Sunday, November 20, 2011

34 things...

So.  Another year has passed and I'm the big 34 today.  Woah.  I still have problems thinking about being 34.  When my mom was 34, I was 9.  I thought she was ancient.  Makes me wonder if she still went out and was stupid like I am.  Ya know?

So anyway, here are 34 things about me that you may or may not have known.  I stole this idea from a blogger who also had her birthday this week, also only has boys and actually turned 34 as well.  I'm nosy and love to know stuff, so I'm assuming you do too. :)

1.  I always wanted to be a lawyer.
2.  I can't watch a scary movie.  At all.  No psychological thrillers, no blood/guts, nothing.  It's not worth the nightmares I will have.
3.  Coincidentally, I consider myself a scaredy cat.  I will dart up the stairs after turning off the lights, I will flip switches in a new room before turning off the lights in the one I just left, etc.
4.  I am irrationally afraid of sharks.
5.  I love trying new recipes and tweaking them to my liking.
6.  I failed my first driver's test.
7.  My middle name is after my great-grandma.  I wish I would have had a daughter to pass the name on.
8.  I love organizing but hate cleaning.  Doesn't work well.
9.  I am the youngest of three kids.
10.  I married a man who is the oldest of 5 kids.
11.  Hiring someone to clean my house has changed my life.
12.  I alternate between wanting to squeeze my kids so close versus throttling them for being kids.
13.  I have a temper. :)
14.  I love to plan a party or dinner.
15.  I would much rather watch someone open the gifts I gave them than open my own.
16.  In a perfect world, I wouldn't work outside the home but the boys would still go to daycare.  And I'd get to keep my cleaning lady.
17.  I am a book-aholic.  I love to read.
18.  It makes me cry to see how grown up my kids are getting.
19.  I can be a little weepy sometimes.
20.  I'm trying to like red wines, but my  heart remains with a good riesling.
21.  I love the fact that by decorating cakes, I can be crafty but not fill my house with a bunch of stuff.
22.  I've passed my cleaning genes on to the boys.  This could be bad.
23.  I hated my birthday in high school because it was always over girls state basketball and so people would be busy or out of town.
24.  I could eat soup every day and be happy.
25.  I get migraines when my eyes get strained.
26.  I love decorating for Christmas and want to cry when I have to take it down and pack it away again.
27.  I'm happy we built our house the way we did, but I'd like a different shower now.  Oops.
28.  I could use more kitchen storage for my cake stands.
29.  My first car was an old red Datsun pickup we called Ugly.
30.  I was engaged once before I met my now-husband.
31.  I may be the only person on earth without an ipod or mp3 player.
32.  I love blogging and reading others and finding out that I have so much in common with random women out there.
33.  Pinterest is awesome but who has time to do all those things?
34.  It doesn't feel like I've been married for 8 years already.

That wraps it up.  It was kind of hard to come up with 34 things if you can believe that.  I'm kind of random.  :)

Friday, November 18, 2011

Fill the Dome...

...And empty my pantry. 

A few years back, some high school kids decided they would try to fill the FargoDome with non-perishable goods for families in need.  It has escalated into a GREAT donation drive that all area schools participate in. 

When you have a child in elementary school, this means you are more than likely donating 25% of your pantry throughout the week as they try to load their backpacks up as heavy as possible for their classroom competition. 

Add another child in elementary school, and I'm forking over like 45% of my pantry!   Now, I like to give as much as the next guy, I really do.  I feel good about it* and I know that the boys think it's a great idea. 

But do they really GET it?  Do they realize that there are some kids out there that can't just open the pantry door and grab a rice krispie treat?  Can't just fill a bowl with their favorite cereal and walk away?  They see bare shelves.  I don't know that they GET that part of this food drive. 

I think the next step is to take them to help actually HAND OUT those donated goodies to a family in need.  Or get them in with the United Way and start filling backpacks with food for kids to take home for the weekend.  SOMETHING to get them to see that not everyone can just go scrounge in the kitchen and find something to snack on.   87 times a day.  It's true, they eat a lot.  My grocery bill is only going to get more and more out of hand.  And that's OUTSIDE of this food drive.  :) 

*I'd like to add that I do feel bad when I'm selecting food out of the pantry for them to take - because I will make sure not to give the last of something away because really, that just means I'd have to add it to the grocery list and ugh, too much time.  Man, that sounded snotty.  I will also be sure to pick things that I know the boys don't enjoy the most.  But OTHERS may really LIKE that food, right!??!?!   Hmm, I don't feel quite so charitable now that I wrote that out.  Oops.