Little Known Facts: Q&A About Yours Truly

My friend, Crystal decided she wanted to learn more about her friends. So for the entire month of December she posted one question a day on Facebook for her friends to answer. Some I answered, some I didn't. Some I just didn't know how to answer but they are answered below.

1. What is your favorite memory from 2015? Why?
   For almost 4 years my brother and I barely spoke. He married and his "wife" and the rest of my family did not get along. It was a very difficult time for me because he and I were super close growing up and as early adults. My favorite memory of 2015 was being able to watch my brother marry a fantastic girl who the whole family gets along with!
   
2. What is your favorite color?
   Mine is navy blue but burgundy runs a close second.
   
3. Did you go to college or a trade school (or both)? Why or why not?
   YEP! I started at MACC as duel credit in high school, continued to Truman State University, and then after graduating MACC I moved on to Central Missouri State University (Warrensburg). I originally went to college to get my teaching degree. After being a firefighter for almost 5 years (and then 9-11 happened), I decided to officially change my major to Crisis and Disaster Management with a minor in Fire Science (against my parents wishes.) After getting married, moving to FL, and having a baby, school was not a priority, or financially feasible. I am 4 classes away from my BS in Crisis and Disaster Management.
   
4. Apparently she was busy on December 4 with her new baby because it is missing (or was deleted).
   
5. What is your biggest regret?
   My biggest regret is not finishing college but for the most part, I have taken everything in my life as a lesson. I may not have learned from everything, but specific things are a reminder. I think another regret is allowing things that do not affect me to affect the outcome of my life.
   
6. How many children do you have? I'm talking blood related, adopted, fur babies, etc. If you consider it your child, then it's your child!At the time I responded I had six (6) kiddos. One (1) human and five (5) furbabies. Since then one furbaby has passed away.
   
7. Are you a cat or dog person? If neither apply, what is your animal of choice?
   Cats. We currently have Grouchy Gracie (11), Pissy Missy (10), Sir Stink, King Louie the 3rd, and Abigail (aka "the kittens age 9).
   
8. What was/is your favorite subject in school?
   My favorite subject in school was science. In fact they started a Biology 2 class just for my friend, Boone and I.
   
9. Do you still talk to any friends you had in high school? I'm not referring to liking their Facebook status, I mean actually talk to them.That's a tough one. I moved out of the state a couple of years after graduating. Most of my close friends at the time are mere acquaintances right now. Those I still remain in contact with I chat with them via private message on Facebook or the occasional email or Christmas card. I agree just liking their Facebook status is not "talking" to them. When I travel back to MO, I try to touch base with as many friends as possible as our schedules allow, but sometimes it is difficult.
   
10. Who do you miss most during the holiday season?
    My Grandma. She is 94 years old and although she is slowing down nd her memory isn't fantastic, she is an amazing (stubborn) woman to me. Every time I see her, we play cards. Usually it is Hand and Foot but when we are short on time it is Skip-Bo. As she has gotten older it is easier for me to beat her but there are times she skunks me.
    
11. When do you typically put up your Christmas tree and decorations?
    Since we travel during the Thanksgiving holiday we usually are not in town until the 2nd week in December. Sometimes it has been as late as the week of Christmas, but I try to put it out sooner than that.
    
12. What is your favorite movie?
    This is another hard one. The Princess Bride is one of my all time favorites. I also love watching Serenity with Nathan Fillion. And then there Tangled and Brave remind me of me growing up (plus I love the songs). My household was very...sheltered. Then my romantic movies are Stardust, PS I Love You, What Dreams May Come, and Under the Tuscan Sun.
    
13. Of the places you have visited, which one is your favorite?
    It's a toss up between Washington, DC or Atlanta, GA. Both are wonderful places to visit. I went to DC when I was 13 and was able to see President George Bush (which was pretty cool to a 13 yr old). Riding on a train for the first time from Richmond, VA to DC, visiting several of the Smithsonian buildings, touring many of the monuments, and just the sights that have stuck with me over the years has been amazing.
    
    Atlanta we travel through almost yearly to go visit family in MO and although we have only stopped a couple of times I think it is a beautiful city. If you ever get a chance to go, make sure to visit the Georgia Aquarium. You won't be disappointed!
    
14. If you were on a deserted island what 3 items would you want with you?I would love to have my husband and daughter but I don't consider them "items." My first choice would be my go-bag. This bag is a large medical supply bag that has first aid supplies, water purifying tablets, three sets of silverware, flashlights (and batteries), 25 ft of rope, lighter/matches, a tarp, bug spray and sunscreen. I am sure there is more because it is a large bag, but that is what I consider the essentials. I can also use it to carry things that I find on the island. The next item would be a canoe or kayak to get around. Depending on the size of the island, there might be some better supplies on the other side. Last but not least a pan or other container that I could use to cook food, purify water, etc.
    
15. Favorite band\artist?
    Great Big Sea - The band broke up in 2013 but I was lucky enough to see them in concert before they split. They are a Canadian Folk Rock band. Although the band split the the lead singer, Alan Doyle, started his own band and sings many of the GBS songs.
    
16. Number 16 is AWOL. 
17. Are you a cake or pie kind of person?
    I really don't like pie unless it is strawberry or apple. I usually don't have cake either but when I do I prefer Angel food. I guess my answer would be yes?
    
18. What is one of your favorite holiday traditions?
    Making monkey bread Christmas morning with my favorite monkey!
    
19. Hum...19 too? 
20. What is your least favorite holiday food?
    My least favorite holiday food...well, I honestly don't know. I only eat what I like so it's hard to remember what is on the table I don't like. It used to be the stuffing because I couldn't eat it. I am allergic to onion. Now my Dad and Sister-In-Law make stuffing without onion.
    
21. Have you taken any trips this year?
    Of course! My annual flight to MO trip to visit family and friends, then we had a nice casual drive back.
    
22. What is the most unexpected thing that has happened to you, so far, in 2015?
    I have a freelance/part time job!!
    
23. What is one Christmas tradition of which you are not a fan?
    More and more I am hating this holiday. To me it was always a special time of year for all my family to get together. Since I moved away it has actually become depressing for me. I have tried to keep some traditions for Kira but it has been hard. The Elf on Shelf was my worst tradition started and was quickly given up.
    
24. What is the best Christmas present you have received?
    My Roomba! I don't remember if it was a Christmas, birthday, or Mother's Day gift but it is awesome! Rosie does a fantastic job cleaning my floors when I remember to turn her on. With cats I can't exactly put her on a schedule. I really don't want cat puke spread around my home.
    
25. What was your happiest moment from 2015 thus far?
    Did I mention that I got to see my brother marry a beautiful, fun-loving, sweet girl that our entire family likes?
    
26. When do you take down your holiday decorations?
    Usually it is around January 6th. It goes along with 12 days of Christmas. One year it was February!
    
27. Did you read any good books, thus far, in 2015?
    I truly can't answer this one. I have so many that I have read this year (mostly childrens books) that have just stuck with me. So since I am indecisive I will list those...
    
    Children's books: Puppies for Sale, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (pictures are amazing), I love it when you smile, Without You, The Giant Hug (sending to my Grandma because I miss her so), Miss Brooks Loves Books, I loathe you, Someday;
    
    YA: The One and Only Ivan, Stardust (prefer the movie), The School for Good and Evil
    
    Adult: Hearts on a String, Searching for Paradise in Parker PA (1st Chapter is my mother to a "T"), Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral
    
28. What is your favorite drink? Alcoholic, nonalcoholic, or both.
    Non-alcoholic: Mt Dew of course!
    Alcoholic: Rum and Coke
    
29. Do you prefer toilet paper over or under the roll?
    Over. Since we don't have room for a roll holder upright on the back of the toilet or sink is preferred.
    
30. What is something/someone you are the most thankful for this year?
    My husband. Being 1600 miles from our closest family and friends we have had to do a lot of things on our own for most of it and it hasn't been easy. I know I am not the easiest person to deal with and the stress that it put on him was/is tremendous. I am truly blessed to have him in my life. We have a feeling that 2016 is going to have a rocky start but with what we have endured thus far, I think we will manage.
    
31. It's only the 30th...still waiting on the 31st! 

This was a lot of fun and I think I learned some things about myself. My goal is to come up with a list of questions (some she asked) and post one each day for the month of January.

Working Wednesday

My List

The items in RED are the ones I got accomplished YESTERDAY!  I was so proud of myself.  Here is hoping that my motivation continues.

Kitchen:

• Wash, dry and put away dishes (ongoing)
• Find the table
• Wash shelves fridge shelves (save door for later)
• Clean off counters
• Clean off Stove
• Clean out microwave
• Vacuum under fridge & behind stove
• DUST
• Sweep
• Take out trash & recyclables

Bathroom:

• Clean top of sink (save inside for later)
• Clean tub
• Clean toilet
• Clean mirrors
• DUST
• Sweep
• Wash towels & shower curtains
• Take out trash

Living Room:

• Clean the top of the Christmas boxes
• Clean off the hutch (file papers, dust, etc.)
• Clean the top of the file cabinet (file papers, dust, etc.) (save inside for later)
• DUST
• Sweep
• Hang decorations
• Laundry

Kitchen:

• Clean out microwave
• DUST
• Wash, dry and put away dishes (ongoing)

Bathroom:

• Clean mirrors
• DUST
• Sweep

Living Room:

• Laundry - only have two loads left! 

I think I can accomplish this list...

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

A couple of friends have been on my mind a lot recently.  Two have cancer and another lost his mother (known to many as Yoda) and has had some other personal matters that have upended his life.

This gentleman is a huge Star Wars fan, and I mean HUGE!!  So when I saw in my Facebook news feed that someone had made Star Wars snowflake templates I immediately knew what I could do.  I was dreading to cut them out by hand because well, that takes a lot of time, but hey, some friends are worth it!

But I had this awesome idea.  Remember when my hubby got me that awesome craft cutting dohickamajiggy last year for my birthday?  Oh, yeah!  It cuts out intricate designs and it would be perfect for it.  Sure enough, I found the pictures, downloaded them.  I brought them into the software, traced them, and booyah!  It cut them perfectly.  It is up to him to figure out how to hang them, but I am thinking about laminating them so he can use them from year to year.

Since he is always on Facebook, I can't post them on there but since I don't think he knows about my blog, I am safe to write about it.  I cut out about 8 characters and will send them to him tomorrow.  Hopefully he will get them the first of next week.

Now in my family, we are huge Doctor Who fans.  My 13 year old daughter wants all things Doctor Who.  So I am in the process of cutting out Doctor Who themed snowflakes.  They aren't as popular so I am having to work harder at cutting them out than I did the Star Wars.  Currently she is staying at a friend's house and I am going to hang them on her bedroom door.  I'm excited to see her reaction when she sees them!

Tackle It Tuesday

Being on medication sucks.  Especially when it costs more than you can afford and the price is going up again after the first of the year.  I need this medication.  This medication is what keeps me alive and what helps keep my family stress free.

With the possibility of changing medications and not knowing what the could possibly happen I will be limited in what I can do.  Depending on what happens I could be on what I refer to as "house arrest".  At least that's what it feels like.  For me that is a big problem.  I like my independence.  Rumor has it that my parents will be coming to visit to help take care of me and my daughter.

My home is not organized and thus is not as clean as I would like.  I don't like people coming over because I am not happy with the way my home looks.  I guess that gives me a reason to not clean or organize the way I would want.  When I have people coming over I go into speed cleaning mode and that's where I am headed today.

My to-do list looks a mile long and although I do not plan to get it all done today, I plan for today to be "Tackle It Tuesday."  I'm going to stay away from the bedrooms because well...they are disaster areas and will require more time than I have to give them until the holiday break.

I frequently jump on and off the Mama's Mission bandwagon so this month I am hoping to stay on a little longer.

My Mission is to clean and organize (to the best of my ability) before my company arrives in January.

Kitchen:  Cabinets need to be wiped down, counters need to be scrubbed, fridge needs to be cleaned out (which needs to be done monthly anyway), curtains need to be washed, appliances need to be wiped down, table needs found (it's there, just buried under crafting and homeschool items), and last but not least vacuum the chairs.  Sweeping the floor happens on a daily basis, so that is covered.  I also need to tackle the homeschool cabinet as it seems to be the catch-all of things that don't get put away immediately.  It won't require a lot of time but it does need to be done before it takes on a mind of its own.  Prior to my guests I will wash the curtains and put out fresh hand and dish towels.

Bathroom:  As with all bathrooms they need to be cleaned much more frequently than they actually do.  Mine is no acceptation.  It need to get rid of items that we either a.) no longer use or b.) have never used.  The tub, sink and toilet need to be wiped down.  The shower curtain and liner needs to be washed.  The shelves need to be dusted and the floor swept and mopped.  It won't take a lot of time but it will require time.

Living Room:  Now this is by far my biggest obstacle.  Part of this room will not be tackled until the holiday break but the rest of it can be and I will this week.  I hate to dust and it always is the last thing I do so that is what I will do first.  My hutch needs to be cleaned off, the file cabinet needs to be organized (or something), the printer cart needs to be cleaned off, and well the white elephant in the room (a large white utility closet in the corner) needs to be gutted.

So that is my personal mission for the month.  I would love to get most of it accomplished before the end of the week but with Mama's Mission of the Month, I need to remember to pace myself.  Time to get started!

Stinker-Doo, I miss you!

Last night I said goodbye to one of my best friends - my handsome, sleek and sexy, lovable, bedtime buddy, Stinkie.  Growing up I had so many cats that I got to the point that I was desensitized to their passing, but Stinkie is different.  Stinkie was mine (or I was his).  

We had our routines like everyone does and those are what I am going to miss the most.  In fact, some he hasn't done for months but it seems like just the other day he was doing them.    

Mornings were...interesting.  He was definitely a morning cat.  He knew that I was not and usually let me sleep but once I started to stir, he encouraged the "wake-up" process.  He would sit on my nightstand and nibble my fingers.  Not hard, but just enough to say, "Hey you!  It's time to get up."  He would butt heads with me or pet himself with my outstretch hand.  Then if I still didn't get up he would wait it out by "holding me down."  He would lay on my side, his paws out stretched across my rump, his body following the curve of my body.  I don't know how many pictures Kevin has of him doing that but know we have plenty. 

For a while, he thought that after I got out of the shower he needed to reapply fur to my wet legs but more commonly would wait until I started to brush my teeth to pester me.  He would sit on the closed toilet seat, reach out with his claw to grab my hand just to get some of my love and attention.  He wasn't mean or rough but he would just let you know he was there.  Sometimes he would even stretch up like a dog with his paws on my legs. 

When I finally would make it to the kitchen sometimes I would find little slips of paper like business cards or a receipt in the food or water dish.  That was Stinkie's calling card.  I don't know what it was supposed to signify but it was just one of his little quirks.  Frequently those slips of paper were originally on the shelf above our stove or off the coffee table.  We would also find strange things such as unused feminine pads or used q-tips there too.  It got to the point that that was "normal" but our pet sitter would frequently say, "Where does he find this stuff?"

Stinker was not always well behaved.  He would chase one of the other cats or do something he wasn't supposed to and I would scold him - typically telling him to "go lay down."  He would slouch down and crawl away chattering or "talking" back.  I always thought of him as saying "I didn't do it" or "Sorry, Mom, I didn't mean too." 

During the day he really didn't do much other than sleep.  But don't most cats?  You'd find him sleeping on our bed, in a window or the back of the couch but most recently he would be curled up in the curve of my orange couch.  He wasn't one for snuggling unless you were in bed which was fine for me so I think our bedtime routine is what I will miss the most. 

While Kevin and I watched TV he knew that my "routine" was to go to bed around midnight.  When it was time he would stare at me from the hallway telling me it was time to go.  He wouldn't meow but just stare.  The routine carried on from there.  If I didn't do the typical routine of take my meds, brush my teeth, go to the bathroom, then off to bed, he wouldn't come to bed.  He would just sit in the doorway and wait.  Once I climbed into bed, he would stretch up and dig his claws into the top of my nightstand.  When he started doing that I scolded him, but now I am glad he did. I now have a little something to remember him by. 

The silly cat loved to butt heads with me, nibble on my fingers (or Kevin's) and when his bedtime "playtime" was over he would curl up on his purple pillow and go to sleep.  Believe me the pillow was not an intentional thing, it just happened and it stayed.  He was like a king on his throne.   

Stink was and will always be "my pretty boy."  His slick black and white fur made him one handsome devil.  Top that off with his red collar and his suave demeanor and he was ready for the party.  Not that he was a party cat, but he was dressed for one. 

Although I will no longer be able to snuggle with him at night or enjoy his company while I take a bath, he gave me and my family many memories.  Thanks for nine wonderful years, Stinker-doo!  I love you!