Fitness Friday

Welcome to Week 2 of Fitness Fridays. Feel free to grab the button and link up with your Fitness Friday story. (Be sure to post a direct link to your fitness story!) I'd love to hear from you!

<div align="center"><a href="http://babm8krs.blogspot.com" title="A Glimpse of My Life"><img src="http://happybabychronicles.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/fitnessfriday.jpg" alt="A Glimpse of My Life" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Link up and scroll down to read my fitness update of the week!

Now, on to my fitness update. This week also did not go as I originally had intended (we make plans and God laughs!) Sundays are my day of rest, and this week was no different. I started off good on Monday and made it to the gym. I got in a great workout and felt really good about it. Tuesday we didn't make it because by the time my son's music class was finished, I was STARVING!! I have this thing about not wanting to eat a meal before I work out, and usually by the time it's digested (at least when I feel it's digested), it's either time to eat again, I'm in that afternoon "nap time" mode, or my son is taking a rare nap. Wednesday I made a trip to the salon to get my hair cut. Gotta look presentable when my hubby gets back home this weekend! After my salon appointment, I had to drop my dogs off for their spa-day at the groomers. By the time that was over, it was definitely dinner time! Thursday I made it into the gym again, and I got in another great workout. I was really looking forward to this morning's barre class and my Pilates session. Unfortunately, neither happened. I wasn't feeling so hot this morning, and didn't feel there was any way I could make it through one or both classes. My stomach was not happy with whatever I fed it last night! No workout for me today. All I honestly want to do is curl up in my bed with my Kindle and read. My little one has other plans in mind. I am going to attempt another gym workout tomorrow. I'm hoping I shake whatever this is that I've got! My mom seems to think it's just my nervous excitement about my hubby coming home that has my tummy in knots. Maybe she's right.
Speaking of my mom, and since it is Fitness Friday, she had some great news for me today. She's been taking water aerobics classes and has decided to take an instructor certification course in October, at the request/invitation of her current instructor. I think this is AWESOME! I've never done water aerobics, myself, but I do know it's a great low-impact way to keep moving. Whatever keeps you moving will help to keep you healthy. The gym I go to offers several water aerobics classes, so usually when I'm there I can "observe" a class as I walk laps around the track (a portion of the track has an overlook to the pool area).

My goal for the upcoming week is to stay on track with my workouts, and to increase my running time/distance. I'm currently only running at a slow pace of a 5.0 for a maximum of 8-10 minutes at a time. I then slow to a fast walk (3.8) until I can catch my breath, then I try to run again, usually for only 5-6 minutes at that point. I do this until I've reached 30 minutes, which usually results in the completion of just over 2 miles. I would really like to be able to finish a 5K in a slow jog/run in under 40 minutes. I know it doesn't sound like much of a "goal" to some...my husband can run a 5k in like 20 minutes. I would just like to be able to jog it without walking. I did it once, and I'm hoping to be able to do it again. We're going to be participating in a 5K on October 15th, so I don't have much time to train in order to be able to reach my goal. Hopefully my husband can help whip me into shape once he's home!

How did YOUR week go? Did you meet any goals?

Tiggerific Tuesday!

Welcome to Tiggerific Tuesday! Blog Hop...or Bounce!

Link up, meet new friends, network with other bloggers, and have fun!

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Our Requests:

1. On GFC, Networked Blogs, Twitter or Facebook, please follow both Hosts

and

as well as our Featured Guest Host

2. Follow who you like and be sure to let them know that you are from "Tiggerific Tuesday! Blog Hop...or Bounce."

3. You are not required to, but we'd greatly appreciate it if you could grab our button and write a post about this hop and/or display the button on your sidebar. 

4. Every week we will pick someone to Guest Host the hop with us. If you would like to be considered for the Guest Host position, leave a comment under this post to let me know you're interested and  follow us on GFC.

get the InLinkz code

SOOC Saturday

Here's some photos of my little guy playing in the nursery at church. Hubby, if you're reading this, I would really LOVE a new DSLR camera. These photos were taken with my Nikon Coolpix L100.

Fitness Friday

Since I've been doing these intermittent fitness updates, I decided to just keep with it and do them once a week. I'm calling it Fitness Friday and I'm going to do my best to have something new to post each week.
With that in mind, grab the button and feel free to participate in Fitness Fridays with me!

<div align="center"><a href="http://babm8krs.blogspot.com" title="A Glimpse of My Life"><img src="http://happybabychronicles.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/fitnessfriday.jpg" alt="A Glimpse of My Life" style="border:none;" /></a></div>


Now on to my update!

Today didn't go as I had planned...my babysitter was on time this morning, but told me she had to leave about 45 minutes earlier than usual which meant I had to "late" cancel my pilates session. I was still going to be able to go to Barre class though, so I was pretty stoked about that. Today was my virgin Barre session. O.M.G(oodness)! That was an awesome workout! Check out this interview from the studio I go to!



Looks like fun, doesn't it? It totally was, and I can't wait to do it again!

Terrific Thursday Blog Hop - I've been featured!

Welcome to Terrific Thursday blog hop, hosted by Rondi from WAHM Resource Site and Crystal from My Life as Mom and Wife . Together, we are hoping to create an awesome weekly blog hop to find new blogs and meet new blog friends.

Each week we will pick a random blog to be the guest host. This weeks guest host for the #3 spot is A Glimpse of My Life! (Hey y'all, that's ME!!)

The Guidelines for participating in the Terrific Thursday blog hop are as follows:

1. Please grab the blog hop button from WAHM Resource Site to spread the word.

2. Please follow the two hosts and guest host – WAHM Resource Site and My Life as Mom and Wife, and guest host A Glimpse of My Life via Google Friend Connect (feel free to follow on Twitter and Facebook as well).

3. Please do not link up your giveaways, blog hops, etc. (These will be deleted.)

Link up your blog, visit and follow the blogs that interest you and have fun! If you follow our blogs and leave a comment, we will always follow you back!

Now, let’s get blog hoppin’ and have some fun!

You only need to add your link to one
linky for it to show up on all participating blogs. The linkys will
open every Wednesday by 8:00pm CST.

Wordless Wednesday

Some highlights from this week so far.

Tristan - The First 6 Months

Click here to view this photo book larger

Super Stalker Sunday

Welcome to the weekly Super Stalker Sunday hop!

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What is Super Stalker Sunday?

Glad you asked! Super Stalker Sunday is a weekly blog hop hosted by

Marni of Marni's Organized Mess

April of Mama on a Green Mission

Mariah of Formula Mom

Kortney of Kortney's Krazy Life

and Emily of Nap Time is My Time

Blogs hops are a great way to meet other bloggers, socialize and gain more followers. Do you like to socialize? Well, we all like followers, right?!

If you've been around the blogosphere you know there are Blog Hop's for everything you can think of and every day of the week: RSS Feed, Google Friend Connect, Email Readers, Facebook Fans, and Twitter Followers.

Well, why not get all of your followers in one place once a week? This is the place to do just that!

How to Super Stalk

Follow each host at least one way. Don't forget to let them know you did so by commenting on their blog. We will return all follows, but please be patient as we are busy mama's it may take us a few days to return the visit and follow.

You will only have to link up on one of the host sites and your link will appear on all as we use the same linky.

After you follow the hosts, follow as many bloggers in as many ways as you are willing!
Already follow somebody? Consider visiting and following them in another way as well!

Remember: You will only get as much as you give. The more blogs you can visit, the more visits you will gain in return. We are all here to socialize and greet, not visit only your blog.

While we encourage sharing our button and hop with as many as possible, it is not required. The more you spread the word though, the more we socialize and all gain followers!

This week's featured blog is

We took this opportunity to ask Kellie a few questions, and she shares her answers below:

-What’s your favorite way to stalk a blog?
My favorite way to stalk a blog is via Facebook. I'm a horrible Facebook addict, and that's led me to find out about new hops, stalks, giveaway events and meet other cool bloggers!

-You have an extra hour added to your day,what would you do with it?
Sleep!! I have an 11 month old, so sleep is a rarity for me.

-Is there a TV show that you have watched every episode?
Nip/Tuck. It's no longer on, but I own the entire series on DVD. It was my favorite, and a total guilty pleasure!

-What book is currently on your nightstand?
Ernest Hemingway's To Have and Have Not is on my nightstand. I purchased it during my last visit to the Hemingway House in Key West, FL.

-Pick a post,any post.
This is an oldie, but goodie! I think it's rather appropriate as my son's birthday is less than a month away!

If you would like to be a featured blogger, being shared with more than 4,000 combined followers between the hosts of this hop, please link up! At the end of each week we will select a blog via Random.Org to be the featured blog for the following week.

This linky will go live Saturday at 7:00 PM PST and end Monday at 12:00 PM PST.

Thank you for participating, now let's go "stalk" up a storm!

SOOC Saturday

My Fitness Update

A few weeks ago, I posted about my fitness goals (you can read about them HERE).  Well, for those of you interested (which may very well be NONE of you), here's an update on how I'm doing.
Well, it turns out that my overly ambitious goal of hitting the gym 7 days a week was just that...overly ambitious. I am going regularly, aiming for 3 times each week.  We hit a little hiccup earlier this week due to my son's illness (which I am suspicious that it may have come from the daycare at the gym, but not entirely sure).

Since that original post, I have found my niche at the gym, realizing that I don't need to speed through my workouts.  I'm typically there for about an hour and fifteen minutes.  I do cardio for 30 minutes (most times on the treadmill, rarely the bike or the elliptical because they are the busiest machines).  For me, cardio is a warm up of 5 minutes at a pace of around 3.8-4, then a SLOW jog at a pace of around 5.0 until I feel like I can't take it anymore (which lately has been around 10-15 minutes), then I slow back to my "warm-up" pace until I'm ready to do another interval jog.  I do this until my 30 minutes are up.  Typically I get in around 2 miles.  Sometimes it's a little less, sometimes it's a little more.  My goal is to be able to do a 5k in 30 minutes, so I have a ways to go.  I'm ok with that though.

From there, I head over to do my upper body and lower body workout.  I was, in the beginning, trying to do upper body one day, then lower body the next (when I had the goal of going to the gym 7 days a week).  Now, I just try to knock it out all at once because I can do cardio at home on the in-between days.  This usually takes me about 40-50 minutes.  I'm not rushing, I'm just going to each of the machines, sometimes having to pause for a minute or two to wait my turn.  I don't really go in any particular order because you never know how busy it's going to be.  I've learned to just hit the closest machine that is open and go with it.  Sometimes I've had to wait a little longer than usual, so I have started using some different pieces of equipment to try to change up my workout a little bit.  When I do this, I always feel it the next day.  I am growing to like the feeling of sweat dripping down my back, and that tightness in my muscles the morning after I've had a good workout.

Another thing I've added to my fitness regime is pilates.  I am totally in love!  Years ago, I purchased a pilates VHS tape (yes, it was a VERY long time ago!) and tried it once.  That's all I lasted.  I didn't like the video, felt it was too difficult, and it hurt.

Well, my curiosity has been peaked every time I drive past Ab Fab Pilates on 5th Avenue.  There's always signs up that they are "By Appointment Only", and "Barre Classes Offered".  What is the big deal?, I often wondered.  I kept meaning to "go online" and check it out.  Well, I finally did.  I signed myself up for an Introductory package (they're a little pricey on the privates, but I'll tell you why in a minute).  The intro package was a requirement before I can participate in any of the group classes.  The reason for this is that it gives the student a chance to learn how to use the equipment in the studio, and to learn correct form for all the moves that will be done in a class.  This is strictly done in private sessions, and I was extremely comfortable with the idea of this.

 
Well, 4 classes later and I want more!  I just got another 5-pack of private sessions because I still have plenty to learn.  I'm confident at the end of my 5-pack I will feel ready to do some semi-privates, or maybe even a beginner reformer class.  I can't wait to try a Barre Class too.  <---Check out that link to get a taste of what Barre looks like!

Well, to sum it all up...I'm miles from where I want to be, but I'm light years away from where I started.  I can feel a difference in my body, and I can't wait to start seeing the results.  I'll keep you posted!

Upcoming Giveaway Event-Need Sponsors!

Fall is fast approaching, and just as cooler temperatures and falling leaves are on the horizon, so is the Made With Love Giveaway Hop!

This AWESOME hop is being sponsored by The Reynolds Mom and Seventeen Sirens.

They're inviting up to 150 blogs to join in this handmade giveaway event!  Each prize item must be handmade by the sponsor.  I am one of the lucky bloggers to be participating in this event.  I'm seeking out artisans/crafters to sponsor a prize or prize pack, worth at least $25, of handmade goods to giveaway to one lucky reader on each of my blogs.  Items of interest would be handmade goods for babies and children such as clothing, cloth diapers, cloth wipes, child-themed artwork/decor, bedding/blankets/quilts, etc.  Of course, I'm open to suggestions, so if you are trying to gain visibility for your handmade goods, Etsy store, or whatever, I'd love to help get the word out about your goods!  

If you're interested in providing a prize/prize package for this giveaway, please contact me.

This giveaway goes live Tuesday November 8th and runs until November 13th.

You can click on the inlinkz below to view the other bloggers that will be participating in this event!

The First Year in Photos

When I look back at all the photos I've taken of Tristan over the past 11 months, I wonder how I'm ever going to get his baby book done.  I've started, but I've been really slow about it.  I think I might be up to his 2 week birthday so far, but not much further along than that.

I recently found these great Photo Books from Shutterfly while I was there ordering Prints from my graduation in May.  With their new Custom Path, you can personalize your photo book, incorporating up to 1000 pictures!!  For those of you that don't want to get so detailed with your photos, they still have the Simple Path books that come with pre-set backgrounds and layouts, and allow up to 400 of your photos to be incorporated.  Since I have so many photos of Tristan, the Custom Path is perfect for me.  I can't think of a better way to commemorate his first year of life than to put it into one of these Photo Books.  They're available in five sizes (5x7, 7x9, 8x8, 8x11, 12x12), and prices start at just $12.99.  The best part is that even the covers are customizable, including the spines.  I'm sure my parents and in-laws would love to have one of these for each of their grandchildren.  (Sssshhh...it's supposed to be a Christmas surprise!)

Speaking of Christmas, don't forget to check out Shutterfly's great selection of Christmas Cards while you're there.  They have over 800 templates, just waiting for your personal photos and message.  We did a family photo card last year, and will be doing them again this year.  They're a great way to ensure all your friends and family get a recent family photo or photos of your children, without the added expense of having to buy frames and wrapping paper to gift them all in.  Ok, so I'm a little "thrifty", but with all the money I've saved, I can afford to get some personalized invitations for the little guy's birthday, and thank you cards for afterwards!

I better get going!  I've got lots of pictures to upload so I can get this photo book done before Tristan's birthday!  It's less than 4 weeks away now!

Why I Chose College (In the end)

This post is in response to a prompt at FTLOB.

I chose to go to college right out of high school.  I kind of went about it in a half-assed way though.  Although I had applied at an away-from-home school, and been accepted, and even offered a scholarship, I turned it down.  I decided I didn't want to leave my boyfriend at the time, much to the chagrin of my family and friends.  I decided that I would instead continue working almost full-time and attend a local community college.

Community college was great.  I saw some of my friends there, though most of them had gone away to school.  I still got to work and see my boyfriend all the time.  This worked for about a year.  I was in the beginning of my 2nd year when I got a new job that would require I work shift work.  This was not going to work if I was still going to school.  I decided that school would always be there, but that this job would not.  I opted for the job, and withdrew from my classes.

Fast forward another year and I was buying a house with the boyfriend.  This meant that I HAD to be working.  There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it.  Fast forward yet another year and I was married and expecting my first child.  Life happened.  I tried to go back after the birth of my first child, but working full time, taking care of a baby, and not having the support from my then-husband was a recipe for failure.  I ended up passing all but one of my classes, but certainly not excelling in the ones I did manage to pass.

Seven years later, I found myself in another situation altogether.  I was no longer married to the same man.  I was moving out of state to go live with my current husband (we'd already been married about 9 months).  I had been applying and applying and applying for jobs in the area I was going to be living in.  I didn't get a single call back.  I realized that I would have to step up my game and finish school.  Getting a job without a degree is darn near impossible, especially if you want to make a decent salary.  I enrolled in an online school, that also has an actual campus near where I would be living.  I made up my mind before I ever moved that I had to finish.  This time, school was a priority.  2 years and 9 months later, I did it.  I graduated.  That is probably one of the most monumental experiences of my life.  Sitting in that auditorium, waiting for my name to be called, I became so emotional.  My parents and my husband, along with my youngest son were there to see me walk across that stage.  I was overjoyed, relieved, proud, happy, and sad all at the same time.  I was sad that school was over.  (Yes, I really enjoyed the experience).  I was proud of myself for not only finishing, but for graduation Summa Cum Laude.  What an accomplishment. All this while I was working full time, pregnant (for 9 months of it), and taking care of a new baby.

My first hop feature!

Welcome to everyone here from the Sunday Funday Hippidy Hop!  I'm so excited that my other blog is being featured this week!! 

I've had the opportunity to write a featured post for Studio 30 Plus, which you can read HERE. 

I love to write, and I also run another blog over at Happy Baby Chronicles.  I hope you'll have time to check it out after you leave me here!  

Before you leave, please don't forget to enter my Giveaways!  Check out the upcoming events on that page also...I hope you can join in on those events with us if you're not already registered.  

Lastly, I'd love for you to leave me a comment on this post.  I promise I will follow you back if you do!  

Happy Sunday y'all!

Out of maturity comes...an apology

Dear Mom & Dad,

I know this is LONG overdue, but better late than never, right?  You see, I've known for quite some time that all those things you told me when I was a teenager were actually TRUE.  You were right about everything.  The guy you said was no good for me?  Yep, you were right.  The "cool" girls I wanted to be friends with?  Yep, you were right about them too.  Remember when you told me credit cards were bad?  Who knew?! (Apparently, you did, but did I listen?  Nooooo!)  You see, I was STUPID.  I was immature.  I was naive.  I really believed that I knew everything.  And that you knew nothing.  Boy, was I wrong!  Oh, the heartache I could have saved myself if only I had listened to you both.

Only now, 16 years later, am I getting a little taste of what it must have been like to deal with me.  Let me just say this...I DO NOT LIKE THIS AT ALL.  And, moreover, I am truly sorry.  I'm sorry for the eye-rolls.  I'm sorry for all the huffing and puffing and pouting when I didn't get my way.  I'm sorry for the sass-mouth (even the ones muttered under my breath in hopes that you wouldn't hear).  I'm sorry for bad-mouthing you to my friends.  I'm sorry for lying to you (on many occasions).  I'm sorry for acting like a witch bitch (just trying to keep it real).  I'm sorry for acting so immature while arguing with you that I was behaving like a grown up.  I'm sorry for acting like I knew it all, when I clearly knew nothing at all.

At the time, my dramatic teenage-self was convinced that you were out to ruin my life.  It's only been since I had my own kids that I realize that you were just looking out for MY best interests.  All because you loved me.  No matter what I did, how I behaved, what I said...you have always stood by me, taught me, supported me, and most importantly, loved me.

So, I have just one favor to ask you.  Over the next several years, as I'm venting to you about teenage drama and troubles with my own kids, please don't laugh at me.  I beg of you.  Please don't use the phrase, "What goes around comes around".  I get it.  Totally.  Just cry with me, give me words of wisdom to guide me, and be there for me.  I promise I will heed your words of advice this time.  I now know that listening to you can save me years of heartache and miles of backtracking.

Your loving daughter,
Kellie

Friday Hopping

Join in the fun!





Here's another one!



...and another!

...one more!



...Wait! One More!



Have fun hopping around with me!

Bagnetic Review & Giveaway

Reusable grocery bags. Many of us have them, but I guarantee you the ones that you are always forgetting to take along to the store are NOTHING like these bags! Bagnetic® bags are shaped like a traditional plastic disposable grocery bag, and they have magnetic rings on their handles, which allow them to slip easily onto the bag stands at most grocery stores. These bags leave cashiers and Mother Nature smiling! They come in an assortment of colors, and can hold up to 30 pounds per bag! Watch the video below to see how Bagnetic® bags work.

Bagnetic® was founded in 2009 by a young entrepreneur, Ryan Bautista. Having travelled extensively, he noticed that litter from plastic bags was commonplace in most countries. Research into the plastic bag dilemma revealed that less than 1% of them are recycled worldwide. The vast majority end up in landfills, oceans or as litter, costing tax payers millions of dollars and harming valuable ecosystems. Inspired by Al Gore's documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth", Ryan felt it was time to contribute in reducing our carbon footprint. Ryan devised a way people can reduce their plastic bag consumption—all while adding affordable convenience to their shopping routine.

My review: I purchased my Bagnetic® bags online after seeing them featured on Zulily. When they arrived, I placed them on the included hook and into my car. On my next trip to the grocery store, I handed them over to the cashier. She started bagging as if they were the standard issue reusable grocery bags. I showed her the rings on the bags and told her they should slip right onto the bag stand (and they did). She was really impressed with how easy and fast she was able to bag my groceries after that, and commented how she wished all reusable bags were made like that. Upon leaving, I clipped my full Bagnetic® bags to the hook accessory which made for a quick exit out of the store. I’ve used them at Walmart as well. The clerk there didn’t need any instruction on how to use them and told me how much she liked them. In the past two weeks that I’ve been using these bags, the response has been very positive. On my end, they’re easy to transport and keep together, thanks to the magnetic rings. They’re also easy to wash, which I found out after a tub of salsa spilled into the bottom of one of the bags. The produce bags are really cool too ! They’re see through mesh, which allows the cashier to easily ring your produce at check-out. Best of all, they hold up to 15 pounds, and are washable as well.

Bagnetic® is offering one lucky reader a Family Pack of Bagnetic® bags which includes the following: Mixture of 4 Bagnetic Bags + 4 Reusable Produce Bags + 1 Jumbo Hook, a $24.99 value!

When Enough is Enough

I was tired.  Tired of living in constant fear.  Tired of being treated like some sort of indentured servant.  Tired of being belittled.  Tired of being told I wasn't good enough.  Tired of being told that nobody else would want me.  Tired of being smacked around.  Tired of having to make excuses to my kids and my family.  I was done.  This had to be the end.

"What do you want?", he asked me.  

"A divorce", I replied with complete lack of emotion.  I was stonefaced.  

He smirked back at me, and proceeded to tell me that I could have my divorce on one condition-I had to be out by the weekend.  He was challenging me, and disbelieving me all at the same time.  The bastard didn't think I would do it. Or could do it, for that matter.  He had led me to believe for so long that I was stuck that I had started to believe it.

"Nobody else will love you the way I do", he told me.  

"Dear Lord, I hope not", I would whisper under my breath.

What he didn't know is that I had already put the wheels in motion for my great escape.  I had found a great place to live, gotten a job, and had my family behind me to support me.  I was well on my way to a beautiful beginning.  Ironic how the end of one thing always leads to the beginning of another, don't you think?

The end of one marriage led to the beginning of another, and so much more.  Without this end, I wouldn't have met my husband.  Without this end I wouldn't have my Tristan.  Without this end, I wouldn't have my education.  Without this end, I wouldn't have my self esteem and my dignity.  All of these things I gained are priceless.  Most importantly, my children won't have to grow up watching their Mommy hide the battle wounds of that first marriage.

*This post was written in response to a writing prompt at Studio30+.  You should check them out sometime, they're a really awesome group.


If you or someone you know is being abused, contact The National Domestic Violence Hotline for help.

 

SOOC Saturday

This photo was taken this morning at our local park.  This is the first time Baby T has been on the swings and he loved it, can't you tell?  Photo was taken with my iPhone.

Win a $10 Amazon Gift Card

A Glimpse of My Life has moved to Blogger! So, to celebrate, and to attempt to entice some of you to join me over here, I'm doing my first giveaway!
You might ask, why the move?  Well, to be honest...I'm finding that Blogger is a little more versatile with the ability to use javascript code, which is a MUST for running some Linky's and Rafflecopter.  I was able to score an invite to Rafflecopter, and then I was super bummed that I wouldn't be able to use it on Wordpress.com.  Top that with the fact that Wordpress.com also doesn't support GFC (Google Friend Connect), and I was sold. It was time to relocate this piece of virtual real estate!

Five Question Friday

Special thanks to We're All in This Together for sharing this on her blog! This meme is hosted by Five Crooked Halos.

1. Shoes in the house - yay or nay?


Absolutely, no doubt about it.  The reason is simple--this house is all tile.  While the tile is gorgeous, it was also never sealed.  The grout draws every particle of sand and dirt tracked in by the human, canine and feline residents of this home.  Therefore, no matter how many times I sweep, vacuum, scrub and mop, the floors always feel sandy.  Not only do they feel sandy, but they will seriously turn the bottoms of your feet black.  My husband refers to this type of dirty feet as "7-11 feet".  Don't ask me why...I'm sure it's some sort of strange reference to some girl he knew back when who walked around barefoot at the 7-11 or something.  My kids must think I'm strange because I'm probably the only mom they know that yells at her kids to go put shoes ON while in the house.  I can't stand for them to go barefoot either!

2. What do you call them- flip flops, slippers, thongs, etc?


I call them flip flops.  Thongs sound like the things some girls would refer to as "butt floss" or "underwear".  Slippers sound like the things my grandma wore to bed.  So, here in Florida we call them flip flops.  Oh, and we wear them year-round, pretty much!

3. What song are you almost embarrassed to admit you know all the lyrics to?


Sadly, it would be "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice.  I can't help it...the things we learn at a young age tend to stick with us the longest.  Not only do I know all the words to this song, but on the rare occasion I hear it on the radio, tv, etc., I start to chair dance a little.  

4. What is the best quality to have in a friend?


Loyalty!  I have been burned on more than one occasion by people who I *thought* were loyal friends.  I'm talking the kind of loyalty a Marine has for his brothers...the kind of loyalty a dog has for his master.  Hmmm...that last one makes it sound like I want a friend I can boss around...not at all.  I just admire a friend who will not stab me in the back!  

5. Do you know what you want for Christmas?


Well, of course!  I have a huge list, but when my husband asks me what I want I will probably just tell him that I don't need anything.   But, if he asks you, you should tell him that I want a new wedding ring (maybe I'll blog about why!) and a DSLR camera.  I want the camera because I'm constantly taking pictures of our son but I'm not pleased with the look of the finished product.  I suppose along with that camera I would need a couple of lenses (I really want a macro lens) and probably some photography classes.  Oh and a new copy of photoshop since the one I had has been deactivated since I left my job (fair enough as it was THEIR copy not mine).
  
I highly doubt I will get any of the above because Christmas is our costliest time of year...we have to purchase 5 round trip airfares for right at Christmas time, buy gifts for our 5 children and other family members, several birthdays (including the hubby), our anniversary, and renew registrations on 3 vehicles, a camper, and two trailers.  Oh, and this year we're expecting to have to fly hubby roundtrip from the sandbox to home and back again.  Phew, I may need to take out a mortgage on this house to pay for all that! (Cr@p! We rent...oh well!)
I should also state that I am PERFECTLY ok with not receiving anything for Christmas, birthdays, etc.  I am a mom.  This is perfectly normal for me.  My kids always have and always will come first!