Thursday, June 5, 2008

Crazy 8s

I've been tagged for the "Eight Things" meme by Marni - go check out her crazy (yet really fun) organized mess. So here goes!


Eight things...


...for which I have a passion.
Huh. This one's tough for me. Passion is such a strong word - some of these are more like "I just really like"s.

1) My family. I was one of those people who knew, way back in high school when such things weren't cool (add another thing to my list!) that I wanted to have a family. My kids are a big source of joy to me, and while they're a lot of work (all kids are), they're more fun than I'd ever imagined. I also am blessed with a great extended family. They're a great bunch of people - I'm lucky they let me in!

2) My hubby. He's sweet, he's respectful, he's cute and if I had to list the flaw that often irritates me the most, it'd be that he sometimes volunteers to help others a little too much. I like to joke that I'd be dying in a gutter and he'd never know cuz he was off helping some old lady. I probably don't write much about his flaws, but rest assured (I knew you were worried) he has them. The good things just far outweigh the bad. Our marriage is a true partnership, friendship and love all rolled into one and I truly wouldn't be who I am today without him. (End gush.)

3) Learning. Yeah, I know I sound like a dork, but I LOVE to know why and how something works. I think the day you stop learning is the day you write yourself a pink slip - whether it be in your life or your job.

4) Taking pictures. I "let go" of scrap booking sometime last year. I hadn't realized how much stress I was putting on myself to create extravagant pages. I would finish one, then criticize myself that it wasn't "cool" enough. Add to it baby #2 and the worry that I hadn't done ANY pages in his book and I think I started to see more hair in the drain in the mornings. One thing I can't let go of, though, is the feeling that I need to document everything with pictures. It may be because there aren't many of myself as a kid, or that I'm always somewhat sad when my kids learn something new - they're so quickly leaving their baby-hoods behind! But I sincerely LOVE taking pictures - some may not be great shots, but I enjoy trying to find more artistic angles or new ways to see things. I stage mini photo shoots with my kids all the time. I'll take 50-60 shots of my kids playing, just trying to capture their innocence as they wrestle with each other. I love that digital pictures have made this nearly free!

5) Music. Wish I could say I wasn't becoming one of those Moms who's not hip to the music of the moment, but that's me. But I love love love music. Of all types.

6) Food. Who doesn't love it? Sushi - Italian - Mexican - steak - a GREAT burger and a beer. Mmmm...

7) My friends, of course. I have many close friends that I've known for more than half my life. In a lot of ways, I may have not thought to put friends on here simply because they're so much like family. (See #1.)

8) Technology. C'mon, it's not a cop-out! :O) But really, I love my 'puter, my iPod, my blog and screwing around with HTML and the like.


...I'd like to do before I die. Some of these aren't very exciting, I know, and I've talked about some of these things already here.

1) I'd like to have more kids. I've said this before, but we're not done with two. Sometimes I wish we'd gotten married sooner so that we could have started our family while we were younger, but in reality we're in the best place right now.


2) I'd like to work less. We'll see what I can do about this one...


3) I'd like to own a vacation home on a lake.


4) I'd like to visit Italy.


5) I'd like to take an Alaskan cruise.


6) I'd like to be more proficient with my sewing machine.


7) I'd like to have a book published. When I'll do this, I don't know...but my hubby thinks this would make us millionaires. Riiiight...


8) I'd like to learn how to knit. I hear its very therapeutic.


...things I say a lot.

1) GOD BLESS AMERICA! This often takes the place of more colorful words I'm longing to say. I don't know when I started it or why...

2) Good Lord. Along with its cousins, "Good Lord Almighty," "Good Lord Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth..." It gets longer depending on the severity of the situation. I say this when I've already said #1.

3) One...two...don't make me say THREE!

4) Whatever. I think women are required to say this.

5) DUDE! I'm as bad as that Bud Light commercial. I even call my kids "dude". Byproduct of growing up in the '80s I guess.



6) I haven't done that/seen you/been there for like four months! Everything happened "like four months" ago.

7) Do I need to call the gypsies? I got this from a friend. When my kids are really rotten I ask if the gypsies should come pick them up.

8) I love you.


...Books I've read recently.
I used to read so much more, but I'm proud to say these eight books have been read within the last year! Most recent book is first.

1) The Clinic, Jonathan Kellerman

2) Naked, David Sedaris

3) Behind the Scenes at the Museum, Kate Atkinson

4) The Alienist, Caleb Carr

5) Mercy, Jodi Picoult
If you haven't read Jodi Picoult yet, DO SO NOW!

6) Three to Get Deadly, Janet Evanovich
Part of the Stephanie Plum series. If you're looking for a great summer (quick & easy) read, start with book 1!

7) Cross, James Patterson

8) Gone for Good, Harlan Coben

...movies I've seen eight times.

1) Ferris Bueller's Day Off - the perfect "We're 12, lets have a sleep over!" movie.

2) The Breakfast Club - would you believe I wrote a research paper for a Masters-level Journalism class on Gen X and their love for John Hughes movies? Easiest research I ever did.

3) License to Drive

4) Happy Gilmore

5) Tommy Boy

6) Office Space

7) Finding Nemo

8) The Incredibles

I'm not tagging anybody, but this was fun. If you play along, let me know!

6 comments:

Mama Smurf said...

I love the "dude" one. It made me laugh cause I say that ALL THE TIME!

MomOf4 said...

This was really fun! Teaching yourself to knit is a great idea. I taught myself how to crochet and it has saved my sanity more than once. When you are tied to the house because of nap schedules, it is something you can do and SEE that you have made progress. A lot of things in motherhood do not work that way. Cleaned rooms get messy again in about 5 seconds. Laundry never ends. I hope you pick up a "how to" book! Thank you for the nice comment on my blog! :)

Lisa said...

I love this type of meme; too much fun! I just asked my son last night if it is now considered uncool to say "dude" ~ and he said it's just this side of "gnarly." It is also, apparently, not the thing to high-five anymore. Ya gotta do that fist thing, ya know? Who knew I was so stuck in the '80s? &:o) (I might tag myself on this one this weekend. &:o)

morninglight mama said...

Oh my. At least twice a day, I think, we tell the toddler that we're going to sell her to the gypsies. She just laughs and says, "I not a gypsies!"

:)

(Of course, we jest... you got that, right??)

Marni's Organized Mess said...

Thanks for playing!
I say DUDE all the time too. :)

Bethany said...

I might play. That looks like fun!