Brrrrr.

Now that I am home thawing out from the Royals game (dudes, it SNOWED during play) it's as good time as any to do Sherry's blog challenge.  Or was is Lisa's?  Anyhooo...

What I am looking forward to about Summer:

--Sitting outside, closing my eyes and feeling the sun warm my skin. AAaaaah I miss that.  I'm sure part of my recent glumness (aside from work stress) is SAD.  (You know, that seasonal affectiveness disorder.)  This girl runs on sunshine - -and my reserve is low after this nasty non-stop winter.

I look forward to the boys playing baseball/Tball...they can't wait.

I look forward to mini-trips to various places -- this year we WILL get a camping trip in.  Love camping trips.

And as always, I look forward to the annual trip to Hilton Head ... sand between my toes, waves keepin' the beat, and RELAXING.  I'd like to go to Wanakena too ... wish we could fit it all in (and had unlimited vacation time!)

I look forward to weekends pittering around in the yard and grilling.

Aaaah....Summer....hurry up and get here!

Blog Challenge

Congratulations! You've won 50,000!
Oh, but there's a catch. You must spend every penny of it within 2 days.
What do you buy?

Ok .. seriously - no dreaming, this is what would happen.

It will go fast.

---I'd tithe 1/10th to the church.

---Pay off debts.

---We need (have to) to paint the house...and I'd like to replace some fixtures/lights and re-paint the deck and put cement of some sort under the deck and work on landscaping. (Since we have to spend this in 2 days -- we'd set up the paint job, pay in advance and make a long trip to home depot!)

New spring/summer clothes/shoes/sandals for everyone!

We'd advance pay a Disney World trip for the family (and include Popaw and Grandma Hicks) and a return to Jamaica trip for just me and Ryan.

Hmm....by my estimation...there's still money left!  So...we'd get the bedroom set we need ... the extra HD TV we've been talking about -- with surround sound...oh oh -- I'd get the RED slim laptop I've been drooling over...a new "family" computer...a new desk for downstairs.  OH - I'd buy that cool scrap closet thing...and I think that would go through the money.

It's nice to, for once, have to really THINK about how to spend - and move into the "wants" pretty quickly after the "needs."  We're blessed, and I don't take that for granted.

Blog Challenge

If you had to give up one of these things, which would it be:
1. Cell Phone
2. Hair products/curling iron
3. Toothpaste

Hmmmm..... no cell phone ... no work calls.
I could go without hair stuff....and fall back on pony tails and hairclips.
Toothpaste...hmm...probably need that!

So ... between cell and hair stuff. I guess I'm gonna have to go with hair stuff. I like having my cell for instant communication ... and to talk to my husband on the way home from work.

Blog Challenge

Here's this week's challenge:
You have to move. You have two choices:
1. A farm house in the middle of the field. Your closest neighbors/grocery/etc are miles away.
2. A big city apartment in a high rise. Yep, you still have your kids.
Which is it and why?

This is a tough one. There are parts of me that could go either way: cozy and secluded on the farm ... active and in the middle of the action in the big city. Plus, more convenient to get to things.
BUT: Since we have family, I'm going to have to go with the farm. The boys would love being able to play baseball and not worry about dogs getting the balls they hit over the fence. We'd always have fresh air. And stars ... I love the stars in places where there are no city lights. Yep, I'm thinking barefoot on the front porch swing watching the sun go down and the stars come out. Man, that makes me crave summer!!

Blog Challenge

Remember those "choose your own adventure" books from when we were kids? One decision takes you one direction...another decision and you end up somewhere completely different...That's the basis of this challenge:You didn't meet your husband. You didn't have kids. What would you be doing? What kind of life would you be living? Mention some of the PROS....and the easy to list cons.

My life had a couple different paths it could have gone. The first thing I wonder is if I ever would've gotten into Journalism school without Ryan helping me get through Econ and Statistics.
Then...there's a pretty good chance I would have stayed on track to be an anchor/reporter. (And much thinner and prettier! I don't blame him for that - that's on me!) I was doing both at KOMU in Columbia...but the job opened for producer at the station where Ryan was in Iowa. I remember my news director telling me: "You leave now to be a producer, you'll never pick up a microphone again." Yep. That turned out to be true. Can't help but wonder "what if."

I also think I would be living in a big city somewhere ... because I was a ladder climber. I wanted to see how far I could go .. and how fast. I changed that when we decided to have children. Which, before Ryan, I never wanted. He's a man who SHOULD be the father of children -- and he helped grow that part of my heart.

I'd be a meaner person. (Insert jokes here about how that can't be possible.) I may not have picked up scrapbooking. I can't imagine I'd have found a husband or "boyfriend" who could have put up with me or "get" me the way Ryan does.

Pros: hip living. Selfish living. No mini-van. Everything clean all the time.

Cons: well, duh! No Ryan. No Jack, Kyle, Nick. No extended family. Perhaps a wayward career -- I believe I am designed to be a producer-type.

God takes us down weird paths ... but there's always a direction. And I'm thankful the adventure I chose took me to where I am now.

Blog Challenge: February

On a scrap website I visit often ... we issue challenges -- topics really -- to blog about to keep us blogging. I issued this one -- because February is just around the corner...I asked: "What are you looking forward to in February?" Simple question really. Not deep.

But I'm looking forward to February. Pinks and Reds and the whole Valentine's feel. Honestly, I shouldn't look forward to February at all -- it's a sweeps months, and with the writer's strike, CBS has very few new shows, and the other networks have more...and there's a really good chance we're going to get killed in the ratings. But. I'm not thinking about that. I'm thinking about pink and red and lovey-dovey girlie things. Yep. And doilies.

I remember making Valentines with my mom....and we always used doilies. That's a happy memory. So I'm looking forward to February and doilies and finding the happiness where I can. Bring it on.