TAG!

Ok, here goes nothing. I really don't think that I can think of 25 "Interesting" things about me. SO, I'm starting this post on Monday. We'll see how long until it actually gets posted on here and FB.

1. I love rainy days. If I wake up, see clouds outside, I get up in a much better mood. I even don't mind being at school on these days. Yes, I would prefer to be at home, all warm and cozy, but I don't mind being at work either.

2. My favorite childhood memories are from vacations spent in Ruidoso. We would go there with my entire family, at least once a year. I miss that time so much.

3. I, like Monica, am terrible about leaving cabinet doors open. That was one pet peeve (sp???) that Marc had after we first got married. It's been a pet peeve of my dad's for my entire life, but now I'm finally working on it. The other day, Jarrett walked into the kitchen and shut one of the lower cabinet doors behind me. Marc thought that was the greatest thing ever.

4. Also, I'm forever leaving on lights. My dad used to say that he knew when I was home. Every cabinet door was open and all the lights were on. It couldn't be all me. I promise.

5. One of my favorite things to do is to take a HOT bath, while reading a book, and possibly sipping some wine. Ahhhh, that's the best!

6. I have to sleep on my side with a pillow between my knees and the blankets or Marc's pillow (if he's not in bed yet) under my arm. I grew up sleeping with a stuffed animal. (One of them is now in Jarrett's room and if Marc would let me, I probably would still sleep with it every night.) It's just so comforting.

7. So many people don't know this about me, or so many people just don't ask. But, I got the end of my ring finger cut off when I was 13. I was babysitting this 6 year old and told him to clean his room. I was leading him in there by the hand and he slammed the door. I didn't get my hand out quick enough and it chopped off the end. I later had to have surgery on it and to this day, that's the only surgery that I have ever had. Yes, I've heard all the jokes about it. "Mika can only count to 9 1/2." Marc has told me, "You'll get a long great with Shaun's dad. He cut his finger off too." Like this would make me bond with someone???

8. I decided to teach English because I didn't want to teach anything else. I loved Math growing up, but when I went to college and told them that I was majoring in Math. They said that I would have to take the Calculus placement exam. I had only had trig. and analyt. back then and it scared me to death. Sometimes I wish that I would have sucked it up and gone that route.

9. I have road rage! I hate stupid drivers and I typically say that out loud. "Move stupid!" That will probably be Jarrett's first full sentence.

10. I have been in a total of 5 rear end collisions. One totaled my car. You know the law where the person that does the rear-ending gets the ticket? I probably should have been the one getting the ticket in a couple of them because I wasn't paying attention and slammed on my breaks and got lucky enough not to hit the person in front of me. Hey, it's not my fault I have quick reflexes and the people behind me don't. Monica, I'm cringing right now thinking about karma.

11. I love food. I get so excited about it or the anticipation of it. Marc has always made fun of me for getting excited about food. He has also pointed out that I always talk about food when we are eating. Most of the time it is about other food, not what I'm currently eating. Since then, I have noticed that I am not the only one that does this. A lot of people do.

12. I have a phobia of speaking in public. I don't mind doing it in front of my class, but in front of my peers is a completely different story. My voice shakes, my heart races, and I nearly have an anxiety attack over it. I would rather do anything than speak in public. I guess its good that God didn't bless me with the ability to sing, like he did the rest of my family. I can't even imagine how bad that would be.

13. I miss coaching volleyball a lot. I feel guilty that I miss it. I wouldn't give up the time that I get to spend with Jarrett, but I do miss it. I've considered trying to get back into it, but then I think twice and remember having to coach everything else and stop myself.

14. I have three nicknames that I will answer to. My mom has always called me Gert. (I know it came from Gertrude, but don't know any more than that.) My brother, Blake, has always called me stretch. (I'm tall and used to be a bean pole.) Tatum calls me M.J. (Her husband, Allen, used to call me Mika Jene (that doesn't look right, I think it should be Gene, but it's not.)even though my middle name is Breck. Then it got shortened to M.J. and it has stuck. I have a clock, that Tatum gave me as a maid of honor gift, that is engraved M.J. :)

15. I have a hard time driving without talking on my phone. It is automatic. I get in the car and start dialing. I will go through my friends until I find someone. I think it's an addiction.

16. I am in bed by 9 almost every night. I would go to bed at 8 or 8:30 (sometimes do) if I didn't feel like such a bum. I used to blame it on that I had to get up so early with Jarrett. Now, he sleeps in much better and I get to sleep until 6:15, so I don't have an excuse.

17. I remember things by the way they smell. The first time that I went to Las Vegas, we stayed at the Mirage. I still remember the way it smelled. I have smelled a candle before that brought back Vegas memories. I associate fireplace smells (especially pinon wood) to smelling like Ruidoso. My family has always said, "Ahhh, it smells like Ruidoso." When we would pull in to Ruidoso, we would roll the windows down to smell the air. Weird? Yes.

18. I am the world's worst procrastinator. I will put things off. I can't do things, like clean my house, unless I'm under pressure. In college, I put every single paper off until midnight before it was due.

19. I love to read, but didn't start loving it until after I was out of college and no one was making me read. It sure would have helped in all of my Lit classes if I would have enjoyed reading a little more. I worked at a gift shop for 8 hours a day and we didn't have a tv or a lot of business. I would go through 3 or 4 books a week.

20. Thanks to my girls at lunch, I have a new love for yogurt with blackberries and granola. I crave it. Over the weekend, I ate it at least 5 times.

21.I love to shop and if I find a great deal, like on a pair of shoes, I can't resist. Marc doesn't understand this. "Even though I didn't NEED another pair of black shoes, I couldn't pass up this wonderful deal. And they are so darn cute!"

22. My favorite outfit is jeans and a sweatshirt or long sleeve t-shirt. I like for the weather to be just right so that these are comfy and there is no need for a jacket.

23. I really like to be tan, but don't like taking the time out of my day to go tan. I've done the tan in a bottle, mystic tan, and air brush tan. The air brush tan is probably the most successful, but it too turned a little orangy on me after a while. Any suggestions? I refuse to show my legs when they are the pasty white color they currently are. Even in the summer, I don't wear shorts in public, unless I have a little color to them. Laying out isn't exactly an option either when you have a baby around.

24. I would like to have at least 3 children. Marc would be happy with the one we have. I loved being pregnant, but apparently I wasn't too nice to be around when I was pregnant. I can't imagine doing everything that comes along with being pregnant and having a new baby only one more time, so I'm going to hold out for at least 3. We'll see.

25. I peel things. This, I believe could be OCD. I wish I had that OCD where I had to have everything neat and clean, but I don't. It doesn't matter if it is a medicine bottle, the address label on a magazine, or even paint. If it is a little bit lifted, I can't help myself. If someone is sunburned and then starts peeling, I love to peel their skin. This is so gross to admit. I'm a little embarrassed to type it.

My pics are finally up!

Ok, here is a short explanation of some of the pics. The pics in the red jammies were from either The Polar Express (You can see him listening to his bell he got from Santa and laughing at his Daddy.) or from Christmas at my parents. The other ones are just random pics. The dryer (please don't call cps) is his new favorite place to climb. He was hillarious when he discovered he could get in there. The bundled up pic, I just lvoe because he can hardly move I have him so bundled. And, the boots. They were a Christmas present and he loved them. I didn't think we'd get him out of them, but they are still a little big, so we have to wait a while.

TAG

Well, Kristen tagged me, so here goes. This is a picture of Jarrett at my aunt and uncles house. It was his first time up close and personal with their horse, Smokey. (I think that's her name.)

Well, I am one step closer to having pics posted from the holidays. They are now off my camera and on my computer at home. I just never have time at home to sit at the computer. I will try this week.

I can't remember who Kristen tagged, so I am tagging Kelsey, Colby, and Monica. Go to you pictures file on your computer. Go to the fourth folder and pick the fourth picture. Post it and explain it.

Frustration!

Ok, I am a complete loser when it comes to this blogging bit. I haven't blogged in forever because every time that I do get on here, all of my focus goes to changing the dang background. I can't seem to figure it out. I have done everything that it has asked me to do. Surely, it's not me, it must be this crazy computer. We'll see. I will keep trying. Thank you all for your attempt to help me. I might be helpless.

On to more important topics. I will soon have updated pics of Jarrett from the holidays. There are some really cute ones in his new boots, which I bought a little too big and they make him walk pigeon toed, so I'm not letting him wear them until he's bigger. I would hate to ruin his gait for life just because he loves his boots and they are too cute. Anyway, I will have pics soon.

Last night, when I was holding Jarrett, I had a revelation. Why has no one invented some way of recording smells? We can record everything else. I love the way he smells and I don't want to forget it. The best is after bath and he's all lotioned up, but last night, he hadn't had a bath. He just smelled like Jarrett. I can't explain it. I actually got teary eyed worrying about forgetting his smell. Or, it changing to a different smell. Am I weird or do others worry about these things.

Jarrett is doing so many fun things these days. It's amazing to me how much he actually comprehends what we're saying. This morning, he was going through the drawer in my bathroom while I was getting ready. (If he stands on the scale, he can actually see in it. This is sad because he's growing way too fast.) Anyway, he got one of my rings out of the drawer. He put it on top of his head. I said, "No silly, it goes on your finger." So, he gets it and puts his finger through it. It's little things like that that just make me smile. He's growing and learning right before my eyes. I love watching him discover and figure things out too. We got a Wii for Christmas. After taking it out of the box, Jarrett used the box to climb into the recliner or on the couch. He will push it all over the living room to whichever object he would like to crawl on. It's so much fun. I can't wait for those of you with smaller babies to get to experience all of this. It's great!

Ok, Monica, I've now blogged. I promise pics will follow, but this will have to do for now.

Christmas Tag!

I'm not sure that Kelsey tagged anyone, but I felt kinda bloggy(is that a word?) and it gave me something to blog about.
1. What is your favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night
2. What is your favorite Christmas album? This year, it has been George Strait, but I'm going to a David Phelps concert on Sunday and I am sure it will be wonderful
3. What is your favorite Christmas gift you have ever received? Cabbage Patch Doll
4. What is your favorite gift that you are giving this year? Well, Jarrett is getting a power wheels four wheeler from Santa. Shhhh.... I can't wait to see him when he first sees it.
5. Favorite place/location to look at Christmas lights? Ransom Canyon- It is so breathtaking. I love taking people out there for the first time and when you come down that first hill that looks over the water, they get the full effect. It's beautiful.
6. Favorite Christmas treat/candy? Fudge
7. What is your funniest Christmas memory? In our stockings, at my parents house, we always get a movie from my mom. Even though we have gobs of gifts under the tree, this has become one our favorite traditions. You know it's there, but don't know which movie it is or what everyone else got. So, it's always exciting to open these. Well, a couple of years ago, Sean (my youngest brother) opened his movie. It was one of the Spider Mans, I think. After looking at it closer, he realized that it was the spanish version of the movie. We all got a pretty big laugh, at my mom's expense and haven't let her live it down yet. I'm sure there are many other funny memories, but that is the first that comes to mind.

I'm tagging everyone else.

Pics

Ok, I finally uploaded pics from my camera. So, I am just posting several of them. Kind of random, I know, but I thought I would share. As you can see, he is never still so it makes it kinda difficult to get good pictures.

Relaxing Weekend, Right!

Typically, if you get to stay home from work for a 3-day weekend, you would be relaxed and ready to go. Well, the reason we got a three day weekend was because on Friday Jarrett came down with the stomach bug. We were ready to walk out the door (why does it always happen then?) and I had just finished my hair when Jarrett comes in the bathroom. He was whiny and lifted his arms to be picked up. So, I picked him up and he threw up all over me and him. Luckily, we were in the bathroom on the tile floor. I yelled for Marc to come help. Needless to say, we took baths and got back in our jammies. I was hoping it was just a fluke puke, but it wasn't we continued for hours and hours about every 30 minutes. Poor guy, I felt so bad for him. He didn't recover really until Sunday. So, it was really a LONG weekend.

I did finally get my Christmas tree up. Since we were home bound, all weekend, I decided Sunday would be the day. I did it when Jarrett was asleep for a nap and when he got up, he was so surprised. I put all the non-breakable ornaments at the bottom, but he is still not allowed to touch. After a couple thumps,(I know, I'm terrible) he now KINDA stays away from it. We'll see how long it lasts. So far, not ornament casualties. I'll keep you posted. Here is one pic that I took with my phone. I have more on my camera of Jarrett in front of the tree. I will post them later.