2008 is the Year of the Rat. Which animal year were you born in?
I was born in the year of the rabbit. Guess that explains why I love them so much!
]]>What was the best thing about your weekend?
Hannah, Jesse, and Libby's visit. They were sweet enought to come and stay with us Saturday night after a week with her sister in law in the DC area. Kelly, Sam, Jenny, Jenny's adorable son, and Gary came over too. Lots of eating, laughing and SingStar-ing. Gary made steaks. Hannah kicked all of our butts on SingStar. Jenny and Libby not only sang, but they added some stellar dance moves along with their performances. I'll post pictures later. I'm too lazy and tired right now. Sadly, I don't have too many. I think that's the sign of a really great time, being so busy you forget to take a bunch of pictures.
Thanks to Hannah, I need to find a Whole Foods soon. I have one Organic Caramel Truffle left and that is not a good thing. I also need Libby's recipe for Meringues. I ate the last one yesterday afternoon.
Yup, it was a great weekend.
]]>What question do you hate being asked?
"Are they all yours?" in reference to the kids when people find out this is my second marriage. Yes, they are all mine. So what if I didn't give birth to some of them, they are mine thank you very much. From the moment I met Ashley and Alex, I knew they were mine, just as the three I gave birth to.
It is usually followed up by "Which ones are yours and which ones are Steve's?". The reason I hate this question is because the kids are usually within earshot. I don't know. It just seems rude to ask when the kids are around. I realize we are a blended family, I'm not trying to hide that fact and don't pretend that we aren't. I just don't like being asked when the kids are around.
Then there is the lovely, "Are you going to have any kids of your own?" like the kids we already have aren't good enough. I wouldn't mind, "Are you done having kids? Do you want any more?" It's the "of your own" that gets me.
Ok, that was 3 questions, and I could go on, so I better stop. Obviously, the qotd has hit a nerve. Heh.
]]>]]>What's your favorite type of cheese? Or, if you don't like cheese, why not?
Submitted by Draegon Scribe.There is no way I could pick my favorite cheese. That would be like asking me which of my 5 kids is my favorite. Seriously.
Other than TeamVox, who was the first person you added to your Vox neighborhood? What made you want to be their neighbor?
Submitted by TheFiercestCalm.
Well, I was invited to Vox by Mrs. Groovy and Brown Eyed Girl (who is no longer here) back when it was still invitation only. I'm not sure who I added first out of the two. I've known them both since around 2001 through another blogging site. I just wanted to be able to comment on their blogs. Then I got hooked on Vox and abandoned my old blog.
The first friends I added that I didn't already know were TechMusicGospel, Jamie, and HannahBanana. I'm not sure which order, but I know they were among the first.
]]>What do you do on the internet that you consider somewhat of a guilty pleasure?
Just about anything I do on the internet is a guilty pleasure, except for checking e-mail. I blog, I read Hollywood gossip blogs on occasion, I read this website, (yes, and I'll admit, I love it), I read other blogs, some that aren't on Vox, I check up on the news, play Scramble and Scrabulous on Facebook, and I google chat with Steve on and off during the day. Sometimes, I even play games. Yeah, the internet is pretty much all a guilty pleasure for me!
]]>Love it or hate it, many of you lost an hour of sleep last night due to Daylight Saving Time? Worth It? Do you like it more/less now that Daylight Saving Time occurs earlier (and later) in the year?
I love having more daylight. I hate feeling like crap because my body thinks it got up at 4am even though the clock said 5am. I've had 3 cups of coffee this morning, a cup of green tea, a glass of Emergen-C, and a bowl of Total all in a vain effort to get some energy.
It's also frustrating because the younger kids tend to go to bed later because they have a hard time going to sleep when it's still light out. Although they tend to play outside more, so that's a good thing. They get all their energy out and aren't inside bouncing off the walls and running down the hallway. They were feeling the effects of the time change this morning. I could tell they were dragging this morning, but their attitudes were good for the most part.
]]>How did you celebrate Valentine's Day?
Submitted by Stephen.
Well, Valentine's Day isn't really a big deal around here for Steve and I. Once upon a time, I felt the need for a holiday like that. But Steve, well, it's like we have Valentine's Day several times a week. Except instead of cards and chocolate, it's usually a sweet phone call, e-mail or mix cd he spent hours putting together for me (yes, we are silly like that) and a pint of Ben and Jerry's. He really is one of the most thoughtful people I have ever met. He pays attention to the things I say, which makes him an awesome gift giver. Seriously, nice guys are the best. He even rescued me on Wednesday when I tried to put air in my tire and ended up letting all the air out instead. Yeah, I'm a real idiot sometimes. I can be pretty self sufficient, but other times, I'm a just a helpless girl in need of a intelligent man to come to my rescue. He didn't even yell or get upset, as my father always did when my mother did something silly and inconvenient.
So yeah, what did I do to celebrate Valentine's Day? Well, around here, it's more for the kids. I got the Valentine's Day cards I picked up last year on clearance out of the closet ($.25 a box, yo!). The 3 youngest kids mixed and matched what they wanted, and I still have plenty for next year. Then I stayed up late baking 132 double chocolate cookies for various school parties.
Wednesday morning, we all got up and ready for school. Steve and I gave the kids their Valentine's Day candy. Then we headed off to school. About 10 minutes into the drive, Steve called. The kids' school was closed due to ice. I was clueless as it wasn't on the news that morning and there wasn't a lick of ice on the roads in our county.
Since we were already dressed and out, we all headed to Target to pick up Steve's gift. I know, I said we aren't big on Valentine's Day, but I wasn't happy with what I gave him for Christmas, so I saved up to buy him a good gift for whatever holiday came next.
Anyway, the kids were in shock over how dead and quiet Target is at 8:30 in the morning. They were a little creeped out by it. Me, I love it. I bought Steve's iPod and Josiah spent the rest of his birthday cash on Pokemon figurines. I also let them pick out a frozen dinner out for lunch as a special treat. Then we headed home, put pjs back on and chilled for the rest of the day. Well, they chilled. Since that meant 4 out of 5 kids taking turns on my laptop, I organized 2 different cabinets in the kitchen. I was tired of them not shutting completely or being whacked by boxes of cereal when I opened them.
I made lazy lasagna for dinner with super buttery chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Steve loves him some cookies. Steve brought me my sweet potato fries (which required 3 trips into the same store to locate), a couple of boxes of chocolate, and some Ben and Jerry's. Gary came over to watch LOST and have some of my yummy lasagna.
This morning I sent all the cookies back to school with the kids. Even if they don't have parties today, at least they can share them. Seriously, I don't need 11+ dozen cookies sitting around the house calling me to eat them. Although, I do still have 3 dozen chocolate chips cookies, plus the cookie dough I sat aside in the fridge for myself. Nothing like cookie dough from the fridge. When I was a kid, my mom would say I would get worms from eating raw cookie dough, but I've never gotten worms, so I suspect she was just trying to keep me from eating all the cookie dough.
Now I need to go get ready. Steve was a sweetheart and made me an appointment with my awesome hairstylist, Amy. I think he was tired of me whining about my hair. I usually only get it cut once or twice a year (because I am cheap), which means I'm really not due for a trim til sometime in June, so this is a special treat! Amy's really cool and fun too. She grew up in the same church as Steve, so I even get some fun little stories. She's a little older than him, so she refers to him as "Stevie". Heh. If I decide to go with something new and outrageous, I'll share the pictures, but I'm thinking I'll be boring and just have the dead ends cut off.
Ok, seriously, I'm going now!
]]>2008 is the Year of the Rat. Which animal year were you born in?
I was born in the year of the rabbit. Guess that explains why I love them so much!
]]>]]>What is the worst city you've ever been to and why?
Submitted by Soup.Wheeling, West Virginia. We drove through there on the way home from Steve's business trip to Missouri last year (I think that's when, but I'm not sure.). Anyway, I've never been to a town so poor and rundown. It brought tears to my eyes to see the living conditions, the empty buildings, the people. It was a wake up call as to how lucky and blessed I am. I take for granted having a decent roof over my head, a husband that proves more than enough, clothes on my back. Seeing the way people lived in this town, I was incredulous that there are places like this in the United States.
Which one of your ancestors would you most like to talk to?
Submitted by Kathy.
I'd love to meet my Great Grandmother Mayer. She was an immigrant from Hungary. She came over in the belly of a boat with only hardboiled eggs and shotglasses of beer to drink. She met my Great Grandfather here in the states. Strangely, they had grown up in the same village in Hungary, not too far apart. My Mom-Mom was embarrassed by the fact that her parents were immigrants, so she never learned how to cook any of the Hungarian specialities my Great Grandmother made. She didn't really get any of her history either. Just that Great Grandma Mayer's father had a vineyard somewhere in Hungary, I think near Budapest (correct me if I'm wrong, Nicole or Marlen). Mom-Mom told me how she regretted not talking to her mother about these things before she was gone. Guess it all will just remain a mystery.
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