5 Question Friday and more...

Today feels like a big post day for me.  I've got the much loved (by me anyway) 5 Question Friday as well as some other stuff.  So let's get to it, shall we?

1. What is the first nightmare you remember?

Oh my.  The first nightmare I can remember was when I lived in Boston as a little girl.  Little, as in under 6 years old.  I would swear that I woke up one night to find my mother washing dishes in the kitchen.  In the hall area by the front door sat a big, black trash bag.  Inside that trash bag was an old woman, with her head sticking out of the top!!  Yes, I have an active imagination.  Anyhow, I am standing there looking at the woman who reaches out of the bag, and scratches one of her long finger nails down my leg!  My mom tosses a look over her shoulder at me saying something.  I'm not sure what.  This image is so real and vivid, that even after over 30 years I can recall it instantly.  One day, a while back, I finally told my mom about it.  She told me that for Christmas one year, she and my dad bought me this doll that they thought was really pretty.  It was placed in the area by the door facing the hallway so I would see it as soon as I started towards the living room.  However, upon seeing this doll, I was terrified and wouldn't come out until it was gone.  She ended up having to throw the doll out.  I can only imagine that it terrified me so much that over the years I had nightmares about that thing!!  Apparently I had issues even as a kid!!


2. Even if you're not a sports fan, what's your favorite sport to play/watch?

As a kid, I played soccer for years and LOVED it.  As a matter of fact, last year I even played for the women's adult league here in Columbus!  I tried baseball as a kid and sucked so bad that my parents let me quit.  I was horrible.  My oldest son plays baseball and while I can't watch it on TV, because I find it so incredibly boring, I really enjoy watching him play.  I've learned so much over the past 4 years.  I love watching kids play sports.  I'm not trying to live through him or anything, I just love to watch him play.


3. If you could pull off one piece of trendy fashion, what would you want it to be (jeggings, hats, thigh high boots, etc.)?

Oh, this question is so easy!!  If I could pull it off, I would wear skinny jeans!  As a matter of fact, even if I didn't wear them, I just want to be able to fit in them.  And breathe at the same time.   Maybe some day I will get a thigh in comfortably, but not in the immediate future.  Great.  Now I'm depressed.


4. Did you make good grades in school?

Hmmm.  In what subject?  Some classes were better than others.  One year, though, I was mad at the world and my grades certainly reflected that.  I just didn't care.  My family had moved from Massachusetts to Florida right before I was set to graduate 8th grade.  I was with those kids for 7 years and now was moving to start a new school 2 months before graduation and be with kids I didn't know at all.  And I was about to turn 13.  Well, I was going to show my parents what I thought of that bright move on their part.  Yeah, I didn't quite think things through, did I?  Anyhow, my freshman year in high school was not very successful.  Things got better after that year.  I may or may not still have a little hostility left over from that year.  I'm a work in progress.


5. What magazines do you subscribe to?

None.  Last year, my MIL got me a subscription to Star magazine, which ended last month.  I think the postal workers really enjoyed reading it as well, because I had to wait over a week after it was on the stands before mine showed up.  And it had been clearly well handled by then.   I used to have several scrapbooking magazine subscriptions as well.  I miss those. 

So that's my edition of 5 Question Friday.  As always, feel free to copy the questions with your answers and link up to My Little Life. 



What else?  Well, these past few weeks have been crazy as usual.  Sunday school has started.  I'm determined to leave on time this year and not get any speeding tickets.  Fall baseball has also started. Aidan has never played in the fall, so this is new to us.  Apparently, it's much more relaxed.  There is no score kept, no pitch count, and it's just fun.  Frankly, it's been hard to get used to!  Progress reports came out last week at school.  I am happy to report that my little geniuses are doing great!!  Mostly.  I've also been looking for a job.  I've taken a substitute teacher workshop and been fingerprinted, so as of now, I am on the sub list for the schools in our county.  I've applied for a couple other jobs as well.  Hopefully I will hear something soon.  I also spent one day this week at several car dealerships.  So not fun.  We still only have one car.  Tomorrow is going to be a busy day.  I need to pick up this month's Angel Food (which, by the way, is pretty good), buy 2 birthday gifts, go to 2 birthday parties, go to church, and Maeve is having a friend come over.  Sunday I plan to close the pool.  And rest.

That's all for now.  Have a great night!!

After quite a hiatus

I am back!! Please, hold your applause. Just like everyone else, things have been hectic over the past few months. But, after receiving threats from family and friends, I've decided to give this blog thing another chance. Wish me luck.

Usually September through February is a blur. But, I will try to catch you up.

In September, Declan turned 7. I am always surprised by each birthday and the fact that he's never broken a bone. Next year, I can't say that, ahem. More later. In October, Aislinn turned 12! I am being reminded, on a nearly daily basis, that she's almost a teen. As if I could ever erase the memory of her body trying to gnaw and claw it's way out of my girlie goodies. We also took a family vacation, with Joe's mom, to Hilton Head, SC. We had a lot of fun kayaking, playing mini golf, going to the beach and lots of other stuff, too. Hilton Head is a beautiful place and I highly recommend it to anyone. We are looking forward to going back one day. This November, we stayed in town for Thanksgiving. My parents as well as my niece and nephew came up to stay for a week. I love it when the kids come up with my folks. They are the only cousins my kids have and we don't get to see them nearly enough. They are also about the same ages as my kids. This time I don't think there was any fighting!! On black Friday, the girls, except Maeve, got up and out early this year to start the Christmas shopping. It's become a family tradition, and my niece, Oceon, was upset when she almost missed it. Christmas was fun. Joe's mom came to visit and see the kids all open presents. I think they pretty much got what they were hoping for, so it was a success. January rolled around and brought us Joe's birthday. Since it is so close to Christmas, we usually don't do gifts, but instead he chooses any special food to be made. From scratch. Did I ever mention that I am NOT Betty Crocker? I give it my best shot anyhow. This time the desert was an incredible chocolate torte. It was so good! Betty Crocker - Eat your heart out!!

Also during the past few months, I've been busy around the house. I've painted my foyer, which is now my FAVORITE room in the whole house! The paint is Gentle Fawn by Glidden.



I love the color. My foyer used to be a very light, almost cream color. Same as the living room. In fact, my house is painted in all pastel colors. I feel like I'm trapped in a nursery! I want to paint the fireplace wall this same brown color. *sigh* It's love.

I've also FINALLY hung up some valances that have been in my closet for over 3 years. I'm hoping it will get me moving on painting the living room. I love these curtains. My favorite part, they aren't hung with a rod, but cup hooks!!



What else? Oh yeah. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, my parents and I made my daughter a headboard. It was so easy. All you need is plywood, fabric, some kind of padding (I used a twin sized egg crate that fits on a mattress) and a heavy duty staple gun. Viola!! I love it. As a matter of fact, I think I might have gone looking for anything else in the house to staple. I'm not sure. Just sayin'.




I'll be back later on to show you some more things. I don't want to overwhelm you all at once! Have a great day.

Fat Tuesday!!

I was talking to a friend earlier and she mentioned that it was Fat Tuesday. Since we never go out drinking, I totally forgot, but for lack of a creative title, I'm using it for this post!!

Don't forget, tomorrow is the beginning of Lent. Are you giving something up, or are you adding something to each day to make it better? My kids aren't happy because I make them do one or the other. I don't think it's to start to learn the lesson of sacrifice. However, if they don't come up with something on their own, I pick something for them.

Today, Aidan stayed home from school. He took his "mental health" day. We went out to lunch with Joe and Jason's Deli. I love their chicken salad with the almonds and pineapple in it. Sooooo good!! We also did some shopping and he got a new Bakugan toy. I'm not sure what the fascination is with those little things. I suppose it could be worse, so in the spirit of choosing my battles, I'm letting that one go.

I forgot to mention yesterday that over the weekend I saw a show on HBO called "Taking Chance" with Kevin Bacon. If you have the opportunity, I recommend watching it. It is really an incredible story of one marine escorting a deceased marine home. At the end, it shows real video footage of the deceased Marine, Chance Phelps, as a boy. Like I said, it is so good, but very sad.

On a happy note, I saw this on another blog (can't remember who's!) and thought it was so cute! So, I'm passing it on.

So much is happening

I've been meaning to update my blog for a few days now, but just can never seem to find the time. I know most of you can relate! I signed up to run the Disney 1/2 marathon!!! Yes, I know it's not until next January, but when I tried to register for the one this year, it was full, so I decided to register for the 2010 one early. I am really super-excited about it. I have a year {almost} to get in shape and when the weather warms up a little bit, I plan on running either in the mornings, or at night. Plus, I'm still going to the gym, even though my husband told me he considers that "nothing". Um, WHAT? I don't see YOU in there!! :) ha!

I'm still on my diet, although it's not progressing as well as I'd hoped. It's those darn girl scout cookies! I need to get them out of the house. Otherwise, I'm eating exactly what I should be eating and God knows I'm sweatin' it at the gym 5X a week.

My son is signed up for baseball, which means that we now have no life. He has practice on Monday and Wednesday evenings, as well as Saturday mornings, for 2 hours, until the games start. It's a never ending thing here in the south. I swear, people take children's sports WAAAY to seriously. I mean it's supposed to be FUN for them, right? Hopefully I will be able to sit on the sidelines with my mouth shut this year. Hey, there's always a first!

I also went and saw Twilight again. My daughter and I went on Saturday night and got there about 6:30 for the 7pm show. We get our popcorn (yes, not on the diet plan) and get our seats, only to learn that the movie doesn't start until 7:20. Well, add 20 minutes of previews, and we had been sitting there waiting for an hour for the movie to start!! So worth it though. I could just sit in the theater and watch it over and over again. Of course, I'm still not done with the book! I'm debating on getting a Twilight t-shirt, but I think that might be a bit over the top. Jury is still out on that one.

Meanwhile, my youngest son has a small Webkinz stuffed animal that had a hole in it. He's been wanting it sewn up forever. Well, I finally broke out the needle and thread and got to work. Since I make it a habit not to sew, my husband ran for the camera! Can you imagine such a thing? Now he has actual proof that I do know what to do with the sewing kit his mom left at our house!! I'm afraid these people I live with are going to expect such things from me in the future...and I'm afraid!!


Oh, had to take my daughter to sell cookies outside PetSmart this weekend also. And, my poor pup had another seizure, only this time it was in front of all the kids. See, what did I tell ya? It's been busy at my abode. Have a great night. Gotta run, HOUSE is on.

A new beginning

Well, after having several friends ask me if I have a blog, I've decided to try one of my own. We'll see how it goes. Normally I hate anything to do with computers but I'm willing to give them another shot.

Let's see...I've recently started in a "Boot Camp" program. My 20 year high school reunion is coming up and what better excuse, er, reason, to lose weight and get into shape! Not sure if I'm going to go or not, because it's in Florida (at Disney) and I live in Georgia, but at least I'll look good! Boot camp starts at 5:30am. AM!! Who voluntarily gets up at that hour to sweat? Surprisingly, there are many people who do. Since I stay at home with my kids, (and I have 4) I try to never even get out of bed until 7am, or the sun comes up, which ever is later. Even on school days my husband gets the kids up and drives them to school. What? It's on his way. Anyhow, judging from what my body fat percentage is (and I'm not telling) the only exersize I get is running from the couch to the fridge. This whole boot camp thing is insane. I ache in placing I didn't know could actually hurt. Anyway, when you join, you get a meal plan. Ha ~ what a joke that turned out to be. A single slice of bread and 2 egg whites for breakfast! Is he serious? This diet is for the birds. Literally!! I'm determined to give this my best shot and stick to it. Today we ran 2 miles, did a bunch of ab work and something called "butt blasters". More on this as the days go by.

In spare time, which is not in great supply, I really love to scrapbook. I got started several years ago when I saw a friend's scrapbook. My mom took me to a LSS and bought me a ton of stuff to get started, for my birthday! Wasn't that sweet? I've been addicted ever since. I was even a home consultant for a scrapbook company. I gave it up because I never had time to work on my own books. I am happy to say that I have a room in my house dedicated to scrapbooking. Sure, it's the dining room, but it's MINE!! I even put doors up and a big "Do Not Enter" sign on it! So far, the kids are following directions. Maybe someday I can figure out how to post a picture and I can put up a layout or two. Then again, that might be a little ambitious for me! After all, I was really hoping that computers would be just a fad. I'm still waiting for them to lose their appeal.