! Copy the questions, answer them, and then link up at Mama’s! Be sure to include a link back to her in your post so that your readers can find more 5QF posts, and have fun!

1. Vow renewal ceremonies-yea or nay?

Eh. Do I think it's nice to review those vows with your love? Yup. It's a good reminder. In the ins and outs of the every day, couples can get into a rut and forget to still be a couple. They're busy being mom's and dad's, employees, coaches, volunteers, friends, etc, and being a pair sometimes gets lost in the shuffle. Does there need to be a new big white dress and big ceremony? Nope. My husband and I were lucky enough to get to join my bestie when she got married in Hawai'i. There was just the four of us, and they had a beautiful, quiet beach ceremony. That same week, my husband and I, together, just the two of us, stood on the lanai overlooking Hanalei Bay and said our vows again. It was perfect, and personal, and if you're gonna do it, that's how *I* think it should be!

2. What sound/s annoy you the most?

Can I just tell you how much I dislike the sounds made when eating? Isn't that awful? I cannot STAND to listen to people eat! All that lip-smacking and slurping and just eww.

3. If you had to pick, would you have only all boys, or only all girls for kids?

Boys. Hands down. I was terrified I was going to have a bunch of girls. Well, I was afraid I'd have a bunch of GIRLIE girls. See, I don't wear make up much, my hair is usually in a pony tail (no braids, certainly not french braids and such. Can't do those.) I prefer jeans and t-shirts to about anything. If I had a daughter who wanted her hair done, and to wear dresses, and to be all girlie? I wouldn't know how! My girl is a reasonable blend, and we do ok, but boys just always felt like they'd be easier for me.

4. Do you believe in alternative medicine?

I think it certainly has it's place. I also think it's been dubbed "alternative" by the pharmaceutical companies so that we are less likely to turn to that which has been documented to work for hundreds of years and costs $1.63 as opposed to their new super drug that will run you $347. The reality is that most of today's medicines are well rooted in and derivatives of ancient methods of healing. Are there advances that have a real positive in modern medicine? Sure! But I don't think one should completely ignore where it all stemmed from to begin with.

5. Would you take a family member's children and raise them if they needed it?

In a heartbeat. Certainly over having that child(ren), my family, end up in the system, passed around like an old toy. Unless they, in some way, posed a physical threat to my own kids, they'd be welcome in our home.

So there you have it! Wanna link up? Pop on over to Mama M’s, check out other’s who have posted, and share your post!

5QF for June 3rd

Yay! Since I’m at home, waiting on the air conditioner repair man, I’m going to play along with Mama M’s Five Question Friday! I haven’t played in a bit, but hope to get back into the swing of things! After all, being a better blogger is #5 on my Summer Bucket List!

1. If you had to choose, how would you prefer to choose to spend money...on landscaping or a pool?

Pool. Although, we have one of those inflate the top ring above ground jobs, and it’s been really great, so landscaping would be ok, but I’m not really very good at keeping up with things like weeding. OH! Would hardscaping count? That’s where you do the decks and patios and walkways and firepits and stuff – I TOTALLY want to do that!

2. (Scott likes to get things stirred up...) Death penalty, yay or nay?

I think that the death penalty can be appropriate. There are offenses that people commit that are so heinous, I cannot imagine the thought of our tax dollars being used for 50, 60, 70 years to provide food, shelter, and medical care. Tim McVeigh, for example – he’s the guy that orchestrated the Oklahoma City bombing. You blew up a freaking DAY CARE, amongst other things. So, yeah. I’m not opposed to the death penalty.

3. What's the worst thing your kid has gotten into when you turned your back/blogged/showered/blinked?

Can I tell a “my husband wasn’t looking” story? Is that ok? ‘Cause I was at work, but this one is for sure the best one we’ve got.

The kids were little.. In fact it was about a week before Jeep’s 5th birthday, so they were 2,3 & 4. The boys had come to report to daddy that Melissa was playing in nail polish while he was trying to cook dinner. He went to find that she’d gotten some on the carpet, so he set to work on getting that cleaned up. While he did that, the boys went into my bedroom to watch TV on my bed, only it evolved into some form of football game. The story, to this day, is that Jeep said “hut!” and Eli kicked him. Off the bed. And it broke his arm.

I got a seriously frantic phone call at that point that literally was just “You need to come home. RIGHT. NOW.” I went home, he took Jeep for X-Rays and a nice blue cast. I don’t recall if dinner ever really occurred or not!

4. How often do you REALLY go to the dentist?

I used to be really, really good about it. Every 6 months, like clockwork. Now, not so much. Part of that comes from having no insurance, and part from having great teeth – I’ve never had a cavity filled (the one cavity I ever had was just starting in a baby tooth – we found it when the tooth fell out.) So, it’s not a good thing or anything, but I guess I only go if I feel like I need to.

5. What is your favorite animal (doesn't have to be a pet-type animal)?

Ohmigosh, this one is the hardest, because I really like most animals. I would seriously run one of those rescue centers. Not snakes, though. Can’t do snakes.

Ok, in our area, like 45 minutes from here I guess, we have a really cool Feline Rescue Center with lots of big cats. And they were awesome. And amazing. And I loved them.

And horses. I love those, too.

And dolphins, whales, sharks….

Plus my pet-type animals.

Yeah, nope. Can’t pick a favorite. Sorry.

 

Well… Still no word from the A/C guy. (He’s not real excited to be coming to my house anyway, but that’s a post for another day!) Hopefully he shows up soon, I’m missing field day at school for this! If you decide to play along with 5QF, be sure to pop over to Mama M’s and link up!

My Own Summer Bucket List

Julia from Work, Wife, Mom… Life! posted yesterday a “Summer Bucket List” that got me thinking. (She’s good at that.)

I have LOTS of things I’d love for us to do over the summer. While I work outside the home, I have this great, flexible job that lets me have a lot of time with my kids, too. These are a few of the things I want to make be our summer bucket list priority items:

1. Go camping: We have a great tent & lots of gear, but we rarely use it. I love to camp, but it just seems really overwhelming at times. No more excuses. I want to throw our stuff and the kids in the van and get all Nike about it – you know, just DO it!
2. Take my kids fishing: This will probably coincide with #1, which is as it should be, but I want to be sure it’s on the list as it’s own item. This weekend is Fish For Free weekend in Indiana, and we may even try to sneak in a quick worm drowning then, but I really want us to get this in there somewhere.
3. Visit my grandparents: I’m 32 years old, and three of my four grandparents are living. This is its own blessing, and I want to embrace it while I can. This is going to mean some road tripping, never a favorite, but oh so important!
4. PURGE!: My house is full of things we don’t use, don’t need, don’t want. It’s gotta go. The sooner the better. I’ve started on this project, but it’s going to take a while. I’m trying to be realistic. :-)
5. Be a Better Blogger: I want to write more consistently, and maybe (but only maybe) with some specific topics in mind. I say maybe because I’m kind of a random person, and I don’t want to feel like I’m confining myself to something specific. On the flip side, having specific topics might help with focus, which is good. We’ll see how it goes!

Ok, those are five things, all of which are very doable, that I want to do with my summer. Linking up with Working Mommy Wednesday!

Blessed, even if I don’t remember it

I’m linking up today with Pour Your Heart Out Wednesday with Shell!

Over the last few days, a woman who I consider a dear, dear friend has been re-living what she dealt with 5 years ago this week.

She was fighting to save her daughter.

Before she was three, Colette had been diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma, an aggressive cancer of the nervous system. Her May, 2005 diagnosis led to surgery, months of chemotherapy, and finally, in that first week of December, a stem-cell transplant.

My heart broke for a family, terrified, facing unknown battles. For a little girl, only a few months younger than my own E, who would spend Christmas in a hospital, isolated, while her family prayed the stem cells would graft in, and her body would begin to heal.

As I read over the CaringBridge posts from 5 years ago, I remember sitting in tears at my computer. I remember praying as hard as I had ever prayed for God to heal that little girl.

Blood transfusions. Feeding tubes. Central lines. Stem cell transplants. Chemotherapy. Radiation. Surgeries. All at a hospital 5 hours from home.

She was three. years. old.

For Christmas, they put a sparkly pink tinsel tree in her room. Many of us sent gifts. We left notes of support and prayer on her page.

We loved her.

And we still get to.

This is Colette in October. Notice her hearing aids. The substantial loss in hearing she has is a direct result of the chemotherapy. That’s because pediatric cancer research is sorely underfunded, and often, adult treatments are used to fight childhood cancers.

They aren’t sure if Colette will ever have children, the impact on her reproductive system is unclear at this stage. The risk of secondary cancers for her is high as a function of the treatments she received to fight the neuroblastoma.

Here’s the part where I pour out my heart.

I have three healthy kids. I’m so incredibly blessed, even when they are driving me crazy. There are days when I forget that.  When I yell at them, not because they’re being ridiculous, but because I don’t have the patience for the silliness at that moment. When I’m frustrated that they aren’t trying hard enough on a homework assignment, and I lose track of the fact that they are healthy enough to go to school every day.

I lose sight of how lucky I am.

And then, I feel that much worse when I’m short with them. When I’m impatient. When I’m harsh.

We spend so much time and energy focusing on outward appearances, we lose sight of what we have right here in front of us. We become so overwhelmed by work, chores around the house, social engagements, volunteer work, even things like blogs, we miss the miracles that happen every day.

Or maybe that’s just me.

And that? That’s the part that scares me the most. The part where you go “Am I the only one? Are there other mom’s who feel that way too? Or is it really JUST me?”

And then you get into a spiral of feeling like a mom-failure.

As I re-read Tammy’s thoughts, fears, prayers from those terrifying days five years ago, I am reminded of just how lucky I am. And how much I need to remember that.

Five Question Friday – a vlog

Watch as I show off my dark circles, give you my thoughts on Daylight Saving Time, and point out that I am cheap. More than once.

This tirade brought to you by:

Thankful Thursday

Today, I am thankful for my healthy children.

I am thankful that I am here to nurture them, and watch them grow.

As I spent time this week with family and friends of Morgan & Brooke, as I stood graveside and watched a husband and three little girls say their final goodbye’s to a wife and mother, I wept. I wept for three girls who have already faced so much, and now must go forward in their lives without their mom. I wept for a man left reeling by the loss of a child and a partner in the span of less than a month. I wept for myself, too – I had planned to call Brooke this week, to try to grab lunch, or coffee, or something, and now it’s to late. But mostly I hurt for that family.

Tragedy can hit us at any time. While Morgan’s death was not unexpected, having battled the monster that is neuroblastoma for the last five and a half years, it was still exceptionally painful. Brooke’s passing was something that struck out of left field, and was just overwhelming.

Please pray for their family. Pray for strength and comfort for them. Pray for wisdom for those of us who want to help – guidance to know what they may need, and how best to help them.

As I sat with those who have lost so much, I could not help but be reminded of what I’m so blessed to have. And for that, I am thankful.

Hooray for 5QF!

I haven’t been able to play along with Mama M. & the rest of the 5QF-ers in forever!

I really had wanted to vlog today, too. Not sure why, but the drive was there. Sadly (or maybe not?) my voice is NOT there. I currently sound like some horrible hybrid of a goose and a donkey. It’s not pretty here, folks. So, I will spare you all my honking and braying, and just type instead.

5 Question Friday, in case you’re new-ish, is the brainchild of Mama M. over at My Little Life, in which she presents five questions, we share our five answers, and we all link up and be bloggy sociable! This weeks questions are:

1. If you could be a fly on any wall, which would you choose?

2. Do you budget your Christmas shopping or just get it done without budgeting?

3. What is the craziest fad diet you have ever done?

4. Is there a TV show that you have seen every episode/season of?

5. What one song always pulls at your heart?

1. Oh, to be a fly on the wall…. I’m just not sure where! I keep coming back to in a labor and delivery room, because I think in another life I’d have Mama M’s job, but frankly, who wants a fly in the room while they’re trying to focus!? Hello, distraction!  Honestly, I think sometimes it would be best to be a fly on my own walls, and view myself from outside. A fresh perspective, if you will. It might make those teachable moments a little easier!

2. Christmas is all about budgets. Well, everything for us is about budgets. But especially big things like Christmas.

3. I don’t diet. Never have.

4. I don’t know that there’s a show I’ve seen EVERY episode of, but we could probably give Law & Order a good run for their money.  OH WAIT! There was a show a couple seasons ago.. Life On Mars, I think. *Hold Please, while I Google..* Yes, that was it. Life on Mars. It was a one season deal here in the states (apparently it has some roots in the BBC) and we really enjoyed it! I think I caught the whole thing!

5. There are a lot of songs that really get me… “Alyssa Lies” makes me cry EVERY.STINKIN.TIME. Blake Shelton’s “The Baby” gets me too. Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven”, Sarah Mclachlan’s “Angel” – those also make me weepy. The Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris” makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  Can’t pick just one!

So that’s my five! It feels good to play along again! Now I’m off to see what other’s have said.

I’m not lost!!

Hi!

(Waving frantically)

Anybody still out there? (out therre…. oooouuut thhhheeeerree….) (It’s an echo, people. Get it?)

Ok, so I guess it was only Monday when I posted last, but for whatever reason, it seems like it’s been a MONTH! I’m really behind on my reading, too, so bear with me, I’ll try to get caught up this weekend.

Just been a busy week, you know? BUT!

It’s FRIDAY!!

That means that despite my slackerdom, I am able to play along with Five Question Friday without looking like a looooooser.

Schweet.

So, if you’re not sure how to play, this is Mama M’s gig, and I send you her way so you can get the deets. (It’s easy, plus you want to go to Mama M’s anyway, because that’s where everyone else who’s playing links up, and you want to read all their answers too, right? Of COURSE you do! Ok, then. Go see her. WAIT! Not yet. First read mine, THEN go see her. Ok.)

Today’s Questions:

1. What is the first nightmare you remember?
2. Even if you're not a sports fan, what's your favorite sport to play/watch?
3. If you could pull off one piece of trendy fashion, what would you want it to be (jeggings, hats, thigh high boots, etc.)?
4. Did you make good grades in school?
5. What magazines do you subscribe to?

1. The first nightmare I remember was when I was maybe six or seven, and I dreamed I was swimming in the lake, and there was a GIANT catfish, and it was chasing me. Scared the sweet bejeebers outta me.

See, creepy, right? I didn’t even snag the ones where the are guys holding catfish the size of a fuh-reakin school bus! You think I’m kidding? Google Image Search “catfish” –creepy.

 

2. I am totally a sports fan. Last weekend was a celebration at our house, as it was the kickoff of the NFL regular season. (Go Horse!) We also watch college football, NASCAR and college basketball. While I love that my boys played baseball, I don’t watch much of it. Pro basketball, either.

3. It would be to own the trendy fashion! I wrote here about my fashion fail status. We’re on a pretty tight budget, and frankly, clothes for me are not high on the list of things we purchase. Ever.  I’m working on presenting a more together me, though! Probably will blog about it. As soon as I go shopping.

4. More often than not, yes. When I tried. Sometimes, I didn’t try very hard. Those grades, not as good.

5. We get ESPN the Magazine, that’s it! (See. We’re totally sports fans.)

Ok, lovelies, I’m off to get my “read” on!

Friday!

It’s Friday again! Hooray for that – this week has been busy! Lots of things getting under way at the school, getting ready to kick things up at work, and a little line of storms that brought in a monster migraine that I can’t quite shake.

But, it’s still Friday, not Saturday, or even Sunday, and I’m getting my 5QF done, so that counts for something!

Are you familiar with 5QF? It’s the brain child of Mama M., and it’s easy peazy - 5QF=Five Question Friday! Mama, with the help of her community, comes up with 5 questions, we come up with answers, and we all link up over at My Little Life.

Today’s Questions:

1. What do you do when you have time to yourself?

2. When you look out your kitchen window, what do you see?

3. Who/What would you want to be reincarnated as?

4. What is your biggest pet peeve about other people's kids?

5. Regular or Diet soda?

~~~~~~~~~~ And now, my answers! ~~~~~~~~~~

1. What do you do when you have time to yourself? I read. Or cook. Or just eat. But I’m usually reading. With all the kids in school, time to myself isn’t quite as far-fetched as it used to be. Oh – and sometimes I catch up on work!

2. When you look out your kitchen window, what do you see? My backyard, much of which is allowed to grow as a “meadow”, so there are field grasses as tall as our fence. All summer it’s just been overrun with butterflies, so it’s been really pretty. Oh, and our POS shed that we want to rip down and replace, but haven’t yet. (You saw it all here!)

3. Who/What would you want to be reincarnated as? I’d love to be a dog. Preferably one that lives like my dogs do. Yummy treats, comfortable beds, playing outside when I want to, inside when I prefer that. People that love me and take me places. Let me on the bed and the couch. My dogs, they have it pretty good.

4. What is your biggest pet peeve about other people's kids? I get very frustrated by children who do not respect adults. Kids are kids, and while sometimes, I wish they’d just stop being so “kid-like” all the time, that’s just part of it. What I cannot stand is children that are intentionally rude and disrespectful to adults. And each other, for all that.

5. Regular or Diet soda? REGULAR!

Ok! There’s my five! I’m off to be a better bloggy buddy and visit a few of you, so be sure to link up, won’t you?

Effie does my 5QF

Ok, not really.

But I vlogged it, and she helped.

Sorta.

Check out Mama M. and the rest of the Five Question Friday folks:

And UPromise! I almost forgot to link it up. Check it out, I LURVE it!!

Also, I was talking about my tomato worms over at Burpee this week – you can read about that here! (Have you ever seen a tomato worm? I hadn’t before this summer. They’re pretty wicked looking!)

5QF

This was supposed to make it quicker to be done, this vlogging thing.

Then YouTube threw up.

Got it now, though, so thanks for coming by!

Mama M’s Five Question Friday, vlogged! .

And look! Not the worst possible frozen image. Think YouTube is sucking up now, because of all of it’s stupidity? Eh. Happy Friday!

Friday!

It’s Friday, and it’s HOT outside! I just checked the heat index, and right this very moment it feels like 101 out there.

Since I have no desire to melt, the kids and I are in the house getting stuff done. Dishes and laundry are washed up, a folding party will commence soon. (Y’all are invited.) The kids are *ahem* allegedly cleaning up their bedrooms. Tomorrow evening, they are leaving to head down to my Dad’s, where they will be spending a few days before he and my step-mom pack ‘em up to spend a couple of days at the parks of Orlando. The plan is that I will get them back next Sunday, but that’s “flexible”.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I’m going to spend next week getting some serious work done, as I have a few tax returns that I can get at least close to ready to file. (They’re on extension! It’s ok!) Along with that, our company picnic is next Saturday, and I’ll have some shopping and cooking to do for that as well.

While we wait on all of those things to come together, however, Friday also means it’s time for Mama M.’s Five Question Friday! Rumor is that Mama’s looking for some shiny new questions, so if you have some great ideas (or even just ok ones!) pop over to her BlogFrog community and fill her in. 

Today’s Questions:

1. What were your school colors?

Purple and White. Not that I cared. I was a nerdy drama geek, and rarely attended a sporting event. Which is interesting, because even then, I was a sports fan. Anywhozit, our school fight song used the same music as a Girl Scout song, so I never could sing it right, I always ended up singing the Girl Scout song.

2. What's the best compliment you ever received?

Best ever? Holy smokies, Batman, that’s hard! One of the most touching I remember receiving was when I was that drama geek. We did a performance of Steel Magnolias, and I was M’Lynn. I will never forget the emotion of this scene:

It was truly the best role I ever played. After one of our performances, the following Monday, there was a card delivered to me in my classroom. It was from a teacher, the band director at our school, congratulating me on my performance. His words were exceptionally kind, and I still have that card somewhere.

3. Do you buy cheap or expensive toilet paper?

I’m a middle of the road kinda gal on that one. We’ve been on the more expensive side of the TP world for a while (hello, those are some sensitive areas, and frankly, I’m all about more than one-ply, and softness and all!) but I recently grabbed a package of the Sam’s Club brand, and have been pleased with it. Soft, but not to soft, works well, and was less expensive than some of the name brand options. Even my husband was surprised.

4. Have you ever had a surprise party thrown for you? Or have you had one for someone else?

I remember being little and we had a surprise party for my Grandpa when he turned 65. I remember everyone being shocked that my Grandmother hadn’t blown the surprise part! But I think that was it.

5. What is one material possession that you "can't live without"?

My vehicle. I love my laptop, and my cell phone, and so on, but I like to go places, and where I live, I don’t have access to public transportation, and I’m to far out to walk or ride bikes, especially with the kids!

Ok, there it is, another 5QF! (And the heat index? Now it’s at 103. Ugh. I’m off to make more iced tea!

Five Question Friday

I contemplated a vlog.

I changed my mind. It’s unbearably hot and humid out. (Heat index is at 95. Picking berries was not my best idea. Makes for really bad hair.) Plus, I’m plotting a cooking vlog for the blackberry jam since my pictures are not.good. And well, too much Megan M. can be just too much!

You’re welcome.

So, I’m trying to type without using my right thumb, which I mangled in a tug-of-war/bungee cord/it’s me or the dog incident last night. It’s not much fun. You don’t really realize how much you use something like a thumb until you can’t. I’ll make every effort to catch typos, but please be nice if I miss any!

Five Question Friday is the brain child of Mama M. from My Little Life. Please play along, won’t you? All the deets are over at her place, and she loves new friends!

This weeks questions are:

1. Do you collect anything?

2. Name 3 celebrities that you find good looking.

3. Do you have any scars? If so, what's the story behind it (them?)?

4. What is a food that you like to eat, but others might think it's gross or weird?

5. Have you ever seen a tornado in real life?

 

1. Do I collect anything? Sure! Dirty laundry. Dirty dishes. Screaming kids.

Oh. You meant like “stuff”? No, not so much. The above is quite enough.

2. 3 celebs I think are good looking? So, I’m not a celeb crush kinda gal (not in many years, anyway) and I think most celebrities are overly made up and fake. I think Jewel and Reese Witherspoon are adorable, and in a fabulously simple sort of way. Mike Rowe makes me swoon.

3. I have a few bumps and bruises type scars, but I have that fabulous c-section scar across my middle from baby # 3. Nothing like making it to 9+ centimeters, only to have to be cut open. It astounds me that there are women out there who CHOOSE a C. *shudder*

4. Weird food? I eat nearly anything. I love mussels, have eaten and enjoyed escargot, love me some eggplant.

5. Have I ever seen a tornado in real life? I have not seen an official, touched-down, honest to goodness tornado. I have seen the aftermath of tornadoes, I have seen funnel clouds, I have hunkered down in my basement and in the cafeteria of my high school while they passed within a mile or two of me, but I’ve not seen one in real life. I will though. I am drawn to them like bugs to a light.

There it is! My 5QF!

Now, my swollen thumb and I are off to visit some blogs. Chicago kept me busy this week, and I’m officially playing catch up!

It’s Friday!

I’m gearing up to enjoy the weekend, and then head out for Chicago on Monday. I’ll be hanging out with other tax junkies at the IRS Nationwide Tax Forum next week, so my time here may be a little hit-or-miss.

Around here, though, Friday means it’s time for Mama M.’s Five Question Friday! As is the case each Friday, Mama gives us five questions to answer, and we all link up – you should play too!

Today’s questions:

1. What is one food you could eat everyday?
2. Are you working in the career you thought you would be when you were 18?
3. What is something that you wish you would have done when you were younger and didn’t?
4. What color are your kitchen walls?
5. Do you remember what  your very first favorite song was?

A food I could eat every day? I love pasta. I could probably eat pasta every day for the rest of my life, and be ok with that.

Am I working in the career I thought I would be when I was 18… Sort of. (I know, what a cop-out, right?! Wait, hear me out!) At 18, I was in school to become a theatre teacher. I also knew I was going to work, at least part time, for the tax office. I don’t teach theatre, I teach tax. I work full time for the tax office. And I love it. It’s not exactly where I thought I’d be, but it’s not to far away, either.

I wish I had traveled more. I wish I would have let myself be young, and jumped in a car with a group of girlfriends and spent weekends shopping. I wish I’d have gone to Florida for spring break one time. I wish I had experienced those parts of life that so many people experience.

My kitchen walls are super boring. They’re beige. I want to paint them a deep, almost brick red. We’ll see what happens.

This is the question I was super excited about! #5! I DO remember my first favorite song. See, when I was really little, my grandparents had a jukebox in a sunroom on the back of their house. It looked like this:

It had beautiful old records, songs that went way back.

My Grandfather kept a stack of coins there so we could play songs when we were at the house.

I’d play the same one, over and over again.

Elvira.

Ooom pa pa mow mow.

I was probably 4 or 5. And I knew every word. Me and those Oak Ridge Boys could sing about that pretty woman for hours on end.

Or until my mom lost her mind and took the quarters.

There it is, folks! Another week of 5QF! Play along with us by linking up YOUR answers over at Mama M.’s, or just leave ‘em in the comments somewhere along the way, and be sure to stop in and read what others had to say as well. Have a fantastic Friday!