Monday Minute

Can you tell I'm a sucker for a survey????

1 - Have you or a family member joined the military?

My grandfather was a POW in WWII.  Also, two uncles who were in the navy and another that was in the marines (I thnk).


2 - Have you or a family member served his/her country in times of war?

As mentioned above...my grandfather was in WWII.  One of my uncles served in the Korean War and Desert Storm.  He was the cook and was treated VERY well! :)


3 - What's your favorite BBQ food?

I'm a classic kind of girl...hamburgers & hot dogs are good for me!

4 - Do you fart in public?

Sure...who hasn't?

5 - What's the one question that if it shows up on a Monday Minute, you refuse to take part?

I'm not sure...we'll have to see about that!

Now I'm off to bake a poundcake for our family cookout today!  Happy Memorial Day!

Getting to Know You Sunday!

To play..copy the questions..post them..then come back here and link up!


1. Have you ever snooped around someone else's house?

Absolutely...I'm a curious person by nature and sometimes I need to know what's in that cabinet/drawer/room! 

2. Can guys and girls be friends? ( thanks Jen!)

I think "yes"...but I think it also depends on the guy/girl. 

3. Can you curl your tongue?

Yes!  My son can actually turn his sideways...which is supposed to be even more rare!

4. Have you ever stolen anything?

Yes...an ashtray from a restaurant where my friend was working...we needed one in our suite at school.  Not proud of this...but that's the extent of my stealing career.

5. Would you rather talk on the phone or text?

Most of the time I'd rather text...but there are people that I don't mind talking to!

6. Memorial Day plans?

Just hanging here at the house...finishing my "to-do" list and maybe a cookout with the family tomorrow!

7. What do you do to relax?

Usually watch TV or read or play around on the computer

8. Do you do anything to honor those that have died fighting for our freedom?

Not necessarily...and not usually on Memorial Day.  I always go to a "God and Country" parade in a little town not far from where I live.  However, I don't think we can do enough to honor those who put their lives on the line for our freedom.  I appreciate their courage and their sacrifice. 

Happy Sunday!

Three Day Weekend...off to a rousing start...

I believe one of the items on my Three Day Weekend list of things to do included sleeping in on Saturday and Monday...and already, I'm not doing that!  Yes folks...I woke up EARLIER than I normally drag myself out of my bed!  I am not liking this idea AT ALL.  So, here I am, up at 7:45am drinking my coffee and watching Gilmore Girls...because, yeah...nothing comes on Saturday mornings.  No good cartoons/TV shows like when I was little.  But, on the bright side, I might be able to get all of my to-do list done in one day!  WOOHOO.  Ok - except the bathing suit because unfortunately I reconciled my checking account yesterday and I just don't think there's enough there for a suit this week.  Aww...too bad...I'll have to put that off yet another week.  So sad...HAHA!

Anyway, we had really bad storms last night.  I was sitting here watching TV and all of the sudden it lightened really bad...and something popped in my house.  I have no idea what it was.  I ran around, checking lights, checking my microwave, stove, etc.  My TV was still working...all of my lights were still on...not sure what it was.  However, I spent the next couple of hours sniffing around my house...hoping to not smell something electrical or smokey.  It doesn't help that I have a very good friend who's house burned down just last weekend due to a...yep...you guessed it...lightening strike!  And she just got the final report yesterday...95% sure that it was a lightening strike.  I wondered if I needed to go out and make sure that my roof wasn't on fire...but that didn't seem like a good idea either...you know, since it was still storming.  But, all is well.

Off to complete my three day weekend to-do list...did I mention it's very quiet in my house????

Three Day Weekend - YAY!

I am so looking forward to the three day weekend...because I just don't pack enough into a normal two day weekend...so I'm looking forward to an extra day!  It looks like Dylan has invited himself been invited to go to the lake this weekend with his friend Seth...so I'll have the house all to myself!  Which always sounds much better on the front side of the long weekend alone...and somewhere in the middle, it gets way too quiet and I miss him!  Of course, on this side...after arguing the other night about whether he should take a shower at night or in the morning...I'm ready for him to be gone! :)  What is it with boys?  Why do they have a natural aversion to bathing?  I keep waiting for the "teen" to kick in where he wants to be clean...oh, well...I'm sure it will happen one day...

Anyway, I have this whole list of stuff that I am GOING to get done this weekend...which means that I will attempt to get it done if I don't find something else more fun to do.  I should have plenty of time since my niece is having her first play date at her house this weekend...keeping my sis busy...and my BFF is going to the beach...without me, might I add...so unless an attack of laziness overtakes me (which is entirely possible)...I should get some stuff done. 

#1 - I must buy a bathing suit this weekend.  This will be the first thing I most likely will avoid since this will be the most painful part of the weekend.  I attempted to buy a bathing suit last week...it was HORRIBLE; however, I looked online at JC Penney...looked under "flatters every body type" and found one that I think will work.  Of course, looking at the picture and looking at myself in the mirror with it on are two different things...but, I must have a bathing suit since we are headed to the beach in less than 4 weeks!!!!

#2 - I must clean out my fridge.  I don't mean throw all the moldy food out...because I do get that done on a regular basis and try to get it before the mold sets in.  But I really, really, really need to take all the shelves out and clean them really well because they really, really, really look gross. 

#3 - I must clean the house.  It's not all that dirty...but so much easier without Dylan "in the way"...which means, laying on his bed or the couch watching TV/playing video games while I clean. 

#4 - I must clean out my car.  The youth at our church did a fabulous job of this a few weeks ago at their car wash...but they didn't clean my dash or the windows on the inside...so I need to take care of that part and I'll probably run a vacuum over the places where we've tracked in dirt over the past couple of weeks.

#5 - I need to find out about Netflix on the Wii.  This is intriguing me!  I love movies and I'm not a very patient person...so, being able to download them directly to my Wii is sounding like a good plan.  Plus I think it'd have to be cheaper than the $3.99 that TWC thinks they should charge for movies on demand...

#6 - I must clean out my bathroom cabinet.  I moved into my house two years ago.  There are things in that cabinet that I never used before I moved...and I'm not sure I've used them since I've moved.  Plus, I don't like having my towels in the sink under the cabinet...so, if I clean out a shelf, I can put them there!

#7 - I must go to the grocery store at some point.  My child informed me that there was "no food" in the cabinets last night...and since he's currently in the process of planning his own Telathon due to his malnourishment, I guess I'll need to go to the store.  Oh, and that was very sarcastic on the telathon...he's 5'8" and weighs 140 pounds at 13 almost 14...yeah...

#8 - I must sleep in on Saturday and Monday!  It's been so long since I've been able to sleep in...I mean, it's not like I have a noisy child waking me up...but it just seems like we've had "early morning" stuff to do the past few weekends and I just really need a sleep in day!  Of course, since I'm planning to sleep in, I'm sure I will wake up bright and early both mornings!  Plus, since I've declared that I only go to the grocery store at 6am (because I hate to go any other time), I'll have to pull an early morning...but maybe I could knock that out before church on Sunday morning...hmmm...good thought to me!

Happy Memorial Day weekend!!!

Follower...

I have a new follower...so excited!!! :)  Thanks Melissa from My Life and How Its Going! :)

Getting to Know You...

Getting to Know You Sunday Monday

A day late...I know...but still I thought I might be part of the fun! :)  So here goes...


1. Do you have a fetish?

Purses and shoes...I love them!  I just recently donated a couple of boxes of purses to our church for a yard sale.  I seem to feel like I need a new one every three months or so.  Oh, I have my favorites that I switch back and forth too...but if it's a cute bag...I want it!  I've gotten better about it...and shoes...well, I'm not so bad, but I do love my flip flops!

2. Do you sing in the shower?

Out loud? No...in my head...always!  I love to sing...it brings me a great deal of joy, but I'm very private with my singing.  However, I sing in my car constantly! 

3. Who was your first crush?

I really don't remember...seems like there was a boy in 2nd grade that I "liked"...and then a boy in 6th grade that EVERYONE liked...but I don't remember the my first crush.

4. What do you think is the best manly trait a guy could have?

I just want a guy that takes care of me...mows the yard, fixes things around the house, makes sure my car is OK, etc.  I guess that's manly...

5. Do you sleep naked?

No...never

6. What do you do when (you think) no one is looking?

I talk to myself...mostly in my head...but sometimes, I move my mouth.  I'm one of those people that "rehearse" things that I am going to say, conversations that I think I will have...and sometimes I catch myself moving my mouth while doing this.

7. What's the first thing you do when you go online?

At work, I usually hit up Rock 92 so I can listen to their morning show...then I check my e-mail...then I go to facebook.  At home, I just go straight to the e-mail.

8. Summer is.....?

My favorite time of the year...I love almost everything about it!  Swimming, warm weather, the beach, flip flops, sundresses...and, of course I get to celebrate my birthday...and a couple of weeks later, we celebrate Dylan's birthday! That's the best!  And not having to worry about homework or projects or being in bed early...I love the "laziness" of it!

The Beach

I inherited a great love of the beach from my mother.  I know that's where it came from.  She was 18 years old before she ever saw the beach, although she lived no more than 4 hours from the beach all of her life.  Her childhood was a great deal different than the one she gave me and I don't know that her family ever took a "family vacation".  Her summers were spent either in West Virginia with her grandmother or just being at her house.  But I believe she dreamed about the magic of the beach...the ocen...sea shells...for a good bit of her life.  As an 18 year old, she experienced the beach for the first time in her life and I think it was there that she decided she would make this an experience she would repeat.

I know that my mom had me at the beach as a baby.  I have pics of my chubby self in a teeny, diaper filled bikini...laughing in the surf.  I know that we visited the beach once with my grandparents and great-aunt.  We have pictures of me splashing in the pool...my grandparents watching from the side...fully dressed as I remember them always.  And then later on, we had an annual tradition of vacationing with my aunt & uncle...and cousins in a house that overlooked a channel at Ocean Isle.  We usually planned a beach trip every year.  I'm sure they couldn't always truly afford it, but Mom & Dad made it work.  At one point we camped at the beach annually...actually more than that as my godparents had a camper they stored at Emerald Isle...so we often spent Easter and Labor Days with them at the beach.  And when my godparents decided to buy a place near Emerald Isle...well, we've spent more time at the beach. 

Last year, my cousin got married at Carolina Beach.  I was torn about going...I really wanted to go to see a wedding on the beach...and then I really couldn't afford to go.  Mom & Dad really felt like they needed to go...but to book just a weekend at the host hotel for the wedding was astronomical.  They found a house that they could rent for an entire week for not much more than the hotel.  So, they decided to take a vacation...spend the week at the beach and invited me & Dylan, my sister, Zach & Alyson to come for the wedding weekend.  We had so much fun...laughed a lot...and it was that trip that inspired the week at Kure Beach that is almost here!!!

Yes - on June 19th (my birthday!) we are leaving to go to Kure Beach.  Mom, Dad, Missy, Zach, Alyson, Ayden (who was with us on our last trip...just in his Mommy's tummy!), Dylan & myself are going for a WHOLE week.  And I can't wait.  I can't wait for long sunny days on the beach, being Aly's partner (which means roommate) and lots of fun and laughter.  Spoiling my niece...chasing a crawling Ayden...who WILL be crawling by the time we head to the beach...playing silly games at night...playing Wii with the family...listening to Zach's unique take on the world...just all the things that make for a great family vacation. 

I just hope the trip lives up to the hype...and I hope it doesn't rain!

Dreaming of sunshine and waves...

Thursday Lunch

Thursday lunch somehow became a weekly tradition with us at JHB...well, 5 of us, that is.  I'm not 100% sure where the tradition began...probably when one of the guys was trying to work on a family budget and decided he was only going out with people from the office once a week.  This has since gone by the wayside, but we always make sure we get Thursday lunch.  Admittedly, there are weeks that Thursday lunch occurs on another day of the week...you know, if several of us have a meeting/appointment/day off.  But for the most part, it's always Thursday.

Today was no different...at 10:30 the question went around..."Is it time for lunch yet?" And then as we approached the magic time of 11:30 (the time that Thursday lunch always begins) the more important question went around..."Where will we go?"  Usually we are half way to wherever we end up before we decide where we are going.  Today was a little different, since one of the guys was meeting us at lunch...so, we actually knew where we were going before we left!

The agenda for Thursday lunch never deviates from the norm...which is the guys make fun of Kathleen and myself.  Everything's open for their "fun"...at much expense to us girls.  Our pasts are dragged through the mud...as if they have no "skeletons in their closet" and our current issues/lives are not safe from their picking.  But at the end of the day, it's all done in good fun...and usually more at Kathleen's expense than mine...so, it's a little more enjoyable for me.

We whine and complain...and act like Thursday lunch is terrible...but really and truly, it's what we look forward to at work each week!  Maybe one day, we'll turn the tables on them...but most likely, they'll turn it right back on us!

Blogging

I love to read other people's blogs. I'm not sure where this obsession comes from...but I just can't stop myself. Right now, I'm unofficially following a blog I'm really enjoying...it's funny, quirky...just a very light glimpse into a girl's life. Meg Cabot (author of the Princess Diaries) wrote several books that read like you are reading a girl's diary/journal/e-mails. It's just fun to see what other people are doing and going through.

So, I feel like I should begin blogging more in earnest. I'd like to find some people who I can "follow" and would "follow" me. Problems with this plan: #1 - how do you find people to follow here? #2 - I really don't have time to blog. #3 - My blogs always sound funnier in my head before I commit them to print. #4 - Am I really that interesting? hmmm....we shall see.