Blog Journal: Day 13

The current question is: What is my ideal age?

This is something I honestly never thought about. And my first thought is, I don't know! When I thought about it, 25 seemed like it. I have no idea why. Maybe that's because that's when I last was thin, and so I equate it with better things. I dunno.

Next entry: A photo of you in the area in which you blog. Yikes. LOL

To see other entries on the idea age, check out the Linky HERE.

Blog Tour & Book Review: More than Conquerors

I had agreed to review this book prior to starting Proud Book Nerd. As such, the expectation is that it'll be posted here at Ramblings & More. I believe that this is the last book review I'll do here on Ramblings, but I am not 100% certain.

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Title: More than Conquerors

Author: Kathi Macias

Author Bio: Kathi Macias is a multi-award winning writer and radio show host who has authored 30 books and ghostwritten several others. A former newspaper columnist and string reporter, Kathi has taught creative and business writing in various venues and has been a guest on many radio and television programs. Kathi is a popular speaker at churches, women’s clubs and retreats, and writers’ conferences, and recently won the prestigious 2008 member of the year award from AWSA (Advanced Writers and Speakers Association) at the annual Golden Scrolls award banquet. Kathi “Easy Writer” Macias lives in Homeland, CA, with her husband, Al, where the two of them spend their free time riding their Harley.

You can find Kathi online at www.kathimacias.com and at her blog http://kathieasywritermacias.blogspot.com.

Book Summary: With violent crime on the rise and the political climate changing throughout Mexico, the opportunity for open Christian witness is rapidly decreasing in many areas. Hector Rodriguez pastors a church on the outskirts of the once-peaceful and tourist-popular border town of Tijuana. He has also visited other small churches in the remote and not-so-Christian-friendly towns of Chiapas state, delivering Bibles and ministering to those in the most persecuted areas.

Hector’s mother accompanied him on one of those trips and stayed behind to teach reading—using the Bible as her primer—to a handful of Christian converts living among the Mayan population in San Juan Chamula, where superstition and paganism run rampant, and resentment of outsiders runs deep. In a reaction to that superstition and resentment, Hector’s mother pays a serious price for her unwanted presence—and Hector must then choose whether or not to continue his work in some of the most dangerous areas of Mexico.

My Thoughts: This is the second book in the Extreme Devotion Series, and I like it better than the first. I can't quite put my finger on why, but I do. Perhaps because, while there still was violence, it wasn't nearly as violent as the first one, No Greater Love. This story highlighted the hope we have in Christ, and how God can reach anyone – even those people might consider the most unlikely candidates for conversion. While the family featured in this goes through much pain and loss, there also are great reasons for celebration. We also see that God truly does work everything out according to His plan. My favorite thing was seeing how God protected His people later in the story. The characters were likable and their devotion to God was inspiring. I found myself wanting to hear from God as clearly as these people do. I do feel I must say that the editing was sub-par. There are a couple of instances when the pronoun used didn't make sense, and I had to guess that it should be "she" instead of "he" – or vice versa. There also were some missing quotation marks and missing paragraph breaks. I read this book for enjoyment, but found these errors distracting. That said, overall this was an enjoyable story filled with hope and inspiration.

Source: Sent for review.

Book Trailer: I've seen these on other blogs, and thought I'd see if there's one for this book. There is.

Own It: Get your copy of More than Conquerors HERE.

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If you enjoyed this and would like to read more of my reviews, please join me at Proud Book Nerd.

Blog Journal: Day 12

If I could go back and change one thing in my life, what would it be?

So, how about you? What would you change?

To see other entries from today, check it out HERE.

Come back tomorrow to see my answer to the next question: What do you think is the ideal age to be?

Sunday Stealing: The Voice Post Meme

This one is too fun not to do every week! Taken from the Sunday Stealing blog! :-)

1) What's your middle name?

Ann

2) How old are you?

33

3) Where are you from? Are you living there right now?

I am from the Chicago suburbs. I do not live there right now.

4) Is it cold where you are?

Not in the least bit. At 7:36 p.m., it's 87º! 

5) What's the time?

See above: 7:36 p.m.

6) What are you wearing?

Shorts and a tank top.

7) What was the last thing you listened to?

Cyberchase as Abby watched it.

8) What was the last thing you ate?

A Club Lulu from Jimmy John's

9) What was the last thing you watched on TV?

Last night we got caught up on Lost. We'll be watching the end of it all once the kids are in bed.

10) What's your favorite tv show? Why?

Lost ~ It's so interesting, suspenseful, thought-provoking, fun ...
24 ~ The suspense
Private Practice ~ Who doesn't need a little drama? ;-)

11) Quick! Find a book, or something with text on it! Flip to a random page and post the second paragraph's first sentence.

He pushed a basket of bread and an olive oil dip across to her. ~ Page 176 in The Last Christian by David Gregory

12) What was the last movie you saw? How was it?

13 Going on 30. It was cute. 

13) Do YOU think you have an accent? Where do people in your country do people speak with strong accents?

I don't think I have an accent, but I'm sure elsewhere in the country I would be perceived as having one. I don't get that second question, so I'm gonna ignore it ...

Blog Journal: Day 11

Another late one.

This one is about where I live. Pictures have been requested, but I'm not sure I have any of my home – or home area – on my computer. So, I'll also look online, see if I can come up with any.

I live in an area of the U.S. called the Quad-Cities. It's an area that encompasses cities/towns in both Illinois and Iowa. It's actually a gorgeous area – lots of hills, the river and bluffs, trees, etc. Unfortunately, I can't find any pics of our actual house, but here are some pics/images of/about our area.

This first image is a map of where exactly our community is located. I'm not sure why so many counties are red, as only the two touch on either side of the Mississippi River are part of the "official" Quad-Cities.

This one is an aerial shot of the area. The river toward the top is the Mississippi River. The other river is called the Rock River. We are looking north. Yes, that is accurate. North. In this particular area, the Mississippi River bends in such a way that it runs east-west, and Iowa is north of Illinois. The island in the Mississippi River is called Arsenal Island. There's an Army base there, and it's where Mr. Ham works (for the Army Corps of Engineers).

This is Lock and Dam 15. On the right is the Rock Island Arsenal (island), and the bridge is crossing the Mississippi into Iowa.

Centennial Bridge, looking toward Davenport, Iowa.

This is the area in which I live. My husband and I both actually are from the Chicago suburbs, but his job brought us here. It's good – cheaper to live here. Plus, it's beautiful here and MUCH less congested, population wise.

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Head on over to Toddler Awesome if you wanna play along and/or read others' blog journals. The next question is: If you could change something about how you have lived your life so far, what would it be?

Blog Journal: Day 10

Today's question: What are you afraid of?

My answer: More things than I should be. As a born-again Christian, I should have no fear. I should be able to fully 100% trust in God for EVERYTHING. And, believe me, I'm trying! But, there are still things that get to me. I actually recently posted about my fears. So, rather than rewriting it, here's a link:
Top Five Fears

I would add a few things to the list: rejection, abandonment, failure. To name a few.

Fear is something I've always really, really struggled with. In fact, I used to love scary (and not just horror flicks, but supernatural thrillers, too) movies, but decided a few years ago that it was not something I should do. I struggle enough with fear, why invite it in like that? Since then, I've been a LOT better. It's still a struggle, though.

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Head on over to Toddler Awesome if you wanna play along and/or read others' blog journals. Tomorrow will be all about where we live.

Friendly Friday Follow #1

I'm excited to be participating in this the first week it's out. I'm not sure how often I'll do this, but I've grown quite fond of Emma over at Toddler Awesome as of late, and wanted to support her.

For those of you who are new to Ramblings & More, hello and thank you for visiting! :-) I'm always excited to make new friends! This is my primary blog, in which I talk about anything that comes to mind, hence the name. (Yes, I used the word "hence" – my degree's in English ...) When I say anything that comes to mind, I should add that I do NOT post book-related stuff here (at least not regularly and not if I can avoid it). If you love books, then check out my book blog, Proud Book Nerd. I'm excited that you're here. Let me know if you decide to follow, and I'll return the favor!

To find the links to others' posts, just go HERE.

Friday's Fave Five #4

I really mean to participate in this every week. Just sometimes life gets in the way ...

This is hosted on Living to Tell the Story. If you'd like to join in, the rules of play can be found HERE. This week's post, with the MckLinky attached, is HERE.

 1. Good Movies ~ I saw a couple of good ones this week, one of which was He's Just Not That Into You. OMGosh! I LOVED it! AWESOME movie! It's probably my favorite in a long time. I noticed in the end credits that it's based on a book. I think I'll be adding that to my to-read list!

2. Wonderful Teachers ~ On Wednesday, Grant finished his first year of preschool. Those of you who know me personally know that this time last year was very rough for me. We had some concerns over his development, and were even concerned that he might have ASD-NOS. After some reading I did, I was convinced that wasn't the case, and took him to Iowa City last June for a full evaluation. Long story short, nothing more than a speech delay. PRAISE GOD! Thanks to the speech delay, he qualified for a preschool in the school district. I was very, VERY nervous about this. I was worried he wouldn't separate well, worried he wouldn't blend in, worried about EVERYTHING. God placed him in the right class with the right teachers, and he FLOURISHED over the past nine months! He was in absolutely WONDERFUL hands, and I am so excited and pleased to say he'll be in the same class next year! :-) God is so good!

3. Mr. Ham Comes Home TONIGHT ~ Yahoo!

4. A New Adventure ~ Last week I finally decided to get my own domain for my book blog, and switch to Wordpress. Proudbooknerd.com was born. I'm having a little bit of a tough time adjusting to WP, as it is quite different. But, I'm confident that once I've made that adjustment I'll be very happy. I am QUITE happy with it overall. It's easier to use and, most importantly for me, MUCH easier to customize.

5. Birthday Parties ~ My poor sweet Abigail hasn't been invited to many classmate birthday parties since entering Kindergarten in 2008. She got invited to one this week, and was SO EXCITED! She'll be going for sure. I hope she has a WONDERFUL time. I feel bad for her, not getting a lot of invites, but I do know that will make the ones she does go to that much more special. But, my heart aches for her. I sure hope this doesn't mean she'll have to live with the horrid rejection I faced as a child/teen.

Blog Journal: Day 9

I wasn't able to post this yesterday, but I'm having too much fun with this Blog Journal event to let that stop me! ;-) Yesterday was about weddings. It's a chance to share photos/stories from our weddings. I definitely have a story. Not sure about pictures ...

This is me before the wedding:

My mom and me before the wedding:

Mr. Ham and me right after the wedding:

And me at the reception:

Unfortunately, that's all I have on photobucket. The rest is still in the album – this was done before photogs were using digital! ;-) I don't have time to scan others in.

The main story of our wedding was the weather. We were married on January 2, 1999. We lived in the Chicago area, and anyone from anywhere within a couple of hundred miles of there likely knows what that day was.

Background: December of 1998 was unusually nice. I remember relatively warm temps as recently as a week before my wedding. I remember going to bed the night before and there not being much snow. I must've heard of the impending storm, because I know the FIRST thing I did when I woke up. I looked outside. We had been SLAMMED with snow overnight. There was TONS of it. It's what we Chicagoans call the Blizzard of '99. It was absolutely NUTS. My sisters and I got stuck in the snow about a block from our house on our way to get our hair done. One of my sisters ran back to the house, and I remember my dad, my uncle, and my brother-in-law running our way with shovels! LOL They dug us out, and we decided only to take major roads. Fortunately, the salon was in a major shopping center in Wheaton. My hairdresser said she had her husband on standby with his four-wheel-drive truck to get us there if needed! LOL

The snow, the storm, the weather. Many, many – nah, most – of our guests weren't able to come. Including important family members. It was sad not to have them there, but we totally understood. Amazingly, all of the people who had a part in our wedding were there. Every last one of them. One of my bridesmaids had to dig out the entire alley on her block to get her car out, but she did it! LOL At the end of the festivities, our photographer told me that we must be really special because we had a GREAT showing for the way the weather played out! That meant a lot to us to hear.

That storm ushered in a NASTY cold snap, and the temperatures were the coldest I remember in a long time. There was so much snow, ice, etc. that even O'Hare Airport was closed for a couple of days. (That is almost unheard of!)

The funny thing is people we'd meet at friends' and family functions all knew about our wedding. We'd meet someone, and our wedding would come up, and they'd say "Oh, that wedding!" LOL We were famous – sorta! ;-) We still hear that sometimes, but nowadays it's usually, "You were married during that storm?" It's definitely a day most Chicagoans will remember.

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Head on over to Toddler Awesome if you wanna play along and/or read others' blog journals. Next up: What are you afraid of?

Blog Journal: Day 8

Today's question: What does romance mean to me?

My answer: I honestly don't know. I haven't given it much thought, really. So, let's see what Webster says ...

1 : to try to influence or curry favor with especially by lavishing personal attention, gifts, or flattery
2 : to carry on a love affair with

There are lots of others totally unrelated to anything I associate with romance, so this is it, I guess.

The first one, well, I think that's the courting/engagement phase. It all but disappears once a couple settles into marriage. At least, that's how the story goes. And, honestly, that's how things have played out. He does occasional grand gestures, but generally they're a thing of the past. Now, honestly, I'd like a bit of the gifts – that's my love language ...

Anyway, the second is definitely true. It can encompass the first, but it's not dependent on the first. It's the things we do every day that show each other that we love each other. It's him making me chai on the weekends, trying to replicate how they make the chai tea lattes at Starbucks or Panera. It's me making sure there's a cold beer waiting in the fridge for him at the end of the day. It's him cleaning up after me when I was SUPER sick, never griping, never giving me crap about it, and to this day being graceful about it. It's me putting a towel in the dryer for a few minutes so he's got a warm towel when he steps out of the shower on a cold day. It's him leaving extra cash for me to find when he goes out of town for work. It's me leaving a lamp on in our bedroom when I go to bed so he doesn't have to come to bed in the dark.

It's all of those things, and so much more. I am very blessed that God gave Mr. Ham to me. I couldn't imagine my life without him.

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Head on over to Toddler Awesome if you wanna play along and/or read others' blog journals. Tomorrow we share our wedding pictures and/or stories (or your dream wedding if you're single).

Tune-In Tuesday #9

A day late and a dollar short. But, hey, better late than never, right? RIGHT? ;-)

I have two songs for you. One is the aforementioned Switchfoot song, the other is appropriate right now. (Sorry, no lyrics today)

1. The Bed's Too Big Without You by The Police ~ I love this song. Always had. And this one works right now. Mr. Ham is gone for the week for business, and so, this song works. Enjoy!

2. This is Your Life by Switchfoot ~ Still not on Grooveshark – I'll have to look into that. Anyway, here's a "video" of it. (Not really a video – picture of the band while the music plays.)

If you participate today (or did yesterday despite my forgetfulness), please share a link! :-)

Have a blessed day,

To All You Domestic Women

You know who I'm talking to. If you're one of those domesticated women, I got a question for you.

Excuse me? What do I mean "domesticated"? Oh, let me lay it out for you ...

If you're one of those women who cooks and cleans, and does it WELL. And you also have time to be a good mom to your kids, and time to blog, and read 100 books a week, and hang out on facebook, and garden, and sell Tupperware (or Pampered Chef, or Lis Sophia, or ____________ (fill in the blank) ), and still be a good wife to your husband. You know, dates, quality time ...




sex ...




(Damn! Listing it all totally gave me a minor anxiety attack!) I have a question for you. How do you do it? Seriously. I mean, is it for real, or is it a front? If you really do it, HOW? Spell it out for those of us who apparently missed that class in school.

Better yet. Send me some of that super-mommy mojo, PLEASE! I could use some.

Oh, and as for the real question: Do you use index cards for your recipes? Do you file them? And here's the STUPIDEST question ever: do you put the labels in front of or behind the tabbed thingy that says the letter of the alphabet?

Say WHAT?

Does your recipe box go: A ~ Recipes starting with "A" ~ B ~ Recipes starting with "B" ...
Or does it go: Recipes starting with "A" ~ A ~ Recipes starting with "B" ~ B ...

Or is your system completely different – more like a cookbook? (I do alphabetical, because I think of the name of the recipe I want, then get it, rather than think of what I wanna make, then where it's categorized, etc., etc., etc.)

Inquiring minds wanna know ...

Blog Journal: Day 7

So ... no. Sorry. No graphic again today. I'm just not into it. When you see what I see, I think you'll understand ...

Today's task is to write about what's going on with each of your senses (taste, touch, smell, sight, hearing).

The Eyes Have It

I see clutter. The books I need to find homes for, the ever-growing pile of laundry (both to-be-washed and to-be-sorted-and-put-away), the never-ending dishes to clean, the toys scattered all over the place ... and it's much worse than usual, because my wonderful hubby is gone for the week! :-(

Do You Hear What I Hear?

I hear the kids playing outside – well, the older two. I also hear the birds chirping and some people mowing their lawns. Occasionally, the dog barks. Inside, I hear silence (outside noises coming in through open windows – YES!), because Miss Natalie is still napping.

Oh, Taste and See

I taste Dr Pepper. Love that stuff ...

What's that Smell?

I smell ... spring. Finally! (We've had a it of a "cold" trend lately.)

How Touching

I feel slightly chilled with the windows open, letting in the below 70º F air. But, I'm LOVING it!

If you wanna link up, do so HERE. Tomorrow's topic is to discuss what "romance" means to you.

Top 2 Tuesday: Bucket List

Another fun new meme. This time I found it thanks to Sam over at Life is Beautiful.




This week's subject is the top 2 things you wanna do before you die.

I honestly can't say I have a bucket list. Sure, there are things I wanna do, but I haven't sat down and really thought about this much.

1. Help my children find Christ and become saved. If I accomplish nothing else, I will be happy with just this. I want to spend eternity with them in Heaven!

2. Visit a few places that I really, really, really wanna see. Examples: Hawaii, Italy, and Ireland – to name a few.

If you wanna play, you can link up at the post HERE.

Blog Journal: Day 6

No snazzy graphics again today. Sorry. It's past my bed time, and I'm waiting for the dryer to finish my comforter/flat sheet (damn cat!). There's no time for graphics. And, really, (sorry, Emma) this isn't a very inspiring topic for me.

What is it?

Food. My favorite food/recipe/restaurant.

Favorite Food

Alaskan king crab legs. YUMMY! I rarely get them because they're so damn expensive ...

Something I can get regularly ... honestly cheddar cheese. I could eat just that and be happy. I once told someone that, and they looked at me like I said haggis is my favorite food! So, I rarely say cheese (especially cheddar), for fear of looking/sounding stupid! Lame, aren't I?

Favorite Recipe

I'm not much of a cook. I like to bake, though. I have the BEST sugar cookie (and buttercream icing) recipe I kindly was given by a former co-worker. But, alas, it's nowhere nearby. And, again, I'm tired. So, I'm not gonna get it. Anyway, it's my favorite because I searched for YEARS for the perfect cut-out sugar cookies recipe and FINALLY have it!

Favorite Restaurant

Honestly, I don't really have one. It just depends on my mood or current cravings. Although, if dessert is in the plans, then Chili's ...

Tune in tomorrow for a real-time post on the five senses. :-)

Sunday Stealing ~ On Monday

In reading Tethered Mommy, I came across this. It looks like way too much fun to pass up. Although, this week's is the second of a two-parter. So, I'm gonna do two weeks' worth! Fun stuff. (Bless you if you actually read it all! LMAO)

First things first: this is from Sunday Stealing.

The Speed-Dating Meme

1. What's your favorite Dr. Seuss book?

The Sneetches and Other Stories

2. If you could live in any home on a television series, what would it be?
I'd love to be in Addison's house in Private Practice. A beach-front two-story house in L.A.

3. What's the longest you've gone without sleep?
Umm...I don't remember. I try not to go too long nowadays! ;-)

4. What's your favorite Barry Manilow song?
Umm..I have no idea what any of his songs is, so none.

5. Who's your favorite Muppet?
Kermit. What's not to love about Kermit?

6. What's the habit you're proudest of breaking?
Umm...I've broken a habit?

7. What's your favorite website?
Only one? LMAO Not gonna happen. Here are a few:
Proud Book Nerd (yes, it's mine, but I love it!)
FROGs (another one of mine, but I still love it)
Facebook

8. What's your favorite school supply?
Isn't this an odd questions? Umm...gel pens?

9. Who's your favorite TV attorney?
Alicia Florek in The Good Wife

10. What was your most recent trip of more than 50 miles?
Downstate to see family for Easter.

11. What's the best bargain you've ever found at a garage sale or junk shop?
I'm not much of a garage sale/junk shop person. I like brand-spankin' new stuff.

12. Where were you on September 11, 2001?
Well, I started out asleep. I had worked second shift the night before. So, I heard the breaking news in VERY small increments as I kept hitting the snooze alarm. LOL But, once I got up, I had to go to work – at a newspaper, so that meant NO TIME TO WASTE! I ended up putting in 12+ hours that day.

13. What's your favorite tree?
I've always loved the Gingko – the fan-shaped leaves are so neat!

14. What's the most interesting biography you've read?
Annie Oakley. In the third grade, we HAD to read one biography. That's the one I chose – I can't even remember the name of it or anything. But, I LOVED it. I even read it a second time voluntarily!

15. What do you order when you eat Chinese food?
Crab rangoons are a MUST. Otherwise, it depends on where we go. I love egg foo young. But, the place close to us that is good doesn't make that. So, I get beef with mushrooms. And now I'm hungry for Chinese. Thanks a lot...

16. What's the best costume you've ever worn?
I've blocked most costumes out of my memory, thank you very much.

17. What's your least favorite word?
Oh, there are lots of words that bug the hell outta me – my degree's in English, after all! ;-)

18. If you had to be named after one of the 50 states, which would it be?
One of the states that actually are used as a name: Georgian, Virginia, Caroline. I think Virginia, so I could go by Ginny.

19. Who's your favorite bear?
My husband! :-)

20. Describe something that's happened to you for which you have no explanation.
Oh, I believe everything happens for a reason. I don't believe there is anything that lacks explanation. Even if I don't quite know it, God does.

21. If you could travel anywhere in Africa, where would it be?
Egypt.

22. What did you have for lunch yesterday?
Umm ... kids had hot dogs. Can't remember what I ate.

23. Where do you go for advice?
Depends on the type of advice I needs. Sometimes my mom, sometimes my closest friends, sometimes FROGs, sometimes one of my mommy groups, sometimes my readers, almost always my husband, and ALWAYS God.

24. Which do you use more often, the dictionary or the thesaurus?
Dictionary. As an editor, it's FREQUENTLY used!

25. Have you ever been snorkeling? Scuba diving?
Nope, and I have no interest in either.

26. Have you ever been stung by a bee?

Yep. A few times.

27. What's the sickest you've ever been?
I'll spare you the details, but it was about two weeks ago ...

28. What's your favorite form of exercise?
Dancing. I love to dance!

29. What's your favorite Cyndi Lauper song?
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, of course! ;-)

30. What did you do for your 13th birthday?
I have no idea. That was 20 years ago – EEK!

31. Are you afraid of heights?
Nah.

32. Have you ever taken dance lessons?
Yes – LOTS of fun! :-)

33. What's your favorite newspaper?
The Chicago Tribune, of course! ;-)

34. What's your favorite Broadway / West End musical?
I've only seen a few, so I don't really have a favorite. Les Miserables was good. Miss Saigon was good. The Phantom of the Opera was good.

35. What's the most memorable class you've ever taken?
I can't say there's a MOST memorable, but there are plenty that I remember. Some of my favorites (unless otherwise noted, they were college courses):

• Chaucer ~ A whole semester of Chaucer. We even learned the proper way to SPEAK as it was written! Really cool!
• Jane Austen ~ One of my FAVORITE authors. What's better than studying her work for an entire semester?
• Human-Companion Animal Interaction ~ All about people and their pets. This was FUN. 
• AP English ~ My senior year in high school. The teacher was AWESOME. He's who inspired me to get a degree in English.

36. What's your favorite knock-knock joke?

Oooh, one my dad told me when I was a kid, but probably should've waited until I was older.
Knock, Knock!
Who's there?
Madam
Madam who?
Madam foot's stuck in the door.
LMAO

37. What's your least favorite commercial?
All of 'em! ;-)

38. If you could go to Disney World with any celebrity alive today, who would it be?
Amy Grant. She is still at the top of my wanna-meet list!

39. Do you prefer baths or showers?
Showers, unless I have a Jaccuzzi at my disposal ...

40. What's your favourite newspaper comic strip?
Baby Blues

41. What's your favorite breakfast food?
Pancakes, waffles, bacon, eggs ...

42. Who's your favorite game show host?
Can't say that I have one.

43. If you could have a super power, what would it be?
Umm ... to be able to fly, I guess.

44. Do you like guacamole?
Ick, no.

45. Have you ever been in a food fight?
Um, no. And again, ICK!

46. Name five songs to which you know all the lyrics.

1. Rebirthing by Skillet
2. Jesus Loves Me
3. Word of God Speak by MercyMe
4. Strong Tower by Kutless
5. Sing Your Praise to the Lord by Amy Grant

47. What's your favorite infomercial?

Don't have one.

48. What's the longest you've ever waited in line?
A few hours, I think.

49. What's on the cover of your address book or day planner?
Nothing. It's just blank.

50. Have you ever taken a picture in one of those little booths?
Sure.

Getting to Know You

Better late than never, right? Yesterday I was absorbed in my project – setting up Proud Book Nerd on its own domain – and switching to WordPress. In case you're wondering, I haven't decided whether to do that for this blog. Depends on how it goes with PBN. So, that's why I have been so quiet. I'm working behind the scenes on PBN. That said, let's get down to business! ;-)

To play, copy the questions, answer them, post them, go back to Mann Land 5 and link up. That's it!

1. The most expensive thing hanging in my closet is.....?

My wedding dress. I still need to get it preserved ...

2. Have you ever played a team sport?

Soccer when I was in second grade. 

3. If you were a bug, what kind would you be?

Butterfly

4. Where on your body is the worst place to get sunburned?

My back – I hate when it hurts to wear a shirt and/or a bra.

5. Are you happy?

Overall, yes. God has been so good to me. I am very, very blessed.

6. People are always abbreviating..are there any abbreviations that make your skin crawl when people use them?

Sure, but none come to mind offhand. Well, except: DO NOT EVER CALL ME "Heath" (pronounced the same way as the first syllable of my name).

7. Do you love where you live..or could you live anywhere?

Eh. I like it because it is a nice area. No, I couldn't live anywhere. 

8. What, if any, extreme measures do you go to to keep yourself from overeating when you're full?

Sometimes I'll chew gum. I did the brushing-my-teeth thing for the first time recently, and that worked quite well. I think I need to do that more!

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The questions, once again, for easier copying and pasting:
1. The most expensive thing hanging in my closet is.....?
2. Have you ever played a team sport?
3. If you were a bug, what kind would you be?
4. Where on your body is the worst place to get sunburned? (thanks Ian)
5. Are you happy?
6. People are always abbreviating..are there any abbreviations that make your skin crawl when people use them?
7. Do you love where you live..or could you live anywhere?
8. What, if any, extreme measures do you go to to keep yourself from overeating when you're full?

Blog Journal: Day 5

Oh, MAN! Oh, man! Oh, MAN! This was a HARD one for me. If you've been following me for more than a few days, you likely will understand why when you see what it is. (Just in case, I'll explain after I show you my graphic.) As always, click on the graphic to see it bigger.

You see? ONLY ten songs? ONLY? REALLY? I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE music! It's my passion. If I could go back in time, I'd major in something that would give me a way to work in the music industry. Music engineering, perhaps – being a producer would ROCK!

Anyway, more about the songs I've chosen, AND I'll embed them so you can listen while you read! :-) Actually, I found a widget on Grooveshark that allows me to create a playlist, so, I'll embed the widget then explain the songs.

1. Rebirthing by Skillet ~ Anyone who knows me won't be the least bit surprised I picked this song. In fact, the instant I saw this journal topic, this song came to mind. Skillet is my FAVORITE band. Absolute FAVORITE. (A long cry from Amy Grant, my favorite musician for most of my childhood, huh? LOL) And this song is probably (I say probably because they have so many songs I love) my favorite of theirs. As a special treat, I'm going to share the acoustic version this time. Enjoy!

2. Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve ~ LOVE this song. Love it. Again, enjoy!

3. Ocean Floor by Audio Adrenaline ~ Probably my favorite of theirs.

4. Sea of Faces by Kutless ~ An amazing song. They are another of my favorite bands, Kutless is just awesome, too.

5. Word of God Speak by MercyMe ~ Yet another favorite band. Hmm... see? I love music! LOL I actually first heard this song on Kutless' Strong Tower CD. I didn't realize it was a MercyMe song until I got their 10 album. Powerful song.

6. Burden in My Hand by Soundgarden ~ I am a closet Soundgarden fan! LOL I love their stuff. Love it. This is one of my favorites of theirs.

7. Hold My Heart by Tenth Avenue North ~ I loved this song before they put it on the radio! ;-) So good. So very good. Their new song is pretty darn good, too.

8. This is Your Life by Switchfoot ~ Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of Switchfoot on Grooveshark! :-( And, unfortunately, the only version of this song I could find was an instrumental redo by some orchestra. Now, I love orchestras, but words are important ... I uploaded my copy, but it takes awhile for them to process it. So, I'll try to share it maybe for a Tune-In Tuesday post! 

9. Beautiful Day by U2 ~ What's not to like about this song? 

10. Shackled by Vertical Horizon ~ Another song I love, love, LOVE! A different guy is singing, and I just love his voice – for some strange reason. It's more about the sound of the music in this one than what is being said. Anyway, hope you like it!

As you can tell, and if I haven't made it clear at this point, I LOVE music. I couldn't live without it. I recently started doing a weekly Tune-In Tuesday post, and would love to have others join me! :-) So, please do.

And now, I wanna see what music you wanna share! Head on over to Toddler Awesome if you wanna play along!

Blog Journal: Day 4

I missed my chance to post this yesterday. It was a busy day. We were doing some yard/garden work, and I have been working on a top-secret project for Proud Book Nerd. That is keeping me VERY busy. So, if I'm quieter than normal (here or there), that would be why. I hope to share what I'm working on soon.

Anyway, yesterday's journal post was about your favorite vacation. Unfortunately, I don't have time for a snazzy graphic. I'm not sure I can even find pictures, but I can at least talk about it, right? ;-)

It's hard for me to pick a favorite. For one, we don't go on a lot of vacations. For another, the ones we have taken have been great.

We've been to San Diego (vacation for me, hubby was there for work), New England (Maine, Boston, New Hampshire), Europe (France and Germany), and Florida (a few times) – to name a few places.

San Diego was awesome, but not as warm as I'd expected. But, it was BEAUTIFUL. Absolutely beautiful. I'd go back there in a heartbeat.

New England was LOVELY. We were there in mid-June, and it was GORGEOUS. Plus, the lobster in Maine was AWESOME. (Lobster here in the Midwest sucks!) The hubby and I both REALLY liked it. If it wasn't so dang expensive, I could totally see us living there. Although, the corn they served us with the lobster was HORRIBLE. Absolutely horrible. Before then, I didn't know it was possible to ruin corn! LMAO This Midwestern girl wouldn't do well without GOOD corn!;-)

Europe could've been better. Why? Well, for one, I was about 10 weeks pregnant with Grant, and I felt icky. It's hard to fully enjoy a vacation when you can hardly eat and you have the energy of a sloth. Plus, honestly, it was like my hubby's dream vacation. We visited his family in Germany (which was great, and that part wasn't the dream vacation part), but spent most of our two weeks there in FRANCE, of all places. Now, I don't mind France. It's cool to be able to say I've been to Paris. And Versailles. And Normandy. And a place I can't remember the name of, but it was really cool. But, well, I can't say I ever had a desire to really go there much. I'd rather go to Italy. But, given where we were, the proximity to France just made more sense. And, again, I was feeling ICKY. I am sure that, despite being stuck in France, if I was feeling fine, I would've had a grand time – and it would be my favorite! LOL

Florida has a few trips. Our honeymoon, for one. That was nice – New Smyrna Beach. Of course, it was in January, so it wasn't all that warm, but it was a heckuva lot warmer than in Chicago. And it was GORGEOUS. There was another trip when we went to Ft. Lauderdale and took a short cruise to the Bahamas. I think, honestly, this was the most fun. We made friends – people we visited in Boston, actually. And for whatever reason, I have the most warm fuzzies when I think of that vacation. If warm fuzzies don't mean something, I don't know what does! ;-)

So, there you have it. A rundown of the few vacations we've taken. Only one since having babies – unless you count weekend getaways ...

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What are your favorite vacation memories? Head on over to Toddler Awesome if you wanna play along!