I've enjoyed other's lists of 100 things so have been working on mine! Here goes.....
1. I'm pretty happy most of the time.
2. I don't mind being alone & am quite independent. Damon is like that too. Neither of us are too needy, IMO.
3. I would never want to be alone all the time.
4. Brett is my little dream.
5. I love good cake. You can ruin a good cake with bad (boughten) / not enough frosting.
6. Summer is my favorite season but I'm starting to like fall a lot too.
7. I'd enjoy having a cat again. We had a part Siamese cat named Simmi at home. She was kinda mine, I think I liked her most even though she was snotty.
8. I would like 3 or 4 kids of my own but it's not likely. I try not to think about it too much. (probably why I keep so busy)
9. Lillies are my favorite flower. The scent of stargazers is intoxicating!
10. I want, want, want to go to Hawaii. We hope to go in 2 yrs for our 15th anniversary.
11. I loved my two years at FVTC in the Interior Design program.
12. Fabrics, furniture and accessories excite me.
13. I could never be happy with all white walls.
14. I can't make a meal or bake until my kitchen is clean.
15. I rarely can rest until *everything* else (that I think needs/or I want to be done) is done.
16. I'm nearly a workaholic.
17. I couldn't just do nothing for very long, although it often sounds great.
18. I love to create something-a meal, a room, a web page, a picture, etc.
19. I said I'd never take care of children.
20. I started my own business and made it (what I considered) successful in less than 2 yrs. It has grown from there.
21. I believe choices were made for me that brought me where I am today. Even choices for other people that have affected me.
22. Special people in my past still remain very much in my heart and thoughts.
23. I like to read a good book but often can't find one I'm interested in or feel is worth the time. Many are so similar (boring).
24. I find the more organized I am the more things I find to organize!
25. It bugs me when details are not cared for. Details can make all the difference in a lot of things.
26. I really liked my job measuring windows and selling window treatments.
27. I avoided braiding my hair & tried to dress older when I had that job because people said "so...how long have you been doing this?" and I felt like they were saying "how old are you anyway?"
28. I find overhead lighting irritating.
29. I like crystal - especially the pieces from Grandma Smith for my birthday each year.
30. I love how Mom always made our birthday special.
31. I sometimes wish I could go back in life and do things over and other times I'm so glad I don't have to.
32. I love it when I see Damon's features in Brett. His are more pleasing than mine.
33. I have more ideas than I have time for.
34. Damon & I feel like we are some of the "lucky ones" and are grateful to have each other.
35. We're so much alike, sometimes it's like I went from having a twin to having another half, so now I have both!
36. One of our favorite places is the
Inn at Irish Hollow in Galena, IL. We can't wait to go back!
37. I'd like to take watercolor painting classes someday.
38. I love to tour historic homes.
39. Our wedding song was
Love Changes Everything and I'm so glad I said I wanted that one. Steve's solo was amazing!
40. The 4th of July is probably my favorite holiday. We've had a couple 4th potluck parties and they're so fun!
41. I like empty laundry baskets, meaning clean clothes.
42. I sang a song to Brett when he was a baby that I made up. Very repetitive but sweet and he still likes it when I sing it.
43. I worry too much about things that don't matter a lot of the time.
44. I'm so glad no one sees me some days when I'm with the kids and dancing around and acting foolish for their entertainment! At least they enjoy it!
45. I really feel too old at 33 to still get a pile of birthday presents each year. It's fun though!
46. Mom always said the less you do, the less you want to do and I think that's at least partially true.
47. I'm glad for a lot of experiences of growing up on a farm. We had puppies, kittens, calves, a goat, and rabbits but not all at once.
48. One of my most embarrassing moments was spilling a whole glass of water at the conference table right next to the president just before our meeting started...everyone was great about it though.
49. We lived one year in MI near Detroit the first year we were married. We didn't love the city but we enjoyed our meeting and another couple we met there so much and still think of and appreciate them. Before we moved, the girls I worked with took me on a night out in Greektown. We even met up with a limo driver who had come into our store looking to borrow tape so he gave us a ride around while waiting for his clients to eat dinner at the top floor of some restaurant downtown. Fun!
50. While living in that apartment some of our laundry was stolen from the laundry room, the neighbor guy's Corvette was attempted to be stolen (parked right next to ours & Damon found it broken into & the steering column wrecked when he came home at 2am from work) and there was a fire downstairs and I had to go outside late at night while Damon was working nights.
51. Damon and I went skiing the weekend we got in engaged. He also had mono and gave it to me.
52. I had quite the experiences while working in Rockford doing shop at home sales. I know I was in at least two drug houses......the smell, the cash, the people hanging around, the sign on one of the doors saying "if you want drugs don't come here, we don't have drugs" LOL ! Another house where an old lady lived upstairs and her drunk son took care of her totally freaked me out. I sold blinds to her but didn't make any money on that sale. Long story.
53. I've sold more gold shiny vertical blinds than I'd like to admit. Whatever sells!
54. I won a contest for selling the most track upgrades while working there. The prize was a really bad limo ride (probably because it had to be cheap since I was coming from Rockford and they probably expected someone from the Chicago area stores to win) to Chicago for dinner at Nick's Fish Market. Dinner was great but I don't remember what we ordered. We had a lot of money left over since we weren't buying drinks they allowed for!
55. I worked at JcPenny for a few weeks at West Towne in Madison. A lady scammed me and I gave her a refund for blinds she went & picked up from the shelf and gave me a sob story about needing to return them cause her house burned down. Guess the girls had heard that one before!
56. My job at Thomasville was great in many ways but the worst experience ever due to the management and ownership..... I felt like there was no where to go after that.
57. I'm so glad I'm done working nights & weekends!! I put in 5 years of that.
58. I pretty much hated high school and couldn't wait to get out.
59. I really liked 4H and all the projects we made for the fair.
60. I wish I had learned to play piano earlier so I could be better and more confident.
61. I wish Damon would sing to me. He has a great voice.
62. I prefer to go buy Brett clothes than for myself.
63. I don't know what the hang up is on shoes. I think shoe shopping is a pain and I refuse to spend big money on shoes.
64. I like nice things but I can get by just fine with garage sales and Goodwill shopping.
65. Some of my favorite flowers in my yard are sweet peas, morning glories and zinnias.
66. I enjoy gardening and can't wait to get out there in the spring. I must get that from Mom.
67. I'd take lilies over roses.
68. Damon and I love seafood. Even Brett loves shrimp.
69. I have the cutest nephew and niece. They probably don't want to be called cute any more!
70. I felt it was necessary to consider the family I was marrying into. I'm glad I did and am glad I have a great in laws!!
71. I love to get a tan in the summer. I know it's not healthy.
72. Convention is what we look forward to most every year. We're always amazed that 4 days go so fast.
73. I have to fall asleep on my left side.
74. I think September is the perfect time of the year to have a newborn.
75. I loved that Brett was a tiny baby. He was 6lbs 4ozs.
76. I never felt a thing when delivering Brett. I'm fine with that. I don't think there's anything noble or great about feeling pain. I don't feel like I missed out on anything!
77. I hope I never have to have surgery again. I had my appendix out and a D&C after Brett was born.
78. I could have died hours after he was born. I woke up to nurses around my bed trying to stick in an IV anywhere & were totally scared and asked the Dr. (who was on call and had to rush to the hospital) how they could have known before I passed out. She said they couldn't have. I wonder if they could have known when I vomited? I know that's normal during birth but after? I don't know but I couldn't eat. My blood pressure was 60/40. My bladder was 4x the size of normal but I had no outward signs or pain to indicate anything was wrong.
79. I cried before surgery because Brett hadn't even been fed yet (I know he was OK though), hours after he was born, and asked Damon to bring my quilt from home.
80. I still use my quilt, that Grandma Smith made, almost every night, even in the summer due to the air conditioning.
81. From my experience, I believe that a lot of kids don't get enough sleep. I believe that "sleep lost is sleep lost forever" and that naps and a good schedule helps nighttime sleeping. I don't understand why parents think toddlers or preschoolers don't need naps.
82. I know I could use a lot more sleep too.
83. Damon and I love to peek in on Brett when he's sleeping and do it several times every night before going to bed.
84. I can't sleep in a messy room.
85. I can't stand too much salt. That's why I can't handle McDonald's.
86. I like marshmellow topping on chocolate ice cream.
87. I knew meetings were being tested for me or us, but I wanted to profess at convention.
88. I'm so glad I was baptized at the same time as many of my close friends. I didn't know they would be there and was glad to see them when we got there.
89. I think I could be better friends with a guy than a girl.
90. I read For Better or For Worse and Luann comics daily.
91. I sometimes wipe the bathroom floor down with a Clorox wipe or two.
92. I'm kinda fanatical about santizing my kitchen and prefer paper towel over wiping down my counters with a wash cloth.
93. I needed/benefited from the sales and office experience I had with my previous jobs to have my own day care.
94. When young at home, Julie & I wote & got letters daily from our friends. Long before email!! Special days. We had 100's of letters saved. I have pictures of them somewhere.
95. I still love to go out and get the mail every day at nap time.
96. I'm sick about not being able to find our wedding picture negatives. They must be in the basement somewhere.
97. I'd love a bigger house but I don't want to pay for it and I could be pretty happy in this house for years and years.
98. I enjoy planning fun and exciting experiences for the kids to enjoy. I hope these are things Brett will always remember fondly and know how much I love him.
99. I sometimes dread not knowing what's ahead that I still have to face.
100. I had a good friend in high school that I baked a huge valentine cookie for so she could put it in her crush's locker. They dated for a while after that!
I have this tin collection in my kitchen. I've limited my collecting to that section of cabinets but some say I should continue collecting & put them all around my kitchen. Maybe I will. I haven't bought any in a long time so maybe I'm done. I guess this collection was inspired by Grandma Smith's. She has lots of great old ones. I'm not so much into antique anything just collect whatever catches my eye. And only in good shape. These are the three I use: saltine crackers, Cream of Wheat and tea. Mom had an old saltine cracker one so I had to have that & Cream of Wheat is my favorite (maybe I'll have some tomorrow morning!) so I ordered that one on a special offer. I like the picture of the little boy walking through the snow. There's a little girl version up with the rest of the tins. I don't really have a favorite, I like them all! There's several Hershey's, a couple Crayola, Coke, an Oreo one, several floral tins and even a Milwaukee Brewers one since Damon's a fan! I'm sure these need to be taken down and washed....
Today we had a cooking activity making mini cherry pies. I had a pre-made pie crust left over (won't tell you how long I've had it but it's totally fine!) I cut it in pieces and the kids put their crust into a sprayed muffin tin. We cut off the extra crust around the edges with a pizza cutter. Then each scooped in cherry pie filling. We rolled out the scraps for the top crust and they put them on. Brushed with water and sprinkled (piled) with sugar. Baked for 15 mins. (?) and we had cherry pie for dessert! Two decided they didn't like it. The other four gobbled them up. We also played "Baker, baker where's your pie?" - basically hide the pie. The "hider" wore the baker's hat while hiding the pie. The other kids, who were cheating really bad, come out to find it and say "Baker, baker where's your pie?" They've learned the hot/cold clues and it has become a quick-let-me-find-it-first-deal. We recently did mitten and The Three Little Kitten themes to go along with this. Tomorrow we're going to freeze objects in pie plates and use them as outside decorations. Hopefully they will turn out and I'll share pictures after they are frozen and hanging outside! (See the beautiful blue mural on the kitchen wall?? That's what we did yesterday for our color of the month. I never thought I'd decorate in there with blue! Really, it brightens up the room a lot.)
We have a lot of beautiful new snow! Yes, I still feel that way after getting up early and using the snowblower before 6am. I enjoyed doing it but it's a lot to do before everyone shows up at 6:40 am so no extra time this morning. I should have allowed more time but I didn't think we'd get this much snow! We were to get 4-7" and we have all of that. These pictures are mostly for Damon so he can see how much we got. He left for Dallas yesterday, and will be gone all week, to train someone on his job down there. I shoveled twice during the day besides. I'll have to go out again after the snowplow comes through. I cleaned out the end of the driveway 1/2 way into the street and far to the sides of the driveway but we'll still get a lot pushed back in. I just can't get out there until late in the day with kids here and I don't want people stuck in my driveway! It's light & fluffy snow so that probably wouldn't happen.
We had fun playing in the snow today! It was warm yet when we were out after lunch but now it's very cold. We're staying in tonight! While we were outside Brett bumped his lip and it started to bleed. He didn't even know it happened so when I saw blood I said we better go in & see what it looks like. He said "how are we going to put on a band-aid on there?" He's been a little sweetie today.
