Its all about Meme

Its been a LONG time since I have done a meme. But all the cool bloggers are doing this one - not to mention we got home late last night from a long-weekend trip, and I seem to be suffering from a sever case of writers block summer brain - so I'm gonna drink this KoolAid.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What color are your socks right now? No socks. Just bare feet in dire need of a pedi.

What are you listening to right now? My dog breathing heavily, and the keyboard clicking.

What was the last thing you ate? A bite of oatmeal with Craisens and walnuts (I'm breakfast blogging.) It was too hot so I'm waiting for it to cool.

Can you drive a stick? Uh, no. But my dear friend Tracy V (my best friend from high school) once tried (in vain) to teach me. It was back when we were young and stupid...Why "stupid" do you ask? Well, being a slow learner (me not her), she tried  to teach me to "feel" when I might need to shift by having me close my eyes, while she steered. Did I mention that we were in her brand new car that she had just bought? (to be fair we were in a large, empty parking lot, but still, I cringe (with glee!) when I think about it.)

Last person you spoke to on the phone? Hmm...it was actually Tracy! We spoke right before I left for the weekend. She brought my attention to the unfortunate mash-up of Madonna's lyrics in the last post. We laughed like hyena's. (which is one of my favorite things about her)

How old are you today? 30. Ish.

What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? Hmmm...watch? Basketball. But sometimes like to have the football games on, but I don't watch them. I like to have them on in the back ground because it feels like what one should do during the fall season.

What is your favorite drink? Coffee and water are my staples. But I love a juice spritzer (cranberry and seltzer or lemonade and seltzer). For adult beverages, I would rarely turn dow a frozen margarita or a glass of merlot.

Have you ever dyed your hair? Is the pope Catholic? I get my hair colored every 5 weeks wether I need it or not (and I always do...a side effect of being....30....ish)

Favorite food? That one is hard. I guess if I have to pick a fave I would say tortillas....fresh, not from the grocery store. it's the perfect bread because you can eat it with anything...beans, meat, peanut butter, cheese. Need I go on?

What is the last movie you watched? In the theater: Back-up Plan with Jennifer Lopez. It was cute. At home: Julie and Julia. Also cute.

Favorite day of the year? Goverment Holidays...cuz then The Mister is home.

How do you vent anger? I usually clean something as if on the war path. It may or may not involve war cries and wailing and gnashing of teeth. But I'll never tell.

What was your favorite toy as a child? I was a stuffed animal lover. But I also had a tiara that I loved, wish I could find the school pictures from third grade. I had snuck (sneaked? snook?) that tiara into my bag and put it on right before the photographer snapped the pic. It didn't occur to me that I would have to bring those pics home and the evidence would be against me.

Favorite Season? Fall, but a North Carolinian spring is a very close second!

Cherries or Blueberries? Man! Why do we have to pit the cherries against the blueberries? ( You don't know how funny i think i am.) I like them both, but if I have to pick....cherries.

When was the last time you cried? I can get verklempt nearly every day, but a good cleansing cry? Its been so long I can't remember.

What is on your closet floor right now? Shoes, a couple of handbags, and a lot of dust.

What are you most afraid of? I worry in a freakishly obsessive way a lot about my kids safety. But I'm working on it...

Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? Cheese

Favorite dog breed? Mutt

Favorite day of the week? Friday.

How many states have you lived in? 3. AZ, TX, NC

Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds  What is your favorite flower? the ones that pop up every year (unannounced) in my backyard

Did you get an H1N1 vaccine? No. Got a normal flu shot though. 

Hand Bag Secrets

I know I promised a Pan Dulce recipe yesterday, but I had a crazy day and could not post...

Let's just say I had a full day planned, and having a car with a dead battery was a GINOURMOUS hitch in my get-along...

Things worked out, so I won't tell you the part when one of the La Vida Dulce house members threw a fit when she thought she wasn't going to get "her way" on the Wednesday schedule.

I will tell you one thing that hindered that anonymous house member from a full on tantrum: Her knowledge that it is not beautiful when a 37 year old has a hissy-fit.

Lets move on...

Since I won't be posting a bread recipe until later this week, I will tell you that my Australian blogger friend Caz recently tagged me in a What's in Your Hand Bag meme...

I thought this was a bit ironic since The Mister has been complaining a lot recently that my hand bag is not big enough. I admit she is a bit smallish....

This winter I switched to the little sweetie in hopes that I might be more organized than when I carry a big, fashionable suitcase on my shoulder.

You'd've thunk I made a decision to switch homes with the grumbling about the size of my bag.

Apparently I was not the only person in my family using my big honkin' bag to store very-important-things.

I, hadn't switched bags because I really haven't had the time to think about it...and this, ladies, is when the old proverb " Good things come to those who wait." is appropriate.

The Mister announced that he is going to take me shopping for what I can only guess is a handbag with sufficient storage area.  I, however, am thinking something a bit more roomy and in a spring/summer color....any ideas?

(I am going to press my luck and see if I can get a pair of Trail running/hiking shoes out of the evening as well. You know what they say....if you give a mouse a hand bag...)

But back to the What's in Your Hand Bag meme...

Here is what this little bag looks like when you open it:

Here is all that stuff emptied and organized:

As you can see, I don't have nearly enough lip product, or Starbucks gift cards...

-I would never be caught with out my AC Moore or Hancock Fabric (not pictured) discount cards...

-I'm a big time gum chewer and lover of the sugar-free Crystal Ligh candies...

-those Tootsie Roll packages were from a recent trip to the nail salon, where there was a big bowl of mini Tootsie's. I had more than is polite a few...

-that Fender guitar pick is there for emergencies when I play for the kids/people who ask, although I never use a pick...

-receipts, receipts receipts (the one on the top is from the restaurant where the Carolina Blogger Gals met in November)...

-the fortune is from a date-night with The Mister: He took me to PeiWei, during a time when I was feeling very thinky and thoughtful on the topic of "beauty"...( for those who can't see it says: Everything has beauty, but not everybody sees it.)

-the hand cream is a gift from Whidbey Gretchen , and its almost gone ;( ... I always have hand cream of some-sort-or-the-other, I love hand cream about as much as I love the next item on the list....

-and last but not least, the Hand Sanitizer. I NEVER leave home without it. I went to dinner last weekend with the K-Sisters and I used it more than is polite a few times right at the dinner table.

That is what is in my hand bag...can't wait to show you the upgrade!

If you read this, and would like to show the contents of your handbag, or need some blog fodder consider yourself tagged!

Random Wednesday Questions

(Swiped from Jewels in My Crown Someday , because I am at a total loss of something to say!)




1.. What's the last state you visited other than your own? Whidbey Island, WA...Yay! Island Girls!

2. What's your middle name? Lillian, after my maternal Grandmother's middle name.

3. What is something you don't like...even though everyone else seems to? (I hate to even type the bad, bad "M" word) Mayonaisse

4. What's the first costume you remember dressing up in for Halloween? Princess Leia---the super cool plastic one with the formed plastic face mask with elastic string!

5. Have you ever played a sport? Yes, Ballet. No just kidding...I know (now) that dance is not a "sport". But I was never good at sports as a kid....actually I was too busy being girly to worry about sports.

6. What is a talent you have that people might not know about? Hmmm....that is hard. I can tie a cherry stem in a knot with my tongue? Oh! and i can sing every word to nearly every Barbra Striesand song.  I LOVE me some Yentl.

7. What's the last thing that made you laugh out loud? Last night at ladies bible study our friend Sandra made us all laugh like crazy!

8. Are you an oldest, middle, or youngest child? I'm the oldest.

9. What's the best thing you've had someone say to you lately? Just now I got a text saying I was a good friend...best compliment in the world. Its hard to be a good friend and I know I am not always successful.

10. What are you wearing right now? Black pants and Pink shirt with my fuzzy purple jacket...I'm freezing!

iPod Meme

I don't know if you have seen this meme or not, but I have to tell you it had me laughing yesterday afternoon as I prepared for this post. 

Whoever thought of this one was very clever.  If you decide to do this let me know so I can come read it!

A Meme for your iPod

Instructions:

1. Put your iPod (or MP3 player) on shuffle. 

2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.

3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN AS YOUR ANSWER, NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!

4. Tag some Moms you admire who could use a laugh and a song.

HOW DID YOU BECOME A MOM?

I Feel for You (Chaka Khan)

WHAT DID YOU THINK THE FIRST TIME YOU SAW YOUR BABY?

A Heart Like Mine (Bryan Duncan)

WHAT DID YOU DO THE FIRST MORNING AFTER A SLEEPLESS NIGHT?

I Need the Every Hour (Amy Grant & Vince Gill)

WHAT DO YOU SAY WHEN SOMEONE COLORS ON THE WALL? 

It Takes Two (Zac Efron: Hairspray)

HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH A TODDLER’S BODILY FLUID ISSUES? 

The Way He Was Raised (Josh Turner)

IF SOMEONE SAYS “Can I have a snack?” YOU SAY?

You’ll Be There (Cindy Morgan)

IF SOMEONE LEAVES THEIR STUFF ON THE FLOOR, YOU SAY? 

Sangria (Relaxing Guitar Solo)

IF SOMEONE ISN’T SICK TODAY, YOU SAY? 

What A Friend We Have in Jesus (Amy Grant)

HOW DO YOUR KIDS ENJOY YOUR COOKING? 

Will You Still Love Me (Relaxing Guitar Solo)

HOW DID YOUR KIDS DO IN SCHOOL TODAY?

Run and Tell That (Hairspray)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF WHILE SITTING IN CARPOOL LINE? 

Through Every Season ( Guitar solo)

HOMESCHOOLERS, WHAT IS THE FIRST SUBJECT TAUGHT OF THE DAY? 

Walk Away (Tony Moran)

WHAT DO YOUR KIDS WANT TO BE WHEN THEY GROW UP? 

Where I Wanna Be (V*Enna)

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY AS A MOM? 

Soulmate ( Josh Turner)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE AS A MOM? 

The Sweet Escape (Gwen Stefani)

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO AS A MOM? 

Come So Far, Got So Far to Go (Hairspray)

HOW DID YOU KNOW YOU WERE REALLY A MOM?

Come Thou Font Of Every Blessing (Chris Rice) 

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT MOST OFTEN AS A MOM? 

Baby, I Go Crazy (Josh Turner)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY AS A MOM? 

What You Already Own (Amy Grant)

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET AS A MOM? 

The Longer The Waiting (The Sweeter the Kiss) (Turner)

WHAT IS THE BEST THING YOU’VE EVER DONE AS A MOM?

Moment to Moment (Guitar Solo)

WHAT DO YOUR KIDS DO THAT MAKES YOU LAUGH? 

If You See Him, If You See Her (Reba)

WHAT DO YOUR KIDS DO THAT MAKES YOU CRY? 

Everything is Fine (Josh Turner)

WHAT DO YOUR KIDS DO THAT SCARES YOU THE MOST? 

Little Did I Know (Barlow Girl)

HOW DO YOUR KIDS DESCRIBE YOU AS THEIR MOM? 

This is My Fathers World ( Amy Grant)

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?

Never Look Back (Guitar solo)

WHAT WILL YOUR MOM OF THE YEAR CERTIFICATE SAY?

Have a Nice Day (Bon Jovi)

Tag...you're it!

Oh Goodness, the kids get to post

I must preface this by saying three things: First, this was hard for The Girl, she was very concerned with hurting my feelings. When I assured her that it was OK, and I wouldn't be hurt she let things be honestly known. The Boy did not feel such pressure. Second, I asked the kids these questions independantly, so as to not have them influence each other. Third, I want to, for the purposes of clarification, say that The Mister and I are a very playful couple. I thought about changing one answer in particular, but it's the truth; the unfiltered, playful truth.

With that said, here is the gut-wrenchingly honest look at Kellie the Coffeegal through the eyes of her children. The Girl's answers are in pink. The Boy's in blue.

1. What is something your mom always says to you?

Take a shower
To wake up in the morning.

2. What makes your mom happy?
When the house is clean 
Coffee

3. What makes your mom sad?
When her plants die when she tries to grow them.
When babies are sick.

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
When she laughs and I don't even know what she's laughing about.
When we are cooking and I grate cheese and she says to "Be careful, we don't want finger bits in the there" 

5. What was your mom like as a child?
Pretty
Probably responsible since she took care of her brothers a lot.

6. How old is your mom?
20
36

7. How tall is your mom?
5 feet
5 foot something

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Hang out with me
Go to Starbucks

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Watches stuff and folds laundry
Probably do things that she can't do with us, like take a shower, or go to parties.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
A famous singer.

For playing guitar and singing.

11. What is your mom really good at?
Playing the guitar and singing, and loving me.
Taking care of us, being a mom

12. What is your mom not very good at?
I don't want to say cause it will make you sad. (I won't be sad, just say it) You don't go outside with us very much.

Staying awake while watching a movie

13. What does your mom do for a job?

Homeschool us.
Be a mom. 

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
Liver (no its not). Smoothies.
Coffee

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
That she loves us and cares for us.
That she's my mom.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?

Kermit the Frog
The  Road Runner, you know the one that says,"Beep Beep"

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Have movie night and go out with each other on Fridays. And take care of Sophie.
Go shopping (sometimes for clothes)

18. How are you and your mom the same?
We both sing good and love each other and we do everything together.
We both hate it when Kona rolls in poop, and we're both funny and good at cooking.

19. How are you and your mom different?
She works out and I don't, and she LOVES every vegetable in the world, and I don't
My little toe is different than hers (she doesn't have pinky toe nails.)

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Because she care for me and kisses me and hugs me when I am sad.
All sorts of different ways. She tucks me in at night, and today she let me eat four muffins. She also just tells me she loves me.

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
He's handsome and cute and lovable. Not one of those stuck up guys. He's a nice guy.
That he spanks her. 

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Cracker Barrel
Hawaii

Christmas Meme

Thank goodness for this meme! Early yesterday morning after my work out I did something awful to my back. Now I cannot sit or stand or lie down for more than five minutes. Luckily, I happen to be married to my Physical Therapist. He say's I am what they call "non-compliant" in the therapy world, but he helps me all the same.

Happy Thursday!

~~~

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I buy one gi-normous roll of double sided wrapping paper at the Costco. IF you do this you have to be committed. That roll will last at least two years!

2. Real tree or Artificial? For the first 11 years we used real, but in my cranky old age I got tired of finding pine needles in the house until July. So two year ago we bought a pre-lit tree. Turns out everybody was allergic anyway. Now we can all breathe fine through the month of December.


3. When do you put up the tree? The Day after Thanksgiving.

4. When do you take the tree down? The day after Christmas if The Mister is working. If not I give him one more day, because I am generous like that.


5. Do you like eggnog? To me it's like sweet mayonnaise. So, no. With the exception of the year we received homemade egg nog from a friend (and co-worker of The Mister). I didn't realize that it was "real" eggnog, and after a cup full, I would have eaten mayo out the jar with spoon, without the slightest care in the world. Good times.)


6. Favorite gift received as a child? a life sized handmade Raggedy Ann Doll. (how I wish I would've kept that now.)


7. Hardest person to buy for? The Mister's Mom and Dad.


8. Easiest person to buy for? Myself...(Just kidding!) (Sort of)...The kids.


9. Do you have a nativity scene? No. I need to change that.


10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail! It's my favorite part of the holiday hub-bub!


11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Wow...that's a hard one...Oh! I remember! There was one year as a teenage when my brothers gave me one of those suctions cup sticky things for the back window of your car...it was of Kermit the Frog flipping the "bird", which was on a spring so it would wave back and forth. They were in the 6th and the 9th grade, so you know they were shopping at Spencer's. i am certain that that was never in my car.


12. Favorite Christmas Movie? I don't know if I have a favorite, but I do enjoy Christmas Vacation for a good laugh, and I also enjoy Elf, for the same reason.


13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually way into December, but this year I was nearly done by the 4th. Which felt good. I just have to get everything mailed out now!


14 . Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Only for the white elephant gift exchange.


15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Homemade fudge and my Mother-in-laws recipe for Ginger Cookies.

16. Lights on the tree?

Color! and lots of them!


17. Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night.


18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? This year we are staying home in NC. 


19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Absolutely! 


21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? We let the kids open them one on Christmas Eve, while we sip hot cocoa, eat popcorn and watch a Christmas movie. Then we torture them by making them sleep in on Christmas morn. But don't feel too bad for them. Sleeping in for this early bird isn't really what you think it is. 


22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Crabby people. 

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Our tree is filled with decorations that have meaning to us. And we allow our kids to decorate, so it will never make it into a decorators magazine, but it's beautiful to us!

Oh and also, you will NEVER find tinsel on my tree. I had an unfortunate event as a child that involved my 18 month old brother who got hold of tinsel while under my charge. He choked on it and I've hated tinsel ever since. (FYI: that baby lived to tell this story...Every. Blessed. Year.)

24. What do you want for Christmas this year? This is the time of year that I wished owned a private jet so i could quickly (and easily) travel all over the country to see my peeps, but other than that, I lack for nothing. 

Scariest Story Meme: Hijacked!

My friend Spaghettipie also hosts the Blog Tour Spot. She has tagged me to participate in a meme entitled:

What’s been one of the scariest (in a terrifying or humorous sense) thing you’ve ever experienced?

In the early 90's I was asked to go  with a family (as the nanny) on a trip to Las Vegas.  It was to be an awesome gig because this family was going to pay for all my trip expenses, including some great daytime activities like the really cool children's museum in Vegas, and an evening performance to Seigfried and Roy .

We left on a early Friday evening and were to return on Sunday. Everything was going swimmingly as we made it to the airport and we got on the plane. 

We were one of the first on the airplane and were sitting toward the front of the craft.  Dr and Mrs C sat in the row in front of me. I sat in the middle seat, with a girl on each side.  The girls were around the ages of four and seven.

We were getting settled in with crayons and books when an African American man, the size of a linebacker, boarded the plane with his petite female travel companion. 

He was kind of loud but it was only became a problem when he kneeled in his seat looking to the back of the plane and started hollering that if anyone wanted to talk about Jesus, that he wanted to talk to them. 

None of the flight attendants had said anything to him at this point and I looked at Dr. C. with a bit of concern. He looked back at me as if to say that we would be OK.

When none of the other passengers took up his offer to come talk with him about Jesus, he leaned over to the 7 year old sitting in the isle seat and asked her to come to his seat and talk with him.  This is when Mrs. C. leaned over and calmly asked him "to leave the children alone."

He didn't like that.

At this point it's important to tell you that we were waiting on the runway. It was also fortuitous that on this particular summer day there was a traffic jam on the runway and we were waiting in a long line of airplanes waiting to take off.  We were lucky that what I am about to tell you happened while on the ground, and not in the air.

So, Mrs. C tells him to back off and he gets irate. This is the part of the story when he gets out of his seat, takes off his clothes, starts yelling at the top of his voice, and pacing up and down the isle. Oh yeah, and also? He was yelling about how "This plane isn't going to Vegas it's going to heaven!" and talking in a strange guttural language that sounded very, VERY scary!

While the pilots try to get us back to the gate this crazy guy proceeds to rip the glasses off a ladies face. He's running and yelling back and forth in the isle while pounding his fists on the over head compartments causing them to spring open;  And he's screaming erratically about Jesus and Rodney King (which had just happened in LA a couple weeks before.)  

The flight attendant opened the door in anticipation of arriving at the concourse. Before the concourse could reach the door of the plane he pushed her out, and she fell several feet to the tarmac. 

I was scared. Maybe the most scared I have been in my life. But when I saw the police pointing a gun at this man within feet of where we were sitting I was FREAKED OUT!  The police were giving him an opportunity to surrender, but he kept yelling "That's right, just do me like Rodney King!"  Then he ran to the back of the airplane.

Little did our hijacker know that there were a handful of undercover cops sitting in the last few rows that were all bound for a Vegas Vacation.  They were able to subdue him in the rear of the plane while all the passengers up front unloaded.

I think it took five guys to hold him down.  But it may have been more.

As it turned out he was on quite a few illegal drugs. 

They hauled him off to jail and amazingly, about an hour later the airlines loaded us all up and we went to Vegas!

It ended up being a great weekend after all... 

Part of the rule was to tag 5 others to write there scariest story.  So I tag:

1. Life with Three

2. Such the Spot

3. Biding my Time

4. Feeling Moofish

5. The O-Show

6. Any one else who wants to play....just let me know where to find your scary story!

Meme Monday!

What were you doing ten years ago? 
I was living with my parents, with my 8 month old baby boy, while The Mister was completing one of his clinical's in Colorado. It was only for six weeks. We were living in San Antonio, Texas while he was attending graduate school. I was still very much a First Time Mom, who was boiling everything that came into 25 feet of my chunky little baby.

What are 5 things on your to-do list?
1. Finish up several sewing projects.
2. Bring up the hem on shorts for my Dad. 
3. Buy a gift for The Mister to celebrate our anniversary.
4. Laundry. Always the laundry.
5. Return library books.

What are 5 snacks you enjoy?
1. Almonds and apples. Together.
2. Toasted Nuts and Cranberry Luna Bars.
3. Tortilla Chips and Salsa (and I wouldn't mind a little avocado on the side.)
4. Peanut M&Ms.
5. Popcorn

What would you do if you were a millionaire?
I would take my family to Hawaii to meet some of my husbands extended family. I would set up college funds for my kids and nieces and nephews. I would help our friends in Brazil.  I would buy The Mister a library of books and fun back-packing/hiking paraphernalia, to make up for all the amazing gifts he has given me in the last 15 years.

Name some of the places you’ve called home.
I have always said that anywhere my military husband is working, is where I will be home.  At this point that has been Arizona; San Antonio, TX; Fort Worth, TX; North Carolina, and back to Arizona.

What are some of your bad habits?
I procrastinate on certain things, like making phone calls and replying to emails. I tend to look at certain situations as black and white. All or nothing. This wouldn't be such a problem if I wasn't always in a rush, when i should slow down. I should take more time to think before I act!

What are some jobs you’ve held? 
I have been a nanny; an Icee Bear Promotional Bear (dressed up in a big white bear suit!); an extra on a movie set;  in a hair advertisement; a receptionist at a shelter for abused and neglected children; an administrative assistant for a chef; a music teacher; a dance teacher; and of course, a Mom!

Who are you tagging?
I am tagging Meh, Lara, and The Gochi. And anyone else who is willing to play!