Secrets and Marvelous Gifts

I think I have been pretty open about my love of blogland...and of the quasi-anonymous relationships that get formed. My favorite part? Being let in on secrets before real, offline relationships. And for whatever reason...the desire of people that I meet to tell me things extends from the real world into this world.

And you know what else? I have another secret! More very good news from one of my dearest "blog-friends" that the rest of you probably won't hear about until maybe a month from now or so.

Nanny. Nanny. Boo. Boo.

However, I am not one to tease you like that and give you nothing in return (I have been called a lot of things in my life, but "a tease" is not one of them:-P). Therefore, you can thank me for telling you that Old Navy sells this. Everyone should own one.

My blogger of the week

So, if I wasn't so lazy, I would have done this five days ago...and in fact should have. I think most of my readers also read Nilsa at Somi Speaks, but if you don't...go and visit her today while you still have a chance.

She has been running a contest all week in celebration of her blogiversary, soliciting suggestions for charitable organizations to which she will make some donation (out of her own pocket) based on the level of participation. Now, this is not an invitation to bombard her with ideas and send her to the poor house:-) (I suppose there is an off chance that this ends up with me writing her an "apology check") but it is worth stopping by to check it out.

Obviously, it is quite generous of her, and she should be applauded...despite not asking for any applause. It is a wonderful, selfless idea, and I may very well steal it from her later this year:-)

This is 999 posts, which means that whatever I write next will be the 1,000th (math lesson, eh?). That is kind of a lot of pressure, especially for someone who has struggled a lot recently to blog at all, let alone write anything worthwhile. I sort of feel like I have been wasting Internet space for a while now, and now I am faced with the desire to write something important and deep and reflective and full of meaning to commemorate the occasion.

But really, I am having trouble finding time or desire to blog lately, and that may be a sign in itself. I think of all the things that this blog has meant to me, and all of the things that I (used to?) love about it...and I am not sure that I still feel the same way. This stands as a (somewhat scrubbed) account of a very important part of my life, recounting a whole lot of day-to-day activity, a whole lot of thoughts and feelings and a whole lot of me that would probably be lost if I hadn't written it down. Do I risk losing those things going forward because I don't write them anymore?

I actively chose not to make this into a "baby" blog, and to leave out the minor details about what they ate and how long they slept for and how many times I changed their diapers. Largely, I did that because no one cares. Unfortunately, I don't have a whole lot else to write about...that takes up all of my time. And beyond worrying whether others care, maybe I have to ask myself whether I care? I don't know the answer to that...right now I don't, but will I someday regret not having a day-to-day account of their first years? I don't have an answer to that.

Normally, people give advice like "write about whatever you want," or "write about whatever you are thinking." If I am being totally honest with you, I don't know what I want to write about, and I don't really care to document what I am thinking. I may change my mind later, but I don't really care to go back and re-read forty straight posts about how I can't get them to sleep all night in their cribs.

I also have a confession to make...I have decided how I am going to "end" this blog. That doesn't mean I am thinking strongly about actually doing it, or that I have any desire to, but I have already written the last post. While I don't know when I may decide to post it, should I be worried that I have even thought about it? I dunno.

But I do know that I feel like I owe you a doozy of a post next, and I am not feeling terribly confident that I am up to it.

Phone etiquette

It seems like most people are in agreement on the idea of calling your spouse at work...some people do it more often that others, and some do it only for a specific reason...but everyone agrees that it should be kept private.

So why...I ask...is there someone in every office who doesn't get that? I never call The Boy during the day, and he never calls me...we do email and text occasionally, but mostly we just go about our business until we get home. I don't even have his work number, I don't think... I would say the only reason we ever talk during the day is if day care called because one of the girls is sick and one of us has to go get them. I think that happened twice...

But a lot of people do call just to check in at least once a day. Which is totally understandable and completely reasonable. But having snippy, loud conversations in the middle of an office? Who on earth thinks that is acceptable behavior? Go outside, go to a conference room, close your door...whatever...but how any adult could think it appropriate to have anything more than a completely cursory "Hello" with their spouse in a place that other people can hear is totally beyond me.

And don't even get me started on your parents calling you at work...that has all kinds of potential for weird...

And tomorrow, Michelle Bachmann!

Survey Says...

Since last Friday's seriousness went over like a concrete balloon, I am going to try and be a little more interactive this week.

The topic for discussion is calling your spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend at work.

Do you do it? Does he or she call you? How often? Do others in your office do it? Are you a fan? Inappropriate?

Discuss.

News! (Sort of)

Spent a glorious weekend at the beach, and am feeling a little bit fried today. I got a LOT of sun. But wishing very much that I was still there:-) It's pretty f'in hot up this way, and oh so lovely down there!

So, one of the great things about the Internet, and "virtual friends", is that you get to hear secrets long before they are public. Just as I told all of you that I was pregnant long before I announced it to "real" people (who don't read my blog:-P), several people have shared with me their quest to get pregnant, their heartbreaking failures and then their eventual successes. There is just something nice about being able to share news early on to people when you can't tell some family and friends yet.

I learned within the last week about two different people that are pregnant, and I am incredibly excited for each! Babies bring so much joy to people that really want them, and it makes me giddy to be let in on the secret early on:-). Many, many congrats to both (and the rest of you will just have to wait until they want to tell you:-P...cuz I am a good secret keeper!)

In other news, we are off to Chicago the weekend after next for BFFg's wedding, and I have been working on my toast. I am feeling an awful lot of pressure because it is really, really hard to say exactly what I want to say...and I feel the need for it to be perfect (of course!) And frankly, I am struggling to find words that have the magnitude I am looking for...English needs some better words, I think:-)

I am planning on posting it once I am done though, to get feedback:-)

Until then, enjoy the heat!

Fake ID's, babysitters, foreigners and emails

I am quickly becoming the Worst Blogger Ever. I don't really even have an excuse...I am not so super busy that I don't have time to write. I think maybe I am just boring. I have nothing that seems worth writing.

Let's see...girls are doing great. Daddy gets them all by himself next weekend because Smoking Hot Roommate and I am going to Chicago for BFFg's bachelorette party, which will be a total shit show. Munchkin is coming and we are gonna try and sneak her into places with us...hopefully being in a group of 10 or so girls that are all in their late 20's at least will mean we can skip the ID checks. She looks plenty old enough, but I am not quite criminal enough to get her an ID (if SHR weren't going, she could use hers as they look enough alike, but we will put that on the list of "habits I would rather she not get into").

The wedding is in July, and we are hoping to be able to go. That will mean that his parents have to watch the girls for a whole weekend, though, and I am not sure we are totally ready for that. For now we are planning on going, but The Boy could end up staying home at the last minute...hopefully not.

Then, when we get back, Frenchie is coming and I am headed to the beach with both lovebirds for the week. Looking forward to vacation!!! I have had to promise Munchkin that we can have a lot of driving lessons...wish me luck:-)

So, to change topics...who else got "The Email" this weekend? I did (not sure why, really) and found it to be a little weird, a little confusing, a little disconcerting and some other stuff. And the nosy part of me would LOVE to know who wrote it, but I doubt that will ever come out (and if the named party ever figured it out, I doubt she would broadcast it anyway.) But I would love to know anyone else's thoughts on what this says about who reads blogs, who writes blogs and what we all hope to, and eventually get, out of blogging.

Drop me a line:-)

899

Holy shit I have written 899 posts in this blog...that is really amazing. It also means I should probably plan something pretty big for #900, right? That seems like a lot of pressure. On the other hand, the first 898 don't all exactly qualify of haute-literature (new pretend words and phrases!) so I can't see where you all expect me to re-do A Tale of Two Cities now.

Anyway, the girls are napping, so I am blogging:-). I definitely love my Wednesdays at home with them, but I would go completely batty if I had to do this every day. There are only so many minutes in a day when I can bounce two bouncy seats and shake toys that make noise before I just collapse from exhaustion:-). I guess if I did this every day, I would probably have a babysitter with me for at least some of the time to at least have an extra set of hands around.

Not much new on that front. LK still has two teeth, and I think her top ones are growing in. She also rolls over all the time and usually sleeps on her side like a little tiny regular person. Not gonna lie, it is pretty freaking adorable. MA remains toothless, but she has been really crabby for a couple of days, so she may be about to get her bottom ones. They just get cuter and cuter every single day!

Guess what is making a comeback tomorrow night? Chicken Fingers!!! The Boy is on baby girl duty while Munchkin and I have our date. Hopefully, it all goes well so that we can get back to doing this weekly. I am willing to make a lot of sacrifices for my little girls, but completely abandoning chicken fingers is NOT one of them!!! If this doesn't work, then I may try bringing one or both of them next week and see if maybe that works.

Munchkin is making her babysitting debut this weekend, too. Not sure which night yet, but The Boy and I are gonna go out for a couple of hours after they go to sleep and leave her home alone with them. Kind of a big step, but she can handle it...even if one wakes up, she just wants to eat and go back to sleep anyway. Most likely they will remain asleep the whole time. Not like we will be far away anyway;-P

Until then, if anyone has any ideas for a 900th post (ideas that don't involve pictures;-))...fire away!

800

Holy shit...this is my 800th post...that seems like a whole fucking lot. I still remember vividly sitting down to write my very first post three years (plus) ago on a Friday night...and that seems like a really, really long time ago. I guess I never really thought about the idea of sticking with it for this long. And I definitely never thought that I would get nearly as much out of it as I have. Beyond just having a really good diary of what I was doing and thinking for all of this time, I have "met" a whole ton of people that make me laugh and cry and do all sorts of other things. I have also found that there are a lot more people that I have things in common with than I ever thought...I have found no fewer that a half dozen people who spent some time raising a sibling, which I could have never anticipated.

And a quick inventory shows that I have moved twice, gotten married, gotten knocked up - twice at once, started graduate school, bought a condo and found a new little sister. Pretty busy couple of years! I have also taken a Trans-Atlantic voyage with little sister #1 to visit her dashing foreign boyfriend....

Which brings me to the initial point of this post...our French visitor. And yes, this is the second post that I have written in about an hour, but it seemed too long for just one entry. Frenchie's plane was about a half hour late on Thursday, which actually gave Munchkin and I a good chance to talk a bit before he arrived. OK, so an airport Starbucks isn't really where we usually have in-depth conversations, but it will do when necessary;-).

He seems to have grown about a foot since we last saw him four months ago...and he remains supremely adorable;-). And they are super cute together...they hold hands when they walk sometimes, but they aren't at all annoying and clingy. And they talk in French sometimes, which really just means that he talks really slow and uses simple words and helps her, since she has one semester's worth of French...still, it is really cute. Her Spanish is better than her French, but she doesn't have any Spanish or Latin boyfriends;-)

His parents sent him with some gifts, including a few baby things, some chocolate...and two bottles of wine. Not sure they thought that one through entirely...you know, sending a 15 year old on an airplane to America with booze...lol. Please don't tell customs!

I was a little worried about having the two of them without his parents around, but so far there are no worries. He is very respectful of her (and therefore of me:-)), and they haven't been trying to sneak around to make out too much;-). We had dinner with the entire extended pretend family last night, and they are going to the movies this afternoon (can you make out during Avatar? I will have to ask her). The Boy and I have a Christmas party to go to tonight, and the two lovebirds are going to their own party at one of Munchkin's friend's houses.

Tomorrow, he is going along with Smoking Hot Roommate and Munchkin to their weekly Fantasy Football watching date...I doubt that he knows what he is in for. That is roughly equivalent to meeting a girl's father for the first time, only instead of a father it is half a dozen probably-overprotective 27 year old guys with a bottomless cooler of Miller Lite...;-)

(That reminds me of a really funny story...she got in trouble at school one day because she forgot to turn her phone off and it rang during class. I asked her who could possibly be calling her on a Tuesday afternoon..."Oh, it was (guy in her fantasy football league) asking if I would trade him a running back".)

That's about all for now...this is a whole lot of blogging for one Saturday morning for me. But it has kept me from wanting to go outside is this brutally cold weather!

Today's Girl Crush

So, I have documented a couple of my girl-crushes in the past...Kate Beckinsale is like the Queen of them all. Salma Hayek is another. Allesandra Ambrosio, of course. And Katie Bell and Jessicas Alba & Biel. Oh, and Charlize Theron.

But, today, I have an official Blog-Girl-Crush, which is a first for me. The lucky lady? That would be my sorta-neighbor in two places, the divine and inspiring JenniferAlaine at You'll Grow to Love Me.

The reason for the girl-crush? It's not that she is tall and foxy, although that would totally justify it. Nor is it that she is from Chicago, or that she goes to a smart-kid school a few miles from here, although either would be perfectly acceptable reasons as well.

The real reason is that she has the stones to pull this off;-) Awesome beyond words!!!

Three Years

[Yikes...I initially titled this post just "Three", and then realized that could have a whole other meaning!!!]

Today is my three year blog-iversary...and as much as I would like to talk about how much things have changed over those three years, they are gonna change by a whole lot more next year!

I find less and less time to blog recently, as school is really kicking my ass these days and I am still sick kind of all the time. Most days, I wake up feeling pretty squeamish (although I don't really throw up very often) and it takes me a while to get ready because I can't be rushing around without getting sicker. I try to take as little Zofran as possible, but I would say that about one out of three days I have to because I am just too sick.

Eating is a pain in the ass, too, and I can't wait until food tastes good again. I have to eat kind of all the time, because I get really sick if I don't, but nothing actually tastes good, and I find myself eating whatever doesn't repulse me. Except animal crackers...I totally heart those. And I eat a whole lot of them...

So, I get to school at 8:00, have class all morning and early afternoon, then start in on the mountains of homework and group work and whatever else is on the docket that day. I get as much of it done as I can, but by about 6:00, I just plain have to go home. I usually feel worst in the evening, but The Boy and Munchkin are very good about taking care of me:-). Once I have had dinner and get into my jammies, I try and finish whatever work I have left, and I am usually in bed by 9:00 or so.

The fatigue hasn't been as bad lately...I have a little bit more energy...and it should get better for a while before it gets a whole lot worse after the New Year. But for now I am dealing. Unfortunately, it leaves very little time to do much else...I haven't seen many friends lately, and haven't been blogging (in case you didn't notice).

So...what am I getting at? Well, I guess I am apologizing ahead of time for a continued slow down in blogging. For the first six months or so of my blogging, I posted every day...and since then, I have been a pretty consistent five-day per week blogger. That has slowed down, and I don't anticipate that it will pick up any time soon. But, there is no need to worry about me...I am fine, just super busy and sleeping whenever I have some free time:-)

I need to make an effort to blog more, which I very much want to do. As I have mentioned, the part of this that I like most is the daily diary aspect...which is obviously reliant on actually doing it;-). I could blog during class, but that kind of defeats the purpose (not that I am unwilling...), so mostly I am just hoping that I will get over the fatigue for a while and have some more time to get everything done that we need to.

I guess, in summary, I have to recognize that the last three years are likely to be the high-point of my blogging. I still read everyone that is in my Reader (even if I don't comment as much) and will be a regular blogger...just maybe not as much as I once was. Which sort of makes me sad...but that's the way the cookie crumbles, for now.

Last set of answers, and a winner!!!

OK, the last four questions from SHR's quiz (which is now like a month old...lol).

17) Where is the beach house that AM is so fond of? I have actually been less obvious on this than I thought. A bunch of guesses were "Cape Cod" or "Somewhere in New England"...and several of you said "I know it is one of the islands, but I am not sure which one". Well, the house is on Nantucket, which is the smaller and less populated of the two islands. When I made reference to the Obamas here, it was when Munchkin and I took a day trip to the other island (Martha's Vineyard), where they will be vacationing in a couple of weeks.
18) What kind of dog does Papa Bear have? He has a golden retriever:-) She is tiny and she loves donuts:-)
19) Munchkin has a winter hat that AM has referenced several times. What does the hat say? This is an easy one, too! It is a blue hat with a picture of a cartoon chicken saying "Chicks rule!" I borrow it often... As you can see, once upon a time, it was my hat;-)
20) What term of affection have Munchkin and Tinkerbelle coined to describe their relationship (they share a half-sister, but are not actually related)? They, in all of their adorableness, call each other Sislings:-). Love it.

OK, so let's get some results before the bonus questions!

A few of you only answered some questions, but did really well on the ones you answered, including Carree and Katia. And a whole bunch of people got like 5-8 right and get mad props from me for playing our little game:-)

I am awarding fourth place to Laurwilk. She technically didn't get any answers in until the third round of questions, so she is not really eligible to win, but she got most all of them right without having to read the archives, and I know that she would have gotten the rest if she had the chance. She also figured out Smoking Hot Roommate's name a long time ago (um, partially because SHR told her by sending her an email...lol)

Third place is going to go to Nicole D from Canada...she got 14.5 right, and she was one of only a few people that also figured out Smoking Hot Roommate's last name.

Irene from Germany is our second place winner, getting 16 right and getting both bonus questions as well. In fact, she may get extra credit because she found an answer to the first bonus question that was completely valid, but was not the one that SHR was talking about.

The winner, though, is the artist formerly known as I'm not Carrie Bradshaw, who now resides over here. I have long noted that she is the most perceptive blog reader that I have, and she definitely proved as much during this exercise. She managed to figure out a couple of my blog-secrets without me even telling her (I share a lot more via email and gchat), and now she has ripped off 19 out of 20 answers. Absolutely brilliant! The only question she missed was the one about Munchkin's favorite soccer player, which was something of a trick question.

So, let's all give her a mighty round of applause. I will send an email and figure out how you want to collect your prize:-)

As for the bonus questions...I am unfortunately not going to publish answers here, since it crosses whatever anonymity lines I have left;-). I will, however, respond to you in private if you want to submit guesses.

-----

OK, on to other things...Munchkin had yesterday off, so we took a little day trip to Chatham to poke around, shop a little and just enjoy the day. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous down here for the last two weeks...which seems extra sweet since it has been like 95 and humid in the city:-). We had lunch, wandered through downtown, bought a few gifts to bring with us to France, and then had a relatively early dinner outside. Then we saw Harry Potter...so, really an awfully nice day!

She is working today, and once she is done, we are headed back home so that we can spend tomorrow packing up for our trip. I have also seen shockingly little of The Boy in the last two weeks, so I need to get my fill of him before I leave him again for another week. And, since it is Thursday, I am wondering if maybe some chicken fingers are in order:-D

I will try and blog again tomorrow morning before we leave, but for now I have some school stuff to work on, and then a beach to sit on:-)

Last questions, and more answers

OK...as promised, the next set of answers and the last set of questions:

13) During her years in London, who did Big Sis work for? In my first post about Boss Foxy, I mentioned that they used to work for a firm that rhymes with "Old Can Schnapps". I am pretty sure that I have mentioned the firm name since then, but I can't find it. Anyway, both Big Sis and Boss Foxy were employed by the venerable Goldman Sachs while in London.
14) Where, specifically, did The Boy propose? On the bridge over the swan pond in the public garden. Which, as it turns out, is the World's Smallest Suspension Bridge:-)
15) AM wears a pair of diamond earrings on most days. Where did they come from? Turns out that there are a lot of answers in this one post... They belonged to SHR and Big Sis's mother, and they were a gift from the two of them and Papa Bear. I wear them for two reasons...1) They are gorgeous:-D. 2) They mean a lot to me:-)
16) With what friend does AM share the distinction of having a last name that belongs to no one else that she is related to? We all learned this when we met The Body was back in my first couple days of blogging. I should note that this is actually no longer technically correct, since she has changed her name officially to her father's full last name. But you get the point...

Nothing terribly tricky about those four, pretty much everyone who answered got them right. The final four are not terribly tricky, either, although there may need to be a little bit of guesswork on your part. Respond fast and I will answer fast and get on to the bonus questions...

17) Where is the beach house that AM is so fond of?
18) What kind of dog does Papa Bear have?
19) Munchkin has a winter hat that AM has referenced several times. What does the hat say?
20) What term of affection have Munchkin and Tinkerbelle coined to describe their relationship (they share a half-sister, but are not actually related)?

More A, and More Q

Answers to Monday's questions, and then the next four for next week. I think I will probably blog at least a couple of times next week, but I ain't promising;-)

9) Where did we go to college? I have been lying to you all since day one. I have always claimed that I went to college in Phoenix, which is patently false (OK...it is almost entirely true;-) Just not quite technically)...I went to school in Tempe;-). And we attended what, according to Wikipedia, is The Second Largest University Campus in America.
10) From what country is Munchkin's favorite soccer player? This has turned out to be the toughest question in the whole quiz, and no one got it right. As noted here, Munchkin's favorite soccer player is Michael Essien, #5 for the Chelsea Football Club. While he plays for a team in London, you will note from his profile there, that he is in fact from Ghana. Quick...name one other famous Ghanian...
11) What kind of car does AM have? Easy...a Tan Jeep Cherokee. Everyone got this.
12) Munchkin once did a wine tasting. Where was it? This was in Italy, specifically Tuscany. During the summer of 2006, she went to Europe for a month with one of her friends' family. They did all kinds of things, one of which was a wine tasting...and yes, the parents asked me ahead of time if it would be OK;-)

The same folks continue to lead...Laurwilk has jumped in and she knows most of them without even searching the archives;-). And since some of you have answered all of them at once, and some are doing them four at a time, it is hard to say who is really winning. Which just adds to the suspense!

Anyway, the next four, and we should have all of this wrapped up before I leave for France:

13) During her years in London, who did Big Sis work for?
14) Where, specifically, did The Boy propose?
15) AM wears a pair of diamond earrings on most days. Where did they come from?
16) With what friend does AM share the distinction of having a last name that belongs to no one else that she is related to?

That's all I have for you now:-) The beach is lovely and I am going to do my best to enjoy it!

Answers and the next questions

Okie Dokie, you have all had plenty of time on these questions, so it is time for some answers:

5) AM was promoted on her first day at her job. Why? This took some searching for some of you, but most everyone who submitted an answer got it right: my business cards were mis-printed, so my original role of Junior Analyst was immediately changed to Analyst on Day 1. Since no one else held either title, it was not a big deal.

6) AM has two unique roles in her office. One is client-related and one is more of an internal role. What are they? Most of you got this, too. I am the office liaison when Papa Bear is in a foul mood, since he won't yell at me like he yells at the other people in the office. This sort of includes Big Sis...he yells at her, but she yells back;-) The other role is as kind of an all-purpose snoop. People tend to tell me things, so I am often set loose to meet with people in our portfolio or target companies to try and get the "real story" when the higher-ups feel like their presence is hindering the work.

7) She once gave my Mom a nickname. What was it? [Clarification: I have actually called her a couple of things, one of which is Mama Bear. But there is another answer that SHR was looking for.] The name was Mrs. Rock, short for Rockefeller. In this post, here.

8) What magazine issue did AM once announce was required reading for any of her listeners with daughters? [I think we are looking for a specific issue, and I like the substitution of "listeners" for readers...lol]. Fortune's Most Powerful Women in Business Issue...comes out every year;-). This was easy, since it is from a link over to the right as "My favorite Post"

The next four questions:

9) Where did we go to college? [The actual University]
10) From what country is Munchkin's favorite soccer player?
11) What kind of car does AM have?
12) Munchkin once did a wine tasting. Where was it?

One of these questions has actually stumped everyone who has submitted an answer...although I won't tell you which one until later. I will give you probably 3-4 days to answer, and then I will get to the next round of questions.

On the docket this week? My last week at work, Tinkerbelle's visit and a minor altercation in a coffee shop from last weekend;-) So you have that to look forward to!

Answers. And more Questions

Okie dokie...now we get to the fun part of SHR's quiz...answers! I will give you the first four, and pose the next four questions. Very good effort so far, as there are a bunch of people that have gotten all four right.

1) What is AM's favorite band? - This was an easy one...my obscene love of The Killers is pretty well documented around these parts. They are playing here next month:-)
2) She has one small scar. Where is it, and how did she get it? - I have a scar on my lip from an unfortunate run-in with a metal railing after slipping on a pool deck. BFFb caught me before I fell of a ledge in my unconscious state:-) I wrote about it in a post here after being tagged to write some random things.
3) There is a decal in the back window of AM's car. What is it? It is Tinkerbelle:-) And there is a link to a picture of it in this post, right after I got it for my birthday
4) My wonderful husband, The Rocket Scientist, had a different blog name in the beginning. What was it? - His original name was The Adorable Dork, because he is adorable and he is a dork:-). I changed it here, because The Rocket Scientist was a little more accurate, and because I really like the symmetry of the two sisters being married to The Brain Surgeon and The Rocket Scientist.

OK, that covers the first four questions, and now we can move on to the next four:

5) AM was promoted on her first day at her job. Why?
6) AM has two unique roles in her office. One is client-related and one is more of an internal role. What are they?
7) She once gave my Mom a nickname. What was it? [Clarification: I have actually called her a couple of things, one of which is Mama Bear. But there is another answer that SHR was looking for.]
8) What magazine issue did AM once announce was required reading for any of her listeners with daughters? [I think we are looking for a specific issue, and I like the substitution of "listeners" for readers...lol]

Keep the answers coming, and I will continue to use my magic spreadsheet to tally the results;-). In early returns, the foreigners are performing much more strongly overall than the Americans.

David Hasselhoff Has Nothing on Me

A warning to the rest of the world...Germans love me! I got two different responses to the quiz from German readers yesterday, and both really did well...they are gonna be tough to beat! I will hold off on telling you their scores yet, but the bar has most definitely been raised!

I have also decided to make it maybe a little less overwhelming and a little more manageable for the people who don't have the time to go through the whole thing at once. So here is my new plan...for the next week or so, I will re-post 3-4 questions per day, and you can answer just when you know an answer or want to guess or whatever.

Obviously it doesn't make it any easier, but it will help you sort it out and take it on in manageable chunks. And again, I will make a spreadsheet to track everyone's answers...and post answers the day after I ask them. Make more sense? I hope so.

Therefore, today we will take on the first three questions, which are definitely some of the easier ones!

1. What is AM's favorite band?
2. She has one small scar. Where is it, and how did she get it?
3. There is a decal in the back window of AM's car. What is it?
4. My wonderful husband, The Rocket Scientist, had a different blog name in the beginning. What was it?

Again, answer via comment, email or gchat...one at a time or all at once, whatever you want. I will worry about tracking all of the answers. And you can still send me answers to all 20 if you would like.

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In other news, we had a mother of a rainstorm last night! It was a really nice day, and at about 2:00 I knocked off to sit on the beach for a bit. An hour or so later, the clouds rolled in, and then at about 6:00 the rain started and it absolutely poured all night. It is just kind of letting up now, and is supposed to be pretty nice for the rest of the weekend. That did, however, allow me to stay in and catch my favorite Munchkin-look-alike pop star make her TV debut on CSI:-) And immediately get shivved with a pair of scissors...

Our friends all got here easily, and Munchkin's friends should be here at about noon. The Boy should probably get here sometime after dinner, too, along with Big Sis, The Rocket Scientist and The Brain Surgeon. I love my girl time, but I really do miss The Boy if I don't see him for five days:-) Very full house!

Should be a fun weekend! And then, back home for me for my last two (or so) weeks of work...

More on SHR's Quiz

Judging from the answers I have received so far, I think my intuition about the quiz from yesterday was right: it is super hard!!! Smoking Hot Roommate really outdid herself on this one...I actually had to check a few things to make sure that I actually did write them at some point.

To give you something to shoot at, I will tell you that, as of now, no one has gotten even close to half of them right (and there are a couple that have more than one acceptable answer, as it turns out). And again, if you feel like sending me answers one at a time, you can do that and I will track them all...we all know how much I love Excel (that should have been a question!)

I am not real sure how or when to divulge the answers. I am actually thinking that I may kind of break it up, ask a couple of questions per day and then give a few answers per day over a few weeks to make it a little more manageable. And, unfortunately, there are some questions that I will only answer by email or gchat...and a few that I will confirm, but won't tell you the answer if you don't guess it on your own:-P!

The good news? The winner gets a gift card:-) Let's figure on maybe $50, but that could change based on how well the winner does ($5 for every question right, maybe?). And yes, since this whole mess was her idea, Smoking Hot Roommate has been designated as the provider of said gift card, so congratulations on that;-)

In other news, I had a wonderfully low-key birthday with SHR and Munchkin. Walked to a nearby restaurant for dinner, then to Munchkin's ice cream store for some celebratory ice cream cake. I got lots and lots of birthday phone calls, and just generally had a very nice day for myself:-)

The sun is back out today after a few days in hiding, just in time for the weekend invasion! Four of our friends are coming down tonight to stay through the weekend, and some more of SHR's Mom's family is coming as well. Munchkin's two best friends are coming tomorrow morning, so I will have to go and pick them up at the ferry...in other words, it will be a pretty busy couple of days around here!

I guess that is all for now...keep those answers coming!

Blog Block

I'm in a blogging funk lately...I feel like I have very little useful to write (please, hold off on the obvious "You once had something useful to write?" comments, smartass...) Not real sure what the issue is, as I feel like there are things that happen throughout the day that would make good material, but then when it comes times to actually sit down and write something, nothing seems worthwhile.

Maybe the daily writing is too much? Shouldn't be...I watch the news everyday, and I always have opinions on that. Have I just become that boring? I don't think so...I am not any more or less boring than I have been at any time in the last two and a half years. Well, maybe a little:-)

I am actually wondering if maybe my blog-secrets are getting too difficult to work around. I have never had a problem keeping this blog about 90% informed of what goes on in my life, but the truth is that you never have quite gotten the complete story. The other 10% is not really of huge importance to what I do write about (and plenty of you know pretty much all of it, I just don't write it down here), but is just not stuff that I care to share with absolutely everyone.

Recently, though, I think that I feel like that 10% is growing. Hopefully, this is a temporary circumstance and I can get back to my regular ways soon. I have no intention of quitting blogging, but I would like it to be easier than it has been lately.

Um...that's all.

AM's Book of Wisdom: Chapter 1

At least 90% of humanity can be explained by two simple facts:

1) All men are pigs
2) All women are crazy

Discuss.

(There is no specific reason I write this today, but I am out all day and it seemed a worthy discussion topic)