Gratitude List

Per Niki’s directive, here’s a list of things I am so very Thankful for today:

*A loving, supportive husband

*A loving husband, who lets me sleep in while he tends to not only our 2 kiddos, but an extra one as well!

*The GLORIOUS Spring weather that is sunny and warm, but still cool enough it makes your want to be outside.

*Planting new plants. One of which, is my “Dellaina tree” I’ve wanted for 5 years!!

*Listening to the kiddos play

*Being able to let them play and get things done!

*Family – living close by and bringing yummy food for lunch

*Watching the kiddos paint outside

*Egg hunts

*A long walk with the dogs and my thoughts

*My headache went away

*A bite of candy

*Photographs

*Playing Lexulous with friends

*Funny emails from friends (of substance, not just a forward!)

*Spellcheck

Tag, you're it!

I know it's taken me a while, Cassi, but I hadn't forgotten, I promise!

Tag Game

Maybe I should – get more sleep.


I love the smell of – fresh cut grass, clean laundry, yummy food, babies and puppies

People would say that I - am short.


I don’t understand why – people hurt each other.

When I wake up in the morning – I usually try to "sleep" a little longer

I lost my willpower to – diet super duper strictly.


Life is – an amazing adventure.

My past made me – more experienced.

I get annoyed when I – can't communicate effectively.

Parties are not a good time to – drink excessively and/or get violent.

Dogs are – lovable, loyal and adorable.

Cats are – soft and spastic.

Tomorrow is – Tuesday, cardio kickboxing night at the gym!

I have low tolerance for – rudeness.

I’m totally terrified of - failing.

I wonder why I thought my life would be – I don't know how to answer this one.

I always knew I would – become a mother.

Never in my life have I – gotten a speeding ticket (please don't let me have just jinxed myself!)

High school was – fun once, but too much drama to want to go back!

When I’m nervous - I pace and wring my hands.

One time at a family gathering – I got a migraine and threw up just before pictures.

Take my advice – life is a gift, do all you can to enjoy it.

Making my bed - makes me feel things are in order.

I'm almost always – late.


I’m addicted to – diet coke, my kids, blogging…

I want someone to – find a cure for cancer.


Now I TAG:
Megan, Niki, Penelope

Random Weirdness

I lay in bed at night thinking sometimes. What follows is a questionnaire I came up with and thought it might be intriguing to get answers back from folks. or maybe not and everyone will just think I'm really weird. whatever. carry on.
1) Can you roll your tongue? Yes, the "normal" way (that's apparently inherited/genetic?) with the sides up as well as back on itself

2) a) Can you raise/arch an eyebrow? Yes
b) Can you raise both? Nope, just the left

3) Are your earlobes attached straight into your head or do you actually have round, dipping lobes? Greg's are attached, I have lobes.

4) Can you flare your nostrils? Yes, in rapid succession

5) When you "shoot a bird" or "flip someone off" do you bend your other fingers at the middle knuckle or do you hold them with your thumb like making a fist? I bend -- it's more like a knife hand strike and powerful that way to me. I do not like the dinky fist way. no offense. But it's not very straight and you end up needing to turn your hand around anyway, almost, to really communicate it, but it might be the more symbolic rocker way to do it.

6) Is your middle toe longer than your big toe? No, but Greg's is.

7) Can you whistle? Yes, but not the really loud way with your fingers. I always wanted to be able to do that.

8) Can you sit "Indian-style" or cross-legged? Yes

9) Have you ever broken a bone? Yes, my collar bone.

10) Do you pop your knuckles? Yes, sadly. .my fingers, neck, back, hips, ankles, toes, knees, shoulder (see above), elbows and even wrists sometimes, too! Basically, every joint I have? wow. I've never really thought about that before. I'm really going to be hurting one day, I'm sure.

11) Anyone else have any random questions to add or are these odd enough?

We haven't had a Tag going around in a while, so I created one?!

Secret 7

Thanks for the tag, Pen. It's hard to come up with 7 new weird things about me, but this is what I came up with:

*I HATE coupons. They are the bane of my existence. I mean, I know they are good and all, but they are so much work. You have to keep up with them and then remember to use them. My wallet is stuffed full of these scraps of paper; my in box is overflowing with offers that I might *potentially* need to use, so I keep them. I have such issues clearing them out and it drives me insane - seriously, everyday I'm getting things from:
Old Navy, J. Crew, New York and Co. (or whatever name they have now), Kohls, Macys, JoAnn's, Gap, Gymboree, Children's Place, Lillian Vernon, Disney, Crate & Barrell, Pottery Barn, Toys R' Us, Kraft, P&G, Borders, Best Buy, Biz Rate, Baby Center, Olan Mills, M&M's, Colorful Images, Walmart, Snapfish, Shutterfly, PetSmart. . .all great places, but seriously, it's too much!
Further, if I'm going to get an item or a gift, I have to stop and think about what coupons I might have to use. I mean, I like it when it works out. Bed, Bath & Beyond. Totally worth it. 20% off is significant, they don't expire, you can use up to 5 at a time, and you can use them at Linen's N' Things, too, which is closer to my house. I can keep those, knowing I will use them. If someone is registered at two different places, one of them being B3, I will try to find the gift there. Is that wrong? But, then again, you still actually have to go to the store to get the discount. I can't order online, so there's always the time factor and the effort. Not that I'm not saying people aren't worth the effort, but it's just more effort.

*Emily & I recently discussed the fact that we both hold the brake when we crank the car. It comes from our mother, who would do it to make sure the car didn't lurch forward. Not sure if it has something to do with a clutch seeing as how I don't really know anything about driving a stick shift, but I thought it was intriguing we both do that out of habit. Also, in the car, I sit up really straight. I don't know if it's because I'm short and need to be that much closer to reach the steering wheel and pedals, but I just prefer to sit up really straight. Everyone comments on it when they get in my car/seat or if I'm in someone else's car and adjust the seat.

*I used to be addicted to chapstick, but now it's mostly just a night time thing. I have to put on chap stick right before I get in the bed. It's like suddenly my lips are completely dry? Dellaina has "misplaced" the tube I had on top of our little cabinet in the bathroom that I used every night, so I've had to dig in my toiletries bag and it's made me realize my obsession. But, I don't want to set it out, because when I travel, I'll need it, too, and don't want to have forgotten to put it back! I'm the same with face lotion. I have to put it on after a shower. Partly, because my face used to/does/will get dry/red and I need it, but it's also a mental thing now, I think.

*I am super indecisive. Even in my writing. As illustrated above, I use / all the time because I can't just choose one word!! I'm constantly adding more thoughts. It's always been that way. I'd write my first draft, print it out and the "editing" would consist of notes all in the margins of additional thoughts. Even now as I write, I get down the basic ideas and then go back and add more thoughts, flush things out (ad infinity) and extend or rearrange. I'll write emails where I'm writing about something, then I answer my own question or something changes and where most people would go back and erase what they'd just written because it no longer applies, I like to keep it. It's all about posterity and "in the moment" an drecording things as they happen, becuase that's interesting for peopel to see the process? I don't know, it's a problem I have. It drives Greg crazy that I can't make decisions. I just spent 2 days of my life trying to pick out the perfect pictures and layouts for Christmas cards and birth announcements. I was sending Greg emails with pictures for his opinion and even then, I still take forever to finally decide what I really want. Once I finally ordered them it only took a few hours before I got the email that they had shipped. Oh to be so fast.

*Another thing I've realized recently came from something Pen posted about prefering plastic or glass containers. I like ice in my water - lots of it. It has to be really cold. I will drink water without ice if it's super cold from one of those water cooler dispensers, but it's got to be cold. I've even learned to put a few cubes of ice in my milk. But, I don't like cokes on ice - they do have to be really cold, but not on ice. I prefer them in the bottle or can, not poured over ice. You loose the kick that way. Especially from a 2-liter. ick.

*Having multiple names can get complicated. You have to keep up with who calls you what and remember to sign/say it when you talk to them so they don't get confused, mixed signals or offended. If someone calls me Andi and I sign Andria, they might think I'm trying to get them to be less intimate with me and more formal. Or if someone I am close friends with introduces me to someone new with my nickname, it can be an adjustment, because it partly feels reserved for close friends. But, then Greg has always called me Andria, because that's how I was known at school and while on one hand it seemed a little odd that he wouldn't move to the more "intimate" name, on the other, I always liked that he called me by my full name. It seemed more old fashioned or something, somehow. This is a weird thought process and I'm not sure I can fully express/capture it properly. But, I was glad I was linked in Pen's post, because I wasn't sure I was the Andi she was referencing, even though I know that's how Ashley would refer to me. And just like I now know Pen's real name, I still think of and reference her as Pen. Not Penelope really either. Even when our emails back and forth say something different.

*My ears aren't pierced evenly. When my mom and I went to the mall to get them pierced, the gun got jammed and stuck on my ear! I was already really freaked out about the whole process, so this was just a perfect thing to happen. I remember my mom's face looking really worried, but trying not to let it show for me. And of course, it was the first ear, so I had to sit through getting the other one done. So, I blame that on not having even holes. My mom's are uneven (I think, right?) and really low on her ears (because they did it themselves with ice and a needle!) and she can't wear heavy earrings.

*****The Rules:
1. Link to the person’s blog who tagged you.
2. Post these rules on your blog.
3. List seven random and/or weird facts about yourself.
4. Tag seven people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by posting a comment on their blog.

Trouble is, I don't know 7 other bloggers, much less that won't already have been tagged, but I'll still list you out, just for reference, but you only have to come up with 7 things once in my opinion:
Ashley, Megan, Niki, Tempe & Emily. And Daniel if he will participate, too. It's fun to think about and share.

Crazy 8

Ashley tagged me to come up with 8 weird things about myself. I've been struggling with it the past few days. Not that I'm not admittedly weird, but 8 is a lot! And to remember what I've already disclosed in previous discussions or tags so as not to repeat myself, is tricky! But, here it goes:


(1) My fingernails grow wavy (dipping at the ends, rather than being straight across, so I cut them, because they annoy me), with my thumb and pinky fingernails growing the best (fastest, straightest, longest). I joke about my long pinky fingernails being my coke (as in cocaine, would you spell the slang like the soft drink?) fingernail! I get it from my mom (the nails, not the coke), who's nails are also lined/have ridges across them and split really easily! Emily's do the same thing. I always prayed my daughter would get Greg's Mama's and Andrea's nail genes!

(2) Because of my height (or lack thereof) and proportions (Bartlet Pear anyone?), the widest part of me is generally blocked by the door handle or cross bar of a window when I'm standing in front of it. Another one that's hard to explain, but I've just recently realized that I'm usually only seeing my legs and upper half (like when walking in somewhere and checking your reflection to make sure everything is in place, etc.) Not that I'm a big fan of my legs anyway, but they can look much more slimming by themselves without the extra-wide thighs that jut out at the top or realizing quite how prematurely they end. Sometimes, I'm shocked when I do see my whole body and have a "whoa" realization of what it really looks like, not just seeing smaller parts of it. It's about perspective and it's funny when you realize people see the world completely differently from you. As part of this body image concept, if someone touches me somewhere, I have to touch the same place to kind of see what it felt like. I don't know if I can explain that any better.

(3) I am partially dyslexic and I mix up words often (not just meanings and using words in the wrong context). My dad really does have mild dyslexia and throw in being left-handed, he had a real hard time learning to read and write in school! One of the most glaring times I remember for myself (and I don't know why it sticks out in my mind so much) was meaning to say "keys to the city" and saying "seas to the kitty."

(4) I like remembering things about people and showing them I'm paying attention (or surprising them with an observation) or enjoy the books and movies where the characters are so observant. I find it really attractive when characters are blown away by all the little things someone else has noticed about them, some they didn't even realize themselves. But I used to be much better at it than I am now. I forget things so quickly now. What were we talking about? How many of these do I have to do?

(5) I have always been an emotional person. But for the longest time after Dellaina was born, I really wasn't able to cry much. (Greg may disagree, I might be blocking some emotional roller coaster rides out right after the birth, just as Tyler recently told me I'm much more "low key and mellow" this time around. Apparently I was overly emotional at the drop of a hat last time? huh, who knew?) It was like I was just too happy. It was a very strange sensation for me to be watching something on TV or learn of something from someone that I knew was deeply sad or disturbing and NOT be crying. I mean, I cry when I laugh hard! I cry when I'm angry or frustrated. I just cry! This was a very weird phase for me. Thanks to the pregnancy hormones, as I've recently attested, I feel my tear ducts are once again in proper over-working order and it's kind of nice to have the release again regularly!

(6) Speaking of crying: I used to judge movies by how much they made me cry. The more I cried, the better I thought the movie was. Something about it really had to affect me in order for it to be a good movie. Ones i still love, Man in the Moon, Beaches (thanks to Bette Midler singing "Wind Beneath My Wings" tonight on AI finale I thought of it) Titanic, Romeo & Juliet. I like something about the tragic love stories.

(7) I've never seen classics like Gone with the Wind or Sound of Music.

(8) I'm really big on smell. I love fresh, clean laundry. I like for my house to smell nice and clean. I went to my roommate's sister's house one time in college and I thought it smelled so good I had her ask her sister what kind of cleaner or perfume she used. The only thing they could figure out was she'd just put in a new Glade Plug-in. I got the name of the scent and I used it for years until they stopped making it. I was so bummed. My newest one that I am really liking, though, is "Ferns and Blossoms." I was surprised how floral it is, but I really like it. I'll catch whiffs of it while laying on the couch watching TV and it makes me happy. I use Mountain Fresh Tide and Downy because I love that smell. And Mountain Lysol. And strong soaps. hmm, you'd think I'd be overpowering! I like how everyone has a smell, too. Of their home or clothes (usually laundry detergent related) or perfume/cologne or just them. Obviously pleasant ones are better. And I don't like the ones that are overwhelming, like girls or guys that walk within 20 feet of you and you can already smell the perfume/cologne, but the subtle ones where you know it's just shampoo or deodorant and it's just a clean smell. This is sounding weirder than I think I realized. I'll stop.

But first, since Ashley tagged almost everyone else I know that blogs, I am left with just one: Sorry Em! If any other non-bloggers want to add some of their own to the comments, please join us!