Harvest of Friends Blog Party!

I just found a neat blog through another blog called Dancing Barefoot on Weathered Ground. Just the name of the blog was enough to pique my interest so I had to go check it out.

While visiting I saw that Lynette was hosting a "Harvest of Friends" blog party and thought it would be a great way to jump into the fun her blog. i also, shockingly, enjoyed doing the last "all about us" post so i decided to take advantage of that feeling (usually i drag my feet when filling out questionnaires).

1. What is your favorite thing to snack on while you're blogging?

Currently? Candy corn, no question (see my last Tutorial Tuesday for proof!). Usually? Air-popped popcorn. Love that stuff.



2. What is one thing you wouldn't want to live without?

I could never live a fulfilling life without knowing that i was created with a purpose by my Father in Heaven, to live to glorify Him because He saved me, a sinner, through His Grace and Mercy!

3. Beach, Mountains or Farm? Where would you live if you had a choice?

ooooo. Mountains. With a lake. Specifically, Eagle Lake in Pike's Peak National Forest. Oh wait...that is where the Navigator's camp is. I just have SUCH fond memories of it!

J and I were just discussing this topic yesterday! He said he'd choose farm...something I never knew about him until then!

4. What's your least favorite chore/household duty?

i never thought i'd say this (because i used to love it!) but it is the FOLDING of the laundry.

5. Who do people say you remind them of?

i have no idea....so i asked my husband, J. And he said (also never knew this until now! i cannot believe how informative this questionnaire is!) Angie Harmon. huh. interesting.

i always fancied myself more of a Sandra Bullock kind of girl--down to earth and a little nutty!



6. Prefer parties and socializing or staying at home with the fam?

ask my parents and they'll tell you I'm a homebody. I like being out but once i'm in, i'm in, and it takes A LOT to get me back outside. How about socializing at small parties at home? now THAT I love!

proof that i went to a Christmas party with J last year...it does happen once i'm out!

7. What's your all time favorite movie?

i love Sleepless in Seattle and that is the only movie coming to mind right now so i'll just stick with that. I'm sure i could think of something better but for now that is my answer.

this past Christmas we stayed on a houseboat a few rows down from the houseboat in the movie! that was cool!


8. Do you sleep in your make up or remove it like a good girl every night?

Oh no no no i never sleep in my makeup (primarily because i NEVER wear makeup but that wasn't the question!)

9. Do you have a hidden talent or a deep desire to learn something that you've never had a chance to learn? What is it?

hidden talent: i can contort my face to look uncannily like a monkey (no wonder i one day ended up writing a blog called "Monkeys on the Bed!").

I guess a true talent (but maybe not so "hidden") is my running ability--I really like what Eric Liddell, missionary to China and Olympic runner (made famous by the movie "Chariots of Fire") said, "I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure."

deep desire: i'd love to learn the fine art of photography. First i'd need a real camera, though. in highschool, though, i signed up every semester for the pottery class elective and i was never once placed in it. i always wanted to take that class but i think that "longing" has since past.

10. What's one strange thing you're really good at?

see above--my monkey face is pretty funny but very strange. Take note that these last two questions have no pictures attached...there is a reason for that!

11. What first attracted you to your spouse?

his humor, love for people, and singing/guitar playing ability. i saw all of those on display the first time i met him at the InterVarsity Freshmen Retreat

he's just so comfortable to be with!

and cute!!!

12. What is something you love to smell?

oh my oh my oh my don't get me started on this question. I'm notorious for my nose. i feel this strange compulsion to smell nearly everything. my parents tease me endlessly for always smelling my gifts that i open on Christmas morning. But, hands down, i love to bury my head in my freshly cleaned sheets as i go to bed at night. nothing beats that first night's sleep on freshly cleaned sheets!


13. Tell something about you that you know irritates people.

i used to chew ice all.the.time. now it annoys me when i hear people do it. Currently i'm sure i irritate people with my incessant talk about 1) my daughter and 2) cloth diapering ;-o

14. When you have extra money (HA!) what's the first thing you think to do with it?

i think i'd put it towards a fund for our future children that we hope to adopt

15. Are you a silent laugher or a loud laugher? What makes you laugh the hardest?

my mom would say i'm a loud laugher though i'm embarrassed by my laugh. i think it sounds way too goofy.

i laugh at a lot of things but one thing that always gets me are inane "headlines" from Jay Leno's show. my favorite being one about a cat being named "Fire".

I also love Jay's commentators especially some of Mitch Fatel's blurbs (though i just watched a few of his youtube videos to be sure i was thinking of the right guy and he is a bit raunchier than i remember! bummer!)

16. Where is your favorite place to shop?

if you based "favorite" on "most frequented" it would be Target, CVS, or Publix. but favorite as in "i-can-have-anything-i-like"? hmm that is still tricky! i love Anthropoligie for their great displays (ingenious, really) and their clothes are great and their candles are scrumptious!

17. What's one thing you'd do more often if you had more time?

i'd spend more time with my grandmas


18. Are you a big spender or frugal?

oh i'm so frugal. except i like to splurge on candy corn. i have no issues buying a bag a day!

19. Who is your favorite character of all time (from a movie or book)? (Can't be real)

ugh i hate questions like this. i love so many books and movies. before we were married, i was always infatuated with the characters that Meg Ryan played. something about her romantic comedy cuteness that i wanted to emulate. now...hmmm...i don't know.

i guess i could revert old-school and say Caddie Woodlawn. i loved her (two) books and always wanted to be a pioneer girl like her...part of the reason that Kirsten was my favorite American Girl doll, too!

20. Would you want to be famous?

nope never. i'd embarrass myself in an instant and i live in fear of doing that on a daily basis with the few people i come in contact with everyday!

8 things...tagged again!

My sweet friend from my counselor years at Eagle Lake Camp tagged me last week and I'm finally getting around to thanking her! Thank you, Heidi! These are fun and make me think more about my life and "about me" (hence the label for this post!). Heidi quite possibly has the sweetest little boy I've (never) laid eyes on. I hope I can meet Finn soon! Check out her blog here...

Eight things I look forward to...

1. Date night on Thursdays
2. Watching Baby C grow up (but I also kind of dread this...!)
   
3. Hearing Baby C start talking...I'd love to know what is in her sweet little head!
4. Meeting my Savior face to face
5. (hopefully) hearing my children profess a faith in Jesus Christ. I pray for this daily for Baby C and for all our unborn children!
6. My 50th wedding anniversary
7. Lots more kiddos
8. J and I plan on hiking the Appalachian Trail once the kids are out of the house...I really look forward to that!
   

Eight things I did yesterday...

1. Ran a half marathon...with a baby jogger!
   
2. Welcomed my father-in-law and his lovely wife, Jen, back to Atlanta
3. Watched Pierce Pettis live in concert at our fave music venue, Eddie's Attic
4. Walked Churchill on a leash (our cat, not the former prime minister)
5. Ate lots and lots to recoup from #1
6. Had a small cup of REAL (non-decaf) coffee for the first time in two + months!
7. Thought about blogging on my "personal" blog, {life with} Cutie Face
8. Thought better about it...soooo much to catch up on that sometimes its better left undone (ahh, procrastination at its best!)
   

Eight things I wish I could do...

1. Craft like my sister
2. Have patience when it comes to sewing
3. Have the guts to go skydiving or something equally as scary
4. Say "yes" to mountain biking so I can finally compete in an adventure road race with my brother-in-law (affectionately dubbed "Mountain Man" by said sister)
   
5. Love deeper
6. Love freer
   
7. Love unconditionally
8. Share my faith more openly to real-life people
   

8 Shows I Watch:

1. Okay, i admit it, the only show I regularly watch is a horrible horrible show...the Bachelorette. There. I said it.
2. Sports
3. Sports
4. Sports
5. Sports
6. Sports
7. Sports
8. did I mention...Sports?

And now...I'm going to tag my first 8 (public) followers who have blogs:

1. Kelly from Hamilton Happenings
2. Mandy from Never a Dull Moment
3. Sledge from Sledge on the Edge
4. Kaycee from Fit for a Child
5. Allison from The Nealon Family (sorry this blog is private!)
6. Amanda from The Family Loop
   
7. Rachel from His Treasured Possession
8. Sandy (I call her "Mrs. Nathan") from Bridal Buzz

Feel free to play if you were tagged! But seriously no worries if not!

I've been tagged!

Christine, the gracious mama behind Southern Belle Dreaming tagged me a while back and I am finally getting around to thanking her publicly! Thank you, Christine!

My job is to list 6 {un}important things that make me happy...

1. Sunday afternoons with my husband, J, and sweet Baby C...but, technically, that is important because it is our family time. We usually go for long walks in our neighborhood, dream about houses we could live in and admire gorgeous gardens. If C is lucky, we'll stop by a playground and let her swing!


2. Hearing Baby C wake up in the morning and just babble sweetly to her animal friends in her crib.
   


3. Farmer's Markets. Amy at Living Locurto tweeted about going to a Farmer's Market yesterday. J and I LOVE to go to them and chat with the farmers. What an interesting life they lead! It is so neat to hear the "behind-the-scenes" stories about the produce!
   
   What is even cooler is that our church volunteers every Saturday at a farmer's market right next to our building. Then we get to play "farmer"
   


4. Winning a giveaway on someone's blog! That makes my month!
   


5. Singing praise and worship songs in the car with my windows and sunroof open and the radio on loud! I especially love the singers that hail from my home church, Laura Story and Aaron Shust!


6. Watching Baby C blossom into a little girl. It is SO fun to be a mom and every new discovery definitely makes me happy!
   

And now i get to tag 6 of you! I decided to make it really easy on me (hey! its the weekend! i'm lazy!) and tag the last 6 people who publicly followed me...and who have blogs...***ETA: 3 new people followed me today after I posted! Sorry to #197, #196, and #195 for missing out on the fun!***

1. Janelle from Cavanagh Chronicle
2. Ashley from The Miskels
3. Tiffany from Walensky Photo {blog}<---I LOVE her photos!
4. Sandra from What's all the Brew-Ha-Ha?
5. Natalie from A Touch of Country
6. Courtney from Courtney's Corner

If you were tagged and you don't want to play, don't worry! I just thought it would be fun to highlight a few of you new gals who are "tagging" along on my blog!

Speaking of which, I almost have 200 followers which is CRAZY. We might have to do a special giveaway when Monkeys on the Bed reaches that number! What do you think?

Oh yeah--and what makes you happy?

on becoming a mother...

ahh, motherhood, the one profession i longed to have and the one job i thought would be the easiest to get--no interview, no degree required--just have a baby and voila! you're a mom.

Ever since i was little, i wanted to be two (or three) things: a pediatric physical therapist and a mom (and sometimes i wanted to be a missionary to the Philippines but that is another post for another day!)

J and I were married when we were young--I was 22 and he was 24. It would have been fine by me if we moved from newlyweds to parents in 9 months. J, however, wanted to wait until we were through with his 4 years of graduate schooling. So, wait we did.

A year and a half later, we found out that we were going to be parents a little earlier than he planned. A day or two after that and we were back to his original waiting plan. We lost a baby we didn't try for and didn't know about. It was hard but we knew we were young and we'd be fine so we moved on pretty quickly.

Well, the day came that J finally graduated--why not "not not try" for a baby that same month? (don't you love that phrase? "oh, us? well, we're not, not trying to have a baby...it'll just happen.") Neither of us thought too much about it but I had a funny feeling something must be up the day I ran my favorite 10k road race and felt abysmal.

The day I flew home (we lived in Boston at the time), I took a test--and, voila! i was pregnant. Woo hoo! Everything was going according to my plan! Awesome!

The twin came to visit me a week later and we discovered that we were both due with our first children within weeks of each other. What a joyous celebration--if we couldn't have twins ourselves, how amazing it would be to raise cousins so close in age together.

A week after she left, we discovered that we would not, in fact, be having children within weeks of each other. I miscarried our second baby and couldn't comprehend it. Grief, disbelief, anger. All emotions that raged within me. J and I were able to get away to the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs (incredible God-timing for J's company's summer retreat!) and i enjoyed the crisp mountain air and running through Pike's Peak National Forest--how incredible it was to run through my Creator's creation and realize that He made everything for His glory. A good friend and amazing Christian woman met with me after our vacation and prayed with me. Her faith and peace after a miscarriage was palpable and I was encouraged. There was a reason I was not keeping that baby, a reason I may never know but He knew and I could rest in that.

6 weeks later, I found myself staring at another positive pregnancy test. God definitely blessed us with fertility! We cautiously told my family and only then because we coveted their prayers. We had since moved away from Boston but had gone back to visit friends and former co-workers when i was 7-weeks along. We shared our news one of our dear friends from church who had been struggling to be a mom, as well. It turned out that she was due with her baby girl one day after we were due! How fun that would be to celebrate God's faithfulness in bringing us the children we had prayed for together.

A day later, we were back at square one--I was losing my third baby. While life went on around us, it stopped for me. I closed my heart towards God, not understanding the "why" and the "how" and, quite frankly, not caring to hear what He had to say.

Amazingly enough, however, God blessed me with a fourth pregnancy and you, my bloggy friends, now know this baby as "Baby C". What a blessing she has been to me, J, and the rest of my family.

Looking back on our struggle towards parenthood, I realize that God was so faithful, unwavering in His love for me and for J. He taught me so many lessons and I can honestly say that I am thankful for the road that we walked. I know that God used those trials to bring me closer to Him and to be an encouragement and support to friends who are struggling as well.

Today, I am able to celebrate my first Mother's Day, a day that honors the occupation I longed to hold. I know that many women suffer through infertility, miscarriages, still births, and failed adoptions. I know that for those women, Mother's Day can be an especially challenging day to get through.

So, to all of you who are not yet mothers but long to be, I pray for God's peace that passes all understanding. I could keep going and going on what i've learned but this post is already long enough. Please feel free to email me with your thoughts or questions, though, and I'd be happy to respond!

PS My friend and I started a support group at our church to encourage women through infertility, miscarriages, still births, and failed adoptions. When we met this month, this is what the sky looked like:

what an amazing picture of God's glory! It made my soul sing!

10 Things you're "Dying" to know...right?! yeah...

Slowly catching up at home and reading my favorite blogs...when I found that sweet Kelly at Our Lincoln Log tagged me for a fun post entry. Thanks, Kelly!

Before I get bogged (blogged?!) down, I'm doing it right now!

1) What is your current obsession?

i am currently obsessed with Picnik and making my pictures pretty enough to enter I ♥ Faces contests and interesting enough to become my blog background!

2)Which item of clothing do you wear most often?

Really long tanktops with built-in bra support. I have a short torso and I think that these tanks help elongate it and, bonus--it covers up my midriff (i have this weird fear of having my belly button showing). I also love them because they are great layering items. I wear them almost every day!

3)What's for dinner?

Oh the joy of coming home to an empty fridge. Dinner was a hodgepodge of whatever we could find in the freezer. Highlight? Cookies and Cream FroYo. Delish

4)What are you listening to?

Currently, I'm listening to a Harry Potter movie playing in the background. Unfortunately, I am most definitely not listening to the voices in my head telling me to put down the computer and put away my clothes!

5)Say something about the one who tagged you...

Kelly is a super sweet new mom who also cloth diapers her darling son. Her love and adoration for both her husband and her son is apparent in every post!

6)Favorite vacation spot?

When we lived in England, J and I took an amazing vacation to Spain. We loved every minute of it, especially our time in Ronda. If I analyzed this question properly, though, i think that it is asking about a frequently visited vacation spot--and that would most definitely be in Naples, Florida, to visit my grandparents.

7)What are you reading right now?

Catching up on all my blogs! I am really looking forward to reading a new book i just checked out from the library ("Twelve Extraordinary Women") while also trying to read "Potty Training Your Baby" and "The Diaper Free Baby"

8)4 words to describe yourself:

Christian, Joyful, Content, Curious

9)Guilty Pleasure?

brownie mix--straight up with a little water. Mix it in a bowl, grab a spoon, and settle in with #7

10)First Spring thing to do?

In Boston, Spring lasts a day. It came in late and then it was Summer. In Atlanta, Spring also lasts a day but it comes in early! So, when Spring sprang, the first thing we did was take a walk to the park and admire all the fresh green sprigs budding on the trees.

And now for your turn:

I am officially tagging Melissa from The Gill Family Adventures, Kathy from Having a Hallelujah Good Time, and Lauren who can be found at The Diaper Diaries and/or Whatsoever Things are True

Wednesday's Wanderings...

...through my mind (cue evil laugh..."brahahaha")

Just kidding.

Actually, this post will be very random and rambling because I don't have any one thing from today that stood out enough to merit its own post. Actually, that is not true--I woke up in the middle of the night and had a GREAT idea for a post. I even thought it was incredibly witty and would make all my readers laugh. Then I really did wake up and didn't have a clue what that witty post was. Bummer.

After a busy night yesterday, I did not leave my house today until 8:30 at night. What did I do yesterday you ask? Well, I did something I normally would never do--I ran through the streets of ATL at night (gasp! not only did I just reveal where I live, I also revealed something that my parents would not approve of).

Who knew you could run from where I live, all the way downtown, past the MLK, Jr. Center, the big building where J works, past the GA Aquarium, the Centennial Olympic Park, and the Capitol Building all in one fell swoop?

It was for a really neat cause--taking back the streets of Atlanta by making running "safe". The Atlanta Track Club Competitive Team (of which I am a member) wanted to show the Tuesday Night Run Club our support for their mission. We had roughly 40 runners come out and run through the ATL, hitting most of the major highlights of the city. All told, I ran nearly 11 miles last night which wiped me out today.

What, you ask, finally encouraged me to go outside this evening? I wanted oatmeal-raisin cookies "somethin' fierce". So I googled "something fierce" + "oatmeal cookies" and found this amazing post that was calling my name (picture from Smitten Kitchen)

The dough is currently chilling in the freezer so I'll let you know how they turn out. I did substitute prune butter for the real butter and egg whites for the eggs so we'll see...

In C's little world, it was a headband-less and bow-less day. That means she looked kind of like a boy today, don't you think? Especially in her bright, primary colored shirts. Check it out--blue, yellow, and red without even trying! Ahh, the simple discoveries in life.

(Grand)parental Guilt

I largely started this blog so that I could have extra entries into contests. Then I thought it would be fun to write a blog that was similar to the other blogs I subscribed to--they reviewed baby products and gave away fun prizes while incorporating their every day life. Then, the blog morphed again into being a family-oriented blog. Those of you who have been reading from the beginning sure have seen quite the range!

To my family of readers: I want to thank you for reading and for bearing with all the reviews and giveaway posts. As soon as this 100th post giveaway is over, I'm getting back to the (often more) mundane posts of our day-to-day life.

To my new readers: Thanks for joining me. I hope you have read my "About Me" and know what I am all about--a Christian first, then a wife, and then a mother, daughter, sister, friend (and cat lover, too). And if you really want to know even more about me, here are all the posts about that. If you want to unsubscribe or de-follow (yes, i know that is not a word!), that is alright with me since I am no longer "as" obsessed with becoming popular in the blog world (see # 22, #23, and #24 in my almost-100 things about me)

⋰ ⋱ ⋰ ⋱ ⋰ ⋱ ⋰ ⋱ ⋰ ⋱ ⋰ ⋱ ⋰ ⋱ ⋰ ⋱ ⋰ ⋱ ⋰ ⋱ ⋰ ⋱ ⋰ ⋱ ⋰ ⋱ ⋰ ⋱ ⋰ ⋱ ⋰ ⋱ ⋰ ⋱ ⋰ ⋱ ⋰ ⋱ ⋰ ⋱ ⋰ ⋱ ⋰ ⋱

Now onto the title of this post: (Grand)parental guilt. My dad showed me that he was reading my blog on his new iPhone. When I heard that, I felt guilty that I wasted his time on all the reviews and giveaway rigmarole. Then J was talking to his mom who also mentioned that the blog was largely uninteresting to my family (sad!). So, I am feeling guilty that they haven't had anything fun to read about C.

Today, I had to pick up my orthotics from my podiatrist. C and J accompanied me and we decided to make it into a little outing. We had coupons for free Bagel Poppers at Einstein Bagels and, conveniently, there was a Caribou Coffee in the same parking lot (I used to work at ★$s but find that I like Caribou's environment and beverages better). So we stopped into Einstein's to get our bagels. Because they were almost closing they gave us 3 free bagel popper containers without us having to buy a beverage or use our coupon! Fans for life!

Since we didn't have to buy a beverage at Einstein's, we headed over to Caribou with our bagel loot. Who knew that there was a Senior Citizen Chess Meeting there, too?!?! HILARIOUS, I tell ya! These people loved their chess and practically took up the whole building. The talk of the shop while we were there was that their local chess hall was actually going to be open on Good Friday ("what? What? they're still holding chess on Good Friday!?!"). I don't think they knew whether to be happy that they could still play or be outraged that it was going to be held on a somber Christian holiday.

I tried to covertly snap a few pics of the chess masters while pretending to take pics of C (eating her bagel popper):

Countdown to 100: 100 things about me

Countdown to 100: Post 99!

In no particular order...in a random stream of consciousness

1. Sometimes I can't wait until C goes to bed but, more often than not, I miss her when she is sleeping (and I often contemplate waking her up for some snuggle time)
2. I will never find a friend as close as the twin. J comes close to as close but its hard to break ties that bind from the womb!
3. I love to eat condiments straight from the jar. That is why I cannot keep jelly/jam/peanut butter in my house. And, since I don't keep that stuff in my house, I often find myself dipping into jars of Barbecue Sauce (like tonight, for instance)
4. I think God gave me a talent for running but I'm sometimes too afraid to test my running limits--what if it isn't true?
5. I love to learn about people and their backgrounds. I think it is really important to know where people are coming from and what they've experienced in the past.
   
6. #5 is why I like to read people's blogs from their first post forward. Who, what, when, why, how can usually be answered in the first few posts (although, then it gets tricky reading from the bottom up and I quickly tire of backclicking)
7. Speaking of reading things backwards, my mom always reads her magazines (but never books) from the back page to the first. I find myself always flipping to the back and doing the same as her.
8. Despite #4, I like to test my limits and thoroughly enjoyed natural childbirth...up until the pushing part. Then I really tested my limits.
9. Despite my belief that I am where I am supposed to be, I am sometimes embarrassed to admit that I am merely a stay at home mom. I'm not sure why I think I need to justify myself but I often do.
10. i LOVE spreadsheets. I make things up just so I can make spreadsheets. I am a nerd
11. I can eat a whole box of brownie mix in one evening--just me, the brownie mix, a bowl, spoon, and some water to mix it up with. Pure goodness
12. I used to be able to do #11 with Angel Food Cake mix. Now I find that much too sweet :)
13. I love my two kittens and treat them, many times, like my children. I am not sure why I think that they understand me and need the same treatment as humans but I find myself feeling guilty if I didn't get quality time with them--one of the reasons why I let them stay at my parents' house--they are well loved and cared for there and given lots of attention that I otherwise couldn't give them
14. I know nothing about pop culture--i am completely out of the loop when it comes to current music, movies, and famous people. Oh well.
15. My hair can be worn curly or straight without much effort. It is nice to have a choice.
16. I love dark chocolate (see #11).
17. I like the batter of baked goods better than the finished product (cookie dough, cake batter, you name it)
18. I worked my tail off to get straight A's in high school and then burnt out by my second semester in college.
19. I still did well in college but J came along and I never was as dedicated. I still regret not giving my studies my all but I am very happy for the memories I have of J and other collegiate friends because I had a nonchalant attitude about it.
20. Sometimes I bite off more than I can chew (is this really only the 20th thing about me? Am I really only 1/5th of the way done!?!)
21. I am a Christian.
    
22. I used to be afraid that having Christian overtones on my blog would discourage readers from viewing my blog.
    
23. I now realized that I am not blogging to please the world wide web community. Rather, everything I do needs to Glorify God. (see Corinthians 10:31: "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. and 1 Thessalonians 2:4 "On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.")
24. If God approves me because I accepted His gift of grace and mercy (which alone leads me to salvation--not by works that I may boast in what I do--no, He alone gets the credit), then I should not worry about what you, my reader, thinks of this blog! But I do love you for reading!
25. Okay, back to the more mundane "about mes": I love my cats. I found both of them off of PetFinder. J teases me and says that, if it wasn't for him, I'd be a crazy cat woman with hundreds of cats. Its true. I can no longer go on Petfinder because I keep finding kitties that I want to adopt!
    
26. My favorite class in college was Anatomy. We dissected a human cadaver.
    
27. My second favorite was Symbolic Logic.
28. The lessons I learned in those two classes still come back to me on (at least) a weekly basis.
29. When I get bored, I write out long division problems and go to town. I used to do this a lot when I worked at Baby Gap in Cambridge, UK
30. I am a much better baker than a cook.
31. I am a much better drawer than a sewer but I am not good at either.
    
32. I love doing laundry. That is why it is easy for me to cloth diaper!
33. I spend way too much time on the internet and wish I had given it up for Lent. Why not do it now? Well, I'm selfish and find that sacrifice something I'd need to gear up for for next year.
34. My favorite job ever was as a camp counselor.
    
35. My favorite camp I worked at was Eagle Lake Camp.
36. I was their Rappelling instructor. It was awesome.
37. I am a HUGE klutz. Huge.
38. I moved 5 times as a child and 5 times with J.
    
39. I desperately miss living in all the places I used to live in. I'm sure I'll miss where I live now should we move again.
40. I think I live in the past a lot and need to move on with my life (see #39!).
41. It used to be that I wasn't a fun person to be around if I hadn't gone for a run.
    
42. I'm so happy that I can now go weeks without running and not feel guilty or sad.
    
43. As you can tell from #41 and #42, I can get very obsessive with my passions
44. I am a huge bread head and LOVE carbohydrates
45. I love free things and giveaways
46. Speaking of giveaways, I often get pretty lucky and win great things. This streak of winning started when I was a senior in high school and won a car at our school's graduation party. Yes, you read that correctly. A car.
47. I love swimming and was on a summer swim team for most of my childhood.
48. I can be a little OCD with rituals and things but not usually. I think I'm growing out if it. For example, though, when I was little and it was the night before a swim meet, I had to have my pasta and then I would go to bed and practice my strokes by "swimming" on top of my covers. If I didn't do that, I thought I'd lose. I was weird.
49. I got burnt out on running when I was in college and missed some great years of running collegiately. I still regret that but am glad that I took time off because it was an unhealthy situation...
50. My favorite colors are orange and yellow. I used to be embarrassed to admit that when I was younger. I thought all girls were supposed to love pink.
51. I abhor the color purple
52. My favorite candy flavor is artificial banana laffy taffy. Yes, that is weird.
    
53. I used to think that my parents would go in debt if they spent too much money on me. So, I always tried to buy the cheapest thing off the menu whenever we went out. Then I would convince myself that it was the best thing I'd ever tasted and that is why I wanted to eat it. That is why, to this day, I still think that the Chicken Salad Sandwich at Chick Fil A was their best menu item (at $1.69 who could beat that?).
54. I love to swing.
55. I get dizzy insanely easily. But, thankfully, not as much as my mom or sister (sorry mom and twin!)
56. I love being on the water but I hate being on boats. Seadoos are fine.
    
57. All I wanted to do before I got married was go waterskiing. So that was my bachelorette party. It was awesome.
    
58. J was my first boyfriend and first kiss
59. Is anyone still reading? If so, give yourself a bonus entry into my upcoming giveaway by commenting "#59". Please comment on the giveaway post (coming soon!)
    
60. I love Sudoku. Now that I am not working or in school, completing the "Expert" level makes me feel smart.
61. I would love to one day complete a NYTimes Sunday crossword puzzle all by myself.
62. I think it would be fun to run 1 marathon in each state
63. I don't know how to say "no" but I'm learning
64. If my bed is not made within half an hour of waking, I cannot go on with my day--I feel "dirty" if it isn't made!
65. The twin and I were paid to not watch TV when we were younger
66. We could, however, still watch sports.
67. I love sports. Probably because of 65 and 66
68. Because of 65 and 66, I have a huge cultural gap of knowledge and am useless on those categories during trivia
69. J and I still try to have date night every Thursday. It is often the highlight of my week
70. I find it very hard to write 100 things about me...so I'm done! :) Thanks for reading!

Don't forget to grab my button! The Giveaway will be going live soon! yay!

March Madness

Back in the days when the twin and I were not allowed to watch TV we were allowed to watch sports. Our parents are huge sports fans, mainly of collegiate teams but also of professional football and all things Olympic.

We grew up with the sounds of golf, tennis, football and baseball as our background soundtrack. It came to the point where hearing those noises became a soothing white noise for me and I functioned better (like doing homework or reading) when I heard sporty sounds in the background.

Anyway. I always digress, don't I? Sorry for the tangents!

Since we were continually surrounded by sports, we learned to love sports, especially March Madness. I love getting caught up in the excitement of bracket picks and Cinderella stories. Making my bracket picks every year takes a long time and requires some serious attention. The first rounds are always fun because that is when you get a lot of the upsets and there are a lot of games on at the same time. Since there are so many games on, this almost always requires you to go to a sports bar to watch them all.

Such was the case today. Baby C decided that sleep was not in the cards today so she came along with us to our local sports bar. We rarely have TV on in the house so she gets a huge kick out of seeing all the TVs. Here are a few pics from our night. May the best team advance!

Blogging updates

Did I really not post in two days? Record. I wasn't on the computer much at all yesterday and it was soooo nice!

and, I'm sure most of you were glad you didn't have to sift through 3 posts in your Reader just from me :) ha!

I wanted to thank those of you who read my post on "why-do-i-blog" (since deleted) and sent me really kind emails. I am definitely going to keep blogging, but my blog will probably have a different focus than its original intent.
So expect more updates on Baby C and less updates on baby equipment reviews. Expect more focus on babies in general and less focus on a wider non-baby audience. Expect more everyday-ho-hum-life updates and less worldwideweb-appeal updates.

I do hope to continue giveaways, crafting attempts, and other occasional, non-family-diary type posts. If you want to continue following, I'd be honored to have you be my reader! If not, thanks for sharing the few glimpses into our lives with us.

And, since I deleted the picture from the last post, I have to show you again. It is Baby C in another park, exploring grass, leaves, and twigs for the first time!


PS We're off for the weekend to celebrate J's dad's b-day! See you on the flipside!

Flash from the Past

Wow. I was going through my yahoo account and cleaning up the emails when I came across an ancient message from The Knot. They wanted me to update my wedding webpage.

Check it out:

Wow. That is old.

We're Baaaack!

Do I need to ask permission to use that phrase or picture...hmmm?

okay so we are back and man oh man am I feeling overwhelmed. As I emptied the trash and recycling today (our turn in the condo rotation...woo hoo) I thought, "If I can just get to March, I'll be okay." I've been making lists and checking them off all day. Then I get so overwhelmed that I make more lists to remember the first lists.

What a rotten way to live, though, huh!?! Not living in the moment but just looking for a "break" in life. We are instructed in the Bible to "...not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:34)" I've been thinking a lot about how I keep adding more things to my plate. I read recently that God is not impressed with our busyness.

Lindsay Edmonds quoted Dorothy Patterson on her blog:
"Busyness is not godliness. God is not impressed with your production capacity as much as He is concerned that the product of your home--your own children--be chiseled and molded and perfected to the best of your ability. You may tire of this mundane task, but the Lord admonishes you not to grow weary and promises to supply the energy and strength as needed in this all-important task. God's strength is for what He plans for you to do--not stamina for everything you might want to do!"

Even though I am not Catholic, I still think the idea of Lent is very important. I usually give up things that I like to eat or do on a daily basis. Until a few hours ago, I was planning on giving up a variety of sweets and caffeine. How much more of a sacrifice it would be to actually just "rest".

Rest is a sacrifice, you ask? Well, it would be for me because I am a "doer" and I like to be busy and appear busy--for a variety of reasons and most of those reasons are selfish and vain...the busier I am the more important, right? WRONG.

So this season of Lent, I will strive to rest in God and focus on my relationship with Him and then on my relationship with my family. I will give up my need to be busy all the time and relax and just invest in my God, my husband, and my daughter.

Phew. I really was just going to update on the end of our vacation and it turned into quite the deep post. Sorry everyone and thanks for reading! I'd love to hear your thoughts...

Background

So, my one follower--you already know all about me. To the rest of you who happen upon this blog...you may want to know who you are reading about. But maybe you don't and you just like blogstalking people like me. Either way, here are a few tidbits about myself that might make my blog make sense:

1) I like lists. This is my second post and I am already 2/2 on lists. Woo hoo.

enough about that.

2) I am a Christian. I was raised in a wonderful Christian family. I've had my share of struggles but God's grace is overwhelming and He always brings me back. He has blessed me beyond measure and am daily thankful for his mercy and grace.

3) I am a "Doer". I, like everyone in the world, am unworthy of God's love and I often try to gain it by "doing" things to earn His favor. No. Can. Do. It is a daily battle for me to just "be", know that I cannot "do" anything to make myself more pleasing in His eyes. This "doer" attitude extends into many many outlets of my life and I'm sure you'll see it manifest itself 1000 times over throughout my blogging career.

4) I love my husband. Let's just call him "J". He is amazing. We met at a small college, he was my first boyfriend (aww) and we got married right after graduation. I'd be lost without him. He makes me laugh and loves me despite my many fumbles as a wife!

5) I am a twin. This is crucial. She is one half of me, pretty much, (but, no, we aren't identical) and I'd really be lost without her. She is my memory keeper. If you don't know her, you can't know me.

6) I have a daughter. And I'm going to call her "C" When I first found out I was pregnant, I wanted her to be a twin. When I found out it was only one, I wanted her to be a boy. Now I'm happier than anything that she is just one and she is a...well...a "she". I can't imagine anything else. Every day with her gets better and better. It is truly amazing to watch her life unfold.

7) I can't wait to give her another sibling. Then another and then another. I'd love to have four and I'd love to adopt twins, too. We'll see about that.

8) I am so blessed to have tons of family members. I have 16 cousins, 3 of my grandparents are still living, and my aunts and uncles are an active part of our life.

9) I love love love to run. It is my one talent. I hope to use it to honor God and give Him the glory in my ability. Motherhood and injuries have put a temporary standstill on it but I'm trusting God to heal and to allow me to return to running in His own time.

10) I am super frugal. I'd like to say that I started Cloth Diapering because its good for the environment or good for C's little bum but, really, it's because it saves us lots of money. And then because of the other two aforementioned reasons. Those are good, too.

11) I wish I had more time during the day. As it is, I stay up until 11 or 12 just dreaming about the crafty things I could make, reading about the people in Blogland that I've never met, and searching the internet for who-knows-what.

12) I hate to miss out on anything. Hence #11.

13) I'm not superstitious which is why I can have a #13. But really, I'm all out of stuff to say (phew!).

A little welcome

A new blog...let me tell you, this is the FOURTH blog I've started. Here's hoping it continues. This blog will be different from my past ones because

1) It is NOT private. In my endless quest to accumulate free stuff through online contests, I've found that private blogs can be a hindrance to winning. And isn't that what life is all about? Right. In all seriousness, that was one reason why I am making this blog public but I also wanted to be like all the cool moms that I blogstalk. Kidding again. Really. I think.

2) It holds no pressure because it holds no purpose. My other ones were purposeful in that I strove to blog about my pastor's sermons and my quiet times or blog about my daughter's growing life. Hopefully, w/o pressure, blogging will be something I enjoy and actually WANT instead of dread to do!

3) I guess that's it! Hopefully it will be more compelling and retain readers, too! So here's to the new blog and to you, my reader (yes, i have one follower before I ever posted--thanks BAVE!)