Can I come to your house?

Right now, as I type, two little boys are squealing, yelping, and who knows what else upstairs behind a closed door in our "bonus" room. Guess who's not even concerned? Moi! Until I see blood I'm leaving them alone. I'm just thankful they're together and not around me at the moment. Am I a bad mother? Don't answer that! Have a great weekend!

Self Cleaning

Warning: this is a little long, but stay with me. A few weeks ago I looked at the calendar and realized that, yes, it's that time again. Time to get into a bathing suit and I just wasn't feeling it this year. I think the stress of the last months with MIL situation had taken it's toll and I'd really been feeling so blah in my life. Not only my life, but my lifestyle habits I was creating. Bad habits. Of the snacking variety. Of the non exercising variety. You know how it is. Or is it just me? Well I decided I was going to finally get off my lazy arse and do something about it. And now, happily, I can post about it because I've been successful. Had this crashed and burned, you never would have heard a peep from me on the subject. Just like a woman right? And just like One Fabulous Mom posted about all last week, I feel I have "cleaned" up my body, inside and out. Here's what I did and want to share with all of you.

1- I became a crazy water consuming maniac. Now I've been through periods of drinking lots of water, but it had stopped. So I started drinking a lot. My poor Brita filters were/are doing a workout with me. To be green, I also refill water bottles so I know how much I am drinking, but have also tried to stop purchasing so many bottles. I've started buying the huge 3 qt/ 5.4 oz bottles to keep in the refrigerator. Anyway, my skin looks hydrated.

2- I STOPPED SNACKING. Now this is hard. I think we all tend to snack if we're bored. That's me. And I usually buy those 100 calorie snack packs, but who cares if you're downing 3 bags at a time! So, I just quit cold turkey. Now if I'm hungry I eat 4 or 5 smokehouse flavored Diamond almonds. Yummy. Good fat to consume, too. If I'm hungry making dinner, instead of sampling, I drink a full glass of water. I never skip breakfast anymore. This helps with a.m. snacking.

3- I cut out all soft drinks. My weakness is Diet Coke, albeit caffeine free DC. Carbonated drinks just aren't good for you. They do weird things to your stomach. So have not had one in 3-4 weeks.

4- I dusted off my 12 lb weights and started lifting weights for my skinny arms. I'm trying to tone this post birth body all around. I also go walking with the stroller or use my elliptical machine. I'm doing sit ups on my mega exercise ball as well. Now this feels like a losing battle because I think my stomach muscles are shot, but I'm trying... I feel so much better now that I'm exercising again. I used to be a runner and would like to eventually get back into this as well.

5- I have reduced my portions at meal time. This is a biggie. I think gradually I had been adding more and more food to my plate! I still cook relatively low fat as always (I substitute turkey for beef all the time), but I serve myself much smaller portions. AND I EAT SLOWER.
That's a biggie, too. My stomach doesn't feel like it's missing the extra food. I still indulge my sweet tooth, but I eat a 1/2 cup of ice cream instead of a cup or I eat a Weight Watcher's cookie or one of those fat-free chocolate pudding cups. I try to stop all eating by 7:30. But, the water consumption continues so I'm not tempted to grab a last minute snack at night.

All of these things I had heard/read somewhere or another and they have really helped. I have lost 8 pounds and have kept it off so far. It wasn't so much about the weight as it was the toning to me and just an overall 180 turn from what I had been doing. Try it. It may work for you, too!
I feel so much better about myself and about that bikini. Well, no, that's not happening, but my tankini and I are friends once more.

Mini#2 - updates

With all that has been going on I haven't seemed to capture some of mini#2's better moments lately. However, there were a few this weekend that cannot go unmentioned. Warning: Some nudity involved in this post.

1- His new phrase, and he says this regularly, is "I'm hungry. I'm always hungry." The kid would snack 24/7 if I let him. I get so tired of saying "NO" because wailing directly follows my response. It's funny though because now he tells anyone who will listen that he's always hungry...like we're starving him.

2- One morning he crawled into our bed and I just happened to mention to him "Aren't you happy you're going to preschool in the fall?" His response: "What's a fall?" And thus the reason I'm sending him to preschool...to learn seasons and everything PBS isn't teaching him. I mean everything I'm not teaching him. Oops.

3-The kid is 3 yrs 2 months and I THINK he is completely potty trained. This past week he was dry for 2 nights in his pull up so I said "Let's try to wear big boy pants tonight." His response: "Yes, let's see if it can work!" He did and it "worked" the last 2 nights. He's been wearing big boy pants to nap and all other times for about 5 months. He sure has been easier to train than mini#1 was. Potty training is a big deal isn't it?

4- Last, but best, mini#2 has shown a little exhibitionism this weekend. It started Friday a.m. in the morning rush to get #2 to bus stop. Mini#2 had gone potty, but was naked from waist down. I told him he could not go to bus stop with us. Well on walk back (Only few houses down from ours) mini#2 met me on the sidewalk in all of his glory. My friends saw him, too. He was grinning like it was no big deal. Fast forward to that afternoon. He was playing outside with neighbor next door, also 3 (month apart), and that boy's father was watching them as I was chatting with the wife in our yard. I heard mini#1 squealing and looked to see mini#2 and other little boy NAKED running around and throwing sand! First, I grabbed camera inside to capture this moment and then I ran next door to get the sand monster out of there. The husband had been watering some plants. Mini#2 said #1 did it first. Duh! During bath I told him we do not run around naked outside (only inside. kidding.). Move on to Saturday. In the afternoon he was out playing again and then mini#1 ran in to say mini#2 was naked again. For the love of Pete...this time I went outside and retrieved him from Mr. Pink's arms and promptly brought him in and we had a longer serious talk about his exhibitionist tendencies. We went Sunday and Monday without any naked sitings. He's on his way to recovery. I hope!

I hope everyone had a nice weekend. We went to a fun cookout Sunday and to the pool's Memorial Day party yesterday. Fun family time outside and no traffic to deal with since we stayed home!

Five on Friday...

Today I'll list 5 things that make me happy...



1- My Kiehl's Ultra Facial Moisturizer SPF-15. Goes on so smoothly and your skin drinks it in.






2- Birthdays! Other people's. Not mine! Happy Birthday 'Lil Brother! He lives in Frankfurt, Germany (looks like a Heineken he's holding) right now. He works for the US State Department stationed at US Consulate in Frankfurt (when he's not snowboarding in Austria, weekending in Rome, etc. Makes me sick with jealousy). Cheers Bro!



3- My boys.... mini#2 cannot keep a shirttail tucked in!











4- Nail Polish. I finally painted my finger nails yesterday. My toes are always painted, but I splurged and painted my nails. Well, I didn't splurge, go to a salon splurge, but took the time to do it myself. I recently bought Revlon's "Raven Red"- great dark shade of red.












5- SEX AND THE CITY movie - 7 day release countdown! I'm doing this right. Next Sunday night (9 days for me to wait) some of the moms from play group are going to dinner and then on to see the movie. Can't wait. It doesn't take much to excite me these days!






Be happy! It's a long weekend! We're staying put with gas in our tanks! We will go to a neighbor's cookout on Sunday. Looking forward to that, too! Happy Friday!

Wordless Wednesday...stop and enjoy these orchids!

I'm so thankful...

Ok, this may be quick. For you see I am currently sitting in a Duke University Hospital clinic while MIL is doing a 6-minute walk for her pulmonologist. We just saw her surgeon and all were impressed with her progress. Is that what it's called...progress? Seriously, this is a slow recovery, but I'm glad the docs think she is where she should be. Luckily today, the drain tube was removed and so were her staples from her massive incision. Both of these make her and ME more comfortable. I think we're on our way now. We'll know in four weeks if they want to do more chemo, but for now, she'll just try to get stronger.

Anyway, I'm thankful 1) that mini#2 is with a neighbor right now. He accompanied us to the pulmonologist appointment yesterday. Now it was MIL's first day out of the house mind you so I don't know which was harder to keep up with if you know what I mean. Mini#2 seems to think that any doctor's swivel stool in the exam room is free reign for him to amuse himself. Drives me crazy. Then he feels it necessary to interview the doctor, any doctor, and not vice versa. Bless that doctor's heart. He brought mini#2 a packaged brownie leftover from a staff lunch to busy my mini. Probably in hopes that the mini would shut his precious mouth for longer than a minute. It worked.

2) I'm thankful that I never smoked. I won't count those random cigarettes smoked in college while attempting not to choke and look cool at the same time. It really is a horrible habit/ADDICTION to break. Looking around this waiting room I see multiple people attached to oxygen tubes. MIL's oxygen is sitting next to me right now. She has to use this post surgery. I know it makes her feel embarrassed to have, like she's giving in to something she hasn't owned up to until now. Yesterday, once again, the pulmonologist confirmed they found emphysema during surgery. Secretly, I wanted to stand up and say "See, I told you it's not allergies!", but I remained silent. I have told her "Have you noticed that you have not coughed one time since surgery?" She quit 4 weeks ago. She replied, in denial, "It's because I haven't had any changes in environment." This was not a dainty cough she had. It was a huge, house rattling cough from deep within her being. Paired with my thankfulness of not smoking, I'm thankful she has finally stopped herself. I hope anyone reading this that wants to stop smoking does. For your health, for your relatives, for your quality of life find help and support and try to stop once and for all. You're worth it!

3) I'm thankful that school is almost out and this is the last week of homework! First grade ends June 10th this year and second grade will begin July 7th because we are going to year round school. Wait this is a "thankful" post so I'll just stop this here 'cause I'm not too thankful for this short break this summer.

4) I'm thankful when I woke up this morning my teeth weren't throbbing. Prior to MIL's appointment yesterday I had the pleasure of having 2 very old fillings replaced. One tooth may end up requiring a root canal so throbbing pain could be a key indicator of what's to come. However, no throbbing. I'm thankful.

5) I'm thankful for extremely nice friends/neighbors that are so willing to help me out these days. Mini#2 is having much more fun playing with our neighbor this morning (yikes is it afternoon already?)than he would have here seeing the sights of this waiting room. I can hear him now loudly asking rude questions since his mouth has no filter. My other neighbor even gave me a nice bottle of prosecco on Friday evening saying "I need it." Yes for her and for that bottle I am (was) also thankful.

So, what are you thankful for this week? Sometimes you just have to stop and think about it.

Game, gifts, and a garden basket

Well we all survived the ball game. Mini#1 even got chased by Wool E. Bull (their mascot) and then picked up and turned upside down by said bull for pulling his tail. I, unfortunately, missed that, but it happened pregame when the cub scouts/boy scouts were being recognized on the field. Is that my kid? Mini#2 (shown above in an extra shirt he added over the nice one I had picked out...of course) had fun, but claimed he didn't like it when "the boys threw the balls to us" meaning foul balls. He told everyone that the signature billboard sized bull "was smoking." The bull lights up and blows smoke through his nostrils when a home run is hit. He talked all the way home, too. I thought for sure he'd fall asleep. Mr. Pink made it through the camp out on the field with the kids. They came home Saturday morning at 8:45 and we were still asleep! Mr. Pink then slept for about 3 more hours. Uh um...not as young as he used to be. Me, I'm ageless. Wink. Wink.

Saturday I finally got the time to venture out to buy two Birthday gifts for two friends in my neighborhood. One gift is late and one is on time, but that's not too bad considering things at the White House. I found these cute black/white polka dot monogrammed address books. One with hot pink letter and one with lime green. Forgot to take a picture. However, check out this great paper my mom found at Tuesday Morning. Huge polka dots. The ribbon I picked up on sale (Mother's Day) at Hallmark. I'm into polka dots these days.

Lastly, I'll post the final product for the garden basket I created for mini#1's school spring carnival. I was pleasantly surprised by the participation of the parents. I was able to buy quite a bit when, originally, I thought I may end up having to contribute the bulk of the contents. This basket (planter) was heavy! I think I posted about me quickly trying to get it to mini#1's classroom without dropping it. Secretly, I enjoyed hearing people comment on "my" basket while at the carnival. There were some really good ones, but I'm just glad ours didn't "suck"so to speak. There's always a little bit of competition involved with things like this. The school Spanish teacher ended up winning it.

We ended up going to Home Depot today for a few more annuals for my planters. I just finished planting them before the rain came down. How's that for timing?

Lastly, thank you Amber's House Full for giving me my first blog award! That was a surprise! I don't think I deserve this, but thanks for the mention. She has 4, yes 4 boys. Bless her heart. She needs about 4 Mother's Day celebrations a year I would say. Ok, that's all for now. You're probably wondering "is she ever going to stop?" I hope everyone had a nice spring weekend!

Take me out to the ball game

It's that time again. To do something no-so-pink. That happens a lot when you're pink in a sea of blue. Many of you may remember that 80's movie Bull Durham. Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins. Well that movie was based on the real minor league team, the Durham Bulls. In college I frequently used to go to those games in their old stadium. Fast forward several years, they're in a new stadium and it's now the ultimate family experience. We have not been to a game since we returned to the area. Tonight mini#2 and I will join Mr. Pink, mini#1 and their cub scout group (opps. den.) to take in a game. Mini#2 is on cloud nine. Driving to Duke University Hospital to pick up MIL, we would pass this stadium on our way and he would always say "I want to go to the Durham Bills." Finally he'll get his wish. After this long week, I could be sitting in an auto parts store and be thrilled about it. Just to get a breather will be nice. The cool thing is that the cub scouts and Mr. Pink will be camping out on the field after the game! Mini#1 is super excited about this. Mrs. Pink will not be camping out. I will return home to MIL, comfy bed and air conditioning. There may be a glass of wine and a movie thrown in somewhere- if not too late when we return. Have a nice weekend!

Fun Music to keep us sane

As you know my mother in law is staying with us as she recovers from surgery. It was been a little hectic since Saturday to say the least. I'll bet very few of you can flush a feeding tube or set one up at night. I can. Luckily, she eats normally during the day. I feel part nurse, maid, short order cook, mom, and wife. A lot of hats to wear at once. This morning, as I gave her her meds upstairs, mini#2 seized the opportunity to indulge in peanut butter downstairs. When I came down I found him sitting on our dining room floor quietly spooning that peanut-y goodness into his mouth. He did, at least, have sense enough to actually grab a spoon and not use his fingers. He looked at me and said "mmm. delicious." I asked him "Do you want some jelly with that?" I'm trying not to lose my sanity these days.

Anyway, I wanted to pass along a fun cd I ordered from Amazon. I love jazz or jazzy music, mainly of the newer generations (love Diana Krall/Soul Ballet/Micheal Buble'). However, you can't go wrong with the true golden jazz dating back to Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. I want the minis to embrace all types of music so we listen to just about anything around here. Now, back to this cd. It's called: Jazz for Kids: Sing, Clap, Wiggle and Shake. Ella Fitzgerald sings up tempo versions of "Old MacDonald" and "The Muffin Man" and Louis Armstrong closes the cd with his famous "What a Wonderful World." Mini#2 personally enjoys "Potato Chips" where the artist sings about not wanting lunch. All he wants is potato chips. Crunch. Crunch. It's cute. His other favorite is "Yes, We Have no Bananas." It makes me smile when I catch mini#2 singing it throughout the day. I personally love "Ain't Nobody Here but us Chickens," a chickens' response to their farmer. So that's my review. If you're looking for new preschool music for the car/house, I recommend this one. I think you'll like it, too.

Told you so...

Ahhh. True love. Shayne and Mr. Brit, ok Matt, together forever. We'll see about that. Nonetheless, I liked Shayne last night and Chelsea was getting on my nerves. Chelsea reminded me a little of a super hero in that dress at the end. Or Greek goddess? And she got a little nasty about her competition at the end didn't she? Didn't she call Shayne the "fakest" girl there? I did get so tired of Matt calling Shayne his "little monkey". That would get old. Quick. Was it just me or did that seem to be the easiest final ceremony to get through in a long time? Usually I'm biting my nails and nervous right along with them. Last night I actually relaxed, still have my fingernails, and laughed. I laughed at Shayne's comment informing Matt he had to promise not to look at any more girls from here on out because he'd already done that a little too much in their relationship. Clever. And, in the end, Mr. Brit didn't look too shabby either. All that tropical sun agrees with him. Best wishes to them both. May it be the best six (five) months they ever have.

Went out searching for the cell phone today. No luck. I feel lost without it. Did I say that in my last post? Looks like we'll be getting new phones soon. Anyway we still have Atlanta telephone numbers and we've been in NC 20 months! This is a change I think I can handle. However, I will miss the photo I had of mini#1 sitting in my very pregnant lap moments after having his tonsils out. That picture has welcomed me to my phone for 3 years now. Yes, it's definitely time for a new phone though isn't it? I think I want a pink(duh) one.

Tonight's the night!

Don't forget that tonight Mr. Brit finally selects his forever Mrs. Brit (yea right. whatever.) on The Bachelor. The final night is always good T.V. Right? Although, it does always bother me when the "loser" (I'd probably say she's a winner 'cause these relationships never last!) leaves in the limo. EVERY time the girl is bawling to the point of losing her breath. That's so sad. I wish they'd just skip that part, but that will never happen. They really get wrapped up in this experience...all 30 something days of it. I still think Shayne will be his choice. Tan, blond, LA actress. That's all a Brit wants right?

Ok, got to continue searching for my cell phone. I lost it Saturday. With MIL coming home from the hospital, I went to the grocery store, pharmacy and then to Linen's N Things and Target later in the day with some relatives that stopped by. I'm retracing my steps. This is a real pain in the a$$. I have a feeling I may be getting a late Mother's Day present...a new phone! I feel lost without it!

Have a nice Monday! Or is that an oxymoron?

Happy Mother's Day!

Here's to all the mothers that "make it happen" day after day. I hope everyone has a special Mother's Day. This afternoon I get to have a little "me" time. And what do you think I'll be doing? Shopping without the minis. See, one of my Friday wishes is already coming true. Too bad it's not the tropical island wish, but I'll settle for a little retail therapy right now. It always makes me happy! And when mom's happy, everyone's happy!

Today I wish I was...

relaxing on a beach (alone. Is that terrible?)...

shopping (without the minis!)...

strolling down the streets of Paris...

or going to a John Mayer concert (awesome in concert!).

Instead, I will be......

...cleaning my house and doing laundry on this rainy southern morning. Yuck! What are your "wishes"?

I'm smart this way...

So I think I mentioned that I have been reading Judy Blume's Superfudge to mini#1. We try to read a chapter a night after he's read something else to me. Well sometimes it's too late to read and sometimes he doesn't follow instructions and I take away my reading to him as punishment. That crushes him. He's so into this book and, apparently, I do a good impression of the little brother, Fudge. I've really enjoyed reading this to him because, one of the few things I remember and liked about fourth grade, was my hippie, ex-smoker, chalk-chewing teacher (because he quit smoking), Mr. Boling, reading these books to us after lunch. I stumbled across this book at Target a few weeks ago and got it for mini#1 for his birthday.



Now what I didn't remember was the exact story line. So last night as we finished a chapter I happened to note the title of the next chapter: "Santa Who?" Now that caused my mommy senses to perk up to "high alert". Thank goodness for the mommy senses. I went downstairs, book in hand, and decided that I ought to get a preview of this next chapter. Ah Ha! Just as I suspected! Ms. Blume was about to get ME to tell my child there is no Santa Claus. Oh no. Santa Claus needs to stick around a bit longer at the White house. It's one of the best parts of being a parent in my opinion. It's one of the best parts of being a child! It's magical! Mini#1 just turned 7. I don't know how much longer I have anyway, but Santa will not disintegrate into a puff of smoke on Wednesday, May 7 as I read aloud to my mini. You may be asking yourself, what will Mrs. Pink do? Do not fear. Mrs. Pink has made careful, inconspicuous marks in the book to divert her to a new paragraph or sentences throughout this rocky chapter. An entire section will be omitted. Heavy editing to say the least. I couldn't just skip the chapter because mini#1 saw the title, too and thinks Ms. Blume is covering all of the holidays. So wish me luck and make a mental note about this if you, too want to read this book to your minis. Spread the word to your friends and fellow bloggers. Keep good ole Saint Nick alive as long as you can!

An explanation...

I feel like I quickly brushed over my mother-in-law's illness in the last post. Mainly, because I was tired. Not a super excuse though! I really appreciate the kind comments and emails I've received wishing us well. I wanted to explain just a little further. She was diagnosed (early it appears) on Halloween day last year. What started out as suspected gall bladder issues became a pancreatic cancer diagnosis. This is scary because her father died of pancreatic cancer in the early 90's. Now, it could be genetic so we are looking for Mr. Pink to be tested for this strain of cancer...a lot to swallow at once. We are taking red meat out of our diets (hard for Mr. Pink), I've bought him men's vitamins to take, and just praying it won't happen to him. However, I can't live worrying. That's NO way to live, but it's hard not to think about. Anyway, MIL moved in with us mid November through the end of January to undergo chemotherapy and radiation! She made it through it all, but it was tough. Dehydration, tiredness (the REAL kind), etc. She moved back to her home, 2 hours away, in early February and hasn't been here except for a couple of doctor visits (she's getting treatment at DUKE Hospital, close to our home). Now this surgery finally occurred last week and she'll recover and live with us again. Once she is able, chemo will start again. All of this happening while living with her only grandchildren. So you can imagine how difficult this is for her and will be for our kids. We have not used the C word with the kids at all. They just know she's sick. If you remember the play set post, she gave that to the minis for their birthdays, most likely, because she realizes her time is limited with us all. We are so thankful for the time we have with her because our kids need memories, as well as, my husband, her only child.

It's a sad situation, but one we are facing head on and know that God is in control and we continue to have faith in him. This BLOG started at the end of January when MIL was finishing treatments and going back to her home. I had stumbled on other blogs and knew this is what I needed to get out of the blahs I was feeling. It has certainly helped! I've met great people along the way. I still want this to be a source of mental therapy for me so, going forward, I don't want my posts to be as serious as this one is. That's for sure. So I'll try to keep this blog upbeat, but with a touch of the usual cranky, frazzled mom self that you already know I am.

Fridge post will come. I promise. Dare I admit that I still get a little confused downloading pics from our camera (Web pics. I've got those under control. Just not the digitals.)...and Mr. Pink has not been here for any decent amount of time for a week. I kind of hate to say "Um. Honey. Can you please help me download pics for my blog" when he's been sleeping every other night in a hospital chair and then going to work to provide for his family... You think? Ok, sorry this was so long. It's been a long time coming I guess.

The moment before the pain...

I've got nothing today. I'm tired. I was at the hospital for 4 hours with my mother-in-law today. I haven't posted about it because it's just too heavy a subject right now, but she has pancreatic cancer and was fortunate to be able to have this surgery (10% diagnosed are eligible). My husband has been at the hospital A LOT since last Wednesday and he's exhausted. She'll recover at our house. Say prayers for her. This is difficult on all of us. My neighbor, thankfully, watched mini#2 for 5 hours and lived to hand him back over to me when I got home. I have great neighbors/friends! So willing to offer time/ help/ meals. Anyway...this was a funny email I received. The moment before the pain. These are my favorites:

Ummm, where is his helmet and "bones" as mini#2 calls pads? He's too cool for those I guess.

That's going to leave a mark...and hurt like hell!

This is the funniest one to me. Look how the woman behind the man getting the bat in the jaw.
She's holding up her pizza box as a shield. Like that helps? This man hurt...for a while! Ouch!

Ok, I've been tagged to show the contents of my fridge. I'll try to get this done is the next day or two. It might be a little scary. Thanks Belle in Bloom. I saw this on One Fabulous Mom and I hoped I wouldn't get tagged for this, but hey, if others can do it, so can I.

Five on Friday

So I was tagged a couple of weeks ago by Southern Fried Mom , but I had just done a tag. A lot of chasing around that week! So here goes and sorry so late Southern Mom...

5 things on my to-do list:

1- Go to the grocery store.

2- Finish researching about life insurance so I can get moving on a new policy. Once I stopped working outside the home I lost my life insurance coverage.

3- Keep the minis happy since mini#1 is out of school today for teacher work day. We're going to Build-A-Bear. Mini#1 got a gift card for his birthday. He's been begging to go!

4- Stop by post office for stamps.

5- Buy Mother's Day presents. Do you ladies also end up buying for your mother-in-laws? I do.

5 snacks I enjoy:

1- Brie cheese and reduced fat Triskits.

2- Any form of chocolate. Well except white.

3- Olives

4- Popcorn- movie popcorn is my favorite, but it's usually a bag of 53,000 light butter BOY SCOUT popcorn Mr. Pink suckered us into.

5- Hummus and pita chips.

5 things I'd do if I were a billionaire:

1- Pay off this house.

2- Travel.

3- Buy a beach house.

4- Go Shopping for days....in Paris.

5- Travel some more.

Note: I'd also give to charities, resolve world hunger and demand world peace, but I'm not in a pageant so the first 5 answers will work for now.

5 bad habits:

1- My purse is a disaster. Can't seem to have a "clean" purse.

2- My closet (my side anyway) is much like my purse.

3- Worry too much about things I can't control.

4- Bit of a control freak. Funny I listed this after #3.

5- I used to always be on time, but lately, this seems harder to achieve...usually when it involves the minis going with me. Is it just me or do others seem to get in the car and have to run back in the house a million times before you actually leave your driveway?

5 places I've lived:

1- Charlotte, NC

2- Raleigh, NC

3- Smyrna, GA

4- Close to Raleigh, NC

5- no other places.

5 jobs I've had:

1- Gift wrapper at Belk's department store while in high school.

2- Customer Service Agent at an insurance company one summer while in college.

3- Receptionist at a women's breast health center. It was a temp job while in college. Sad and rewarding to see all the women fighting breast cancer.

4-Manager for ocean transportation, mainly imports to US.

5- Stay at home mom.

Adding this one. 5 favorite places I've visited:

1- San Francisco, CA

2- New York City, NY

3- Paris, France (Duh! My most favorite!)

4- New Orleans, LA (Just don't go in July. BOILING HOT!)

5- London, England (and Bath, England, quaint!)

Happy Friday! I tag anyone who wants to play along.