Year end - a resolution and year recap

All of Christmas is packed up except for the actual tree and the star upon thar. The tree is nine feet tall so I can't reach the top until we pull the whole thing down, and I'm just not quite ready for that yet. Check that, I think that hubby isn't ready for that yet. When I was taking the ornaments off the tree on Thursday, he came in from cleaning his car and he seemed a little disappointed that Christmas was coming down. I think I am too, but I'm also excited to get the house fully clean again and things put away to start fresh next year (to be dragged out again five minutes later but still).

Here are last year's resolutions:

1) Spend more quality time with my kids. Play with them, even if I get frustrated that Spencer won’t play Memory correctly or Henry just wants to chew the cars.

This was at the top of my list mostly to remind myself. Sometimes I succeeded and sometimes I failed. This will carry over to next year's resolutions.

2) Lose 30 lbs (hopefully made possible by Jennie’s BiggestBloggingLoser competition and my running goals)

I ultimately lost 45 pounds, although some of it was sick weight at the end and went back on once I started keeping food down. My weight on 1/1/11 was 184.4. My weight this morning 12/31/11 was 143.6

3) Cut white pasta and soda from my diet and sweetener from my tea and coffee

White pasta yes, although I incorporated some in toward the end of the year in moderation. Same with soda, although I drank a little more than I'm comfortable with at the end of the year. I'd rather drink no tea than unsweetened tea but I rarely drink it anymore and most of it is too sweet for me. I now can't put sweeteners in my coffee and can't drink foofee coffee drinks either (syonara peppermint mocha). Give me a plain coffee with a touch of cream and I'm golden.

4) Run the Gasparilla 5k (February)

I did, as well as 6 other 5ks. I love the 5k length, although I think I've grown out of it a little. My PR was 30:33, and next year I'd like to break 30 minutes.

5) Run the Turkey Trot 10k (November)

I made the personal decision to skip this because I didn't have a running partner and didn't want to deal with the crowds on my own. Also, I had cooking to do and ... well, I did a boot camp and did a 10k the following weekend which I think I enjoyed much better. I still count this as a completed resolution. Ran a 10k.

6) See six movies in the theater (this is not so much for me, but my husband who loves the movies and we haven’t gone at all in 2010). Included in this, go on eight dates with my husband sans children.

We did really great at this. We saw our sixth movie yesterday (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and went on 15 dates. Sometimes they were not "dates" but I counted them as such depending on how we felt afterward. 16 hours of Black Friday shopping sans kids? We had so much fun, I call it a date. I think that I will carry this over to my next resolution list, as a reminder and an assistance in other resolutions.

7) Read 125 books (I usually surpass this, but with my other goals I don’t want my reading to go by the wayside)

I did not make this goal, but about halfway through the year I amended it in my mind to 100, given all my other goals. I made 108 (I think. I keep my list on a FB note and I can't find it now that Timeline is active. No, I'm not happy about this). I think next year, I'll just say 100. It was a struggle but reachable.

8) Hang up my clothes or put them in the hamper (this sounds simple, but I always throw my clothes on my dresser and then sort them when the pile gets too high or company’s coming … I know, I’m a guy).

I failed. I'll just put that out there.

9) Re-plant my front flower beds and keep them weeded and properly tidy (and alive)

My flowers and plants are doing great, but I failed at weeding. I think this coming year I'm going to look into ground cover instead of mulch.

10) Get the deck done and the backyard spruced up appropriately.

Deck is done, backyard is usable (we're out there nearly every day) but it could use some more work prettying it up. My flowers died except my major plants (aloe, rose, and this great yellow flowering plant that I don't know what it's called). Ongoing.

So there you go. I think that sidebar was a major reason I accomplished the majority of my goals, and next year it will be there too so I can keep myself accountable monthly instead of yearly.

Out with the old.

I'm pretty sure that I've done this meme in the past but I can't seem to find it so I grabbed it off Jennie's blog. Here's a year-in-review of The Year That Should Be Forgotten (although in this, it doesn't appear as bad)

1. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?

I started running, and learned to love it, I lost weight and maintained my weight loss, I took my children on a plane and stayed with them in a hotel.

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

This is the first year I have really EVER stuck with my resolutions, and I rocked them.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

A cousin did, a beautiful tiny preemie boy named Jude. My neighbor, although we weren't close when she gave birth, we are now. An old friend who I'm in and out of touch with but got to see a few weeks ago at her older child's birthday party.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

A good friend's son passed away in February, which was heartbreaking, and my husband's aunt (the grandmother of above baby Jude) in September which blindsided the family. While others didn't pass, this was the year of the Diagnosis, with far too many friends and family beginning the fight against cancer.

5. What countries did you visit?

Just the U.S., but I actually traveled this year! Outside of Florida! I went to Pennsylvania and Delaware twice, on the second trip we also made it to Maryland, and then I made a third trip directly to Maryland.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you didn't have in 2011?

Less stress. Uh huh, sure.

7. What dates from 2011 will be etched upon your memory, and why?

No specific dates stand out. Early in the year I decided that I'd like to put a big black X over 2011 and people kept telling me not to count it out. Turns out I was right, for the most part.

8. What was your biggest achievement of this year?

I went from a 14/16 to a 6/8. I'm healthier, stronger, and happier than I've ever been. I don't sweat so much, I enjoy being outside even during the summer, I swear shorts, I bought boots that fit my calves. All the little things that come with becoming not a "bigger girl" for the first time in my life. I weigh less than I did since about eighth grade. Every run I did, every PR I made, every time I laced up my sneakers and stepped out the door (by myself for the most part). Every time was an accomplishment that I want to remember.

9. What was your biggest failure?

I can feel every parenting failure, even if I don't remember every one.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

I had a health scare of my own which I still haven't taken care of specifically, but it was more my extended family and friends which suffered this year.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

I bought a beautiful pair of brown riding boots that I never thought I'd fit (I have large calves). And I bought a new pair of running shoes for the coming year.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

I can't honestly think of CELEBRATORY behavior.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

My sister's, particularly, as usual. Others, generally.

14. Where did most your money go?

Bills, daycare, food, supporting extended family.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

My Delaware trips made me very excited.

16. What song will always remind you of 2011?

Not necessarily 2011, but this song will remind me of Henry (we can always get him to dance by singing it in his ear):

and this one for Spencer (because he sings it CONSTANTLY):

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?

Happier: yes
Thinner: yes
Richer: about the same

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Gotten up earlier (voluntarily)

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Stress and freak out

20. How did you spend Christmas?

Like this.

21. Did you fall in love in 2011?

I stayed in love with my family, and I fell in love with running.

22. What was your favorite TV program?

A lot - I found new shows to love this year. I fell for CSI again now that Ted Dansen is on, and Unforgettable, and Prime Suspect and Person of Interest and Suburgatory,and The New Girl.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

Nope.

24. What was the best book you read?

Faithful Place by Tana French, Before Ever After by Samantha Sotto, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

I don't think I had any musical discoveries. There were some great things profiled on NPR that I wanted to remember to check out but never got around to it.

26. What did you want and get?

I wanted a happy, healthy family. I think for the most part I have that.

27. What did you want and not get?

Abs! For next year!

28. What was your favorite film of 2011?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2 - in 3D!

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 31, and we had a Fourth of July party on the deck to celebrate the birth of me, my husband (age 32) and the nation (age ... um, 236?)

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Unlimited funds so that we could worry about other things.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept of 2011?

Jeans.

32. What kept you sane?

Are you believing that I'm sane? Dear, dear blog reader.

33. What political issue stirred you the most?

There are many, but I choose to rant about these with my husband in front of the tv instead of on social media where aunts can defriend me on Facebook for making comments about the fire-worthiness of certain Alaskan governor's books.

34. Who did you miss?

No one and every one.

35. Who was the best new person you met?

Did I meet anyone new this year? That person. The Best.

36. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.

Deep Breaths.

37. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

Gitchee Gitchee Goo Means that I love you.

The Yay Christmas! post

So really, Christmas was awesome.

We started out on Christmas Eve, by which time we had EVERYTHING done for Christmas. Purchasing, wrapping, grocery shopping. There was nothing that NEEDED doing, which was certainly nice. The kids and I met a very old friend of mine from elementary school (long-standing friend - not an OLD friend; she's the same age as me and I'M NOT OLD! ) ... I digress. We met up with Sarah and her husband and adorable son Brady.

We didn't have a ton of time together but it was awesome to catch up in person for the first time in probably 15 years and have the boys play together. And next time I see her there will be an addition to her adorable family! I should have taken a picture of the bump! Too bad there aren't any girls in the group - no one to follow in their mothers' Brownie footsteps (okay, not too sad; I wasn't on the Brownie bandwagon so much and quit as soon as I was allowed). We later had our neighbors over for cheese fondue. I made the dip and supplied the bread, and Mrs. Neighbor supplied fruit and veggies. It was delicious and fun and laid back - everything I wanted it to be.

After dark we headed out, Starbucks in hand (coffee for us, junior hot cocoa for the little one), in search of Christmas lights and WERE NOT DISAPPOINTED. What is up with the luminaries this year? They are BEAUTIFUL! Spencer was done after two hours but we had great luck finding beautiful lights until then, and then we headed home so Santa could come and go and we could get some sleep.

Christmas came and went, was successful and fun and not nearly as stressful as it has been in past years. The grandparents all came over, all eleven of us had sit-down breakfast of biscuits and gravy and pastry and bacon and breakfast casserole and then the present opening began! It was all a-flurry but the kids were very happy with their loot as were mommy and daddy.

I brought these sprouts to Christmas dinner at my in-laws' house and they were delicious. Delicious. I did burn the heck out of my arm in making said sprouts, but I'd venture to say they were worth it. We had much much much more food and many many many more presents and went home exhausted and happy.

And then this happened.

But I'll choose, in the future, to remember this instead:

What started out as the Christmas post

We had a fantastic Christmas! I hope yours was also great. I planned on posting this a little closer to Christmas, but sickeness has plagued and overrun the house in post-Christmas terror. Monday, Spencer woke up throwing up which I chalked up to an insane amount of junkfood that his body wasn't equipped to handle. But then it didn't stop, and there were poop issues ... all day. We still thought it was related to the junk food though, and he was mostly acting like he felt fine so we went to lunch with my dad's family. By the time we got there he was acting like death, so he laid on my lap through lunch and on the way home ... Henry started throwing up.

It's impossible to keep a 16-month old still even if they are throwing up, so he did so a few more times around the house until bedtime, but he slept through the night and felt much better in the morning. Spencer also felt better in the morning, so we figured it was just a 24-hour bug.

And then. I. Got. It.

On the way home from a day of spending my Christmas money (post on that later) I started feeling bad. I don't do well with GO GO GO, so we thought maybe I was just getting a little motion sickness.

WOO BOY. It turns out that the throwing up for this bug is not related to something trying desperately to get out, it's because your equilibrium is off so every time you move, or run to the bathroom, you get motion sick. Trust me, I've had a lot of time to think about this.

Also, at about 12:45am, hubby went to bring me some water and COLLAPSED on the floor, and started snoring. He has no recollection of this. I pleaded with him to wake up but he didn't for nearly a minute, and then I pleaded with him to crawl into the shower which he did and spent the next hour in there not being able to move. He has it too.

This morning I was actually going to call someone to pick up the kids and take them to daycare but it was just going to take so long so I gathered all of my strength, got them dressed and drove them to daycare to get them out of house. I touched them as little as possible, and I did not feed them. Someone without a plague can do that.

So this started out as a Yay Christmas! post. Sorry, it didn't end that way - I'll have to start again.

Oh, but hey! I lost 7lbs in 12 hours! That's good, right? No?

Fall Into Reading – the final wrap-up

I wish this could be longer but I just don’t seem to have time for anything these days. You can find my intermittent posts here and here and here and here and here.

So? I wanted to read 19 books. I finished at 25 and a half. Good? Good. I didn’t read everything on my list, but I read other things and SOME of my list. I still having finished Just My Type but it’s still in my purse. I read another Rachel Caine book (Ghost Town, I have a problem).

And what did I learn?

I don't know that I really learned anything, but it did help me keep on track to finishing up the year strong. It helped me structure my reading resolutions for next year. It helped me make a list of books and then be strong enough to not follow it when I really didn't want to.

A few of the books I didn't read these three months will go onto January's list:

Swamplandia! Karen Russell
Someday This Will Be Funny, Lynne Tillman
Diary of a Mad Fat Girl, Stephanie McAfee

So there's my reading! And still, I'm hoping to finish reading Just My Type by the end of the year. That's not asking much right? I swear I'm enjoying it!

Fall into reading - almost the finale

I’m obviously so behind in my FIR updates that it feels silly to update today right before the last week. BUT I have done a fair bit of reading since my last update so here’s where I’m at:

Untouchable: This was my book club book a few months ago and I read half but not all. I finally finished it, and I really enjoyed it.



Beauty Queens: I tried. I really did. But I could actually feel my brain cells dying so I called a day. Officially off my list of ongoing things to read.

Lords of Misrule
Carpe Corpus
Fade Out
Kiss of Death: all by Rachel Caine. More of the Morganville vampire line. Fun reads, not exactly brain food but enjoyable.

Boo: this was a light Christian romance. I think I enjoy Rene Guttridge – doesn’t beat you over the head with the Message. Light good read.

City of Ember: I wanted more, so I guess I’m glad there’s more in the series but I thought there wasn’t enough meat to this first book. I’m interested enough to keep going though, so here’s to my future reading of People of Sparks!

Gap Creek: I read most of this. I’m not sure I care enough to finish it.

Just My Type – a book about fonts: I love it! Still about half way through, but really enjoying.

My goal for the final week is pretty simple – I want to finish Just My Type. I have a couple more Rachel Caine books from the library that I’ll read if I have time, but I definitely read the AMOUNT of books that I wanted to read. I didn’t read all the books I put on my list, but I read the important ones and I feel good about how I’ve finished the year. It has made me think about what kinds of reading resolutions I’ll put on my list for the coming year. Stay tuned for that!

My goal for FIR was 19 books, and I've read 25. Anything else is just gravy, right?

In the blink of an eye

The title of this entry is amusing to me, because I’m having a problem with my eye and it itches and it’s an angry red color. Better amusing to me than annoying, and that’s what this eye issue is. But anyhow.

It seems like it’s been no time at all since my last post, but evidently it’s been more than two weeks. I’ve started a couple posts but they just seem so JOURNAL. This is what I did with my Thanksgiving vacation. So here’s the run-down: T-day morning boot camp. T-day: family, good. Black Friday: serious shopping, new winter coat and a new DISHWASHER and nearly all the kids presents. Other odds and ends: busy, busy busy.

So there, you’re caught up. There were lots of other things, and I might do posts later about them but at least I don’t feel like I’m just ignoring this blog which is what sometimes happens when I feel like I’ve missed too many days. I know it’s silly – you don’t know what you’ve missed. But it just seems like SO MUCH.

Again. Anyhow. My dishwasher! I’m so excited. Hubby installed it on Saturday (which I didn’t think was that big of a deal, but every time I mention that my husband installed it people are all, “he did it himself? You didn’t need it professionally installed?” so yes, evidently my hubby is cool like that.) and last night we ran our first load. I know, I’m obviously “old” because this morning I thought about the fact that a) I left laundry in the washer and will have to re-wash when I get home and b) I can empty the dishwasher and see how clean my dishes are! This is also mind-blowing because one of my least favorite chores in emptying the dishwasher. But clean dishes! Amazing!

I’ve finished my shopping for the kids, hallelujah. Henry’s main gift is this loud huge Chuck the Truck, and Spencer’s main gift is some wooden Thomas trains and set pieces to add on to his train set. Henry’s also getting a soccer ball and some clothes and books, and Spencer is getting books, clothes and … oh, I know there’s something else in there but I can’t remember. For the stockings, Henry has some talking animals and Spencer has some of those finger skateboards, as well as flashcards and some other odds and ends. Not an extravagant Christmas, but not bad either. I’ve also gotten all the presents for all the children in our life, and we did a gift exchange/secret santa for our mommy’s group and all the kids got a present.

We also decided to do a couple needy family things this year. We adopted a child from the Angel Tree (which is mostly online now, which makes me a little sad) and bought some clothes, shoes and toys for a local 2-year old (he requested a drum set, so this is my apology to the mom ahead of time), and we went in with some friends to adopt a family of three children for a holiday party. We bought for the boy – Ironman action figures and a big talking/walking robot (again, sorry mom. Kids love noisy toys!) and we’ll bring some non-perishables as well. We also have a couple extra toys that we had bought for the holiday party before we found that cool robot, so I think I’m going to take the kids to the Ten’s Toybox holiday Toys for Tots drive.

Obviously, I’m working on teaching the kids to give, rather than get. Spencer is now at that age that every single thing he sees on tv, he wants. (Except the girl toys. Nora (a girl at daycare) wants those.) It’s really one of the most grating things for me. Spencer has never wanted for anything, and I really want to curb any feeling of entitlement he feels. Fortunately, he has no problem giving. Unfortunately, he doesn’t understand why he’s not “getting” too.

I’m nearly done with my Christmas cards – I lost my Excel spreadsheet with all the addresses on it, so I’m now waiting for all addresses from friends and family, but the majority of things are done. I found a friend who wants my Size 10 jeans, so I’m mailing those off to her at the same time. I’m sadly lacking on the rest of my gifting – I seem to have no inspiration this year. A lot of people might be getting gift cards. Is it uninspired if you get gift cards that you really think they’ll appreciate? Like, I’m thinking of getting a gas card for my mom. And my dad wants one to Home Depot. And I always get his girlfriend one to Michael’s. The one person we ALWAYS get a gift card for, I think I actually have an idea of what to get that’s not a gift card. Ack!

TOT: Thanksgiving!

So Monday afternoon I was driving home from work, jamming to Christmas tunes, and I thought, Hey! TOT has to be about Thanksgiving! How exciting! And it is! How exciting!

1. What are you doing for Thanksgiving this year?
Pretty much the same thing we do every year, going over to my in-laws' house and sharing Thanksgiving with my husband's family. This year I was supposed to do the Turkey Trot 10k, but I've decided to do a morning boot camp and then I'M MAKING THE TURKEY. And the sausage stuffing. And I'd gladly make everything else too, but I'm going to have to wait 25 years for that.

2. What are you most thankful for this year? My family. It's cheesy but I'm so thankful for my boys. I'm trying to have more patience for them, and it's just as rewarding for me as it is for them. I have a bit of a short fuse some times, and the little things set me off much faster than the big things. I'm trying to be thankful with every interaction, to slow my response down and calm down. Helps with husbands too. :)

3. Do you have any traditions on Thanksgiving? The parade? Football? Long naps? We always go to my in-laws' house now. There once was a day when that was different and involved more extended family and POKER and I miss that, but I like what we have.

4. Is it called stuffing or dressing? Is it in the bird or a separate dish? I'm happy with it no matter how it is, but we usually cook it separately, with sausage, and it's stuffing.

5. Do you cook? Less than I would like. One time, in college, I made the whole spread and had my mom and brother and sister over (I was between relationships and my roommates were out of town). It was awesome. One day I'll be able to plan a whole thanksgiving meal. Maybe I'll just do it in February.

6. What is your favorite dish? Stuffing. Which is why it's my dish to bring every year.

7. What is your dessert preference? More stuffing. Otherwise, I'd be happy with a holiday cookie and after-dinner coffee.

8. What is your favorite Thanksgiving memory? One year, when I was about 8, we had a special holiday feast where we made Roast Lion (it's a pork roast and beef roast slow cooked all day) and I just remember the FEELING of that holiday, not the specifics.

9. Do you plan to shop on Black Friday? We do indeed. My mom is spending the night at the house with the kids, and we're going to head out! We're actually even thinking of hitting the midnight-opening Outlet malls ... how crazy are we??

10. What are you most dreading about Thanksgiving this year? Nothing! Maybe the work days leading up to it?

For more, go visit Chelsea!

Fribble

I named this "fribl" when I emailed it to myself from work, where I wrote part of it. It was a shortening of "Friday blog", but I think fribble is a better descriptor of what I'm putting out in the blogoverse. Blogoverse? Blogosphere? I obviously can't think much better today than I could yesterday. Plus, I also obviously can't post on the correct day anyhow.

I keep wanting to write a thankful list with Spencer like we did last year, but every time I ask him what he is thankful for he says this:

I’m thankle for my momma and daddy and Henry and HOT WHEELS!

As cute as it is, I cannot get him to consider anything else.

I put my Christmas tree up this last Sunday. Not decorated, but lighted. Monday I put the skirt down and the train around the bottom and finished the indoor decorating and put the Christmas doormat and wreath out. I’m so excited. I know that everyone wants everyone else to wait until after thanksgiving, but what’s wrong with wrapping the whole holiday up with a bright red bow? Christmas music is even on the radio.

I don’t know what to get the kids this year for Christmas. Henry got so much for his birthday that I’m at a complete loss as to what to get him, and Spencer … well, I’m almost overwhelmed with all the stuff that he “wants”. I’m thinking about getting him some more train parts to go with his wooden train set. My mom is getting him a mini-skateboard. I don’t overdo Christmas because everyone else does, and frankly they have enough stuff. And I can’t get them to get rid of anything. What do you get a 15 month old who already has everything, given that his brother already has everything and he just plays with those toys anyhow?

Skyrim came out last week, and I am a video game widow again. It's really frustrating, but it's not like I can expect him to sit in the living room with me and watch Grease 2, so I haven't figured out how to mention that's irritating that he sits in the library all morning playing a game that I won't allow the kids to watch.

Henry says “night night”!! He still has no other words, except for mamamamamamamama which I’m beginning to be convinced either refers to Daddy or his sippy cup and not me, but if you say night night, he’s start waving and say “ni-ni”. This does not mean that he’s ready to bed, but that he can parrot. He will also lay down on the closest pillow and wave when you say “night night”. He's gotten worse about actually GOING to sleep, and cries again, but at least he's cute about the heading-to part.

If you'll excuse me, A Girl for All Seasons is being sung on tv.

Fall Into Reading – my bi-Wednesday post on Thursday

So! I’ve been trying to write this post since Tuesday, but sickness has made it impossible for the cloud in my head to lift enough to sit in front of a computer outside work long enough to type anything. However, I have made more time for myself to read over the last couple weeks. Here’s what has been on the agenda:

Season to Taste: I finished this one, and it didn’t disappoint. I liked the combination of memoir and informative context of what your sense of smell means. To me, right now, it means my house smells like pine and cinnamon.

Bossypants: I was not as big a fan of this one as everyone else. Dare I say, I just don’t find Tina Fey that funny? Parts of it, namely the motherhood parts (A Letter to my Daughter, the Teat Nazi), were hilarious. But I’m not a fan of SNL generally, and I have never watched 30 Rock. I just felt like she was trying too hard to be funny.

Beauty Queens: I tried listening to this book while I ran, and It. Was. Terrible. The most inane book I’ve ever tried to listen to, and if I had to listen to one more ridiculous footnote I thought I was going to scream (if I had enough breath left to do so while running). I didn’t finish it. BUT I kind of want to know what happens so I’ve requested it in print from my library so I can finish. How sad is that?

Night Road: I do love Kristin Hannah, and this one didn’t disappoint. I love how real but how beautiful her stories are. Things aren’t perfect, and tragedy happens, but there’s still hope. I also love how she brings the hope and then let’s the reader imagine where the story goes afterward. Love it.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake: I wanted to love this book. It has such an amazing premise, and every time I would try to explain the book to someone they would say “But it sounds so interesting!” … but it just wasn’t very well written. I hate to say that – it had such promise. I kept waiting for the magic, but the end just went downhill.

The Tens

Thanks Chelsea, for giving me my Tuesday topics.

1. What are your pantry staples?
whole wheat pasta, bread crumbs (italian seasoned and plain panko), an array of canned veggies that I never eat. Cheerios, enchilada sauce and chopped green chiles. There's a lot of other things in there, but these are items that are always there, and I know they are always there.

2. What are your refrigerator staples?
organic milk (whole and fat-free), butter, smart balance, half and half, eggs, a block of cheddar cheese, low sugar grape jelly, and assorted condiments.

3. You already look like Heidi Klum (or your favorite supermodel). Now, what are the top three non-physical things you would change about yourself?
Am I Heidi Klum, or me in Heidi Klum's body? If I were me and you're just trying to say "what non-physical things would you change about yourself?" a) I'm impatient b) I pick fights when I'm bored, sometimes with my husband, sometimes with my toddler. c) I spend too much money.

4. What’s holding you back from your dream job? (If you already have your dream job, how did you get there?)
Money and time to go back to school. If I didn't have to account for my paycheck I would open a used bookstore and not care if I was in the black or red. Or I'd go back to school to get my Master of Library Science and work in a library. Or I'd say screw it all and stay home with my babies (one of them is kinda sicky, so he's sad right now).

5. You have $500 to spend but it has to be on one item only. Go.
I need a new phone. Mine is always iffy.

6. What is something that you are embarrassed to admit you buy on a regular basis?
Not on a regular basis, but I occasionally get a hankering for Ramen or the powdered Kraft mac & cheese. I always make mac & cheese from scratch and have for 20 years but that powdered stuff ... it can be tasty when you have a craving.

7. What’s in/on your bed every night?
Me, my husband and my teddy bear. Don't judge.

8. What is a non-necessity item that, no matter how expensive it gets or how tight your budget if, you will always find room for it?
hair dye. I tried to stop, and it just looked terrible. I dye it pretty close to natural, but it really needs that color boost. I did go to box, and I'm okay with that.

9. What is the weirdest sandwich you’ve ever made?
I'm not big on weird sandwiches. I like to grill mushrooms and then add them to a grilled cheese sandwich. That's stretching it a bit, I guess.

10. Would you rather: Be banned from Pinterest forever, but gain a million captive Twitter followers; or, never get on Facebook again but gain five thousand blog readers?
I have not gotten on the Pinterest OR the twitter bandwagon, so I guess I would go for being banned from Pinterest. But my Twitter followers would be sorely disappointed by my tweets, as there are none. I'm pretty attached to facebook and blogging though, so I'll leave that one as it is.

Thoughts on a Thursday (but posted on a Friday)

I have been taking the stairs at work in earnest for a week now. This morning, it occurred to me that this might be the reason why my ass hurts. (side note: also excellent segue to walk into your boss’s office in the morning and go “Hey! I figured out why my ass hurts!”) Also, I’m wondering how many Google hits I’m going to get from this post. (“Dear Google, why does my ass hurt?” PS – I don’t want to know.)

It’s cruel and unusual punishment to make the office stairwell smell like breakfast sausage.

I left my phone at home on Thursday. It’s a) amazing how much I get done without it and b) terrifying not to have it. I’m so cut off! So what that I do have a work phone, and the internet, and work email and even F B for “work research purposes”. I can’t play WWF! What will I do??

Work, apparently. I’m rockin’ the “doing work” thing.

I finished Tina Fey’s Bossypants today. I think I’ll keep my opinions on that book to myself, at least until Wednesday when I do my Fall Into Reading post next Wednesday; which is coincidentally when my book club meets to talk about it too.

One day I will start reading the rest of my library books. Wonder if there is a cheesy teen vampire book or two in that stack ... oh wait, there is! There is!

It's also cruel and unusual punishment for the stairwell to smell like macaroni and cheese.

And one Friday thought:

Barney at six am is only worth it to watch Henry dance.

Again

I know that I shouldn’t post about this two times in three days, but I’m so excited about the extra time I have these (couple) days that I can’t stop thinking about it. And therefore talking about it. And therefore writing about it. How did I get by before this week? How did I get myself ready and two kids ready and fed in 30 minutes? With a lot of arguments, I can tell you that. So the past three days? NO ARGUMENTS.

And! Spencer asked for eggs this morning for breakfast and I had time to COOK! For him! And made coffee, and cut up grapes for the teething monster (Henry) and everything else and was still reasonably on time. Spencer got to watch Thomas (gag) and got dressed and even decided to wear different shoes than I picked out for him without me freaking out because I was late. I’m definitely going to try to keep this up. I don’t so much mind the lack of evening time (I’ve been passing out at 9pm) because the kids are also going to bed early and I’m caught up on my DVR.

My one problem right now is dinner. Henry gets very hungry for dinner, and I’m not used to this because Spencer has never been a dinner eater. Henry has to eat by 6pm or he is a very cranky child. Before, there wasn’t much of a problem: I’d give him a snack and start making dinner and somewhere in the vicinity of 6pm, we would eat. NOW 6pm is 5pm, so he’s pretty much starving when we get home so he doesn’t even want to give me time to make dinner. What do I do? Is this why a lot of moms serve a lot of frozen processed food to their kids for dinner? And make two meals, one for the kids and one for the parents? I’ve never “judged” those parents, per se, but I’ve never been one of them because my kid didn’t eat much dinner. So I made our food and if he ate, great, and if not whatever. Now I find myself scrambling to feed Number Two’s hungry mouth all the time. A couple weekends ago I made a bunch of freezer food so I could feed him when I didn’t feel like cooking (homemade chicken nuggets, fish sticks, pigs in a blanket, English muffin pizzas) but I don’t really want to resort to that ALL THE TIME. Any recommendations?

While the extra time in the morning is great, on the drive to work I found myself thinking it was Thursday and then sadly realizing it was only Wednesday. I think I thought this because I was trying to remember how many pieces of bread I had at work for breakfast (two) and I have one a day, so I was thinking I only have two days left. But I only brought four this week. Bah. I’ve been extremely productive at work so I think I’ve done three days of work in two. Maybe I should take Friday off! Ha!

Oh! But then I got to work and got an email from athlinks.com showing that my time in Sunday’s race was a full minute faster than the gun time. 31:03! Still not beating my PR, but way way closer, and especially for a morning race that’s some kind of awesome.

Keeping it up this week!

TOT: A whole lotta random

Today's questions are just like I like 'em - random. Visit Chelsea for more!

1. What’s your favorite television show for each day of the week?
I watch too much TV. I can't promise I watch it on the appropriate day, but here are my favorites:
Monday: House, HIMYM (which isn't nearly as fun as it was, but still good)
Tuesday: The New Girl (LOVE)
Wednesday: CSI and Criminal Minds. Oh! And Suburgatory!
Thursday: Person of Interest. Is Bones on Thursdays?
Friday: ummm. We watch Fringe, CSI: NY and Chuck, but I'm not in love with any of them this season.
Nothing on the weekends except football and catching up for the week. We watch other shows (Prime Suspect, Big Bang Theory, and others that I can't think of right now) but I they aren't must-sees. Oh! And now that I'm caught up on Grey's, I could theoretically watch that in real time. I watch too much tv.

2. How many times do you wear your jeans before you watch them? As many times as possible, until the butt is saggy or someone (me) spills something on them.

3. What is your favorite pasta shape? shells or penne

4. Do you read newspapers? vaguely. I get most of my news through Facebook.

5. Do you sleep in socks? nope.

6. Favorite genre of movies? cheesy chick movies, and sports movies.

7. How do you feel about wrestling? umm ... I have no feelings about it whatsoever.

8. Should men pluck their eyebrows? I'm not into total manscaping or anything, but as they say in A League of Their Own "Eyebrows. There should be two of them."

9. Do you have dimples? no (sad face)

10. Do you like to camp? love it! Trying to get my hubby to believe the kids are old enough to start doing it again. We used to camp for 5-9 days all over the southern US and it was awesome. We had fantastic trips.

Christmas Lobster

I know as a mother of two small children, I should be one of those that complains about the time change and how my children don’t respect the hour of extra sleep that it affords. I know.

But I can’t, because my body doesn’t respect that extra hour either. Instead, I’m rejoicing because I! Can! Have! Time! In the mornings. And I know it won’t last, so for now I’m taking advantage of it.

Every morning is usually a fight: I wake up a little late, the kids want to wake up even later, and when they finally get out of bed we have 20 minutes to argue about getting clothes on and then get breakfast. And if they don’t have time to eat breakfast and have to eat it at daycare, the world might come to an end.

So this morning I woke up before my alarm (yes, I fell asleep at 8:30, but I’m okay with that). I made coffee, and sat for a few minutes with my coffee and my computer before the first woke up. I had time to get him breakfast, the second one got up and got dressed with very minimal fuss, had time for a waffle (and half of his brother’s) and played with his toy horsies. I made a cup of coffee to go with me, got my breakfast and lunch together and got out of the house and to work only 5 minutes late (I know I was still late, but it was almost early for my purposes – I’m nearly always 30 minutes late). I would have even been on time, but I wasn’t sure if today was picture day so I had to get a second set of “just in case” clothes together so they can be in cute clothes if it was so. Plus, I couldn’t find any diapers.

And still! Nearly on time to work, had plenty of time this morning to do what needed to be done without feeling rushed at all. And the hubby was the same way – he took a shower and had time to sit down for breakfast and coffee before he left. Amazing.

I perused the terrestrial and satellite stations this morning and was sad to see that Christmas music is not available, but I’m staying positive. We’re going B-52’s Rock Lobster instead.

Third Quarter books

I meant to post this in October, but nothing seems to have gone exactly as planned. Here are the books read third quarter.

July

Something Borrowed - Emily Giffin

Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

Smokin' Seventeen - Janet Evanovich

Cocktails for Three - Madeleine Wickham

The Hunt - Jan Neuharth

(re-read HP and Deathly Hallows - JK Rowling)

(re-read One Day - David Nicholls)*

Black Echo - Michael Connelly

The Blue Light Project - Timothy Taylor

August

Faithful Place - Tana French

Mort - Terry Pratchett

Iron Crowned - Richelle Mead

The Lost Hours - Karen White*

The Boyfriend of the Month Club - Maria Geraci

Last Train from Liguria - Christine Dwyer Hickey

Heart of the Matter - Emily Giffin

Beguiled - Deeanne Gist & J Mark Bertrand

Please Ignore Vera Dietz - A.S.King

Angel Falls - Kristin Hannah

Ruby Red - Kristin Gier

Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman

September

Run - Ann Pratchett

The Scorch Trials - James Dashner

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs *

Heaven is For Real - Todd Burpo

Bloodlines - Richelle Mead

Succubus Revealed - Richelle Mead

Bright Young Things - Anna Godberson

Glass Houses - Rachel Caine

Dead Girls Dance - Rachel Caine

Midnight Alley - Rachel Caine

Friday List o' Random

-- It's Thursday evening right now, and I'm sitting on the back deck while Spencer plays with his new Hot Wheels. He turned his candy in to a local dentist for a Halloween candy buy back, and got $2 so he picked two new cars. This is what they are saying:
(first car, in a deep voice) I'm from Target.
(second car, in a deeper voice) I'm from Target TOO!
(first) I'm fast, I'm a race car!
(second) I'm faster!
Then they both get lobbed into the grass.
(first) I'm going to run you over!
(second, with a high girly scream) Ahh!
(Frank, the combiner from Cars comes by) heh heh heh, I'm going to get you all.

-- I've completely caught up on Grey's Anatomy, including this season. My husband says it's time to start on Mad Men now. I think it's time to start reading.

-- Spencer can still fit into an 18 month pant, but all his pants are capris. I had to go buy 3T pants, and I know they aren't going to fit on his itty bitty waist and butt.

-- Same with Henry and his 12 months pants.

-- I'm *this close* to deciding to decorate for Christmas. Yes, before Thanksgiving. I'm not ignoring Thanksgiving - I love it. But I think wrapping it all up together will make me enjoy things more. And besides, I have a nine foot tree in my attic, just begging to come out.

-- I've got nothing else today.

Reading, a two-week update

I was disappointed in myself regarding my reading for the past couple weeks, until I finally reminded myself that sometimes life gets in the way. Life takes priority - my KIDS and HUSBAND take priority. My running sometimes takes priority. Sometimes, my DVR takes priority.

So here's what I was thinking about on my last run. I love to read. And this year, while I read a lot, was also my time to prove to myself that it was okay to love cheesy chick lit and YA. Which I did. A lot. In between though, I've read some really GOOD books. And so while I complete my goals for Fall Into Reading, I'm also working on what my reading goals for next year will be.

But here's what I've been reading:

-- I didn't get back to Untouchable. I still need to finish this, and I want to. I have books from the library that are due and can't be re-upped, so it's been on hold.

-- The Sword-Edged Blonde - Alex Bledsoe. I was getting bored listening to Pandora while I ran, so I downloaded my library's app to listen to audiobooks on my phone. This was my first listen, and while it's not at all my usual read I really enjoyed it. And I REALLY enjoyed running while listening to a book.

-- Feast of Fools - Rachel Caine. Another in the Morganville vampire line.

-- Forever - Maggie Stiefvater. I enjoyed this. I didn't hear good things about it, and while No, it was not as good as the other two, I still enjoyed it.

-- Season to Taste: How I Lost my Sense of Smell and Found My Way - Molly Birnbaum. I'm 60 pages in, and it's due back at the library today. It's excellent, so guess what I'm going to be doing in my "spare" time today.

So I'm up to 94 books, and of those I still need to finish 2. Six full books and two halves left to go!

Here comes Santa Claus ...

It’s officially after Halloween, and you know what that means, especially for those of us with children:

It’s almost Christmas.

Sure, now holiday decorations have been up in stores nearly since Easter passed, but if you are like me you refused to acknowledge it until at least you have a few dozen pumpkin spice coffees in you (I’m drinking one as I type this). I picked up a hoodie for my oldest and some books for both children at a book fair a couple months ago, but generally I’ve shied away from thinking too hard about holidays (except to plan for my new dishwasher that I’m GETTING on Black Friday. But that is my own holiday. Ha!)

One thing I need to start thinking of is holiday cards. Have you seen the cards at Tiny Prints? I spent the better part of several evenings perusing the options, and I’m in love with their cards.

Like this one? ‘Tis wonderful.

And this one? ‘Tis marvelous.

And this one? This might actually be the one.

This of course means I have find my battery charger for the camera and to take some decent photos. I think I need some more pumpkin coffee for that.

(Bloggers! Visit Tiny Prints for a great promotion!)

Pumpkin Festival

Sunday, me and the boys and my neighbor and her son all piled into my car (well, my husband's SUV - there's no way we would all fit in my little Corolla) and drove 1 hour and 15 minutes south to the pumpkin festival. It was a lot of fun -- I think Spencer had the best time. I will say though - do you remember this post? Ha. ha ha ha. Ha. Voluntarily cooping oneself up with three small children in a car ride when the youngest hates the car and screams the whole time and the oldest is very sensitive to loud noises and screeches in painful wails every time the youngest cries ... Oh, it definitely cures that slight uterine twinge. Holy cripes.


Spencer's first pony ride.


Henry's face here cracks me up.


Henry was OBSESSED with the goats. He thought they were awesome. He might ask for a goat for the next holiday once he decides to start using words.


Henry ate that whole corn dog. Not a bite dropped to the ground, I think he sucked on it until it dissolved.

Spencer peed himself he was so excited to ride on the train. You wish I was being hyperbolic. I do too.

Fall Into Reading

I had a poor showing on my reading this week. I finished Simply From Scratch, which was still mopey but turned out pretty good. I also started (but didn't finish) my book club book, Untouchable by Scott O'Connor.

I had a hard time getting into this book at first. I think it was the style of not using the main character's name (everyone calls him "Kid" and the book refers to him more often than not as "The Kid" which is simply irritating to me). However, once I finally pushed myself to start reading, I really enjoyed it and now I'm looking forward to finishing. It makes me think a lot about bullying. The kid (The Kid) is heavily tormented, and this is one of my big worries for my kids. How do you watch for that? How do you prevent it? I was tormented by a couple girls that I had no excape from (my babysitter's daughter and her best friend) in my formative years, and I was strong enough to get past it but it still left marks. How do I keep my sons from having to endure such torment?

Anyhow, once I get through Untouchable, I have a few lighter reads to get my mind off such heavy ideas. I'm sure there's a vampire book or SOMETHING in there. Happy reading!

Just Magic

Nine months and 18 days ago, I decided to become a runner.

291 days.

I remember those first few runs. I huffed through a mile, walking more than I ran. I didn't think I could go it. I hated the run. I HATED the run.

At Day 29 I ran my first 5k, a trail run that was NOT for beginners. I fell over a root and bit the dirt halfway through, and finished in 45.02.

But I kept going. I remember seeing this post by Jennie at 54 days. I didn't feel like I was a runner. I decided to run as a means to lose weight. I was losing weight and I hated my running but I kept with it.

I planned on running a half marathon in February, but last month I thought maybe I wasn't up for it. I thought I would be bored running 13.1 miles. I thought I wasn't a runner. I ran to lose weight, not because I enjoyed it.

18 days ago I ran two 5ks in one day, one of them for my personal record. It was an accomplishment. I felt great afterward about the accomplishment. I still felt like I didn't care about running.

18 days ago I started finding other things to do: I had a trip to take with the family, books to read, episodes of Grey's Anatomy and DVR to catch up on. I stopped running.

Tonight there were so many reasons why I shouldn't run. There is a big scary rainstorm off the coast that keeps threatening. My family was late getting home so it was almost dark. My running partner didn't answer my text when I asked if she was coming. Then she didn't get the door when I knocked.

I went anyway. I ran because I wanted to. I ran on my own, at my own pace, with my own music, with my own thoughts and for the length of time I felt was right. And at the end I felt pure magic. I could have run another 2 miles. I could have just kept going, circles through the neighborhood.

3.7 miles later, 291 days later. I run because I want to. I am a runner.

Fall Into Reading - update

So two weeks ago I pledged to update myself on my reading every Wednesday for Fall Into Reading, and then it didn’t happen. To be fair (to myself), I was packing last Wednesday to leave before the buttcrack of dawn to head to the airport with little ones. To be fair to you, I feel I should also disclose that I was drinking beer and watching the season 6 ending of Grey’s Anatomy while I packed and then had a slight nervous breakdown when Derek! Got! Shot! and Meredith! Had! A miscarriage! Right before I didn’t have time to watch any more episodes so I had to wait nearly a week to see what happened (it’s okay now, I watched a few episodes last night and I’m much more serene about the whole thing).

But anyhow! I have been keeping up on my reading list, and I’ve even been reading! Too! Here is what I’ve read:

• Glass Houses - Rachel Caine


• Dead Girls Dance - Rachel Caine


• Midnight Alley - Rachel Caine

These are the Morganville vampire books. There are 10, and I could probably read all 10 in less than a week because they aren’t exactly meaty. But they’re fun books, and I enjoyed the first few. I might pick up the rest at the library so I can supplement my reading when I don’t feel like thinking too much.

• Julie and Julia - Julie Powell

I bought this at the library a few weeks ago, and I really didn’t expect to like it (I did love the movie) but I did enjoy it a lot. I passed it on to my manager, and I have a feeling that she won’t enjoy it as much as I did. Such is life.

• Simply from Scratch - Alicia Bessette

I started this before my trip and then couldn’t finish it and didn’t want to bring a library book on the plane, so I need to get back to finishing it. I haven’t decided if I like it – a little bland, a little sulky (the main character’s husband dies before the start of the book so it’s about her finding her way to move on … she’s very sulky) but the neighbor girl is fun and hopefully it will get more interesting, if not predictable.

• The Fallen - Liz Braswell


• The Stolen - Liz Braswell


• The Chosen - Liz Braswell

These are the Nine Lives of Chloe King books, which I had on my Nook. Look! I read something on my book list! I liked these. Obviously not brain food or anything, but fun reads.

So my goal was 19 books by the end of the year, and so far I’ve gotten 9 down (well, 8.5). NEXT (after Simply from Scratch) I really need to read my book club book (Untouchable by Scott O'Conner) . Since you know, I’m the one who picked it for book club this month.

TOT - all about pasta

1. Red sauce or white sauce? Between the two, white sauce. Not really alfredo, but garlic cream or something along those lines. Green is my favorite – give me a good pesto of any variety and I’m happy. A pesto cream sauce? Hallelujah!

2. Do you prefer pasta you can twirl or stab? Stab, please. Penne or the like.

3. Baked or boiled? Boiled, unless we’re talking spaghetti or ziti because that should be baked with a good amount of cheese on top – the only real way I’ll take my red sauce.

4. Do you like meat in your sauce or do you kick it vegetarian style? Meat good (caveman voice)

5. Where have you had your very best pasta ever? I had a clam pasta at Casa Ludovico five years ago or so – it was amazing. I think of it every time I’m over that way.

6. What is your favorite pasta dish? A good veggie pesto pasta is great. This is one of my very favorites, and it’s good hot and cold.

7. Do you serve meatballs when you make spaghetti or just do a meat sauce? Not usually, but the kids LOVE meatballs so I just bought a bag of Italian style turkey meatballs to start serving for them. If I remember, I’ll brown some beef or ground turkey to add to the sauce.

8. What type (rice, whole wheat, egg, etc) of noodles do you use? We try to use whole wheat or veggie pasta these days. I cut white pasta out of my diet at the beginning of the year, and for the most part we’ve stuck to that at home.

9. What types of meats or vegetables do you put in your sauce? I love sausage in my pasta. I love veggies in my pasta – mushrooms, green things, it’s all good.

10. Do you make a “Sunday gravy” to use throughout the week or do you just open a jar or whatever and heat it up? I never make something ahead of time, but I usually make my cream sauces from scratch when I make them: a little cream, a little garlic and veggies, some cream cheese for thickening. Red sauces I almost always just open a jar. We buy them BOGO so they just wait until I’m out of things to cook. I am not a fan of red sauce.

Didja miss me, Weasel? Didja?

I told you a million times, the name’s Wise-ell.

Ahh, I could quote that movie all day.

So. Vacation? Rocked it. The kids were so awesome, slept through the night every night in the hotel, great on the plane, great at every restaurant …

Okay, so there were slight hiccups everywhere. Spencer pouted through the wedding because “no one would play with him” because he wouldn’t go play with the other kids and wanted them to come to him (he finally sucked it up and had fun, my little prima donna). We planned POORLY on what we should do while we were up there and spent a ridiculous amount of time DRIVING doing nothing. Did you know that Delaware and Maryland have $4 tolls that randomly pop up on the interstate? That you can take a bridge to Maryland, and the same bridge will cost $5 on the return drive and there will be no warning sign so you can take another route? That there isn’t another route?

But the majority of the trip was fun just because it was good to get away. Thursday night was our date night and the newlyweds watched the kids while we went out on the University of Delaware town, and had dinner at a place called Home Grown. Except that we weren’t hungry so we had crab fondue and a couple beers and people watched which was also fun. I may have gotten talked into doing a 10-day juice cleanse by my husband who watches too many documentaries (so when this happens I will not be a happy person and you should steer clear). Friday was Philly day, and we went to the Please Touch Museum (So! Cool!) and Reading Terminal Market (DiNics! So! Good!), got stuck in the March on Wall Street protests (Spencer piped in with the chant since it was so catchy, but he kept getting it wrong: We! Are! The ninety-nine and six! And Henry clapped. A police officer pointed him out as the littlest protester, even though we weren’t actually in the march). Saturday we had the morning to spare so we drove around Maryland and ended up at a craft festival in Havre de Grace, and stuck on toll roads and note to the Northeast: you can shove your tolls. We got back in time for the wedding and had a great time there too. It was beautiful and the kids had a great time and the only difficult part of that day was when I got a text at 8:47pm the night before asking if I would do the toast for the wedding. Ha!

Turned in early Saturday night in preparation for leaving early Sunday morning, but we still didn’t get moving as fast as we should have so catching our flight was a little harrowing and Henry was bored the whole flight so he made it miserable for us (not for the other passengers, he wasn’t crying but he was being a bit of a pill). Got home to lots of rain (it was evidently raining most of the time we were out of town) and spent Sunday laying on the couch catching up on our DVR while the kids napped. A great ending to a nice holiday.

Tens

Pop over to see Chelsea for her 100th week of hosting Ten on Tuesday! I keep meaning to do a Friday-list sort of post, but I just haven't had the time. So Tens you get (you know you want them).

1. How do you take your coffee? Just cream, thanks!
2. Do you prefer soft or crispy chocolate chip cookies? Soft, all the way
3. Do you wear a belt everyday? Nope, I never ever wear a belt. I have two, and they're both from high school (think lots of grommets)
4. What is your favorite color combination? Purple and green. I think, it's the first thing that came to mind.
5. Do you like sour candy? I guess - it's not my favorite but I don't abhor it either.
6. How often do you do laundry? Umm ... as seldom as I can get away with, which is probably every 1 1/2 weeks or so.
7. Did you ever wear braces? No. I needed them for my bottom teeth, but I never had them.
8. Are you good at Roman Numerals? only in crosswords.
9. What is your favorite form of social media? Facebook. I suck, I know. Blogging is good too!
10. How do you feel about chin dimples? Love them on guys, sometimes weird on girls.

Writer's Workshop: 10 Things

This week I find myself inspired by Mama Kat's writing prompts again. 10 Things. Ten Things I would do if I didn't have to work. This is something near and dear to my heart, because although I generally love my job, and I'm generally happy with my decisions, I also think more and more about staying home. Here's my list:

1) Play dates:
I love play dates. A play date for them means a mommy date for me, and I do love mommy dates.

2) Volunteering:
Before marriage and kids, I volunteered at the public library. It wasn't a glamorous volunteer job, but it was fun and I liked it a lot. Stacks of dusty books ... that's where I belong.

3. School:
So being in stacks of dusty books is where I belong, and the best way to get there eventually is to get my Master of Library Science. I've though about it a bunch of times, and if I wasn't working 40-50 hours a week, that would be on my list.

4. Preschool:

Spencer had his first homework assignment this past weekend. I can tell you for a fact that after the four hours it took to do that one worksheet that I am not cut out for teaching young minds. I will keep working on helping the teachers do their job, but I could not be the principle on the job of fine motor skills. So little ones would still need to be going to daycare or preschool a few days a week.

5. Netflix

Do you know how many shows I could catch up on?

6. Eating.

Okay, so let's be real here. if I really did not have a job, I would probably be as big as a house, because staying home means I eat. A lot. Monday I was home with Henry while he was recovering from tonsillitis (yes, my one year old had tonsillitis. He's an over achiever) and I made a breakfast casserole for me and Hubby to have at work (4 meals each) and ate one of those pieces. Then I snacked on the chocolate that Spencer brought home from a birthday party over the weekend. Then it was lunchtime, so I had some leftover brussel sprout and bacon pasta. Then I thought about if there was any other candy in the fridge. Then I had a spoon of peanut butter to curb my appetite.

7. Exercise

At least with the lack of work, I could maybe keep up a workout routine that wouldn't take too much time away from my family. I love the feeling I get from working out (although I really don't like exercise) but I worry sometimes that it takes too much time away from my family. Three nights a week I go for a run. For two weeks I also did kick boxing. When I had a hot yoga groupon, I went 12 times in a month. With no job, I could work out without feeling like I was taking time away from my family.

8. Read!

'Nuff said.

9. Knitting

I've always wanted to learn, but I don't have the time or the concentration to do so. I think I would learn.

10. And Number 10 is where I come back to reality and remind myself of all my of SAHM friends. If I didn't have a job outside of the house, I would still be cleaning, doing laundry, cooking, rounding up kids, dealing with problems and somehow there would still not be enough time in the day for everything. So really, that's what I'd be doing.

What would you be doing?

(all photos borrowed from around the internets, so thanks internets!)

Fall Into Reading Part Deux

As I sit here, NOT reading, I feel compelled to add to my fall reading list to complete my 19 books I plan to read. Here now is my completed list (the additions were mostly poached from other people's lists, so I thank those other players in the reading party):

Bright Young Things, Anna Godberson
Untouchable, Scott O'Connor
Bossypants, Tina Fey
Swamplandia! Karen Russell
The Fallen (Chloe King), Liz Braswell
The Stolen (Chloe King), Liz Braswell
The Chosen (Chloe King), Liz Braswell
Gap Creek, Robert Morgan
Until Proven Guilty, JA Jance
Someday This Will Be Funny, Lynne Tillman
Diary of a Mad Fat Girl, Stephanie McAfee
Forever, Maggie Stiefvater
Bel Canto, Ann Pratchett
State of Wonder, Ann Pratchett
Battle Royale, Koushun Takami
The Night Circus, Ernin Morgenstern
Season to Taste: How I Lost My Sense of Smell..., Molly Birnbaum

There are only seventeen books on this list, which I thought about and decided to leave it at. My goal is still 19 books, but I know there will be times in the next 12 weeks where I will want desperately to go off-list, and that will allow me to do so guilt-free. Plus, I have emails out to people whose taste in books is similar to mine, and I'm sure I'll pick something off those lists. I think I'll try to update on Wednesdays to show my progress.


Update: I finished Bright Young Things on 9/26. I wasn't a fan of how it ended, because I didn't realize it was to be a series so I was annoyed that things didn't wrap up. But I did like the nod to Fitzgerald with the dog's name.

Also, I shot myself in the foot on my reading list Tuesday afternoon, as I stopped in at the library to check for some books that were recommended to round out my list. They didn't have any of them, HOWEVER I bought three at the bookstore downstairs and borrowed seven. Oops!

Ten on Tuesday: Trips

With today's participation in Chelsea's TOT, I am looking at escapism. I was home with a sick Henry on Monday, and while I did greatly enjoy the snuggles I got with him ALL DAY, my head pounds and I don't want to think about Tuesday morning's work. So I type. And dream about vacations. But then vacations make me think about the fact that I still haven't found Spencer's video game player for the plane trip that we take in just over a week despite turning my house upside down and calling grandparents to see if it was left there. Arg. Dreams!

1. What is your dream vacation?
If someone else would completely plan it for me, and pack and maybe I could bring a nanny with me (especially to handle the plane ride), I'd love to jaunt around Europe. For so long I said, there are so many places in the US that I haven't been that I'd rather check out than brave the long trip out to Europe. So I lied, mostly to myself.

2. What has been your favorite trip so far in your life?
I have two: my honeymoon was fantastic. I planned it all myself, and it was perfect. Two weeks; we flew to San Francisco and spent a couple days. Then we spent a week in wine country, three days in Yosemite and two in Las Vegas before flying home. We ate at the best restaurants, visited museums like the Charles Schultz and the Jelly Belly factory, saw Beatles Love and Spamalot. Awesome.

My second favorite was a camping trip that we took 6 years ago or so. We did 5 states in 9 days, spent time in our favorite cities including an extended stay in Memphis and had an excellent time. I can't tell you the details but it was fantastic. Except the last 10 hours of the trip through Alabama when my air conditioning went out, but other than that.

Oh, and there was the camping trip to Washington DC.

Oh, and there was Chicago for Taste of Chicago. That was epic. Okay, so all of our trips have been great. I guess it's good we don't go a lot of places, because this would get really long.

3. If you and one of your best friends could go anywhere in the world for one week, where would it be and why?
There are very few people I could spend a week with without wanting to hurt. I think maybe I'd like to go on a cruise since I've never ever been on one, and I have no idea who I'd go with.

4. Have you ever booked a trip using an online deal? How did it go?
Not a whole trip, but I've booked hotels with no problem, and I've booked plane tickets with no problem.

5. What’s your favorite thing to do while you’re on vacation?
Eat. Is there anything more to do?

6. Have you ever missed an opportunity to take a trip that you regret?
Nope. I don't get a lot of opportunities to take trips, but I'm pretty sure I've taken them all.

7. You travel far away from home and get stranded with no way to buy anything, what’s the one thing you can’t live without?
Soap. And my camera.

8. What’s one of your favorite traveling memories?
Sitting on Beale Street with Hubby and a Newcastle watching a street band, deciding that Memphis was just so awesome that we needed to stay another day.

9. All included resort or backpacking? Why?
I'm somewhere in between. I like the out-of-my-hands details that a resort would include (in theory, I've never actually been to a resort) but I like to do my own thing, which backpacking would allow for (except that I like to plan some of my visit ahead of time, which probably defies the whole "backpacking" thing).

10. Are you more of a lie on the beach kind of person on vacation, or do you prefer to see the sights?
Sights! We don't relax on vacations, we see what we can see. We get the most out of our vacation, and generally need a vacation from our vacation.

Fall Into Reading

I've been reading pretty steadily this year, but I don't want to fall off here at the end. I think I've realized that I won't meet my goal of 125 book considering at this very moment I've only read 82 books (mid 82nd, actually). But I'm going to hope I can make 100 at least, so I've decided to do the Fall Into Reading challenge to keep me reading through this very busy holiday season (and who am I kidding, the very busy prime time television season, and football, and baseball if our team gets its act together). And of course, those two toddlers running around. Here are 19 books (including the one I'm reading now) that I hope to read between now and December 21:

Bright Young Things, Anna Godberson
Untouchable, Scott O'Connor
Bossypants, Tina Fey
Swamplandia! Karen Russell
The Fallen (Chloe King), Liz Braswell
The Stolen (Chloe King), Liz Braswell
The Chosen (Chloe King), Liz Braswell
Gap Creek, Robert Morgan
Until Proven Guilty, JA Jance
Someday This Will Be Funny, Lynne Tillman
Diary of a Mad Fat Girl, Stephanie McAfee

Okay, so that's only 11. I will add the other 8 when I come up with them, but my goal is 19 books. Over three months, that really shouldn't be that difficult for me.

Famous Last Words. Happy Reading!

Baby Fever

I don't want more.

I don't. Want. More.

idontidontidontidontidontidontidontidontidontidontidontidontidontidontidontidontidontidontidontidontidontidontidontidontidontidontidontidontidontidontidontidontidontidontidontidontidont.

No really.

Anyhow, two of my good friends are pregnant and due within weeks of each other. Another friend is "trying". I honestly don't want any more children RIGHT NOW. There is a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that maybe in a few years I might want another, but certainly not now.

But I feel a little sad. When I had Spencer, none of my friends were pregnant. Most of my friends weren't even married. I have a couple friends now who have children his age, but generally I felt a little isolated and lonely during his first year. I missed my friends, missed going through all of those new things you learn about kids with people. I loved my kid, but the isolation was hard.

When I had Henry, then a couple of my friends were also pregnant. We now have a group where we try to meet up for a play date once a month, and it's so NICE to meet up with friends and have our same-age kids play together (now that they can appropriately steal each other's toys).

I think if I was to have another, it would probably be around the same time those friends are working on their next round of kids, so maybe there's hope. Or maybe by then I'll decide again that two is enough for me. The boys are great. So much fun, so active and interesting. This should be the time I'm enjoying. The time is NOW! haha

The tens that aren't actually Ten.

Via Chelsea, this week we have a meme ... I feel like I've been transported back 5 years into blogging history. Here we go!

A. Age: 31
B. Bed Size: king. Which we got so we could fit the kids and I don't actually let the kids sleep in it, but it's nice for Saturday mornings.
C. Chore that you hate: hanging laundry (I'm okay with running the loads and folding what needs to be folded, but I have a mental block about hanging clothes). Emptying the dishwasher (same thing)
D. Dogs: Love 'em, miss having 'em, DON'T miss being responsible for them.
E. Essential start to your day: Breakfast. Most of the time coffee too, but more for the taste than the caffeine.
F. Favorite Color: Purple. I do love purple
G. Gold or Silver: Silver, white gold or platinum
H. Height: 5'4"
I. Instruments you play: back in the day I played clarinet, bass clarinet, oboe, french horn and bagpipes. All with varying degrees of proficiency.
J. Job Title: not answering.
K. Kids: two
L. Live: Florida
M. Mother’s Name: wow, this is thorough. There's a lot of info that I just don't want to answer.
N. Nicknames: I had a friend who called me 'Pril because I refused to answer to Ape.
O. Overnight hospital stays: for my c-sections
P. Pet peeve: people scolding other people's children (read: my children) or ordering them around when they aren't doing anything to harm themselves, others, or anybody's stuff.
Q. Quote from a movie: "I want my two dollars!"
R. Right or left handed: south paw
S. Siblings: two
T. Time you wake up: around 6:27. Alarm goes off at 6am and I hit snooze twice before getting up on the third feeling guilty.
U. Underwear: yes
V. Vegetable you hate: none! never met one I didn't like.
W. What makes you run late: In the morning, it's because I'm lazy. Any other time it's because I have two kids and I misjudge how long it will actually take me to get somewhere. Why can't we teleport yet?
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Lots.
Y. Yummy food that you make: Lots
Z. Zoo Animal: Zebra. I think that's appropriate.

An array of appointments

I've been neglecting my doctor visits for quite awhile now, and this last week I finally bit the bullet and lined up all my appointments. Well, except for the specialist I need to see, but hopefully I'll call today. I'm having a hard time lining that one up. I promise I'll do it, but I think I need to get myself in a frame of mind.

Anyhow, Friday I had my derm appointment to get some steroid cream for my feet (eczema), a wart the size of a dime frozen off my heel (I know, right?) and a biopsy of a mole on my back. I feel like Quasimodo listing those out. My heel is killing me now, which I hope means the liquid nitrogen is working, but I'd really like to be able to wear shoes. Ahh, some day.

Today is my eye appointment and my well woman visit. Ahh, birth control and contacts.

Next I need a haircut (I'm thinking of just trying to walk-in somewhere tomorrow after work), and my dentist appointment is set for next month.

***

I figured out why Henry was such a poop for weeks! He has TWO MOLARS! How did this happen?? They are on the top, so I can't see them but we were swimming yesterday and I stuck my fingers in his mouth and was surprised by sharp little knives in the back of his mouth!

Forgotten Fridays (and other days too)

Things have been busy around here, and my blog has gone by the wayside. Normally I’d feel bad about that, but for some reason I really don't. Things have been good busy, and things have been bad busy. But all around busy. Here are a few highlights:

-- my mom is officially currently cancer-free. I took her to all her post-cancer appointments, which included everything except getting her port out. It was supposed to include getting her port out, but they forgot to schedule it and so we have another anxiety-filled day of that 15-minute surgery (which probably wouldn't be a big deal except that it involves her jugular vein, which freaks her the eff out, and I really can't blame her). She still feels like crap, and she's still all blister-y, and they are putting her on a pill that mimics menopause which she had somehow missed so now she gets the joy of all that ickiness. But no more chemo, no more radiation, and eventually the hair - it will grow back.

-- we had a funeral of a family member who died very suddenly of a heart attack. It was very sad, and although it doesn't affect me directly on a daily basis, I feel for the direct family of said family member. She was a very good woman.

-- I'm getting ready to take the boys on their first every plane trip - to Philadelphia/Wilmington in a couple weeks. Please send good thoughts, and maybe any pointers? I have a new video game and headphones for S (and I would love to borrow a portable DVD player but I really don't want to buy one), and new crayons and coloring books. I know to stock up on snacks. What do you get to keep a 1-year old busy for 2 1/2 hours? We are going at his naptime so I'm hoping he will sleep but I'm really not expecting it. He likes to people watch.

-- I started kickboxing this week, as I bought a Groupon for 4 classes. Two classes in, and I'm loving it! And ... I'm terrible at it. How do people get their foot to turn like that for the round kick??

-- I also got over the 40-lb plateau I hit, and I now only have 8 lbs left to my goal. I'm not being unreasonable - I'm going to try to get that last 8 lbs by the end of the year. That accounts for any backslides for the holidays, but I have at least 2 5ks, a 10k and training for my half marathon in February so I'm hoping that I have it in me. I also have 2 months of hot yoga groupons. Woohoo!

-- I think I'm going to start an excel spreadsheet to make my list of packing needs. Mmmm, lists.

And a few pictures: