Quick, before I get Sidetrack'd

Seriously, I feel like I should have some sort of intro on this post every week. Well, this week, this is all ya get. Enjoy…

1. What was your high school superlative (if you didn’t have one- what would it have been)?
I was most likely to succeed, most intellectual, most athletic, and most school spirit. And yes, I did go to a very small high school.

2. What sports did you play in high school?
I played basketball and ran track (kind of).

3. What was the best part about your wedding (if you’re not married yet, what are you looking forward to)?
The best part of our wedding was that we were able to get married in Matt’s grandparents’ garden. We have beautiful pictures to remember it by.

4. It’s your last meal– what Appetizer, Soup, Salad, Entree and Dessert would you choose?
appetizer: fried pickles, soup: Olive Garden’s pasta e fagioli, salad: a really good caesar, entree: J Alexander’s chicken salad sandwich and fries, and dessert: cheesecake (either Godiva or Cheesecake Factory)

5. What song is your guilty pleasure?
I don’t really have one. I do have several albums that I like that I can only listen to when the kids aren’t around though (i.e., Radiohead, Elliott Smith).

6. What is your favorite professional sports team, and why do you like them?
Hmm…tough call between the Boston Red Sox (I’m a huge baseball fan, and Matt converted me to a Red Sox fan, although I’m still a big Atlanta Braves fan, too) and the Tennessee Titans (also a big football fan and the Titans are the home team).

7. What is your favorite reality show and why do you like it?
The Biggest Loser. I like to see the transformations from the beginning of the season to the season finale.

8. How would you classify your home decorating style (modern, classic, french country)?
Traditional. We have very functional and family-friendly decor.

9. Pizza- deep dish or thin crust? White sauce or red sauce? What toppings?
Oh, just pizza. I’ll eat just about any of it (except barbecue, chicken, or anchovies). My favorite (which I’m currently unable to eat thanks to baby girl) is Pietro Pizza (local pizzeria) ham and pineapple.

10. Favorite weekend getaway within a two hour driving radius?
Um, not so much weekend getting away with three small children and no grandparents in town. There is only one place within two hours that I can even think of that I want to visit. However, when we were in East Tennessee, we loved to visit Asheville, NC for the weekend (or even just the day).

Happy Tuesday! Here’s this week’s Ten on Tuesday. Enjoy.

1. Do you prefer markers, crayons, or colored pencils?
Nice, new, sharp crayons. I’m a bit OCD about my crayons. I only use Crayola, they must have wrappers on them, and once the tip wears down I don’t use them anymore. My kids’ crayon box drives.me.crazy.

2. As a child, how did your parents celebrate your birthday? (Parties, cake, you pick the dinner, etc.)
We had cake and, usually, a party. And gifts, of course.

3. How do you feel about leggings?
I don’t like them for me. My legs are much to big to put into leggings. I do, however, love BabyLegs on Baby Girl.

4. How do you prefer to follow directions? With a map? Words?
I prefer voice nav on my phone. If I’m going off of written directions, though, I prefer words. I don’t do well with maps.

5. What do you eat for snack?
It depends on the day, my mood, and what’s in the house. I eat a lot of the kids’ snacks (cheddar bunnies, goldfish, cheez its) when we’re out and about; my favorite snacks are popcorn, ice cream, and chocolate.

6. Have you ever ordered anything from an infomercial or bought any As Seen on TV products?
No.

7. What’s your favorite thing about summer?
Nice, ripe, red tomatoes (and grilled ones, yum!), fresh corn, and being outside with the kids (until the temps are in the 90s).

8. Do you have a tattoo? What and where is it?
I do not.

9. Are you good at journaling?
Not on paper. I journal occasionally, but I have never been one to do it regularly.

10. What’s your favorite way to eat a hamburger?
Grilled, on a bun, with sharp cheddar cheese, barbecue sauce, lettuce, tomato.

It’s time for another round of Ten on Tuesday trivia (thanks, as always, to Chelsea for hosting); another Tuesday where you get to read trivial things about me. This week’s questions are mostly about the “firsts” in your life. There are some good questions here. Read on to learn more about my inherent dorkiness…

1. Think back a decade, do you remember what your first cellphone was? Was it as cool as Zack Morris’s phone?
My first cell was Nokia something or other (in 1995). It was not nearly as cool (or large) as Zack’s, but I do remember my parents having one like that.

2. What is the first children’s book you remember being read to you?
The first book I actually recall being read to me was Stand Back, Said the Elephant, I’m Going to Sneeze. I’m sure there were many, many before that (I remember being read to A LOT, especially by my brother), but I don’t remember specific books.

3. What was your first car? Did you love it or hate it?
A 1993 soft top Geo Tracker (white). I loved that car. Funny story about it – when I decided that was the car I wanted my uncle tried multiple times to talk me out of it saying it was too dangerous, too much of a risk to flip, etc. Now he drives it.

4. Who was your hero growing up?
My dad and my brother.

5. Think back to your first kiss. Was it everything you dreamed of?
Umm, no. Mainly because it was a kiss from someone that I really had absolutely no desire to kiss.

6. What was your first BAD hairstyle choice? (Extra points for embarrassing photos)
I had a bowl cut when I was preschool age, but that wasn’t really my choice. In early elementary I had a really bad choppy layers mullet-y thing. And then, my senior year of high school I got a “Rachel” shag. That was bad. Hair as thick as mine and that kind of style do not mix. I wish I had the pictures to share because it would definitely be good for a laugh.

7. What was your first realistic dream? (One where you had to think “Oh dang, was that a dream?”)
I don’t remember the first one, but the scariest one was when I was pregnant with Baby Girl and dreamed that the ultrasound showed she was a cat.

8. What was the first phobia you remember developing?
Probably either spiders or snakes.

9. Which character on Sesame Street do you most identify with?
Cookie Monster has always been my favorite. I can relate to never being able to get enough cookies.

10. What was the hardest goal you ever accomplished?
Getting an “A” in Organic Chemistry is the first one that comes to mind (that class about killed me), followed closely by potty training Little.

This isn’t my favorite set of questions (mainly because I don’t really have answers for all of them), but sometimes it’s good to stretch a bit. Check out Roots and Rings for more Ten on Tuesday fun.

1. What book, movie or song has made you want to travel to a particular place? (eg. I went to Prince Edward Island because I was such a Anne of Green Gables fan)
Jane Austen novels make me want to visit Regency England, but I don’t think I would want to stay long. And that’s all I’m coming up with here. Sad, I know.

2. Aside from your significant other, who would you want to take with you on a dream trip?
That would have to be my besties, Lindsey and Stacey, or my sister (in-law), Lu.

3. Where would said dream trip be to?
Somewhere exotic, all-inclusive, and with a lovely spa.

4. If you were hosting guests or providing tips, what three things would you show visitors to your hometown? (be it where you live now or where you grew up)
I would suggest the zoo, the botanical gardens, and the river front (although those aren’t the most popular destinations for tourists in these parts, they are the ones I like).

5. If you had a long weekend ahead of you, where you head – beach, city or country/mountains?
That would be the mountains for some hiking.

6. Do you have a passport? If so, did you get it for a particular trip or just to have, in case?
I no longer have a valid passport. Once upon a time, many years ago, I got one for my trip to Paris.

7. Are there any travel souvenirs you collect? If not, is there something else you collect?
I’m not a big collector, so no travel souvenirs. If you consider a collection a group of things that accumulates because you enjoy buying them, then I collect baby carriers and cloth diapers.

8. If you could name a paint colour, what colour would it be and what would you call it?
I can’t say that I’ve ever considered naming a paint color, but I guess if I did it would have to be a shade of blue in the periwinkle family. I have no idea what I’d call it, though.

9. If you were heading away for a weekend citybreak solo, where would you go? (forget about practicality here and flight times, assume you can get to any city in the world for the weekend)
Well, I would never go solo, Matt would be along, but right now I’d head to Portland or Seattle. Two places I’ve never visited but would love to see.

10. Is there a song or a smell or something that you strongly associate with a particular holiday/place/time, such that it always takes you back?
The smell of sage makes me think of Thanksgiving at my Mema’s. There are others, but that one has been on my mind lately because my shampoo smells strongly of sage. Oh, and the song “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t be Late)” always reminds me of childhood Christmases at Mema’s.

It’s time for another edition of Ten on Tuesday. I didn’t participate last week because I ran out of time before we went to the zoo and never got back to the post. But it’s always fun to answer the wide range of questions that show up in each week’s list.

So, here we go…

1. If you could travel back in time, would you? What decade would you visit?
If I were to time travel, I would probably go to the 1920’s. I’m not really sure why; it just sounds like an interesting time to visit. However, the whole idea of time travel kind of weirds me out, so quite possibly I would just stay home.

2. What was your best Halloween costume? (fun to make? most creative?)
I’m not a big Halloween person, but we always had a costume contest at my work in Knoxville; one year I went as a bunch of grapes and won the contest. I also won a school costume contest in middle school when I dressed up as a crazy doctor.

3. Do you like your name? If you weren’t called by your name, what would you want to be called?
I do like my name. It isn’t very common, and after 31 years it’s just me. When I was young (early elementary school) I hated my name and wanted to change it to something like Sarah (something common).

4. In the past year, what is the BEST recipe you made. Please share it!
Wow, that’s a tough one; I cook a lot and am regularly trying new recipes. One of our family favorites is Apple Cake, and then, of course, there’s Pioneer Woman’s cinnamon rolls, and my favorite Strawberry Cake. I’ve made several good savory recipes this year, too. It’s.just.too.hard.to.pick.one!

5. Look around – what is the nearest object or picture hanging on the wall?
A deep red and white floral print canvas.

6. What was the last movie you saw in a theater? Would you recommend it?
Matt and I never go to the theater anymore. The last movie I saw was Julie & Julia with my best friends. I would recommend it, although, I didn’t like it nearly as much when I saw it again after reading the books it is based on.

7. Did you go to summer camp? Will you/do you send your kids to camp?
I did and I didn’t. I went to church camp the first time in 4th or 5th grade and pretty much hated it. I didn’t go to camp again until I started going as a counselor in high school. I also did basketball camp several years and an honors symposium/camp thing before my Senior year in high school. My kids are still way to young for camp, but I will send them in the future if they want to go.

8. What kind of ringtone do you have?
Right now it’s one of the preloaded ringtones called vid kid. I really need to load some music so I can have a better ringtone.

9. Where is the farthest away from home you have ever been?
Paris when I was a Freshman in high school.

10. Has anyone ever written a song or a poem for or about you?
Yep. Matt wrote me a song for our first Valentine’s Day together.

Let me know if you decide to play along. I would enjoy reading your answers.

Thanks, Chelsea, for hosting!

This week’s Ten on Tuesday questions were preceded by the following disclaimer: They are a different group of questions. So my advice? Don’t participate if you aren’t feeling fun and creative! After reading them, I totally understand why Chelsea felt the need to warn us. It looks like someone has been reading World War Z or watching I am Legend.

1. Quick! Zombies are coming!! What do you do?

Gather the kids and hide under the desk wielding my tazer (assuming I had one, of course). Then I’d call Matt.

2. Whew, that was a close one. …I think your phone is ringing. Oh, it’s your best friend! She thinks she’s been bitten by a zombie. What advice do you give her?

I’ll try to get you some anti-zombie bite medication and leave it on your front porch. Please don’t come to my house right now!

3. You realize it’s time to leave your current location because it’s clearly not safe anymore. Are you going to move at night or day? Defend your reasoning.

Day. Zombies are much more active at night; that’s when they feed. If I move during the day they are slowed by the intensity of the sunlight in their light-sensitive, nocturnal eyes and I have a chance to out run them. If a move at night is necessary, I must be prepared with the highest powered flashlight I can find.

4. During your relocation, you come across a weapon superstore. My, that’s convenient. What kind of weaponry do you choose?

Pretty much anything I can get my hands on, but I’m definitely looking for a gun with long range, a stun gun, and a crossbow (just because I think it would be fun to shoot one) plus lots of ammo.

5. As you leave, an old lady on the side of the street begs you to help her. Do you? Why or why not?

Yes. If she really is a little old lady then she definitely needs my help. If she is a zombie in little-old-lady disguise, then it will be too shocked by my willingness to help to attack me. If I didn’t help, and she was a zombie, then I would be done for.

6. Good choice, you’re clearly a good person to have around in a zombie apocalypse. Oh hey, there’s a wifi signal here! You can’t stay long but this is your chance to gather some intel on the current situation. What’s the first website you check?

drudgereport – drudge will definitely have the latest intel on the zombie invasion.

7. SHH! What was that noise?!

Oh, it’s the barista calling my name. My latte must be ready. (The wifi hot spot was in a coffee shop, right?)

8. I think it’s time to get out of here. I hope you have a plan. Where are you going now?

Gotta make a quick run to the grocery store. We have to have milk and bread, don’t we?

9. Wait a minute, that looks like a bite mark on your arm… You may be infected too! Will you tell other people?

Quick, hand me some of that anti-zombie medicine I procured for my best friend! I’ll tell Matt so he knows what happened if I go awol, but otherwise, we’ll keep this one under wraps…for now anyway.

10. How does this story end?

I’m not sure…last thing I remember the zombie venom and the anti-zombie medication were battling it out in my system. I must have gone into a coma because, next thing I know I wake up in a hospital bed an indeterminate amount of time later. It would appear that someone developed a vaccine, though, because I hear the zombies have been eradicated. Ahh! Now we can return to life as before.

That was fun. For more zombie stories, or to create one of your own, visit Roots and Rings.

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 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.

There’s another fun set of questions at Roots and Rings for this week’s Ten on Tuesday. (Although there are 11 questions this week which kind of freaks the OCD in me out a bit)

1. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
I’m an ice cream kind of girl, so this list could go on (it’s hard to narrow to one favorite), but I’ll keep it semi-short: peanut butter and chocolate, moose tracks, cookies and cream (especially Blue Bell)

2. What is your earliest memory?
It would probably be of me flying to Houston with my Mema when I was probably 3 or 4 (right, Mom?). I remember us being on the plane together and it just being the two of us.

3. What is your earliest memory of a dessert?
This is an odd question. I can’t think of one from early in my life, but my first memory of cooking dessert would be in middle school when my best friend would come to the house and beg me to bake chocolate chip cookies for him.

4. Do you have any recurring dreams?
A few, but I haven’t had any of them recently. There was one (mainly as a child) where my house was on fire in a ring down the center of the house and I was on one side and my Dad was on the other and I couldn’t get to him. The primary one as an adult has been Matt and I (with some other people) running from a group of mercenary-type soldiers who are persecuting us. We hide out in this little room where we have to crawl through a hole and along a tunnel to reach it. I always wake up with my heart pounding. (could be related to the amount of reading I do about WWIII era Europe)

5. Have you ever dreamed about dessert?
Absolutely. Especially when I’m pregnant, but occasionally when I’m not.

6. What is one thing (aside from a cell phone or computer) that you cannot go the entire day without?
Talking to Matt.

7. What is one dessert you could go your entire life without ever having again?
I can’t think of any specific dessert (although I know there are some out there), but anything with raisins is high on my dislike list.

8. If you could go on vacation tomorrow, where would you go? (Assume someone else is footing the bill, but within reason…so “the moon” won’t work)
The beach (Caribbean or gulf coast)! There are lots of places I would love to go, but right now I just want WARM.

9. If you could have any dessert tomorrow, what would you have (assume someone else is buying it for you. Within reason though, no “gold sprinkled ice cream cones.”)
Hmmm…strawberry cake with strawberry or cream cheese icing (or maybe chocolate mousse cheesecake)

10. What was your first impression of your significant other? If you’re single, what was your first impression of your best friend?
Matt – I thought he was cute and very quiet.

my best friend – that she seemed like a nice neighbor and it was nice of her to ask about our new baby (Little)

11. What is your first impression of dessert pizza? (Personally, I think it’s weird. I love dessert but I don’t want any on my pizza.)
Before I tried it I thought it sounded bizarre and gross. Once I tried some I found out I like some of it.

For the last few weeks my BFF, Lindsey, and my wonderful SIL, Lu, have participated in Ten on Tuesday at Roots and Rings. It looks like fun, and I like this week’s questions, so I thought I would play along. (seeing as how I’m blogging semi-regularly again and all)

1. If you could open any type of store/place of business (money is no obstacle), what would you open?
A used bookstore would be an option since we don’t have a good one in our area, but the only real business idea I’ve had is for Lindsey and me to open a stroller and baby carrier “rental” company where new moms and moms-to-be could try out different kinds of carriers and strollers without having to make the financial investment that is generally involved in these purchases. We would also rent carriers and strollers for people who were traveling or only needed them for a short time for whatever reason. Our husbands laugh anytime we bring it up.

2. If all jobs paid equally, what occupation would you want? Why?
Right now I’m perfectly happy as a stay-at-home mom. At some point in the future, however, I would love to train as a lactation consultant or doula (or possibly both).

3. If you could be any animal in the world, what would you pick? Why?
I have no idea. Can’t say that I’ve ever really thought about it.

4. If offered one “service” free of charge, which would you choose? (chauffeur, maid, personal shopper, chef, etc.)
Absolutely, positively, no doubt about it, it would be a maid! I’m good with cooking, laundry, shopping, etc, but I cannot stay on top of cleaning these days (could, just possibly, have something to do with having a newborn, but still) and it’s not something I enjoy most any time.

5. What is one habit, no matter how hard you try, you just can’t seem to break?
I actually have 2: popping my knuckles and biting my lips. I’ve tried repeatedly and unsuccessfully to stop doing both

6. What is one thing that no matter how many you own, you still love to buy all the time?
If I had the money, this would definitely be baby carriers, as it stands right now, I’ve gotta say cloth diapers.

7. Out of all the game shows (past and present), which would you want to be a participant on and play?
I would love to be smart enough to be on Jeopardy.

8. If you could play the lead role in any movie that’s already been made, which movie would you pick?
ooo…I don’t know. Probably either Jo in Little Women or Elizabeth Bennett in the BBC Pride & Prejudice. I think I’m enough like both of those characters to pull it off (if I could act).

9. Name 5 things on your bucket list (things you want to do before you die).
I’ve never made a bucket list, but I would like to buy a house 100% cash down (which would only happen if we were totally debt free), see my children find their God-given purpose in life, travel Europe with Matt, move back to East TN or western NC, and drive an Audi TT turbo (6 speed manual transmission and convertible would be nice). Wow, that was much harder than I thought it would be.

10. Which one of your birthdays was the best? What did you do that day?
I can’t remember very many of my individual birthdays, but my 19th birthday is definitely pretty high on the list. That year my Mom, brother, sister-in-law, and oldest nephew (who was 9 months old at the time) came to Montgomery (where I was in college) to celebrate with me. It was the first time my family met Matt.