Happy Halloween!

We're back home after a good hour of trick~or~treating. This was the first year we didn't battle snow, rain or cold wind.

Thought I'd share some pictures of my favorite guys in their costumes.... (yes, we got them at a thrift store. 50% off to boot. We totally rock. Or at least Goodwill does) :)

Tyler picked out Dale Jr:

Gavin decided to go as a Knight (this was after changing his mind about 4 times): Here we have the obligatory brother pose: And finally, the aftermath. If you look closely, you can tell Shawn's already eating a stolen piece of candy:

They got whole candy bars this year (Nestle Crunch) and bags of microwave popcorn! We had them pick their 10 most special pieces and put them in their own separate bags and then threw everything else in a huge bowl... That way we won't be worried about stealing their favorites.

And I have a story for you too... Jen has gotten me thinking a lot lately about homeless folks and my attitude towards them. This post affected me more than I think any blog post I've ever read (please take a few minutes to click on that link... I really think it's important). I like to think of myself as an open minded person... ready and willing to work towards changing my (many) flaws.

I have never before given anything to a homeless person. Often, I don't have cash on hand. In fact, more than often. Mostly. And what little cash I do have, I horde for when Tyler loses another tooth. I've been questioning myself and my own motives here and honestly, have been unsure about what the right thing to do really is. Her post definitely opened my eyes a bit.

Today, I was given another chance. As I sat at a busy intersection, a man approached my window. I didn't feel unsafe, as I sometimes do in this situation ~ my boss was in the car in front of mine. He was talking, though I couldn't hear him with my window rolled up, keeping me nice and warm in my car while it was chilly outside ~ a perfect October day.

I rolled my window down so I could hear what he was saying to me and he asked me if it was snowing yet where I'd come from. I told him, no, but that I heard it was supposed to and he'd better get someplace warm before too long (now, that seems to me a horribly insensitive thing to say!). He asked me if I had any food. I looked around my car, knowing there was nothing. I was in a rush to get where I was going and was trying to rack my brain to remember if there was anything in my wallet. As I looked down at the seat next to me I remembered ~ pumpkin seeds! I had packed some roasted pumpkin seeds for a snack and had been munching on them at red lights. I told him that he was welcome to them and he thanked me for the nourishment.

I wish I'd been able to do more... I hope he's warm and safe tonight.

Something borrowed, something new

I like to think I'm an Ok mom.  Better than average, on a good day.  But I'm always trying to find ways to be better.  One thing, I've been less than stellar at is positive reinforcement.  It's not that I don't know it's important.  I do.  I'm really good at punishing negative behavior, so it's not just neglect of noticing what they are doing.  I really don't know why I'm not better, but thought it was time to try something new.

In Gavin's class, they are rewarded with "President Slips" for good behavior.  You might remember a few weeks back when he was President for a week because he had accumulated the most slips.  I liked the idea and wanted to implement something similar in our home.  Shawn and I discussed my idea with the boys and we did some tweaking ~ all four of us.  And here is what we came up with:

When we notice one of the boys doing something good, we reward them with "good behavior points".  I have a T & a G on a dry erase board and when they earn one, they get a little tick on the board.  Conversely, when they are being really rotten, they can have one easily wiped away.  They earn them for being sweet to each other ~ I try to "catch" them as often as I can.  They also earn them for doing chores... especially if they have not been asked to do them.  At the end of the week, the child with the most points gets to have special privileges on Sunday ~ such as picking the movie we watch as a family and picking the meal for dinner.  

So far, our meals have consisted of hot dogs (G) and butter noodles (T).  

They love it and get really excited to earn points... But they also are getting competitive with it.  Tyler reminded me a couple times last week that I told Gavin I'd take away a point for something ornery he'd done.  He also reminds me that he took the recycling out without me asking (2 times even!).  And now they fight over who gets to do the easier chores...

We might have created good behavior monsters.

My first bling! And weekend randomness...

So I've been blogging for awhile now... at least a year I think? I started on Myspace and then continued here. This morning, I discovered that I got my first bling. Here it is:

Pretty purdy, eh? :) Thank you WorksForMom for passing that along...

In other blogging news... My sister~in~law has started a blog as well. Stop by and say hello!

So we've had a super super busy weekend. Tonight is the first night since Thursday that I am not going out... We haven't been to a concert in a long time, but when I saw that two bands I really enjoy were coming to Denver, I mentioned it to Shawn. Being the wonderful hubby that he is, he decided to buy us tickets to go see them. So Thursday night, we headed to the Ogden Theatre and saw the show. It was great!! But I think we were the only people there that were legal... *ahem* so that made me feel really old! And by the time we picked the boys up at Ria's house and headed home to crash, it was after midnight.

Some idiot (that would be me) made the boys a dentist appointment at 7am on Friday. So six hours after our heads hit our pillows, we were up and getting ready to get our teeth cleaned. They had a good check up ~ no cavities! And then we were off to school.

I worked in Tyler's classroom in the morning and it was great, as always. I really enjoy spending the extra time with him and getting to know his classmates. The rest of the afternoon was a mess of laundry and grocery shopping.

Saturday morning I had to go in to the office for a bit. We are opening our second location this Thursday and there is still a lot to do! I have boxes of stuff ready to go to the new office... and I'm going supply shopping on Monday. The furniture should be ordered by now and will hopefully be shipped next week so the only thing left to do is the mailer. In order to get the phones ringing and get a fast start during a very SLOW time of the year, we are dropping 9,000 pieces of mail on Wednesday. Or that's the goal anyway... I'm still not 100% confident that is going to happen but we shall see!

That night we headed to Ria's for pizza & beer... While the kids played and the guys watched the Rockies game, Ria & I headed to our friend Tiffany's house for a low key Halloween party... I don't get to see Tiff and Shawna too often, so it was a real treat (though as always, I long for more time with them when I leave!). Later the guys met us at a bowling alley for some Xtreme (in the dark) bowling. I am proud to say that the highest score of the night was mine ~ 117. And no, that's not just because our hubbies had had a little bit too much to drink.... and weren't playing their best. I'm just that good. :)

Today we all slept in a bit, which was important because we didn't get home until 2am. I am just getting too old for these late nights and will probably crash on the couch by 6pm! Shawn's still sleeping, at 10:30am but we do have plans to carve pumpkins and take out the dead plants in the garden. I'm looking forward to a low key day... I might try to convince my boys to join me for a little thrift store shopping later this afternoon... I went through Tyler's clothes this morning and I think he's ready for the next size up... But he needs a couple things to complete his wardrobe. And any excuse to go treasure hunting... you know, I'm there. :)

Hope your weekend was great!

Choices

We've been talking a lot about making good choices in our family lately.

Tyler was asked to make the decision about whether or not he wanted to be in Cub Scouts this year. He hasn't been too crazy about it so far ~ the meetings have been unorganized and they've been having the boys do laps around the gym rather than do something Cub Scouty. They organized the event at the Pumpkin Patch over the weekend, but once we arrived, it was clearly not a group event ~ everyone just did their own thing.

We have held off on buying a uniform because, well, they're not cheap and we're not rich. We had to have a uniform by the end of the month if he was going to stay involved. So Shawn asked him Monday to make a decision about it... though perhaps a little premature, we didn't want to buy the uniform and then have him decide later he didn't want to do it.

Shawn's been hoping he'd like it as much as HE did when he was a little boy. He has really good memories of spending time with his dad camping and doing other activities with the Cub Scouts. I think with everything that has happened with his parents, it was a way for him to still hold on... through Tyler... to that time in his life when he felt closest to his dad.

Tyler decided, after a couple days of contemplation, that it wasn't something he wanted to do this year.

But maybe we can try again next year and see if anything has changed...

******

Yesterday as I was sitting in the dining room checking email and reading blogs, I heard the boys starting to argue as they sat in the kitchen eating breakfast. I try not to interfere unless I think it's really necessary because I think it's good for them to learn how to deal with conflict and to practice what we've taught them about conflict. Who better to practice on than your brother?

So they are starting to argue and after a few minutes I heard Tyler say: "You know? I just don't feel like arguing with you. I'm just going to stop talking and eat my breakfast." And he did!

I was so proud of him...

I, at 6, 16 and 26, have never had the ability to walk easily away from an argument. Especially if I *knew* I was right, as he did. (Gavin often tells tall tales and gives his own spin on reality) He clearly possesses a quality I don't have and I think, though we never taught him to say that specific thing, he is demonstrating his ability to make good choices already...

Though I know my work here is not even close to being done, I feel good knowing we've gotten off to a good start.

Our visit with the girls

We had a great time with my mom, sister & niece! It was a very busy weekend, filled with activity. The boys loved hanging out with their youngest cousin and it was good, as always to see my mom and sister.

We spent Friday in Colorado Springs. We visited Garden of the Gods, where we saw some beautiful red rocks, found a buffalo in the Nature Center, and looked at some dinosaur bones.

Next we had lunch and went shopping in Manitou Springs. We found a fun park to play at on the way back to Denver.

It had a beautiful little stream...

And fun things to climb on...

Doesn't she have the prettiest baby blues you've ever seen? Her brothers both do too...

Saturday we started the day out at the Pumpkin Patch, where Tyler's Cub Scout troop met for a field trip.

We went through a hay maze...

Looked for pumpkins...

And hit a pinata...

We ended the day on the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder... doing a little shopping... before heading home. That evening, after the kids were settled in, Shawn & I took Laura and a couple of her friends to Black Hawk to do a little gambling. It was fun, but we didn't even break even like we usually do. Shawn's lucky (or talented?) with Black Jack and usually doubles his money, which makes up for the money I lose... But this time that didn't happen.

Sunday it snowed (!) and we thought we should enjoy an indoor activity so we took the kids to the Children's Museum. We don't get there very often these days as the kids are almost too big for it... but it's still a fun treat.

We got to try on costumes...

Ride on a fire truck...

And play with some trains...

All in all, it was a great visit. Grandma & Grandpa are coming back in a couple weeks to do some skiing so we will spend some time with them in the mountains. Should be fun!

Coming soon... to a household near us...

... my family!  My mom, sister and niece are coming for a visit tonight and will be here until Monday morning!  We haven't seen them since August so we're all really excited that they are coming.   We have a weekend of adventures planned... I'll fill you in next time.

In other news, Tyler's parent~teacher conference was last night.  He is doing really great ~ he's been put into the second to highest reading group and is on the cusp of moving higher.   Such a smart lil guy.  He got all S's and E's (Satisfactory and Excellent) and his teacher didn't really have anything special for us to work on to help him improve... just keep on keeping on.  I continue to love her ~ I really hope she sticks around until it's Gavin's turn.  She occasionally expresses frustration with the school so that makes me nervous that she'll leave ... but perhaps I can convince her to stay.  ;)

We're getting really close to opening up our new location.  Next week I get to go shopping with my boss and pick out the furniture and office supplies that I want.  I love shopping with other people's money!   There is a lot to do to prepare and I'll only be in my current office next week so there isn't a lot of time to get everything done!  I think it's all coming together though, so I'm trying not to stress out about it.

Well that's all for now.  I'll check in again after the weekend.  Have a good one!

What the hell... Wordless Wednesday

July 2007

Gulf Shores, AL

Wish I was there...

I'm disappointed in myself...

I just saw this link on someone else's page so I had to see what my blog rating would be... and here it is:

I always thought I had a bit of a potty mouth but apparently I'm not so bad after all... :)

Oh, and sorry for two blogs in one day but this doesn't really count does it?

Refuge Roundup

It was a pretty quiet weekend around our house...

Friday I spent the morning in Tyler's classroom, which I really do enjoy. It is a nice change from a week in an office. That afternoon I had a post~op appointment (Pollyanna's officially gone and everything looks great!), met a friend for lunch, and got my thrice a year hair cut. On the way home I got to go to Target for some groceries alone. I say got to because it really is a treat to have alone time in Target! Of course, I had to check out the clothes on clearance and got a couple super cute shirts for under $3.00!

Saturday we decided to do something fun with the kids, as we really haven't taken them to do anything for quite some time ~ probably when Jason was here last! Poor kids... We've been so tight financially and it's hard to find free things to do. (There is a light at the end of the tunnel though, as my boss just told me what my raise will be when we open our new location on November 1st ~ an extra $400/month! That will definitely help and right in time for the Holidays also...)

Anyway, when we heard the Rocky Mountain Wildlife Refuge was having a Refuge Roundup, which is a celebration of the Wild West, for free... we thought we'd scoot on over there for some fun. :) We got to see Native Americans doing some traditional dancing, as well as hear a high school mariachi band. We got to see lots of critters ~ from a Bison to Red Tailed Hawks. Our favorite, however, was the little Screech Owl. It was the cutest thing. Bad me forgot to take a camera, so I can't share... But it was all I could do not to grab that lil guy and run off with him. The kids were in total agreement! They had crafts as well... the boys made a little bird house. It's too small for a bird, but they had fun making it. And at the end... free popcorn!

Sunday was pretty boring ~ it was cold and nasty outside so we watched TV, knitted, read magazines, played board games and played all day. We've had a lot of those days lately, it seems!

My mom and sister are coming for a visit on Thursday and I'm so excited! The boys are too ~ they haven't seen any family in awhile and they've been pretty sad about it lately. Hopefully this'll help.

I'll leave you with a funny...

The other morning, I was in my bathroom getting ready and Tyler came in to tell me he was all dressed. I looked him up and down and noticed his bare feet. Then I said "well that's great, but where are your shoes?" He promptly looked ME up and down and said "where are YOURS?"

And now it begins... :)

My First Meme!

So I got tagged for a Meme by the lovely Greenblogger ... which I love reading when other people post them. Of course I jumped at the chance to fill one out too... especially when there isn't much of substance going on around the York household the past couple days... Here we go!

4 Jobs I have had:

* Office Manager for an Allstate agency
* Nanny
* Administrative Assistant for various offices
* Cafeteria worker in my college dorm

4 Movies I love to watch over and over:
* The Story of Us
* Love Actually
* Gone With the Wind
* Pretty Woman

4 Places I have lived

* Indianapolis, IN
* Augusta, GA
* Frederick, MD
* Denver, CO

4 TV Shows I enjoy watching.

* Lost
* Survivor
* Big Brother
* Numb3rs

4 places I have been:

* San Francisco, CA
* Washington, DC
* Myrtle Beach, SC
* Gulf Shores, AL

4 websites I visit daily

* Gmail
* Hotmail
* Various blogs
* Yahoo's most emailed news (which seems to have disappeared?)

4 Favorite foods

* Cheese
* Chips & dip (salsa, guacamole, cheese)
* Good salad
* Fresh bread with Olive Oil dip (sense a trend here?) :)

4 Places I would rather be

* Getting a massage
* On the beach with Shawn
* In Indiana with my family
* At a thrift store (it's been awhile!)

Nine

I wasn't one of those girls who had their whole wedding planned out by the time I was in middle school. I didn't think about who would be there, the dress I'd wear, the location of the service. Even after Shawn and I started dating and our relationship progressed to the point where I knew he was the one I'd spend forever with, the big white wedding wasn't something I thought about. My goals were always the period of time after that big day ~ the daily grind... being a wife... cooking dinner... keeping house... having babies.

But once we decided to get married, and then set a date, I started planning. It was to be the week of Valentine's Day (which gave us less than a year to plan) of 1999. We met in college and there is the cutest little chapel on the grounds of the university that we thought would be perfect... with the reception following in the Student Union there. It started to all come together in my mind ...

Once Shawn joined the Army, things progressed a little differently than we thought. He enlisted earlier than we planned and in order for me to be able to join him and make things less complicated as far as paperwork goes, we felt we needed to be married before he left for Basic Training. So we pushed the date up a bit.

Our nine months to plan turned into three weeks. We naively thought that everything would go off without a hitch (no pun intended), where the Army was concerned and we could have a service with the Justice of the Peace and then do the white wedding with our friends and family later, during a Christmas break. Well that didn't happen... as plans change when you are a part of the military.

It was a beautiful crisp October day in Lafayette, Indiana, where we were living. Shawn's family was there and my family was there. It was short and sweet and officiated by Pat Smith. I'll never forget her because of her ambiguous name (isn't that awful?). She was really cute and told us to be kind to each other... After our short ceremony, we went to the club house in my In-Law's neighborhood, where they had a cake, more friends & family, and a party so we could celebrate our union.

We never had a honeymoon ~ just a weekend in Chicago. We'd never been there, at least not together and as adults. We stayed in a dinky hotel just west of town and road the train into town, feeling very grown up at the ripe old ages of barely 21 and 23.5. We visited tourist attractions and made love all weekend.

It was perfect.

We talked about renewing our vows, having a big party, inviting everyone that didn't go because they thought, as we did, that we'd do the big white wedding later... But somehow it doesn't seem as important now. Because it's a part of our history. It's where we officially became an "us".

And I love what "us" has come to be... All of it. The good, the bad, and everything in between. "Us" just feels right to me. It's home.

Happy Anniversary, Honey. Thank you for nine mostly wonderful years. Thank you for being my rock, my partner in crime & in parenting, my "does this make my butt look big?" observer, my biggest supporter, my lover, my comic relief, my inspiration, my confidant, my zipper~upper, and most importantly, my friend.

I love you.

Thank you

I appreciate all the kind words about Uncle Jim's passing. The funeral was today and my sister was able to attend. She said it was a really nice service and she was able to represent my family, which was great.

We had a really nice relaxing weekend ~ a rarity for us! We mostly stayed home, doing things around the house such as cleaning... decorating for Halloween... planting bulbs for Spring flowers (it's strange to think about Spring now, when it's starting to get chilly and Winter is inevitable!)... watching more Lost (over halfway through Season 3 ~ it's SO good!!)... catching up on books and magazines... It was great!

I was pretty ready to get back in the swing of things. My boss is still not 100% but was at work for most of the day today. Hopefully she didn't share her cooties with me! We are gearing up for opening our second location on November 1st. I can't remember if I told you guys about it, but though it's not right by my house like I was hoping (there is not much available up here yet!), it's closer than where we are now... so my commute will be cut just about in half. I found out today what my raise is ~ and though I'm not sure I deserve it, it's going to make things a lot more comfortable for us. Hooray! There is just so much to do in such a little time, but I'm excited for the transition.

Ria's not feeling well... and I'm nervous about her. Send some get well soon vibes her way, would ya? :)

Uncle Jim

My Grandpa's brother, Jim, passed away last week.  He left behind three brothers and a sister... Each one of them embodies everything good that I remember from their mother, my Great Grandma Margaret ~ who I was lucky to know and have in my life until I was 24 years old!  Tyler even got to spend a brief amount of time with his Great~Great Grandmother, though he has no memories to confirm that ~ only pictures.  My grandparents lived next door to Uncle Jim & another brother, Uncle Ron, for years and years.  So when we spent time at my grandparents' house, it was not unusual to see them as well.  

Uncle Jim was kind and gentle and funny.  He had the type of personality you are drawn to!  He always seemed genuinely interested in knowing me, his niece's daughter, and my siblings.  He was always teasing, looking for a laugh.  He smiled easily and often.  Just like Great Grandma.  His death brings me to a place in my memory where I can see him and her as well, in him.  

Uncle Jim was very generous and couldn't turn his back on his family.  When his grand daughter had a baby at a very young age ~ before she was ready for the responsibility, he and his wife, Aunt Pat, took their great~grand daughter into his home and raised her like their own child.  At their age, that could not have been easy!

My mother's side of the family turns these occasions into big family reunions.  There will be tears one moment, thinking about the loved one we have just lost, and the next moment they'll be laughing... remembering the person that we knew.  It's been awhile since we buried someone ~ or at least since I was able to be there for the funeral... Great Grandma Margaret ~ 5.5 years ago.  I feel like I should be there now with my family as they celebrate Uncle Jim's life tomorrow.   I feel I should be there to hug my grandpa and his remaining siblings... I feel the need to see my family, to touch them and to cry with them.  For Uncle Jim and Grandma Margaret, because when he died... she died again too, a little bit ~ the part of her that was still loving in him.  As her children pass on, I fear she will be here in this world less and less.   I feel the need to hold on to her as much as I can... she made this world a better place.

Uncle Jim's death was expected and merciful.  He was suffering from cancer and there was no hope of his recovery.  He became someone different at the end, and I am lucky that I do not have to remember him that way.  He will always be smiling in my mind.

Blah.

I'm feeling bored today. Work was less than exciting... My boss is home sick with the flu and I was on my own for the morning until my new co~worker came in. We're tight financially as I spent way too much at the grocery store the other day (the good news is that we are safe from nuclear war ~ we have enough food in the house to live at least a month on)... so it seems we are stuck at home for a bit until we come into some lighter times. While I like our home and it is a haven for me... I get restless at times. Usually going to work gives me enough away from home time to curb that feeling but for some reason it's not cutting it today.

The boys have been arguing a bit and seem to be extra whiny the past couple days. I feel I need a much greater amount of patience to deal with it than I possess.

Forgive the whininess of this post but I wanted to tell you why I was quiet... in case you were wondering. It seems a bit of this is going around though... Hopefully I'll snap out of it soon. I really want to enjoy fall ~ it's my favorite season! This weekend we are planning on planting some spring bulbs and doing some work on our garden... which should be fun.

So do me a favor ~ tell me a good story. :)

Help & Laughs

I got an email today from a blogger I visit frequently, asking for comments for a family member who recently lost their son in Iraq. If you have a moment, I'd be grateful if you'd visit here and post something sweet to the soldier's parents. Please, no anti~war messages... If you'd like to read the original posts, which just touched me... click here and here. Thank you in advance for your help...

I don't personally agree with the war, our reasons for going there, and the insane amount of loss that has occured because of our country's involvement. However, when it's possible to make a better situation out of the hand we've been dealt, I think we should jump at that chance.

On a lighter note... I wanted to share with you more silly stories from our dinner table.

I made tilapia last night... I normally would bake it with some lemon juice, butter and paprika. Last night, however, I was a little lazy adventurous. I used a lemon pepper marinade instead. After I had prepared our delicious and healthy meal... I set the plates in front of my children, who were eagerly waiting the fishy goodness. When...

Tyler (with a look of utter disgust on his face) said: Why is my chicken WET???

Me: It's not chicken, it's fish.

Tyler: But why is it WET?

Gavin: Someone peed on it!

Me: No one peed on it... it has a lemon marinade on it!

Tyler: What?! You put lemonade on the fish???

And this is exactly why I am reluctant to try new things around here...

100

I thought we'd start with a sweet photo... I had to call a health insurance company today to bitch inquire about a bill I'd received that I hadn't expected for a lab test that I'd have thought would be covered... and when I walked back into the room, this is what I saw:

This is my 100th blog post! I can't believe I had enough things to say about my not~so~interesting (at least not to an outsider, I'd think) life... but apparently I found a few things. I love having a blog... it's a great creative outlet for me, as well as a way to document our lives. I have a horrible memory and I'd like to think one day I'll be able to come back to this space, long after my visitors have stopped frequenting it, and remember what this time was like for us. I always kept a journal as a young adult... and even now I love to re~read the things I wrote about my relatively mundane life.

So a few weeks ago, the author of one of the blogs I frequent, offered to interview her readers. (as an aside ~ she has a great blog... you should check it out!) I thought it would be fun and took her up on it and thought today would be a good day to be interviewed. So here goes!


1) If you had to write a mission statement for your family, what would it be?

In my family, we strive really hard to be good... We try to be good to the Earth so that it will be around for a really long time and we can keep enjoying living in this beautiful place. We try to be good to our bodies by putting healthy things in them so they will keep working hard for us for a really long time. We try to be good to others ~ to treat people with respect and kindness just like we like to be treated. I think that's too long for a mission statement, though. :) But that sums up our main goals as parents for our family pretty well I think.

2) You've written beautifully and so openly about the struggles in your marriage, which occurred during your last surrogacy. Now that you're planning to be a surrogate again, how do you and Shawn plan to protect your relationship and keep it strong?

We have to make sure that we stay on the same page. We will make sure that our marriage continues to come first as far as our priorities go. If our marriage is strong, everything else in our life seems to fall right into place somehow. We will make sure we keep talking... about what's going on with us, what we're feeling and how this is hard. We'll find solutions to our problems together, rather than trying to matters into our own individual hands. I feel like our marriage is on a whole different plane than it was when I first was a surrogate mother. Our whole lives are different now and I think the issues that we struggled with before were separate from the surrogacy... I don't expect them to come up again during this time, but if they do I feel like we now have the tools and know how to weather the storms.

3) You're a thrift store shopper. Tell us about 3 of your favorite thrift store finds.

One of the best things we ever found was, hands down, Gavin's cowboy boots. I have never gotten so much use out something that cost me less than $5 ever in my life! I was also very excited about the computer (also in that last link), even though it didn't work and we had to turn around and sell it at our yard sale. But I always did think those iMacs were so cute and it was fun finding it... and getting to look at it for just a minute. The best thing I found for myself was a super cute pair of glass earrings. They looked hand made and possibly decently expensive (I've seen earrings like that at art festivals before).... and the $1.25 price tag made them even sweeter!

4) Why do you think Barack Obama is our best candidate for the next president of the United States?

As simply as I can... He fills me with hope. Every time I've seen him speak or read anything about the things he stands for, I just want to cry or hug him. He'd probably prefer I just cry. ;) I think his intelligence is refreshing and his goals for our country mirror my own in many ways. I think he sees a future that is not as bleak as our recent past and knows how to help us get ourselves there.

5) If you hosted a party for your fellow bloggers, what would the theme be?

Oh wow... I'm not such a great party planner, so I might have to hire Ria to plan it. But I'd love to put faces to names and personally tell each of the ladies that I love to visit with on my lunch hour, through their blogs, how awesome I think they are. I love knowing that I am not alone in the struggles I read about and sometimes (or might one day) face myself. I love hearing ideas about ways to make this world better... sometimes in areas I wouldn't have otherwise explored! I have found inspiration in places I would not have thought possible and I'd love to celebrate the women that inspired me! Maybe when I win the lottery...

So that's it. If you would like me to interview you, feel free to send me a comment with your email address and I'd be happy to send you some questions in return. I love reading these that other people have posted... so if you haven't done one already, now's your chance! :)