Getting to Know Me Tag

I've been tagged via email by Rochelle, so I thought it'd be fun to transfer it to the blog.

1. What is your occupation? what isn't my occupation, LOL - SAHM, online store owner, and violin teacher

2. What color are your socks right now? I hate socks - in winter I'm always wearing slippers with no socks - currently my faves are a pair of lavender Ugg flip flops I got for Christmas

3. What are you listening to right now? Nothing - I always forgot to turn on the radio or iTunes when I'm at the computer. The voices in my head are entertainment enough ;-P

4. What was the last thing that you ate? An apple strudel PopTart for breakfast

5. Can you drive a stick shift? Nope

6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Green - it's such a versatile color

7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? James, he calls all day to share little stuff with me (I guess that's how I know he loves me)

8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yes, Rochelle's the best person in the world (although she'll deny it, of course)

9. How old are you today? 29

10. Favorite drink? Diet Dr Pepper (although Amaretto Sour is a close second - we're virtually twins, Ro!)

11. What is your favorite sport to watch? football, football, and, oh yes, did I say FOOTBALL

12. Have you ever dyed your hair? Have I ever not?

13. Pets? Five elderly cats and one naughty Bichon Frise (I'm not counting the two hermit crabs Kit and Sandy because they are Hero's pets)

14. Favorite food? Hmm, that would be like trying to name my favorite kid - I love it all.

15. Last movie you watched? We Are Marshall - yeah, I know it's old, but we're boring parents, so what do you expect

16. Favorite Day of the year? I know a grown-up isn't supposed to admit this but it's probably a tie between my birthday (October 27th) and Christmas with our wedding anniversary (May 23rd) a close second

17. What do you do to vent anger? I pick fights, which may include yelling, screaming, and door slamming (hey, I'm not proud of it, but its the truth)

18. What was your favorite toy as a child? I don't recall one specific toy that I loved above all others - some favorites were my Cabbage Patch dolls and Barbies

19. What is your favorite season? Autumn

20. Hugs or kisses? None - I'm so not a touchy-feely person, just ask James

21. Cherry or Blueberry? Just because I'm contrary I'm going to say Strawberry (and if that isn't a clue about my personality type I don't know what is LOL)

22. Do you want your friends to email you back? Yep, I'm oversensitive

23. Who is most likely to respond? My Babycenter friends (is that pathetic - maybe?)

24. Who is least likely to respond? My brothers

Wha? Where'd 25 go?

26. When was the last time you cried? I think I teared up watching the Budweiser clydesdale superbowl commercial

27. What is on the floor of your closet? Clothes, shoes, vacuum, hamper, stepstool, extra rolls of toilet paper

28. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending this to? Well, I'm only sending this to Rochelle, so I guess you win Rochelle, but I'm going to post it on my blog, so I guess my mom would win (if she actually reads my blog ;-P)

29. Who is the friend you have had the shortest that you are sending this to? Ro wins again

30. Favorite smells? Baking bread and anything coconut (reminds me of Hawaii)

31. Who inspires you? I'm such a cynic, I don't know...

32. What are you afraid of? Dying and leaving my kids behind

33. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? What the heck's a spicy hamburger? Cheese, no onions, extra pickles

34. Favorite car? Well, I know it's not PC but I'm in love with my Navigator

35. Favorite cat breed? Any cat that is rescued from a shelter (all of ours)

36. Number of keys on your key ring? 5 (I don't even know what three of them are for)

37. How many years at your current job? SAHM - about 8 years, online business owner - about 6 years, violin teacher - about 9 years

38. Favorite day of the week? Saturday

39. How many states have you lived in? Two, Wisconsin and Idaho

40. Do you think you're funny? I like to think I can be, but that side of me only comes out with people I'm very comfortable with, because my humor is kind of snarky

41. Places you've went on vacation: Mackinac Island, Wisconsin Dells, Canada, South Dakota, Grand Canyon, New Mexico, New York, France, Hawaii, Disneyland, Disney World, Oregon coast

42. What is something you wish you had? A house on some land, out of the suburbs.

43. Someone you'd like to meet? I'd like to meet George W. and rip him a new one- I mean ask him some hard questions (((BLUSH)))

44. Your dream job: Hmm, it'd either be playing in a professional orchestra or being a book editor

Bobbi, you're it!

A Civics Lesson for Hero

It can be difficult for a larger family of young kids to participate in non-obligatory events, but when it was announced that Senator Barack Obama would be coming to Boise to speak on Saturday, I knew that I had to take advantage of the rare opportunity to expose Hero to the workings of our nation's government. We got up at 6:30 on a freezing weekend morning (James kindly stayed home with the younger kiddos), bundled into the car, made a quick stop at Starbucks to fortify ourselves for the day, and headed downtown to the Taco Bell Arena (I thought about writing Taco Ballerina, because that's what we call it, but I thought that might be confusing, LOL). Thankfully Boise State opened up some empty fields for parking, so we had only a one mile trudge to the back of the line. We ended up with frozen feet after waiting outside for one hour to get in, but it was well worth it. The record-setting crowd (14,000+) was as diverse as Boise gets - from tiny babies to wheelchair-bound elderly folks. It was energized and enthusiastic as former Idaho Governor Cecil Andrus gave an opening speech. But it really roared to life and got on its feet when the charismatic Illinois senator entered. Obama's speech lasted for about 45 minutes and was inspirational, hopeful, and positive. As far as the political stump speech as a species goes, it was great. Hero enjoyed herself immensely, and couldn't wait to share with her classroom that she had been there, which was the most positive aspect of the entire experience.

This Stuff Gets Around Fast

Okay, Bobbi got me again. So I'll play another game of tag.

What is his name? James Patrick

How long have you been together? We met for the first time 11 years ago and we'll celebrate our 10th anniversary this May
How old is he? 31
Who eats more? It's always a competition, but I HOPE he wins

Who said I love you first? James did, by a few weeks
Who is taller? Definitely James, by nearly a foot
Who can sing better? I think it's me, but James sure sings a lot at inopportune times (drives me nuts)

Who is smarter? Well, I like to think that I'm more intellectual, but I might just be deluded. James is definitely better with finances and numbers
Who does the laundry? Uh, yeah, me. James' contribution is to bring the hampers downstairs and upstairs
Who pays the bills? James, I'd be lost if I had to do it
Who sleeps in the right side? James cause that's the man's side, isn't it?
Who mows the lawn? The lawn guy :-) James used to do it but it was always one more pesky chore to do over the weekend and I never thought it looked good enough so we wised up and hired someone this last season
Who cooks dinner? Whoever is one kitchen duty at the restaurant of our choice :-) We do eat out a lot but I'm usually the one cooking dinner if we're at home - James' idea of making dinner involves a can of pork and beans
Who drives? James - I hate driving
Who is more stubborn? Me :-)
Who kissed who first? James probably had to initiate it, but I'm sure it was very mutual
Who asked who out first? Again, I think James probably took the initiative - especially since he flew across the country for our first date
Who proposed? James, on my birthday
Who has more friends? James, he's much more sociable and outgoing than me
Who is more sensitive? That's a toss-up, we're both sensitive in our own ways
Who has more siblings? We both come from families of two boys and one girl - I'm the oldest though and he's the middle child
Who wears the pants? I let James think it's him ;-P

Snow Day!

I can't believe that we actually had a snow day in Boise! It hasn't happened since 1993, I believe. The weather here has just been something else - cycling between cold, snowy, and windy. I have to say, I think this is the first TRUE winter I've seen since moving to Boise. School was cancelled yesterday due to some brutal road conditions in the early morning, although the day itself wasn't too bad. The kids enjoyed their day off and played video games, watched movies, played card games, and, of course, went outside and played in the snow. Their cousin Oriana spent half of the day with them, which made the day even more of a treat.

Brr...

Call me a wimp if you must, but it's been the coldest, snowiest winter I think I've seen yet since I've been in Boise. Snow has been on the ground for most of the second half of December and January, and temperatures have been in the 20s during the day. The kids have enjoyed the skiing and playing in the snow, but right now a Hawaiian vacation sounds just about right to me. The roads have been a mess - thank goodness for 4 wheel drive. At least, living in Boise (and not Wisconsin), I know that spring will arrive next month, LOL.

Colin's Off to the Races

Colin has started to crawl! It's not too pretty yet, but it does the job. He kind of scoots along army-crawl style and he's getting better and better every day. We are going out this weekend to buy gates for the stairs, because we know from experience that once they start being mobile that it snowballs. Before we know it he'll be walking. He's such a treasure, although he definitely knows what he wants and isn't afraid to tell us. It's another normal weekend for us - we've got errands to run, a house to clean, Hero has a friend's birthday party, Allegra's going up to Bogus with Papa to take advantage of the new snow that hit us hard early in the week (Hero's pretty jealous actually and complained that skiing is more fun than a birthday party, lol), and the boys will get to just hang out.

On to the New Year

Yes, it HAS taken me this long to recover from Christmas. Thankfully, the crispy trees are out of the house, the lights are down, and the Christmas china is packed away for another year. Don't get me wrong, we had a wonderful Christmas, but it's nice to get back to our slightly less chaotic "normal" life. Allegra celebrated her 6th birthday at Boondocks with family and some kindergarten classmates. Now its time to start thinking about Ian's birthday already, LOL.