12 Things

About a month ago, SRH and I passed our 12th wedding anniversary. To honor the day, SRH did a “12 things” about our marriage post. He then went on to say how hard this post was for him to write. Being the hyper-competitive person I am - which is to say I’m not at all competitive, but it seems to fit here - I immediately said I’d also write a 12 things post. And mine would be better.

So here goes.

12 Things About Our Marriage

Thing 1

We travel well together. No pit stops on a road trip. (Because any decent person would have peed before we left.) No annoying pre-planning what we’re going to do and see. We decide when we get there, and we don’t have any regrets.

Of course this perfect perspective on traveling was all mucked up when little people entered the picture...

Thing 2

Opposites attract: He’s tall. I’m short. He has adequate depth perception. I 've hit the garage with the car more times than I can count. He’s laid back. I’m...not. He is enamored of the taste/effect of Mt. Dew. Caffeine makes me sick. He regularly loses things. I have a uterus.

What a wacky pair.

Thing 3

We are eerily similar: We are mountains/hiking people vs. beaches/sunbathing people. We’re both homebodies. We both hate peppers and strawberry ice cream. We both think I’m right most of the time (right?), and we both know that we’ve bitten off more than we can chew with this second kid of ours.

Thing 4

Wherever he grows, I’m growing, too. And vice versa. Good to be on this journey together, then.

Thing 5

We read out loud to each other. People think this is weird. I don’t get that. We’re going on year 4 of rocking a baby to sleep, we gotta have something to do.

Thing 6

In 12 years of marriage, we have never lived further than 3 blocks from a Dairy Queen. I appreciate a partner that respects my priorities.

Thing 7

We’re cat people. Of course we don’t have any cats because Zane is deathly allergic, but cat people are cat people whether there are cats around or not.

We’re cat people.

Thing 8

We recently went to Zane’s Open House at school without him. Zane was feeling a bit poorly, but we didn’t want to miss the opportunity to see what’s happening in his classroom. I will admit it became a bit awkward when we had to start grabbing other kids to explain some of the stuff in the room, but it all worked out.

Thing 9

We will go on wild goose chases together.

The day I wanted 10 boxes of lime green dye? He went with me to 4 Jo-Ann Fabrics and 2 Michael’s craft stores.

Need Tomy trains for a four year old? You better believe we went to every train store in the city before buying them online from a Japanese company. (holy shipping and handling charges)

He went with me to the other school. The lottery school. The school Zane didn’t get into even though it’s only 3 blocks away from our house. And brand new. And goes all the way to 8th grade. Even though we both knew the visit was pointless. He still went with me and advocated for a spot for our child. And not because he wanted to. Because I needed to.

Thing 10

He keeps up better with my friends than I do. He facebooks. He occasionally emails my friends. He answers our phone and actually chats.

If not for him, I might be friendless and woefully unhip to the whole social media phenomenon.

Thing 11

We have been together for 14 of the 17 years of our adult life. Most of my dearest friends never even knew me without him.

Crazy, that.

Thing 12

Of course. The babies. The amazing, wonderful, awe-inspiring children that make us better people.

Happy Anniversary, love. Can’t wait to see what’s next!

Cats, Haircuts, Bad Husbands, and Vacations

Lots to blog about today: one of our “marriage cats” died this morning, Eily got her first haircut and I cry foul on the stylists, betrayal from the one I love, and Zane goes on his first vacation sans mama and papa tomorrow.

So, let’s get to it, shall we?

RIP Marriage Cat

Scott and I got two kittens 5 days after we were married. The smaller one, Lenny, was very sick with an eye infection when we picked him out, but I couldn’t resist his Russian Blue fur and the sweet look in his eyes. Fast forward 6 years, Zane had visited the ER 3 times in 3 months for severe asthma attacks and the allergist said the cats had to go. So with much wailing and gnashing of teeth, we gave our beloved “marriage cats” to SRH’s parents.

They said they would take good care of them. They said they were happy to help us out. They even said that our skittish Lenny (who was always that nervous kind of skinny cat that never let folks touch him) had become a fat lapcat. Whatever their story, here we are 6 years later, and our beloved Lenny is dead.

I’m sure it was something my mother-in-law did.

I jest. I jest.

Maybe.

So, we’re very sad here in CASA RH. Well, two of the four of us are sad. The little people have no recollection of cats in this house. But I do, and my heart is heavy today.

Eily’s Haircut

Crazy, curly-headed Eily got her hair cut for the first time yesterday. And it was fine - one of those kid-friendly places where they take a picture, make a certificate, and give a balloon for the first haircut.

I say it was fine, but the stylists (there were two because now I have two kids and we made simultaneous appointments) actually kind of honked me off during the hair cut. In what I’m sure was supposed to be helpful advice-giving, they said that I needed to start “doing” her hair up in ponytails and such. To get her used to it.

Oh, and I should leave on the conditioner after washing her hair. And I shouldn’t wash it more than 2 times per week so that it doesn’t get frizzy. And I should use some sort of moisturizing product to tame the frizzies as well. (And since we’re being ever so helpful, I should probably leave the conditioner on Zane’s hair, too.)

Exhibit A is below. Eily’s hair is about 3 inches long when you straighten out the curls. It is very rarely frizzy and never dry. She looked like she was sucking on a lemon the entire time they were putting their little rubber bands in it, and she kept trying to pull the pig tails out after they had them in.

She’s a baby for goodness sakes. Can we not - at 14 months - start with the “girls should look this way” bullshit?

Exhibit A - Eily in Pig Tails

That being said, those darn pigtails were so cute that Zane kept asking me to put her hair in the “tails” today. Oy vey.

Betrayal

In college, SRH and I were in an honor’s fraternity. (Perhaps I should have saved that information for my “Chronicles of the Uncool - Episode 2” post?) Anyhoo...we were in this fraternity. It’s where we met. We made lifelong friends, blah, blah, blah...

But I don’t really care about the fraternity anymore. I rarely think of it, truth be told.

But through the magic of Facebook, it’s popped its head back into our lives. Now, I’m not on Facebook, being a person who doesn’t care about people in general - and specifically those from my past. But SRH is on - and he totally sold me out today.

They wanted updated info, but since I have dropped off their email list, they only contacted SRH. Who promptly gave them my email and address! And not even my crappy, secondary gmail account, but my real-deal, work email.

First one of the marriage cats dies. Now my partner has sold me out. This relationship can’t last that much longer, I think.

(On the other hand, I don’t relish the idea of starting off my match.com ad with “must love kids”, so perhaps I’ll keep him around.)

Zane Vacation

As a last “hoorah” before school starts, Zane is leaving tomorrow with my mother for a three-day vacation. It will be his first time away from the two of us for that long of a time. I’ve been away that long. SRH has been away that long, but the kids have never been away from us that long.

He’s completely looking forward to it. I feel a little sick - and yes a little giddy, too - every time I think of it.

We’ll see how we all do...

My Questions Now

One of my favorite quotes:

I beg you...to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer...

Rainer Maria Rilke, 1903

So, in the spirit of Rilke (ha ha!), here are the questions I’ve been asking myself recently – some profound some silly:

1. What should I boldly say “yes” – and courageously say “no” – to right now?

2. What do my children need from me at this moment?

3. How come Zane never has enough socks? We’re forever doing laundry…

4. Why is hemp milk so expensive? Why does oat milk suck when you heat it? When will I be able return to the joy ‘o soymilk?

5. How can I hold my family so that we move into this next chapter gracefully and with courage?

6. How do I parent two children gracefully?

7. What’s my preoccupation with being graceful? Life is messy.

8. How do I let others help me? What help do I need?

9. How can two children of the same parents be so different?

10. Has ZZ’s cancer returned? (Thankfully - the answer is “no” to this one.)

11. What will SRH’s next job be? What is his is Work?

12. Will it be in Columbus, Ohio?

13. Am I pulling my weight?

14. What can I have to eat?

15. How will I tell the story of this part of my life in 5 years? 10 years? 20 years?

16. Which is the right school for Zane?

17. Okay, we’ve found it…the right school. Will Zane get into this school?

18. Who do Scott and/or I have to sleep with to get Zane into this school?

19. What’s next for us? (Besides sleeping with school administrators…)

20. How come having a water fight in the kitchen at the end of the night makes everything okay?

Okay, so there are some of my questions. I’d ask for the answers, but if I’m to believe the quote above, I must live my way into the answers. So that’s what I’m doing...living into the answers, y’all.

What are some of your questions?

"Meme" is the word

Both Zany Mama and I were tagged by people to do this here meme. The “8 Things” meme has been flying around the web like wildfire. Mommy Blogs, Quilting Blogs, FanFic Blogs, Cigar Blogs, PoliSci Blogs, Comic Book Blogs, and even Spammish Marketing Blogs have all been infected with this meme. Zany Mothering and Under Construction were sadly not immune. But Wifey and I have decided to buck tradition and do things our own way, damnit! So we decided to post 8 things about each other on each other’s respective blogs. So, without further ado, 8 things about my wife.

Here are the previous rules:

Here are the rules:
-list 8 facts/habits about yourself My Partner
-post the rules at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed

-tag 8 people and post their names, go to their blogs and leave them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and ask them to read your blog.

Things About Me:my partner:

Thing the first: Zany Mama hates listening to commentators during sporting events, even though she loves watching the human interest stuff that obscures the Olympics. Hey, color commentary is just that “human interest” crap without the extra pictures and schmaltzy music.

Thing the second: Occasionally she loses all sense of impulse control. This typically happens around me and annoying behaviors. For example she once gave me a “wet-willy” and was surprised that she actually had done it (so she says…).

“I… I… couldn’t stop myself…” Yeah, sure

Thing the third: When she gets seriously stressed/scared she sometimes finds herself laughing hysterically. In many ways it makes her look a bit insane. Many ways…

Thing the fourth: Zany Mama hates replacing the toilet paper roll. I know that is usually a guy thing, but it is true.

Thing the fifth: Wifey loves the movie, “The Clash of the Titans.” This is something that has been mentioned previously on my blog via one of my “20 Questions Tuesday” posts, but most of you folk don’t read my drivel and especially don’t read my archives. ---- Just between you and me, I don’t blame you. I ramble and prattle too much for my own good.---- Sure, sure, some of you know this stuff but most people don’t.

**Author’s Note: Holy Shnikies, this meme is hard!**

Thing the sixth: She will stay in bed for hours after she realizes that she needs to pee. The bathroom is 20 steps away from the bed.

Thing the seventh: She prefers to sleep naked. I prefer her to sleep naked as well. (Who wouldn't?)

Thing the eighth: Zany Mama hates the sound of Legos. Not the sounds of Lagos, but that is only because she has not experienced the sounds of Lagos.

Thanks for reading

& I tag no one.... ever. That's just how I roll.

--SRH

The Poppies Are Merely For Decoration

I have recently come to believe that I have led a rather sheltered adult life. No one could argue that my childhood was rosy sweet, but something changed once I reached my twenties. SRH and I got married, found some couple friends, occasionally went to see a movie, and considered life good.

Oh sure, we have had our share of “couple friends” issues. You know the type: I really like Person A, but SRH hates Person B. Or SRH gets along well with person C, but Person D and I couldn’t have less in common. (I remember a particularly painful evening spent with a woman who had mean things to say about every other woman in the room.)

But these are minor issues. As we become increasingly parent-ified, we are more likely to have parent/couple friends, and commonalities become easier to find. We no longer seek “couple friends” in the way that we used to. Instead we are thrilled when we meet and click with new parent/couple friends – something which seems infinitely easier to do.

Me: Hey, didn’t I see you with your bossy kid at the paint store?

Generic Other Parent: Oh yeah, that’s right.

Me: Why don’t you come over for a play date?

GOP: That would be great.

(Volia! Friendship ensues.)

It’s been like this since Zane was born. Friends somehow come out of the wood work. I meet neat people at the park, at preschool, at the OT’s office (well maybe not there, but you get my drift), at the pediatrician, in the grocery store.

I am in the baffling position of actually liking more and more people. Strange, that.

But recently, one set of our most favorite parent/couple friends seems to be becoming… well…un-coupled.

And I am completely unprepared for this. SRH and I have lived in a bubble for the past 12 years where none of our married/committed friends have broken up. Truly – not one serious couple has decided to end their relationship.

Their partnerships might be train wrecks. We might think they’d be happier apart. We might even wonder how in the world they ever got together, but none of them have decided to call it quits.

And lest you forget, I worked with battered women for years. I am totally down with ending a relationship which is not good for you. I think that kids are happiest when their parents are happy – however that happens. I don’t believe that most people leave their relationships lightly, and I absolutely respect their right do so.

But this…this feels different somehow. This is a couple that we adore - both of them. They are both wonderful people who are completely devoted to their child. They are good, kind people who simply can’t figure out a way to stay together.

And that just doesn’t seem right.

It’s making me wake up from this shelter of the past decade and look at the complexity of love and relationships. It is no longer the simple: you love each other, you work hard at your relationship, you stay together. It is something more like: with love, hard work, and a fair bit of luck, you might end up together.

And truthfully, I have never been close to a break-up where one person can’t be painted as the villain (or at least more villain-like). I just don’t have a good handle on this one.

No villain. No blame. No answers. Just sadness.

And because you know that I can’t stay with sadness long, here are the three ways I have decided to deal with this – and all future - No-Fault Breakups:

1. Arbitrarily assign fault – I’ll flip a coin, spin a bottle, paper/rock/scissors – whatever. I’m assigning blame, and it doesn’t matter where it lands.
2. Ruthlessly mock SRH – This might seem nonsensical, but it sure makes me feel better.
3. Quit my job – Oh wait, I did that last week. Turns out, my friends didn’t reconcile, and my boss wouldn’t accept my resignation.

Any other ideas?

Partner Meme - Part 2

So Thea tagged me for a meme. But I couldn’t really figure it out – was I supposed to do my favorite restaurants or the reasons I blog? Both? I didn’t know. And since I’ve already done the Reasons I Blog meme, and my restaurant choices are generally uninspiring, I decided to do neither.

But what I am going to do is finish the meme the Thea tagged me for months ago. You may recall that I did the first twenty-five questions as a “partner meme”, and here are the rest. Same thing: my answers come first, and SRH’s follow in blue.

26. What is your best childhood memory?

Although I have several really craptastic childhood memories, I actually have a fair number of good ones as well. This was hard to pick. I think some of my best memories of flipping around on the gymnastic mat – just having fun. Before I entered that whole “competitive” phase of gymnastics.

I still love being upside down.

She does indeed love being upside down. Why just the other day we were in line at the grocery store, and, well, I am just happy that she wasn’t wearing a skirt.

27. Ever been to Africa?

No, and to be perfectly honest I’ve never especially wanted to go – until this year. In the past year, I’ve met two people from Zimbabwe and several people from South Africa. Now, I really feel that I must go there. I must experience it. I can’t believe I was the boob who never wanted to go.

2010 World Cup, BABY!

28. Ever been toilet papering?
Yeah, in high school. But I don’t really remember whose house. I don’t think I was that invested.

She is quite the pro with the TP now, though. Little Man’s butt is sparkling clean when she is done wiping him.

29. Been in a car accident?

For a while there, my car had a target on it. I was rear ended on a highway and spun around into oncoming traffic, and then about 6 weeks later, I was broadsided when someone ran a red light. Fortunately, I wasn’t hurt in either accident. Unfortunately, my Saturn SL-1 survived both accidents.

When people used to ask me this, I used to say “I change cars like I change my underwear. Once a year and only after a BIG accident.”

30. Favorite day of the week?

Saturday – usually begins with yoga and ends with laziness.

Some Saturdays of hers start with laziness and end in sloth.

31. Favorite restaurant?

I don’t really have one. Our eating out has decreased significantly due to Zane’s food allergies. So I’m just happy to eat out – where doesn’t so much matter as long as it’s not seafood.

If she can find an all-you-can-eat prime rib, some restaurant is gonna lose some money.

32. Favorite flower?

I’m partial to peonies. And tulips.

Yes she does. If I get another email, text message, cell phone call asking for flowers again… Oh she’ll get some flowers. Oh, she’ll get some flowers all right…

33. Favorite ice-cream?

I’m a vanilla ice cream gal. I prefer Dairy Queen soft-serve. (How exciting I am.)

She is also partial to Edy’s Double Churned Vanilla Bean as well. If she has to have hard ice cream. Have I mentioned that she makes a mean hot fudge sauce?

34. Favorite fast food restaurant?
McDonald’s - the fries are crack.

You know what she hates? Taco Bell, that’s what.

35. How many times did you fail your driver's test?
One time. I failed the maneuverability (aka parallel parking). Thanks for bringing it up.

For those of you not “in the know” so to speak, Ohio’s “maneuverability” is a bit more than rigorous. My wife ain’t a failure, so all of you who think she is can go… wait, is this thing still typing?

36. From whom did you get your last e-mail?
You don’t want to know. It was work-related. Bluck.

I wish that were odd for a Sunday.

37. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?

This is a tough one. For clothes, I would probably pick Anthropologie. For the reality that is my life, I would probably choose Target.

Oh, she could live off of Target, but she should have chosen the “online store” Amazon.com.

38. Last person you went to dinner with?

SRH – this evening.

She had the prime rib, if it were an all-you-can-eat, we would still be there.

39. What are you listening to right now?
I’ve got the media player set to shuffle, but this second Cake’s Arco Arena is playing.

I am listening to ZM ask me why it is taking me soooo long to finish this post. Lay off, Wifey!

(But in real life, I humbly apologize and ask your forgiveness oh Wonderous Wife. I will be quick.)

40. What is your favorite color?
This changes a bit. But I really enjoy yellow – a bright, sunny yellow.

But she shouldn’t wear it…

41. How many tattoos do you have?

Two. Of course I want more, but I want to stay employable, and I’m already on an edge there.

They are small and discrete so if she continued along that vein she could get another. My name would look nice on her butt. No really.

42. Who are you tagging for this meme?

No one, but everyone is free to partake should they like.

If you partake, try to partner up with someone you know.

43. What time did you finish this blog entry?

I’m not done yet. But I ‘spect it will be about 9pm. (wrong, it was 8:45pm)

She finished at 8:45. I will be done at 9:15

44. Favorite magazine:

Inspired House – too bad they stopped making it. I hate people.

For a long time it was US Weekly, it really is too bad her sophisticated mag was cancelled.

45. Coffee or tea?

Tea, I guess. I’m hate coffee.

She has to have un-caffeinated though. I swear one night she seemed like she was hopped up on goofballs when she merely had drank a can of Pepsi.

46. Do you tan easily or burn easily?
Uh, I’m black, yo. I tan pretty much constantly. Only burned once in my life.

Unlike me, I am sooooo pale I am light blue.

47. Do you color your hair? If so, how often?

Nope. I am truly a low-maintenance kind of gal.

If she did, she would go with electric blue or candy apple red. No really?

48. What was the first car you ever purchased without the help of your parents?

Saturn SL-1. I had it for about 8 years. Then people started hitting it with their cars, I had a baby, and I traded it in.

The thing had a target on it for reals!

49. What is your most dreaded household chore?

I hate to do dishes. Hate it with a passion bordering on pathological. Hate it with the fire of a thousand suns. Hate it with the keenness of a…well, I just hate it, alright?

And I don’t think she ever did them since we were married.

Twelve Years and Counting

Today SRH and I have been together 12 years. We celebrate it as an “anniversary”, primarily because I like to go out to dinner, but also because it seems – in some ways – almost as important as the day we were married.

Twelve years ago this evening as I made my way to my 819^th collegiate party, I had the following thought, What am I doing here? I have a really nice, cute, smart guy who likes me, and I’m not allowing it to happen. What am I - a freak?

Ah, sweet self-talk. Thank you for making sure that I didn’t blow a chance with a really wonderful guy.

But enough with the niceties – here’s what happened.

I had recently gotten out of a craptastic relationship and had decided that I wasn’t going to date anyone for at least a year. You make bad dating decisions, I told myself. You never even want to be in a relationship, and then you date these needy guys who make you feel bad for not wanting to be with them. So, you hang out with them – against your better judgment; and then two years later, you finally figure out a way to break up. Much drama ensues.

So I decided that I just wanted to be on my own for a while. I had been in a relationship for almost five years straight, I was 20 years old, and I just wanted to be by myself.

I wanted to kiss a bunch of boys and flirt outrageously – and go home alone. I wanted to casually date more than one person at a time (something my fiercely loyal self had never done) and plan a future without a significant other. I wanted to keep company with a virtual Benetton ad of hunks, spend outrageous amounts of time with my girlfriends, and not look back.

Enter SRH. He has always foiled my best laid plans.

Twelve years ago, I went to a party and decided to do something that was good for me even though the timing wasn’t perfect.

Two days later, I knew it would be serious.

Two months later, he mentioned marriage.

Two years later, we promised to be together for the rest of our lives in front of 150 people.

(We also promised to “love your body as it ages” – and thank heavens for that particular vow! We could both be in a whole heap of trouble if we hadn’t included that one. I’m just saying. Marriage and child rearing aren’t quick tickets to a hot body - no matter what the deli guy thinks.)

Anyway, best decision of my life, happy anniversary SRH, blah, blah, blah…

Partner Meme - Part 1

So, Thea tagged me with a meme last week, but I was all, "I've got a tumor to discuss" and "Make way for incessant blogging about my health concerns".

And I have a bit of a problem with memes, actually. Namely, my problem is that I have real difficulty making them good reading. I don't think my answers are particularly inspired (or inspiring), and they often read like a list of my neuroses: does not like cinnamon or coconut, refuses to wear anything asymmetrical, etc.

In thinking of a way to make this meme interesting, I have asked my partner, SRH, to join me in this particular post - part 1 of what may turn out to be 2. I give my answers, and he fires back with his thoughts (in blue).

Just another way to get to know me – through the eyes of my ever-loving, geeky partner.

1. What time did you get up this morning?
7:18 am. I set the alarm for 7am and hit the snooze twice. I love the snooze button - except when SRH uses it. Then I kind of hate it.

I hit the snooze button and it’s all, “You can only do that one more time, Buddy! It will wake me up and you don’t want that.”

2. Diamonds or pearls?
“If I gave you diamonds and pearls? Would you be a happy boy or a girl? If I could, I would give you the world. But all I can do is just offer you my love”. – Because there’s never an inappropriate time to quote a Prince song.

How can you not quote a Prince song? He has at least 14 billion songs in his library and after a while, he just lists gibberish - “Starfish and coffee, Maple syrup and jam, Butterscotch clouds, a tangerine, and a side order of ham” WTF??? One can easily end up quoting him inadvertently.

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Dreamgirls. It was fabulous! Before that, I was supposed to see Dreamgirls, but my friend Ellen wanted to see The Holiday. I do not believe in criticizing other women in a public forum, but I will make a small observation that Cameron Diaz is no Meryl Streep.

I don’t have any friends.

4. What is your favorite TV show?
Wow. I don’t really know. I like Heroes. I don’t have any rabid favorites right now.

Ummm… I believe she is loath to tell people that it is TLC’s Moving Up. She’s DVR-ing this show.

5. What did you have for breakfast?
Didn’t eat breakfast. Keith Richards told me not to.

Stupid Keith Richards!

6. What is your middle name?
Anne. My mom wanted to give me an “ordinary” name as a fall back option in case I hated my first name. My first name being a bit…uh…interesting.
Her first name is definitely interesting, but it’s much better than the other options they didn’t use: Cinnamon and Angel.

7. What is your favorite cuisine?
Pizza.

Ummm… it’s pizza only if prime rib, or cherries, or watermelon aren’t allowed to be contenders. I would be hard pressed to put pizza in her top 5. Sure, it is the one food that she would probably eat the most often, but favorite? Come on now.

8. What foods do you dislike?
Oh my, the list is way too long. And the people reading this already have firm opinions on just how neurotic I am. I’ll go with the big “hates”: cheese, seafood and all fish, peppers, graham crackers.

That’ll do, pig. That’ll do.

9. What are your favorite chips?
Lay’s Kettle Cooked Barbeque chips. My gall bladder is seizing up just thinking of them.
The operative word being “kettle cooked” – that woman loves her some fried snacks.

10. What is your favorite CD at the moment?
This moment (and maybe always) – Ani DiFranco’s Living in Clip.

Ummm…I beg to differ; I believe currently it is the Commodores Greatest Hits.

11. What kind of car do you drive?
Toyota Rav-4.
Yup.

12. Favorite sandwich?
Rare roast beef on sourdough with real mayonnaise and sliced tomatoes which have been salted and have Chicago Steak Seasoning on them.

Or you know, whatever kind of sandwich.

Really, she ain’t picky… as long as it is that sandwich and made from the Dietz and Watson's London Broil deli meat.

13. What are characteristics you can't stand?
Tumor-ific and non-shrinking.

She also dislikes focal, nodule, and hyperplasia.

14. What are your favorite clothes?
Athletic and/or yoga pants. Duh, I’m a very active woman from a very active family with a very active child.

What about pajamas? They count, right? She will wear pajamas for 72 hours straight.

15. If you could go anywhere on vacation where would you go?
To the mountains or other good hiking places – with SRH and Zane. They are the loves of my life. The rest is just gravy. Good mountain-y gravy, but gravy nonetheless.

Mmmm…gravy.

16. There was no sixteen in this little questionnaire so I'll just give you a random fact about myself:
I won a hula hooping contest in 7^th grade – I hooped for 45 minutes. Clearly, I have a long history of being very active.

She has an amazing ability to remember commercial jingles. Go on, test her.

17. Where would you want to retire?
I cannot even imagine.

I am not sure she could ever retire from her social justice work.

18. Favorite time of day?
Any time I’m alone. I like my family and friends, but I really dig alone time right now.

She does like the alone time. I like spending time WITH her. Hijinks ensue…

19. Where were you born?
I burst from my mother’s womb in northeastern Ohio.

At least she didn’t say “loins.” Ah, Crap! I did.

20. What is your favorite sport to watch?
During the Olympics, I like to watch rhythmic gymnastics. I was a seriously competitive gymnast for most of my formative years. Which you might guess is all fun and flippy, but I found it to be tumor-inducing.

Stupid tumor-inducing gymnastics! I wish she had focused on lottery-win- inducing badminton.

21. Coke or Pepsi?
Pepsi, but I’m not a big fan of the soda pop.

Yup

22. Beavers or ducks?
I’m not sure I understand this one. Why must I choose?

I think she would go with ducks.

23. Are you a morning person or a night owl?
Naturally, I’m a night owl. Since having Zane, I’ve become much more of a morning person.

I am quite the night owl, and she is just a better parent in the morning.

24. Pedicure or manicure?
Pedicure. Manicures don’t last long enough. And they’re stupid.

(I got nothing.)

25. What did you want to be when you were little?
A world famous gymnast – without a tumor.

I bet Dominique Dawes doesn't have a tumor.

So there it is - my answers and SRH's. A peek into the magic that is the our household.