Oh Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy!!!!

The big wedding is THIS weekend! Lily will be the flower girl, and Lars and Luke will be junior groomsmen (wearing TUXEDOS!). We fly south tomorrow, and we are all VERY excited. We've never left town and missed actual school days before, and this will be the first wedding for our kids to even attend, much less have a role. I'm looking forward to the wedding, of course, but also to a mini-vacation! And Michelle, I ran out today and purchased Leif Enger's new book and can hardly wait to crack it open once we get settled at the airport!! Maybe I'll start it on the car ride to the airport.....or, if I got everything crossed off the list tonight, I could just peek at it before bed....

I'm going to try to post while we're there, but I'm not all that savvy with any computer that isn't my own. I'm a little spoiled here with my pretty little iMac.

As I was making lists and realizing how little time is left yesterday, I found myself getting all "emo," as Lars would put it. I was paralyzed by my overwhelmed-ness, and got nothing almost done as a result. With all my thinking it to death, I think I've boiled it down to two things:

**1**It's been a long time since I've been involved in a wedding, like 15 years or so, back when we and most of our friends were getting married. And back then, I was so young, self-centered, and oblivious, it didn't occur to me--the big-ness of the promises, the beginning of a new family, the start of this fabulous adventure. I mean, I thought I did at the time, but I didn't. This time around, it's hitting me. And I'm so filled with hope or longing or something for our niece Joy and her soon-to-be husband. Marriage is a big deal, it's a great, wonderful, beautiful, big deal.

**2**I'm trying really hard not to forget anything important that would have an impact on the wedding. I don't want to leave a footprint, if you will. I just want our family to be a blessing to Joy et all, and want my children to look and act perfectly the entire time we're there...no problem. Well, it's good to verbalize your expectations, right?

Reflecting....

Hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day, and that somewhere in the smoke from the grill and the spray from the sprinkler you got a chance to reflect on what a privilege is it to live here and the great things so many people have done so we could enjoy our bbq's and friends. Time of confession, we forgot to put our flag out yesterday. Doh! Well, it's flying today.

Didn't get around to posting yesterday, either. Maybe I'll post twice today! I guess today is make-up day. Makes me wonder how I'll do with this blogging business over the summer. Having the kids home doesn't throw me off too much, but when Scott is home too, the regular groove goes out the window. And he is home a lot in the summer.

On the one hand, I consider establishing a routine, and being very disciplined in following it. On the other, I think, "it's summer!" Every year that we are still both home in the summer, I realize it could be our last one. Each summer is a gift. When and if a day comes that he has a different job that requires him to work summers, or I have a job that doesn't follow a school calendar, would I really look back and wish I/we had been more scheduled? More disciplined?

Nope.

But I'll figure out a way to be a good blogger and relish the summer at the same time.

Proud Mama

I try hard not to make myself or my kids seem like we're wonderful and picture-perfect on this here blog. I'm trying to go for authenticity. And now I'm gonna' be really authentic, just let it all out and tell you how wonderful I think my son is. No holds barred. Because he's such a blessing! I would just like to brag about Luke for a minute. He's our middle child, the one the books make me feel like I have the biggest potential of screwing up. I gotta' tell you, though, he's growing up to be such a nice kid. He just finished his soccer season up. We always love watching him play, he's very intense and competitive, puts all he's got into the game.

Last night, he performed in the 2nd and 3rd grade musical at school, where he auditioned for and won a role with a solo! And he did magnificently. He was very nervous, and just so cute I couldn't stand it. And I sat in my chair in the second row just beaming. Luke is also getting into some poetry writing at school, and here's his latest poem:

When I am by myself
I am a tiger sprinting
I am a soccer ball charging the goal
I am a pro skater going on tours
I am a owl howling at night
I am a son of a soccer player
I am a loving boy
I am a frog snatching a fly
I am a apple in the fruit bowl
I am a thankful boy to my friends
I am a lens in my glasses
I am a guitar rocking the world
I am a basketball flying to the net
I am a Ferrari racing in the wind
I am a blanket wrapping myself around you
I am Luke

Thanks for listening. I'll only do this sort of thing every once in a while. :)

A New Book...to me, anyway...

I started reading "Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith." It's an investigative look at a 1984 double murder committed by two brothers who believed they were ordered to kill by God...they grew up in a Mormon home, and somehow as Jon Krakauer will tell the story, there is a connection to the FLDS, the Fundamentalist Mormons who were raided in Texas a few weeks ago.

We've had this book in our home for about a year now. I picked it up at a used book sale, and Scott read/skimmed most of it. I decided to read it now because of the news tories about these people in Texas and because Oprah had a show about them recently. I remembered we had this book, so found it and started it the other night. It is really disturbing, how sick and twisted the thinking is in the FLDS. They have "compounds" or whole towns, basically, in Arizona, Utah, Texas, and Canada.

This business of plural marriages--young, young girls being "married" to men twice, or three times their age--it's commonplace for them. It's just the way they live, the life they've been born into. I woke up in the middle of the night with some tummy trouble, and I first thought through everything I had eaten during the day, and then thought of the book I was reading right before bed and thought maybe the stories of these people had literally made me sick to my stomach.

So, I'm early into the book, but here's a couple of things that made me go Wow! out loud as I was reading:

Polygamy is illegal in both Utah and Arizona. To avoid prosecution, typically men in Colorado City [one of the towns they pretty much own in AZ] will legally marry only the first of their wives; subsequent wives, although 'spiritually married' to their husband by Uncle Rulon [the leader...father of Warren Jeffs], thus remain single mothers in the eyes of the state. This has the added benefit of allowing the enormous families in town to qualify for welfare and other forms of public assistance. Despite the fact that Uncle Rulon and his followers regard the governments of Utah, Arizona, and the United States as Satanic forces out to destroy [them], their polygamous community receives more than $6 million a year in public funds....33% of the town's residents receive food stamps--compared to the state average of 4.7%. Currently the residents of Colorado City receive 8 dollars in government services for every dollar they pay in taxes; by comparison, residents in the rest of Mohave County, AZ, receive just over a dollar in services per tax dollar paid....Fundamentalists call defrauding the government 'bleeding the beast' and regard it as a virtuous act.

and:

For all their fecundity, Mormon Fundamentalists are strangely squeamish about sex. Boys and girls are forbidden to date, or even flirt, before marriage. Sex education consists of teaching children that the human body is a shameful vessel that should be veiled from the eyes of others at all times....In spite of--or more likely because of--the atmosphere of repression in Bountiful [the town in Canada], incest and other disturbing behaviors are rampant, although the abuse goes conspicuously unacknowledged....because the mayor, the police, and the judge in Colorado City are themselves polygamists who are absolutely obedient to the prophet, there is 'nowhere' for victims of abuse to turn.

I can't believe that what I'm reading about is something that is happening right now, today, in our country. I'm not sure what to do about it. Religious freedom is one thing, but these folks are involved in criminal activity.

You're Welcome Here

Our house was built long before the concept of a mud room came about. Or, maybe that's a very old idea, but at any rate, we don't have one. We and any who enter our house come in through the front door, and there's no place to hide the coats, jackets, shoes, hats, mittens, backpacks, keys, mail, or anything else you may have in hand.

Years ago, we purchased this little shoe cubby thing, and a handy shelf with hooks that hangs above it. It is the first thing to welcome you into our home. Because the hooks are too tall for young ones, we hung a row of pegs over on the other side of the entry, for the kids to hang their coats on. I have tried to provide a place for the things, and a system for my kids to follow when they walk in the door. Shoes in a cubby, hats, mittens (when they're in need) and backpacks in the basket or on a tall hook, depending on who you are and how tall you are. I have clearly verbalized my intentions--at least a thousand times. I would like us to welcome folks with a doorway they can actually walk through, not a pile of whatever everyone had on them or in their hands when they walked in.

You know that definition of insanity, "to repeat the same actions and yet expect a different result..." It's funny here in the land of momming. You just kind of keep doing things, or saying things, over and over again, not realizing how it's draining the life right out of you and your relationships. I don't want the bulk of my conversations with my kids to be about picking up their stuff, or cleaning up, or the condition of the house at all. I want us all to have the same attitude, that this house of ours is a nice place to be, and we all need to do our part to keep it that way. I don't want to have the kind of relationship with my family where I'm like the clean-house Police. I'd like to spend my time talking to my kids about things much more interesting than the house...like how their day went, their friends, their dreams and frustrations. And I have verbalized this expectation as well.

But it occurred to me last night that I remind two of my children in particular to pick up their junk DAILY, if not SEVERAL times a day. I just realized yesterday that I keep saying it, and expecting a different result. So, we're making a change round these parts!! Apparently, they don't mind hearing the same things come out of my mouth day after day. I need to give them a little incentive to notice the debris themselves and not be reminded by me. Ah Hah!

I announced the new plan this morning. I decided that the real cause of the problem is hurrying in and out of the door. Being in a big rush to play with someone outside, or do the next thing, whatever that may be. So starting today, if I have to remind you to hang/pick up your stuff, you will spend 10 minutes doing nothing on the couch. Luke was aghast. "TEN MINUTES!?!" "Doing NOTHING??!" You got it baby. He decided that yeah, it would only take about 5 seconds to put everything in its place properly, and that wouldn't be costly. But those 10 minutes could be tragic. Hee hee.

And what about me spending a few minutes quietly in meditation with God? "TEN MINUTES?!?"
Hmmm.
I love the way God teaches me through this job He's given me.

What's the Deal?

Things are changing. I guess they're always changing, and that's probably good. But it seems in my little world that no one is volunteering for anything these days. We get desperate email appeals from the PTA at school asking for volunteers from helping with specific events to taking an officer position. I was talking to a friend from a different school, and same story there. The ministries at church are recruiting, too, always in need of more folks to step up and serve.

Has it always been this way? Do people have less time now? Are these institutions that count so heavily on volunteers becoming irrelevant? The rule of 20% of the people doing 80% of the work seems to be changing to 10% of the people doing 95% of the work. The "inner circle" of people pitching in gets smaller and smaller, rather than growing.

Is this a problem, or just the beginning of a transition to a new season, where things get accomplished differently? It's discouraging to watch it happen, and yet, each of us is limited as to how much we can do. Are people in my generation selfish and entitled, and in need of a wake-up call--having a few things disappear, or organizations just dissolving--in order for them to realize it can't go on indefinitely without some help?

Julie in Wonderland....

Late post today, because I went on a field trip this morning with Lars' class.

I think that may be my last 6th grade field trip. Shheeesh! It was not pleasant. A 25-minute bus ride with 65 or so 11 and 12 year-olds. They can't bear to just sit quietly if they have nothing to say, so they call out everything they see. "Walmart!" "Let's go to Walmart!" "Shell Gas!" "Let's get some gas!" Such clever creatures. Have they never been out before?

The bus deposited us at a theatre where we saw an abbreviated version of the musical Alice in Wonderland, which I think is probably kind of a weird show anyway, but with 4 scenes cut out of it, one seriously could not follow the story.

The boy sitting two people away from me got sick in the middle of the performance, and that was a new experience for me. One I can cross off the list, done that, don't ever need to do that again. It was very stinky, as I'm sure you can imagine, and then the janitor came and poured some of that stuff on the yuk. The smell took me back in time, to third grade when JOnathan S. threw up in class. Awful. And the poor kid! And all these goofy, squirrely 6th graders making a big scene....

The show was followed by another long bus ride, where the poor ill boy couldn't quite make it off the bus in time, and was scrunched up, heaving, on the grass as 400 of his classmates walked by on their way into the building. Being respectful and sympathetic, of course.

It actually took me a few minutes of sitting in silence when I got home to decompress.

I love my 6th grader, but there definitely is a middle-school season. Where he is obnoxious, and loves to irritate other people. Either that, or he retreats into some other world, reading or watching a screen....This is Lars at our Mother's Day Brunch. Once his belly was full, he got back to his book. I know some would get mad about something like this. He did miss out on connecting with his extended family that afternoon. But I remember wanting to do nothing but read my book. (just yesterday! ha!)

Soap Box

My friend Jen spent some time trying to post a comment here on yesterday's post, and was never able to do it. I don't know why that happens sometimes. Kris can't ever seem to post a comment, either, unless she posts it anonymously and then signs her name....If you have tried to comment and can't, try doing it the way Kris does, because I would love to hear what you've got to say!

Here's what Jen wanted to post (she emailed it to me):
This whole expectation of happiness has really created problems for our society - hasn't it? I read/heard somewhere that expecting consistent happiness is a relatively new concept. People never used to have time to think about whether they were happy or not - they were too busy trying to survive. Want the real secret to happiness in this life? Be happy with what you have. Wow. That's deep. That, and have common sense enough to ignore the Harvard-trained-brain-trusts that are stupid enough to actually spend money and time trying to come up with a formula to measure "happiness". Give me a break.

Have a good day!
Jen

What about happiness? Is it a new, western concept--kind of the idea of privacy? Just who do we think we are? I think we need to get over ourselves! This life is "but a breath." It is a reflection of what is to come. Let's not let it slip away focusing on what makes us happy, or how to keep our secrets secret....This leads to more of the surrendering our selves discussion. Living here and now where we do, it's a hard thing to do! We have to do it over and over again. Jesus said we'd have to do it every day, but I find I need to do it about every 20 minutes or so.

You don't know how long (or short) your "breath" is going to be. Jen has it right, be grateful for what you have. Live each day like it's a day that matters. What are the gifts and dreams that God has put in my heart? What am I doing with them?

OK, I'll stop ranting.

Wanna' Know What Makes me Happy?

Spring springing! A few more of the anenomes are open...

Dinnertime Again

Time for another installment from the book I'm reading, The Surprising Power of Family Meals, by Miriam Weinstein. Actually, my thoughts come from reading this book, and from a post by Beck yesterday about two recent studies showing that adults who have children are less "happy" than those who don't. They say "parenting doesn't lead to joy." Whatever/however "they" define happiness. As if one can even compare the life of a parent to the life of a non-parent. Blech. For being the educated elite in this country, sometimes I think those Harvard researchers are complete idiots.

But, I do wonder, are there ways of parenting that produce more happiness, I mean, can we do it better? Consider this quote from Miriam Weinstein:

According to researchers at the University of Michigan, in 1981 the average child could count 40% of his day's activities as discretionary. By 1997, that had dropped to 25%. In the same period, the amount of time spent on eating declined about 20% on weekdays. Did children learn to eat faster? Or did we just spend less time sitting around together at the table?

[Teresa] Arendell [a sociologist studying middle-class mothers in CA] explains that intensive parenting is now the norm. 'Good childhoods are intended not only to secure children's immediate psychological well-being and growth. They also aim to prepare children for their future roles as adults....Steady involvement in organized enrichment activities enhances and secures children's individual cultural capital, readying them for participation in select strata of adult life.' Or, as we all know, a child who doesn't play soccer, study oboe, and work at the soup kitchen, preferably all on the same day, can just kiss Harvard good-bye....

It's about parents investing in their children so the children can be worth more. But are we so obsessed with our narrow, anxious view of our children's future that we throw away the riches we can offer now?"

Yeah, well, if my kids can't get into Harvard to help produce ridiculous studies like the one referenced above, that's OK by me. It's always a tricky balance, figuring out how much to throw the kids into, and how much to hold back. My gut first wants to cling them to me, and let them just be children longer. Do they really need to have so much scheduled time? On the other hand, my children do have interests, and it's part of my responsibility as a mom to provide opportunities to pursue them, right?

Remember the 1989 movie, "Parenthood," with Steve Martin and a slew of other people in it? He had a niece who, at 4 years old was learning a bunch of different languages, and how to play a musical instrument, as well as the elements of the periodic table...While Steve Martin's 4-year-old was wandering around the house with a bucket on his head, banging into walls, singing the "Diarrhea Song". You gotta' love the kid with the bucket. But you may recall from the movie, both sets of parents are uneasy with how they're doing the parenting thing. It takes Steve Martin the whole movie to figure out how to be at peace with this execution of the role of fatherhood. Maybe that explains the Harvard study....Do you have to be confident in how you're parenting in order to be "happy"?

We do have riches to offer our children right now. Time spent eating together, just being our family, who we are, together, without pressure of performance, is so incredibly valuable. This actually does make us happy. Adults and children. Not that I'm totally convinced that "happiness" is the end-all. But dinner together has lost its place of importance in American families. Activities are often scheduled at dinnertime! I want to push back, and reclaim that time. Will this cause a problem when it's time to apply to colleges? Guess I'll have to cross that bridge when I get to it.

Mr. Golden Sun, Please Shine Down on Me

We have this pile of anenomes (?) growing right outside our front door. They're cute little white flowers with a yellow center, just what I would draw if you asked me to make a flower... They are just about to pop. A couple of them have opened up, but they're bent down. I'm waiting for the morning when they're all open and proud, and I keep looking out to see if it's happened yet. We had a rainy, cloudy, kind of cruddy weekend in the weather department. This morning, though it's still a little chilly, the sun is shining brightly. So I told these little flowers to look up! Let the sun shine on your face! I want to see them all pretty and white, but they're holding out. Not quite ready.


Except for this one....
Isn't it pretty? Tell your neighbors, little flower, how good it feels to bask in the warmth of the sun. I'm not a gardener, I know close to nothing about plants and their ways. But I just love this season of green things coming back up, and the pop of color from the flowers. As I watch with anticipation this spring, I can imagine God watching us from heaven, waiting for us to just look up! And tell everyone around us all about it. Can you picture it?

Look up into the heavens.
Who created all the stars?
He brings them out like an army, one after another,
calling each by its name.
Because of his great power and incomparable strength,
not a single one is missing.
O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles?
O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?
Have you never heard?
Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:26-31

Friday Means Plumb

So, off you go now, go see what I posted over there.....

Out of the Mouths of Moms

I can't believe the things I say in my role as a mom sometimes. It's always frightening when things fly out of my mouth that my own parents used to say to me and made my eyes roll into the back of my head. (one of my old faves..."we're starting to see a pattern in your behavior..." ugh. And I have said that to my children!!) So disappointing.

Today is Bedtime Day for Lily's class. It's B day for the ABC countdown to the end of the year. She's been so looking forward to this day, when she can bring Mr. Cuggle Wuggles to school and wear her pajamas. I had a sneaking suspicion that she was hoping to wear her Cinderella nightgown, which is sleeveless, silky, and wholly inappropriate for school. But I waited it out, and this morning, she proved me right, and we had all the elements in place for a battle of the wills. Just exactly the way I want her day to start.

I tried to end it before it began by reminding her that I am the mom, and if we need to fight about this, we'll just skip pajamas altogether and wear regular clothes. That helped, and Lily resorted to crying that she didn't want to wear the other pajamas (that cover her bum and are just cute). I explained that I understood she didn't want to, but we don't always get everything we want. And then I did it. I said this stupid thing. Not one of my parents old phrases reused, my own, but WHY did I say it? Almost as soon as it came out I was wincing and shaking my head. I said, "We are not going to school dressed like a hoochy mama in first grade."

Mothering at its finest. How long before I get a call from the teacher saying that Lily called someone a hoochy mama? Can't wait.

I Want to Know You

We made a family outing to a book-signing last week at a local bookstore. Lars has read all of the Fablehaven books (there are three so far), and was very excited to go meet the author, Brandon Mull. He actually was at the same bookstore in the fall, and we went then to get the first book signed, before Lars had really gotten into them. Brandon Mull is very patient, talks to every person in line, asks questions of the kids who are standing there awestruck, and answers any questions his young fans may have for him. The line was long! And he made it worth it to have waited all that time.

It was cool for Lars to have a second chance to meet this author, to have enthusiasm and be able to take advantage of the opportunity to converse with him. And the real thrill this second time around? Brandon Mull said to Lars, "I've met you before, Lars, haven't I?" Well, Lars just couldn't get over that. "He knew me, mom! That is the sign of a really good author." Mm-hmm. I snapped a pic, of course. My happy boy, with this favorite author.



Can you guess where I'm going to go with it? What a thrill it is to be sort-of known by someone big. We have a God who knows us! He knows our name! We aren't just somewhat familiar to him, He knows us. He longs to engage us, to make our time spent with Him worthwhile. And the beauty is we don't even have to stand in line. We don't have to read the Book first, we don't have to get ourselves in order before we can meet Him, we don't have to do it a certain way. How many chances do we get to converse with Him? The number goes to infinity and beyond, baby. That is, indeed, the sign of a really good author.

We Are Family....I Got All My Sisters...

A group of my friends and I have started doing a Bible study together on the book of Colossians. We've done a few studies together before, but it's been a while. Because one friend moved to Ohio, and another moved to Georgia. And there have been changes in schedules and life....But we've recently discovered a way to do it on-line! Our same old group! I'm really excited to see how it goes, and thrilled to be able to stay connected.

When reading one of those books that is a letter from Paul to the believers in one town or another, I usually skim right over the greeting. I'm looking to get into the substance of the missive. But I appreciated this study making us look closely at this greeting:
"This letter is from Paul, chosen by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy. It is written to God's holy people in the city of Colossae, who are faithful brothers and sisters in Christ. May God our Father give you grace and peace." (Colossians 1:1&2 NLT)

One of the questions the study asks is, "in the best of family relationships, how do brothers and sisters relate to each other?" Mmmm. I like this question. I think about how I instruct our kids to treat each other, how I want them to relate to each other. There are a couple of things I have said literally thousands of times to them: "we're all on the same team," and I remind them how blessed they are to have a brother, or a sister, or two brothers, as the case may be.

We are blessed to have been adopted into God's family, with all these brothers and sisters, all on the same team. We can have each other's backs, we can keep each other honest (you know siblings are great at that!), and we can encourage one another. Sure, it doesn't always go as beautifully as God's original design, because we're all imperfect. Are we seeing what a blessing this family can be? I know I skim over that....looking for the deeper stuff. What a mistake. It's good to slow down and I'm so thankful for y'all, my family!

What's For Dinner?

I'm reading a book about the power of eating dinner together as a family. I've only just started it, but WOW! This is such an important thing. I've always thought so, and it's something Scott and I decided we would do a long time ago, it just is the way we do life in our home. It's actually getting to be more and more fun, the older the kids get. Their observations of the world spill out on the dinner table, and we get to see into them.

What has surprised me though, is how important it is for families to eat together when the kids are older...teens. It makes sense, but I just hadn't gotten that far in my thinking about it ('cuz we aren't living there quite yet). Here's a quote:

"Just at the time when substance abuse rises, from ages twelve to seventeen, is the time when family dinners decline. When you look at high school juniors and seniors, only a third have dinner with their parents on a regular basis. It's easy to see how this comes about. older kids are busy, often tightly scheduled. In many ways, they are quite capable of being on their own, managing busy lives full of activities, jobs, schoolwork, and friends. It is easy to lose track of the fact that they still need the regular contact, the feeling that they are part of a group. They still need and crave adult guidance, even if they communicate the opposite....If we want our kids to lead healthier lives, we should eat with them more often. We should not give up our close contact, or underestimate our influence. And we should not pull back as they enter their teenage years....The meals...set the stage for the kinds of interaction we hope will happen between parents and teens. Parents are so important in their kids' lives. And supper is such an obvious place for kids to get regular access to parental presence and low-key attention."

There are just so many benefits to eating at home together...it improves both physical and emotional health for everyone at the table, not to mention the financial incentives. As the prices of everything keep creeping up, it really pays to plan out a week of dinners, and feed the family together at home. And the laughing! That's what has me hooked. We've got a funny table here at our joint.

T.G.I.F.

How can it already be Friday?!
Well, you know what Friday means, it's my day to post on Plumb.
Go read it!
And have a fantastic, restorative weekend.

Happy May Day!

My friend Yves says that in France, May Day is supposed to be the day that the Lilies of the Valley bloom. Alas, mine are not quite ready, so we'll have to be happy with daffodils and tulips. And, I am happy with them!

Today, I will play this game of tag with Michelle, who tagged me a few days ago. I don't think I can obey the rules completely, as I don't know 6 people who blog! I read some big blogs, where there are gobs of comments everyday, and the authors don't know who I am...sorry about that...And if you are someone I know and have a blog that I don't know about, comment me!

OK, so here are some Random things about me:

1. I'm kind of a foody wanna' be. I watch the Food Network, worked at a specialty grocery store in high school, and I love to cook, but I am a very picky eater. I don't like my foods to touch each other on the plate, and spicy food kills me. Even mildly spicy food. But I'll happily cook things for others to eat that I wouldn't. I also eat kind of weird. I'll pick which thing on my plate I think tastes best hottest, and eat all of that thing, and then on down the line. I don't do this on purpose, it just happens.

2. My brain remembers the first 3 digits of license plates and what kind of car people drive. I really don't do this on purpose, but that vital information is locked in there. Strange, I know. I'm also pretty good at remembering phone numbers without trying.

3. I have really bad vision. One optomotrist told me I'm legally blind (that is if I don't wear my glasses or contacts) but I don't know if that's true. My correction is -6 in one eye, and -6.5 in the other.

4. Our family hosted a Soup Night in our home for five years. Once a week, October through March, I made lots of soup, and there was an open invitation for folks to came and have dinner. We invited about 25 families, no rsvp, and it was great fun! (all 25 families didn't usually show up on the same night...)

5. I have been walking every day (about 20 minutes) since Spring Break ended, and refraining from eating after 7:30pm, and my jeans still fit the same! I'm seeing NO benefit. I'm a little crabby about it.

6. I have a bachelors degree in Sociology from North Park College (now University).

I shall now tag Matt, Heidi, and Sheila.

Here are the rules:

a. Link to the person who tagged you.
b. Post the rules on your blog.
c. Write six random things about yourself.
d. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
e. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment at their blog.
f. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.