Valentine's Day

In spite of my post last year, I decided to do this Valentine's Day meme that I saw on Kimberly's blog. I still think that Valentine's Day sets people up for unfulfilled, imaginary expectations. Some guys are romantic by nature, and some guys aren't. If your man isn't, you are putting a ton of pressure on him to perform, whether you realize it or not. Trevor works with a kid who is dating someone, and he was so stressed out over how to plan Valentine's Day. Since a card and dinner don't appear to be enough these days, guys are spending enough money for a car payment on impressing their significant other.

OK...I'm slowly backing away from my soap box now. (And trying to ignore the dismal use of tenses in the previous paragraph.) Did I get my husband a card this year? Yes. Did he get one for me? No. Do I care? Not in the least. Do you know why? Because I started my morning by rolling over into his sleepy, warm chest and felt his arms go around me. Happy Valentine's greetings were exchanged and I was happy.

Didn't I say I stepping off the box? So, here's the meme, if for no other reason than to stop me from talking any more...



♥How long have you been together? We've been married almost 12 years.

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? 11 years (we were friends throughout Junior and High school.)

♥ Who asked who out? Trevor called me when he was on leave from the Navy for our normal dinner and catch up session.

♥ How old are each of you? I am 37 and Trevor is 36.

♥ Whose siblings do/ did you see the most? His brother Will (they live 6 houses down from us!)

♥ Do you have any children together? Yes, Nathan (7) and Grace (4)

♥ What about pets? Yes, one cat named Zoe

♥ Did you go to the same school? Yes, that's where we met. We both played trombone in the band.

♥ Are you from the same home town? We grew up in the same town...I moved there from Louisiana when I was 4.

♥ Who is the smartest? We are both smart in different ways. He is an engineer, so there is NO way I could compete with that kind of intellect, but I know my stuff in therapy. We are both well read and it's wonderful being married to a person with whom I can have a real conversation about anything.

♥ Who is the most sensitive? We both are but in different ways

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? Chili's

♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? We went to Italy in 2002...I would love to go back.

♥ Who has the worst temper? Without a doubt, I hold this dubious honor. He has a fuse about a mile long.

♥ Who does the cooking? We both do it during the week, but I do most of it on the weekends, and all of it for holidays and family gatherings.

♥Who is the neat freak? We go in phases..sometimes it's me, and sometimes it's him.

♥ Who is the more stubborn? This meme is not putting me in a very good light! Again, without a doubt, me.

♥ Where was your first date? The Black-Eyed Pea and then (I can't believe I'm announcing this to the world) we saw Mars Attacks.

♥ Who has the bigger family? I do. I have 2 siblings and he has 1.

♥ Do you get flowers often? Not really. I loved getting flowers when I was single, but now that I'm married and know how much that stuff costs, I'd rather have dinner out or a movie!

♥ How do you spend the holidays? Once we had kids, we decided that Christmas morning was to be spent at home, but otherwise we alternate Thanksgivings with our families and we spend Christmas Eve with his parents. My parents usually drive in a few days after Christmas and we celebrate with them.

♥ How long did it take to get serious? A few days. We had been friends so long, and it just hit me like a ton of bricks when I realized he was "the one"

♥ Who eats more? Me. Trevor is one of those fortunate people who sees food as a necessary part of staying alive. I see it as an opportunity to please the palate and I will eat even when I'm not hungry (which explains why I am eternally on a diet and he looks slim and trim!)

♥ Who’s better with the computer? Trevor

♥ Who drives when you are together? Trevor. He gets carsick unless he's driving, so it's sort of by default that he drives on long trips. Sometimes he has to have help (like the time we drove straight through from Houston to Denver), and I drove too, but most of our trips are 5 hours or less so it's not a problem.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Say What?

1. Post these rules on your blog.

2. Just list 10 things that won't likely ever come out of your mouth.

3. High-five (or 'tag') any amount of people to do the same on their blog.

4. Then come back here to Lifesong and let me know.

So here are 10 things that will never come out of my mouth:

1. Yes, I would love an extra large portion of deep fried chicken livers, with a side of mushrooms.
2. I can't believe I just read another book...what a waste of time!
3. It's okay, I don't mind climbing on the roof to put the Christmas lights up.
4. Let me take care of that spider problem for you.
5. I can't wait to go clothes shopping!
6. Can you embroider "Bootylicious" on that?
7. I decided to go ahead and wear my new white shoes before Easter.
8. That was so much fun crawling around in the attic!
9. Do you mind if I smoke in here?
10. I'm so glad we don't sing those boring old hymns in church anymore!

Okay, I realize that I am supposed to tag people for this, but I'm going to leave it open ended. If you are reading this, you are tagged and should go directly to your blog and post. Or not. Whatever. It's a free world! If you decide to participate, just remember to link back to Andrea at Lifesong so she can see what everyone has to say.

Archive Meme

I saw this Archive Meme on Amy's blog at Memories and Musings of a Mommy, and thought it would be fun to do. I know that when I find a new blog that I want to visit again, I rarely have enough time to go back a read everything from the beginning (although sometimes I do!). I want to get to know that person, but it's hard to commit to reading all of the posts from the last 2 years!

This meme is designed to make some of those old posts readily available to those who may be new to your blog, or even those who are regulars, just not from the start. Anyhoo, here are the rules:

Go back through your archives and post the links to your five favorite blog posts that you’ve written. But there is a catch:

Link 1 must be about family.
Link 2 must be about friends.
Link 3 must be about yourself.
Link 4 must be about something you love.
Link 5 can be anything you choose.

Post your five links and then tag five other people. At least TWO of the people you tag must be newer acquaintances so that you get to know each other better. Readers - don’t forget to read the archive posts and leave comments!

1. Home A brief history of where I came from and why I love it there.
2. Good Friends I think the title pretty much sums it up!
3. I AM--Just in Time This was a post in response to a bible study I participated in.
4. Forgotten Lives Strange title about something I love, but you'll understand once you read it.
5. Another Milestone and The Magical Panties Two separate posts about the kids.

So there you have it. Probably more than you wanted to know about the workings of my brain and potty training techniques in our house! In the spirit of playing well with others, it's now time to tag 5 other people. Because I'm all about following the rules, as you can see from my link #5.

As if you didn't have enough to do this week, here's a little something extra for Linda, Andrea, Faraja, Karen, and Leslie. If you are reading this, and weren't tagged, don't feel left out! I would love to see this meme on your blog too!

Christmas Meme

I found this meme over at Alana's blog, and thought I would join in the fun...

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
I mostly use wrapping paper because I get a perverse sense of satisfaction out of seeing all of the neatly wrapped gifts of varying sizes under the tree. The general messiness of the gift bag ensemble offends my occasional OCD, but I do use them for oddly shaped gifts that won't fit properly in a box. Better a gift bag with tissue paper sticking out of the top than a weird shaped box messing up my Christmas tree symmetry.

2. Real tree or artificial?
I grew up with a real tree and swore that I would never stoop to the level of purchasing a fake tree. It was just too tacky to think about, but then I had Nathan. You know how overprotective we tend to be about the firstborn. Well, the thought of him crawling around and eating pine needles that would then form a clog in his tiny intestines was too much for me to bear, so I broke down and bought an artificial tree. When both kids reached the age where pine needles were not appetizing fare, I decided that I wanted a real tree again. I loved the smell, but had forgotten the hassle of watering the stinking thing and vacuuming pine needles twice a day. So this year, I bought a beautiful pre-lit tree and will purchase a real wreath for the smell!

3. When do you put up the tree?
I like to put it up the day after Thanksgiving. This stems from the years of being single and driving home from my parent's house Thanksgiving night. I would stop and purchase my tree that night and decorate it the next day.

5. Do you like eggnog?
Let's see....a "beverage" that looks like melted ice cream? I think not.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
My complete set of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books.

7. Do you have a nativity scene?

Yes, a nice one for the living room and one for the playroom.

8. Easiest person to buy for?
Nathan and Grace. It's simple to get presents for them when they are little. I'm sort of dreading the coming years when they get older and everything they want is really expensive. They are still little enough to be happy with basically anything I give them.

9. Hardest person to buy for?
Trevor. Everything he wants is either stupid expensive or so practical that I would be embarrassed to actually give it to him as a gift. The good news is that we are not much on giving gifts to each other anyway. Most anniversaries and birthdays go by with just a card and a little extra money in our individual fun accounts to be spent at our discretion. It's just better that way.

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
I'm going to have to plead the 5th here as to not offend any gentle readers.

11. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards?
When I actually send them, it's by mail. I used to send them out every year by the 1st of December, but then I missed a year and it snowballed from there. I think this year is the first since 2002 that I have sent them out!

12. Favorite Christmas movie?
I enjoy all of the Christmas animated programs simply for the nostalgia. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Frosty the Snowman......you get the picture.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
I usually start shopping right after Halloween. I like to have everything wrapped and ready to put under the tree when I decorate. I typically shop throughout December for odds and ends, but the majority of my shopping is done by December 1st.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
No. I figure that if it was so tacky that I don't want it, then neither does anyone else.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Seriously. You expect me to pick one thing?

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
I grew up with colored lights, and love going home and seeing my mom's tree all lit up that way, but I put white lights on my own tree. I also love to see colored lights on houses (sans inflatable yard decorations and tacky wooden painted angels) when it is simple, but I put white lights on my own house.

17. Favorite Christmas song?
Again, you expect me to pick just one?!! I love Joy to the World as well as Come Thou Long Expected Jesus.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Before I had kids, I didn't mind traveling to see family and friends. It was fun to get away for a little vacation during the holidays. But when we had Nathan, we decided that we would spend Christmas at home so that we could start our own traditions and so our children would have memories of waking up in their own house Christmas morning.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
Yep....I won't bore you with the list here, but rest assured that I would totally get that Jeopardy question right!

20. Angel on the tree top, or a star?
A star. For years, my mom put the original aluminum wrapped cardboard star that my dad made for their first Christmas tree on top, but then one year decided that she would buy a beautiful angel to top the tree. It was the year of the great debate. The outcome was that they would alternate years...the star, then the angel. It finally evolved into the angel on top and the star somewhere on the tree. When I had my first tree, I made an aluminum star (I sided with my dad on this one). I don't know what happened to that star, but I have a store-bought one now.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?
My family opens gifts on Christmas morning, but Trevor's family does it on Christmas Eve.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
Political correctness. Well, I guess this bothers me all year long, but especially around Christmas. Christmas is a religious holiday. We are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Just because you want to put on the trappings of Christmas and then complain because you don't believe in all of that "religious stuff", doesn't change the fact that the holiday exists because of all that "religious stuff". Get over it.

23. What I love most about Christmas?
Singing Christmas hymns around the piano with my family, and then reading the Christmas story from the book of Luke by candlelight. I love Christmas Eve because when I am with my family, there is no present opening. Just a time of worship and fellowship.

Now it's my turn to tag a few people. Please step forward as your name is called:
Heather, Lisa, Leah, Karen and Sue.

Meme Time

I've been tagged by Heather to take part in a meme to share 7 random and/or weird facts about myself.

Okee-dokee then, here we go....

1. I am totally with Heather on this one....I do not share drinks with people. Period. It's nasty and gross and there is no way to gauge the ratio of their backwash to actual beverage, so it's not worth the gamble. I also don't share ice cream products (malts, shakes, cones, etc) with anyone. If it's possible, that's even grosser than sharing a drink.

2. My thumbs are claustrophobic. If you want to send me into hysterics, just grab my thumbs and hold them. My husband discovered this when we were in, oh, junior high, and he has used it many times over the last 22 years to terrorize me. I protect my thumbs at all costs, and often wake up with them tucked safely in my fists as though some thumb grabbing fiend were lurking nearby as I slept.

3. Hot breath really grosses me out. Like the kind when someone whispers in your ear and leaves it slightly wet because of their breath. Ewww. Let me say it again. Ewww. I don't even like for my husband to breathe on me unless (how to put this delicately?) I am otherwise distracted. So if you meet me in person and desperately need to tell me a secret in public and you don't want anyone else to hear....write it on a napkin or something.

4. I will pick up roaches, snakes, lizards and all manner of bugs and reptiles, but I am reduced to a emotional state of a slasher flick victim if a spider gets within 25 feet of my person. Seriously guys....I've had my 6 year old kill spiders for me. How sad is that?

5. I have to put my own groceries on the conveyor belt at the grocery store (I've run off overly helpful employees before). It's important that all the boxes go together, all the dairy, all the cans, etc. I know...it's a sickness, but I can't help it.

6. If I make a mistake in my journal, I have to tear out the entire page and start over. I can't stand to have mistakes and scribbles all over the place.

7. I love to mow the grass. There is something deeply satisfying about the swath of fresh cut grass trailing behind me, ever widening as I make my way around the yard. I love the smell of the grass, and I love the way it looks as the sun is going down and the kids are out playing in the backyard.

Wow.

Until I wrote them all down in one place, I didn't realize how neurotic I am. My poor, poor husband! Anyway, as per the instructions I am tagging 7 other people and the lucky winners are: Debra, Kellye, Karen, Kate, Leah, Faraja, and Lisa. If they still want to be friends with my neurotic self, that is.

10-20-30 Virus

Found this one at Karen's blog, and thought it would be fun to play along.....

10 Years Ago:
I was newly married to the love of my life. I had quit my job and moved to Portsmouth, Virginia where he was stationed until he was discharged from the Navy, and then found myself back in Houston with no job. Trevor was trying to figure out what he was going to do as a civilian, and I took a temporary job as a waitress (bar none the worst job I've ever had, including the time I processed fecal samples for MD Anderson) and we moved in with his parents for a few weeks, and then on to my parent's house. Thank goodness it only took a few months for Trevor to find a job in Carlsbad, NM and we moved there at the first of the year.

20 Years Ago:
I was a sophomore in high school, and very involved with my boyfriend (there are 4 years of my life that I can't ever get back). The only thing that took more of my time than my boyfriend was church...we were a two times Sunday and Wednesday night kind of family, and I spent every moment that I was not in school, dating or practicing my trombone for honor band tryouts, with the youth at church. (Yes, you read that correctly. I play trombone....went to State my freshman year...probably never going to stop bragging about that) I sang in the youth choir, served on the youth council and in spite of my involvement, spent a largish amount of my time pushing the boundaries of authority with my parents.

30 Years Ago:
This one is a little harder since I was only 5 and in Mrs. Curry's Kindergarten class. I do recall making a play dough ashtray for my dad, and being falsely accused of playing during nap time and being paddled. The culprit was Doyle Terrell (who turned out to be a bad boy throughout our school years) and I never really forgave him for getting me in trouble. I also remember very distinctly being aware for the first time of my foot falling asleep. I was sitting on my knees waiting in line before school, and when I stood up it felt like I was walking on platform shoes but I couldn't feel my feet. Isn't it weird the things we remember from childhood?

So now it's your turn. Where were you 10-20-30 years ago?

Book Meme

I want to blog all about my vacation, but we have Meet the Teacher night for Nathan later this evening and we just got home from our trip. I saw this meme on Karen's blog and thought it would be fun to participate. If you want to do it, send me a link so I can read your responses!

What are you reading right now? The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve, Elizabeth I by Jasper Ridley and (always) my Bible, specifically the book of Ephesians. I usually have 2-3 books going at one time...one at work, one by the bed and one in the living room.

Do you have any idea what you’ll read when you’re done with that? I have an entire stack of books that I bought at a recent garage sale for 25 cents-$1 apiece....everything from Steinbeck to Anna Quindlin. I still haven't decided where to start!

What magazines do you have in your bathroom right now? Consumer Reports, Popular Mechanics (can you guess who does most of the reading in our bathroom?)

What’s the worst thing you were ever forced to read? A Tale of Two Cities....the one and only book that I ever purchased Cliff Notes for.

What’s the one book you always recommend to just about everyone? If it's a woman, The Southern Belle Primer (one of the funniest books I've ever read), but I would recommend the Harry Potter series to anyone. What I recommend really depends on the person I'm talking to. I enjoy a huge range of authors and genres and it's hard to pick one book or series that is my favorite.

Admit it, the librarians at your library know you on a first name basis, don’t they? Nope. I'm more of a book buyer. I like to keep my books and take them down from time to time and revisit their pages. They are like old friends. If there is a book that I don't want to keep, I sell it at the used bookstore so I can buy more books!

Is there a book you absolutely love, but for some reason, people never think it sounds interesting, or maybe they read it and don’t like it at all? I have a collection of about 30 books concerning Elizabeth I of England. I have mostly non-fiction books, but a fair amount of historical fiction as well. Most people get this glazed over look when I mention any of those books as interesting or fun reading.

Do you read books while doing other things? Let's see....while I'm eating, watching TV, cooking, bathing, and attending boring meetings at work. When I was in school, I would hide my current novel behind my textbook so that I could read all day. I remember being in 8th grade and reading The Grapes of Wrath 2 straight days at school, hiding it so that I could read non-stop.

When you were little, did other children tease you about your reading habits? Not until I went to college and my roommate saw me on my bed with a book, and asked me what class I was reading for. I'll never forget the incredulous look she gave me when she learned that I was reading for pleasure....a totally foreign concept for her! From then on she always made snide comments about my being a bookworm, etc. I hope she wasn't trying to insult me, because I took it as a compliment!

What’s the last thing you stayed up half the night reading because it was so good you couldn’t put it down? Well, it wasn't half the night, but I read the last installment in the Harry Potter series in one day. I went and bought the book Saturday morning, and finished it around 6 pm that night. My husband took care of the kids that day and I curled up in my armchair and read to my heart's content! (This is my idea of a great vacation, oh by the way)

I've Been Tagged!

I've been tagged by Tammie Fay at His Word is Life to Me to tell 5 things I "dig" about Jesus.....now I really feel special! Actually, I had to Google the word meme after I read it a dozen times with all of the blog reading that I do! But now I'm in the know, and this is my first time to participate in blogland. Thanks Tammie Fay!!!

Here are the rules:

1. those tagged will share 5 things they dig about Jesus…
2. those tagged will tag 5 other bloggers…
3. those tagged will post a comment here with their name and a link to their “dig” Jesus list…

Here's my list:

1. He is sovereign. Period. (Isaiah 45)
2. He created me to be happy in Him. (Psalm 73:25-28)
3. When I am at my most unlovable, He loves me anyway. (Romans 8:38-39)
4. He chose me. (Romans 8:29-30)
5. I get to spend all of eternity praising Him because of His work on the cross. (John 14:1-3)

Now it's your turn girls!

1. Kellye My View With Mustard No Mayo
2. Christine Fruit in Season
3. Karen Over the Backyard Fence
4. Faraja The Girl With a 'Fro
5. OK...how sad is this. I only know one person personally who blogs, and the rest of the people I might tag are known only to me because I visit their websites. I don't want anyone to think I'm a cyber-stalker or anything! I guess I'll just leave this at 4 people and hope that none of them think I'm crazy!

As an aside, I was browsing through the websites on the Christian Women Online ring and came across this one. This is a must read. Seriously. You will nod your head in agreement. You will laugh so hard that you might need a Depend undergarment. Seriously.