Tag! You're it- I want to know...
I was tagged by my friend Heidi over at Review and Reflections. (The direct link to her "Tag You're it" post is HERE.) Here’s how the meme works: There are 8 questions for me to answer, and then I will tag 8 people to answer 8 questions I think up. Here are my answers:
1.Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? If so, how close to being finished are you? I’d like to know your Christmas shopping personality. Typically, I shop year round as I see great deals and/or gifts I know are "just right". But this year, I really haven't done much of that. Honestly, I haven't really been shopping much at all, so I have not got very many gifts taken care of yet. Finances have played a part in that too this year, so we'll see what the next few months bring. It's weird to be so unprepared.
2.Is there a particular field trip destination that you and your kids could (and do) visit over and over again? We are spoiled to have major theme parks right in our "backyard" so we visit Disney at least once a month. We travel to NY every year, and we love to make the most of our road trip by visiting lots of different places on our drive to and from. We too love Hershey World, and Washington DC, and also would love to revisit the Tennessee Aquarium, which is amazing, and everyone should check it out.
3.What is your favorite season, and why? Fall! I love fall. I grew up in New York,and still remember the amazing beauty of being surrounded by hills and mountains of all the colors you can imagine. And I love the crispness in the air, the break from the summer heat, the transition from one extreme (heat) to the next (cold). Of course, here in FL, fall really just means a change to weather that more closely mimics summer to the rest of the US, but as I type this, the windows are open and this morning it was downright chilly ;-).
4.Are you content with your home? As I type this the immortal Biblical concept of being "content in all circumstances" replays over and over in my head. So let me say I am blessed to have a home, and if nothing was ever changed about it, I would be content with what I have...but honestly? Half my house still doesn't have power for fear that turning it on would burn the house down. And my kitchen is 7' across and 20' long with my fridge right in front of my back door (yeah, that's really great for your freezer in FLORIDA). The short list of things I'd change (if money was no object) is opening up the kitchen somehow so it is open to the rest of the living space, moving the fridge, and changing out the 3 for a dollar peel and stick flooring and 50's white counter tops with gold flecks in them. I'd also like to create a master bath. Because our house was built in 1883 and added on to in the 50's, we don't have a master bedroom, let alone an attached bath. But we do have four kids and without getting to involved, let's just say there are times when the privacy of our own bathroom would be nice. Plus, it will be good for the resale value if we ever move. Last would be making the 1200 square feet of "basement" downstairs into usable space. The bottom line is, like Heidi who tagged me, I have plenty of space, it's just not well allocated, and that's what I'd most like to improve.
5.Do you have a dream vacation destination? I love to travel and see the world. I've been blessed to have traveled to Jamaica and Wales/the UK. I'd love to go back to either one, or anywhere really. The hubs and I will get to go to Hawaii in two years, and we are practically counting down the days, so that's a dream in the process of coming true. I guess a "dream" vacation would involve the ability to run off with my camera and just be free to shoot whatever my little heart desires.
.
6.Do you have a favorite Bible verse? Does the whole Bible count? Okay, well if not, I have several favorites, but here's one...Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?
7.Do you decorate your house for the seasons? If so, do you have a specific treasured ornament or decoration? I used to decorate my house for every season and holiday. I have boxes of stuff in the basement that are a testament to that. But I'm lazy, and I HATE putting it all away after the season is over. And I have kids, and the energies I used to direct toward prettying up my home now are spent in other ways. But I'm not a total curmudgeon, we do have fall leaves on our Jesse tree and hanging on our window, and we ALWAYS decorate for Christmas- just not as much as I used to. I love to trim the tree, because every ornament tells a story. And as much as I am trying to sever my relationship with "stuff", I have many treasured items that were made by my great-grandmother (she did ceramics) that I love to bring out at Christmas.
8.What one thing would you change about yourself if you were able? I'm with Heidi on this one...I’d change my size...well, and maybe stop these crazy old-lady hairs that keep sprouting all over my face.
Okay, now it's my turn to tag people and ask them to answer questions.
1) Do you have a favorite recipe or meal from when you were a child? I have ALWAYS loved my mom's chicken cacciatore, and while I have the recipe, I've never made it myself because I'm afraid it just won't be as good. She also makes a mean Cherry Chicken-it sounds strange, but it's really good. And her stuffing is the BEST, hands down.
2) On that same thread, are there any meals you HATED growing up? You mean besides anything with veggies? Seriously, my mom used to make tuna noodle casserole, and I never, ever liked it. To this day, I have no desire to ever try it again.
3) I'm on a food kick, but question #1 made me think of this- what is your favorite Christmas cookie or treat? Cookie making is a HUGE part of our family's Christmas celebration. I have two favorite cookies- Peppermint balls (which are a BIG pain in the BUTT to make) and Berliner Kranz (a kind of shortbread cookie with orange in it).
4) What is your favorite bit of child rearing/homeschooling wisdom? My current mantra is one I got from Carol Barnier...The here and now is NOT the forever and always. With a special needs, high maintenance child, I have to repeat that to myself several times an hour ;-).
5) What song did you and your spouse dance to at your wedding? We danced to the theme song from The Princess Bride...The first line is, "Come my love, I'll tell you a tale...of a boy and girl, and their love story". Ahhh, to be young again ;-)
6) If you could live anywhere (in the USA), where would you live and why? For decades, I've said NC/TN/VA because they get all four seasons, but not too much of any extreme. And I hate FL because I've never acclimated to the heat and lack of seasons. BUT, the older my kids get, the more I realize our "roots" are here now, and while I'd still love to move, I'd have to take ALL our closest friends with me because I'd be lost without them.
7) What is your favorite book SERIES? I love the Mitford Books. Maybe it's our Episcopal background, but they just are so engaging to me. The characters are so well developed, they become like old friends. I love the one character's mantra, "No rest for the wicked, and the righteous don't need none."
8) What's your favorite book genre, and a surprise favorite from it? I love historical fiction, and I've read or listened to a TON of it. I tend to prefer that for family listening in the car too (we are listening to a Henty book now and just finished two Elsie Dinsmore books). One of my favorite "surprises" was The Geurnsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and I'm happy to lend it to any locals who want to check it out.
Here are the people I decided to tag:
Julie at Winchester Academy
Tiffany at Hillside Hollow
Crispy at Peters Peapod
Melissa at KiwiYates
EC at FindingNoah
Heidi at Reviews and Reflections (probably breaking the rules tagging the one who tagged me, but I want to see her answers and of course she doesn't have to do the whole thing all over again.)
Kris at The Knitting Wannabe (By the way, she's the one who inspired me to try this "couch to 5K thing". I did my first official (i.e. with the app) session tonight, and thanks to Kris's advice to SLOW WAY DOWN, I actually completed 5 1/2 of the 7 running cycles. My outer calf muscles stilled cramped HORRIBLY or I would have run them all. I have to figure out that problem and soon because after the first 60 second run, every step is agony.)
Cristy at Through the Calm and Through the Storm because a) I adore the song her blog is titled for and b) she's one of my mini-crew and has an amazing story so you should all check her out.
Okay ladies, now it's your turn :-).
1.Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? If so, how close to being finished are you? I’d like to know your Christmas shopping personality. Typically, I shop year round as I see great deals and/or gifts I know are "just right". But this year, I really haven't done much of that. Honestly, I haven't really been shopping much at all, so I have not got very many gifts taken care of yet. Finances have played a part in that too this year, so we'll see what the next few months bring. It's weird to be so unprepared.
2.Is there a particular field trip destination that you and your kids could (and do) visit over and over again? We are spoiled to have major theme parks right in our "backyard" so we visit Disney at least once a month. We travel to NY every year, and we love to make the most of our road trip by visiting lots of different places on our drive to and from. We too love Hershey World, and Washington DC, and also would love to revisit the Tennessee Aquarium, which is amazing, and everyone should check it out.
3.What is your favorite season, and why? Fall! I love fall. I grew up in New York,and still remember the amazing beauty of being surrounded by hills and mountains of all the colors you can imagine. And I love the crispness in the air, the break from the summer heat, the transition from one extreme (heat) to the next (cold). Of course, here in FL, fall really just means a change to weather that more closely mimics summer to the rest of the US, but as I type this, the windows are open and this morning it was downright chilly ;-).
4.Are you content with your home? As I type this the immortal Biblical concept of being "content in all circumstances" replays over and over in my head. So let me say I am blessed to have a home, and if nothing was ever changed about it, I would be content with what I have...but honestly? Half my house still doesn't have power for fear that turning it on would burn the house down. And my kitchen is 7' across and 20' long with my fridge right in front of my back door (yeah, that's really great for your freezer in FLORIDA). The short list of things I'd change (if money was no object) is opening up the kitchen somehow so it is open to the rest of the living space, moving the fridge, and changing out the 3 for a dollar peel and stick flooring and 50's white counter tops with gold flecks in them. I'd also like to create a master bath. Because our house was built in 1883 and added on to in the 50's, we don't have a master bedroom, let alone an attached bath. But we do have four kids and without getting to involved, let's just say there are times when the privacy of our own bathroom would be nice. Plus, it will be good for the resale value if we ever move. Last would be making the 1200 square feet of "basement" downstairs into usable space. The bottom line is, like Heidi who tagged me, I have plenty of space, it's just not well allocated, and that's what I'd most like to improve.
5.Do you have a dream vacation destination? I love to travel and see the world. I've been blessed to have traveled to Jamaica and Wales/the UK. I'd love to go back to either one, or anywhere really. The hubs and I will get to go to Hawaii in two years, and we are practically counting down the days, so that's a dream in the process of coming true. I guess a "dream" vacation would involve the ability to run off with my camera and just be free to shoot whatever my little heart desires.
.
6.Do you have a favorite Bible verse? Does the whole Bible count? Okay, well if not, I have several favorites, but here's one...Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?
7.Do you decorate your house for the seasons? If so, do you have a specific treasured ornament or decoration? I used to decorate my house for every season and holiday. I have boxes of stuff in the basement that are a testament to that. But I'm lazy, and I HATE putting it all away after the season is over. And I have kids, and the energies I used to direct toward prettying up my home now are spent in other ways. But I'm not a total curmudgeon, we do have fall leaves on our Jesse tree and hanging on our window, and we ALWAYS decorate for Christmas- just not as much as I used to. I love to trim the tree, because every ornament tells a story. And as much as I am trying to sever my relationship with "stuff", I have many treasured items that were made by my great-grandmother (she did ceramics) that I love to bring out at Christmas.
8.What one thing would you change about yourself if you were able? I'm with Heidi on this one...I’d change my size...well, and maybe stop these crazy old-lady hairs that keep sprouting all over my face.
Okay, now it's my turn to tag people and ask them to answer questions.
1) Do you have a favorite recipe or meal from when you were a child? I have ALWAYS loved my mom's chicken cacciatore, and while I have the recipe, I've never made it myself because I'm afraid it just won't be as good. She also makes a mean Cherry Chicken-it sounds strange, but it's really good. And her stuffing is the BEST, hands down.
2) On that same thread, are there any meals you HATED growing up? You mean besides anything with veggies? Seriously, my mom used to make tuna noodle casserole, and I never, ever liked it. To this day, I have no desire to ever try it again.
3) I'm on a food kick, but question #1 made me think of this- what is your favorite Christmas cookie or treat? Cookie making is a HUGE part of our family's Christmas celebration. I have two favorite cookies- Peppermint balls (which are a BIG pain in the BUTT to make) and Berliner Kranz (a kind of shortbread cookie with orange in it).
4) What is your favorite bit of child rearing/homeschooling wisdom? My current mantra is one I got from Carol Barnier...The here and now is NOT the forever and always. With a special needs, high maintenance child, I have to repeat that to myself several times an hour ;-).
5) What song did you and your spouse dance to at your wedding? We danced to the theme song from The Princess Bride...The first line is, "Come my love, I'll tell you a tale...of a boy and girl, and their love story". Ahhh, to be young again ;-)
6) If you could live anywhere (in the USA), where would you live and why? For decades, I've said NC/TN/VA because they get all four seasons, but not too much of any extreme. And I hate FL because I've never acclimated to the heat and lack of seasons. BUT, the older my kids get, the more I realize our "roots" are here now, and while I'd still love to move, I'd have to take ALL our closest friends with me because I'd be lost without them.
7) What is your favorite book SERIES? I love the Mitford Books. Maybe it's our Episcopal background, but they just are so engaging to me. The characters are so well developed, they become like old friends. I love the one character's mantra, "No rest for the wicked, and the righteous don't need none."
8) What's your favorite book genre, and a surprise favorite from it? I love historical fiction, and I've read or listened to a TON of it. I tend to prefer that for family listening in the car too (we are listening to a Henty book now and just finished two Elsie Dinsmore books). One of my favorite "surprises" was The Geurnsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and I'm happy to lend it to any locals who want to check it out.
Here are the people I decided to tag:
Julie at Winchester Academy
Tiffany at Hillside Hollow
Crispy at Peters Peapod
Melissa at KiwiYates
EC at FindingNoah
Heidi at Reviews and Reflections (probably breaking the rules tagging the one who tagged me, but I want to see her answers and of course she doesn't have to do the whole thing all over again.)
Kris at The Knitting Wannabe (By the way, she's the one who inspired me to try this "couch to 5K thing". I did my first official (i.e. with the app) session tonight, and thanks to Kris's advice to SLOW WAY DOWN, I actually completed 5 1/2 of the 7 running cycles. My outer calf muscles stilled cramped HORRIBLY or I would have run them all. I have to figure out that problem and soon because after the first 60 second run, every step is agony.)
Cristy at Through the Calm and Through the Storm because a) I adore the song her blog is titled for and b) she's one of my mini-crew and has an amazing story so you should all check her out.
Okay ladies, now it's your turn :-).
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