Monday, October 25, 2010

Menu Monday- Halloween time!

There were a lot of meals last week that I didn't end up cooking, oddly enough.  Mainly because everyone was so busy!  We had a football game, and I was helping my mom pack for her big move this week... So we weren't always home.

That means?  That means a lot of meals from last week are now on this week's menu!

Monday- Chicken alfredo with peas and corn
Tuesday- Cheeseburger macaroni with carrots and green beans
Wednesday- Maple Glazed Chicken, rice, and broccoli
Thursday- Chicken, mushrooms and tortellini in ragu with green beans
Friday- Chili (I've been dying to make this for weeks) with cornbread
Saturday breakfast- Biscuits, eggs (egg whites), turkey bacon, and fruit
Saturday dinner- left over chili (Homecoming weekend with Halloween party)
Sunday breakfast- toast, eggs (egg whites), turkey bacon, and fruit
Sunday dinner- Tuna mac.  YUM!  It's easy, it's processed, it's so unhealthy, but yum-o.

Breakfast for the week is a cinnamon bagel with a banana.  And coffee.
Lunch for the week is soup and sandwiches with applesauce again.
Snacks- grapes and string cheese.

I'm going to attempt to drink more water, but it'll be tough today because I forgot my waterbottle that clearly marks the ounces.  Oops.

Oh, and I'm linking up- need ideas for your own menu?  There are tons right here!!!!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Wedded Wednesday on a Thursday (again)- Budgetting

Oh EM GEE What a big topic to attempt!

And I promise I'll eventually post more pictures, because that's what we all really want, isn't it?

So my mom is an accountant (wowza, you're snoozing already, I bet).  And as the daughter of an accountant, I had my own bank account and budget at 16 (SIXTEEN people!).  The format has never changed.  I love it that much.

Anywho, when Mike and I began discussing money as a couple I quickly learned that my situation was rather unique.  Mike didn't have a budget.  Didn't know how to really manage money.  So we basically just adopted my budget.

Still, I doubt Mike really knows how to manage our money, how the bills are paid, etc.  I basically handle it all.  I need to fix this, but that's for another day and time.

Oh, what?  You want to know how our budget works?  Gladly.  I love it.  I keep an excel sheet.  I have a separate column for each week, dated on pay day, because quite frankly that's just easiest.  At the top I have a separate row for what's in the bank and each type of income- My job, one for each of Mike's jobs, a babysitting line, a freelance line (Mike does freelance here), and then a misc other line.

Below the income section I have a bills section- a separate row for each bill- cable, insurance, mortgage, credit cards, internet, car payment, bajilions and bajilions student loan payments, etc.  And then I also have a separate row for weekly expenses like groceries, gas, pet stuff, dates, car maintenance, etc.  Things that are variable.

And then at the bottom I have the total rows- a total for income, a total for expenses, and then a total of what's left.  Yay.  Simple?  It actually looks really scary, but it's not.

We have everything we can think of budgeted, but our problem is there is just not enough money.  Ever.  Especially with Mike working part time.  I have the budget trimmed as much as we could.  We can survive.  For now.  Which is the important part.  The problem is, though, the budget is trimmed a little too much- we can't stay in budget.

And it's usually because of groceries.  How do you people eat healthy on a budget?  We just can't do it.  We can't get everything we need and still make the budget.  So then it comes out of our spending money, so something else gets cut (like my haircut... it's been pushed back way too much).

Anyways, eventually the goal is to have a comfortable amount of income.  At that point we will have 4 separate accounts in our house (cuz that's how we roll).  We think the ultimate goal is to have 1 checking and 1 savings account for the family.  Then when we are making enough money to exceed our daily needs, we will each have a separate account for what we have left over.  This will mainly be for things like buying gifts or other such luxuries (books in my case).

How do we decide how much each contributes to the joint expenses?  We'll determine that when we're actually making enough, I guess.  My assumption right now is that it'll be set up to where we each are getting the same amount of money for our own separate accounts- so who ever is making more will contribute more to the bills.

I'm curious how your house runs, though.  Money is one of those wedded subjects that no one normally wants to talk about.  It's sticky.  What have you found that really works?  What have you found that really doesn't?  How do you divide things when the income isn't even?  How do you handle things when the money is just plum gone?  Because I'll be honest- we are rather young, and we're still a young couple.  We are still testing the waters, and we're finding the pool is deeper than we thought in this particular category.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Chicken Pot Pie

This is one of my all time favorite dishes- it's a great comfort food, it's extremely easy to make, and EVERYONE loves it!

I got the original recipe from Paula Deen (Hurry Up Chicken Pot Pie).  But then I made adjustments to it for my own preferences.  Feel free to do the same.

Ingredients:

1.25 lbs (1 regular-sized package) of boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
Canned veggies (just drain and rinse off)
-Corn (only use about 1/2 the can)
-Peas (also use only 1/2 the can)
-Carrots
-Potatoes (diced)
-Green beans
Regular sized can of Cream of Chicken
1 cup Chicken broth
1 1/2 cups bisquick (or similar product)
1 cup milk
Large casserole dish

1.  Preheat the oven to 450*
2.  Cook the chicken so that it is mostly cooked through (or more, but it's not necessary).  Drain off the grease and layer in the bottom of the casserole dish
3.  Mix the veggies (after draining and rinsing) together.  Pour evenly over the chicken in the casserole dish.
4.  Mix the chicken broth with the cream of chicken soup.  Pour evenly over the chicken and veggies in the casserole dish.
5.  Mix the milk and bisquick together.  I like to pour this evenly over the casserole dish, but leave room on the edges because it expands.
6.  Place in the oven and bake for 35 - 45 minutes.  Mine is usually done in the 35 minutes, but my oven is amazingly accurate.
7.  Sit back and relax!  Let it cool before eating.  It gets really hot.

This is also one of my favorite meals for lunch ideas because it's nice and big, which is easy to split up for 5 lunches.  I also use it for any sort of "cook for others" events, such as new neighbors or deaths.  It's a great comfort food for just about everyone.

Menu Monday- With actual food this week!

Last week was horrible for food, I must say.  We practically starved, but we survived without leaving the budget!  Until we bought groceries this week... Apparently skipping a week means you will stretch out the money the next week- we needed everything.

But going over the budget was acceptable for us this week.  We just had to.  I'll find it somewhere else in the budget.  Or cry.  But that's later today.

Monday- Spaghetti with corn and green beans
Tuesday- Leftover spaghetti (I love the stuff)
Wednesday- Taco Salad
Thursday- Homemade Chicken Pot Pie
Friday- Leftover Chicken Pot Pie (I will be at yet another football game)
Saturday breakfast- Pumpkin muffins with eggs, turkey bacon, and mixed fruit
Saturday dinner- Chicken and rice (maybe will try a maple chicken glaze found in the link below)
Sunday breakfast- Pancakes and eggs, with mixed fruit
Sunday dinner- Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo

For breakfast all week I have cinnamon bagels and bananas.  Plus my coffee... Oh how I love coffee.  For lunch I'm back to soup and sandwiches- it's becoming a quick favorite.  I also have fruit for lunch- no sugar apple sauce, pears, and peaches.  And for snacks?  I skipped the string cheese this week, but I have low fat wheat thins, applesauce, and apples.

I'm linking up- check out the other menus, along with the Maple Glazed Chicken

Friday, October 15, 2010

Remembering and Supporting

Remember back in August when I told you about the awful tragedy(ies) that my family went through?

It sucked.  But you know what else sucks?

I lost two followers that day.  I break the worst news of my life online and two of my followers decide that whatever it was at that time, that was the tipping point, and they were done with me.

I honestly couldn't even tell you who they were, but seriously?  It upset me a little.  I blog because I want to connect.  I want support.  I want to know more people in this world, and I want to be able to share my opinions and stories with others.

Secretly, we're all attention whores.  At least I am.

So I'm going to share something else with you, pretty much dead on the same subject, and I'm curious to see the reaction. 

Today is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day.  That's a pretty long title, if you ask me.  How about we call it Remembrance Day?  A day to remember all of our babies.  And by baby, it could be anyone from just starting off in the womb to a 57 year old son of an 80 year old grandparent.  Because we are all someone's baby.

I lost my baby on August 16.  I never got to see a face, or even a heartbeat.  The only picture I saw was on the day we found out it had already left us.  But the big shocker?  I know a BAJILION women (and men) who have suffered the same loss.  I just never knew it.  Until this year I never knew there was an official remembrance day, or a tradition known as the International Wave of Light.

I think everyone should know.  And don't sit there and say "Good God when will this woman get off her freakin' soap box about this and move on?".  I guarantee you know someone who's suffered as I have.  Or someone who's lost a son, or a daughter to some other fight- be a physical injury, an ailment, or just God's will.

At first I wasn't going to mention it.  I'm not even mentioning it on my facebook.  Most of my friends don't know what I've gone through, mainly because I can't stand being pitied.  It's such a taboo subject, and everyone seems to think it should be forgotten in a matter of weeks.  I was afraid to mention it even here, mainly because I want to be the funny happy blogger with the quirky attitude.  I was afraid of losing more of my very small number of followers.

I'm not so poetic.  So you should take a look here and here.  These women write it much better and they even have a list.  If you truly want to see the impact miscarriage and loss has, you should start there.  The stories break your heart.

And please, please.  I can't re-iterate this enough.  I'm not upset.  Or suffering.  Even though I don't think we ever stop mourning our losses, I'm not still "grieving" as most people see it.  I have moved on in my life.  But I will always remember.  Will anyone else?

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Wedded Wednesday (On a Thursday)- Running a Race

Do you ever feel like you're running a race through life?  Like you're always looking ahead at that next freakin' step?  So much so that you forget to enjoy the last step you accomplished?

THIS is my biggest problem, I think.  I see that I'm 24 years old and I automatically think "Holy SCHNIKEYS I'm twenty-freakin-four!" and almost panic because I'm nowhere near where I want to be.  I don't think Mike panics like I do, but he's certainly not where he wants to be either, and I know it weighs on him.

But I'm TWENTY FOUR!  I have like... a bajilion years left (oh dear, please please don't let me jinx myself!).  I have a stable job, even if I don't like it.  I have a college degree, even if I'm not using it.  I even have a husband.  :)  He has a college degree.  He may only be working part time, but at least he's using his degree.  We own a house (we own a freakin' house, man!). 

So why do I feel the need to rush into the next step?  That baby craze is awfully contagious, and it's awfully hard not to think "oh gosh i want one of those".  (It also doesn't help with the tragedy that happened in Aug).  Part of it is all the babies around me- they're on tv, they're in the office, and they're all over my freakin' facebook (OMG my generation is fertile!).

For us, we are waiting a little while, I think.  Mike is still part time, so financially we're not as stable or as prepared as I'd like to be.  I also would like to go back to school and get my Masters.  Plus, we have a bajilion house projects we would like to work on.  So I'm doing my best to NOT RUSH MYSELF!  It was SO HARD there for a while.  I felt like I was running out of time.  But you know what?  I can still be having children in the next 10 - 15 years.  THAT'S A LOT OF YEARS!!!

Because there is so much to enjoy at our age.  I have a husband I can spontaniously go out with.  I have friends I can party with until dawn without a worry.  As the first in our group to have a child, would we even see them much afterwards?  We have a dog who is all about getting all the attention, and can actually get it.  I get my fill of children by babysitting, which I love and would hate to have to give up.  I can get my Masters now, start a job I'll actually LOVE!  I would regret it later if I didn't take advantage of these things now, while we still can.

Why do people feel the need to push and push and push you to move on to the next big thing?  I think we should really commend the generation ahead of us (and our own) because I think we're breaking that pattern.  Lots of people are skipping steps, taking the steps backwards, or just completely changing them.  I think we get a lot of criticism for it, but I'm actually very happy with it.

I think our life will be a lot happier because we'll make decisions based on when we're ready and when we want to, no matter how much pushing and shoving there is on either side of the issue.  I'm really glad to finally be able to see that and fully embrace it.  I'll be honest- I wasn't before.

Pst... This is NOT linked up like I normally would, but if you wish you can visit the others here.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Menu Monday, sans groceries???

Have you ever just had an expensive weekend?  One where you look at the budget on Monday and think "Holy freakin' crap what the H happened???"?  Cuz that was us this weekend/today.

While Mike worked his tushy off this weekend- 2 shifts at one job, 1 at the other, unless you count Friday and then it's 2 and 2- Tangent, he put in his three weeks notice at the second job, and I couldn't be HAPPIER about losing a source of income!- I spent the weekend out.  I celebrated a birthday Sunday night and met some really cool new friends.  I spent all day Saturday at a golf outing for work and then ate dinner with the group.  Sunday I meant to just have brunch with the best friend, but... Brunch turned into brunch, shoe shopping fail and then chatting our ears off until we realized "Holy freakin' crap it's 5:30 pm". 

Needless to say, nothing was accomplished on the home front.  And I spent way too much over budget this week.  We bought a few last minute groceries, and our budget ran out. 

So tonight, in order to keep with the budget, I plan on searching the cupboards for dinner ideas so I don't have to buy groceries.  So far, this is what I have-

Monday and Tuesday maybe Wednesday?- Homemade Chili that I was supposed to make last week

Wednesday and Thursday- Soup from a can.

Friday- "Naked Spaghetti" and veggies.  It's basically spaghetti noodles in parmesan and butter... SO unhealthy. 

Saturday breakfast- Sausage, Eggs, Biscuits maybe homemade? (we gots breakfast food!)
Saturday dinner- Frozen pizza/whatever is in the freezer.

Sunday breakfast- Turkey Bacon, Waffles or pancakes
Sunday dinner- Pizza

HOPEFULLY the cabinets have a vast treasure-trove worth of food/ideas.  I know we have some canned veggies at least.  No fresh fruit though... But there might be some frozen... hmmmm...

Oh, and I'm linking up.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

A Dream Come True- Fast Flats Review

**This post is not sponsored, but if you (*cough*Dr. Scholl's*cough*) wanna change that, by all means, give me a call, email, letter, personal visit, whatever!**

So, ladies... How many of you enjoy going out?  ME TOO!!!!  It's a ton of fun, and it's so worth the hangover headache, tired legs, aches and pains of staying up too long the next day.  I love it.  :)  It certainly helps that I have some majorly awesome friends to go out with though.  If you wanna borrow them, you can come join us in Cincy sometime.

Leaving the tangent world now.

So, if you're like me and like to look great when you go out, you probably wear heals, right???  Am I right???  But then if you're going dancing, or anywhere that you have to walk a lot, or you're just standing a lot, it can hurt like crazy be slightly uncomfortable.

Dr. Scholl's just introduced this awesome new concept called Fast Flats.  They are foldable shoes that come in a cute little wristlet.  AND THEY'RE ONLY $10* in Cincy... Not sure about elsewhere.

Ok, come on.  Foldable shoes?  They can't possibly be that great.

But for only $10, I decided it was worth a shot.  So literally 15 minutes before I had to leave the house I was out buying those suckers.  Perk- they have a variety of sizes, including the infamous 5/6 that I can never find and desperately need.  I really expected a cheap plastic wristlet that would fall apart in minutes, but surprisingly, it was actually really nice!  And, as a bonus, it was actually big enough to carry more than just the shoes.  I actually used it for a purse for the evening.  I even remember thinking "Wow... This solves a lot of my dressy occasion purse dilemmas."

So out I go for the evening in my awesome high heals.  We went to dinner, then to Shadowbox Live, then out to a bar for some dancin' fun.  It was a relatively easy night on my feet- dinner had a mild walk to the car, we sat for Shadowbox, and because of timing, we were only at the bar for about an hour at most.  BUT by the time we got to the bar, my feet were actually sore enough that I figured I'd try the new shoes.  And my feelings are.....

They are amazing.  True, I had a few drinks by that point.  BUT! I was comfortable.  I was able to dance.  The soles were pretty thin, but they were solid enough I felt comfortable that my feet were safe.  They are black, and if you look closely they aren't gorgeous, but for a night on your feet in dim lighting, no one could tell.  They are pretty much a pair of ballet flats.  The only down side is you have to carry your heals afterwards, but that was just a minor inconvenience.  Very much worth the comfort for my feet!  And the next day (I stayed with a friend) I wore them home.  Still comfy enough. 



I definitely recommend them.  They are a cheap way to fix a big problem for a lot of women.  Hats off to you, Dr. Scholl's.  Seriously, this is a huge problem for women, and I think some woman genius finally figured out a solution.  YAY!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Wedded Wednesday- Loving Yourself

Have you visited The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans yet?  Oh no?  Well, I highly recommend it.  They are fabulous women working on a project that we could probably all use a little more of- our health.


What the caha does that have to do with Wedded Wednesday?  They posted a new challenge for the month of October.  I've yet to agree to it, but I plan on it.  Right now, actually.


The challenge is to love yourself.  OH MY GOOD GRACIOUSNESS!  That's asking a lot from me.  That is NOT sarcasm my webby friends.


Still- What the double caha- I made it up, and I like it.  It's meaningless, which means non-offensive -does that have to do with Wedded Wednesday?


My husband is a wonderful man.  He truly is.  He's pretty honest, too.  But probably the most frustrating thing for him in our relationship- me.  I can't take compliments.  I hardly give them.  I'm quick to find flaws and errors and problems without even noticing the blessings, the achievements, or the hard effort which is sometimes the whole point.  I'm a very very very strong willed perfectionist.  I used to see it as a good thing, but the older I get I'm starting to see that I might be wrong on that. Ironic, no?


Something I think a lot of people fail to see in successful relationships is the fact that each individual involved loves themselves.  They have a healthy life because they care about their own interests/achievements/goals.  This is NOT to say that they love themselves too much. That's possible.  It's just that they realize they are just as deserving as the other of their own dreams, goals, interests, time, etc.  It's extremely important in a relationship.  Otherwise you have the problem that my husband and I sometimes have to face.  So here's my huge confession and seriously- I recently told one of my best friends about this not more than a month ago......


hate don't love myself.


Ok, really?.......... Maybe..... Hard to believe because I'm so freakin' awesome on my blog hahahaha!... I hide it well.  Those closest to me probably know the truth i.e. my mom, my best friends- especially the one I talked to- and my loving husband.  I have a hard time finding this so called middle ground.  I don't like being hard on myself, and logically I know that I do a lot of things really well, and if I don't I honestly try my hardest or have good intentions.  But if I'm nice to myself I feel that either a) I come off as conceited, selfish, egotistical, narcissistic, or just plain self-centered. How many of those words are redundant? or b) I feel like I just sacrificed something more important, like maybe doing something for myself replaced doing something nice for my husband, who deserves it more.  And secretly, I really really really care what others think. Logically, I don't understand why the crap it even matters at all, but the fear of what others think is really a big problem for me.  Why???  See?  I think my own faults are logically, well... stupid and unjustified!

But I'm working on it.  It's very difficult, though, because I see a lot of failures.  I graduated last year and expected life to be more.  I'm not even working with my degree.  I don't honestly enjoy my job, but I can't change until after Mike is settled.  I don't really even like my house.  The result of having a desk job has added to a problem I NEVER had until recently- weight gain.  I gained a good solid 20-25 pounds after leaving band and graduating.  I obviously had the recent issue with pregnancy.  I have time management issues.  Ps I think the laundry buzzed and I forgot... Damn caha.


All of these- and they aren't all completely my fault -I really had a hard time saying that...- are things that I see as flaws.  I nit-pick.  I see all the problems.  I have a hard time getting past them because I can't imagine life being ok, good, right without fixing all those little imperfections.


So here is my pledge.  I'm telling you here and now.  I'm going to change.  I'm going to start loving myself.  I am going to accept compliments.  I am going to believe the compliments and stop finding excuses for why someone is giving them.  I'm going to find one positive every time I see a negative.  I am going to fail.  I'm going to be ok with failing.  I'm going to make a mistake and try not to cry laugh at it.


And also?  I'm going to do the things that make me happy, and work on things to get me healthy again.  But Lynzie, you are healthy!  Actually... eh.  Most laugh when I say I'm fat.  I'm not, ok?  I know.  But I have some areas that I don't like, and I want to stay in the healthy weight range. Believe it or not, I'm actually very close to being overweight.  I'm going to work on it.  Not because I have to.  Because I want to.


And the rest?  I'll get there.  But it's ok if it takes one, five, ten years to do so.  Hell, Caha- I can still be having babies in 10 years, so I have plenty of time, right?


I'm so right.  ;)

PS- After re-reading this post, I come off a lot harsher than I realized... While it's all true, I seriously think it sounds a lot worse than it is.  I'm still sane enough to be happy.  And I realize life isn't going to be perfect- hence the title of the blog.  The general fact is life isn't perfect.  It's the specifics that get me.  And the first step- accepting my faulty perfectionism.  Because it's ok to be a perfectionist.  :)

Monday, October 4, 2010

Monday = Re-starting

So I'm not doing so well with the healthy living section.  I haven't been following my own rules or exercising much.  BUT.  Today is Monday.  The beginning of a new week.  I am starting over!  I swear it!   

Wanna know what we're eating?

Monday- Chicken Alfredo- Haven't decided on the noodles- we have lots.
Tuesday- Hearty Chili
Wednesday- There better be left over chili
Thursday- Beef Stroganoff (anyone have a healthy recipe for this?  Mine is not.)
Friday- We have plans to celebrate a birthday at a bowling alley, so... left overs
Saturday- Breakfast for dinner- Sausage, Eggs (whites), Biscuits, and fruit
Sunday- Applebees- we have a gift card, and this is our date night this week.

And my lunch for work- cheesy ham and potato soup with a side salad.

Please note- I think the chili is the only healthy thing on here.  Also, Mike works until 9 or 9:30 every night, so I'm the only one cooking, which is why we eat a lot of left overs.  Sometimes we have mac n cheese (no, we don't have children).

Another schedule for the week- I SWEAR I'm going to work out!!!!

Monday- Biggest Loser Cardio
Tuesday- #tworkout (Twitter workout via The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans)
Wednesday- Biggest Loser Yoga
Thursday- Wii Fit
Friday- Biggest Loser Power Sculpt
Saturday- 18 holes of golf (the idea is not to exercise, but it's already planned)
Sunday- I'm gonna lay in bed all day bc Lordy I will be in pain.

Next week I will give you an update on how things went.  And if you are DYING for my generic recipes I will certainly share them.  Maybe by having the whole internet holding me accountable I will actually do the things on my list?  We shall see... We shall see...

Oh, and by the way- more menus can be found here- Orgjunkie where I linked up.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Allergies???

So I've come to a realization... 


I am allergic to my make up.  


WHAT THE FREAK??????


I've come to this realization based on the following observations- (keep in mind that until very recently I hardly ever wore make up at all... so learning this now isn't so surprising).


1- Every morning I wake up and do my thing and finally get to putting my make up on before leaving.  Within the next 5 minutes I promptly begin to sneeze my head off (and try to stop the gunky runny nose that quickly follows) for a good 10 minutes until I have effectively removed all the make up under my nose via rubbing, blowing, or whatever.


2- I can't wear mascara due to an allergic reaction (I actually found this out a few years back when I was in colorguard and they tried to say I had to- my eyes were burning within 30 minutes.  And red.  Very red.)


3- My eyes can't stand my make up.  They water.  I just thought it was from the sneezing.  But they water even without the sneezing (i.e. after the sneezing has finished).  I literally found a tear rolling down my nose this afternoon... And the closest thing to an emotional moment was the fact that the Bengals were losing to...  sit tight... the browns! (eep)


So... what's a girl to do when she's allergic to make up?  Or at least something IN make up?  I seriously am at a loss here.  Any suggestions?  Know any hypo-allergenic make up that doesn't cost an arm and a leg?


And on the note of make up... Since I'm new to this world... What do you girls use as your face wash?  My face has recently been breaking out a little more, and I think it's because my face wash isn't quite up to the task of removing make up AND getting my face beautifully clean... It's an issue.  I'm thinking maybe I need a good make up remover FIRST then wash my face???  Ugh.  I feel like such a dork.


And now that I feel like a twelve year old who apparently never asked her mommy the right questions as a child, I am going to drink some coffee (at 6:30 pm) and hopefully move on to something less embarrassing.

Friday, October 1, 2010

A Survey on a Friday

So one of the blogs that I read had this cool survey thing where you tag 8 people with 8 questions to answer.  Then they make up their answers, make up 8 more questions, and tag 8 more people.

I didn't get tagged, but I like things like this because it helps me find something creative to write.  So here are my answers to the 8 she created.  And if you're lucky I'll make up 8 questions of my own at the end.

The following questions were brought to you by Bree

1- What is your favorite type of dessert?

Anything chocolate!  I love warm gooey chocolate cake with cold vanilla ice cream.  Or chocolate and peanut butter ice cream mixes.  Yum.  Oh, and pumpkin pie.  I love me some pumpkin pie.

2- What is your favorite season? (if you get seasons)

It used to be Summer.  But Summer has been rather hot and dry and sticky and I'm stuck working instead of out enjoying it.  Now that fall is here, I kinda notice I'm extremely happy about it.  The wind, the leaves, the colors, and football of course.  Oh, and the pumpkin pie.  I love me some pumpkin pie!

3- Do you like/love where you live or do you feel like you need to "get out"?

I love Cincinnati!!!!  BUT.  I will say that for Mike's profession, and my inclinations, we should be in LA, New York, or Orlando.  :)  I'd also take DC or Chicago.

4- Favorite class you ever took (whether it was high school, college, etc)?

In high school I loved my government class senior year.  College, it was borderline the same- I loved all my history classes (Modern Mexico was the fave) and I loved my Human Geography classes.  I also enjoyed Shakespeare, though, and those two travel classes (Buenos Aires and Mexico) were AWESOME!  Yeah, I guess those last 2 were my favorites.  Definitely.

5- Do you consider yourself more of a small-town girl or a big city girl?

GOOD QUESTION!!!! I was born and raised a country girl.  We lived for the state fair, ate our own beef, hunted, showed horses, and I dreamed of riding in the rodeo when I turned 18.  However, I finished growing up in the city- moved when I was 16.  I love being close to everything, the chic clothes (that I can't afford), having all the culture (art, ballet, museums, sports), and all the places to go.  I would say I'm both.  I want to be close to the city, but I want to live on a farm.  Can we do that?

6- What is your favorite part of blogging?

Reading other blogs.  Connecting with other people.  Getting comments on my posts!  It make me feel like what I'm saying actually matters to people (even if it's just ranting about having problems shaving!)

7- What would be your animal of choice?

If you mean as a pet, then I definitely want a dog.  I love my pup. 

8- if you were to star in a movie, who would you want to be your male sidekick?

I would go with George Clooney or Matt Damon.  Both are excellent to look at, excellent actors, and extremely intelligent!  My kinda guys.


Ok, so do you want me to ask you a few questions of my own? 


1-If you won the lottery what would be the FIRST thing you would do?
2-What are some things you keep as tokens from good memories (i.e. what's in your memory box?)
3-What was your proudest moment?
4-Friday has come- what are you most excited about on any given weekend?
5-What did you want to be when you grew up (as a kid- not now)?
6-Where do you like to go when you are sad/stressed/upset?
7-What physical feature do you like best about yourself?
8-Favorite fitness activity?