No Small Feat

It's All About ME!

Thank you Maribeth for the tag.  Here is my Q&A:

1. What time did you get up this morning? 5:50 am

2. Diamonds or pearls? I don't like jewelry but I like the Prince song by the same name. :)

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Dr. Suess' Horton Hears A Who

4. What is your favourite TV show? LOST, The Office

5. What do you usually have for breakfast? COFFEE, and Whole Grain Pancakes or an English Muffin

6. What is your middle name? It starts with a C.

7. What food do you dislike? Eel

8. What is your favourite CD at the moment? Hmm. Don’t really have one at the moment… listening to lots of random things

9. What kind of car do you drive? Mom-Van

10. Favourite sandwich? Portabello Mushroom w/ mozzarella cheese.

11. What characteristic do you despise? Apathy

12. Favourite item of clothing? A-line dresses, comfy and forgiving.

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? I have always wanted to see the pyramids in Egypt and I also want to go to Aruba.  I would love to walk the footsteps of Jesus in Israel.  I want to travel to Ethiopia and India.  This all coming from a person who hates to fly.

14. Favourite brand of clothing? The LOFT

15. Where would you retire to?  The beach

16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? This one because my husband went to India to bring our daughter home!

17. Favourite sport to watch? Baseball

18. When is your birthday? In the summer.

19. Are you a morning person or a night person? Late morning.

20. What is your shoe size? I'm a perfect 10 in that regard.

21. Pets? Three dogs.

22. Any new and exciting news you’d like to share with us? Jesus loves you! :)

23. What did you want to be when you were little?  An actress.  Some say I've succeeded. :)

24. How are you today? Thankful

25. What is your favourite candy(lollie/chocolate)? Crunch bars never get old for me.

26. What is your favourite flower? Sunflowers

27. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? October 16th when my Mom and Sister visit.

28. What is your full name? Not on my blog. Or yours.

29. What are you listening to right now?. Fox News

30. What was the last thing you ate? Eggbeaters with egg whites, english muffin and tea. 

31. Do you wish on stars? No, I pray to God.

32. If you were a crayon, what colour would you be? RED

33. How is the weather right now? Sunny and warm

34. The first person you spoke to on the phone today? Hubby

35. Favourite soft drink? Water

36. Favourite restaurant? Ethiopian

37. Real hair colour? Dark Brown... VERY dark.

38. What was your favourite toy as a child? Farrah Fawcett-Majors makeup/hair head thingie (and my Donny Osmond doll).

39. Summer or winter? I like the in-betweens.. spring and fall!

40. Hugs or kisses? Hugs

41. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate

42. Coffee or tea? Coffee (Fair Trade!)

43. When was the last time you cried? I cried yesterday -- tears of joy.  I do that a lot! :)

44. What is under your bed? I'm afraid to look.

45. What did you do last night? Hung out with family, updated blog (see below) and watched the news.

46. What are you afraid of? The unknown.

47. Salty or sweet? Sweet

48. How many keys on your key ring? My key ring looks like a janitors.  In sum, TOO MANY!

49. How many years at your current job? Longer than I've had kids.

50. Favourite day of the week? Saturday

51. How many places have you lived in? States? 3.  Residences? 10, I think.

52. Do you make friends easily? I am painfully shy so not as easily as I'd like to.

I would like to tag Julie, Pat (just to prove you still blog) and Wendy. 

Mister Bubble

Tonight my little boy took a bubble bath.  He would put bubbles on his chin and say "Bubble Beard" and then on his hands and shout out "bubble hands!"  Oh what fun we had and how cute he looked. 

I sure do wish I could have taken pictures.

Remove the Tag

Catherine and Losiloni tagged me.  Apologies in advance:

1. You know how most people have some food item that makes them feel better, usually something indulgent.  For me, it has ALWAYS been (and still is) Ronzoni Pastina with milk and butter.  When I was little I would only eat pasta with milk and butter -- ziti, elbows, etc.  Some Italian I am, I know.
2. My sister has called me "Eggie" for as long as I can remember.  She says that it is because my face is shaped like an egg and this is especially worth noting when my hair is pulled back. 
3. After the Brooklyn Dodgers and the (original) New York Giants high tailed it to the west coast, my father in his infinite wisdom knew he could NEVER pull for the Yankees so he waited for years without a team and became a Mets fan in 1962.  I came along a few years later, the same year the Mets won the World Series, their first of only two such victories in 46 years.   Staggering, I know...
4. After I met my hubby (life-long Braves fan) we had a great and healthy rivalry which was always a lot of fun.  The thing is... we watch ALL the Braves games, all 162 of them ... and I love baseball, and the most fun for me is watching the farm system move up the ranks to become the stars of tomorrow.  And so somewhere in the early 21st Century, I kinda-sorta found myself pulling for the Braves.  I fought it, I did... It hurts to even write this.  I might delete it.  No one will know.  NO.  It stays!  I just hope my Dad doesn't read this post. 
5. BUT to this day I still refer back to the Mets jerseys when associating numbers.  Where you may see the number 10 and think Chipper Jones, I immediately think of good ole Rusty Staub.  It is the only way I know to remember where I park my car (Ikea notwithstanding) or anything else requiring a number association.  Sadly these numbers have never helped me win Lotto.
6. I was baptised on the very day the first man walked on the moon (stiff competition).  What I found out about 8 years later what that the priest later committed suicide.  I spent a good many years tormented convinced that I had never been absolved of "original sin" and was doomed to hell.  This is also around the time my propensity for the melodramatic was fully realized
7. I am a former Catholic schoolgirl (Billy Joel wrote a song for us).  The thing is I never opened a Bible until my early 20s and didn't put my faith in God until my early 30s.  For most of my life I believed in God "just in case."  I have seen the footprints of God in my life and now my faith is alive and real and sustaining.  I am finally realizing that I don't have to mask my faith to be "cool" as I have resigned myself to the fact that I'll never be cool.
8. I voted for Clinton... Bill, that is.  I was in line at the polling place and my Dad and sister kept begging telling me not to do it and I proudly proclaimed to them that "we need change."  Interestingly enough, here we are almost 20 years later hearing the same cries.  This makes me wonder if change will ever come.  Before this turns ugly political I will reveal that I also voted for Bush.  There, now I have equally offended. :)
9. I believe Jim Morrison is alive or at least I don't think he died in Paris on July 3, 1971.  Trust me on this.  In fact, Elvis may very well be with him...  I'm. Not. Kidding.
10. I may be one of very few people on the planet that can actually say they went to a Barry Manilow concert the same year they saw Iron Maiden.

If you're reading this consider yourself tagged but I definitely want to read what Maribeth has to share. :) 

Eight Track Tape

This meme is brought to you thanks to Julie:

8 Things I'm Passionate About:

1. My faith
2. My family
3. My friends
4. Politics
5. Sports
6. Humanitarian issues
7. Writing
8. LOST :)

8 Things I Want To Do Before I Die:

1. See my children become adults
2. Grow old with my husband
3. Visit my children's birth countries
4. Be the person my dog thinks I am
5. Write a novel or story that gets published
6. Make a positive impact in the world
7. Dance with abandon in a field of wildflowers during a spring rainstorm
8. Meet all my friends through adoption around the country

8 Things I Say Often:

1. Are you listening to me?
2. I'm sorry, I'll shut up now.
3. NO!
4. I love you
5. Can I get a new camera?
6. Time-out!
7. My neck hurts.
8. I need a day off.

8 TV Shows I've Recently Watched:

1. American Idol
2. The Goodnight Show
3. Dora the Explorer
4. NFL Football Playoffs
5. Very Many Random Reality Type Shows on E!, VH1, etc.
6. ESPN Sports News
7. Teletubbies
8. Mickey Mouse

8 Songs I Could Listen To Over and Over (in no particular order and off the top of my head):

1. Boys of Summer (The Ataris Version)
2. Deliver Me (David Crowder Band)
3. Sweet Caroline (Neil Diamond)
4. Crash (Dave Matthews Band)
5. My Way (Frank Sinatra)
6. Best of You (Foo Fighters)
7. Bad (U2)
8. Absolutely any song with a Timbaland beat.

8 Things That Attract Me To My Friends:

1. Loyalty
2. Honesty
3. Trustworthy
4. Faithful
5. Funny
6. Understanding
7. Creative
8. Forgiving

8 Things I've Learned (or been reminded of) This Past Year:

1. Life is too short
2. Patience is a valuable asset
3. My husband does more than I give him credit for
4. Adoption is not for the faint of heart
5. God is good GREAT
6. It's okay not to say what you really think
7. There are two sides to every story
8. The mistakes I've made brought me to where I am right here, right now.

8 People I Think Should Do "8":

1. Heidi
2. Joy
3. KT
4. Virginia
5. Shelley
6. Heather
7. Catherine
8. Chevella

Tag, I'm it...

Okay, I've been tagged by my friend Chris which in the blogesphere means that I have to share seven random things about me. 

1.  I am allergic to strawberries (and so is our son).  I have never tried strawberries because I always said I never liked them because they looked funny to me.  So it's a good thing that I am quirky when it comes to tasting odd looking food... Oh so how do I know?  Because I always thought that I was allergic to shrimp because my mom and sister are and they kinda looked strange and it was a good excuse to say "oh no shrimp for me, I'm allergic."  My husband thought that was ridiculous and had me go get a food allergy test.  Turns out, I am not allergic to shrimp and he made me a shrimp dinner.  I ate the shrimp and had a panic attack but then realized it was really yummy and now eat it all the time.

2.  I have a gum phobia, as in chewing gum. As I type this I am gagging.  I cannot really get into it but let's just say that you should not be chewing it when you are around me and PLEASE don't EVER leave it on the table or somewhere that I can see it.  Likewise I am really strangely affected by crumbled up straw wrappers.  I am compelled to throw them under the table or booth lest I will not be able to eat my food.  Likewise, this makes me gag.  No, I have never chewed gum and I am trying to figure out how to keep my son from ever finding out about it and this is just yet another reason to not like Britney Spears.

3.  I fell out of the carriage when I was a year old.  The best account is that my mother asked our neighbors to watch me while she brought in the groceries.  So they had me outside the gate while they sat on the stoop.  I tended to "swing" from my straps on the carriage.  The strap broke and I was airborne and since they were not near enough to catch me I landed face first right onto the curb.  OUCH!  My mom had to take me to the hospital where I underwent emergency oral surgery.  I don't have a real front tooth.  It never came in.  Anyway, from this I got the nickname "the little monkey" from my Dad.  My parents never sued the carriage manufacturer or the neighbors because this was in the 1970s when accidents still happened and you didn't always feel compelled to sue when something bad happened.

4.  I moved to be with B after only knowing him for 3 months.  I knew that I was going to marry him.  Everyone thought I was crazy.  I left my job, my family and my life to be with him.  My mom now jokes that moving was the "best mistake I ever made."  We were married 2 years to the day from when we met.  When I was a teenager I always said I wanted to marry a southerner.  I was raised in New York so that was a lofty goal but God has a way of making the impossible possible.  :)

5. I tend to crack just about every bone in my body.  There are times when I feel like if I don't crack my neck I will scream.  When it does crack it feels SO good for 10 seconds and then I'm stiff again.  I have been told that I should see a chiropractor but I refuse because I just know that I will be the one that they break my neck.  So I live in stiffness.  I crack my neck, elbows, wrists, fingers, knees, ankles, hips, back, shoulders and toes.  But I don't do crack because crack is whack... :)

6.  I have bouts of social anxiety which people never believe because once you know me you are typically trying to find the mute button but when I walk into a room or if I am about to meet someone or have to call someone I typically get sweaty palms and really nervous and typically try and find reasons to get out of whatever it is I am going to do.  Once I got dressed for a party while my husband was out of town and I had my keys in hand and never left.  I just stayed home.  I do good on e-mail because there is a sense of safety with having the ability to speak in an edited format but it would be nice to feel comfortable enough to pick up the phone.  I am getting better but it is something I still struggle with. 

7.  I just asked my hubby if he could think of any random things about me since I could not think of a seventh... and from the man who is the strong silent type he just quickly piped up with the following laundry list of quirky, random things about me: I cannot stand the sound of flicking toes, dogs licking or anything that sounds like a lick or a toe flick.  Also, when he is driving and hits the brakes I always brace myself by putting both hands on the windshield and when we leave the house to go on vacations I have mental breakdowns thinking I left the stove on (despite the fact I rarely cook).  I just said "that's enough."  He said "are you sure?  I can come up with more..."

So there you are ... seven random things.  Now I get to tag seven of my friends Heidi, Heidi, KT, Emily, Julie, Sandra, Leah

A day in MY life...

Started by Mary "Owlhaven" and continued by my dear friend "Auntie Em" I decided to share a day in the life of... ME.  First off, I was a little too preoccupied last night with making sure my camera worked well in the dark so I could take a picture of my alarm clock.  So much so that I forgot to set it and woke up this morning 20 minutes late... and this is me when I wake up 20 minutes late:

We'll skip the shower (you're welcome) and get right to the two main things that get my motor running in the morning: Seeing my boy for the first time each new day and that first hot cup of Ethiopian blend (fair trade) coffee . Good to the last drop!

There was a time (before parenthood) when I actually wore these shoes all the time (and they go great with my outfit today) but comfortability is the rule of thumb for this mom so my feet are sporting these bad boys instead: .  But I digress... Say bye to Dadda: Little Man is off to start his day and I set off on mine: It takes forever to get there and by the time I do I need to re-fuel:

This is my desk which I believe strongly bolsters my theory that a cluttered desk is the mark of an organized mind. The best representation of my work-life is my Red Swingline Stapler which is prominently displayed atop my (at least) 20 year old monitor: . 

The first thing I do when I logon is check to see if I can quit without notice:

(I can't)   So I keep busy doing whatever it is that we paralegals do (yawn) until quitting time: (Time to get me boy...):

The weather was just perfect this evening so after I picked our boy up I took him to the park near our house.  Waiting to surprise us at the top of the hill was Daddy.  He was so excited when he saw his Daddy that he just about came out of his carseat (I was pretty happy too!):

(good times!) 

They say all good things must come to an end but when it comes to being with my family the good times don't end, they just change venue.  So it was time to leave the park and head on home for a yummy dinner courtesy of Daddy (Mexican):

and we relaxed while enjoying "quality" TV:

After another action packed day (for the boy) it was time for bed: .

AND it's time for Mom and Dad to relax: B puts his feet up and talks sports with his dad (a.k.a Grandpa Leon) while I head off for a nice relaxing bubble bath . 

Before I go one special mention... while this is the day of my life, today is also my sister and Aunt Bev's birthday.  Happy Birthday Aunt Linda and Aunt Bev!  I took a picture of today's sentiment from the "Sister" calendar Linda bought me.  I couldn't have depicted our relationship any better than this quote does and found it profound that it's placed for reflection on this day:

I hope you enjoyed a day in my life.  It's not glamorous but it's the best life I could ever ask for.  So, with that, I am signing off now to go give thanks to the One Who made this life possible:

"If I'm being completely honest I wasn't blown out of my chair by your day.  I mean, it was alright. You had a slow start and were a little shaky in the beginning but you pulled it out there in the end and turned it into a really decent performance.  Good job."