Answer Me This (07.26.15)

It's the last internet cocktail party of the summer -- so I'm here for one last round of Answer Me This with Kendra.

1. What's your favorite grocery store splurge? Steak -- I love a good, moo-ing steak as much as the next girl, but it's too pricey for me to justify on a regular basis, so we rarely make it ourselves. Plus, then we don't have to deal with the complication of Charles not liking moo-ing steak. 

2. How's your penmanship? Okay. I get compliments on my penmanship cursive often, but I actually don't love it. And my printing is terrible. I never mastered that 1st Grade Teacher/Student Council perfect printing and lettering thing. Do you know what I'm talking about?!? Anyway, I have hang-ups about it. But I don't have doctor or lawyer scrawl either, so there's that.

Source: 9GAG

3. Do you have a "Summer Bucket List?" Nope. Since my kids are so little, summer is still just a hot, humid season of the year that forces us inside more than I would like. Next summer, Clare will have had a year of pre-school, another to come (read: summer vacation) and it will likely be our last in Wichita (how did that happen?), so I'll probably be more bucket list-y and sentimental then.

4. What's the best thing on the radio right now? I usually listen to Catholic radio when I'm in the car, so I'm an appropriately cliche Catholic Answers fangirl. If I switch to music, it's always country (sorrynotsorry), but there hasn't been anything lately that makes me want to turn up the radio and off-pitch car sing too loudly. Long way of saying, "I don't know."

5. Ice cream or frozen yogurt? Ice cream. I mean, I won't turn down FroYo, but if I had the choice, I'd go ice cream. Every time.

Replay, but we actually did go to ice cream yesterday, and the scene looks eerily similar.

6. Have you had that baby NOW? (Again, you can skip this one if you want.) Yeah, last week's answer still stands. 

Sending big time congrats to Kendra on the VERY crazy arrival of #8!! Head over her way to coo over her baby cuteness.

Answer Me This (07.19.15)

Thanks to a visit from my in-laws, and a (never fun) night shift, I have "extra" time on my hands, so I decided to play along with Kendra today. I just can't resist a good survey! ;-)

1. What's currently on your To Do list? Chores, mostly. I really need to clean/sort kids' clothes, but since I'm mentally already preparing my list of things they need for fall, I'll probably manage to put it off awhile longer. Yes, it's July. No, will will not need such things for two or three months. Yes, I have problems.

2. Better type of superhero: magic/radioactive powers? Or trauma/gadgets/hard work? This is hard, because if you asked me, I'd normally say I'm a hard work proponent, but I feel like when I think about the superhero stories I like (and I'm SO not much of a superhero girl, with a son who's not there yet), they tend to be more magic/radioactive. I'm calling it a draw.

3. Finding out if baby is a boy or girl before birth: Good idea? Bad idea? I don't think either is bad or good, right or wrong. We found out with both kids, and we loved settling on names and calling the baby he/she/by name during the 2nd half of pregnancy. That said, whenever #3 comes along, we'll possibly (probably?) wait and find out at birth. Partially because we really truly don't care. Partially because I've got one of each and so have all the stuff, so why not?!? Partially (mostly?) because Peter's birth was fast enough to put us on alert for potential crazy fast labor in the future. I feel like the excitement of "finding out" might help ease end of pregnancy anxiety/motivate me through labor.

4. Have you ever appeared on a stadium jumbotron? Several times, actually. A friend in Phoenix's husband (He's my friend, too, just that I'm more friends with his wife.) used to be a camera operator for the Jumbotron at Bank One Ballpark (fine, Chase Field, the Diamondbacks' stadium), so pretty much anytime he knew someone was at the game, up they went. And since I used to go to games with my friend a couple of times a year, I always knew it was a matter of time before we got our awkward wave on.

5. Are you more book smart or street smart? I'm definitely more book smart. I was the girl who always did her homework, studied for tests, did the reading, etc., and then lamented a grade less than an A. Book smarts come easily to me. Street smarts are a lot harder, but I feel like, especially since having kids, I'm getting better and better. Thankfully, I have a fair amount of common sense, so that helps, too.

6. Have you had that baby yet? (Feel free to skip this one if it's not applicable to you.) Well, I've had two babies. Peter is 15 months. Clare is 3. So if you're waaaaaay behind here, yes, I had those babies. But since I'm otherwise not pregnant or recently postpartum, I'll stick with no. 

Visit Kendra to find more answers to questions -- and her response to #6!

Answer Me This -- Aug. 24

Since it's Kendra's last rodeo for awhile, I decided to play along this afternoon.

1. What is your favorite picture book? I'm in that parenting phase where I am fatigued of picture books, and don't have big(ger) kids to read chapter books to (and I all kinds of love a whole slew of chapter books) to sustain me through the picture book phase. *sigh* I do love Where the Wild Things Are and the Click Clack Moo: Cows that Type, and the Llama Llama books. There are others that I like, but they aren't jumping to mind at the moment. I think I've read Hop on Pop at least 200 times in the last 48 hours.

2. Are you a boycotter? While I do believe that dollars speak, I don't really choose what I buy based on the ethical choices of the company, unless it's way egregious. I really get annoyed by big, public boycotts of companies based on a statement made by the president or whatever. I'm pretty sure that the only way to purchase only products with which I'm 100% on board with the ethical choices of the entire supply chain, I'd have to be back in Eden. #not possible #fallenworld

3. How do you feel about cheese? I love it. Charles, not so much, so I either cook with light cheese, add cheese after cooking, or make half with more cheese than the other (depending on the food).

4. How many pairs of sunglasses do you own? Currently, 2. I have that skill of sitting on good sunglasses 5 minutes after I spend too much money on them, and cheap glasses lasting forever. Both of my current pairs cost $10, and one has lasted me like 5 or 6 years.

5. How long has it been since you went to the dentist? I plead the 5th.

6. If you could visit any religious site in the world, where would you go? Oh, my goodness! This is the hardest question ev-er. I would probably pick the Vatican, because, well, it's the Vatican -- art, history, religion in one city-state. I'd also really love to go to the Holy Land. And would love to see all the California missions. I could probably go on and on and on if I try hard enough.

Santa Ines in Solvang, CA

 Happy Sunday!

Answer Me This - Aug. 10

Joining Kendra for her rocking cocktail party!

1. What do you still want to do this summer? I'd like to go to the Botanic Gardens. Otherwise, I don't have much of a summer to-do list. Since the kidlets are still little, and we don't have school obligations, summer just means hot. I'm ready for fall. Cooler weather, fall stuffs, me waxing poetic about how much more fallish things are here than in Phoenix (which is still not nearly as fallish as, say, New England). Bring on September!

2. What's your favorite kind of pie? Apple. Hands down. Apple pie is probably my favorite dessert, though my heart does dearly love ice cream. I (freakishly, I admit) don't like my apple pie a la mode, though. Apple season is just another reason to look forward to fall.

Couldn't decide if this should be pie or summer -- but went with pie for whatever reason.

3. How much sleep do you need each day? How much do you get? Barring illness/pregnancy, I'd say 6 hours is my functional level, as in I feel pretty good and feel reasonably rested and awake. Of course, 8 is always better. Rarely can I sleep more than that. Since Peter's sleep is horribly inconsistent these days, so is mine. On average, though, I am getting 3 + 2 + 1 (indicating the interrupted chunks where I wake up with the baby), so I can't complain.

4. Do you prefer to swim in a pool, lake, river, or ocean? I prefer not to swim at all. If I have to swim, I'd prefer a heated pool, but really, I'd rather not swim at all. I'm not a particularly strong swimmer, and it's not an activity I enjoy. I'll happily hang out at a body of water, take long walks on the beach, whatever. Just please don't make me get in it in it if I don't have to.

5. Do you know any poems by heart? I know the poem I recited in 3rd Grade, "Lincoln" by Nancy Byrd Turner. I can do "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost with a quick review to make sure I have everything in the right order. Not that they are poems, but I can still do the Preamble to the Constitute and First Amendment. I can probably come pretty close to reciting The Lorax, but would probably miss chunks, like the time I tried reciting How the Grinch Stole Christmas one year. I have a freakishly good memory, but thankfully no longer remember the large chunks of Shakespeare and The Canterbury Tales I once had to memorize.

6. Do you use the public library? I do. I love the library. I read books so fast that, unless it is a book I want to reread/reference frequently or own for some other reason, buying books is really a waste of money and space. I am a devotee of digital library space as well -- I love borrowing ebooks to read on my phone. Lastly, I love taking Clare. We can check out picture books, read them over and over for a week or so, and give them back before I have to hide them, lest I go crazy reading them one.more.time.

I don't know if I ever posted this, but Clare is in front of the library, overlooking the "castle" across the street.

 Happy Sunday-ing!

Answer Me This, Vol. 7

Sunday Funday with Kendra!

1. How often do you take public transportation? At home? Never. I've never lived in a place that is public transportation-y. Phoenix? No. Wichita? Definitely no. But when I'm traveling, I love it. I love navigating the system, experiencing the nitty gritty (often very gritty) of life in that place. Plus, it encourages me to walk walk walk and really see a place. My favorite tourist activity is just walking. And while we're on the subject, the best walk of all is from the Eiffel Tower to Notre Dame along the Seine in Paris. You can include the Champs Elysees at the beginning if you must. :)

2. How many cousins do you have? I have 3 first cousins. Each of my parents had one sister. My dad's sister never married or had kids. My mom's sister has 3 kids. She married an only child, so my 3 cousins have 2 first cousins. Plus, none of us is the same age. As a result, we're, in many ways, more like siblings than cousins. We're up to 12 kids between us, so our kids have decidedly more "cousins." And this conversation officially makes me sad, because we now live so far away from them. :-(

3. Have you ever fired a gun? Not unless a water gun counts. And I've only ever used the most basic of those.

4. Do you ride roller coasters? Yes, but it's been awhile. I've always particularly loved rickety old wooden coasters. Admittedly, I haven't ridden one of those since before I had kids. Pregnancy and baby-toting have a way of messing with the ol' back that might not leave it as amenable to wooden coasters as my teenage self would like to remember.

5. What's your favorite flower? That's like picking a favorite child. I love most flowers. I have a soft spot for bulbs, but I also love lilies. And I adore roses (but not red ones, necessarily), but they just wilt so quickly. I could go on and on, really.

Wedding flowers. Loved them. Still do.

6. Are you allergic to anything? The better question is probably what am I not allergic to. I am most definitely very, very allergic to eggs. I've never experienced anaphylaxis, but there is some indication from asthmatic symptoms at times that it is possible. My allergist in high school refused to give me a flu shot because of it, so that is enough for me to skip the flu shot every year. I also skin-tested positive for like 50 of 80 items on my most recent scratch test (about 5 years ago now) for environmental allergens. I refuse to do skin testing for food allergies because of the very high rate of false positives, but probably have some sensitivities that don't affect my life too much. I have super sensitive skin. I am careful with products (choosing fragrance free when I can, for example) and am very, very diligent with my antihistamines, which do a good job of helping keep the worst at bay. I have (well-controlled, thankfully) asthma, shockingly enough. I also use a nasal spray (helps with my lifetime of postnasal drip) and maintenance inhaler (for the asthma). Ha! I'm sure you're sorry you asked.

Happy Sunday!

Answer Me This, Vol. 6

We've still got more than a little unpacking to do, but the main floor is pretty much liveable. Today is Charles' first day of residency orientation. Both kids are napping (mom win!), so I'm easing back into blogging with  a late contribution to Kendra's link-up.

1. What's something you intended to do today, but didn't? Get up early. Since the unpacking finally feels under control, and since Charles was getting up to get out the door, I had every intention of getting up with him (read: while he's in the shower), and before the kiddos woke up. I've said it before, and I'll say it again (and again and again), but I'm better in every way when I get up before the kids and have a cup of coffee and some me time (and maybe even a shower!) before I start the feed-clean-entertain-repeat cycle. The kiddos, though, decided to wake up more than usual last night, so, despite getting to bed at a reasonable time, I had a hard time dragging my bottom out of bed until Charles was leaving. Boo! Hopefully tomorrow!

2. What's your favorite grilling recipe? Cheeseburgers? Charles does our grilling. I do make a mean chicken marinade -- my favorite is combining honey, lime, cooking oil, thyme, salt and pepper. No real recipe. I eyeball it. But it tastes mighty yummy! But, really, can anyone resist a good, homemade burger? I think not.

Via

3. What movie did you see most recently? We're not big movie watchers. We watched a lot of cartoons (The Lorax, Turtle Tales (awful, but Clare thought the turtles were cute), Pixar stuff) when Clare was in the hospital and recovering, but that's about it. We watch a lot of documentaries on Netflix. We also watch a lot of terrible reality TV, lest you think we're overly highbrow or something.

4. Would you say your tendency is to over or under react to medical situations? Probably more under-react than over. Mostly, though, I just follow my husband's lead. If he's worried, I know I should be, too. If he thinks things are ok, I figure they must be.

5. Do you squeeze the toothpaste tube or roll it? Squeeze, then occasionally push it all up to the top. I don't really get the rolling thing. It looks good in theory, but I can't exactly wrap my mind around it.

6. What are you doing for Father's Day? It was a pretty low-key celebration. We stayed up late working on unpacking on Saturday, and ended up going to a late-morning Mass Sunday. Then we took a nice drive to check out the area around us. Charles went to the gym during naps, while I worked on the kitchen. We gave cards to Daddy and called our own fathers. And my sister because it was her birthday (she was born on Father's Day, so it's always extra-special when Father's Day falls on her birthday). I made a nicer dinner. We finished putting the kitchen together and pretty much fell into bed afterwards.

Answer Me This, Vol. 5

Linking up with Haley in place of Kendra (who is in France -- color me jealous).

1. What's the scariest thing that's ever been in your yard? Fire. I've had two too-close-for comfort experiences with Arizona's fire season. First, my senior year of high school, Memorial Day weekend, I took a nap on the back couch while no one else was home. I woke up to the smell of burning wood (BBQ gone bad?) and a neighbor knocking at my door alerting me to the fact that a fire was had burned over the hill across the street into the flat area directly across the street. They were going to start hosing off the carport "just in case." Thankfully, some friends from the neighborhood came over to check out the situation and hung out with me until my family got home as we watched helicopters dump water on the fire. Thankfully, it was put out pretty quickly/easily and didn't get out of control.

Then, two years later, we were evacuated for a few days for a forest fire that made it to the subdivision just south of ours (with fire moving north!). That was the year of the Rodeo-Chediski fire. Then, there was the loss of the hotshot crew last summer.

Needless to say, wildfires scare the heck out of me. Patron of fire safety, pray for us.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.

2. Beards. Thumbs up or thumbs down? Thumbs down. I mean, I like them in theory, and on people I'm not married to. They're a great topic of conversation. But whenever Charles claims he's going to grow one (which never works, in large part because he's such a clean-cut guy), I balk. I don't like the scratchy growing out phase. I'm not a fan of how it looks. It's just not us. Sorry, babe. :)

3. If stuff breaks, can you fix it? Not really. I mean I wish I could. I like to pretend I can. But really, not so much. Thankfully, Charles is good at that kind of stuff.

4. What was your first car? Trace. A Mercury Tracer. Color -- tealy tourquoisey goodness. Lost in a car accident in college thanks to an uninsured driver who didn't know how to turn left.

Via

5. How often do you eat out? About once a week, in one way or another, be it breakfast after mass, eating with family, or picking up sandwiches after a particularly long day.

6. Why is your hair like that? Because it strikes the balance between easily dealt with on "Mommy" days -- pulled into a ponytail or scrunched with mousse and spot curled to pretend it's wavy -- or it can be straightened and styled and look nice when I want/need it to. Keeping it one length makes it easy to maintain. And my face needs bangs or something near the face to soften my features or make me look my age or something. I don't know. I don't like real bangs, because I am not on top of things enough to get them trimmed regularly, so I go with the swoopy bangs. When they get long enough to tuck behind my ears, I know I'm due for a haircut.

Happy Sunday!

Answer Me This, Vol. 4

Kendra tagged me last week (which totally made me feel like I was invited to sit at the cool kids' table), so of course I'm playing along! But, we all know that I'd probably be playing along anyway. :)

1. What's for dinner? Yesterday, it was pizza. Since I didn't get this posted Sunday, I'll share the more interesting meal for tonight which is shredded chicken (for tacos or burritos) with rice.

2. What's the last thing you borrowed from someone? I don't know; I can't think of much that I borrow. What I end up with, though, are dishes/plates/tupperware. I feel like I always have a stash of stuff to give back to people. I just don't know if it is borrowing in the strictest sense of the word.

3. What is your favorite prayer? I love the Our Father for so many reasons. I love it for how unifying it is. I love that all Christians (or at least all of the ones I have encountered) know it. I love that it is the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray. I love that it has so many levels of depth. It is perfect in its simplicity, yet not simple at all, really. It is also something that unites my childhood faith with that of my adulthood.

Via

4. What is the oldest thing in your house? My aunt recently passed on a saint statue that had belonged to her great grandmother, so my great great grandmother, so it must date back to the 1800s sometime, and is probably from the Northern Mexico/Southern Arizona region. (Paging Antiques Roadshow.) It is described as a Saint Francis, but it doesn't bear any traditional Francis identifiers, and instead looks like a priest or bishop. We might not know with certainty who this holy man is, but we sure hope he's praying for us!

5. What's the best concert you ever attended? That's really tough. There is a time in my life that I went to a lot of concerts. Now, it is rare indeed. I can think of a few that were really fun, but one standout in my mind is seeing Keith Urban open for (or at least on tour with) Kenny Chesney right before Keith Urban became much cooler (IMO) than Kenny Chesney. Yes, I like country music. No, I'm not sorry.

Via

6. Do you have a nickname? Does Ash count? When I was a baby, people called me Ash Rash, but I don't have a nickname like "Sparkles" or "Bud" or "Ranger."

Visit Kendra and Catholic All Year for more! 

Answer Me This, Vol. 3

Linking up with Kendra.

1. Are you becoming your mother? Not yet. I mean, I definitely am trying to incorporate some good things I learned from her into my parenting, but she was the classic extrovert and I am a classic introvert. I think that's why we got along so well.

Love this too much not to share again: my mom, my baby sister and me.

2. Coffee or tea? Coffee. I mean, I like tea and all, but coffee is where it's at. If you don't know that, you don't know me. And didn't read the name of my blog. :)

3. What foreign country would you like to visit? Italy. It sounds so cliche. Of course, I love all things French and would never, ever turn down a chance to visit (and practice my French, bien sur). But I've only ever spent a day in Venice. I want to walk, talk, breathe that religious history. And the vino, and the beauty and and and . . . It's funny, because I had a couple of chances to go when I was young and non-Catholic, and it never really worked out. I think, in a way, my heart was waiting until I was Catholic so that I can appreciate it more.

Via

4. Do you cry easily? Yes. Especially in the last 4 weeks. Man, postpartum hormones do a number on me. Newborn sleep schedules don't help.

5. How often do you wear heels? Occasionally. For a long time, I was a heels every day girl. Then, I got over my height issues, got some ballet flats and have never turned back. I am a big fan of the flats, but still rarely wear tennis shoes unless it is for athletic purposes. My notToms fall somewhere in the middle and work well for the park, walks around the neighborhood, etc. I wear heels for weddings and funerals and the like. I occasionally pull them out for Mass, especially when I wear slacks, because I feel like it makes the pants more feminine.

6. Do you play an instrument? I played piano from 4th-10th grade and could have been pretty good if I had practiced more. I can still play the right hand of the main theme of Fur Elise by memory, and can get my left hand going if I have the music in front of me. I could still be decent if I practiced. And had a piano. Clearly this is not a current priority. :)

Thanks to my first teacher, I've played on some really nice pianos. Via

Happy Sunday!! (And thanks to the tag, I'll most definitely be back next week! :) )

Answer Me This, Vol. 2

Joining Kendra's Sunday link-up fun.

1. Do you hate happy clappy church music? No. I actually (gasp!) like modern praise and worship style church music. I also like old, classic hymns. I like anything you can sing to (I definitely subscribe to "when you sing you pray twice," terrible voice and all) and is not accompanied by overly-plodding organ. What I don't like is 1) really slow organ music that no one can sing to, and 2) 70s/80s church music that is all about loving each other (with nary a mention of God). Extra demerits if there is too much of a focus on bread or banquets or food. Those songs really seem to miss the mark in an important way.

2. What is your priority: eating or sleeping? Eating. Definitely eating. I mean, I appreciate my sleep, especially with two under two. But I feel like I can/do/should eat all day every day. 

3. What type of milk do you drink in your house? We drink (gasp! again) non-organic, usually store-brand, cow's milk. Charles and I drink 1%. Clare drinks whole milk. I would like to get on the whole-milk bandwagon. All my other dairy products are full-fat, but I just can't handle the taste of whole milk (unless it is in the form of a latte). Organic milk is just not in the budget, but we are milk drinkers. Especially Clare who gets a love a milk from my dad and grandpa (who worked for/with a local dairy for most of his professional life, which definitely keeps me team dairy).

4. What is a book that changed your perspective on something? The first thing that really comes to mind is when I taught To Kill a Mockingbird. It was the first time I really, really got what a poor job teachers (including myself, up to that point) do of selling books to kids. I have always loved the book, but I remembered how hard it was to get into from my own experience in 9th grade. I took a ton of time to introduce the book, to sell the book, to make sure that kids really, really understood everything that was going on in the book, the structure of the book, the themes of the book. Heck, I tried unbelievably hard to get them to learn the darn vocabulary from the book -- vocabulary was my teaching nemesis. I am honestly proud of my success on that front, which was proved when kids transferred to my class from other schools 2nd semester and complained about the book -- only to have my kids defending what an amazing book it really is. I learned a lot about kids, about education, and about myself from that experience.

Via

5. Who is your favorite saint? Where do I even begin? My Confirmation patron is Therese of Lisieux. I have a deep devotion to St. Thomas the Apostle, and have loved St. Thomas More since high school (ie before he was cool again and before being Catholic was even remotely on the radar). My husband and I, as a couple, have a devotion to Francis, Clare, and Dominic.

6. Introvert or extrovert? Introvert. Definitely an introvert. I've learned how to talk to people in uncomfortable settings, like cocktail parties. I can talk your ear off one-on-one, especially if you get to know me. But, oh, how I deplore group settings/conversations. Even with family, more than a couple of people can be too much for me and I tend to get very quiet in those situations.

Answer Me This

Remember when these were really popular chain mail email things? Like (totally dating myself) my first couple of years of college?!? I've always been a big, huge sucker for them, so I can't help but join in Kendra's fun!

1. What did you and your family wear to Mass on Easter Sunday?

I'm sure that I've mentioned before that I am a big, fat failure at getting pictures either before or after Mass. I had really good intentions to be a good mom and get some Easter Sunday pictures. But we were running out the door before Mass, and came right in and started making brunch and changing clothes without thinking "pictures" after Mass. Theeeeeen, I was totally going to get some pictures at Charles' parents before dinner, and that didn't happen either. So you get Clare and Peter with their baskets instead:
 

Peter was clearly thrilled

2. Easter Bunny: thumbs up or thumbs down? Thumbs down. It steals too much value from the real meaning of Easter (and the last few days of Lent) without much payback, in my opinion. I mean, my kids get Easter baskets and can have fun with Easter eggs without getting a bunny involved. In full disclosure of my lack of subject continuity, I have no issues with Santa or the Tooth Fairy. My kids are little enough that I haven't had to work out the logistics of this yet. ;)

3. Do you prefer to celebrate holidays at your own house or at someone else's house? I like to mix it up. I LOVE hostessing, but going other places for some holidays keeps doing it fresh and fun!

4. What is your favorite kind of candy? Chocolate. I love plain old Hershey's, but won't turn away something better. And I've been on a major chocolate covered raisins kick lately. Is that too grown up?

5. Do you like video games? Nope. Never have. I've never owned a game console, never plan to.

6. Do you speak another language? I'm ruuuuuuuusty. I double minored in French and Spanish, so speak both passably well. I took classes in Italian, Portuguese and Russian. I could study and piece together enough to get by in Italian or Portuguese. I can come up with a handful of Russian words and phrases.