eleven eleven eleven. tag!

you probably have seen other bloggers doing this little survey making its way around the blogosphere, telling random facts, answering questions & then tagging other bloggers to do the same.  now it's my turn!  i've been tagged by mandy, jess & jessie.  since they each gave me 11 questions to answer, i'm going to answer four questions from each of their surveys.  mmm, k?  here goes.

there are five rules:
1.  post these rules.
2.  post a photo of yourself & 11 random facts about you.
3.  answer the questions given to you in the tagger's post.
4.  create 11 new questions & tag new people to answer them.
5.  go to their blog/twitter & let them know they've been tagged.

randoms you probably don't know about me... here goes!

1.  one of my favorite snacks is sliced pickle eaten with a slice of cheddar cheese.  i particularly like this on sundays.

2.  i also really like sliced raw potato (peeled) with a dash of salt.  YUM.

3.  i grew up on the green river in the 80's & 90's.  yes back when the "green river killer" was doing his thing.  my childhood house had riverfront property & we would swim in the river as kids.  never met the serial killer face to face though.

4.  i always stay up way too late.  every day i say i'm going to bed early & then i don't.  because those hours that i should be sleeping?  is my time.

5.  i eat the same thing for breakfast every morning... chocolate protein shake with frozen strawberries.  i never get sick of it.

6.  when i was younger i wanted to be a veterinarian.  just like every other little girl.  although i actually majored in pre-vet med for a while in college before i decided it wasn't for me.

7.  sam thinks i'm deaf.  i'm always asking to have the tv turned up & always asking "wait, what'd they say?" when we watch shows.  so... i may actually be a little deaf.

8.  i listen to lots of my favorite music in the car with parker & hope that he'll grow up with an appreciation for good music & be cool like me.

9.  i'm the youngest in my family of four girls.  whenever i tell people that they always say "your poor dad!"  meh, he did just fine.

10.  i was a little too obsessed with the "lord of the rings" movies when they were big.  sam's never even seen them & is totally not into it.  it still creates a little divide in our marriage.

11.  i get ansy & disappointed if i don't get at least three workouts in during my week!

and now, the questions to be answered!

from jessie:

what's your favorite food?
my meal of choice would have to be a really good steak.  made even better with a side of crab legs & ridiculously good mashed potatoes.

dream job?
my dream would be to really be making it in the photography business.  i'd love to have a gorgeous studio where i worked real hours once my kids were in school & have a bunch of awesome equipment.

favorite sandwich?
a post-thanksgiving turkey-leftovers sandwich on potato bread with pickles & mayo.

if i could live anywhere?
sydney, australia.  we visited a few years ago & my heart is still there.  pretty sure.

from jess:

what's the meanest thing you did as a kid?
when i was in 2nd grade me & this boy buried a girl's coat in the sawdust by the monkey bars.  she was pretty traumatized & my mom had to come pick me up from the principal's office.  i think that was the end of my bullying.

what are the best characteristics of your spouse?
sam is a ROCK.  he is so reliable & i can always trust him to do what he says he will.  i immediately fell in love with him when i realized i could count on him to get things done & get them done right without me hovering.

when was the last time you cried?
i cried like a baby watching "being elmo" at the part where the make a wish foundation girl meets elmo.  i mean, that's a dying kid & her last wish was to meet elmo.  can't even imagine being a part of that, on either end.

what chore should i be doing RIGHT NOW?
well, i should always be doing laundry.  but mostly right now i should be taking a shower while sam is giving parker a bath.  yes, showering is a chore.

from mandy:

how would you describe your style?
getting better?  i know what i like when i see it, but translating that into what's actually in my closet is another story. i'm working on really only buying things i love & that will help my style but it's hard not to buy more go-to hoodies & t-shirts.

where do you see yourself & your family in 10 years?
living in the house we want to be in til we retire, i'm doing photography dang-near full-time & training for triathlons on the side, we have two or three kids & sam is working in a job that he loves.

favorite dessert?
HAS to have chocolate.  chocolate ice cream, chocolate cake, whatever.  if there's no chocolate it's not worth the calories.

what is your most valued possession?
easily our computer with all our pictures on it!  we have everything backed up to an external hard drive & even took it with us when we had to leave our house during snowmaggedon.  if we lost our collection of photos i would cry for days & DAYS.  and then more days.  photos are irreplaceable.

whew!  that was fun.  here are my 11 questions for the ladies i tag:

1.  what is one thing your working on to change/better about yourself?
2.  what is your dream car?
3.  if you could have one talent you don't already have, what would it be?
4.  what is your favorite part of the day?
5.  what is your favorite day of the week?
6.  what did you want to be when you were a little kid?
7.  what's your favorite physical feature about yourself?
8.  what would you love your kids/future kids to grow up to be professionally some day?
9.  what is a pet peeve of yours?
10.  what would your husband/significant other/best friend say is their favorite thing about you?
11.  what is your dream vacation?

and i tag:
nicole
olivia
ashley
chelsea
mandy

let me know when you post your questions so i can see your answers :)  do it!

join us for vloggin' vednesdays!

we got an amazing reaction from our first vlog last week!! thanks everyone,  you made my day week month.  we had such a blast participating in hot vliggity vlog vednesday & it turns out everyone had so much fun it's now been made into a regular thing!  check it out.

        

       

themes are set for each week so that we can all be on the same page & check out each other's vlogs. fun, right?  current dates & themes are:

march 9:  "rooms in your home"
-show a room {or rooms} in your house.  totally your opportunity to pull an mtv cribs up in here.

march 16:  "q&a day" - vlog questions
-why did you start blogging?
-if you had to eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
-what is the biggest personal change you have ever made?

march 23:  "guilty pleasures."
-we know you got 'em.  let's hear about 'em.

march 30:  "how-to"
-share a how-to video.  we all like learning new stuff, right?

linky party will be hosted by don at adeline's daddy.  join us!!
{mine will most likely be up later today... check back, yo.}

handwriting.

so by now you've surely seen the handwriting meme that is going around, right?  well i was tagged by shawntae at "a little king & i" to show off my handwriting & who was i to say no.

i love handwriting.  i'm kinda obsessed with it.  when i was in junior high/high school i would write the alphabet over & over & over until i liked what i saw.  i'm a little out of practice now since i don't spend near as much time doodling anymore, but here goes:

{we were to answer eight questions... they are posted below}

{click to enlarge}

1.  your name & your blog name.
2.  your blog url.
3.  write: "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog!"
4.  your favorite quote.  {what?  you've never heard my quote?  go here.}
5.  your favorite song.
6.  favorite musical artist/band.
7.  say something... anything.
8.  tag some people to do this.

there you have it!  now you try.  if you do it, leave me a link in the comments so i can come check it out.

and for good measure since this post is lacking in p-ray goodness, i'll leave you with this:

i bet those little hands will make for some pretty cute handwriting some day.


you don't even have to pick up a pen for this! just click twice, that's it.

hot vliggity vlog.

here it is!  our first vlog.  there's quite a few people playing along today, so be sure to visit their blog vlogs too.  the questions i answer in this video were asked by jennifer at eighty mph mom.  she hosts a vlog hop every monday, & we're doing it today.



the questions:

1.  is there anything blooming in your front yard?
2.  what do you think of american idol & the new judges?
3.  tell us something that happened to you last week!

{please ignore the part where my child takes a bite of a box & chews on it while i continue to talk completely unaware.  paper is totally edible.  and also, it's worth watching all the way through to the end... if p-ray's grin at the end doesn't put a smile on your face?  i don't know what will.}

here's a list of all the other bloggers we vlogged in conjunction with today!  check them out, yo.


        

       

{ps: what'd you guys think? ya feeling the vlogging? if y'all are into it this could be made a regular thing. if it's a no-go, i'll stick with just posting pretty pictures & writing my rambling words from now on. i'm on the fence about it.}


vote for us on top baby vlogs! er... blogs.

steppin' out saturday {cider mill}

{linking up with steppin' out saturday at harper's happenings.  last week lots of you asked about my boots.  you can find info on them HERE.}

we went to a local cider mill today to give parker to his first dose of farm animals.  he totally humored us & pretended to like it, but it was like forty degrees outside & the poor kid's eyes & nose were both running like crazy.  he was pretty uncomfortable so we kept it short.  we'll be back in the summer to try again.

...and we'll also be back for their fresh made apple fritters, which have chunks of apples in them.  and they melt in your mouth.  and they have no calories, so they're totally guilt free.

{also linking up with "mommy & me monday" at "really are you serious?"  check it out!}

voting for us is always guilt free. i love love love you for it!

top ten{ish} of twenty-ten

wow, it was really hard picking my top ten favorite pictures of parker.  the ones that made the cut for some reason or another just caught my eye tonight, but this is by no means an all-inclusive list.  ask me tomorrow & there will be others that are in my top ten too.

so, in chronological order, here are my favorite ten{ish} pictures of parker from the year twenty-ten:

1.  one day old

i've never posted this picture on my blog even though it is one of my favorites.  i remember this like it was yesterday.  i took it with my iPhone in the middle of the night in the hospital, during parker's first night out of my belly.  he was so perfect & i remember just marveling at this little human who was now completely dependent on my care. 

2.  two days old

another picture that isn't necessarily my favorite due to it's photographic genius.  this one takes me back, & completely encompasses what {newborn} motherhood is to me.  it's 3am, glasses on, spit up on your shirt, amazingness.  amazing because you are caring for this brand new little person who couldn't be any more angelic than seen right here.

3.  one month old

ok so i didn't take this one, my sister did.  but i did do the editing & it was taken in my living room in the days prior to my having a nice camera, & it's one of my absolute favorites.  from one month old, this little man was busting with personality.

4.  three months

this was taken with the webcam on my iMac.  it makes me laugh & i like it.  same eyes, different nose, different mouth.  we were pouting that i had to go back to work the next day.  boo.

5.  three months

ok, another one taken by my sister.  sorry, i'm totally breaking the "pictures must be taken by you" rule, but eh whatev, it's my blog right & that's how i roll.  plus, everything that came out of her camera seems to be photographic-parker-is-hilarious-and-adorable genius.  this face is so typical of parker.  he is SUCH a happy baby.

6.  four months

i had set p-ray down for a minute while i was getting ready to feed him.  apparently it only took a minute for him to get as into whatever game was on as sam was.

7.  six months

i loved my sweet little baby in these spooky skeleton pj's.  everyone said he looked like one of the bad guys from karate kid & that makes me laugh.  cause c'mon, what's funnier than a six month old doing karate?  parker definitely has some mad ninja skills.

8.  six months

this is not typical of parker.  he was so tuckered out after a night of halloween partying that he literally fell asleep without a peep in sam's lap while he was skyping with his parents.  i like to pretend he's a little ewok in this picture.  i really like ewoks.

9.  seven months

and here we are at the "kids do gross things" stage of life.  so soon?  apparently.

10.  seven & a half months

could this kid get any cuter?  could those cheeks be any more kissable?  no & no.  this little boy is so much fun.

and for good measure,

11.  eight months

i've posted this one on my photo blog, but not here.  this picture makes me happy for so many reasons.  a happy glowy baby, the holidays, a growing love {obsession} with photography, and cute polar bear pajamas.  it's a win win.

wanna join in on the top ten of twenty-ten photo fun?  check out one of these blogs & link up:

a sorta fairytale

the paper mama

naptime momtog

amber's articles

from here to eternity

click it up a notch

saw something here you liked? keep it coming by voting for us! thanks friend.

it's raining, it's pouring

& we're totally not getting out of our pj's today.  or putting on makeup.  at least not yet... i still have an hour or so until sam gets home, & i might throw on some mascara.

i'm feeling totally unproductive today.  the house is a mess from a crazy weekend, i'm unshowered & unworked-out, & i have no idea what's gonna be eaten for dinner.  but i have gotten a lot of quality play-with-p-ray time in... that counts for something right?

at least i am typing this to the sound of clothes tossing around in the dryer.  i suppose running a couple loads of laundry also counts for something. 

i vowed to get three workouts in last week.

i got in 2.  how lame is that??  it is so hard. so so hard.  now that it's pouring 23 hours out of the day, my options are even more limited.  we unfroze my gym membership at l.a. fitness & opened an account for parker at the kids klub there.  he's gone twice & does great.  but it's 20 minutes away from home.  that's almost an hour in just driving-to-&-from-time.  but it's all i've got, & i've got to keep going.  my sanity & my ever-persistent love handles depend on it.

& don't get me started on my eating habits.  i know a lot of people get in the habit of eating lots while prego, but you are actually supposed to eat even more when nursing & oh boy have i taken advantage of that!  however, quantity is not my issue.  it's quality.  we eat out way too much, & it's got to stop.  i have got to start making smarter nutrition decisions.  so this week, i vow to:

work out three times.  i can do it, i can do it, i can do it.
only eat out twice.  i have a lunch date with some girlfriends i have to keep this week, & i'm leaving another time open for a meal out on the weekend.  seems reasonable, right?

lindsey from linkie lueville & i are still working on getting our get fit blog hop up & running.  we have some schnazzy name ideas & are trying to work out details.  i hope more people will join us in our quest to get back in shape!

so this is how it works.

1.  for those of you who linked up last week, link up your blog post about how you did over the course of the week & if you met the goals you set for yourself. 

2.  if you're new & are looking for some goal-setting support, join in this week by linking up your blog or blog post about what goals you may have set for yourself.

3.  once linked up, visit the other blogs & offer support/sympathy/empathy/etc.

good luck this week!

feel free to grab the code for your own blog post:

<script src="http://www.linkytools.com/thumbnail_linky_include.aspx?id=45853" type="text/javascript"> </script>

we are allllmmost in the 50's.  vote vote vote! :)