Feel the Love

Tara @ Family Traditions asked me to join in this fun photo tag. The rules are simple: Go to your 6th folder in your pictures and pick the 6th photo in that folder and post it.

This picture was taken at a Valentine's party last year.

Looks like I'm tryin' to give JK a little lovin' but he's resisting.

Such a tease!

Kacey @ Chronicles of a Mommy has a photo tag going on as well. 

1- Choose the 4th file on my computer with the 4th picture.

2-Explain the 4th picture that is in that folder

3-Tag 4 people to do the same 4-no cheating (cropping, editing, etc)

Playing on the floor with two of my kiddos!

Remember, no cropping or editing was done to this photo!

I want to thank Duchess @ The Daily Adventures of Four Eds for this super fun award. Thank you so much Duchess for thinking of me!!

I just love having such fun and amazing blogging friends!

You all really make my day shine more brightly!

Taking the Plunge

There have been several tags floating around on Facebook lately. Last night DK and I got to talking about the "48 Facts" tag (see below for my answers) and how funny it is that most people have not and will not consider bungee jumping (see #9). While I never made it a life goal to bungee jump I have to say when I was presented with the opportunity I snatched it up and had a blast!

10 years ago this summer DK and I went bungee jumping while we were vacationing out West. This was DK's second time (his first jump was from a crane over asphalt!!!). As you can see we went to an actual bungee jumping tower and though you can't see it in the pictures there was netting below in case your cord snapped. It took me a minute or two to make the initial jump and the guy (in the picture) kept saying I was going to chicken out. That did the trick and I took the plunge. 

Getting harnessed for my big jump

Bungee-ing back up!

So...have you jumped? Will you jump? Why or why not?!

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
No.
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
Christmas Day
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
No.
4. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Turkey breast with sun dried tomato
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Yes...two girls and one boy
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Yes.
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM?
All the time.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yes.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
Been there, done that!
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Frosted Flakes.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
The only shoes I untie are my running shoes. Any other tie shoe I just slip off.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Anything with lots of chocolate, peanut butter and nuts!
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Their teeth.
15. RED OR PINK?
Red
16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
Being so judgmental of others.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO COMPLETE THIS LIST?
Of course.
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
No shoes, grey yoga pants.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
A movie Jamison is watching.
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Citron.
23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
Clean, crisp smell of laundered clothes.
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Kristen Anderson
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Absolutely!
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Gymnastics
27. HAIR COLOR?
Brown
28. EYE COLOR
Hazel.
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
No longer thanks to lasik surgery!
30. FAVORITE FOOD?
Italian.
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Happy endings!
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Bride Wars.
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Grey.
34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Neither!
35. HUGS OR KISSES?
Hugs.
37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Pass
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Pass
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Tomato Girl
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
No mouse pad.
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?
No TV last night (though I did DVR True Beauty)
42. FAVORITE SOUND(S).
Waves crashing on the seashore and thunderstorms.
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Pass.
44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Germany
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
I am a multi-tasker, mega organizer.
46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Newport News, VA
47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?
Everyone's!
48. WHERE DID YOU MEET YOUR SPOUSE/SIGNIFICANT OTHER?
Ice skating at CONN College.

Fabulously Crazy

Crazy Eights? How fun does that sound! Ashley@Life in Our Three-Ring Circus tagged me...too bad I'm not crazy enough to come up with 8 things in each category! Talk about lame-o!

8 TV shows I like to watch
1. Desperate Housewives
2. Ugly Betty
3. Top Chef
4. Project Runway
5. The Glenn Beck Program (moving to FoxNews in 2009)
6. 
7. 
8. 

8 places I like to eat
1. Panera
2. King Wah (Chinese)
3. The Cheesecake Factory
4. The Olive Garden
5. Outback Steakhouse
6. Red Robin (I always order their Stack of Onion Rings w. a Diet Coke)
7. DK said to list McDonald's but that is definitely NOT a place I like to eat at. It's a place JK likes to eat at. He SCREAMS 'Donald's!!! at the top of his lungs. I always carry a book with me when we're out and about so I'm prepared for a 'Donald's stop. I order the Southwestern Salad w. Grilled Chicken!
8. 

8 things that happened yesterday
1. Slept until 8 AM (no early bird shopping for me this year!)
2. Started decorating for Christmas
3. Enjoyed playing with my three kiddo's
4. Spent way too much time on Facebook
5. Stayed in my pj's until 1 PM, took a shower and then dressed in sweats!
6. Watched Journey to the Center of the Earth with the family
7. Read Last Night at the Lobster
8. Went to bed early!

8 things I look forward to
1. JK being potty trained!
2. Going to see Twilight TODAY with my sister and Natalie
3. Quiet time curled up with a good book
4. Shopping and decorating for Christmas
5. Nap time
6. Going out to lunch with friends
7. My birthday
8. Date night with hubby

8 things on my wish list
1. Owning a house on the water
2. Going out on a date each week with DK
3. Opening and operating my own home interior design store
4. Buying an Audi TT for DK and I to cruise around in (I call this car his midlife crisis!)
5. Taking a European vacation
6. Moving to Australia
7. Serving a mission with DK
8. Having a "to die for" body without worrying about exercise and/or calories!

Thanks Liza for this fabulous award!

You are so sweet to think of me! 

To wrap up this fabulously crazy post I'll end with a fabulously crazy idea. Yesterday I was putting candles in the windows like I do every year. But this year I wasn't a worried mess about the candles "accidentally" falling off the windowsills and the light bulbs shattering on the hard wood floor.

Here is the above said hard wood floor.

Here is the aforementioned candle on the windowsill.

Here is the reason why I am not worried about glass bulbs shattering.

Silicone!

2 bulbs for $.99=peace of mind!

Cutie Pie, Good Friends and Marriage

Because of my crazy week I have some catching up to do. Melissa @ 3 Ma'am's and Their Guys tagged me.

Here are the rules:

Go to "My Pictures". Open the third folder and post the third picture from that folder. This is my darling Rand. It was taken at my sister-in-law's house a few summers ago. 

Isn't she just the sweetest?

Next on my list is a big heartfelt thank you to Brandee. She gave me this oh-so fabulous BFF Gold Card.

It is so wonderful having such good friends...

and that is exactly what Brandee is!

It's been a week since DK and I went to see Fireproof. I have found myself thinking about the movie off and on throughout the entire week. The crazy thing (or maybe not so crazy) is since DK and I saw the movie we have been bickering. All week long. Nothing serious; just annoying! 

Do you ever notice when you are really working hard at something important (like your marriage!) Satan starts causing problems? I feel like we've been attacked all week long! Fortunately we know that through the strength of our Savior we can overcome anything the adversary slings at us.

DK and I are TOTAL OPPOSITES! From our very first date to this precise moment, 13 1/2 years later, we are polar opposites. At times it is true what they say, "Opposites attract" but there are times when we repel each other! Those are the times we have to work harder to love and serve each other. As DK likes to say, "You're stuck with me and we have all eternity to figure this marriage thing out!"

I want to share with you something special DK does for me. It reminds me of something that might be included in the Love Dare book. At the end of each work day DK writes a little note to me. He started doing this 8 years ago! When he first started he would print the note and bring it home for me to read. (Now a days he e-mails it to me) It all started with a rocky point in our marriage and some inspired counsel given to us. Each year on my birthday he prints out the year's notes and puts the typed pages in my birthday card. It is just a little something but it means the world to me.

Tara @ Family Traditions has a wonderful Fireproof giveaway. Make sure you go over and read her Fireproof review and what you need to do to be entered in her giveaway!

Modern Trappings

I've been tagged by April @ Straight from the Heart. This is a real fun tag for me as I love to read books! I had six books stacked together on my shelf behind the couch so I grabbed the book on top of the pile, Amish Grace. I am reading this book for my church's book club.

Here are the rules:

Grab the nearest book. Open the book to page 56. Find the fifth sentence. Post the text of the next two to five sentences in your journal/blog along with these instructions. Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST. Tag five other people to do the same.

Amish Grace by Donald B. Kraybill, Steven M. Nolt and David L. Weaver-Zercher

"Together these themes built on a much longer tradition of public tribute to Amish life. The Amish have long captivated outsiders with their tight-knit communities and resistance to modern technologies, prompting some to wonder if the Amish have something good the English are missing. In the aftermath of the Nickel Mines shooting, this tune of amazement played in a slightly different key. Not only did the Amish have something good that others lacked, but in many people's eyes the Amish were good-or at least better than the vast majority of their American neighbors."

Over the past two days I have spent 8 hours on the telephone (with countless more to come over the next day and a half). I'm beginning to think the Amish are on to something with their "resistance to modern technologies"! I'm ready to throw my phone out the window! But of course there are some modern items I could never live without:

washer/dryer

dishwasher

blowdryer and flat iron...I'm quite scary looking without these tools!

computer...duh!

TV and DVR

central air conditioning and heating

vacuum cleaner...I know, I'm sick and use mine everyday!

stove/oven...we would all starve if I had to cook over an open fire

electricity...I always burn my thumb lighting candles using matches

water heating tank...or whatever it's called

Oops, the phone's ringing...should I answer it or throw it out the window?

Tagged!

Last week, while on vacation, both CJ and Brandee tagged me. I must share 6 unimportant things about myself. This is my second time doing this tag so now you will all know 12 unimportant things about myself. (If you're curious, click here to see the first 6) Thanks for thinking of me ladies! Here goes....

1- I have been engaged twice...but married only once! :)

2- I have sung at 22 funerals. I'm thinking of writing a screenplay entitled, "The Funeral Singer".

3- Speaking of being engaged and singing, I sang at my own wedding to my dear sweet hubby.

4- Before I leave the house I have to make sure everything is perfect. You know, in case I get robbed while I'm out I need to make sure the house looks just right! Actually, I'm afraid I'll end up dead in an accident. I don't want people to come into my house after I'm gone and say, "Wow! She wasn't much of a housekeeper, was she?"

5- Growing up I was not allowed to attend dances or listen to "secular" music on the radio.

6- When I gab on the phone I use a headset. It's amazing what you can accomplish on the phone when you have both hands free! Definitely give it a try!!

The A-Z's of Me

A. Attached or Single? Attached 

B. Best Friend? My hubby, but of course!

C. Cake or pie? I've recently fallen madly in love with strawberry-rhubarb pie.

D. Day of choice? Friday~You have the whole weekend to look forward to and DK and I always have date night on Friday's.

E. Essential item? Baby wipes ~ I use them for everything!

F. Favorite color? Green, no big surprise there.

G. Gummy bears or worms? I would choose the bears over the worms.

H. Home town? I must admit I don't necessarily have one. One of the hazards of growing up a Navy brat.

I. Favorite indulgence? Any combo of peanut butter, chocolate, nuts and pretzels!

J. January or July? January. I love feeling all snuggly, cozy warm in my house with a pot of homemade soup simmering on the stove and fresh bread baking in the oven.

K. Kids? Do I like them or do I have them? (Just jokin'!) Yes and yes...3 little chick-a-dee's

L. Life isn't complete without? Books!

M. Marriage date? 6/3/1995

N. Number of brothers and sisters? 1 sister and 2 brothers

O. Oranges or Apples? Apples ~ Granny Smith

P. Phobias? I'm not sure if this is necessarily a phobia but I am always fearful of falling short. Failing. Not accomplishing what I set out to do. I am also fearful of what other people think of me. I come across as being very self assured and I do not care what others think but deep down inside that is not true.

Q. Quotes? "Life itself is a most wonderful fairytale" ~ Hans Christian Andersen

R. Reasons to smile? Truly there are too many to list.

S. Season of choice? Fall

T. Tag 5 people: Any of you fabulous fellow bloggers who would like to share!

U. Unknown fact about me? No matter where I travel I must bring my pillow. I cannot sleep without it.

V. Vegetable? Broccoli

W. Worst habit? Spending money!

X. Xray or Ultrasound? I've had way more ultrasounds than x-rays but would rather not need either.

Y. Your favorite food? Shrimp Scampi

Z. Zodiac sign? Capricorn

Thanks, CJ, for the tag!

More About Me Tag

Thanks Lipstick Gal for thinking of me with this tag. I have not done it before so here we go!

1. What were you doing ten years ago?
10 years ago brought about some pretty BIG changes! DK had just left the Navy and had gone to work for GE. We moved to Erie, PA and finished building our first house but were not able to live in it because it was part of the Parade of Homes Tour that lasted for 3 weeks. We lived in this nasty mold infested one bedroom apartment. We had to rent furniture as all of ours was in storage. I wasn't working because we had just moved. At this time we also discovered there was a genetic/chromosome problem that had caused me to miscarry, up to that point, three times (one of those times being twins). 

2. What are five things on your to-do list today?
~ My Wednesday Chores (yes, I have a schedule for each day of the week that I follow!)

~ Grocery Shopping

~ Finalizing my Team Roster for an upcoming women's conference

~ Take a nap (like an idiot I took two Benadryl when I woke up early, early this morning itching like CRaZy! I am highly allergic to poison ivy and wouldn't ya know I have it on my neck! I am soOoO tired from taking the Benadryl! I should have known better.)

~ Blogging (though I doubt it is a must do!)

3. Snacks you enjoy?
~ Tostitos with Lime Chips

~ Cheesecake

~ Snickers bar

4. Places you've lived:
~ Virginia Beach, VA

~ Ballston Spa, NY

~ La Maddalena & Palau, Italy

~ Mystic, CT

~ Erie, PA

~ My Current Nest

~ And a few other places sprinkled here and there

5. What are 5 things you would do if you were a billionaire?
~ Serve a humanitarian mission (or two or three) with my husband

~ Build our family's dream home (complete with tennis court and pool) right on the water

~ Buy DK his dream sailboat and sail around the world with him

~ Open my own interior design shop

~ Invest smartly for myself and my posterity

6. People you want to know more about?
~ I daily strive to learn more about my Savior and to be like him.

~ Any of you, my blogging friends, who would like to do this tag!