Even More Things You Really Want to Know

Another meme! And another meme that made me think! This one took longer than I thought it would, but that's not a bad thing. Feel free to participate - and leave a comment if you do, so I can drop by your blog!

I am... a mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend, and someone who hates running late.

I have... braces (for the second time).

I want... to give cloth diapering a try (if we have any more children, of course).

I wish... all of our parents lived closer.

I know... that I am loved.

I hate... poor customer service, unloading the dishwasher, and shopping for clothes.

I fear... heights.

I hear... my stomach growling.

I crave... savory foods for breakfast.

I search... for fun activities to do with the kids.

I always... get ranch dip for waffle fries from Chick-Fil-A.

I usually... drink water, but I'll drink sweet tea if I go to Chick-Fil-A.

I am not... a good housekeeper.

I miss... all of our favorite SC restaurants.

I love... my family!

I never... get pedicures any more.

I rarely... stay angry for very long.

I cry... when I am tired or angry.

I lose... my budget willpower when I'm tempted to eat out.

I should... use that gift certificate for a massage that's stuck on the side of my fridge.

I worry... about my daughter's food allergies.

I dream... of a crunchy granola life (borrowed this one from Jenni).

I was... opposed to cell phones until my husband started a long-distance commute to work. Now I don't know how I would live without it! (He doesn't have the long commute any more, thank goodness!)

Thanks to Jenni, who posted this meme recently and invited her readers to participate!

PS - I wonder... if I just broke a blogging rule by posting two memes in a row....

8 Things You Really Want to Know

I've been tagged! Jane Anne from Gravity of Motion tagged me a few days ago for this fun blog meme. We've had company at our house for a few days, so it took me just a little while to sit down and complete the meme. I'm glad to be back to the blog and give things a whirl - here goes!

8 things I look forward to:

• girls night dinners
• sit-on-the-porch weather
• Sunday lunch with friends
• trying a new recipe
• grocery store/Costco trips (weird, I know)
• Fun Day Mondays (summer outings with some other families from our church)
• co-op Saturdays
• completing my whole-house reorganization project

8 things I did yesterday:

• served two sit-down meals
• baked a birthday cake
• washed a LOT of dishes
• bought new sneakers for Miss M
• gave Miss M Benadryl for an apparent exposure to peanuts of some sort
• was thankful for the opportunity to visit with my family
• forgot to start the dishwasher after dinner
• fell asleep early (10pm)

8 things I wish I could do:

• have 'unload the dishwasher with a twitch of my nose' as my superpower
• run a marathon
• live closer to all of our parents - or have all of them live closer to us
• remodel my kitchen to have more counter space
• handle a knife like a real chef
• catch up on all of my scrapbooking projects (and there are many)
• be a better housekeeper
• be more organized

8 shows I watch:

• Bones
• Burn Notice
• Royal Pains (hysterical. really. in an over-the-top, are-people-really-like-this? kind of way)
• NCIS
• In Plain Sight
• Tori and Dean (I know - I don't like reality tv - but it's definitely a guilty pleasure)
• Grey's Anatomy
• Private Practice

*those last two I could give or take, but they are still set to record on the DVR. I don't usually watch the reruns....

8 5 busy bloggers I tag:

• H at Beyond the Belly (she's busy moving right now, but I hope she'll get to it when things settle down!)
• Patrice at Williams Family Blog (she's busy right now, too....)
• Georgia at Living on Campus... (she's expecting baby #2, so she's a little busy....)
• Shannon at Blonde Ambition (she's just started a new job with a longer commute, so she's a little busy, too)
• Susannah at Get the Big Idea (she's got three kids, and school is out for the summer - what do you bet she's busy, as well?)

Ladies, I'd love to read your 8, but you won't hurt my feelings if this doesn't make it to the top of your to-do list!

Jane Anne also asked what I was doing this time last year. Hmm... Let's take a look back thorough the blog and see.... Aha! Mister J and I were painting this (it's hiding behind behind the paper chain). I was also getting ready for a trip to California and Miss M's 2nd birthday party. I'll follow her lead and ask - what were you doing this time last year?

Windy Wednesday

We waited through several days of alternately wet and windy weather to get outside and play again. On this particular evening, we got out my old (-fashioned) balsa wood gliders. I have two, and we opted to play with the bigger one.
We had lots of funs taking turns winding up the propeller, launching the glider, and being the 'chaser' (as Mister J titled the role). We had a little 'blowout' and had to replace a rubber band in the middle of our play. Not to worry - I had a spare! As we were wrapping up for the night we had a major crash that resulted in the disentegration of the wing. Oh, well! I'll be keeping an eye out for another glider (the smaller glider just doesn't compare to this one...) and for a better place to play - one a bit more wide open than our backyard. This was definitely a lot of fun for 3 out of 4 of us - Miss M opted to play in the sandbox.

Top Ten Favorite Posts

Ordinary Extraordinary - A post about enjoying the simple things, like time spent together
Overheard...#10 - A "boy" moment, for sure!
Sweet Heart (aka Overheard #9) - My sweet Miss M has a heart for giving.
Overheard #8 - Just a little misunderstanding (and he still calls them 'porcupines').
Overheard #7 - I cannot deny it, she is growing up!
What are you waiting for? - Just another major revelation among the ordinary 'stuff' of my life as a wife and mother.
Shhh... - A total "awww" moment.
Patriotism - A big pride moment for Big J and I. This moment nearly brought me to tears.
Dough-NUTS! - Another pride moment, and a testament to the bond between my two kiddos.
A Tail of Epic Proportions - One of those 'when I look back on this in 10 years I'll laugh" moments.

Now is the point where I tell you I was encouraged to post because of a bloggy contest that's happening over at Barking Mad. There's a chance to win a $250 gift card to Target - but I enjoyed this little 'scroll' down memory lane way more! (Tag to Barking Mad's bloggy contest over there on the right...)

My First Meme

I'm just learning about memes (sounds like "dreams"), myself, so I thought I'd give one a try. I found this one over on The Queen B's blog, and since it's about how blogging has affected me, I thought it was a good one to start with. By the way, you can read what The Queen B had to say by going here.

Here are the rules:

1. Write about 5 specific ways blogging has affected you, either positively or negatively.
2. link back to the person who tagged you
3. link back to this parent post
4. tag a few friends or five, or none at all
5. post these rules— or just have fun breaking them

Here goes:
1) Communication - Blogging has given me a way to share news with our family and friends that don't live nearby.
2) Mommy guilt - Blogging has freed me from some of the guilt I feel that my kids' scrapbooks aren't up-to-date - I can turn some of these posts into scrapbook pages, and the journaling is already done!
3) Time Management - I am spending more time online now that I used to, both posting and reading others' blogs. However, I think it's definitely worth the time (see communication - and know that I'm a big fan of writing notes and letters, which I definitely did not have time for).
4) Learning new ideas - Some of my online time is now spent "blog-surfing" - linking to other folks' blogs from friends' blogs, then linking on to the next one and the next one. That's how I found some really informative ones, though - like Parent Hacks and Lunch Nugget - and other ones that I read more for entertainment value.
5) Creative/Emotional Outlet - OK, so my posts aren't always creative, and maybe not even funny, but this blog is an outlet for me - a way to share what I'm thinking, how I'm feeling, and to "talk" with someone who's older than me. It's a way to share my accomplishments, my kids' milestones, and other things happy and sad.

I'm not tagging anyone - so I'm breaking rule number 5. Why? Well, I only have a few readers, and of those few with blogs, they are busy moms, so I'm not going to add to their Mommy guilt (but I'd be delighted if they gave this meme a try!).