10 Things You May Not Know About Me

1) I love scary movies.  I love movies in general- many different kinds- but there's a part of me that loves getting scared (and being able to turn the TV off if I get TOO scared).

2) I love having my hair brushed.  I wish there were places I could pay to get this done.  That would be better than a massage any day of the week.  My girls brush my hair and sometimes I fall asleep when they are doing it.  Heaven.

3) Salty foods are better than sweet in my book.  I choose chips and salsa over a hot fudge sundae. Delicious.

4) I dream of owning a bed and breakfast and hosting mystery weekends.  Jeff treated me to a mystery weekend for our anniversary years ago and we had the best time.  I even solved the mystery!

5) In general I don't like to talk on the phone.  I prefer e-mail.  Exceptions are my Mom and Mona Mom (my special, "kindred spirit" grandmother)  I hate "dead air" and tend to babble if this occurs.

6) I really want a dog, but I have no luck with potty training.  I would love an older dog that has been potty trained.  Aren't there people that do this?? I dream of a lazy Golden Retriever or a Golden Lab.  In the meantime I just talk baby talk to other people's dogs... 

7) I am addicted to books.  I can't get enough of them.  

8) "The Karate Kid", "Dead Poets Society" and "It's a Wonderful Life" are three of the best movies ever made.  I could watch them over and over- and I do.

9) Life would have no passion without music.  It's amazing the emotions that music brings out in us- happiness, excitement, sadness, joy, etc.  I adore Josh Groban, Enrique Iglesias, Enya, Tchaikovsky, etc.

10)  I love blogging, but I'm sure you already guessed that.:-)

39 in less than a week...

It's hard to believe that I will be turning 39 in just a few days...  Time flies when you're having fun!  I did not become a detective as previously planned (during my Nancy Drew days in grade school) although I have hosted a few fabulous murder mystery parties!  I did not become a paid writer, although blogging counts as writing (minus the money), don't you think?  I am raising two beautiful and loving daughters and I am loved by a handsome and fun husband, which was and is really my hearts desire.  You just don't share those dreams with the world when you are young.  I feel love all around me and I know that I am truly blessed.

Yard Sales in January??

I have a secret passion. I absolutely love yard sales. It's kind of like hunting for treasure. Most of the time it's endless searching, but sometimes, if you don't give up, you get lucky. I used to be such a snob about yard sales (I would NEVER look through someone else's castoffs!) until I realized I was missing out on all the fun!  No one else will tell you this because they're afraid you will get hooked and find all the good stuff before they do!  I still love shopping at Nordstrom, but if you want to find me on a Saturday morning I'll be the lady driving around town looking for "hidden treasure".  In fact, I saw some signs today....

Happy Birthday Jeff!

Jeff celebrated his 40th birthday on December 31st. He's starting to make groaning noises when he gets up off the floor and he does whine about a few aches, but besides that he is still the same great guy I met all those years ago.:-) Grandpa John and Grandma Patty came down to help us celebrate and we had so much fun! We started that morning with French Breakfast Puffs, fresh berries and mimosas- divine! Then the boys took Mandy and Katie geocaching and Patty and I got to go shopping (Kind of felt like it was MY birthday). Later we met for lunch at Mimi's Cafe and then we were off to a game of bowling. You may notice that my initials are not on the screen- well, someone had to take the pictures...:-) We ended the day watching the movie Ratatouille (a Christmas gift from John and Patty). Such a charming movie... I love it when Remy runs back to Linguine instead of escaping. Anyway, I think Jeff had a nice birthday. He certainly is having fun with the Wii my parents bought both of us for our birthdays! But that is another entry...:-)

Memories

My sister made me a wonderful photo book for Christmas and I absolutely LOVE it! It has pictures from many family adventures and even a few photos from when we were little. It means so much to me that she took the time to do this. I thought you might like to have a peek at what's inside. Thanks Amy for one of my most favorite gifts- ever!:-)

A Long Winter's Nap

I have some wishes for the new year and one is that I get more sleep. This is tricky, though, because I am by nature a "night owl" and this cuts into my "me" time. But, boy, does it feel good when I wake up feeling rested! I was up at 7:30 this morning (unbelievable!) and ready to go! I also wish to take better care of myself, as in more exercise, eating more fruits and veggies, reading more (by a warm fire, preferably) and not feeling guilty if I go shopping by myself a bit. I wish to have more fun with my family and be more willing to do things they like to do. I will once again be a member of the Fearless Four! (Our geocache name) I wish to do more scrapbooking, have a monthly night out with my girls individually (Mandy calls it "You and Me Time"), and to have a weekly night out with my husband, Jeff. I wish to stay home more and not feel obligated to "do" so many things. We are all happier in our warm, cozy home. Sometimes I am jealous of my cat, although he likes to break free from time to time and escape...

Happy New Year!

Hello Everyone! I am not starting the new year off with a bang as I had anticipated, but the year has just started so there is still hope. I don't mean for that to sound negative at all. I'm just like the turtle in the Tortoise and the Hare story- slow and steady wins the race.:-) The girls and I are doing school already with fun activities scattered here and there. We have enjoyed movies, lunch, and outings with friends and family and I will share those pictures with you later.

A few of you have mentioned that it is difficult to leave comments on my blog, but I think that I have fixed the problem! Please try and leave a comment and see if it is easier now. It's always nice to see what you have to say!

I'm off to see what the pantry holds for dinner!