3-13-05

1. I wish I had more __time to just goof off__.
2. I usually think about changing my blog layout when __the seasons change__.
3. If more people would be ___tolerant of others___, the world would be a better place.
4. I really should __clean my house__ more often.
5. The weather we're having right now is __way too cold for my taste. I'm ready for spring!__.
6. When it's time to plant a garden, I'd like to plant _large marigolds, sunflowers, cosmos, alyssum, and impatiens.  I can't wait for my lupines and purple coneflowers to start growing again!__.
7. When I'm running late, I sometimes forget to _comb my hair__.
8. When I can't think of anything to blog about, I usually _don't blog!_

3-7-05

1. What's on your refrigerator? (Please feel free to use a picture to answer.) Pic will be up eventually.  Lots of notes, coupons, photographs and other stuff we don't want to lose.  Too much junk, I think!
2. What color is your refrigerator? Biscuit
3. Is the freezer on the top, bottom or side? Freezer is on the top
4. How old is your fridge? Does it match your stove?   My fridge is only about 3 years old.  It was recently replaced.   Stove is about 2 years old.  Both are biscuit in color, but fridge is an Amana with the freezer on the top and the stove is a Frigidaire Gallery piece.
5. How regularly do you clean the inside of your fridge?  Not often enough!

2-27-05

1. What time is it right now? 8:33 pm
2. What are you usually doing at this time on any given day?
Probably down on my computer surfing the net!
3. Is there a day of the week that time seems to fly by faster than the other days?
There is no one certain day. If I have to work lots of hours, then those days fly by!
4. If you could make ONE hour of each day twice as long, which hour of the day would you choose? From 5-6am, so I wouldn't have to get up so early!
5. If you could make one DAY of the week twice as long, which day would you choose?
Saturday, so I had more time to play!
6. If you could make one hour and/or one day HALF as long, which time of the day, and which day of the week would you choose? My working hours!  LOL!
7. Do you agree with the following statement? "The older you get, the faster time goes by."
Definitely! My days all seem to FLY right by! Seems like a lifetime has gone by since I had my first kid.
8. What do you usually do during your "down time?"
Surf the net, play with my dog, read, play the piano, bake bread
9. What one thing do you spend more time doing each day than anything else?
I probably play on the computer more than I do housework.  Yeah, bad, I know!

2-20-05

This week, using the letters in your name (real or screen name), list places that you've been to. Be creative! Have fun! =)

D - Denmark, WI
A - Appleton, WI
W - Washington, DC
N - Newburg, WI

A - Abbotsford, WI
M - Madison, WI
S - Sheboygan, WI
U - Unity, WI
N - Niellsville, WI

amsun is the name I use if I want to be more anonymous.  LOL!  (morning sun.)

2-13-05

First of all, choose a letter of the alphabet. Now, choose a number 1-10.
... dark (though not as dark as December)
... dreary when the sun doesn't shine
... damp (sure is tonight.  Making taking the dog a special treat. not.)
... windy (making the rain and cold worse)
... rainy (is tonight, anyway)
... slippery when the wet stuff freezes
... soggy, when above freezing and raining
... miserable
... muddy (in some places)
Can you tell we are having "nice" weather tonight?  Not.

Got a letter? Got a number? Here's this week's challenge:
Using the letter you chose, write down _____ (number you chose) things that describe the current season where you live. (You don't necessarily have to begin each word with the letter you chose.) Also, if you chose a low number and would like to choose a higher one, feel free! =)

1. How many clocks (not watches) are in your home? How many of them are digital? How many do you really look at during the day?
10 clocks throughout my house/5 of them are digital
2. How many lamps (non-overhead lights) do you have in your home? What's your average wattage? Are any of them energy saver bulbs?
6-7 lamps. Some have energy saver bulbs. Some don't. 40-60 watt bulbs in the ones that aren't.
3. How many house plants do you have in your home? How many need more attention than you give them?
Just 1. I'm horrible with houseplants. Although, the peace lily in the living room has been alive since FIL's funeral in August of 2003. So, I have kept it alive for 1-1/2 years now. I would like to go buy myself another African violet, though. I just love them and used to have several, but then they all died on me.
4. How many photos/pictures/drawings/child's art are on your walls? How many from each of the four categories?
I don't have much art work on my walls. DH is a photographer, so you think we would have more! We do have a beautiful picture of a wild Lake Michigan, though and that is going to be going up in the living room as soon as it is framed.
5. About how many electric gadgets are in your kitchen? How many are used on a daily basis? How many are used occasionally? How many have been used once and stashed? How many have never been used?
Blender, mixer, crockpot, toaster oven. These all get used on a regular basis.

1-30-05

DVD's

1. Are you more likely to rent or buy DVD's? Why?
We tend to buy the DVDs we really like, so that we can watch them again and again! Otherwise, we rent movies that we didn't want to pay a movie-theater price for, since they are cheaper and one price for all 4 of us to watch.
2. If you rent DVD's, do you bother viewing the 'Behind the Scenes' or watching the entire movie again with commentary on?
I have never watched the whole movie with the commentary on. I have only watched parts of movies. We like watching the special features! That's what's great about DVDs
3. Do you think these features warrant the extra cost for DVD? (Afterall, we were able to buy new release VHS for $9.99 prior to DVD). Yes, I do. Sometimes, it's very insteresting and sometimes it's funny.
4. What's your favorite DVD (or VHS) in:
*Drama Mr. Holland's Opus (I loved band in high school!)
*Comedy Caddyshack
*Action Harry Potter (all of them!)
*Suspense/Thriller don't do these
*Horror don't do these, either! Yuck!
*Love Story Return to Me
*Cute Kid's Movie Monster's Inc, Shrek (all of them), Incredibles, Toy Story (all of them), Lilo and Stitch, and anything with a dog in it.

1-23-05

What do you think of when you see the following colors? (You may write as many words as you like.)

1. White: snow (11-14 inches yesterday!), vanilla ice cream, clean sheets, uniform pants and shoes
2. Yellow: sunlight, lemons, warm, bright, jaundiced (not pretty on a newborn baby!)
3. Blue: favorite color!, cool, relaxing, color of Lake Michigan on a clear day, odd color for food!
4. Black: dark, void of color (although it takes all colors to make black!), evil
5. Green: grass, spring, flowers coming up, leaves coming out, renewal, life, moist (sick of winter, can you tell?)
6. Red: warm, bright, sports car, Christmas, Valentine's Day, color of leaves on a maple tree
7. Purple: fun, royal, majestic, crocuses
8. Pink: pastel, Easter, color of my dog's healthy tongue, also Valentine's Day
9. Brown: dull, dark, devoid of life on a plant
10. Gray: dreary days, heavy clouds, dull, color of some of my hair!

1-16-05

Name your favorite...

1. Family Game - Chicken Soup for the Soul
2. Piece of Jewelry - my wedding ring
3. Winter Activity - throwing my dog's big red ball for her, since it rolls really fast because the ground is so hard and frozen!
4. Hot Beverage - a cup of apple cinnamon herbal tea
5. Quote - It's easy to play any musical instrument: all you have to do is touch the right key at the right time and the instrument will play itself.   --J.S. Bach
6. Color on You - baby blue
7. Summer Activity - walking my dog at Kohler Andrae State Park (and it's great that we got a park sticker for Christmas, too!)
8. Topping on Pancakes - real maple syrup
9. Musician - accomplished pianists, doesn't matter who. I enjoy them all!

1-9-04

1. My lucky number is _7_.
2. My favorite day of the week is _Saturday_ because _I get to sleep late_.
3. I spend about _2_ hours on the phone a week, and _1_ of those are long distance.
4. My favorite cereal is _something with cranberries in it_.
5. One hobby of mine is _surfing the net or knitting on occasion_.
6. I wish I could spend more time _taking my dog for walks_.
7. I wish I could spend less time _cleaning_.
8. I am really proud of my _kids_. They don't get into trouble and get good grades. I especially like then when they aren't fighting with each other!

1-2-05

Name...
1. The most exciting thing that happened in your life this past year.
Hmm, maybe my 12yo daughter having her appendix out on New Year's Eve?
2. Three resolutions that you've thought about making.
Losing weight.
Walking my dog more?
Keeping my house cleaner?
3. Your biggest accomplishment this past year.
Juggling my kids' schedules, my 2 jobs, kids' homework, teacher conferences, doctor appts. etc. and not screwing too much of it up!!
4. Your biggest challenge this past year.
Potty training Jasmine the dog! She was an older dog, but needed a remedial course in where to go potty after we adopted her in April! She hasn't had an accident in a long while now!
5. Something you tried for the first time (whether it be food, a sport, a hobby, etc.)
I took my dog, Jasmine, to obedience class and thought it was fun. So did she! I also learned about better foods to be feeding her and that giving her raw bones are great for her teeth! If I had known about http://www.i-dog.com when I had Honey, she would have been an even more-pampered pet then she already was!

...and this next one comes from Andrea ...
6. Name 3 (or however many) things that happened this year that you did not anticipate happening. And on the flip side, name 3 (or however many) things that didn't happen this year that you expected to happen. These could be personal things, professional things, national things, things in the news; anything really.

Things I didn't expect to happen:

Honey getting sick and having to be put to sleep (March 5, 2004)
Adopting and learning to love a whole new dog (April 24, 2004)
Emily's appendectomy (12-31-2004)

Things that should have happened?

A cleaner house
Christmas shopping done before December
A better cholesterol level

...and this one comes from Storyteller ...
7. Where do you (or WOULD you) go for inspiration when you run out of questions for a meme?
Ask the people who regularly answer the meme or maybe randomly search the web for things to ask people about?
8. Something you'd like to accomplish (or do) this coming year that you didn't get a chance to do last year.
Take a real vacation with my kids!

12-26-04

1) Which holiday do you celebrate this time of year? (If necessary, modify the following questions to suit your holiday.)
Christmas!
2) Do you begin shopping for gifts earlier than Thanksgiving, looking for the perfect gift? If not, when do you begin?
I try to buy some gifts before Thanksgiving, but I really should buy more!
3) Do you only purchase gifts that you know are perfect for the recipient and if you don't find that gift, do you just get anything?
I try to buy gifts that are perfect for the recipient. I don't like to buy just anything.
4) Did you receive or give any "obligatory" gifts this year?
My clinic co-workers exchange gifts every year. We go to a restaurant and eat. Then we pick numbers on pieces of paper. In order, we either pick a new gift from the table, or take one from someone else. I LOVE the gift I got this year. It's a little Santa that stands on my piano! I gave a candle thingie that was snowmen dancing around an ice rink holding hands. In the middle was a container for a votive candle.
5) Do you decorate your tree as evenly as possible or do you skip the areas that are not visible?
Yes, we try to decorate as evenly as possible. It is visible from the room and the street, so I wanted it all decorated.
6) Do you like multi-colors on your tree or do you prefer monochrome?
Definitely multi-colored. I'm just not a white-light person!
7) Did you bake "traditional" cookies, frost them and decorate them? or did you cheat and buy the ready to bake kind? (like I tried)
Definitely made and baked from scratch! We made spritz cookies, sugar cut-out cookies and peanut butter cookies with the chocolate kisses.
8) Are you the host of a holiday gathering? which one? family, work, friends
This year, I was the December host for my book discussion group! That's why the tree got decorated and the cookies got baked!
9) With whom do you spend the holiday?
In-laws and my family. On different days. We also have time to ourselves on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning.
10) How did the holiday turn out? Perfectly? funny mishaps? miss anyone?
Our holiday was perfect! We got to church on Christmas Eve. We had our lasagna for supper and our blueberry French toast on Christmas morning. We saw the in-laws on Christmas Day afternoon. We enjoyed our visit with them!

The funny mishap is that the kids had to assemble the lasagna by themselves, since I had to go to church early for choir practice. They misunderstood my instructions and put only 1/3 cup of the ricotta cheese mixture on each layer, instead of 1/3 of the whole amount! So, it wasn't very cheesy. They won't ever forget again! LOL! The very first instruction was to put 1/3 cup of meat sauce on the bottom of the pan, so the next time they saw 1/3, they assumed it was 1/3 cup!

I did miss my family, since we won't be getting together with them, until January 8th.