The Abc's of me

A- ACCENT: Typical Midwestern US.

B - BEST FRIEND: My hubby

C - CHORE YOU HATE: laundry

D - DAD'S NAME: Alan

E - ESSENTIAL MAKE-UP ITEM: mascara

F - FAVORITE PERFUME: I love perfume oils from Somethin Special like waffle cone, coconut cupcake and cotton candy.

G - GOLD OR SILVER: Both

H - HOMETOWN: Roselle

I - INSOMNIA: Sometimes

J - JOB TITLE: stay at home mom, grad student

K - KIDS: Yep, Evan: 15 and Abby: 8

L - LIVING ARRANGEMENTS: with my hubby, our kiddos, our dog and the cat.

M - MOM'S BIRTHPLACE: Chicago

N - NUMBER OF APPLES YOU'VE EATEN: Like this week or what?  I dunno.

O - OVERNIGHT HOSPITAL STAYS: 6 for myself plus 2 times that I stayed with Abby.

P - PHOBIA: small spaces, mice

Q - QUEST: good health and peace

R - RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION: nothing official, but if I have to check off a box I'd say unitarian universalist

S - SIBLINGS: 1 sister who is 27, 3 brothers in law

T - TIME YOU WAKE UP: around 7ish, but I often snooze and snuggle with my Abby while we watch cartoons in the morning.

U - UNNATURAL HAIR COLORS YOU'VE WORN: pink

V - VEGETABLE YOU REFUSE TO EAT: brussel sprouts

W - WORST HABIT: oh dear, where to start...

X - X-RAYS YOU'VE HAD: Xrays: wrist, chest, ankle. CT scan of head. Ultrasounds of abdomen and neck. And of course the super fun whole body iodine uptake scans. That probably about covers it.

Y - YUMMY FOODS YOU MAKE: I do not cook.

Z - ZANY QUIRK: I like to pick at things, like zits.  Yeah I know I shouldn't...

In which I answer a lot of questions...

What is your favorite Kool-Aid flavor?
Cherry

Do you have a wireless keyboard and mouse?
No, I use a laptop so the keyboard and mouse are integrated.

Last sporting event you watched on TV or in person?
Men's figure skating

Who makes the best fudge?
I do.

Do you like it when toothpaste bubbles in your mouth?
No because then I worry about swallowing it.

Do you believe that the world is gonna end at 2012?
No

How many songs are on your iPod or MP3 Player?
Not sure how many songs. It's got as many as its memory will allow.

Have you ever made your own survey?
Yes, for scholarly purposes.

Can you swear inside your house?
I sure can.

Do you save Bed Bath and Beyond coupons?
Only if I plan on using them.

Have you ever had a pet goldfish?
Yes. A few of them, but they are no longer with us.

When did you last eat waffles?
Last week. It was a wholegrain waffle and it was quite tasty.

What is the most overrated thing in your opinion?
Cats.

Do you have a video Skype account?
Yes.

What color is your bed comforter?
Green, hot pink, orange, yellow and blue.

Does being in love make you gain weight?
I think so.

Dumbest person you know? and why?
I don't know many dumb people.

Do your parents have home videos of you as a kid?
I don't think so. I don't think we had a video recorder then. Just regular photos.

How old is your oldest cousin?
In his 70's I believe

If you HAD to get a tattoo, where and what would it be?
On my shoulder.

Do you think Obama has tried drugs?
I really don't know.

What color is your bra or boxers?
Not wearing any...in my jammies.

What is your favorite radio station?
NPR

What ethnicity was your last ex?
Caucasian. Most of them have been, actually.

What brand is your refrigerator?
Without looking, I'm going to guess it's Whirlpool.

How many people do you know that are pregnant?
2

Do you have a picture with your middle finger up?
No. I don't stick my middle finger up. I prefer to use my sassiness as a means to show my dislike.

When is the last time you went to a birthday party?
Last Sunday.

What is the best thing to happen to you this year so far?
Starting to fix my various problems.

How long have you lived in the house you live in?
It will be 5 years in April. We closed March 31st, but it took awhile to be fully moved in.

Do you read a newspaper daily?
No, but I check CNN and the BBC near daily.

Anything your really afraid of?
Plenty of things.

Do you read tabloids?
Not unless you count glancing at them while in line at the checkout.

Have you ever had a really bad haircut?
Yes

Do you like your peanut butter crunchy or creamy?
Creamy.

What is the scariest movie you've ever seen?
The Exorcist

Have you ever ridden a skateboard?
As a kid

Do you drink enough water on a daily basis?
In various forms, probably.

Would you burn the American flag for a million dollars?
I could really use that million dollars...

The main thing you cant leave your house without?
My keys and my phone

Do you think the economy is improving yet?
In some ways, but not others.

When was the last time you read a book?
yesterday

Where did you get that shirt you're wearing?
Relay for Life

Do you play pranks on April Fools Day?
I have a few times.

7 Things

A - List 7 habits/quirks/facts
B - Tag 7 people to do the same
C - Don't tag the person who tagged you, or tag "Whoever wants to do it"

1. I am working on becoming fluent in french and then I will start learning another language. I'd like to learn as many as possible.

2. I am really scared of taking a semester off of my education and I will likely have to in the fall. I haven't taken time off for cancer or any crisis that's happened in my life.

3. I pretty much only watch HGTV because of 2 reasons: Home improvement makes me feel close to my Dad. There's no chance of upsetting medical type of things on that channel.

4. I don't believe in hell. There is enough hell in this world already.

5. I was raised Lutheran, but as an adult I feel that Universalist Unitarian more closely describes my beliefs. In my opinion, there are many paths to spirtuality and I respect them all. I also like to think of religion as being a buffet of beliefs where you can get what you need from different disciplines.

6. I don't understand why Farmville is so popular or has so much staying power.

7. If I could be a fictional character, I would totally be Elle Woods from Legally Blonde.

I'm not tagging anyone. Fill 'er out if you'd like to.

2000-2009 Decade in Review

The last decade in review:

*started off of 2000 by getting out of a bad relationship.
*dated my co-worker, who would become my husband about 19 months later.
*gave birth to a beautiful baby girl.
*worked 3 years at the Circuit Clerk's which taught me so much about life, people and the career I'd want.
*saw my 2 best friends get married. Was maid of honor for one of those weddings.
*reconnected with one of my best friends from high school.
*lost 110 pounds, gained it back after my cancer diagnosis.
*saw my friends become parents.
*watched my little sister become a teacher, a wife, and now a mother.
*had 3 surgeries: gallbladder and 2 lobectomies to remove my thyroid, 2 parathyroid gland and the tumor hiding in them.
*had radioactive iodine therapy and spent some really difficult time isolated from my family.
*was diagnosed with Stage III thyroid cancer and kicked its butt.
*made some new, amazing friends.
*sold my 1st home and bought our current home.
*earned my Associate's of Art.
*lost my great aunt, grandmother, 3 grandparents-in-law, a friend and my Dad.
*saw my son grow from a preschooler to a teenager.
*took some cool trips to: Las Vegas, San Francisco, Jamaica, and the Carolinas.
*became an aunt.
*was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.
*decided that I want to be an anthropologist when I grow up.
*celebrated 8 years of marriage.
*through marriage, gained the brothers I never had but always wanted.
*rebuilt some bridges that I thought I'd burned.
*learned a lot of life lessons and realized that there are SO many more out there to learn.

Quiz

How well do you know me?

Take this quiz and find out...

Take the How well do you know me? quiz or other Personality Quizzes & Surveys

Tagged!

I was tagged by Amy to list 7 weird things about me. I'm supposed to tag 7 other people, but 2 of the people I could tag have already been tagged. So anyways, here we go...

1. When I'm mad, I clean. It calms me down. I always start in the kitchen for some reason.

2. I love Chex mix, but I'll only eat the Chex cereal pieces. I feed all the other ingredients to the dog or throw them away.

3. I'm weird about what I eat for lunch. If I'm in the mood for say a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, I'll only want to eat that for weeks. Right now it's pizza bagels.

4. I have a hand lotion obsession. I put it on probably 50 times a day.

5. I can't clean a bedroom without the bed being made first.

6. I have most of the lines to every Spongebob episode memorized.

7. When I'm stressed out or sad, I like to play The SIMS 2.

I've been tagged

Amy tagged me to fill this out:

i am: very frazzled after this long, busy and stressful week.

i think: that I'm glad it's over and the weekend is beginning

i know: that life is beautiful...even if it's stressful.

i want: to feel all better.

i have : beautiful children and a wonderful husband

i wish: I had infinite patience

i hate: when my family does not pick up after themselves

i miss: feeling good and having energy

i fear: losing someone i love

i feel: exhausted

I hear : the wind and Abby playing

i smell: the dog

i crave: sleep, lots of sleep.

i search: for ways to juggle it successfully

i wonder: why certain people act the way they do...it sucks

i regret: putting off my project until the last minute.

i love: my family and friends

i ache: with tiredness

i care: more than I should about people and things that I cannot change.

i always : give it my all.

i am not: good at standing up for myself because I hate confrontations.

i believe: very strongly in the search for enlightenment

i dance: when I'm cleaning the house and listening to tunes

i sing: along when I know the words.

i cry: when I'm sad or happy. I'm emotional and my hormones have been out of whack for 2 1/2 years

i don’t always: feel like doing my hair

i fight: when I feel it's worth fighting over

i write: notes for class, to-do lists and shopping lists. I am very bad at written correspondence.

i win: for kicking cancer's butt!

i lose: at Super Mario Brothers #3....it's quite embarassing

i never: say never. I'm pretty much open to trying anything once.

i confuse: what I want with what I need

i listen: to a little bit of everything

i can usually be found: at home

i am scared: of losing loved ones

i need: a nap, a hot bath and good book

i am happy about: having a date with my husband tonight

i think : life is a 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.

I don't have anyone on Blogger to tag so I'm tagging Myspace folks.

Before I was a Mom...

My Mom emailed me this today. I love it...it's so true.

Before I was a Mom
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on. Chewed on. Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom
I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body..
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.

Wild/Wacky Wednesday

In honor of hump day (and in the interest of inserting a less emotional post among so many emotional ones) here are 5 wild and/or wacky things about me.

1. I like to talk to my pets in weird voices when no one else is home.

2. Most people would not guess that I love listening to dirty rap when I'm alone in the car.

3. I still like playing Barbie dolls (with my daughter of course).

4. If I see meat on the bone, I won't eat it. It feels like eating a carcass to me.

5. I'm afraid of escalators.

Updates and Friday Five

New Template and a few new widgets including a slide show. It's an older slideshow that I had running on my myspace page so I will have to update that.

Friday Five. 5 Things you do just for yourself:
1. Read.
2. In a way scrapbooking is something just for me. Although I'm preserving our family photos, it's something I do to relax and have fun.
3. Play with my hair. As evidenced my pinkness, I love to play with my hair color.
4. Get my eyebrows waxed. Sure I could pluck 'em, but this way the pain is over faster.
5. Blog. Sure it's great if someone actually reads it, but for me it's like an online diary.

Flickr has a great photo editor now. Just for fun, I played with this photo of Josh and I from New Year's Eve.

I've been tagged

I've been tagged by Amy to list 7 strange/weird facts about myself.

The rules are to link the person who sent this and leave a comment on their blog so their readers can visit yours~Post the rules on your blog~Share 7 strange/weird facts about yourself~Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and link their blog~Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here are 7 strange/weird things about me...

1. I'm phobic about using public bathrooms. I avoid them at all costs.

2. When I get tired, my eyelids make a "clicking sound".

3. Whenever I am going out to eat, I have to look at the menu first online and make sure there are at least 2 things I'd eat on the menu.

4. I'm neurotic about my eyebrows. I pluck stray hairs every day and I love getting them waxed.

5. I tell my dog all my secrets. She doesn't judge.

6. I'm crazy about pink. Nearly everything I own is pink. When I go to school, I have my pink bag, pink pens, pink binder, pink laptop and often my pink gym shoes.

7. I burn a lot of candles. I'm crazy about my tart warmer. I burn at least one tealight per day in there and usually have a candle going at some point too. I wish I could buy tealights by the case.

I tag:
Alycia
Amanda
Jeri
Tracy
Paul

A couples survey

Body: 1. What are your names?
Megan & Josh

2. How long have you been together?
Nearly 8 years

3. How long did you know each other before you started dating?
About 6 months

4. Who asked who out?
I asked him...he was really shy.

5. How old are each of you?
Me 31, Him 28

6. What are your astrological signs?
I'm a Libra, He's a Taurus

7. How tall are each of you?
We are both 5'6"

8. Whose mother do you see the most?
Mine

9. Who’s siblings do you see the most?
Mine (his live out of state)

10. Do you have any children together?
Yup

11. What about pets?
Yep again

12. If so, what kind?
2 cats and a pooch

13. Which bill is the hardest on you as a couple?
Medical bills

14. Where do each of you work?
He works for the gov't and has his own company. I am a stay at home mom and student.

15. Is that what you went to school for?
It's what we are currently going to school for I guess.

16. Did you go to the same school?
Nope

17. Are you from the same hometown?
No, we aren't even really "from" the same state. I have lived in IL all my life, he's lived a few different places.

18. Do you live in the same town now?
Well duh!

19. Who is the smartest?
I think that depends on who you ask. LOL. We are both pretty intelligent.

20. Who is the most sensitive?
Oh I am for sure.

17. Where do you eat out at most as a couple?
We jump around. We don't get much alone so we like to try different things.

18. Where do you shop the most as a couple?
Aldi

19. Where is the furthest you have traveled as a couple?
Jamaica

21. Who is the most sexual?
Ummm.....

22. Who has the best group of friends?
Well of course I would say I do. Although I have definitely developed a soft spot for a certain Matt down the street. :-D

23. Who has the craziest exes?
Definitely me

24. Who has the worst temper?
Definitely me again.

A New Year's survey

New Year Survey Take This Survey at Quizopolis.com What was the best part of last year? My anniversary trip with Josh What was the worst part of last year? Eh, I\'d rather forget about it. What was the biggest surprise of last year? My best friend adopting a beautiful baby girl. What are you most looking forward to next year? Getting healthy! Traveling and Josh graduation from Kish. Is there anything you are not looking forward to next year? I\'m not excited about any cancer testing. I am sick of being poked and prodded. Which new years resolutions did you keep last year? My goal was to be healthy and kick cancer\'s butt...that\'s an ongoing process. Which new years resolutions did you break last year? I didn\'t. What will be your new years resolutions next year? The same: get healthy and kick cancer\'s butt! Which resolution are you most likely to break? I won\'t break it. Getting healthy is my #1 priority. Which resolution are you most likely to keep? see above What will you be doing on new years eve? Hanging out at home with my family. Who will you be with at new years eve? Josh and the kiddos. Who do you want to kiss to see the new year in? Josh of course :-) Who will you probably end up kissing to see the new year in? Well duh! What was the best song of last year? Stronger by Kanye West What was the best TV show of last year? Grey\'s Anatomy What was the best book you read last year? A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah What was the best film of last year? The Bourne Ultimatum What change would you like to make to your life next year? I\'d like to inhabit a healthier, smaller, cancer-free body! What change would you like to see in the world next year? Love, peace and tolerance! Take This Survey at Quizopolis.com