Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Really Fun or Really Boring?

My friend Melissa challenged me to blog "100 Things About Myself" that the average friend of mine would not know. If you find yourself intrigued & interested, you're a great friend! If you find your eyelids getting heavy & nodding off , let's re-evalute this friendship. Here we go:

1. I always hated my first name until I met my husband Ben, who said he loved it from the moment he heard it.
2. I never thought about getting married or having a family when I was younger. I wanted to live alone in a big city.
3. I am Type A with definite control issues.
4. I almost died when I was 2 years old of epiglotitis.
5. I absolutely hate my hands & fingernails.
6. Sometimes when I look at my son, my heart literally hurts.
7. I have to, under any & all circumstances, sing in the car while I'm driving. I'm always the back-up singer.
8. There will never be in this universe a better sandwich than Peanut Butter & Jelly on white bread.
9. I have worked at 4 different dry cleaners.
10. After I delivered Lincoln, I lost the lower part of my hearing in my left ear. It came back though. Don't cry for me.
11. I am extremely claustrophobic...so much so that it's getting difficult for me to step into any enclosed space.
12. When I wear jeans, I almost always wear heels because if I don't, I feel short, big-thighed, & fat.
13. I abhor running.
14. After I had Lincoln, I developed allergies I never had before & started drinking coffee.
15. I broke up with my 4th grade boyfriend because his breath always smelled like waffles & syrup.
16. I had my first kiss at age 17 in a white Jeep Wrangler with the top down.
17. One of my favorite memories is me & my mom watching Golden Girls in her bed when my dad was out of town.
18. I loathe MTV. What used to be a media outlet for rising bands & artists to hone their musical skill & talent has become nothing short of an embarrassing reality to where the next generation is headed. That, or maybe I'm just too old for MTV.
19. I have horrible sinus problems.
20. I think Ethan Hawke is so sexy.
21. I sleep only with a fitted sheet; no flat sheet.
22. I have to have one leg in & one leg out when I'm falling asleep.
23. I dread putting on make-up.
24. I make a really great lasagna.
25. Sometimes I'll just get in the car & drive without a destination.
26. My sister & I used to get in fights in the morning while we were getting ready for school if our hair didn't turn out right. Those were roughly the years of 1989-1993, so you do the fashion math.
27. I have never once colored my hair.
28. I still wear a retainer at night. I got my braces off 15 years ago & am still worried that they will go back to the way they were.
29. I am extremely teeth-conscious. I have to floss every single night & brush at least twice daily.
30. Ben takes horrible care of his teeth. So horrible that they had to just altogether pull a molar out because it was dead. Take a wild guess of how frustrated this makes me.
31. As much as I try to love people unconditionally, I always come up short. Then I think of Jesus.
32. It is really hard to love well.
33. I think if I could, I would choose to have a muffin from Starbucks every day for breakfast.
34. Ben & I have a dream of moving to Montana someday. We'll own & work a small store together, go to our house on the ranch & watch the sun set. Oh yeah, we'll also be drinking ice-cold lemonade on the front porch swing.
35. One of my closest friends is an old boss of mine.
36. I would rather have diarrhea all day long than throw up once.
37. I love scary movies. I'm the girl that screams in the theater.
38. I like shaved heads rather than long hair on guys.
39. I hate Paris Hilton & everything she represents.
40. I get carsick very easily. A trip to Wal-Mart in the backseat can do the trick.
41. I used to look at doctors as if they were miracle workers. Magicians. Saviors. Now I look at them & think, "You went to school for a really long time & studied hard. You're human, just like me. And you get paid a ton to hopefully know what you're doing." No illusions of grandeur.
42. I love love love Chili's chips & salsa.
43. I also love an ice cold frozen margarita with my 2 best girlfriends.
44. I could watch "Gone with the Wind" 100 times over.
45. I don't think I've ever prayed harder than when I'm praying for Lincoln to know & pursue Christ.
46. I love the Gospel, although I'm not a huge fan of traditional gospel music.
47. I honestly don't like U2 or the Beatles. Feel free to judge.
48. Ben makes me laugh more than anyone I know.
49. I worry too much for my own good.
50. I don't keep up with politics at all, but I feel entitled to gripe about this country's severe problems. Then I wonder why I don't try to take a more active role in the community to try to fix some of those problems.
51. I have no idea how I will vote in this next presidential election.
52. I hate summer.
53. My favorite emotion is laughing & crying at the same time.
54. When I see one of my best friends going through a hard time, I am heavy-laden & feel as though it were my own problem. I think that means I'm a good friend.
55. I am easily stressed about things I have no control over.
56. I hate manual labor. This drives Ben insane.
57. I watch Days of Our Lives every single day.
58. I have no desire to ever read the books Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter.
59. I have never seen Star Trek, & the first time I ever watched a Star Wars movie was at a drive-in with Ben when we were dating. I hated it.
60. I learned how to change & patch a tire about 12 hours ago.
61. I wish I had green eyes instead of brown.
62. I love thunderstorms.
63. I hate turtlenecks & never wear them. They make me feel claustrophobic & like I'm choking.
64. I love that Jesus' power is made perfect in my weakness. Nothing else in this world comes close to that.
65. I also love that no matter how high or deep the story is, there will never be a greater story ever told than the one of the Savior.
66. I have watched every single episode of Beverly Hills, 90210.
67. I need to make lists in my life to feel like I'm accomplishing something. Yeah. Type A. Shocker.
68. I'm enamored by Kelly Clarkson's voice.
69. I hate shopping for window treatments.
70. I start decorating for the fall season mid-August. Come over to my house today & you will smell the harvest.
71. I really believe that if I could have any job, it would be with the Red Cross going to areas of the country where they have experienced natural disasters. This desire only increased after I saw the operation failure after Katrina.
72. I can't do hot fudge sundaes. How can I eat something cold & hot at the same time?
73. Same thing with sweet & sour...but sweet & salty is a whole other issue. That I love.
74. When Ben & I had pre-marriage counseling, we took a Myers Briggs test. The counselor told us we were not fit to be married & that we were an incompatible couple. I choose to believe she was unfit to be a counselor. Nearly seven years later, & we're as happy as we've ever been.
75. Ben's nickname for me right now is "Pregnant Princess." I love being called that.
76. I think whoever invented the crockpot should be crowned with royalty.
77. I think there should be a requirement for every City to have a Meat & Three within their borders.
78. I secretly enjoy shopping at Cracker Barrel.
79. I publicly enjoy eating at Cracker Barrel.
80. I know every single word & song in Beauty and the Beast.
81. I have broken 3 bones in my lifetime: left ankle, left foot & right arm. All at the same time. Joking, just wanted to make sure you were still reading.
82. I used to think scrapbooking was lame. I'm now in the middle of my second scrapbook. Don't knock it til you try it.
83. I am on a perpetual search for the perfect black pants & the perfect white tailored shirt.
84. I am in awe of my husband daily because of the bond he creates with teenagers. I wish I could be more like him. It's unreal to see, in that they just gravitate toward him.
85. I am a creature of habit.
86. I love to take really really hot baths.
87. My grandpa used to say "Pretty is as pretty does." I've learned that this is always true.
88. When I start laughing uncontrollably, I always lean into the person I'm sitting next to. Some might call that obnoxious. I call it endearing.
89. I watch the Food Network every single day, but I rarely use any of the recipes I see on the shows.
90. If there is one thing I would die of fear from, it would be snakes. I have nightmares about them & can hardly look at them.
91. I'm beginning to see that I'm more like my dad every day. I love this.
92. Ben & I have a tradition that in mid-December, we watch "It's a Wonderful Life" together. You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey. That's a pretty good idea. I'll give you the moon, Mary.
93. I am an early riser. I love waking up between 6am & 7am.
94. As much as I try, I will never enjoy football. I try though. Ben has watched 42 hours of the Food Network, & I have watched 42 seconds of football.
95. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is my favorite racecar driver.
96. If I could have any car in the world right now, it would be a Honda Odyssey.
97. I used to be a Vines Vikette my sophomore year of high school. This means I was on the dance team.
98. I read gossip websites daily.
99. If I could only have one food for the rest of my life, it would be toast with peanut butter & honey on it.
100. I can type 90 words per minute.

Whew. Harder than I thought. You try it.
Talk to ya.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

We're In!

The new house, that is. Surrounded by boxes, pictures that need to be hung, & a beautiful picturesque forest scenery behind us, we're doing pretty well. Still lots to do, but no more heavy lifting. I'm sitting here at Starbucks because we don't have cable or internet yet.

I've started with Season 1 of Sex and the City, & plan on making my way through each season until cable is installed. Can't beat it with a stick. Our sweet boy has been in St. Louis for nearly 2 weeks with Ben's parents! It's really hard being without him, but moving with him would have been much harder, as we all know how fun it can be with toddler meltdowns. He comes back this Saturday morning & is excited to come back to "Lincoln's house," as he so blatantly puts it. From check-ins with my mother-in-law, Sherry, I have learned that the little monster has learned how to climb out of his Pack-n-Play, & is just walking out of his bedroom at night. Sherry will be watching TV & all of a sudden she'll hear, "Hi Mi-Maw!"...Lincoln is standing right beside her, acting as if it's the most normal thing in the world to have climbed out of his bed & come strolling in. What a firecracker.

Not much else to report, except that we had a very moving experience the day we moved out of the apartment. A little history first: when we first moved in to the blessed E-4, we bought a microwave. And I use the term "microwave" quite loosely here. It was $35 from K Mart. It was a turn-dial microwave & about the size of my fist. I could fit nary a plate in there...only small bowls. We were trying to save money, & it seemed like a wise choice to save money on. After about a week of using it, Ben looked at me & said, "Worst purchase ever." We suffered through that thing, never knowing exactly how far to turn the dial before our food was black, charred, & smelling like burnt plastic. Poor Lincoln had to suffer as well, always very fearful of putting his cup in his mouth, for fear that his milk would be ice cold or smoldering hot. So on August 16, we walked out of the apartment & threw that god-forsaken thing right into the dumpster. Ben couldn't have been happier. Now we're in Heaven at our new house because we can actually SEE how much time we have left before our food is done. Man, we're easy to please.

Ta-Ta for now.

Friday, August 10, 2007

These are a few of my favorite things...

Air conditioning.
Dill pickles.
Hot dogs with yellow mustard.
Mexican food.
Hot & spicy anything.
Elastic waistbands.
Built-in bras.
Ponytails.
"Chips & Dip" time with my son.
October.
Ben's sense of humor.
The smell of the top of my son's head.
Laughing so hard I almost pee my pants.

Just thought I'd tell you what suits my fancy these days.