1. Something someone told you about yourself that you never forgot.  Years ago, one of neighbors who’d we see often out walking her dog would frequently stop by to say hello and talk to the kids. She was a lovely woman. She was a retired nurse who never married. One day while the kids were petting her little pup and we were chatting about I don’t know what, she told me I have the prettiest eyes. The only person who ever told me that is DH. It’s one thing when husband pays you a compliment. Not that you should ever discount or take for granted his praises but it’s different when an outsider says it. Does that make sense? I think that’s something I won’t forget.

2. What are your 3 top pet peeves.  Stupid, inconsiderate, know-it-all people.  I’ve seen the same person possess all three of these character flaws but often it’s just one or two. 

3. List five places you want to visit.  1) New England. We’re making vacation plans for next year to return to New England to see places we didn’t get to in 1989. 2) Pacific Northwest. I can’t name a particular place as we’d love to see the several spots in that part of the country.  3) Yellowstone National Park.  4) Yosemite National Park/Sequoia National Forest 5) The Grand Canyon.  After DH retires we hope to take an extensive vacation to see some of these destinations we’ve dreamed about for years.

4. Share something you struggle with.  Weight. Many people don’t think I need to lose weight but I feel and look my best when I’m below 110lbs.  The past several years I’ve average about 115lbs and that’s not really bad but when you’re petite like I am every extra pound looks like a lot.  How do I know when those extra pounds will be too much for my health? I worry about type II diabetes, a common issue many of my family members struggle with and I don’t want that!

5. Post words of wisdom that speak to you.  Just be myself!

6. Something you always think “what if….?” about. Sometimes I wonder, what if I had stayed in the work force after our first child was born how would things be different today. Would it be for the better or worse? My heart says I made the right decision by staying home. The happiness and security I have in my relationships with my family is proof of it.

7. Five blessings in your life.  Aside the obvious my faith and family which I know not everyone counts as blessings, I’d have to say my overall good health, DH’s job, living in East Tennessee, my hobbies, & my dedicated bloggy friends.

8. Something that you miss.  I miss my children being small.  It’s funny those times were often hectic and stressful. I worried how we’d ever make ends meet or when would I have time just for me, then it was all over like a flash. I’m thankful the opportunity to be a full-time stay at home mom.  It was a deep sacrifice giving up my job and a huge leap of faith to live on a single income but faith was the key. Those worries are far behind me. God provided us with what we needed and now I have what seems like all the time in the world to do what I want. 

9. Post about your zodiac sign and whether or not it fits you. My zodiac sign is Sagittarius. <–link] I never been into the my horoscopes or meaning of zodiac.  The one thing the link says Sags don’t care what other people think and they are enthusiastic individuals. That very much describes a couple of my dominant traits. We all want approval but whether I get it or not, it doesn’t matter because I’m happy with who I am and what I accomplish.   

10. Think of a word. Search for it on Google images. Write something inspired by the 11th image.

From her heart she shoots straight, words of truth and empathy, inspiring and empowering those who listen.

11. Write about an area of your life that you’d like to improve.  I love to sketch, I especially like drawing the humor form. This April I tried replicating vintage pinup girls in the A to Z Challenge.  I’m a self-taught artist so getting proportions in proper perspective is tricky and I’m slowly developing a better sense of realistic facial features but improvement is still needed. I hope to isolate each area to perfect a little with each future sketch.  I’m amazed the difference I’ve made in the three short years that I started drawing again.

12. What made you laugh out loud today.  Nothing has given me this kind of response yet today. 

13. What are your goals for the next 30 days.  I hope to reach 110 pounds before October has ended. That’s the biggest goal I have at the moment.  I’m trying to do without causing stress in my eating habits. I prefer enjoying a normal diet instead of restrictions which often backfires later on. The purpose is create a lifetime pattern instead of short sighted one.  As I continue to age, my metabolism makes it a challenge to burn those unwanted calories.  Exercise along isn’t going to take care of this, it’s closely monitoring what I eat that will keep all points in check.

14. Your highs and lows for the month.  I think for the most part I’m generally even throughout the month. I’m a fairly content, happy individual.  The only time I might have a low moment is when someone I love is not well. Thankfully this isn’t too frequent.

15. Favorite movies that you never get tired of watching. National Lampoon Christmas Vacation was adapted into our family traditions many years ago and even now as empty-nesters we make a point to watch this hilarious film every December once or twice. Trains, Planes, and Automobiles is another modern holiday classic we love.

16. Books you have read more than once. This will strike many as odd but something happened after I became a mommy.  I prefer to read short passages of scripture or magazine articles and naturally blogs. Other than that, my brain won’t slow down enough to relax in front of good book anymore.

17. Something about which you feel strongly. My faith. Jesus is my foundation. He gets me through the storms of life and walks with me in the sunshine, too.  I can’t imagine my world without Him.

18. Five things that make you really happy.  Again, excluding the obvious my faith and family I would have to say art, mewsic, photography, cooking, and feminine things.

19. What are you excited about? I’m super excited about our plans for next year to visit New England. We don’t take yearly vacations. Why we don’t even take one every other year. The last time we took a ‘real’ vacation was 2004 for our 20th anniversary which dubbed as a family vacation.  The time before this (1997) we turned a business trip to Boston into a mini family vacation going to Bar Harbor, Maine for 3-4 days.  In 1989, we made Boothbay Harbor, Maine our destination spot zipping across Vermont, New Hampshire, and along coastal Maine all with our 11-month old daughter. We saw a lot of stuff but didn’t get to see everything.  By the time we go back to New England more than 30-years will have passed. Hopefully this time we’ll get to see Lake Champlain in Burlington, VT, The Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, VT, enjoy a delicious Vermonty breakfast, and ride the cog railroad to Mount Washington’s summit to name just a few things we missed out on.  I’m certain of one thing, our adrenaline will propel us to push ourselves to see all that we can in a two week spam just like we did years ago. 

20. Three celebrity crushes.  David Cassidy, Tom Selleck, & Nicole Kidman

This meme is quite a bit more involved then I expected. I don’t know how often I can join in with this one. I do like answering questions but it would be so awesome to have a set a week in advance to work on. Thanks for allowing me to crash your party this week. Who knows, maybe I’ll do it again. I’ll be back tomorrow ready to hit the Monday’s Mewsic Moves Me dance floor, so come boogie with me! XX, Cathy