48 Things About Me

A few days ago, I saw that Carmen answered 48 questions on her Mom to the Screaming Masses blog -  and I shamelessly swiped the idea...  I seem to do that to Carmen a lot! 
And, yes, I stole her last sentence as well that she stole from someone else.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?

MommyMarie

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?

Big cries?  No idea.  Small ones?  Getting frustrated trying to learn how to shoot pool.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?

Which one?  I have many... The pretty cursive one when I'm in a good mood and take my time or the half cursive / print, the chicken scratch... Got lots of them.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?

Don't eat a lot of lunch meat...  MBB eats it before I can. 

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?

Two...Born in my heart. 

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?

I hope so... 

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?

Yep... I sometimes have a dry sense of humor that gets taken the wrong way (see #6).

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?

Yes

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO... Did I mention NO?

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?

Oatmeal Squares

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?

No... For that reason, most of my shoes don't have ties. 

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?

Sometimes...Depends on mental vs. physical vs. situation.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?

I LOVE ice cream... LOVE LOVE LOVE it... Lots of favorites! 

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?

Eyes

15. RED OR PINK?

Maroon  :) 

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?

My body 

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?

My Grandpa...Amazing man... The good definitely die young!

18. WHAT IS THE TECHNIQUE THAT YOU NEED TO WORK ON THE MOST?

Carmen said: Present wrapping. I am going with Counting to 10... Seems like a technique to me... What? Screaming as you count is the technique that everyone uses??? 

19. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?

Black

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?

Piece of chocolate

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?

Silence

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?

No idea.

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?

Vanilla, peppermint

24. HOW IMPORTANT ARE YOUR POLITICAL VIEWS TO YOU?

Important enough that I have them.
Not important enough that I will let everyone else blast them.

25. MOUNTAIN HIDEAWAY OR BEACH HOUSE?

Both
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?

Football

27. HAIR COLOR?

Dark Brown w/ highlights

28. EYE COLOR?

Brown

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?

Nope... Gotta love that eye surgery!

30. FAVORITE FOOD?

Ice Cream 

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?

Happy. 

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?

That I really watched?  The last Twilight movie...
There is always a movie playing in our house, but I rarely watch.

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?

Tan

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?

Fall

35. FAVORITE DESSERT?

Ice Cream (Did I mention that I LOVE ice cream?)

36. STRENGTH TRAINING OR CARDIO?

Strength. Cardio and I have a love/hate relationship 

37. COMPUTER OR TELEVISION?

Computer.

38. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?

The Chris and Stefanie Spielman Story 

39. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?

Don't use one.

40. FAVORITE SOUND?

Music

41. FAVORITE GENRE OF MUSIC?

Love all of it...Except current day rap and opera. 

42. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?

Japan 

43. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?

Probably nothing.

44. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?

Ohio.

45. WHERE ARE YOU LIVING NOW?

Kentucky.

46. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR HOUSE?

Maroon / Gray

47. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR CAR?

Gray 

48. DO YOU LIKE ANSWERING 48 QUESTIONS?

If they are good ones, it's kinda cool. Otherwise, I'm sure it's boring for everyone involved.

Namaste.

A Few of my Favorite Things...

Yeager-bomb decided that there was too many of my favorite things available...
He wanted to make sure that he was the #1...

So, he covered the laptop, the book and the remote so that my only choice was him.
He forgot about the cell phone and the fact that it has a camera!

Namaste.

January 2013

January has been pretty eventful so far!

I already have one book finished and am part-way through another.
The roof over the patio in front of our house was started and is very close to being done...
MBB and I are now playing in a pool league...My bad offsetting his good...
I had no part in providing the hard labor in the cold temps that is working on that roof...
I have made a good dent in unpacking the boxes of craft supplies that have been sitting there for five years...
The main bath of the house has almost gone through its second remodel in five years...
I am much happier with the 2013 bathroom than I was with the 2012 bathroom...
I have an on-line photography class to take as soon as MBB gets my computer set up in the craft room...
I have crossed tons off of my To Do list, just to add way more to it...
I am so ready to get going once we get the exercise room done...
Because I love food...

I am sitting here enjoying life:
My grandson is just a few feet away in his pack and play, listening to his favorite toy play music...
I am lounging in my bed enjoying some me time and putting some serious energy towards the blog...
OB is enjoying being a teenager on the slopes and MBB is on pick up duty as I am on baby duty...

I'll have to smile when the night time music is done and someone wakes-up deciding it is time to play...
Again...
Yep, he never wants to miss a minute of anything at Nana and Papaw's house.
I wouldn't trade Friday nights for anything.

Namaste.

Almost, but not quite...

I've been trying to get gas for under $2.00...
For some weird reason (other than my pocketbook), I want to see that 1 at the begining. 

Got darn close...

Gotta love Kroger reward points!  :)

Apparently, oil went up and this gentleman was convinced that gas prices were going back up big time...
Yes, true story - not one that I made up in my head about why he was filling up all of those gas containers.

How do I know?

He announced the oil price to everyone and told us how smart we were to fill up RIGHT THEN.
The next day... I was happy he was wrong as I had to fill up the other car.

Namaste.

Unique Artwork

OB has started creating an artwork that is very rare.

In addition to a normal tip, a few of our waitresses are getting sugar art.
Sometimes, I am able to snap a picture of the masterpiece...

And sometimes, the artwork becomes sugar and pepper...

Namaste.

Our Style

We do things a bit differently here in our neck of the woods...
We do extreme mudding...
Then, there is the hillbilly slip and slide...

We do have a few pretty big hills that offer excitement in dodging trees...
We also have motorized vehicles...
That can pull sleds...

And when the sleds get boring...
They pull bodies too...

And no - Noone was hurt.

Promise.

Namaste.

Welcome 2013!

Another year gone!
Can't say I'm shedding any tears saying good bye to 2012.
Welcome aboard 2013!
Nice to see you.

2012 was a rough year, but I am realizing that a lot of work was done for the future.
2013 has already begun to feel so much better (except for one area, but let's not go there).

January finds:
 - MBB and I reaching a mile-stone of our financial plan (woohoo!)...
 - Some big check offs on the remodeling front...
 - The fact that our exercise room will be usable soon... So looking forward to this!

I get so tired of work and work and work and... You get the picture.
It is so nice that there is work and work and result and work and...
Yeah, just every so often, please!

I am going to take another stab at the 12 books...
I am going to get back on the exercise bandwagon (exact date TBD)...
I am going to start creating things again...
2013 looks to be a good year.

Namaste.

Orange and Black

It has been awhile since I mentioned my orange and black team...
Pretty bad when this blog used to be colored orange and black.

Due to the great events of 2012, I had to let my season tickets go.
Tough decision as I had had them for more than a handful of years...
But, I couldn't afford to buy all of the tickets in the Spring and not sell them until the Fall.
Heck, I couldn't even afford just my seat...

So, I let them go. 
I plan on going to at least one home game every year.
The Bengals played a huge part of my life for such a long time that I just can't quite cold turkey!
I was at the Giants game this year.
Loved it!
Felt a pang that I didn't get to go to more.
In fact, with all of the tornado repair and grandbaby stuff (and those pesky blackouts), I didn't get to watch all of the games on TV either.
That hurt, but that's life.

I still got out my orange and black garb every Sunday.
I still have a pile of Bengal stuff that will be hung in the basement.
I still have a Bengal screen saver at work.
I still am a Bengals fan.
I still don't care for their front office people.

Was watching the game today and felt that pang...

Namaste.

Closing out 2012...

2012 was a learning experience...
I had a lot of give ups:  Season Tickets, Blogging Regularly, Exercising Regularly
I stretched a lot in just putting one foot in front of the other some days.
I had gain:  My new grandson (BIG ONE), Knowledge about insurance and recovery.

As far as the 12 Books in 12 Months (NEW reads):
1. Steve Jobs Biography
2. American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
3. Hunger Games (Hunger Games Book 1)
4. Catching Fire (Hunger Games Book 2)
5. Mockingjay (Hunger Games Book 3)
6. Celebrity In Death
7. Delusion In Death
8. Between A Heart and A Rock Place
9. Put On Your Crown
10. Lips Unsealed (a memoir) <--- Currently reading
11 & 12. Lincoln <--- Since this is 700+ pages, I made an executive decision that it counts twice!!!  My blog, my decisions.  :)

Namaste.

Starting out 2013

I read a lot of blogs...

Yes, I know - I'm great at reading them, but not so great at writing them.
Working on it.

A common topic right now is resolutions, goals, plans, etc, etc, etc.
I don't like doing resolutions...It feels like setting myself up for failure as most conversations revolve around "what day did you make it to".  I try to do my resolutions on another month or a specific week.  Something that gets less attention by others and more focus by me.

I do like goals, but the long term kind... not the year kind.
Don't get me wrong, MBB and I have things we want to do, but more like "done this winter" or "done before schools starts next fall"... not done in 2013.

About two years ago, we set up a financial plan that is chugging along and working just like we wanted.

When a big item is getting crossed off of the list, I have to review all of the details and move things around as needed to stay on track.  I have no desire to revamp/make a new one/start over...

Especially since I get to do a happy dance in about a week when the first big item gets crossed off and I have to look at all of the details.  :)

Namaste.