Things I love...

Sometimes it's important (especially during the month of March in MN) to reflect on the things that make a person happy and content. Not necessarily material things, although those will be included in my list, but I also mean *things* in the broader sense of people, places, events, instances and situations.

• My boys. Even Ludwig who is currently doing his best to fumigate the house with his flatulence.
  
• Chocolate. Because really, what's not to love?
  
• Spring. It will come, I just need to be patient.
  
• The smell of fresh baked bread.
• Being married to a man who bakes the aforementioned bread.
  
• A warm summer night where the temperature and the breeze are just right so you are neither cold nor hot but *just right*. Those are my most favorite summer nights.
  
• Books. I really do love to read and am fascinated by people who don't read. They don't know what they are missing and I feel sad for them. Kind of like how I felt sad for the accounting majors I knew in college. Their subject matter was so boring and I felt sad for them because they spent all their time learning about numbers.
  
• Comfortable shoes. For me they are my Dansko Mary Janes, Asics running shoes and Merrill sandals. At this point in my life all other shoes are not worth wearing and I usually don't.
• When Owen tells me he loves me "so much" and that I am the snuggler because I am the softest.
  
• Photography. It's my favorite art form. It's the only way for me to take what I see in my mind of something and put it on paper. I couldn't accomplish that with drawing and painting.
  
• Potatoes. Cooked any way. Even raw, although that is my least favorite. Like chocolate, what's not to love?
  
• Growing veggies in our yard. I love that some of our food has traveled mere yards to our table rather than miles. And knowing that what has gone into the growth of that food is water, sun and some tender loving care. I also love that Owen enjoys working in the garden with Morgan (I like to pick but I'm not much of a gardener).
  
• All-wheel drive. It's seriously awesome.
  
• Being able to stay home (mostly) with Owen since he was born.
  
• Baking. While not the healthiest of hobbies I do enjoy it. And I love to eat what I bake!
• My fuzzy blue blanket. My grandma made it long ago and then it was given to me and became so worn that I had to take it apart and make a new patchwork top for it and then sew it all back together. Someday it will be passed to Owen, he loves it too, and he (or maybe his wife) will need to fix it again!
• Friends and family who love me despite my quirks.
• A clean kitchen.
• A supportive and mostly not irritating bra. So hard to find.
• When I find clothes that fit me. I don't mind being short. Really, I don't. I mind that the fashion industry tailors clothes for women who are 5'10" and weigh 100 pounds and have limbs 3 feet long. That is like .5% of the population and I honestly don't care if they can't find clothes to fit them, it's time for the little women to come into fashion power!
• Recreational fires in the backyard.
• When all the laundry is done and put away. I love that feeling of accomplishment.
• Good fitness instructors. The classes I attend at the Y are taught by great instructors and that can make all the difference. (Not unlike having good teachers in school!)
• This little blog. It contains record of many small but important things that have happened over the last 4 1/2 years and I like that I can go back and read about them.
• Music.
• Living in an urban area but not in the city. We are close enough but not so close that there are drunks stumbling down the street at 2am. I don't miss that.
• Sunshine. Especially when it's barely in the 30's.
• Good neighbors. We paid very little attention to the school district or neighborhood when we bought our house and got so lucky.
• So many more things that I cannot list!

Lots of Thoughts for Thursday...

I read this LONG survey of questions on Miss M's blog the other day and thought it would be a lovely post for today!

1. How long has it been since you've ridden a schoolbus? Not long enough. I'm not a fan of school buses. No AC, too many loud kids, and I don't get to drive!

2. What do you think of frogs? They are fine as long as I don't have to touch them.

3. What's the worst Christmas present you've ever gotten? An empty jewelry box. I had expected something else to be in it. But that ship sailed without me and I'm fine with that.

4. Suppose you *had* to get some sort of tattoo, right now. What would you get? I am not able to imagine an instance in which I would *have* to get a tattoo.

5. Which would you rather die from, burning to death or "bird flu"? I'm going to go with the bird flu. I think it wouldn't stink as much or be as painful. It's just a guess, but I'm going with it.

6. If weed was legal, would you smoke it? Yes. I've never smoked it before because first, if my mom found out she'd have killed me. Really! And second, I've got two college degrees and spent a lot of time working so I think I'm entitled to lose a few brain cells to feel good. After all I stay home with a two year old!

7. How about if heroin was legal? No, I'm not into injecting things. And I've seen heroin addicts. I don't want to become that.

8. Do you use any kind of lip gloss/lip balm? Chapstick every night. Burt's Bees stuff. Got it from my mama.

9. Do you like pumpkin pie? LOVE IT! So yes, I do. Like it. I like it a lot!

10. Who do you want to be President (it doesn't have to be an actual candidate)? Someone who can do the job and not be an idiot.

11. If you were alive in the 1960s, would you have been a hippie? Probably not. I'm a first born and really into being perfect and clean and responsible.

12. Do you like dinosaurs? Which is your favorite? Sure, they are fine. Since I can't encounter it in the woods, I'm totally fine with them.

13. What genre of music makes you want to shoot your ears off? That would be kids music. Not all of it is bad but some is worse than all the cussing done in rap music!

14: What was the last board game you played? Scrabble.

15. Would you let your grandma set you up on a blind date? No. She liked everyone and was a terrible judge of character.

16. Speaking of which, ever been hit on by a much, much older person? Yes. And I will leave it at that because my mom reads this.

17. You can't find the remote. Where is the first place you look? Wherever Owen is.

18. Where would you rather live, in a barn or in an inner-city church basement? The church basement. It would most likely have a kitchen.

19. How do you feel about Hello Kitty? Too cute for me. Give me that angry looking penguin anyday!

20. Paper or plastic? Paper for recycling, plastic for garbage and reuseable for groceries.

21: Compost heaps: yes or no? We have a container for that.

22: What kind of socks are you wearing right now? Who the hell wears socks when it's 90˚ freakin degrees!? That's just crazy!

23. Are you part of a "subculture"? Aren't we all?

24. Do you type with all your fingers, or just 2? All of them.

25. Do you believe in astrology? Yes.

26. Are you good at math? I can do math. And the math I do I'm pretty good at. Remember that I taught third grade though. NOT calculus!

27. Are you politically correct? Probably not.

28. Do you know what a semicolon is? Yes. I am familiar with them.

29. Have you ever worn a Hawaiian shirt? No.

30. Have you ever dated someone you didn't really like? Why? People I have dated have become people I didn't really like. It's why we aren't dating anymore. Because I was able to see them for the stupid men they were.

31. Do you resent members of the opposite sex? On occasion, yes. Like when I was in labor.

32. Atlantic or Pacific? Pacific.

33. What animal do you most resemble? A human. Because I AM one!

34. How often do you eat macaroni and cheese? Whenever I make it for lunch. Every couple of weeks.

35. Are you into philosophy? If so, what are your philosophical influences? Yes. I have lots of philosophies. I share them here quite often.

36. What was the best concert you've ever been to? Probably Bare Naked Ladies.

37. If someone gave you $100,000 to shave your head, would you? Yes. Hair grows back.

36. Have you ever met a hermaphrodite? Not that I'm aware of. I don't think that's something you can tell by just seeing a person!

38. I've deleted #38 because I thought it was totally inappropriate!

39. Do you sweat a lot? When I workout and it's hot yes. But not just sitting here I don't!

40. What, if any, hair products do you use? Shampoo

41. Do you enjoy thrill rides (roller coasters, etc.)? The scrambler. That's it. Oh, and the merry-go-round at the como zoo. It's a fast one!

42. Have you ever seen a 3-D movie? Yes.

43. What should someone do if they deliberately want to make a bad impression on you? Be an idiot and say dumb stuff. Dominate a conversation. Ramble on about themself. Get drunk and throw up on me. Stink.

44. Have you ever drank a whole bottle of liquor by yourself? No.

45. Does anyone know you're filling out this survey right now? No.

46. Do you smoke cigarettes, and if so, what kind? No.

47. What word processing program is on your computer? Word.

48. Have you ever read "The Odyssey"? What did you think of it? No.

49. What's the worst insult anyone's ever given you? Once, at our previous church, there was this woman who was just generally condescending and rude. Every meeting or encounter with her was insulting. It was as if she thought I was generally incompetent at whatever it was I was given to do.

50. The best compliment? That I'm nice a good wife and mother.

51. Do you sleep with your door open or closed? Closed.

52. What is your favorite item from your favorite fast-food restaurant? Dessert and I will eat it from a lot of places!

53. Do small children like you? Sometimes. It depends on if I like them.

54. Do animals like you? I don't know. I don't usually ask them.

55. Would you rather be too hot or too cold? Too cold. You can always add clothes. When it's 90˚ and humid and you are already almost naked there's not much else you can do!

56. What's your favorite beer? Henry Weinhardt's Root Beer

57. Have you ever lived in a college dorm? If not, do you think you could handle it? Yes. It was a riot.

58. Have you ever met a psychotic person (officially diagnosed)? I've been to downtown Minneapolis so I'm sure I've encountered one or two.

59. Which show sucks less: "The Hills" or "Wheel Of Fortune"? I've never seen The Hills and I don't watch Wheel. So I don't know.

60. Do you like spicy food? No. But Morgan keeps making it.

61. Do you read poetry? If so, who is your favorite poet? Yes. Dr. Seuss.

62. What else could you be doing, other than filling out this survey? Lots of things!

63. What is your earliest memory? Believe it or not I have lots of early memories. Most of them have something to do with my grandparents or my great uncle. We lived with them when I was very little.

64. What is something you consider "classy"? Minimal jewelry that isn't tacky.

65. What video/computer games do you like? Solitaire

66. Do you know your IQ, and if so, what is it? Yes. It's in the very superior/gifted range.

67. Do you drink TAB? No, but I have.

68. Do you talk about your friends behind their backs? Yes. But not in the way that this question makes it sound.

69. Do you use abbreviations such as LOL or OMG outside of IMs? I use acronyms. I like to make them up. It steams from working in a school where the head B@tch liked to make everything into an acronym and no one knew what she was talking about. So my friends and I started making them up too.

70. What is your favorite vegetable? Potatoes.

71. Sweet or sour? Sweet. I LOVE SUGAR!

72. What's the longest airplane ride you've ever been on? Mexico or Maine. I'm not sure which was longer.

73. Do you regularly take any medication? No.

74. What's the closest you've ever come to dying? I had pneumonia when I was a baby. My grandpa made it sound like I was VERY sick. But I don't think it was that bad. I hemorrhaged when I had Owen. But passing out and dying are not the same.

75. What are you really proud of that not many people know about? In college I received the Chancellor's Award at my University. It is the highest non-academic award given out. Each year a handful of people receive them.

76. Are you really into high school or college sports? No.

77. Do you regularly spend money on things you don't need? Yes. With the exception of groceries and TP there's not much that I NEED. So everything else is a luxury.

78. Have you ever practiced archery? No.

79. Do you eat the cherry on top of your ice cream sundae? No. I don't like them. Morgan or Owen will eat them though.

80. What does the color yellow make you think of? Flowers.

81. What is your local newspaper called? The Sun.

82. What city do you wish was your hometown? London or Paris or some where exotic.

83. You've just farted loudly in public. What do you do? Laugh and then look around to see who noticed!

84. Have you ever had a lucid dream? Yes.

85. How about sleep paralysis? Does pretending to be asleep count??

86. How often do you dream about zombies? Never.

87. What kind of accent do you have (EVERYONE has one)? The kind from MinnesOta!

88. Do you think mushrooms are cool-looking? Yes.

98. Are you dyslexic? No.

90. Do you think it's interesting to study religions other than the one you practice? Yes.

91. Have you ever felt an earthquake? No.

92. Suppose you're the greatest painter who ever lived, but you can only paint one last picture before you die. What is your painting of? Circles. I like circles.

93. What is the sexiest color of finger/toenail polish? Red.

94. What is the worst job you could possibly imagine having? The embalmer at a mortuary.

.95. Do you think pigs are cute? The stuffed animal kind and baby ones. Not the big smelly ones at the fair.

96. Do you pay your own bills? Yes. I pay all the bills.

97. How many methods of contraception are you aware of? All of the ones on the poster at the OBGYN. The others are probably not approved by a doctor and I don't want to know about them.

98. Do you own ripped jeans that weren't ripped on purpose? Yes. Because they were worn a lot!

99. Can you give a good back massage? No.

100. What do you do before you go to sleep? Wash my face. Brush my teeth. Put on jammies and shove Morgan out of my side of the bed.

How's that for interesting stuff!

Thoughts for Tuesday...

I taught for 9 years and I can honestly say I never got bored. Frustrated, irritated, angry, yes, but not bored. As a SAHM I'm bored a lot. In addition to the frustrated, irritated and cranky. As with teaching, there are lots of fun times too. But the part I struggle with most is the boredom. I've read in several books that it's okay not to like playing cars all day or trains or pretending with stuffed animals. I get that. I've gotten over it. But what do I do about the boredom!? I've come to a point where I either need to change something about what we are doing or get a job. A real job. The kind that requires the use of my brain.

There is some inner turmoil here though. I love staying home for many reasons. I like not having to get up and get ready to go to work. We don't run off to daycare or rush home to pick Owen up from a daycare. We are leisurely. I enjoy that. I like keeping my home clean and doing laundry and being able to have lunch with my mom and sister whenever we want. Going to Target during the day is great. I don't spend countless hours with work I've brought home. Grading papers or writing lesson plans or things like that. I'm not invested in the lives of other children anymore. But there is an element of that which I miss. I don't get to be with other people during the day. I don't get to entertain a room full of children. Just one. And he's much younger than I'm used to. I don't have a room full of materials at my disposal as well as curriculum and specialists for music and PE. I've decided I need to come up with a plan of sorts. However loose it may be, Owen and I need to be doing more. He's learning all kinds of things but I need to figure out how to tap into that and teach him some stuff purposely. Besides "Go Meat!".

My other struggle is that I've always enjoyed spending a fair amount of time by myself. Before Owen was born Morgan and I did a lot of things separately. We were okay with that. Now one of us (ME) does a lot of stuff that I would previously have done alone with someone else in tow (Owen). Like bra shopping. Or scrapping. Or using the bathroom. This alone time has been something very difficult for me to let go of. I knew it would be. I just thought by now I'd have gotten over it. I haven't. In the summers before Owen came along I would spend hours reading a book or taking a nap. Now there are limits on that time (O's naptime) and I just haven't gotten over that. Or accepted it. Or made peace with it.

So if you have ideas for what I can do with my little student during the day I would love to have them!

On a higher note... today is my sister's birthday! She is 28. Which I can't believe. So Happy Birthday Sissy! We'll try and stop over to see you if you aren't too busy!

Tis' almost...

done. Here is the main part of the bag after felting. I think I'm going to put a lining in it after all. That way I can use it for small things too. I rarely go anywhere without a writing utensil anyway. I actually have no idea what I'm going to do with this bag. I just thought it would be fun to do. Since my sister was doing this! She starts something and then my mom and I get on board too. Can't seem to get her to scrapbook though! Maybe I'll sell it. After the handles are attached of course! Here is the before picture so you can see how much it shrunk up. Pretty cool what wool does!? I'd love to make a pair of mittens this way.
Hoping to get out to Maple Grove and do a little shopping today. Just to get out. I need to stop at the Vet and get toothpaste too. Yes, we, well Morgan, brush Ludwig's teeth. Greyhounds have terrible teeth. So they need to be brushed daily. I don't do it mostly because after we got him I was a bit afraid of being that close to his mouth. I had been attacked by a rotweiller about a year before and was still a bit leary of new dogs. Now I wouldn't have a problem with it but Morgan just does it. So I'm not stepping in to take over!
I also want to make a little something for one of the ladies at church. She is moving to Pennsylvania next week. She is 86 and has been a memeber of our chruch for 50 years. She is a wonderful little lady. She calls everyone on their birthday. EVERYONE! It won't be the same place without her.
No headache this am so hopefully if I eat well, drink my water and don't eat anything sweet I'll be good for the day! I did get my workout in this morning and that didn't produce a headache. Sometimes it does. Too much blood flowing to the brain I guess. And is it possible to be in love with shoes?? I LOVE my running shoes. Unfortunately I left my old pair in MT. My MIL is going to send them along with O's Christmas gift that was too big to pack. But they haven't arrived yet and they are the ones I wear just out and about.

And just a little wondering for Wednesday... When I was in college I had a friend from Australia. He did not like peanut butter. He said Australian's don't like PB. It's gross! WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?? So are there other countries where they don't have PB and have the same dislike for it? Or can anyone who is from Australia explain this to me? My FIL doesn't like cheesecake. This I cannot understand either. Just a little off topic thought for the day!