Quick Before I Get Sidetrack'd

1. Of your current hobbies, which would you choose to spend more time, money, and effort on? Why?

Reading. It is (and has long been) my favorite pass-time, but I don’t have as much time to read as I would like since we’ve had three kids in less than four years.

2. List two other hobbies/habitual activities (not chores) besides the one listed above that you regularly do now and didn’t choose in question one.

Umm…blogging and counted cross-stitch (although I am not currently doing it regularly, it is the only other hobby I can think of)

3. Why are you spending time on the above two hobbies/habitual activities at all if you really wanted to spend your time on the first one you chose? …or to put it another way, what are these two hobbies/habitual activities fulfilling that the first one doesn’t if you don’t want to put all your effort into the first hobby?

If I don’t blog it is often because I’m reading; especially when I get caught up in a really good book. I enjoy blogging on a totally different level than reading, though. Blogging allows for interaction with others, for one thing, but I also enjoy writing and chronicling what’s going on with our family.

4. Read John 3:16 in the bible… In what way does this passage affect you? What are your feelings towards these words, positively or negatively?

It reaffirms for me that God loves me on an individual and personal level; God sent Jesus because he loves the world, but also because he loves me. And it is because of my belief in Jesus that I have eternal life. I love the promises of the Bible because I know they are of God and that my God doesn’t lie.

5. M&M’s: nuts, no nuts, or peanut butter?

Usually plain M&M’s, although, I like the peanut butter ones a lot, too. In college I kept a bag of peanut butter M&M’s in my freezer most of the time for a quick between classes snack.

6. Putting away the feeling of pride being a bad thing; what secretly/openly are you proud about yourself?

I’m proud of the fact that I’m able to be a stay-at-home mom; that Matt and I have made that a priority over the conveniences (because that is what it would be in our case) of having a second income. Also, that we cloth diaper.

7. Given one room in the house to do with what you want, not changing the actual size of the room and with all the money you would need, what would you do, and be specific? (this can range from bouncy floor,walls & ceilings; to hard wood floor with wood paneling and purple ceiling with a chair; to nothing)

This was a tough choice between the living room and kitchen, but since I can’t change the size of the room, I would change our living room…install hardwood floors, take out the painted paneling and hang drywall then paint it a warmer beige or ecru, scrape the “popcorn” ceiling, change the look of the fireplace opening, add a nice comfy chair, convert part of our built-in bookshelves to a computer desk

8. What’s the next movie you’re going to see? Not what you’d LIKE to GO see, but the next movie you realistically are going to watch.

The newest Star Trek movie (next on our Netflix queue) or Julie & Julia (borrowed from a friend)

9. Use the keyboard only and make your best smiley/funny/cool face –> like this! 8^)

8-S

10. What makes you cry? What makes you pray? What makes you laugh?

My kids.

For more Ten on Tuesday fun head over to Roots and Rings.

Welcome to a new week! It is starting to warm up a little in these parts, and I am so ready for Spring! Here’s the yummies we’ll be dining on this week…

Friday: pizza
Saturday: lunch: sandwiches, chips / dinner: creamy baked mostacolli, snap peas
Sunday: lunch: leftovers / dinner: fend for yourself
Monday: chicken and dumpling casserole, salad
Tuesday: leftover casserole
Wednesday: cheeseburger meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green peas
Thursday: deconstructed broccoli & cheese stuffed chicken breasts, corn

For more menu ideas visit Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com.

The following is a conversation that took place between Little and me on Wednesday afternoon. She was “cleaning” Boo’s Fisher-Price garage when, out of nowhere she asks…

Little: Mommy, when will we die?
Me: I don’t know, sweetie, only God knows that.
Little: Why?
Me: Because God knows everything.
Little: And we only know a couple of things.

She is more right than her little three year old mind can grasp.

Baby Girl has started smiling (relationally as opposed to randomly) and especially likes to lavish her smiles on her doting big sister.

Sunday morning as I got ready for church Baby Girl sat in her comfy chair happily looking around. Little came up and started chatting with Baby Girl, and, of course, Baby Girl smiled and smiled at her.

After a few minutes Little told me that Baby Girl was giving her all the smiles. And then she told her daddy: “I’m all filled up with smiles because Baby Girl keeps giving me all her smiles.”

And my heart melted at the sweet sisterly-ness of it all.

If only they would still be this sweet to each other in the years to come.

Welcome to another edition of Ten on Tuesday hosted by Roots and Rings. This week’s questions are a bit all over the place, but you’ll definitely learn a little more about me.

1. If you were given an hour to use a $200 Amazon gift card, what would you buy?
I can’t even decide on what to buy with the $30 Amazon gift card I have, let alone a hypothetical $200 gift card. Hmm…probably some shoes and a few books, and maybe something for the kids (or maybe not).

2. Are there any fairly common foods that you’ve never had?
Brussels sprouts are the only thing that come immediately to mind.

3. What was your favorite way to use your imagination as a kid?
I loved to play with my baby dolls and to play “house”.

4. What’s your favorite state? Why?
I’ve got to say Tennessee here just because it is the state I’ve lived in all my life. It has three distinct and very different areas (East, Middle, and West), and I’ve lived in and enjoyed them all (although, East TN is definitely my favorite). A very close second would be North Carolina (at least the western part) because Matt and I love the mountains and the Asheville area.

5. If it was our culture to have our parents choose our spouses, do you think yours would make a good choice?
I think they would. They know me (and my strengths and weaknesses) pretty well.

6. What’s your favorite herb?
Tough one…It’s a close call between cilantro, oregano, and basil.

7. If you could have dinner with one celebrity, who would you choose?
I’m not much of a celebrity watcher, so I don’t really have an answer for this one.

8. What’s your favorite Disney movie?
Beauty and the Beast – My Daddy took me to see it in the theater for my 12th birthday.

9. If you had to listen to the same song over and over for 24 hours, what song would you choose?
That pretty much sounds like torture. No matter what song I chose and how much I liked it, by the end of 24 hours I’d probably be about ready to hurl myself off a cliff. (Matt suggested John Cage’s Four minutes, thirty-three seconds)

10. How do you order your steak?
It depends on where I’m eating. If it is a steakhouse, I usually order it medium-well; if I’m at a restaurant that just happens to have steak, I usually order it medium. Most places overcook their steaks.