Lucky Number Four

I got tagged by Sister Sassy.

1. Open the fourth photo folder of your computer.

2. Choose the fourth photo in that folder and publish it in your blog.

3. Explain the photo.

4. Challenge four bloggers to do the same.

This is my son. August 2007. First day of school pictures for the 2nd grade. He was obsessed with camoflauge, all of his teeth were finally growing back in, and his feet were as big as ever. {He's going to be a tall one}. He looks so innocent and cute in this picture....and little. He has gotten so much bigger since I took this shot and it makes me so sad.

Wanna play along? Consider yourself tagged. :0)

8 Things Tag

8 things
I got tagged by Tess....so off we go!

8 shows to love
1. Chuck
2. Heroes
3. American Idol
4. Fringe
5. Game Show Network!
6. Food Network Challenge
7. Ace of Cakes
8. So You Think You Can Dance

8 Favorite Restaurants
1. Olive Garden
2. Chili's
3. Zulu Bagels
4. Johnny Carinos
5. Tomatos
6.
7.
8.

8 Things I did yesterday
1. Went to work
2. homework
3. blogged
4. took Landon to piano lessons
5. dishes
6. cleaned the bathroom
7. went to a jewelry party
8. planned February's menu and made grocery list

8 Things on my wish list
1. Sell my old house
2. A self cleaning house :0)
3. My pre-baby body back
4. be done with school
5. naturally straight hair
6. obedient children
7. go on a caribbean cruise
8. a bigger kitchen

8 things I like about this season
1. Are you kidding me?
2. This is my least favorite season
3. It's miserably cold
4. driving in the snow STINKS!
5. Walking on ice in heels is HARD
6. everything is dead....
7. The gray skies are kind of depressing too.
8. But I guess Landon was born during this season..so there is one good thing. :0)

8 weird things about me
1. I can't touch the shopping cart handles. Germs! I usually put my hands inside my coat or wipe the handle down first.
2. I have a hard time with complete silence.
3. I can't share a blanket with the hubby. We have separate ones. I'm a blanket hog. :0)
4. I LOVE shoes, but would rather go barefoot
5. I dance in my car while driving....
6. I like to watch figure skating.
7. I can't wear scarves or turtlenecks...my neck gets claustrophobic.
8. I don't celebrate Valentine's Day with the hubby.

This tag is from "It's What I Love" by my good friend Bonnie B.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper
2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial
3. When do you put up the tree? weekend after Thanksgiving
4. When do you take the tree down? week after Chrsitmas
5. Do you like eggnog? it's ok....not my favorite
6. Favorite gift received as a child? don't remember...there was a cabbage patch doll once (that I still have)
8. Easiest person to buy for? Mackenzee
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Several- I've started to collect them
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mine have already been sent out in the mail.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? ???
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Polar Express
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? August
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes
5. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? mom's sticky buns
16. Lights on the tree? Yes, it's pre-lit
17. Favorite Christmas song? When Christmas Comes To Town
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Home
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? yes
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? neither..no room because my tree is too tall
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? We open pajamas on Christmas Eve and everything else on Christmas morning.
22. Favorite Christmas Tradition? Christmas jammies
23. Favorite ornament, theme or color? I love gold on my tree with dots of red in there too.
24. Favorite Christmas dinner? Whatever it is that I haven't had to cook. :0)
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? world peace. :0) Oh wait...how about that my house sells, that the housing market will pick back up, that I will get through school in one piece because I'll falling apart with that one, and perhaps some rammekins so that I can make individual molten lava cakes. :0)

You guys want to play along? It's a tag...and so since you read all the way through mine consider yourself tagged! :0)

Further quirkiness revealed

I did this tag back in February, but just got tagged with it again and figured...why not? I freakish enough that I always have quirks that people find odd. :0) For the original quirky tag post go here...

http://random-ashlee.blogspot.com/2008/02/me-quirky-not-even.html

As for now...off I go. This is a tag where you name 6 non-important quirks you have. Though all of MY quirks are WAY important...

1. My "getting ready" rituals must be done in the same order. When I shower, it is shampoo and conditioner and THEN soap. It cannot be the other way around. Also, the hair must be done before the make-up is put on. AND...teeth must be brushed prior to putting on make-up.

2. I hate to drink milk. I can't do it. I even tried to last week, but it was SO gross! I can use it for cereal and for baking...and love chocolate milk...but I can't drink just a plain old glass of milk.

3. I buy my Christmas presents MONTHS early. In fact, I have all but one Christmas present purchased for this year. I know what is coming and try to get it out of the way before the season starts and gets hectic. In fact, I usually have my Christmas cards all done and ready to mail out on December 1. Another thing on the list to get checked off quickly. I know...I'm a freak.

4. I hate wearing socks. I can hardly stand it. My feet get claustrophobic if I wear them for too long.

5. Purple is my least favorite color. For those of you that like it...please skip this next part so I do not offend you...


It is UGLY! I'm not talking plum or even lavendar. Those I can handle. But purple...like the purple crayon in the crayon box....so not a good color.

I told you purple-lovers not to read that part! :0)

6. It drives me crazy when people say words wrong. Like "crick" instead of "creek", and "fustrating" instead of "frustrating", and "warsh" instead of "wash". Holy cow! Enunciation people! Ok....so I know some of it has to do with where you live and it's an accent. But I notice it...and I can't help it. I had a friend from the Midwest who always said "beg" instead of "bag". What? Sigh....

So there you have it. Further quirkiness revealed. I'm sure I've lost at least a few friends who are now so scared of me they would rather just stay away. It's ok...I understand. I scare myself sometimes. :0)

Thanks Jamee for the tag! If any of you are wanting to play along, consider yourself tagged!

Go team!

I'm it!

Since I love her the mostest {check out her comment counter.....I'm totally #1!!!!}, I am playing a game of tag with dear Momma Mary. And you all wanted to know this stuff anyway....so here goes!

What was I doing ten years ago?
If you really must know....I was trying to "find" myself. Summer of 1998 was not one of my best times. Did I find myself? Not for a very long time. Sigh. That's ok. Sometimes it takes some of us a little longer than others to figure things out. :0) I was living in Logan, UT....working at Pizza Hut as a dough master and Angie's Restaurant as a hostess. I would work from 5:45 am to 2:00 at Angie's and then from 3:00 to 9:00 at the Hut. I lived with my friend, Jenn, and a couple of other wierd roommates. Good times.....

5 Thing on my to-do list today:
Well, seeing as how the day is half over...I've already done some of the things on my "list". So, for the rest of the day...my goals are to:
1. Take a shower {yes, I haven't gotten one in yet}
2. Do homework
3. Clean house
4. Cook dinner
5. Do homework

Did I mention I needed to do some homework? Yeah....it's never ending....

Snacks I enjoy:
Wow...what don't I enjoy? :0)
I loves me some grape Laffy Taffy. The green ones are fabulous too. Chocolate chip cookies are hard to resist. Especially if they have semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips in them. Twix candy bars are great....Skittles are yummy....I snack on bananas a lot....Those Special K Strawberry bars are delicious! Sour patch kids are naughty yummy too. :0)

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
What a deep question.....
First...obviously...pay bills. Boring, I know...but it needs to be done! :0)
Then...even though we already have two houses {one of which refuses to sell!}, I would buy a big house and hire a maid to clean it for me. But I wouldn't make her wear one of those maid outfits...because I'm nice like that. I would also pay off my mommy's house....because I love her. And then I'd buy houses or pay off houses for my siblings. Why not? I'm a freaking billionaire! I don't think I would buy fancy cars...maybe the hubby might for himself...in fact, I know he'd buy himself a truck. He wants one bad. But, gas is a billion dollars a gallon, so his nice compact car is perfect for the million miles he drives for work. :0) My car is cute...I would want to keep it. :0) I'd obviously have to pay a million in tithing....gotta give the Lord my tenth! :0) And then I think I'd go on a vacation. Or two. Jaysen needs one. Badly. A tour of Europe sounds wonderful. And after investing a lot of money so that it would last FOREVER, I would use oodles to fix up the Valley House here in town...make it bigger and better. And the Pregnancy Crisis Center here too. There are a lot of charity organizations that help out a lot of women and children who are running away from abusive situations. I totally want to help that cause. Oh...and I'd buy shoes. Lots and lots of shoes. :0)

Places I have lived:
Well, if you followed my Flashback Friday posts...you already know most of the places I've lived. But, if not...I'll share!
Twin Falls, ID
West Jordan, UT
South Padre Island, TX
Port Isabel, TX
Los Fresnos, TX
Brownsville, TX
Combes, TX
Harlingen, TX
Hagerman, ID
Buhl, ID
Logan, UT
Twin Falls, ID
Buhl, ID
Twin Falls, ID

I have moved 27 times in 29 years. Why? It's a sickness. I prefer that it stops here...but who knows what the future will bring.

Person I'm tagging:
Let's see.......
Montay, because according to MY comment counter, she loves ME the mostest :0)
If any of you others would like to join in....please do so!

More tagging...

Because I know you ALL want to know more about me, and obviously Shannon does because she tagged me, I am playing along. :0)





Ashlee's Top 5 Favorites





Five places to visit before I die:


Paris, Rome, Ireland, New York, Australia





Five Salad Toppings:


peas, cucumber, carrot, grape tomato, dressing {duh!}





Five Fiction Books:


Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse {:0)}


Kingdom and the Crown Series


{that's a total of six books people!}





Five Favorite Shoes:



Jaysen got these for me for Christmas several years back and they are still my favorite. I wished for them longingly as we went Christmas shopping and he went back and got them for me. Such a good guy!









I have worn these shoes so much they just need to go in the garbage. I've only had them for one year, but they are so comfy. They look really cute with my jeans too. But, if you look closely at the toe, you can see the color has faded....yeah....I just can't part with them though. :0)










These are just cute. How can I not love them?












Sassy flip flops...I have a few pairs. Perfect for the summertime, which better be right around the corner. I'm soooo ready!









Wait...what's that? That's only four pairs of shoes and you know I have over 40? My most favoritest pair of shoes are.....{drumroll} NONE! I'd rather go barefoot. If I could get away with it {and I knew the floors everywhere were clean} I'd go without shoes every day. I don't like my feet to be confined. In fact, I haven't worn socks {Except to go bowling} for over a year. I wear shoes that don't require socks so I don't have to. I can't handle it. Sweaty feet...yuck!

Five Hobbies:


Photography, Scrapbooking, eating, reading, baking :0)





Five people to tag:


This is hard for me because I just tagged a whole bunch of people...
But I will tag
Sassy
Honey Bunch {they count as two right?}
Holly
Bonnie B.
Rachelle

Have fun all of you! :0) Can't wait to hear about your shoes! :0)

Me from A to Z

Me from A to Z
Yes....it's another game of tag...play along won't you?

A:Attached or single: Very attached...but not at the hip. :0)
B:Best friend(s): hubby and kids
C:Cake or Pie: cake? yes please!
D:Day of choice: I love Saturdays! The hubby is home all day!
E:Essential Item: for what? I have a lot of essentials....
F:Favorite Color: Brown.
G:Gummi Bears or Worms: Neither...what about Sour Patch Kids? My favorite!
H:Hometown: I'm an Idaho girl through and through.....
I:Indulgence(s): too many desserts! I can't help myself! Though if I were truly to indulge myself I would have a very LONG day at the spa...massage, pedicure, manicure...that would be great!
J:January or July: July...no snow!
K:Kids: Two kids that are WAY cuter than anyone else's!
L:Life is incomplete without: my family
M:Marriage Date: May 15
N:Number of siblings: 2 sisters and a brother
O:Oranges or Apples: That really depends on my mood. I usually eat more apples though
P:Phobias or fears: Harm coming to my family
Q:Quote(s): "Laugh until your cheeks hurt"
R:Reason To Smile: too many to list
S:Season: Probably fall, love it when it gets a little chilly and holidays are coming up
T:Tag: Everyone! And you all better play OR ELSE!
U:Unknown Fact about Me: Haven't I revealed everything already?
V:Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: I'm an oppressor of animals, me like meat.
W:Worst Habit: chewing the inside of my cheek
X:X-rays or Ultrasounds: well, ultrasounds are usually to offer exciting news like with babies, so I'll pick that one
Y:Your favorite Food: pasta, dessert
Z:Zodiac: Cancer

Now you know...and knowing is half the battle! :0)

Me? Quirky? Not even.

I been tagged yet again. I'm hoping this means I'm popular. It probably doesn't though. Oh well.

6 quirks about me
The Six Quirks
1) Post the rules on your blog.
2) Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
3) Tag at least three people at the end of your post.
4) Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
5) Let the fun begin!

Ok, so here we go!

1. Skittles have to be eaten in a certain order. Yellow, Green, Orange, Red, and then Purple. It must be done this way. I save the best for last. It's the same with any fruit flavored candies.
2. Food cannot touch on my plate. Each item has to have it's own little section on the plate and the items cannot touch each other. The flavors will mix and ruin the whole thing. Flavors should not mix. Sweet and savory do not belong together. {think syrup and eggs} I would rather go for seconds to prevent touching.
3. I'm not this way anymore, but for years I hated having people hear me play the piano. Jaysen didn't hear me play the piano until we had been married for over a year. I played when he was gone. Then I was called to be the Ward Choir Pianist and it was all over. Everybody heard me play. Now it's not so much of an issue, but it was for a long time.
4. I refuse to make a left hand turn on Blue Lakes Blvd. {busy street in town} I would rather make four right hand turns. I have numerous times. I got into a car accident by making a left hand turn out of the Fred Meyer parking lot when Landon was 2 1/2 and since then...no siree. No left hand turns for me. When Jaysen does it, I freak out. I try to be quiet about it though. Not everyone is disturbed like me. :0)
5. I chew on the inside of my cheek. I have since I was about 14 or 15. I don't know why I started doing it. Out of nervousness I'm sure. I've tried to make myself stop, because I hate it, but I unconsciously do it. I won't even realize it. Sigh. Oh well.
6. I honestly can't think of anything else that I haven't already posted about. I know I'm a really quirky person, so there's probably tons of things you guys laugh at me about, but it's all quite normal to me! :0) You can refer to my previous posts about this for further reference of my quirkiness here, here and especially here.

{Afterthought here....I don't know if this is a quirk or just a bother for me...but all you "lurkers" that don't leave me comments....kind of annoying. Are you peeping toms? You like to look and lurk and then run away? You know who you are! I had 39 people look at this blog yesterday and about 6 comments. Quite the difference there. And some of my family members are SOOOO guilty of this. Only Crystal gets a free pass. Even if you don't have something to say, just say hi and that you dropped by. I love new friends. Ok...I'm done with that FOR NOW! I hope you've all learned your lesson!}

I guess I'm supposed to tag people now...I feel like I've already tagged everyone....
But, I'll tag:
1. Christie
2. Katie
3. Jane

And anyone else that feels like revealing their own dark little quirky secrets...go for it. It will make the rest of us feel better. :0)

Picture Tag

Yes, it's another game of tag. Though I chose to participate in this one, because I love browsing through old pictures and reminiscing. :0) My friend Alicia did one on her blog. The rules of this tag are simple. Pick 5 of your favorite pictures and explain why.
Now, when I say "simple", I mean that it's easy to understand the rules. Picking ONLY 5 pictures is a lot harder than it sounds. So, I stuck with my immediate family because there are far too many pictures in my digital collection to choose just 5. I love to take pictures and have captured so many wonderful memories over the last 10 years. How could I pick just 5?
So, with that said, here are 5 of my favorite pictures of my immediate family.

This picture always makes me laugh. When I saw this shirt in the store I couldn't NOT buy it. My son is so obsessed with video games that at one point we told him we threw away the Playstation. This picture was taken 2 years ago when it got really bad. He's so much better now with it, and even Santa thought so. He brought Landon a Wii. So far so good.....keep your fingers crossed.
I love this picture because it's one of the few that I have of me with the two of them. It was taken Mother's Day last year. You know...back when I was still blonde. :0) I wish I had more pics of the three of us, because I LOVE being a mommy, but I'm usually the one behind the camera. Don't worry though...I'll get another one this Mother's Day.
This is one of my MOST favorite pictures of Kenzee. Jaysen and I set up a little photo shoot of Kenzee when she was 5 months old. I have a picture of Landon sitting with his white blanket when he was about 8 months old and it's one of my favorite. Unfortunately that was back before I had a digital camera, so I can't share it with you. BUT, I knew I wanted to do the set up again with Kenzee. Just simple. My baby, surrounded by white. Innocent, pure, beautiful.
Every time I see this picture I get a little weepy. Kenzee was so unhappy as a baby due to her reflux. She just cried all the time. Bedtime was especially hard. She was so tired, but still hurting so falling asleep was hard for her. Jaysen was the only one that could put her to sleep. If he held her just like this and walked up and down the hall, she would eventually fall asleep. If it was me that did the exact same thing, it wouldn't work. It had to be her daddy. Every night.
And finally, this one. I scanned this picture into my computer a couple of years back for a project I was working on. This is my baby Landon. He was 18 months in this picture. Not too many months later was when our world completely changed and he never failed to be there with big hugs and kisses. He was such a good kid. I don't know if I took care of him more, or if it was the other way around. He has such a big piece of my heart because of our "together" years. Our bond is even tighter than just the normal mother/son relationship because of it. I'm a sucker for him...I think he knows it too.

So, there are my five. I won't tag anyone particular, but feel free to post your fav 5 too! I'd love to see them!

Tag! You're It!

I was tagged by my friend Alicia (check out her blog) and so now I'm it. Here's the game....

Instructions: Go back through your archives and post the links to your five favorite blog posts that you’ve written under the following categories:

Remember though that I have three blogs, so the links might take you to a different blog of mine. :0)

#1 (click on link to get to post)
Family
I love little moments like this. Just a quiet Sunday morning of family fun. I love that my kids enjoy each other so much, and that my hubby is a BIG kid that plays with them. Love it!

#2 Friends
This was such a fun night. The only downer was that we couldn't invite more people over. We start the basement on Monday and so all of you beware! There will be more parties to come...bigger and better! I love having friends over. Chatting and eating, getting to know each other better. And the fact that you all came in costume to humor me...even better!

#3 Who Am I?
I think that explains it. I am a mom, sister, daughter, wife, aunt, cousin, friend...you get the idea. I love to have people around me. They make me a better person. Wow, it's getting deep in here!

#4 What I Love!
I know that I just posted this one...but seriously, it explains it all. The shoes, the food, the scrapbooking, reading, movies, 80s, music, blah, blah, blah.....

#5 Freestyle Blogging! (Blog of choice)
I get tease relentlessly by SOME people about my blogging habits. So, this blog explains it all. It's not necessarily my "favorite" post of all times, there are too many of those to pick just one. Like this one, or how about this one, or even this one. Good times.....

So, thanks Alicia...what a fun trip down memory lane. But as part of the rules, since I am "it" it's my turn to tag others. And apparently I have to pick three of you....so....(drumroll please)

1. Bonnie (newer blogger)
2. Sisters of a Different Order...(Sassy or Honey Bunch, both or either of you!)
3. Bridget (A Day In A Life...)

So, get to it! I had so much fun with this and am looking forward to seeing what you guys come up with for your favorite posts. Happy blogging!