Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmeme

Kristi tagged me with this meme WEEKS ago and I am finally getting to it. Here you go!

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?

1998. That doesn't really feel like 10 years ago. already. Let's see. At this time 10 years ago, I was working at a summer camp, counseling random hooligans, falling in love with a boy (and it went really, really well, er, poorly), and becoming an archery expert.

2. What are 5 things on your “To Do” list?

Is this a to-do list....like a lifetime one or just for tomorrow? Let's go with 'lifetime' so we can stave off just a bit more dullness. Therefore, the following five items have been pulled up from my Lifetime To-Do List in no random order: 1) Have a nice, somewhat lengthy holiday in Ireland with Mr. J. and NO children (sorry, Little Goat - you can go to Grama and Grampa's); 2) Go back to our 'home' church in WA which we will get to do not just once but TWO TIMES this summer and we are so stinking excited we can hardly think straight!; 3) Win some sort of fabulous contest; 4) Build a guest cottage in our backyard (but not our backyard here....our backyard in some future house in a future town that we will actually WANT to love living in); and finally 5) Get a pedicure, during which I may have to be drunk or otherwise out of sound mind because my toenails are an embarrassment to humankind.

3. What are 5 snacks you enjoy? (In no specific order)

Cookies, anything with lime in it (except Tequila), anything with lemon in it, nachos, and anything with chocolate in it. <- Those were very non-specific and also in no specific order.

4. Name some things you would do if you were a millionaire.

Travel, buy a newer car that I wasn't paranoid was going to break down on a darkened highway in -50C weather, travel some more, move someplace we really wanted to live, and then, after we'd settled in, go travel some more. Oh, and maybe go for a camel ride.

5. Name some places where you’ve lived.

Manitoba (not that I don't love my Hometown, but I am particularly proud to have lived in The Niv for two whole school years, cause, you know, all the 'cool' people have lived in The Niv), Chelan, WA, Pateros, WA, and now here, Frozen Tundra, ME.

6. Name some bad habits you have.

Bad habits? Who, me? Well, fine. Hmph! I start things I never finish (hello scrapbook from Brit Tour 2000), I eat too many tasty things (but they're just so tasty!), and I nag. *sigh* Poor, poor me.

7. Name some jobs you’ve had.

Hot dog stand employee, grocery bagger, farmer's market clerk, janitor, camp counselor, security guard, library lackey (*shudder*), college canteen clerk, camp director, donut store clerk, church secretary....and that is all.

8. Name those whom you are tagging.

Brenda, Beth, and Erin K. - YOU'RE IT!

Strange but True

I feel like I haven't had enough time to blog lately. As I mentioned in a previous post, we've been working on a lot of painting and the Little Goat is getting ready to walk so her constant movement means less time to sit at the computer. It is also monsoon season here in Northern Maine. What? You didn't know we get a monsoon season up here? Well it's been raining every day for two weeks, so there! (Okay, all but one day.) Bah! The LG and I have been missing our daily walks. So much for my plan to walk two miles every day after the snow left.

Anyway, I now present to you some possibly strange but true facts. Hm. Maybe not so much strange as ridiculous or silly or revealing.

1) Wise brand cheese doodles are the "official" cheese doodle of the Boston Red Sox. Official! Cheese! Doodles! What the??

2) We now officially make our own yogurt. We do not have cows, but we make our own yogurt. It is cheap and fabulous and we are finding all sorts of new recipes that require yogurt and aren't we just the new poster children for digestive health?

3) Last Sunday, 22 June 2008, I shaved my legs for the first time since 05 May 2001. Yes, that's over seven years of hairiness. I'd been considering taking the plunge for a while and bought this "easy" and "gentle" waxing kit. On the advice of my best friend, I shaved the first time and will wax when there is enough growth. What's dumb about this is that 1) after seven years, I would've thought I could go at least a week before stubble showed up. Not so. Hmph! 2) I feel more self-conscious with shaved legs than hairy ones. My poor legs feel naked! Naked, I tell you!

I won't bother getting out my soapbox because I'm rather tired at the moment, but suffice to say, I don't think women ought to feel pressured to shave their legs. There are men out there (Mr. J. is evidence of this fact) that really, honestly, don't mind hairy legs. He has, in actual fact, been known to brag about it. I also won't bother posting pictures to show you the before and after. I could. But I won't.

Mmmm...new recipes. (And moving.)

So I'm still working on that meme and still working on painting (just the trim left - in the bathroom at least) and still trying to get the house (ridiculously) tidied. We were supposed to meet with the realtor this evening so we can get our house on the market ASAP, but we ended up all having some scheduling conflicts, so we are now meeting on Monday at 5pm.

I don't know why, but I'm nervous about the whole process of selling our house, due in part to having never been involved in actually selling a house, but also just the uncertainty of knowing where we'll end up next. Knowing that the orchestration of selling the house, moving, renting or buying again, finding the next 'dream' job, and keeping our sanity is more up to God than up to us, should be reassuring, but the more I think about it, the harder it is to let go and remember that we're not the ones in control of all that.

In some ways, I feel like we haven't really given Northern Maine a fair shake. We persevered (read: suffered!) through the worst winter on record since 1953, we still haven't made many friends here (not that opportunities abound any more than they did when we first arrived), and we haven't seen nearly as much of this area as we had hoped to. Still, this move is precipitated less by our loathing of the physicality of our surroundings as it is by the fact that we just can't afford to live here. Maine taxes Mainers nearly to death! Everywhere you turn, they make you pay for something and there is NO help for people like us who are riding the fence between getting by and not knowing how to pay the oil bill more often than we'd like. Not that we are in dire financial straits by any means, but it would be nice to be in a place where it isn't the norm to live from paycheck to paycheck, even if you're making twice as much as we are.

So, if you're the praying type, pray with us that God will direct us to a new place that will really feel like Home, whilst being cheap yet prosperous, closer to Manitoba, full of parks and libraries and public transit and private schools and good churches and friendly people and the perfect house (a girl can dream, right?). Also pray that we will be patient while we're waiting to see what comes next.

But hey, in the meantime, LET'S COOK! RA from Definitely RA and Nic from Not Perfect came up with this great idea to occupy some hours over the summer. And what better way to occupy hours than to experiment in the kitchen, right? So, behold:


Whip it Up runs from 6 July until 29 August and each week on Friday, RA or Nic will post a collection of the weeks recipes as submitted by us participants. For full challenge details, click here. I am SO excited about this so come join the fun, okay? It'll rock your pans off! (har!)

One.

Ah, Little Goat. You are one today. ONE! We can hardly believe it!

You are crawling, pulling up, and walking with help. You are curious and loud and babbling away - we are expecting your first word any day now. You have lots of hair (although a somewhat questionable hairline) and six teeth. You're learning how to give kisses and you love to sit and read on Dad's lap. You love chasing the cats and 'petting' them or disturbing their sleep. You get so excited when Dad gets home from work - you bang on the windows and kick your little feet! You even get excited when the garbage truck comes around and Ed the Garbage Truck Driverman waves to you and honks the garbage truck horn.

You like books and dominoes, toys that shake and rattle, playing with anything you find in the recycling pile, and playing with the computer and the telephone! You hurry over when you hear the phone ring probably because you hope it's Grama calling. You like bathtime a lot and snuggling in with (or...crawling all over) Mum & Dad on Sunday mornings before church...which you also love! Some of your favourite people are at church and you have endeared yourself to everyone there, especially the little old ladies who all agree you are the 'cutest, sweetest and most well behaved baby (they've) ever seen and (they) can hardly believe how good you are!'

You eat lots of foods (Cheerios!) and you even tried scalloped potatoes and baked beans at your birthday party last night. And even though we gave you one of the icky organic cupcakes, you ate it anyway - and with such relish! And your favourite birthday present? A big shiny balloon from your friends Les & Debbie at church.

You aren't always happy though - you don't like when we hold you back from pounding on the computer keys. You're not a big fan of diaper changes; you don't seem to like grass very much and you do not like waiting for your dinner. But you are smart and beautiful and sweet and our most perfect gift ever and we can hardly get enough of you!

We love you, Birthday Girl!

And Baby Makes...7

I've been slacking. Can you tell? I wish I could say it's just because it's been so nice outside and we've been out playing, but it's been alternately sunny and windy or stormy and rainy since Saturday. We HAVE been busy though.

Saturday we helped out with a yard/bake sale hosted by some friends from church to raise money to help send kids to camp. Camp is a place close to my heart so anything we can do to help send kids to a summer camp - I'm in. The sale raised just over $600 which is about enough to help out 6 kids.

We've also been busy standing at the window watching our new neighbours. We knew there was at least one woodchuck living under our shed out back and we had lovingly nicknamed him Hans. Well, it turns out we don't have a Hans, we have a Hanselina. And Hanselina has FIVE babies! FIVE! WOODCHUCKLETS! Oh my are they ever cute! They aren't very big yet, maybe the size of a 1/2-gallon jug of milk. There definitely seems to be one bully amongst them and s/he fell off the shed ramp twice the other morning whilst play-fighting with one of her/his siblings. The first time we saw them which was Saturday evening, we had taken a bunch of pictures and were getting ready to leave them alone when, in broad daylight, a fox snuck around the side of the shed! Good grief we should call our yard a wildlife refuge and charge admission! And of course we took pictures which I will try to post soon but they are still on the camera.

Speaking of cameras, our point 'n' shoot digital is officially useless. We can view the pictures that are already on the memory card, but can't take new pictures or video. Mr. J. has a digital SLR but it's complicated and doesn't do video and mostly I don't know how to use it. This would, of course, have to happen mere DAYS before the Little Goat's VERY FIRST BIRTHDAY. *shakes head, stomps foot* So today, on his way home from work, Mr. J. will visit our 'favourite' Walton's Mart and pick up a new camera - not an expense we'd planned for, but Mr. J. has been working lots of overtime lately and we can't live without a camera so that's our justification.

What else is new? Well, the LG seems to be trying to fit in as many more firsts as she can before her first birthday. Last Thursday she got a new tooth and another one on Sunday, which was the same day she pulled up on the coffee table for the first time. Yesterday, she gave her first official kisses and took her first official with-help steps! So you see, we've been busy.

I've also been doing a lot of painting in the last couple weeks and we finally called the realtor who is coming over to meet with us next week and ohmygoodness we have so much to do before then! Gack - the clutter! Gack - the boxes! Gack - the general messiness of things and painting that still needs to be finished! GACK!

Oh yeah, and Kristi from Idaho (do you read her blog? Go! Read! Laugh! She writes for Cracked Magazine!) tagged me for a meme, so I shall strive to post that sometime this weekend, in between cake-baking and painting and throwing out papers and cleaning clutter and moving boxes and barbecuing and watching woodchucks and....

Treats

Lately, I've been seeing a plethora of bloggers post lists of everything they hope to accomplish this summer and since I'm a lover of lists, this might be a good chance for me to publish a list and then of course, it's out there in cyberspace and I therefore become accountable to all of you.

Oh! Wait! Hah! Looks like I'll get out of posting that list today after all. Mr. J. just reminded me that I'm supposed to post pictures of this fabulous package I got in the mail the other day from the Little Goat's Auntie Tamra in South Korea. Without further adieu, I present:

Strange and Possibly Tasty Treats (or Not) from Korea

Noodles with instructions in Korean and "nonfrying" shrimp fries.

CANDY!! You see that container marked "Dream Cacao"? Um, yeah, they're little cubes of dark chocolate covered in...dark chocolate. And they are incredibly incredible.

The maybe not-so-tasty 'treats.' This package really scares me and
we're not really sure what to do with it. Any suggestions?