Random Dozen #3

time for Linda's Random Dozen Survey meme.  You can find her over at 2nd Cup of Coffee blog. Go there! She is a riot!! Her blog always cheers me up and she loves the Lord with gusto!


1.If you physically lock in one age for yourself, which would you choose and why?

I would love to lock in at age 35.  It was a great year! My first daughter was 2 years old and I just gone on a teaching sabbatical that ended up lasting 5 years.  I LOVED being a stay at home mommy and doing all the mommy-daughter stuff.  I also was in great shape physically and we had just built a house and I was having fun decorating it.....church activities kept me busy, too and I was embracing every aspect of being a mommy and wife.  LOVED it!

2. What is the best dish that you cook or bake (your piece de resistance?)
Not to brag, but I actually cook/bake several things that friends and family rave about.  However, if you asked my 2 daughters, they would say with no hesitation "mommy's chocoholic brownies" or "mommy's chocolate-orange fudge".

3. When you feel blue, what is one strategy you use to help yourself back to normal?
If the weather is good, I power-walk or bike.  If it is winter, like now, I tend to listen to Christian music like Leeland or Lincoln Brewster or Newsboys or turn to the Psalms and try to meditate on a couple of the praise ones.  IF those choices don't get me in a better mood, emotionally, I turn to Nutella and dig in.  And yes...I know devouring chocolate won't take "the blues" away but I like to pretend it helps.....besides....I don't really get "blue" very often at all.

4. When was the last time you danced in public?
at my husband's company Christmas party, the first Thursday in December 2009.

5. Do you consider yourself a realist or dreamer?
a little of both...but mostly a realist.

6. As a parent, what is one thing that you have done well?
I like to think I have done many things well, but one thing that stands out, is that our daughters had, and still do have, a large vocabulary.  I supplied them with all sorts of "whole language" activities from the time they could sit up.  And it shows in their school performance.  We never used "baby talk".  We always used proper labels, etc.  An example:  when my oldest was 18 months old, it was January 1995 and our first winter in our new house.  The deck hadn't been built yet but we had a pole bird feeder near the sliding glass doors of family room. She saw a bird on the snowy ground and I said "look, Courtney a bird". She said "actually mommy, it's a Junco."  I looked it up in the bird book and sure enough she was correct!

7. Which is your favorite character on the Andy Griffith show?
his little boy....why can't I remember his name???

8. On a scale of 1-10, how much do you know about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.?
a 9.  After all, I help teach in a public school kindergarten and we have studied his life for the last 10 days.  Special needs kids need LOTS of repetition and it doesn't hurt a teacher at age 50 either! lol

9. Have you never been mellow? Have you never tried … to find a comfort from in side you? (Sorry, Jorge was singing that song just now, and it just seemed to be perfect timing as I was creating this week’s questions.) REAL question: What is your #1 driving pet peeve?
seeing people texting, talking on the cell, applying make-up, reading the paper.  I know that's more than one thing but it is under the category of NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO THE ROAD!
that and all the crazy drivers on the Adirondack Northway from Albany to Saratoga.

10. Which color best represents your mood today? Care to elaborate?

um.....let's see.  Probably ocean blue. I feel calm and organized. Unusual for mid-week but I think it's because all my housework is caught up!

11. If your spouse were an animal, which would he/she be?
gasp...you mean he ISN'T an animal??  lol...just kidding....um....let's see....Dave would probably be a cuddly black bear.  He is a fierce protector of his daughters, has the tummy of a huge black bear and loves to forage in the fridge looking for goodies....

12. What activity takes up the bulk of your time on an average day? 
answering these silly memes!  Seriously......it depends on the day.  Teaching is every morning except the weekends so probably that or....doing the laundry...especially if I let it pile up and try to do it in one afternoon!


Coming tomorrow......more on the Friendship Series......come and share your thoughts!