New Years Excercises

Here are some MEMEs I do every year.

Exercise #1

1. What did you do in 2014 that you'd never done before? I got pregnant, all on my own! (OK, with some help from DH, but no doctors! LOL.. and technically this happened in December 2013 but I did not find out until 2014...). Other new things - I lead a meeting at work and took on more of a leadership role then I have ever had at work. I was induced. I held my CHILDREN (plural).

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I will write another post about this.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Does myself count? :) Also, my good friend Kim. There are many many more 2015 babies on the way.

4. Did anyone close to you die? My Grandpa In Law

5. What countries did you spend time in this year? Just America.

6. What would you like to have in 2015 that you lacked in 2014? More time to write and reflect.

7. What dates from 2014 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Jan 6th, the day I found out I was pregnant. Sept 22nd, the day Felicity was born.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Giving birth to a healthy daughter. (Sensing a theme?)

9. What was your biggest failure? Letting the year get away from me. I think this tends to happen when I am pregnant....

10. Did you suffer any serious injury or illness? Nope!

11. What was the best thing you bought? I am not sure.. nothing sticks out, but maybe I will think of something later.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Benjamin for being such a loving big brother. My parents, for being so helpful to us. DH for being such a great dad.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and/or depressed? per usual.. politicians

14. Where did most of your money go? Daycare, mortgage, eating

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? The release of "Mockingjay" movie, Felicity's birth, our Thanksgiving trip to St Louis.

16. What song will always remind you of 2014?   All about the Base

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? happier
b) thinner or fatter? fatter
c) richer or poorer? about the same?

18. What do you wish you'd done more of? reflecting

19. What do you wish you'd done less of? eating

20. How did you spend Christmas? In Duluth - Santa came to our house, then we went to my parents for the day.

21. Did you fall in love in 2014? With Felicity :)

22. What are the main websites you used? Zetaboards, Facebook, What To Expect

23. Did you write anything worth reading this year? No, I hardly wrote anything.

24. What was your favorite TV program? Doctor Who (mostly on Netflix), Sherlock, Project Runway

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? I try not to hate people in general.

26. What was the best book you read? I was very bad at recording my reading. I only read book club books pretty much.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery? Sleeping At Last

28. What did you want and get? A baby, more responsability at work.

29. What did you want and not get? lottery win

30. What was your favorite film of this year? Mockingjay

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? 30. DS was sick. I got some Arby's and had a pregnancy hormone breakdown. Not my best moment...

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Winning the lottery.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2014? Whatever fits.

34. What kept you sane? The help and support of my family and friends.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Cumberbatch is really on the rise...

36. What political issue stirred you the most? Honestly, I feel like I mostly ignored politics. The election was a pretty big deal though. I was glad to see gay marriage continue to expand.

37. Who did you miss? The Bens, My Graduate School Friends, my ILs

38. Who was the best new person you met? Virtual friends for my Sept mom's group

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2014? Its love that makes the world go round.

40. What word or phrase sums up this year? Contentment

Exercise #2

1 minute ago... I was watching Charmed on my Kindle during my lunchbreak at work.
1 hour ago... I was frantically working on a difficulty MFIP case.
1 day ago... I was watching football with my kids and ILs
1 month ago... I was recovering from our whirlwind trip to St Louis
1 year ago... I was home alone. DH and DS were still in St Louis from Christmas. I was pregnant, but I didn't know it yet.
1 decade ago... I was a Junior in college getting ready to do my study abroad in Salzburg Austria
1 lifetime ago... I think I was in revolutionary in Russia

5 minutes ago... I was eating pork&sauerkraut leftovers
5 hours ago... getting ready for work, rather more leisurely than normal since the kids stayed home.
5 days ago... Preparing for a big work meeting I was in charge of.
5 months ago... Waiting anxiously for Felicity to arrive.
5 years ago... I was working at Social Security. Has it REALLY been five years since I started work there?

Exercise #3

The rule is simply: Post the first line of each month of my blog from the last year.

JANUARY: I have a lot of catch up to do, and some fun stuff moving forward. The main reason I have not been posting is because I got a Kindle
FEBRUARY:  Benjamin's quote of the week - "Cows don't drink water. Cows drink milk, people drink water".
MARCH: So, its been over a month since I got on here. I haven't been doing much besides wasting time!! Life is like that sometimes.
APRIL:   I didn't do much to prepare for Easter this year. Heck, we didn't tell Benjamin what the Easter bunny is until last night. Yet it still turned out to be a great holiday.
MAY:  I got a bad report from daycare today. Benjamin got in trouble.
JUNE:  I just celebrated my Golden Birthday this past weekend.
JULY: Long time, no type. I thik I need to do a Benjamin update.

AUGUST:  Today I am 35 Weeks pregnant, 35 Days to go. I had a doctors appt and everything was pretty much perfect.
SEPTEMBER: 39 Weeks pregnant... one to go
OCTOBER: Felicity obviously did not want to come on her own
NOVEMBER:  Felicity is 6 weeks old (As of Monday), and also as of Monday, I am back to work.
DECEMBER:  Nearly a month ago I posted "A Kid Post", with the full intentions of posting, within 24-48 hrs, a companion post called "A Me Post". Ironically, the post (which I wrote only an intro paragraph for), was about how FULL my life is now - both busy and full of love.

Another Year Has Passed (3) - 2012

Exercise #3

1. What did you do in 2012 that you'd never done before? Had a baby! Was a parent!

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I will write a whole other post about this!!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
A friend! Welcome Henry!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
RIP Grandma Flowers

5. What countries did you spend time in this year?
Just America.

6. What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012? A second pregnancy? More money? Job Satisfaction?00

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Benjamin's Birth0000

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Not sucking as a parent.

9. What was your biggest failure? Lack of organization, lack of health living.

10. Did you suffer any serious injury or illness? Childbirth, a nasty 5hr GI bug



11. What was the best thing you bought? A house!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? DH is an awesome father! And my family has done so much to help us since moving here.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and/or depressed? Politicians, psychopaths.

14. Where did most of your money go? daycare, moving and house stuff

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? The birth of our first child! Our big trip down to KS/MO for Thanksgiving. A lot of Benjamin's "firsts"

16. What song will always remind you of 2011? Sexy and I Know It.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? happier
b) thinner or fatter? thinner
c) richer or poorer? poorer

18. What do you wish you'd done more of? unpacking! Kiss the baby - can never do that too much.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of? Worrying

20. How did you spend Christmas? With my parents. Poor DH was sick!

21. Did you fall in love in 2012? Yep, with a little man named Benjamin

22. What are the main websites you used? Gmail, Columbus Nesties message board, facebook, blogspot

23. Did you write anything worth reading this year? no

24. What was your favorite TV program? I hardly watched any....football?

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? No one specific. Just the group of politicians who are refusing to negotiate. Driving me nuts!

26. What was the best book you read?Dandelion WIne

27. What was your greatest musical discovery? nothing new

28. What did you want and get? A baby! A house and job in Duluth

29. What did you want and not get? lottery win

30. What was your favorite film of this year? Les Miserables? Hunger Games?

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? 28.... I am sure I spent it with family. Details are iffy...

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Winning the lottery.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2012? Whatever fits.

34. What kept you sane? DH, "this too shall pass"

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Hey Girl.....

36. What political issue stirred you the most? I was pissed at everyone in congress for their general lack of progress and cooperation.

37. Who did you miss? My Graduate School Friends, my ILs

38. Who was the best new person you met? a couple of work people

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012? Life is short and transient, enjoy every second!

40. What word or phrase sums up this year? Benjamin

Another Year Has Passed (2) - 2012

Exercise #2
 The instructions are simple:
Post the first lines of the first entry of each month of the past year.

January
My New Years Resolutions in 2011 were quite ambitious, and many of them went out of the window as soon as I got into the process of being pregnant.

February
Baby Benjamin is 4 weeks, 1 day old today!

March
I know, I have been somewhat neglecting non-baby posts. I haven't been HORRIBLE, but have not been making as many of them as I would hope. Perhaps sometime I will correct that, but not today, because today Benjamin is 8 weeks old!!

April
Benjamin turned three months old today! See? He says so!!

May
I joined an internet group for Duluth mothers on Meet Up. I am hoping to make some new friends, ideally a couple who have kids around the same age as Benjamin. After backing out twice, I finally made it to an event yesterday - May Day coffee.

June
There is much I could post about, but I really feel like the blog needs a quick break from "baby baby baby". So, instead I want to write a quick note about nature.

July
Boy do I owe you an update! To say things have been a bit crazy around here would be an understatement. Let me run you through the past week.

August
Today Benjamin turned 7 months old! How time flies! I feel like I just posted his six-month pictures (maybe that is because they were two weeks late). He is growing again!

September
Summer is over. Not officially per the weatherman, but unofficially per the date on the calendar, the long labor day weekend, the kids going back to school, and the leaves changing. Yes, the leaves are changing here.

 October
Today when I went to pick up Benjamin, I slipped into the door without announcing myself so I could watch him play for a minute or two. .

November
Sometime time I get around to posting something on this blog I feel like its old news. It often has already appeared on Facebook, Google, and my message board. But, this is the only place I am sure it will "stick", that I am sure I will be able to find it if I want to go back a year from now and see what we did.

December
With my vacation dwindling (we will likely start for home tomorrow night and arrive sometime Monday afternoon/evening), my brain is starting to look forward to what I need to accomplish in December and even into January. The list is daunting and there are some upcoming parenting challenges.

Another Year Has Passed (#1) - 2012

Before I forget to tell you, this is my 600th post since coming to this site! How time flies....

Anyways, its that time of year where I stop and reflect on what has happened in the past year.  I have three memes I have been doing every year for ages, so I will do those over the next couple of days, and do a recap of how I am doing at my resolutions and goals.

Here is the first!!

1 minute ago... I was scratching Grim's nose and reading name blogs
1 hour ago... I was celebrating my SILs birthday with my siblings and a bunch of her friends
1 day ago... I was playing Borderlands 2 with DH and wishing Benjamin would stay asleep
1 month ago... I was visiting Aaron's family in Kansas and Missouri
1 year ago... I was sitting in Columbus, wishing Baby would make their appearance (I did not know at that point that the baby was Benjamin!)
1 decade ago... I was a Freshman in college. Home on Christmas break. Probably writing a love letter to Aaron that waved poetic.
1 lifetime ago... I think I was in revolutionary in Russia

5 minutes ago... I was Putting a sleeping Benjamin in his crib
5 hours ago... I was dropping Benjamin off at my parents to be babysat for the evening
5 days ago... I was celebrating Christmas eve with my family and I read Benjamin "The Night Before Christmas" for the first time.
5 monthes ago... I was really struggling with balancing my new job, home ownership, and Benjamin's lousy sleep.
5 years ago... I was celebrating Christmas here in Duluth. I had built the holiday up in my head SO MUCH, I was worried the reality could not live up to it, but it did. I know this because I just went and looked it up on my old blog, which is still in existence. Here is what I was doing about a year ago: Lost in Europe - Christmas 2007

Another Year Has Passed (2011) - 3

Exercise #31. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?
- experienced pregnancy
- stayed in Cbus for Christmas

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I will write a whole other post about this!!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
2 cousins... welcome Graeme and Maggie!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Not close enough for us to go to a funeral, thankfully.

5. What countries did you spend time in this year?
Just America. We did take a trip that took me through some new states though!

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
A child!! Jobs in Minnesota.

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
I am hoping the birth of my first child, though it is still upcoming! Seeing the heartbeat for the first time.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
carrying a child for 9 months

9. What was your biggest failure?
I totally and utterly failed at my New Years resolutions in general, because I got distracted
I was not always as good of a friend as I could have been
I was self centered.

10. Did you suffer any serious injury or illness?
GI Bug leading to Dehydration resulting in an overnight hospital stay, but it was all OK

11. What was the best thing you bought?
A baby moon with DH. Priceless time together!!

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
DH has been awesome taking care of me this year.
Everyone who has been so great and generous in helping us prepare!!

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and/or depressed?
The tea party
The media

14. Where did most of your money go?
baby stuff, medical stuff

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
The upcoming birth of our first child! Smaller things - visits from my parents, ILs, the baby shower, Harry Potter 7.2, Twilight 4.1 releases. Baby moon to Boston. Hosting Thanksgiving for the first time.

16. What song will always remind you of 2011?
That song that hamsters dance to in the Kia Soul commercial
Baby Baby Baby

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? happier
b) thinner or fatter? fatter!!!
c) richer or poorer? richer

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Laughing (can you ever do this too much??)
Cleaning. People say this never makes the list of things you wish you had spent more time doing, but really our habits are abominable.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Stressing, internet using (ironically)

20. How did you spend Christmas?
We will be in Cbus, but not sure what we are doing.

21. Did you fall in love in 2011?
I am totally in love, there is no more need for falling :-)

22. What are the main websites you used?
Gmail, Columbus Nesties message board, facebook, blogspot

23. Did you write anything worth reading this year?
no.

24. What was your favorite TV program?
My normal reality trash. Top Chef Just Desserts, Project Runway, Chopped

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
I try to avoid hating people, it never brings anything good.

26. What was the best book you read?
I hardly read anything this year, and none of them were master pieces, so I will go with "Already Dead" which is a vampire book that was quite entertaining.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
At the beginning of the year I listened to a lot of classic rock etc and learned that I like some of those old classics, like Pearl Jam and Guns N Roses

28. What did you want and get?
a pregnancy

29. What did you want and not get? Jobs in Duluth, a lottery win

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
Harry Potter 7.2

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 27. I have no idea what I did. I think we were in st Louis with the ILs and went out for dinner?

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
A healthy birth before the year ends hopefully!! Nothing else comes to mind

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?
maternity cute

34. What kept you sane?
DH, friends and family

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
It does not really change.Johnny Depp is always on top

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
I was pissed at everyone in congress for their general lack of progress and cooperation.

37. Who did you miss?
Everyone who does not live in Columbus!!

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Some new nesties!

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011?
Stay on the sunny side


40. What word or phrase sums up this year?
Pregnancy!!!

Anothe Year Has Passed (2011) - 2

Exercise #2
 The instructions are simple:
Post the first lines of the first entry of each month of the past year.

January
Of all the ways I thought I would spend my New Years Eve, sick with sinus yuckiness and a massive headache that would send me to bed by 10pm was not one of them. It was a perfect storm of various headache catalysts, and probably the first time I have not stayed up until midnight since I was a toddler

February
I'm an icey girl, in an icey world... liking plastic (scrapers), its fantastic...

March
Things I learned in the last few days:
"paczki's" are polish pastries (sort of jelly filled donuts) that are served on Fat Tuesday.

April
HP1 - warm, cheerful, comfortable, wondrous, embracing HP2 - mysterious, curious, naive, confused, youthful

May
Things that did not get done over the weekend: starting my sewing project, straigtening the disaster that is my office.


June
I know. Its been a while. And its not like things have not happened, because they have. I am not sure exactly why I have been avoiding posting.

July
I was thinking about how the U.S. is far from the only country with red, white, and blue as their flag colors - the other obvious ones are UK, Australia, and France. However, the U.S. is the only country to become so fixated, but that is relatively common.

August
My parents arrived on Monday afternoon for a visit - just in time for my appt, so they got to hear the babies heartbeat, which was a lot of fun!

September
As Promised - the picture "catch up" session!!

M, R, and I at the Farmer's Market in July. We snapped this pic because we were not sure when the three of us would be together again, and its good we did. Since the pic was taken M went to Mexico for extended research and R moved to L.A.!

 October
I know, I know.. I spent SO LONG "catching up" on the trip that I now have not had a current post for three weeks... But this is the only place I have that detailed account of my trip because I did not keep a journal on the trip like I normally do, so it was really more for me than for you.

November
If you are sick of me only blogging about pregnancy, then you probably should not bother reading this post. I can't help it, it of course dominates my life. I feel like I am a very boring person right now as most of my energy and thoughts are pregnancy related, whether it be what I need to eat, how tired I am, or something I need to ask at my next appointment.

December
I am pretty sure the answer is "yes!" to all of them... but this is what is new with me.

Another Year Has Passed (2011) - 1

If you read this blog regularly you may recall I have three end-of-the-year MeMes to complete, not to mention resolutions to discuss. Here is the first.

1 minute ago... I was trying to load my Cbusnestie message board, which is down.
1 hour ago... I shopping with DH for a new digital camera.
1 day ago... I was watching Giants vs Cowboys on Sunday Night Football
1 month ago... It was Veteran's day weekend and I was relaxing, trying to get stuff done for baby.
1 year ago... I was enjoying a random day off with DH before heading to Duluth for Thanksgiving
1 decade ago... I was a senior in High School, waiting for college acceptance letters.
1 lifetime ago... I think I was in revolutionary in Russia

5 minutes ago... I was on facebook discussing my new camera purchase
5 hours ago... I was on the phone with my friend in Georgia
5 days ago... I was 37w pregnant, feeling as miserable as I have this entire pregnancy
5 monthes ago... I was super excited because Harry Potter 7.2 was about to come out!
5 years ago... I was celebrating my first Christmas as a married woman, living in an itty bitty apartment by OSU campus with our tiny Christmas tree and our one cat, Nox.

End of the Year MeMe's

If any of you have been reading my blog for more than a year, you know I have an "end of the year" blogging routine, three me-me's I have been doing for quite sometime. Here we go:






Exercise #1

1 minute ago... I was checking my new years resolution note on Facebook
1 hour ago... I was watching "Two and a Half Men" with ILs
1 day ago... I was in Independence, Kansas celebrating Xmas
1 month ago... I was enjoying some time in Duluth after Thanksgiving
1 year ago... I was on vacation from my new job with the state of Ohio.
1 decade ago... I was a junion in high school, finding a new group of friends and trying to stay out of fights
1 lifetime ago... I think I was in revolutionary in Russia

5 minutes ago... I was trying to read a book "Legends of Time", it was not going well.
5 hours ago... I was in the car, driving the ILs back from Kansas
5 days ago... I was driving to St Louis to start my Xmas vacation, listening to "Elsewhere" on audiobook.
5 monthes ago... I took a trip to New Jersey to hang out with my old blind camp friends
5 years ago... I was a senior in college, engaged to the love of my life and working on my 4.0 GPA


Exercise #2
The instructions are simple:
Post the first line sof the first entry of each month of the past year.

January
Its officially 2010. I am sitting in my family room watching Hell Boy with three cats and a big, sleepy black dog. It is snowing outside. Life is good.

February
The Weekend in Review: Watched The Philedelphia Story with friends, after a tasty potluck of cajun chili, cornbread, and butterscotch pie. It was great seeing people and the movie is hilarious.

March
This Saturday was the beginning of Purim. This is a Jewish holiday that has an annual party in my group of friends.

April
Tuesday I made a quick trip up to Cleveland. My little sister and mom are on a cross-country mother-daughter road trip for my sister's 16th Birthday (which was back in January), on her Spring Break.

May
Last weekend was a bit crazy! DH went to the Kentucky Derby with some people he works with. I was invited, but not interested. So, it was just me and the dogs

June
It is really hard to believe it is June already. Five months of the year gone. I am starting to think organization is impossible. For my birthday cake I had another three-trip to the store mess to get it done.

July
I have not been blogging as much as I would like to lately. I feel like my recreational computer time just keeps decreasing. Of course, some of the reasons are good - because I have been going out so much, because I have started walking at my breaks to get a little extra exertion into my day, and other similar things.

August
Today, I have the great pleasure of working 11 hrs. That would be 7:15 AM to 6:45 PM with a half hour lunch. That is a LONG day. And why am I putting myself through this? For the love of a sister. Tonight my little sister is flying into town and staying for 12 days.

September
Last night I went to the monthly Nestie Dinner. It was in Hilliard this month. We actually have a pretty good system going where the dinner rotates days of the week and around the city.

October
It is rapidly closing in on two weeks since my last post. An unintentional lapse sparked mostly, I believe, by my brief but rabid dedication to Les Miserables, which I finished on Wednesday night.

November
The title of this post used to be a cool marketing invention. Now it is very much over-used. And here I am, contributing to its overuse by putting it as a post title.

December
They have cut off access to blogspot at work, along with several shopping sites and other things. It won't be long before they get around to blocking my last remaining favorite link, my nestie message board.



Exercise #3
1. What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before?
- Worked full time the entire year
- House broke a puppy/took her through obedience

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I will write a whole other post about this!!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Not close enough for me to get to meet the baby!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Not close enough for us to go to a funeral, thankfully.

5. What countries did you spend time in this year?
Just America, went out to New Jersey a bit, and of course around Ohio, to St Louis, Kansas, and Minnesota.

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
Just a few key things

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
My memory does not really work like that. Memories I will have from 2010 include some great days spent on a lake in New Jersey, a nice Thanksgiving in Duluth, a car trip to Kansas, The NFL hall of fame, and River

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? I dont know if I really achieved anything this year? Reading 40K pages? (Assuming I complete this on Friday :0) )

9. What was your biggest failure?
I totally and utterly failed at my New Years resolution to get organized. I am so disorganized it is scary sometimes.

10. Did you suffer any serious injury or illness?
Dog bite? Sprained ankle? Nothing serious.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Chrylser 300C

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Those who repealed Dont Ask, Don't Tell
Everyone who helped raise money for Haiti

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and/or depressed?
Despite my efforts to not become jaded, things become worse every year. Lets go with the general alarmism in American media.

14. Where did most of your money go?
We saved a lot, and had a lot of little luxuries

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Trip to Duluth at Thanksgiving, Aaron's surprise trip to Pittsburgh for his Birthday, my sisters' visiting, Harry Potter movie coming out, Eclipse coming out

16. What song will always remind you of 2010?
California Girls by Katie Perry, just because it is so overplayed

"Felt Good on my Lips" just because I like it.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? about the same, maybe sadder
b) thinner or fatter? fatter
c) richer or poorer? richer

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Laughing (can you ever do this too much??)
Cleaning. People say this never makes the list of things you wish you had spent more time doing, but really our habits are abominable.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Worrying , Eating

20. How did you spend Christmas?
In Witchita, had some great Lasagna at Aunt Barb's house

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
I am totally in love, there is no more need for falling :-)

22. What are the main websites you used?
Gmail, Columbus Nesties message board, facebook, blogspot

23. Did you write anything worth reading this year?
Maybe a poem or two, thats about it though.

24. What was your favorite TV program?
I really like Deadliest Catch. It has not been on in a while though and I no longer have cable. I have been watching Doctor Who on Netflix

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
I try to avoid hating people, it never brings anything good.

26. What was the best book you read?
So many to choose from... I read 85 books this year (including repeats), and rated 11 of them 5 stars. Best Adult Fiction: Middlemarch, Best Young Adult: Mockingjay, Best Nonfiction: The Unlikely Disciple, Best Reread: The Book Thief

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I knew I liked Pink, But I actually bothered to get her Album "Funhouse" and have really been enjoying it. I am not very musically diverse, I tend to listen to the same things over and over.

28. What did you want and get?
vacation to Duluth, a visit from Mich, Rock Band 3, Lots of nice xmas presents

29. What did you want and not get? Jobs in Duluth, a lottery win, other things

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
I loved Eclipse, and Harry Potter 6. I wish I had a list of movies I have seen like I have a list of books, but I don't. Easy A was also great.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 26. I have no idea what I did. I just looked it up on my blog. Apparently I had a relaxing long weekend and baked a delicious chocolate orange cake. Mmm. Chocolate orange cake.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
no comment

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Presentable Casual, but mismatched

34. What kept you sane?
DH and consolation prizes

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
It does not really change. I like Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt and Vin Diesel's voice. LOL. Maybe add the Twilight boys if that is not too creepy. I loved Johnny Depp in Alice in Wonderland. I know, I am weird. The Wallstreet Kid is growing up nicely (he used to play that annoying guy on the disney channel, who knew he would be a serious actor one day?), and the guy who plays the main character in Prince of Persia: Sands of Time is nice.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
I was pissed at everyone in congress for their general lack of progress and cooperation. PS: The tea party is NOT the answer to this problem.

37. Who did you miss?
Everyone who does not live in Columbus!!

38. Who was the best new person you met?
There was one week this year where I met two new people and liked both of them. That is NOT common for me. I tend not to like people. One was a new nestie to book club, another was a friend's coworker.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010 ?
Sometimes you have disapointments in life, but everyone has disapointments in life. It is not that "life is not fair", its that the concept of fair and unfair simply does not apply.

40. What word or phrase sums up this year?
Waiting

Questions and Answers

Here is a MeMe going around. Thought I would jump in.

Hi, my name is Amanda. Duh.

I've never been to a night club, and I don't have a desire to try.

I hate it when I forget to do something and have to admit to people how disorganized I am.

The one person who can drive me nuts is Bob Dylan. LOL. Actually, lots of people drive me nuts, I am not a very patient person.

When I'm nervous I am fidgety and bouncy

The last song I listened to was something country on the radio when I was driving home from Pittsburgh.

If I were to get married today my maid of honor/best man would my older sister LEKT (still)

My hair is long and brown, I think I am growing it out again. I think.

When I was 5 I loved Kindergarten, I got my first pet (a white rabbit named Buttercup after a picture book), I started playing the Violin.

Last Christmas was spent in Duluth and was tons of fun. We bought mom a gajillion Agatha Christie books.

I should be doing dishes, doing laundry, being a responsible adult.

When I look down I will probably run into something.

The happiest recent event was having my little sister visit for 2 weeks

My current annoyance is not being able to get Sunday Ticket unless I agree to pay Direct TVs high prices for atleast a full year.

I have a hard time understanding how people can be so irrational.

There's this girl that I know who lived in a tree, Knock Knock!! (inside joke...)

The thing I want to buy is new flooring for the front room.

Most recent thing I've bought myself feta cheese and cous cous to make a yummy lunch!

Most recent thing someone else bought me was caribou coffee, thanks MMK!

My middle name is not something I post on the internet, especially since its also my maiden name.

Last night I was watching Giants vs Jets, then my guilty pleasure - Secret Life of the American Teenager, while reading Middlemarch

If I was an animal I'd be probably a Panda, because I love them so much and they have easy lives as long as they are on a preserve.

Tomorrow I am going to trivia in the evening, should be fun!!

Tonight I am doing pretty much nothing, and doing it well.

Old New Year's Resolutions

How did I do on my New Years Resolutions from last year? I promised you a post!

Here they are, and how I did:

(1) Menu Planning - Start using it! Stop eating out so much! Cook more! -- Mixed results - I did some menu planning but never consistently. I think we probably ate out even MORE.

(2) Work Out - I did this very well when I was still at OSU with the gym membership but completely failed once I was without a free state of the art gym.

(3) Read more for Pleasure I would say 100+ books is a bit more :-)

(4) Stop Chewing my Nails- Total success!!

(5) Figure Out what I am Doing with my Life-- I figured out what I was not doing!! And that is a big step forward.

End of the Decade (3)

1 minute ago... I was watching The Parent Trap
1 hour ago... I was reading a message board
1 day ago... I was settling back into Columbus after 10 days in Duluth
1 month ago... I was driving around Kansas for Thanksgiving
1 year ago... prepping for my first (and, as it turned out, only) quarter as a lecturer
1 decade ago... I was a sophomore in high school, convinced I had the world figured out.
1 lifetime ago... I think I was in revolutionary in Russia

5 minutes ago... I was finding a blanket to wrap up in.
5 hours ago... I was just getting off work, headed for the grocery store.
5 days ago... I was in a blizzard in Duluth, having Christmas eve with my family.
5 monthes ago... I was happily unemployed, enjoying my time.
5 years ago... I was a Junior in college getting prepared to leave for a semester to Austria.

End of the Decade (2)

I have several end of the year posts I always make, and here is the second.

The instructions are simple:
Post the first line sof the first entry of each month of the past year.

January
I intended to post my resolutions today, but I am not in the mood to do it today. New Years Eve was pleasant, a nice quite evening in. We watched the ball drop, said cheers to the New Year, and called my parents from the future (they were still way back their in 2008).


February
This weekend was of course one of my favorite weekends of the year- Super Bowl Weekend! There are four major reasons I LOVE the Super Bowl.

March
I walk into the classroom where my economics course is held five minutes before class starts, feeling late because the classroom fills up so far. Luckily there are two desks available around where I normally sit

April
So, I have been hinting that I have some important news, and here it finally is. I have decided after much thought that I do not want or need to get my PhD in Political Science (or anything else right now for that matter).

May
Well, I did indeed manage to get my transcript here on time, and I went and took a test this morning to see if I can move along to the next part of the process of becoming a Disabilities Claims Adjudicator. They evaluate people's claims for disability benefits.

June
I mentioned before I was doing a reading challenge. It ended yesterday. I read 22 books for a total of 245 points. Completing the challenge would have been 550 points... so I did not quite make it to that but I reached my goal of 200. Here is my official participation certificate!

July
I was going to be writing today about the fact I finally planted my garden, or the beautiful weather, or the Rock Band party last night. Instead I get to write about the fact that one of my friends from undergraduate, Ian Rucker, killed himself.

August
Well, its clear "tree" is the favorite and I can't say I blame you guys. They are all beautiful though, eh? But I was thinking, what I really envision eventually for the family room is three vertical pictures of China in black and white hung above the sofa. So, I played around and turned Tree into a vertical picture.

September
It is hard to believe that Summer is coming to an end. It was a really good summer. I got to travel and see my friends B&R get married in St Louis, spend two weeks in Duluth and be a bridesmaid in my sister's wedding, and see a wedding of a good friend here in Columbus.

October
I spend the bulk of this weekend up in Burton, Ohio with my older sister. She is there doing an internship in large-animal medicine

November
I am not quite sure how time passes so quickly and all my good intentions to post about things slip out the window with it. I had a nice long Halloween post in my head, and I almost just posted it last Sunday but decided to wait until I had time to get pictures on here, and guess what, that has not happened. Here,then, is a text version of my Halloween

December
I love shopping for other people. Even ridiculous little stuff.
The lights on all the little trees outside Target make me smile.
The lights in downtown Worthington make me smile more,
even laugh with joy!

End of the Decade (1)

1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?
- left school
- held a real, full time job
- was a bridesmaid in my sisters wedding (never been a bridesmaid)
- cooked a turkey

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I will write a whole other post about this!!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
My cousins had a pretty baby girl, and some of my new friends here in Columbus (nesties) gave birth!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Our friend from Undergraduate committed suicide.

5. What countries did you spend time in this year?
Just America, but I got to go to Arizona and spend some time in the desert, which was mostly new to me!

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
Both of us working the same job all year :-)

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
May 31st - Ben and Renee's wedding
June 12th - Laurelyn's wedding
Sept 14th - My first day at work!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Quitting graduate school. (especially considering my biggest failure last yr was not deciding what to do with my life)

9. What was your biggest failure?
I gained a lot of weight, and failed to maintain any vague sense of organization

10. Did you suffer any serious injury or illness?
I was diagnosed Hypothyroid, but its not that bad.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
PS3 to play Rock Band on :-) Plane tickets to come home for Christmas.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Both my older sister and SIL for graduating their programs

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and/or depressed?
The main thing that depressed me this year was the (often ridiculous) resistance to providing some kind of health care for those who cannot afford insurance or are not lucky enough to have a job that provides it.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Mortgage and savings, and lots of little luxuries

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Leaving grad school, our travels to Arizona, the three weddings we went to, coming home for the Holidays

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
Pink's "So What" and anything from Rock Band

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? happier
b) thinner or fatter? fatter
c) richer or poorer? richer

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
I wish I had written more, spent more time keeping organized, and used our deck more.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Worrying

20. How did you spend Christmas?
At my parents house in the middle of a blizzard. It was Perfect.

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
I am totally in love, there is no more need for falling :-)

22. What are the main websites you used?
Gmail, Columbus Nesties message board, facebook, blogspot

23. Did you write anything worth reading this year?
Maybe a poem or two, thats about it though.

24. What was your favorite TV program?
My TV viewing was significantly cut. I never got back into any scripted shows since the writers strike and in general find that TV has not been keeping my interest. My favorite show is NFL Football!!

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
I try to avoid hating people, it never brings anything good.

26. What was the best book you read?
This question is VERY difficult since I read over 100 books this year. Lets go with The Unbearable Lightness of Being as my academic pick, The Help as my popular pick I would recommend to everyone, The Book Thief as my Young Adult Pick and House of Leaves as my creepy as heck pick.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Rock Band continuously introduces me to new artists, or artists I should know and do not. I don't really have one that stands out though.

28. What did you want and get?
Lots!! PS3, Nintendo DS, Everything I got for Christmas pretty much, lots of good parties, time in Duluth, time off (pleasantly unemployed!!)

29. What did you want and not get? Nothing comes to mind.

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
I feel like I saw lots of good movies this year. I have to admit I am obsessed with New Moon, The Princess and the Frog for kids movies, Zombieland for Comedy, but as a more serious pick lets say Inglorious Bastards

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Hmm. Ah yes! We were at Ben and Renee's wedding rehearsal and bachelorette party!!

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
More job security/stability for DH

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Presentable Casual

34. What kept you sane?
I feel like I did not need nearly as much help to stay sane this year, things were just easier out of graduate school.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
It does not really change. I like Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt and Vin Diesel's voice. LOL. Maybe add the Twilight boys if that is not too creepy.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
I already told you all, health care.

37. Who did you miss?
Everyone who does not live in Columbus!!

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Met some new Nesties who are pretty cool!

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009 ?
You have to do what makes you happy. Patience is a virtue.

40. What word or phrase sums up this year?
Life is Good!

Crazy Eights

I have been tagged to play crazy eights by Meghan at http://taderbaby.blogspot.com/

The rules:

1. Mention the person who tagged me.
2. Complete the lists of 8.
3. Tag 8 more people and tell them they've been tagged.

The lists:

Eight things I am looking forward to.
1. Reading for the summer challenge
2. Harry Potter 6 movie
3. New Moon movie
4. the farmers market, i have not yet been this summer
5. a clean house (though not looking forward to the cleaning)
6. "the hunger games" sequel coming out in september
7. my sister coming to Ohio
8. trying some tasty recipes

Eight things I did yesterday.
1. drove
2. finished harry potter 6th on CD
3. drove more
4. started hunger games on CD
5. drove more
6. took pictures of a U.P. sunset over lake Michigan
7. got swarmed by mosquito that were not there two weeks ago
8. read around 200 pages of women in white

Eight things I wish I could do.
1. find a job!!!
2. know what kind of job I really want
3. write an award winning novel that would make us rich
4. be in two places -Columbus and Duluth - at once
5. build a house on Palisade Head
6. love running/working out
7. hire a maid
8. read faster

Eight shows I watch.
In all honesty, I have not been watching TV much at all as of late. So... allow me to change the tense.
Eight shows I have enjoyed watching.
1. X-Files
2. Bones
3. America's Next Top Model
4. Project Runway
5. Law & Order SVU
6. Intervention
7. Sober House
8. House

Eight favorite fruits.
1. Raspberries
2. Blueberries
3. Strawberries
4. Avocado (technically a fruit)
5. blackberries
6. kiwi
7. cucumber (also technically a fruit) - PS Sorry mom and dad I never ate that cucumber...
8. pummalo (similar to a grapefruit, but sweeter and easier to peal)

Eight places I'd like to travel.
1. Mongolia
2. China
3. Alaska
4. Ireland
5. Turkey
6. Bhutan
7. Antarctica
8. Iran

Eight places I've lived.
1. Duluth, MN (18 years)
2. Kirksville, MO (4 years, minus summers)
3. Campus Area, Columbus, OH (2 years)
4. North Side, Columbus, OH (1 year)
5. Salzburg, Austria (5 months)
6. St. Louis, MO (3 months)
7. Marcella, NJ (3 months)
8. Sigmaringan, Germany (3 weeks)

Tagging: (if you don't blog, you can answer in the comment section here, or on facebook)
1. Laurelyn
2. Simi
3. SarahDee
4. Mary Lou
5. Dad
6. Rachel
7. whoever else reads this and hasn't been tagged?

Happy Valentines Day!

Do you like my one-day Valentines day theme? Kind of sloppy, but I did not want to invest too much time in it since I am not keeping it up.

I hope everyone has a really good Valentines day. I looked up the history of Friday the 13th yesterday and it was not that exciting. Today (or actually just after midnight...) I am looking up the history of Valentines Day. Who exactly is Valentine? What did he have to do with love? I enjoyed reading this article on the history channel website about it. If you are looking for a more political take on things, check out what the Saudi Arabia is trying in order to not allow the "sinful western Holiday" to be celebrated.

A Valentines Me-Me
Go to google and type in your answer to each of the following questions and find an image. Copy those URLs into the Mosaic Maker and then put the resulting mosaic on your blog. Readers, guess the answers!

What is your favorite love song?
What is your favorite romantic movie?
What are you doing to celebrate valentines day?
What is your favorite thing about valentines day?


A little Valentines Day Poetry (ok, Love Poetry) for your reading pleasure:

The Thing Called Love
I know the thing called Love,
A force so strong,
They say it sweeps you off your feet;
Like a strong gust of wind,
Or the wave of an ocean.

I know the thing called Love,
A feeling so sweet,
They say it melts your heart;
Like crayons in a hot car,
Or chocolate in a child's hand.

I know the thing called Love,
A feeling that pierces so deeply,
They say it is cupids arrow.

They say so many things,
With metaphors abound:
Love is a river,a mountain, a flower;
Love is a scream, a whisper, a song;
Love is light, darkness, a sunrise,
A gentle breeze, a raging storm,
It is sorrow, joy;
It is true happiness...
They say Love is all.
They say Love is rare.
But I know the thing called Love,
And in truth it is indescribable,
Unfathomable, Incomprehensible,
Like a bottomless pit,
Or nothingness.
I know the thing called Love,
And it is Love.

-----------------------------

Love
Only in the most honest hearts,
Can true love build a world apart.

-----------------------------

Us

You.

How you pull those strings,
twist the words,
and end the sentences.

As if Aphrodite herself
longs for your power.

Me.

How it just comes together,
braids into beauty,
and brings the world to an end.

The telios of Isis and Venus.

Us.

How we bend into one another,
swirl in the madness,
and rest in our souls.

We have ended them all.

--------------------------

And what would Valentines day be if I did not send my best wishes to everyone? Chances are if you are reading this blog, I love you (to some appropriate degree) So, I hope you all have a wonderful day and take the time to tell everyone you care about that you love them!! Spread the love!

Another type-by Tagging

Another tag game is going on, perhaps more amusing than the last, at least to me, and I have been tagged by Lori over at Musings from a VERY Random Mind
. So, I happily play.

Directions: Go to wherever you store your pictures and go into the fourth folder and take the fourth picture. Post it here and explain it, then tag more people.

Here it is. It actually is from the fourth folder that is MINE from the fourth folder of pictures (we have a lot of ILs pictures on this computer).


I was very fortunate that this picture came up. It is one of my favorite pictures of myself in college. It was taken in 2003, Freshman year of college, in my dorm room. I stole this hat from a friend, and DH (then BF) liked it so much we did a mini photo shoot with it on. This picture in color is a little goody, since its a red plan hat and I am wearing a yellow tank top, etc, so I changed it to sepia. It was my profile pic for a really long time.

So, who to tag, who to tag?

I tag Laurelyn and Allison

End of the Year Reflections 2

A second reflection for the end of the year, just the standard survey version. I think one of the best things about doing these year to year is getting to look at all of last years answers as you replace them with this year.

1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before?
paid a mortgage instead of rent
planted my own tomato plants
owned and cared for a dog
owning and caring for THREE cats
earned a masters degree
saw the pacific ocean
saw the desert

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I had many resolutions last year, like working out, watching less TV, treating school like a job, reconnecting with old friends, practicing "honesty is the only policy", improving my housekeeping, and travelling somewhere new. I kept some of them. I went to California, I started spending 8 hours a day at the office, I go to the gym twice a week, I reconnected with some old friends (but not with others). My housekeeping is still abysmal (but DH has picked up the slack). I have practiced "honesty is the only policy" and have been much happier for it.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Nope, but there is some new babies coming in the new year!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Very thankfully, no. Many people I know right now are dealing with deaths of loved ones and I have been very fortunate to not have that as a challange yet.

5. What countries did you spend time in this year?
Just America, but I got to see a lot more of it!

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
A more clear idea of what from my career.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
May 3rd, moved into our first home. May 4th, got Grim. October 13th, (10/13) I passed generals, the most stressful time of my life ever.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Passing generals. Did I mention it was really stressful?

9. What was your biggest failure?
Not deciding what to do with my life.

10. Did you suffer any serious injury or illness?
Nope, thanfully!

11. What was the best thing you bought?
The house! Of course!

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Everone who passed generals with me deserves some serious recognition. (shout out to the third years!!) The American people voted for change, both from the last president and from history, which I think merits celebration.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and/or depressed?
Corporate America, congress, the president, you know, the usual suspects.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Mortgage and bills, pet care, car care, furnace parts, a new bed, food. We spend a lot on food.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Holding a BBQ for family at my house in June
Going to California/Going whale watching in California
Getting a dog
Getting a third cat
Visiting our families at the Holidays (I AM currently excited about this)

16. What song will always remind you of 2007?
Anything from Rockband probably, lets go with "Won't Get Fooled again" by The Who.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? as happy
b) thinner or fatter? fatter
c) richer or poorer? richer

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
I wish I had done more things outdoors, had more fires on our deck, took more hikes, etc. I also wish I had written more, and read more for pleasure.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Worrying, studying

20. How did you spend Christmas?
We will be in Kansas with Aaron's family.

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
I already was in love, I fell more in love.

22. What are the main websites you used?
Gmail, Columbus Nesties message board, facebook, blogspot, livejournal, BBC, NYtimes

23. How many one-night stands?
This question is useless, the answer will eternally be NO. I should write a new question.

23.5 Did you write anything worth reading this year?
Maybe a poem or two, thats about it though.

24. What was your favorite TV program?
I enjoyed Top Chef, America's Next Top Model, Project Runway

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
I try to avoid hating people, it never brings anything good.

26. What was the best book you read?
Lets go with The Amber Looking-Glass. Really I did not read much this year.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Pink. I know, she has been around forever, but I never realized I like her style until this year.

28. What did you want and get?
I wanted and got a dog, a house, a third cat, a garden, lots of visitors, and a lot more I am sure.

29. What did you want and not get?
Nothing pops out. We got so much this year, I cannot complain.

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
Just trying to remember what I have seen in theaters this year is a challange. I know I very much enjoyed Kung Fu Panda and The Dark Knight, so we will go with those.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Aaron and I went to Banana Bean Cafe and he burnt his mouth. I turned 24. There was also a group Birthday party for several of us in my cohort hosted by Tracy, which was loads of fun.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
If DHs job was as secure as we thought it would be when he accepted it, we would be so much happier.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?
Whatever is comfortable.

34. What kept you sane?
Aaron, Laurelyn, other friends, walking the dog, jokes, laughter, and insanity... wait...

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Didn't do much new celebrity crushing this year.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
The election of course.

37. Who did you miss?
Many, many people. Anyone who doesn't live within an hour of me, and some people that do!!

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Some of the wonderful nesties! I don't know when I went to my first get together, but I have been to many this year and always am meeting new people.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008
Life is what you make of it. You cannot blame unhappiness or boredome or stress on anyone but yourself.

40. What sums up this year? (a word, a quote...?) Segmented. It does not seem like one cohesive unit. There is BEFORE the house, and AFTER the house, BEFORE generals, AFTER generals. Its not dates that determine the pace of our lives, it is big events.

Fun Mosaic Meme

I may get addicted to this.
Directions
(1) Go to Google, or the image search site of choice, and type in the answer to each of the following questions
(2) Copy the link of the pictures and paste them into the mosaic maker
(3) Save your picture, and post it your blog. Its your choice whether to tell people what the answers to the questions are!



The questions:
1. What is your nickname?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. Where did you go to high school?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. What is your favorite drink?
7. What is your dream vacation?
8. What is your favorite desert?
9. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
10. What should you be doing right now instead of this meme?
11. What is one word to describe you?
12. What is the name of your blog?


Can you guess me answers?

List Five (Happy Thoughts)

I find it amusing that a post with only pictures and no text, and no real substance (its about the WEATHER) gets five comments when I have had post after post about real, juicy substantive issues go by with little or no response. I guess its just that everyone has something to say about the weather... eh? I was getting close to posting a post complaining about not getting enough comments when Google analytic tells me plenty of people are reading. But, since I just got five, I will save the sermon.

The rest of this post is a Meme. Feel free to steal it for your blog!

----------------------------------------------

List five...

...things you like to see.
lightening
snow falling (the harder the better)
people being kind to one another
little kids
large bodies of water


...things you like to hear.
Silence
Wind in the Trees
Vivaldi Concertos
The score to Harry Potter
White-throated sparrows

...things you like to taste.
chocolate
spicy sweet buffalo wings with bleu cheese
cheesecake
coconut curry sauce
Greek salad

...things you like to smell.
autumn (dying leaves)
spring (mud and rotting leaves and new plants)
winter/Cold
Aaron
sauteing onions in bacon grease

...things you like to feel/touch.
Aaron's arms around me
cool skin
cool fresh water
snowflakes on my face
wind

...things you like to do.
watch football
snuggle
pet animals
lay in the snow
write/think