4.) The last thing you lost.

I wasn’t going to pick this one but it’s appropriate today.

Though I was a good kid, I was pretty damn impatient. I don’t remember being that way but I do remember my parents telling me to have patience. Somehow I have managed to pas that onto my oldest son.

And the last thing I lost was my patience, with him. And I do this often, because it’s like he just doesn’t hear me or he’s incapable of change. I KNOW he’s only five (soon to be six in August). Maybe my expectations are too high. Am I wrong in thinking that he shouldn’t give up his spoon and start eating his yogurt with his fingers because he thinks it’s funny? He whines that he never gets so and so, which is obviously not true and he’s in a bad, negative mood. I find it very hard to enact the ignore method when he’s being that way because I see myself in there, so I want him to change that.

By nature, I am quick to anger and I am finding it especially hard to reign that in with my kids. How do you guys do it? How do you remain even-keeled even when what they do is sometimes so infuriating? I don’t want to be my father, who was always yelling and exasperated but I get it honest. I have to be the one to make the change.

I can’t lose my patience anymore.

4.) Create a “May Bucket List”…what will you accomplish this month?

Geez, the month is basically half over but let’s see… what do I want to do this month?

• Finish cleaning up the old office and take down the built in desks. This will then allow us to paint the walls and get new carpet. I REALLY want to have that part prepped in time to do the last two things in June at least.
• Create “save the date” birthday invites for kids in Elliot’s class. His birthday will occur about a week into next school year but he wants to invite kids from this year. I figure this might be the best way to keep them in the loop.
• Get Todd to the vet.
• Buy an end of the year gift for Elliot’s teacher. She’s been so awesome for his first year of elementary school, she truly deserves something nice. I was thinking a gift card for Bonefish.
• Blog every day over at my Tallahassee Daily Photo blog. (Not linked here). City Daily Photo had gone down for a long time so I got lazy about it. But I really think it’s time to go back to it.
• Take either a free or relatively cheap class at Big Picture Classes.  I did one when Isaac was first born and it really helped me stay on top of picture taking.
• Plant more basil in my green pot. The Carolina wren loves to perch on it for now but I need my herb.
• Watch more movies. Ash and I are way behind on ones we’ve recently gotten. Though, we did finally see Django Unchained last night. We’re seeing the new Star Trek in theaters tomorrow. It’s gonna rock!
• And along those lines, show the kids Swiss Family Robinson. Ash and I both loved that movie as kids but they definitely have to see it before we go to Disney in June!

Ok,  I think that’s it. What are you going to accomplish in May?

I love throwback type posts!

4.) Look into your archives. What were you blogging about a year ago around this time? Are you still dealing with the same thing? Your thoughts?

On April 26th (the 25th was a meme post so I went with a normal one) I was contemplating many things. here’s the LINK but also, some excerpts.

I’ve been wearing my Vibrams to work this week, since no one’s around. I feel sort of like a combo of weird loser/fringy-cool/barefoot runner. It’s strangely satisfying.

I still love these shoes!

About ten minutes ago, I moved money from my savings to my checking and registered for the Savannah Rock ‘n Roll marathon. Though I had already mentally committed, this step made me physically shake. This is a huge step.

I never did run it because I ended up having an appendectomy about 2 months before!

I am eight chapters into 50 Shades of Grey and after having read some arguments on Twitter about good and bad BDSM writing, I am worried this is going to disappoint me. I may have to suspend my disbelief for a bit to push through.

Oof, awful book! I never got past that eighth chapter. Confession: I have read a fair share of BDSM romance and this one is just god-awful. Glad I didn’t waste more time.

And some other random memories I’ve been having: bike rides along the inter-coastal, gardenias in a bowl, Hamm’s beer, dragonflies so thick they overtook our backyard, slugs after a rain, blanket forts, the boys down the street who teased us yet still rode bikes down to the country club so we could get air off the hills.

I guess I was feeling nostalgic; we’d been spending a lot of time outside and it reminded me of carefree days as a child.

My grandma is in a PT home after a recent fall. I’m getting oddly nostalgic for time spent in Palm Beach with my grandparents as a kid. I’m scared that one of these days I will have to go down there to speak at a funeral.

Grandma is still alive and doing pretty well!

There was also a photo of myself throwing a frisbee. April last year was the last good month before a string of stressful and annoying occurances. They feel like just yesterday because I dwelled on them for so long. I have to learn to let those go and remember good things like the above. I have come a long way in a year!

1.) List 6 of your favorite quotes.

I wasn’t going to do this one but surprisingly, I have a lot of these that I try to live by. Let’s start with some from Dale Carnegie, the author of How to Win Friends and Influence People. He also wrote How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, which is a lot better than his “famous” book, in my opinion.

        1. Don’t be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves.

I like this one because I try to do my best. I used to half-ass stuff and hell, we all do sometimes, but I take a lot of pride in small accomplishments. It’s gotten me this far!

        2. Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.

It’s true. Just when I think all hope is lost, something happens to make it OK. I whole-heartedly believe this.

        3. One grain of sand at a time. One task at a time.

Yeah, don’t get ahead of yourself.

Now, how about some others? how about… Katehrine Hepburn? Who would have thought?

       4. The notion that work is a burden is a terrible mistake.Working and facing up to one’s responsibilities: That’s Happiness.

Huh; wise words. I really like that idea. I have it on my office door because people are forever coming in here to complain about school work. I always want to remind them to be thankful for this time because it won’t always be just schoolwork and you. Or schoolwork and your significant other. Someday you’ll have car payments and mortgages and kids and dogs and all that other stuff. Maybe even more than one job. But I don’t want to sound like I am one-upping them so I say nothing.

Now, for a quote from Dr. George Sheehan, a cardiologist, runner, and author.

5. The runner has a view of life that makes all the jogging and racing worthwhile.

I guess I like this because it reminds me that you have to want running and you have to fit it into your life but see it in a special way so you can keep doing it.

And finally, one by John Bingham, a runner and motivational speaker.

6. Believe that you can run farther or faster. Believe that you’re young enough, old enough, strong enough, and so on to accomplish everything you want to do. Don’t let worn-out beliefs stop you from moving beyond yourself.

I have to remember this sort of thing when I am out there, on the last stretch of a long run, and I want to quit. I know it’s mind over matter; my mind can control my body. I cannot wait to get back to running once this baby is out!

–BONUS–

I LOVE this quote by John Waters but it’s a bit crass:

If you go home with somebody, and they don’t have books, don’t fuck ‘em!”

LOL. Damn straight.

1.) Write a post that begins and ends with the same line.

Being in the English discipline, I tend to over-think things.

Though not a Lit major, I do analyze things to a degree that possibly spoils the topic for me.

I have started doing this with The Big Bang Theory.

For example, how does a waitress at The Cheesecake Factory afford the same apartment as two University scientists?

And do we really buy that Penny genuinely likes Leonard? OK, I have seen quite a few episodes now and they do seem to have a connection (aside from sex, apparently)  but on the surface – and in terms of the stereotypes - (which this show relies way too heavily upon) it’s very hard to for me to believe that works out. Granted, it’s always on-again off-again with them but when it’s on, they seem to work out and though I have plenty of friends with boy and girlfriends that seem to have NOTHING In common with them, it’s still hard or me to suspend by disbelief here. I would say he’s probably the least socially awkward of the bunch but I am baffled by their relationship.

I do find it interesting how, as the show progressed, each character does grow in terms of their social anxieties and certain quirks (Sheldon, I’m looking at you.)

But I am especially bothered by the show’s assumption that all academic/scientist types are awkward and weird and just that unable to blend in with the real world. However, I can put that aside and appreciate the nerd world, as I share a lot of similar interests (i.e. comic books, gaming). I suppose there’s no way of getting around those stereotypes; I know a lot of “nerdy” people into comics but I also know a lot of guys who seem “cool” but are secretly super nerdy! In the end, everyone is quirky and special and the show does do a pretty good job of bringing that stuff out in each character.

I’ll still watch it whenever TBS plays reruns because I haven’t seen any one season in its entirety and it’s amusing enough to leave on. But it’s still going to boggle my mind.

Being in the English discipline, I tend to over-think things.

I really wanted to give the one week of 16 year old me posts a try but that would be really time consuming and well, I don’t actually have that much time today. SO, I am doing the below prompt!

4.) List 7 celebrities you’d like to give Valentines to.

1.) Daniel Craig

2.) Richard Armitage

3.) Luke Bryan

4.) JJ Watt (Houston Texans)

5.) Batman (no credit taken for this one, though!)

credit goes to: http://koalawithorangeonhead.tumblr.com/

6.) Jeremy Renner

7.) David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel from Bones

2.) 10 reasons you should be glad I didn’t blog in my 20′s. (Inspired by Wendi Aarons and friends)

(At first, I thought this might be kind of hard but eh, maybe not…? Also, I DID blog in my 20s; there was this thing called Diary-x, but then it crashed out and died. I got a Livejournal after but hardly used it, then a Xanga, which sucked.)

***************

1.) Well, for starters, I turned 20 in 1999, so I probably would have blogged a lot about living in an apartment with my friends and getting drunk every Saturday, partying at Brothers (the gay club; lol), then eating grilled cheese sandwiches made on the George Foreman before passing out until noon the next day. And don’t forget the KFC binge that followed. Stay classy!

2.) You would have been subjected to a lot of pictures of hot, sweaty wrestlers like this:

3.) I would have gone on an on about my then-boyfriend. Whoo boy, was I lost. He turned out to be gay and everyone saw it but me. WOW.

4.) Posts would have included lyrics from such bands as Pantera and Tool and I would have waxed poetic about my dark side and my sadness and how no one understands meeee. The artists is just SO misunderstood!

5.) There would have been a lot of photos of me in big over-sized wrestling related shirts and floaty pants. It’s a little embarrassing now but trust me; that was the style.

6.) You probably would have seen some photos of me with blue hair. And then once, this weird auburny color hair because it’s insanely hard to bleach black hair! (No photo evidence here; it’s all at home.)

7.) There may have been a post or two about staying up all night, eating Totino’s pizzas at 3 AM, and playing Magic: The Gathering or role playing computer games with friends. Nerd alert!

8.) There would have been much bitching about working at CompUSA and how much all my bosses sucked. And how incompetent people were. And how superior I apparently thought I was. UGH.

9.) I can guarantee there would have been some posts with some very bad poetry.

10.) In 2004, all my posts would have been about giving up fast food, going to Gold’s Gym, and the yearning I had for unhealthy foods. Half of the essays I wrote in my grad non-fiction workshops were about my love of food and how much it changed when I switched to a healthier lifestyle. You would have resented me.

2.) 5 Random facts about you and your family. (inspired by Nice Girl Notes)

This is actually kind of tough; all I can think of are things that make me sounds cocky; like I’ve got my arm on the wall and I’m bragging. Let’s see…

• It’s hokey but we purposely named our children with names beginning with E and I. We already had A (with Ash, my husband) and the original plan was to have 4 children and have O and U names. We won’t be making it to four but the next kid is definitely getting an O name! I think it’s just subtle enough…
• My husband and I have seen every Friends episode probably at least five times and frequently quote random lines… and we always get it. (you can include my brother-in-law in that as well.)
• We started a tradition last year wherein SuperBowl Sunday is our family’s official Junk Food Day. We don’t keep a lot of snacks like chips in the house so on this day, the boys get to eat Doritios and Cheetos and Tostitos with cheese dip. This year I am also making a chocolate cake. Pig out!
• Ash’s uncle directed the movie Hoosiers. (Though, he has no relationship with anyone outside his dad and brother.)
• I feel like we’re raising our kids with very old-fashioned values and it’s sometimes proving difficult in our new pansy-fied world. It kind of irks me but we’ll stick to it.

What are your random things? This was actually harder than I thought it would be!

This week, I have chosen:

4.) Acceptance. (inspired by Headstrong Damsel) as my prompt.

The one word prompt is interesting to me and I think I can do a lot here. This is mainly because I think I have a problem with acceptance in that I accept too easily. I am quick to accept and say, “Well, this is the way things are; no changing it.” But I’d really like to say, “No, I think I can do better than that.”

For example, I am very quick to chalk up my kids not eating X food during the week to being busy, etc. No, this year I will implement more fresh foods, fruits, vegetables and new things. Maybe they won’t eat it but they’re going to try it. I won’t accept no here. I doubt this will scar them because I won’t push too hard.

I’m also refusing to accept my weight after this baby. No more distance running for me, only speed work. My brother-in-law read that for every second faster you run, another pound can be shed that much quicker (that’s vague but point being, speed = weight loss.)

I will not accept less from myself this year; will not slack off on work or at home. It’s so easy to do; just survive and as long as everyone’s fed and alive, you’re good. No, not anymore. We will thrive. I’ll do more to improve the home, to decorate and make it cozier. This I will not accept and it’s going to be a great year!

This week I am choosing the prompt: 1.) The ladies at MomSmack listed their top 10 faves of 2012 here. Use their list as a template and fill in your own answers! (inspired by MomSmack)

This one actually made me think!

1. Favorite 2012 Movie: The Hobbit.
   We saw a lot of movies in the year but I have to say this one was the most awesome. It was way better than I excepted and Richard Armitage!
2. Favorite Album: I don’t really buy albums but if I had to choose one, I’d say Luke Bryan – Tailgates and Tan lines
3. Favorite Song: Hmm, again, hard to say. I liked A LOT of songs. I’ll say “Drunk On You” by Luke Bryan is what I played probably the most times.
4. Favorite Tweeter: I am always amused by Wil Wheaton @wilw
5. Favorite Blog: Mine! No, just kidding. I’m going to say Second and Edgemont; it’s inspiring.
6. Favorite TV Show: Storage Wars!
7. Favorite Instagramer: Monlightice in Tokyo
8. Favorite Moment: Aside from July 1st, all of Summer. We took a couple awesome trips and played in the water so much. Plus, I really miss warm weather.
9. Favorite Conference: yeah, I never go to those
10. Favorite Viral Video: The Siri Spoof video; I think it’s a stupid idea and this video justifies me. Also, nsfw; language.