Fill in the blank

The Goddess of Those Who Shall Not Be Tagged...

(but she gets tagged any way, much to her dismay... and the last time I tagged her I pulled the "my toddler is actually tagging you, not me" card. heheheeheheheeee......squee! But I should be off the hook now since I just did call her a Goddess. But, I digress... maybe I should put up a poll? Hmm, there's a thought. This has to be the longest post whisper in parenthesis EVAH! Maybe I should make a poll for that too. I digress again! Maybe this is the longets post whisper ever, with the most digressions ever? Poll #3 anyone?) ...

has done what Goddesses [of Those Who Shall Not Be Tagged] often do, which is to employ the whole "do as I say and not as I do" tactic. ;)

Yes. She tagged me. Payback is a sumumma gun.



She has blessed me with an interesting meme, one where you fill in the blanks... which- if you know me even a little, you know how dangerous a proposition that could be, depending on my mood and which way the wind is currently blowing.

Anyway, enjoy... some of it will shock and amaze you, and some of it is embarrassing to admit- but we're all friends here right?

1. I can’t believe I’ve never…

got my driver's license

But I'm working on it. :/

2. Every time I think about … I still cringe.

mistakes I have made as a mother and wife

3. I wish I’d …when I had the chance.

used the GI bill for college.

Now I work for minimum wage after 11 years of nursing experience. *sniff*

4. I’ve never felt so out of place as when I…

go to work at my new job, with a bunch of high school and college students LOL!

5. … is my guiltiest pleasure.

Shopping online, especially the clearance sections.

6. I hope … knows how grateful I am for …

John, Ben, Marci, and Aunt Yvonne...

loving me for who I am, right now, flaws and all.

7. In my darkest hours, I secretly blame … for my dysfunction.

my genetic donors. BAH!

But, it's no secret. ;)

8. … changed my life forever.

Finding a man who loves me, finally having kids, disowning my mother, and reconnecting with my sister


If you would like to do this meme, let me know in comments that you are doing it and I'll check it out!

8 random things about Emma

Emma was tagged by Baby Bug to do a meme regarding 8 random things about her life. Baby Bug's mommy is the lovely Kailani at An Island Life.

Emma is going on three years old (end of March), and has quite a bit to say about her life:

1. My favorite number is "2 year old", I have a feeling it's going to change soon.

2. My name is Emma Whoas Rahvitch, I'm two yee-ah ohld, and I love to steal my sit'sters toys.

3. I also like to duller in my dullering books, and play with my new dahl house I got for Dhismas.

4. At bedtime I try to think of as many was I can to try to get out of bed. At bedtime I suddenly become very hungry, thirsty, and usually need one tissue per boager. Sometimes I need medicine for hurts like sudden headaches and bely aches at bedtime, that myster-wee-usly disappear the moment the Tylen(ol) hits my tongue.

5. I usually obsess about one toy for a week to a week and a half. I cannot sleep if I don't have my toy, even though it changes every week.

6. Mommy says that Anna is her Mini Me (with a few of her own twists thrown in, for sure), and I am Anna's Mini Me, plus some. A Mini Mini Me makes for lots of laughs. And sometimes a grumpy mommy. Sister thinks it's very funny and is sometimes proud that I make the same smooshy grumpy faces, and roll my eyes exactly the same.

7. I love my kitty cat and I call her Baby Zo. She sometimes bites me, and even though mommy says leave her alone i still like to pet her... then run complaining to mommy that Baby Zo bit me. the last time Baby Zo bit me, I told mommy what she did. A few minutes later I told mommy why Baby Zo bit me. I don't understand... all I was doing was brushing her with my old baby brush.

8. Lately, daddy is my favorite. I like to watch him get up from his xbox 360 chair to come and wipe my butt after I go potty. Also, even though mommy is sitting in the living room right next to me using her laptop, I like to have daddy put down his controller every few minutes to get me the things I really need like snacks, milk, and one tissue for each boager.

Dis was fun! Who should I tag? What is a tag? Oh, OK I get it now.

I tag Spider Boy or little Monkey, their daddy is Daddy Forever. Mommy says he is very funny. he is on a bloggin break? But hopefully he will have time in a little bit.

I love babies, so I also tag Leila or Alexis. Mommy says a that their mommy Ash uses all the words she wishes she could use on her blog. I'm not sure what that means. Mommy also says that Lexi's mommy doesn't like Memes, but she might not be so mad cuz I'm cute and I smeel like flo

Ultimate Life

My blogging bud Avery tagged me for this meme, thanks Avery! I had a lot of fun. :D

The rules are:
Answer the questions as realistically or unrealistically as you want.
Copy the rules into your meme post.
Link back to the person who tagged you.
Tag 5 others

1. Where would you live?
I would found my own town called Dorkville, where the dorks could roam free. I would welcome new residents by having a Fantasy Island like welcome luau, and I would dress Emma up like Tattoo, and she would yell "The Dorks! The Dorks, boss mom! The Dorks!"

2. What would your job be (or if unrealistic) what would you do all day?
I would be a dork herder, of course! But I think I would hire someone else to clean up after them, dork poo is the worst. I live in a house full of dorks so I should know. ;)

3. Who would you spend your time with? Doing what?
All the dorks that are near and dear to my heart. We would spend the days doing dorky things like laughing at each others awkward social interactions ( totally with dork love, though), watching all of the dork cult classics like every Star Trek/Star Wars movie and episode ever created. In the event that we should run out of material, we will then have our dork writers translate each of those into Shakespearian plays, and we will have Dork Renaissance Fairs ( is that redundant?) .

4. What kind of holidays/vacations would you take?
Well, I suppose I would have to create my own credit card company so every Dork could afford to go on vacation. It would be called Dorkwad- The card for Dorkwads everywhere. We would go anywhere our dorky cheer was accepted... so I'm guessing the farthest we would get would be the outskirts of Dorkville.

5. What luxury items would you own?
I would have everything a dork could desire. Unfortunately a lot of it would probably be stuff I don't need- like dog paw mittens, a space shuttle and spinners for Emma's stroller. Oh and a diamond tiara.

6. What charities would you support or represent?
I'd give my dorky money to any charity that helps children, women and families in need ( this covers the abused, homeless and ill).

I tag (feel free to refuse the tag, I'll get over it. Eventually.) :P
Maggie
Dorky Dad
NotSoAnonymousMichelle
Virginia
Factor 10

Wordless Wednesday- A Princess, an Angel, and one Scared Dude

My Opinion Meme

This My Opinion Meme was started by a gorgeous AND hilarious blogger I met on cr8buzz, her name is Avery Gray. If you haven't read her blog, you really should. She not only has a wonderful and funny writing style but she also writes poignantly about real life issues.

OK, so the idea for this meme is to strip away all pretense and REALLY give your opinion. From Avery's blog :

I have deduced that there are some views I hold that people may or may not agree with. Because I believe good, honest debate is a healthy way for individuals to come together and get to know one another, I've chosen to get the ball rolling and share 20 of my most controversial opinions.

Be creative, be funny, be controversial, but be honest. ;) Twenty? Phew! Well, actually I am very opinionated (surprise, surprise), so it shouldn't be that hard.

1. I believe that The Glass can be both half empty AND half full. Sue me. :P
2. God does test us at times, otherwise he wouldn't have created Brussel Sprouts or cocoa beans.
3. Just like this blogger I truly do believe that we women are affected by lunar phases. Our bodies are made up of 65% water, and that's not counting retention! You do the math, it makes sense to me. ARRRROOOOOOOOO!
4. Cheesecake is neither cake nor pie. Therefore it really should have it's own food category.
5. Thousands of our soldiers have died in vain and we need to bring our troops home.
6. The Polar Express is a beautiful book, and it's beauty was tarnished by the ridiculous movie.
7. I believe that Marilyn Monroe was killed by the same people that assassinated The Kennedy Brothers.
8. It is possible to overcome your past, and all the fears and doubts related to it.
9. Though we are flawed creatures by nature and though some of us have haunted pasts, I do not believe this should give us license to be a horrible person.
10. Potty training is one of the most difficult phases of childhood... for both the parent and child. ;)
11. Chocolate should have it's own food group.
12. ...and pizza is the perfect food, it has all of the food groups (except for chocolate).
13. I believe the chicken came first.
14. ...and if Animal X "tastes just like chicken", THEN EAT CHICKEN! What's the point?
15. The CORRECT way to make a pb&j sandwich is to put pb on one slice of bread, then jelly on the other. Putting the pb one one piece of bread and then jelly over top of the pb is sacrilegious.
16. Kids are little sponges, you get out what you put in- but try not to squeeze too hard.
17. There is something to be said for modesty, and leaving a little something to the imagination. I believe all body parts should be covered at least 2 parts out of 3- excluding arms and legs, and the naughty bits should be in the 2/3's that are covered. For men this ratio should be 4 parts out of 5 concerning the "swim suit" areas.
    
    
18. There is such a thing as personal space, and for me and my kids that would be at least a 3 foot radius. If my kids are within my personal space, the radius begins at the closest of my children near you.
    
19. Success= Aspiration+ Faith+ Commitment (we'll see if I have what it takes with NanNoWriMo)
20. Opinions are like aaaaaaaaaaaa...elbows. Everyone has at least one.

Now that you have seen into the dark corners of my psyche, don't you feel like sharing too? If you do this meme, let me know in comments. I'm sure Avery (the creator of this meme) would love to read your's too.

Aloha Friday #5

My friend Kailani is hosting another episode of Aloha Friday! Her idea is that you post a question on your blog each Friday. Each person is encouraged to join in the fun by posting your own question on your blog. Be sure to visit the Aloha Friday Headquarters and answer Kailani's question and sign up on her Linky.

My question for this week is very much related to what is happening in my world:

Have you ever had a dream that seemed unobtainable, but you accomplished this dream anyway? If so, what was that dream and what did you overcome to accomplish it?

Aloha Friday

Kailani at An Island Life started a really fun meme called Aloha Friday where each week she asks a question and bloggers answer on their own blogs. Click the link above if you would like to participate!

Kailani's question for this week (since I goofed and thought this was a themed sort of thing): Why do you blog?

My answer isn't earth shattering or ground breaking. I started blogging as a way to escape the monotony of being a stay-at-home-mom.

• Blogging is a great source of entertainment whether it be in form of humor, sarcasm, or knowledge.
• Blogging can lift you up and bolster you because it's all about connecting with other human beings.
• Blogging can help you realize that you aren't the biggest _____ (fill in the blank here with whatever you choose, for me it would be DORK) out there... there are other people who are going through the same things and who can debate, relate and commiserate.
  
• Blogging can be hard work at times, but you get out what you put into it.
• Bogging is a way to express yourself in any way you choose. You can write eloquent, thoughtful posts or sarcastic and dorky. I like to dabble ;)
• Blogging is a wonderful way to think things through and can be very cathartic.
  

Anywho, that's my take on blogging. I hope you have enjoyed reading my blatherings. For another post on blogging, you can look at one of my older posts, Everything I need to know, I learned from blogging.

So tell me... Why do you blog?

The book meme

My GF Virginia tagged me for this meme :D

Total number of books?
My hubs and I used to be addicted to the clearance sections of Barnes and Noble, but now we have kids. You know how that goes. ;) We do have a lot of children's book though, at least 175-200! As far as John and I , I would say about 40. We don't have a lot of room and unless I love a book I try to give it away... so, we don't buy many books anymore.

Last Book read?
Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie. I love her , her writing is very funny and never boring.

Last Book Bought?
Parenting With Love & Logic by Foster Cline and Jim Fay (recommended by Kelly), Smart Discipline by Larry J. Koenig (recommended by slackermommy), and Agnes and The Hitman by Jennifer Cruisie and Bob Mayer. I know, what an odd set of choices, right? I have started to read the first so far.

Five meaningful Books?
The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver is quite the emotional roller coaster ride and is a story about a woman who rescues a sexually abused toddler at the spur of the moment when a stranger asks her to take the child to save her.

Charming Billy by Alice McDermot is a novel about love, lies and alcoholism. It's actually a poignant story about a man and how he affected the lives of everyone around him, mostly for good despite his disease.

And some of my childhood favorites:
Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt is a story about 4 children who are abandoned by their mother after she leaves them in a car at a mall. Soon they realize they are going to have to fend for themselves. This book really struck a chord with me as a child, and sometimes I had wished that this had been me. I think my younger brother felt the same... our home life was so bad that we often daydreamed about what life would be like without our mother.

Enemy Mine by Barry B. Longyear is a novel that was made into a movie later... I really enjoyed this book because the underlying theme was that despite color and creed that we are obligated to love each other as God's creatures, even on the most basic levels.

The first book that Anne McCaffery wrote about Pern, I can't remember the name now. I can remember being completely absorbed is this book because I was able to go places in my mind and escape the hell around me. I can honestly say that this book got me through some tough spots just because I was able to be there.


Tag five people:
Anyone who wants to do this meme, join in the fun! leave me a comment if yo decide to do it.

The Layered Meme

Mommy2JL tagged me for this meme, enjoy... I know I did!

By the way, I just installed the peek-a-boo post format. Click "read more"... well, to read more!


On the outside:
Name: Mary
Birth Date: October 4, 1969
Current Status: married (18 years)
Eye Color: Brown
Hair Color: Dark Brown and gray ;)

On the inside:
My Heritage: Half Mexican, half Caucasian (Scottish maiden name). My great grandmother was from the south and was a bigot, so half of me hates pinatas. Or I severely dislike them at last half of the time.
My Fear: Losing my children. That one day my husband will come to his senses.
My weaknesses: Chocolate, coffee (preferably Starbucks or Columbian roast but any old coffee will do, except for instant)
My Perfect Pizza: Deep dish pizza with mushrooms, artichoke hearts and bacon.

Yesterday, today and tomorrow:

My thoughts first waking up: "Who put this fur coat on my tongue?"
My bedtime: Somewhere between midnight and 2 am usually. I love the night life. I love to boo-gie.
My most missed memory: I can't remember. I think it has something to do with being a size 6-7 once upon a time.

My pick:

Pepsi or Coke: Pepsi.
Single or group dates: It doesn't matter, I don't have a baby sitter I trust yet. I'm paranoid like that.
Adidas or Nike: Nike
Tea or Nestea: Tea
Chocolate or Vanilla: Chocolate.
Cappuccino or Coffee: Cappuccinno

Do you:

Smoke: No.
Curse: Ummm... I have been known to enjoy the odd expletive...
Take a shower: Every stinkin' day.
Have a crush: Only on unattainable celebs. Johnny Depp... call me!
Think you’ve been in love: Oh yeah. My very first love, Elvis. Second, chocolate. And last but not least, The Misu.
Go to school: Not right now, I'm still thinking about what i want to be when I grow up.
Want to get married: Married, been there- done that... never again. This one is for keeps.
Believe in yourself: Yes!
Think you’re a health freak:I was never really a health freak. My love for grease and chocolate took care of that.

In the past:

Drank alcohol: I was in the Navy...
Gone to the mall: Too much
Been on stage: Yes.
Eaten sushi: One of my favorite things!
Dyed your hair: Yes, I gave up though.

Have you ever:

Played a stripping game: Nope.
Changed who you were to fit in: In high school.. and I'm not proud of it. I learned my lesson before it was too late though.
Done something your kids will never know about (at least until they are adults): *This an addition from me (mert), just 'cause it's an interesting question.* Yes, enjoyed the company of Mary Jane... and had a very "good" first date with their dad.

Age you're hoping:

Get married: see above
Take your dream vacation: (mert add) Good grief, I hope it's before we retire. Italy is my dream vacation, an Alaskan Cruise is John's.

In a guy:

Best eye colour: Doesn't matter
Best hair colour: " "
Short hair or long hair: Short(er)
Best attribute: (mert add) smile and sense of humor.

What were you doing:

A minute ago: Talking Emma out of the curtains and arguing whether or not Monsters Inc. is really a "scare-wy" movie.
Hour ago: Drinking. Lots. Of. Coffee.
Month ago: Flying back home after seeing my sis and bro!
Year ago: Thinking about giving up my beagle puppy because she scared Anna.

Finish the sentences:

I love: My family, art, books, blogging...
I feel: Blessed
I hate: The fact that I procrastinate due to my fear of failure
I hide: behind humor too much sometimes
I miss: My step dad (who I consider my real dad, he raised me from the age of 5 or 6)
I need: to lose another 44 lbs LOL!

I tag:

Ladies: participate if you wanna, no pressure. I tag anyone else who wants to play, just leave me a comment so I know to check your out too!

Maggie

Miss Charming and Delightful

Virginia

Michelle

crse

Wordless Wednesday- This is the design I want on my body forever. :D (click the image for the whole story)

Manic Monday- Drop

Today's manic Monday is brought to you by the word DROP. For more MM's visit Mo's site and join in the fun!

I'm going to Reno in 4 days... are my bags packed yet? Why, yes they are. Thanks for asking. Obsess much, you are correct, sir! I packed my suit case Friday night. Yup that's right, almost a week before my trip, my stuff is all packed with the exception of make up and my blow dryer. ;)

But I digress, we are supposed to be discussing the word DROP. What was my point? Oh yes... since I tend to make regular drop offs in the boob zone (bombing my chest and the outlying regions, missing my mouth completely at times), I have had to rethink the whole "I'm only bringing a carry on bag so I can avoid the whole luggage pick up thing... I'm only going to be gone for 4 days, so I shouldn't need much ..." thingy.

I had originally thought that I could bring this cute, adorable and completely inadequate carry on bag:
Now this may seem like it's an average sized suit case, right? I assure you that compared to The Beast that I will be hauling, it's a Hobbit. I might as well humiliate myself further to illustrate just how much of a problem I have. Without further ado, I present for your delight, comparison and contrast... The Beast and The Hobbit! *insert gasp here*

I can't help it! I alway over pack! But in my defense, as I said I have a problem with food. Food loves my boobs and my boobs love food. Food loves the front of my body so much that I might as well just toss the food up into air and wait to see where it drops. Therefore I have packed (at least) one extra shirt per day that I will be away.

In retrospect, I have gotten quite the chuckle out of myself (and lots of scoffing from the MISU) that I dared to think that The Hobbit would suffice. My unrealized dreams of The Hobbit being stowed neatly in the over head bin and visions of myself skipping merrily past the luggage terminal were crushed by the reality that a girl really does need shoe options. Not to mention extra shirts for the inevitable War on Boobs.

It was nice to dream though, and those dreams are stuff that fairy tales are made of.

Hmmmm... another thought... my brother snores. I could drop some ear plugs into my ears. Or a pillow over my head. A pillow over his head?

Ahhhh, I have it! I could drop some ice down his shorts! ;)


On another note, I am sure my hubs- the MISU- is completely beside himself with joy that he only has to drop me off at the airport and will not be there to lug The Beast to my hotel room. ;)

Me me me ;)

Yeah, I know... it's not all about me. Seems like it has been according to my last posts but just one more tidbit about me? Please?... John was able to get those 2 days off, so now I can relax and actually go on my trip next week. Yeeeehaw!

Now on to other mememe stuff: my good blogging friend Tiggerprr tagged me for this very unique meme. Here are the rules:

1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.
2. Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of their middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.
3. When you are tagged you need to write your own blog post containing your own middle name game facts.
4. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Ok, my name is Charlaine... this is going to be interesting!

C- Chocolate, of course! Though I have lost my craving for it, I haven't lost the craving completely. I still indulge , just not every day like I used to.

H- Hair-do, I just got a new funky do. I wasn't sure about it at first and almost had all of my hair cut off to fix it. But after a week of messing with it, I kind of like it, and it looks a little bit like this when I fix it with a flat iron:
A- Anna... my first miracle baby.
R- RENO! In 6 days ... to see my sis and her family again after 10 years... and my little brother too! :D

L- Love. I would do anything to protect my family. Anything.

A- Art. I really need to focus and try to paint or draw. I miss it!

I- Idiots and Insanity. My husband and I have both in our family trees... which makes me concerned for my children. Maybe I'll start hiding Prozac in their mashed potatoes now while they are young. I kid, people... I jest. ;)

N- Normalcy. Something I strive very hard for... though I hear that "normal" is the new "nuts".

E- Enormous. My middle name is enormous. :) I'm afraid I'm going to have to wimp out on the last rule as I just don't know if I can tag a person for each letter.

Want to join in on the fun? You're it!

Memory Post Meme

Janie (who was tagged by Mimi...) tagged me for this meme :)

Here are the rules:

You must post five links to posts you have written.

Post your five links and then tag five other people. At least two of the people you tag must be newer acquaintances so that you get to know each other better . . . and don’t forget to read the archive posts and leave comments!

Link 1 must be about family:

Annaisms

Link 2 must be about friends:

Not So Anonymous Michelle hearts me!

Link 3 must be about yourself, who you are, what you’re all about:

Thinking Meme

Link 4 must be about something you love:

Love is

Love is... Part Two (the grungy version)

Link 5 can be anything you choose:

Thirteen things that never fail to make me laugh

The folks I am tagging are:

Maggie

Michelle

Holly

Dorky Dad

Absolutely Bananas

EVERYONE is invited to participate. You do not have to be tagged! If you do, please link back to this post and let me know when you have published your post with the links to your five articles as I will update this article to include them, thereby providing a bunch of link love for everyone!

Manic Monday- Miss

Today's Manic Monday is brought to you by the word MISS. For more manic Monday, visit Mo by clicking the banner. :D

I'm Miss Understood.

Sometimes I'm:
Miss Guided
Miss Behaved
Miss Communicated
Miss Matched
Miss Cellany
Miss Chievious
Miss Erable
Miss Fit
Miss Haps
Miss Ing
Miss Spent
Miss Stepped
Miss Stated
Miss Taken
Miss Informed
Miss Placed
Miss Pronounced
Miss Quoted
Miss Read
Miss Spelled


and occasionally:

Miss Ty Eyed

Blogging Tips

My friend Judy tagged me with this cool meme about sharing blogging tips and some link love. This last January, I wrote a blog post about what I learned from blogging for a Carnival of Blogging Chicks theme. I've added my tip below quoted from this blog post.

-START COPY-

It’s very simple. When this is passed on to you, copy the whole thing, skim the list and put a * star beside those that you like. (Check out especially the * starred ones.)

Add the next number (1. 2. 3. 4. 5., etc.) and write your own blogging tip for other bloggers. Try to make your tip general.

After that, tag 10 other people. Link love some friends!

Just think- if 10 people start this, the 10 people pass it onto another 10 people, you have 100 links already!

1. Look, read, and learn. **
- http://www.neonscent.com/

2. Be, EXCELLENT to each other. ****
- http://www.bushmackel.com/

3. Don’t let money change ya! *
- http://www.therandomforest.info/

4. Always reply to your comments. ********
- http://chattiekat.com/

5. Link liberally — it keeps you and your friends afloat in the Sea of Technorati. ****
- http://chipsquips.com/"

6. Don’t give up - persistence is fertile. **
- http://www.velcro-city.co.uk/

7. Give link credit where credit is due. ******
- http://www.sfsignal.com/

8. Pictures say a thousand words and can usually add to any post. ****
- http://scifichick.com/

9. Visit all the bloggers that leave comments for you - it's nice to know who is reading! ****
- http://stephaniesbooks.blogspot.com/

10. Make a blogger template unique: change the background colour, or add a background picture to your header. **
- http://chris-book-a-rama.blogspot.com/

11. Write positively even if the situation is seemingly negative -- spread joy and not gloom. You can do it!*
- http://www.aliceteh.com/

12. When you find something that interests you, write about it. Sharing yourself with others is one of the best things about blogging.*
- http://jhthomas.blogspot.com/

13. Everyone gets a little "blog burnout" eventually. Sometimes you need to hang up that "I'll be back in a few days, I am taking a blogging break" sign, kick back and relax. You'll feel so much better for it, and you might actually enjoy blogging when you come back.
- http://almostsomewhatpositive.blogspot.com/

-END COPY-

If you would like to do this meme... you're it! Let me know in comments so I can check out your post too. :D

Thursday Thirteen- 13 things I did yesterday

1. Made coffee when I got up.

2. Having zero grams of caffeine in my blood, I immediately missed my mouth and spilled coffee on my night gown. ( I have a slight DRINKING problem)

3.Laundry for my baby boogers.

4. Left clean clothes in the dryer while washing the dishes. What? My hands were wet! At least the clothes are clean, right? ;)

5. Finished unpacking Anna's room from when she got her room back 3 months ago ( Anna had to give up her room for a year to share with her little sister but since they have nearly clawed each other to pieces, and John and I only sleep in our room, we decided for everyones sanity to give Anna her own room back) , moved all of the boxes and boxes of girly stuff that couldn't be crammed into the room- because every surface is now covered- up into the attic.

6. Took a 10 minute breather and wished I still had an inhaler handy.

7. Considered procrastinating and putting off cleaning Emma's room... for another 3 months.

8. Made blueberry muffins with Anna.

9. Made lemon poppy seed muffins, but added too much milk while I was day dreaming. Added another box of muffin mix and doubled the recipe to make up for the extra day dream dairy. Felt guilty over the 2:1 lemon poppyseed to blueberry ratio (since Anna and I are pretty much the only ones who eat the lemon, but the 3 of them eat the blueberry... thus making the actual muffin rationing in my favor)

10. Made another batch of blueberry muffins so that muffin distribution would be a bit more equal.

11. Cleaned up the huge pile of toys I have been neglecting on Em's side of our room, put away toys that had filtered to the bottom of the pile and rotated with new (to Emma, old to Anna) toys from the attic.

12. After an hour of toy categorizing (genus and species of Little People- yes I'm that anal. OK not quite, but almost.), organizing and swapping, I schlepped 4 more boxes and totes full of the ankle biters stuff up to the hot and steamy attic.

13. Contemplated a shower and procrastinated about it while taking a break, panting, and reading in the new and improved Emma's room. Had a nice time relaxing - except for the part where Emma kept putting her feet in my book, or tried to help me read by running her fingers over the sentences and saying "Once upon a time..."to get my attention. ;)

Bonus:
14. After seeing all the work I did yesterday, my loving hubby took us out for grub. :D Gad, that man must love me or something.

Wordless Wednesday- Cheese, baby boogs and presents from Aunt Marci

Four Things About Me

My friend Judy tagged me for this meme, thanks Judy! :D

FOUR JOBS I HAVE HAD IN MY LIFE:
1. My very first job as in the family owned "sweat shop"... We all of a sudden were the cleaning crew for an advertising agency for extra cash. My younger brother was 7 or 8 when we started and we worked very hard for little money.

2. Cashier at the local grocery store, down in the boon docks.

3. Corpsman (medic) in the United States Navy. :D

4. LVN or LPN depending on which state you're in.



FOUR MOVIES I WOULD WATCH OVER AND OVER:
1. So I Married An Axe Murderer

2. Wedding Crashers

3. North By Northwest

4. Anne of Green Gables


FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED:
1. Hell.

2.Treasure Island, California (formerly a Naval base)

3. Oakland, California (when it was the murder capital of the US, Yipeee!)

4. Hayward, California


FAVORITE FOODS:
1. Since I have lost my craving for it I'm sad to say that chocolate, the previous reigning champion has lost it's heavy weight belt to steak and burgers. Which brings this saying to mind: I love animals. They taste good.

2.Any Asian food. Especially sushi which I haven't had any of in over a year :(

3. Any kind of pasta. I heart carbs, much to my butt's dismay.

4. Sorry chocolate, but at least you still make the top 4. Right?


PLACES I WOULD RATHER BE NOW:
1. Italy

2.Greece

3. S.F.

4. Eastern Shore, Maryland


FOUR PEOPLE I TAG TO DO THIS MEME:
1. Michelle

2. Maggie

3. Slackermommy

4. Dorky Dad



By the way... I was wondering if any of you have lost a pet unexpectedly? My bud Michelle
just lost her beautiful furbaby Coco during a dental cleaning procedure while under anesthesia. I know like a lot of people, Michelle felt like Coco was more than a pet and was just another member of the family. Michelle and her family are doing better, but Coco passed away on Tuesday. If you would like to, please head over and show her some love right now. Thanks.

Thursday Thirteen- 13 things I need to do before my trip to see my sis

1. Lose 55 lbs. HA! Yeah, right.

2.Register Anna for school since she starts school 2 days after I get back, on August 23rd.

3. Get Anna's hair trimmed. Get my hair trimmed too, the ends are a wreck.

4. Fill the fridge with easy to cook stuff for the hubby and ankle biters. And for the MIL since she has been sweet enough to take 2 days off to watch the kids since John can't take vacation.

5. Sew the purses I had planned to give to my bud Michelle's baby booger Emma. She just turned 2 last month. What a cutie! Ack, I'm late as usual.

6. Start my Continuing Education that I have to do to maintain my LVN/LPN license even though I'm not sure if I want to be a nurse anymore, and haven't worked in 6 yrs out of the home. They are due in November and I have to renew before then or my license will be nonrenewable.

7. Buy small bottles of stuff for my trip since the new regulations say that the containers have to be 3 ounces or smaller, and everything has to be in a zip lock.

8. Buy Anna's school supplies and back pack.

9. Stencil Anna's shirts and paint them in with sparkely paint made for material. Anna always complains about the plain shirts I find on clearance so I try to pretty them up for her.

10. Redo my iPod with music me and my brother will like for the trip. I might throw some BeeGee's in just to annoy him ;) because that's what older sisters do.

12. Paint my toe nails and give myself a pedi before I go so I don't look like I have the typical "I'm a mom and neglect myself" jungle rot.

13. Pack, pack, repack and pack.

Wordless Wednesday: Reno and reuniting with my sis :D

Bonus: