Common Mom

Leeann did this and I thought it would be fun All the thing’s I have done are in bold. Those I have not are regular.

1. Touched an iceberg
2. Slept under the stars
3. Been a part of a hockey fight
4. Changed a baby’s diaper
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Swam with wild dolphins
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a tarantula
10. Said “I love you” and meant it
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Bet on a winning horse
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Taken an ice cold bath
28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Ridden a roller coaster
31. Hit a home run
32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
33. Adopted an accent for fun
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment
36. Loved your job 90% of the time
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Watched wild whales
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach
41. Gone sky diving
42. Visited Ireland
43. Ever bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited India
45. Bench-pressed your own weight
46. Milked a cow
47. Alphabetized your personal files
48. Ever worn a superhero costume
49. Sung karaoke
50. Lounged around in bed all day
51. Gone scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Done something you should regret, but don’t
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Been in a movie
60. Gone without food for 3 days
61. Made cookies from scratch
62. Won first prize in a costume contest
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Been in a combat zone
65. Spoken more than one language fluently
66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
67. Bounced a check
68. Read - and understood - your credit report
69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
70. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
71. Called or written your Congress person
72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
74. Helped an animal give birth
75. Been fired or laid off from a job
76. Won money
77. Broken a bone
78. Ridden a motorcycle
79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
83. Eaten sushi
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read The Bible cover to cover
86. Changed someones mind about something you care deeply about
87. Gotten someone fired for their actions
88. Gone back to school
89. Changed your name
90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands
91. Eaten fried green tomatoes
92. Read The Iliad
93. Taught yourself an art from scratch
94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
97. Been elected to public office
98. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
101. Had a booth at a street fair
102. Dyed your hair
103. Been a DJ
104. Rocked a baby to sleep
105. Ever dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all four
106. Raked your carpet
107. Brought out the best in people
108. Brought out the worst in people
109. Worn a mood ring
110. Ridden a horse
111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap
112. Cooked a dish where four people asked for the recipe
113. Buried a child
114. Gone to a Broadway (or equivalent to your country) play
115. Been inside the pyramids
116. Shot a basketball into a basket
117. Danced at a disco
118. Played in a band
119. Shot a bird
120. Gone to an arboretum
121. Tutored someone
122. Ridden a train
123. Brought an old fad back into style
124. Eaten caviar
125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn’t need
126. Ridden a giraffe or elephant
127. Published a book
128. Pieced a quilt
129. Lived in an historic place
130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage
131. Asked for a raise
132. Made a hole-in-one
133. Gone deep sea fishing
134. Gone roller skating
135. Run a marathon
136. Learned to surf
137. Invented something
138. Flown first class
139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite
140. Flown in a helicopter
141. Visited Africa
142. Sang a solo
143. Gone spelunking
144. Learned how to take a compliment
145. Written a love-story
146. Seen Michelangelo’s David
147. Had your portrait painted
148. Written a fan letter
149. Spent the night in something haunted
150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane
151. Ran away
152. Learned to juggle
153. Been a boss
154. Sat on a jury
155. Lied about your weight
156. Gone on a diet
157. Found an arrowhead or a gold nugget
158. Written a poem
159. Carried your lunch in a lunchbox
160. Gotten food poisoning
161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission
162. Hiked the Grand Canyon
163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks
164. Gone to the opera
165. Gotten a letter from someone famous
166. Worn knickers
167. Ridden in a limousine
168. Attended the Olympics
169. Can hula or waltz
170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books
171. Been stuck in an elevator
172. Had a revelatory dream
173. Thought you might crash in an airplane
174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert
175. Saved someone’s life
176. Eaten raw whale
177. Know how to tat, smock or do needlepoint
178. Laughed till your side hurt
179. Straddled the equator
180. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing
181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival
182. Sent a message in a bottle
183. Spent the night in a hostel
184. Been a cashier
185. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
186. Joined a union
187. Donated blood or plasma
188. Built a campfire
189. Kept a blog
190. Had hives
191. Worn custom made shoes or boots
192. Made a PowerPoint presentation
193. Taken a Hunter’s Safety Course
194. Served at a soup kitchen
195. Conquered the Rubik’s cube
196. Know CPR
197. Ridden in or owned a convertible
198. Found a long lost friend
199. Helped solve a crime
200. Responded to a NJP newsletter

OK - I’m a big fat loser. I did NOT get around to posting answers to these questions and those that I received via e-mail. Soooooo, here goes again . . . ask me a question, and I’ll answer. This time for real - apparently I got really a couple weeks ago

Hello all My next post will be #300 (I’m not sure why that’s a milestone, but it is) - but I have a severe lack of anything to write lately - which is obvious. So, I need your help! I’m going with the all popular “Ask me a question” request. Ask me a question, and I’ll answer it. I’ll post answers to the questions next Tuesday or Wednesday, April 15th or 16th.

So have it! What have you always wanted to know, but were afraid to ask

Got my Jeep back - of course it was FREE since they messed up. They didn’t fasten the fuel injector connection harness properly, so it wiggled off . . . therefore, no fuel injection, which means no running of the engine when you’re not forcing gas into it. It was still a pain, but hey, I got it, we’re good, and it’s just in time for the snow. Now to get reimbursed for the towing . . .

They got all the tires filled up on the buses, so they were running on schedule today, which is a bonus

Finally, for the first time in a couple weeks, nobody in our house is sick! Woo hoo! I’m not even going to knock on wood - I’m sure that will come to bite me in the behind, but we’ll see

And speaking of my behind (nice transition, huh!), it is SOOOOO much better! I can finally almost do everything - just no quick movements with pressure on my left leg, so no volleyball last night for me I missed it . . . but, hopefully next week I can play. But I’m so happy that it’s so much better! I might even go ice skating with the kids this weekend.

Princess got bit on the arm yesterday at school. A little boy was pretending to be a shark, and when she, apparently the minnow, walked away, he attacked her and bit her on the upper arm - enough to make her bleed! When we got to school today the little boy just about attacked her to say that he was sorry and didn’t mean to hurt her and and and. It was really cute, actually

Dude was so sweet to Princess last night. She was sad because she’d gotten in trouble for messing around at the table while I took Duma out to go potty. They were watching a movie and Dude said “Hey Princess. Do you want to sit on my lap? There’s lots of room in the chair for both of us.” So they snuggled up for about 15 minutes, then went and made themselves popcorn, and came back and snuggled up for the rest of the movie. He’s so friggin’ sweet!

We have Muffins with Mom at Dudes school tomorrow morning. We have to be there at 7:00 a.m. . . . bluck! Early to bed tonight for them for sure! It’s so fun, though - the kids think it’s so special when you go to school with them for this kind of stuff. Princess has her Muffins with Mom in May, right before Mother’s Day.

Off to catch up on another day of work . . . and maybe I’ll even find something worthwhile to post about tomorrow . . . it’s been a while

Yesterday I’d planned on catching up on all of your blogs since I haven’t had a chance to do it for like a whole week. But, alas, that didn’t happen. Hubby and I went to test drive vehicles instead. We though it would take us a couple of hours . . . 4 hours later we got back home, just in time to pick Keira up from school. During that 4 hours, I fell. in. love.!!! Now we just have to start saving, and in about 18 months we can bring my new love home

Jason is still sick He started feeling a bit icky on Sunday, but was fine on Monday and went to school. Monday night he was up vomiting, so we kept him home Tuesday. He felt way better yesterday and was eating and ready to go. So he went with us to test drive cars. He even wanted to go to the park to launch his rocket, so we did. Then early this morning he was up vomiting again. So he’s home again today. Poor little guy He hasn’t been to school more than 1 day since March 20th, with parent/teacher conferences and spring break and now being sick. Going to have to go pick up his homework today.

And, my backside hurts. It still REALLY hurts from the snowboarding fall on my tailbone. Chiropractor is helping a bit, but there’s such a deep bruise on the muscles around it and on the bone that it’s just going to take a while. It’s SOOOOO annoying! I can’t play on my volleyball team or go to the gym. I even have a tough time taking Duma on walks because if she pulls on the leash, I can’t hold her back since I can’t put much pressure on my left leg without much pain rushing through my butt. So I’m really annoyed that I haven’t been getting the exercise that I want and need to. Gonna be LOTS of catching up with that in a week or so when my behind is better! So that really sucks! And, apparently, my behind was numb from the hard landing . . . I didn’t realize it, but now that I’m starting to get the feeling back in the skin, it is ANNOYING . . . my skin itches constantly! It’s like when your foot is waking up from sleeping . . . but it’s ALL. THE. TIME. UGH! At least I can walk now and go up and down stairs . . . now to just get over the last hurdle and I’ll be ready to injure myself with some other sport

My house is a complete mess . . . well, that’s not true because I have a wonderful hubby who always helps out with that. But my bathroom - ugh - I haven’t been able to bend over to clean the tub . . . so I need to tackle that tonight since I can almost bend over to put pants on and tie my shoes now . . . so I think I can kneel by the tub to scrub it.

We are finished with gymnastics and ice skating for a while . . . taking a break for summer. But, today we start soccer. Keira has practice on Thursday nights and Jason on Friday nights. They both have games on Saturdays. I like to have their practices on the same day and at the same time, but I decided not to this year. The reason? The coach for both of their teams is the same, so I figured they’d never have games at the same time, which is always stressful for me when Dan is gone. They’re still so little to leave “alone” at the park with their team if I had to - they play right next to each other, but still. Anyhoo, my “plan” worked . . . and their games are never at the same time. In fact, it turned out better than I’d hoped! To accommodate their coach, who is coaching 3 teams (OMG! What a saint!) the Y each of his team’s games at the same time - so all of Jason’s are at 9:00 a.m. and all of Keira’s are at 11:30 a.m., which is perfect if you ask me. No rushing in the morning and we’re done before afternoon fun starts AND, they even made sure all of his teams are the home and away team on the same days . . . so, Jason and Keira will always wear the same color jersey on the same day. That all may seem trivial, but it sure takes a load of my mind - just one less thing to think about in my already full full full brain.

Duma graduates Puppy Kindergarten tonight She’s doing great with her sit, charge (lay down), stand, stay, come, etc. She’s also taking a break from training, partly because we just want only soccer right now, but also because she gets to go under the knife to make sure there aren’t any little Dumas running around the backyard in the future So after tonight, no more 40 mile round trips to dog training every Thursday night for a while!

The Jeep is in for repairs. We took it in last Friday for an oil change . . . they kept it all week! Why? Because the head gasket blew and they needed to machine and replace it and all the bearings and stuff . . . a lovely price tag coming our way tomorrow! The great thing is that the place we take our vehicles to is awesome! They give you a free loaner while your car is being fixed. They’re nothing fancy, but point A to point B is all that matters. However, last Sunday we took Duma to the dog park. On the way home, the check engine light on the loaner came on . . . so we had to take it back and they gave us a different one. But THEN, the check engine light on OUR other car came on! OMG! How annoying is that?! We thought it was just because the gas cap hadn’t been screwed on tight (past experience), so we filled it up and screwed the gas cap on tight. Drove it for a couple days, but the light didn’t go out. I topped off the gas again just to make sure. No good. So we called and asked if we could drop the car off as well - didn’t want to ruin anything. Luckily, the check engine light went off the day we were going to drop it off - so at least that’s one less thing on the master To Do list!

I want to say a big thanks to my hubby, who is awesome! If he weren’t home taking care of Duma when I couldn’t walk, hanging with the kids during spring break, staying home with our sick Jason, and generally keeping the house in order, I’d be a complete mess right now, as would my children, my house, and my dog.

Tomorrow night is kid swap night . . . our kids get to go stay with some friends after soccer practice until Saturday afternoon - hopefully that will give me and Dan a chance to catch up with each other, even if we haven’t been able to keep caught up with much of anything else lately

Yup - I’m still here I took Thursday and Friday off to play with my Mom who’s here visiting from MN. The kids were out of school for spring break and we had fun! Thursday we mostly hung out and relaxed while everyone caught up on a little sleep from playing with Grandpa (he left Wednesday), visits to the ER, and late plane flights. Friday and Saturday we had fun shopping, playing games, hiking, and playing outside. Sunday we played more games, went to the dog park and BMX track, attended a birthday party, completed out tests for the last ice skating lesson (I passed Basic 4 even though I couldn’t actually skate with my tailbone and Jason passed Hockey 4 - woo hoo!), had a yummy dinner, and read books with the kids. So we’ve had a busy week with spring break and lots of time with Grandmas and Grandpas. It was tough for the kids to get up for school today after so much time off and a tweaked schedule. But, we’ll make it. We’re actually kind of glad to be getting back to some kind of regular schedule. Unfortunately, Noisy Grandma has to go home today We’ll miss her terribly and can’t wait to see her and Monster Grandpa again in May when we head to The Black Hills for a week to play and have fun!

Hope you all had a fun weekend!

I’ve always said that the key to a happy marriage is separate bathrooms Ever since Hubby and I have been married, we’ve never had to share a bathroom, and I’m SOOOOO fine with that.

But today, my son requested a separate bathroom from his sister. It went something like this . . .

Me: Hey guys - go wash hands. Dinner’s ready.

They both bolt from their writing at the counter and race down the hall to the bathroom. I hear a couple crashes, bumps into the wall, and “Stop it Jason!” “No, YOU stop pushing me Keira!” “But I was here fiwest!” “Well, I’m here now, so get out and wait!”

Never mind that there are THREE bathrooms in our house. And at this particular moment, there are THREE of us living in the house since Hubby is gone flying. So in reality, we each have our very own bathroom. But, it wouldn’t be much fun if you couldn’t argue with your brother/sister over who got to the bathroom first.

Me: Guys! Stop the arguing and wash up for dinner! It doesn’t matter who go there first!

In all reality, it DOES matter who got there first. It’s a competition, man! I am very competitive - everything is a game. I hated when they allowed hockey games to end in a tie. I mean, those men are payed millions of dollars to PLAY A GAME - there should be no ties! It’s a game! And every game has a winner and a loser. Even kiddie soccer games at the YMCA . . . everybody keeps score, except the YMCA. But I digress . . . back to the bathroom.

Keira: HEY JASON! Turn the light on!

SLAM!

Keira: JAY - SON! Turn the light on and open the door!
Me: Dude, get back there, open the door, turn the light on, and get that grin off of your face.
Jason: But it was an ACCIDENT! When I left the bathroom the door got caught on my hand and closed. And I always turn the light off - I forgot she was in there!
Me: Dude, really? An accident? What (pause for dramatic effect) EVER! Get back there.
Jason: But I’m not supposed to go in the bathroom when Keira’s going potty.
Me: Dude - get to that bathroom NOW, open the door, and turn on the light!
Jason: Fine. I wish Keira and I had separate bathrooms!

This is the where I pull a Grandpa moment . . .

Me: You wish you had separate bathrooms? Dude, you’re lucky you have separate BEDrooms! Lots of kids have to share a room with their siblings. I had to share a bedroom with Uncle Pat for a while. And Monster Grandpa - he had to share one bedroom with 7 of his brothers! There were 8 boys in one room! And Noisy Grandma, she had to share a bedroom with her sisters. And I’m pretty sure if you ask any of them, they also had to walk 5 miles to school, in the snow, uphill both ways. So you’d better be thankful that you even have your own room and stop arguing about the bathroom, or you might come home from school one day to find that half of your room is painted pink!
Jason: Whoa . . . they had to walk all the way to school? And it was uphill both ways? That must have been HARD!

Ahhhh . . . the simplest detail to distract a little mind so they miss the entire point of your story.

My 4 year old has her Holiday Program at school today. A couple weeks ago we bought her a cute little Christmas dress for the gazillion Christmas celebrations we’ll have with family in the next couple weeks. She’s such a girl and LOVES dresses. So naturally, she was crushed when I told her she couldn’t wear it to school on regular days. But Monday I told her she could wear it to school for her program - OMG you’d thought I told her she was going to have a baby sister (another thing she would LOVE to have). She’s been counting down the days ever since, and telling everyone she knows that she gets to wear her Christmas dress in “this many” days.

Well, today she came  bounding in to my room at 6:00 a.m. - fully dressed - headband and everything - and announced “I’m READY!”

Poor little thing got her balloon deflated when I informed her that while yes you do look beautiful, it is only 6:00 a.m. - not 7:00 a.m. so you need to go back to bed; you need a bath before school today; and you need to wear your jammies for breakfast so you don’t spill on your dress.

She was still all smiles, because by golly, TODAY she gets to wear her Christmas dress!

In the past 3 weeks, I’ve been witness/victim to numerous events that have greatly increased the amount of wisdom I hold in my little brain. Of course, I feel obligated to share this infinite wisdom with you all.

Did you know that a 7 year old can actually request to play Monopoly 150 times in any 21 day period? Did you know that if you’re really tired, a Monopoly game with a 7 year old can last until the next morning? Did you know that if you’re really sick of Monopoly, you can kick a 7 year old’s ass in approximately 13 minutes and 42 seconds? 

Did you know that a Jeep Grand Cherokee has a speed sensor? Yup, a speed sensor. And did you know that if this sensor were to say, stop working, your Jeep would also stop working? You see, this little sensor is what tells the Jeep when to shift. Without it, the Jeep has absolutely no idea how fast you are or are not going and will randomly shift, or not, just to drive you crazy.

Did you know that it takes 2 days and costs approximately $597.48 to replace a speed sensor?

Did you know that when you are the 2nd car in a line of 4 cars that are in a chain-reaction rear-ending accident, the damage done to your vehicle is around $2800? Did you know that the insurance company will make you fill out approximately 36 different forms to describe the accident before they will pay your chiropractor to fix your neck?

Did you know that even though the screen on your cell phone goes completely blank, said phone will still work?

Did you know that the cheapest phone you can buy when you walk in to a Verizon store costs $180? Unless, of course, you want to sign a 2 year contract - then the phone is free. And they don’t care that you’ve been a customer for the past 5 years and that you just renewed your contract 6 months ago and got that free phone which promptly broke so you started using your 4 year old phone because it still works. But they may be able to dig a refurbished phone out of the drawer and sell it to you for around $50 if you write the check directly to them. And hey, this refurbished phone might even come with the charger cord! What a deal!

Did you know that you can sneakily use the color printer at the office to print your letters from Santa when the perfect printer you own and love decides to break just when you need it most?

Did you know that you can make sugar cookie dough from scratch when King Soopers runs out of prepackaged sugar cookie dough the day that you volunteer to make 3 dozen cookies for your daughter’s winter festival?

Did you know that you just BARELY have to knock the canisters with the sugar and flour together to cause the flour canister to shatter and turn you in to a giant Pillsbury Dough Boy?

Did you know that it takes approximately 5 drops of regular Dawn dishwashing liquid to make your dishwasher suds out the top? Anyone seen the Brady Bunch? Ya - it was kinda like that - but the dishwasher instead of the washing machine.

Did you know that it takes a 7 year old approximately 30 seconds to recover from his amazement at the suds flowing out of the dishwasher and grab the phone to call Dad.

Did you know that even MAOMs can move at the speed of light when preventing son from calling Dad to tell him that Mom broke the dishwasher?

Did you know that you must run a dishwasher 3 times to rid said dishwasher of suds from regular Dawn dishwashing liquid?

Did you know that when a dishwasher is full of suds, the tops to Pampered Chef adjustable measuring spoons will float out of the silverware holder and land on the heating element? Did you know that the tops to Pampered Chef adjustable measuring spoons melt and warp when they land on a heating element in the dishwasher? Did you know that I no longer have Pampered Chef adjustable measuring spoons?

Did you know that simply pushing a plastic fork in to a soft taco from La Casita will cause the fork to snap in half?

Did you know that 7 year old boys with wonderful father’s as role models are very sensitive and will offer to help you scrub the kitchen floor because “You’ve had a rough day and should just go relax for a little while.”

“Wisdom is knowing what to do with what you know.” - J. Winter Smith

My bloggy friend Pam started a meme for My Favorite Things . . . so I thought I’d play along! I’m going to skip the things that are OBVIOUSLY my favorites . . . like family, cute little puppies, presents, and the like

1. Snow - lots and lots of snow. I love snow. I love to watch it fall from the sky. I love to watch my kids play in it. I love to get all bundled up and go play in it with them. I love sledding in it. I love the bone-chilling, snot-freezing cold that usually accompanies it. I LOVE snow!
2. Water - especially lakes. I grew up in MN and we spent our summers at the lake camping, fishing, swimming, skiing, hanging out with friends. I love to be in the water swimming and jumping in and playing water volleyball and water skiing and fishing.
3. The smell of fire. I LOVE the smell of a campfire or fire in our wood-burning fire place. Nothing says eat s’mores or watch a movie like the smell of a fire.
4. The smell of rain. Andrea also had this on her list. Who wouldn’t like the smell of rain? It’s so pure, cool, and refreshing. Breath in a couple lungs full of that and all is right with the world.
5. Fall - the weather is perfect and the leaves on the trees are BEAUTIFUL! I don’t think there is a better season. In fall you can do it all . . . golf, swim, hike, grill out on the deck, wear shorts, wear sweatshirts - it’s all good! I love the beautiful Aspen gold we get mixed with the deep green of the pine here. I miss the wonderful red, yellow, orange, purple colors of the trees I saw along the river as a kid in MN. Also, my birthday is in fall - that might have something to do with my love of the season!
6. Birthdays - yours, mine, everybody’s. Everyone deserves to be king/queen/prince/princess for a day on their birthday.
7. CC - Canadian Club. My favorite drink - Canadian Club whiskey on the rocks. I’m easy to buy for
8. Scrapbooking - I LOVE scrapbooking! Not only do I get to spend time with friends when we get together for “crop circles” but I also get to relive all the moments I’ve shared with my children. I hope they will cherish the books I’ve made for them as much as I do right now. Even now, at 7 and 4, they love to look through their books and are amazed at how little they were “back then.” They each have one full album for each year of their life so far. Did I mention I like scrapbooking?
9. Outside - I am not happier than when I’m outside. If it’s nice, we hike or play baseball in the cul de sac or go to the park or ride bike or go golfing or hang out at the pool or just play. If it’s raining, we get our rain gear on and run around the cul de sac, splashing in the water and making mud pies. If it’s snowing, we get bundled up and make mini-luge tracks in the yard, sled down the street before the plow makes it, build tunnels, make snowmen, throw snowballs.
10. Sports - I am a sports freak. Sports I participated in as a kid: racquetball, water skiing, swimming, volleyball, basketball, softball, bike riding. Sports I’ve participated in competetively: volleyball, basketball, softball. Sports that helped me pay for college: softball. Sports I participate in as an adult: volleyball, softball, racquetball, golf, ice skating, biking, snow skiing, hiking, swimming. Sports that I enjoy watching: baseball, football, hockey, ice skating, soccer (when my kiddos are playing).

So there are a few of my favorite things. I could go on and on and on with my list . . . The Sound of Music, A Christmas Story, milk chocolate, peppermint stick ice cream, watching minor league baseball at the stadium, a clean house, hot apple cider with cinnamon schnapps, road trips, my job (yes, I love my job), reading…

So, what are a few of your favorite things?

I immensely dislike Eddie. I apologize in advance if you know and love an Eddy - but me, I dislike Eddy.

Eddy the miniature whirlpool created when the flow of water doubles back on itself - oh how I dislike you. Really, it’s not your fault that rafting guides LOVE you because you look all innocent. They say “Hey crew - who wants to practice flipping the raft? It’ll be great fun!” A majority of the rafters raise their paddle in salute because to us, it seems like a break. Mr. Guide says “Well, there’s an Eddy just around the corner - we’ll paddle in there and flip the raft.” JERKS! Once the raft is flipped, there’s no going back, and with a boat full, or not at this point, of inexperienced out-of-shape rafters, righting the raft is akin to hiking Mt. Everest. Oh Eddy, how I dislike you.

Eddie Munster, it’s not your fault that that you have those freaky pointy little ears, but they’re still freaky, like a bat - and Spock. And for that, I dislike you.

Eddie Haskel you smooth-talking mother-snowing creep! There’s just something about your wirey frame and “Anything, Mrs. Cleaver” that makes me want to jump through the TV, smack you upside the head, and say “Dude - leave that innocent woman alone! It’s not her fault she’s stuck in that dress and pearls and heels to wait on her 3 ‘men’ hand and foot!” Because of that, Eddy Haskel, I dislike you.

Eddie Bauer, oh how I despise you! You created clothes that would only fit 12 year olds and super models. Then you created a pair of jeans that fit a middle-aged, overweight mother just perfectly and make her feel sexy so she’ll want to go back to the Eddie Bauer store and buy another pair, preferably in a different wash. You hire only 6 foot tall toothpick thin sales people who have mastered the fake smile and the “Hello there, Sweety, how ya doin’ today? Just to let you know, our sweaters are buy one get one 1/2 off today.” And this is the ONLY thing they know how to say today. When MAOM says she’s looking for jeans, much like the ones she’s wearing, 6 foot tall toothpick thin salesperson gives a blank stare and says “But our sweaters are BOGO 1/2 off today. They’re all right here in the front of the store.” MAOM says thanks and walks to the back where she can see the jeans laying neatly on their shelves - calling her name because they’re sorted by short, average and tall. MAOM almost makes it to said jeans when 5′ 11″ tall toothpick thin salesperson, who has also mastered the smile says “Well hi there Hon, how ya doin’ today?” MAOM, who is almost ready to puke right there on the floor, pulls out HER fake smile and says “Fine, thanks. I’ve found the jeans.” 5′ 11″ toothpick thin salesperson says “Oh. Well, our sweaters are BOGO 1/2 off today. They’re all in the front of the store if you want to follow me up there to take a look.” Um, no thanks, I’ve found the jeans. I try on the jeans. Eddie, you SUCK! You apparently have only made one pair of jeans that fit MAOM perfectly and make her feel sexy. Defeated, MAOM heads toward the door, where I was given my very first hooker name . . . 6′ 1″ tall stick thin sales person who has perfected the fake smile comes running after me yelling “Thanks for stopping in! Be sure to come back and see us again Baby Doll.”

And for that, Eddie Bauer, I despise you!