Random Things

I was surfing a friend's newly published blog (which I am not linking to for privacy sake, unless she gives me blessings) and ran across her post of 25 random things.  I posted mine on Facebook back in January 2009, and thought I'd take a stroll down memory lane to see what my 25 things were.  Amazingly, 24 were right on target, and just a few needed "freshening up."  Here goes!

1. I like to know what the rules are. And, I like to find my way around them whenever possible, because they don’t apply to me.

Yes, this is a shark EATING a snake!

2. I still have a fascination with snakes and sharks. But I don’t want to run into one in its natural habitat.

3. I love leaving my kids with a babysitter for a few hours to run errands or go to work. Missing and appreciating them helps me be a better mommy when I return. I am never more loved than when I come home to 4 happy faces overjoyed to see me. Well, 5 if you count my husband or the sitter.

4. I like to work. I think I am really good at what I do. I guess other people feel the same way!  (LOVE my clients!)

5. I like things in pairs. I am always buying things in pairs when I am grocery shopping or buying clothes. Two jars of mayo. Two cans of soup. Two bags of chips. Two t-shirts. It’s been a mild obsession since my early 20’s. Apparently it was genetic because my children come in pairs, too.

6. I have 2 sets of twins. All girls. They are 21 months apart. My twins are fraternal. I did not have IVF treatments, though the majority of people think I did in order to have so many kids so fast. I’m just cool like that. (And read line #5 above.)  I have a T-shirt that reads on the front: “Yes, twins run in my family” … the back says, “Which way did they go?” My favorite bag is shown here.  (Search for twins.)

7. I hated being pregnant. Almost every day, I wanted to shove ice picks in my ears to make it all end. I was totally miserable for 8 month out of the full 9 months, both times. I finally figured out how it happens and I’ve never doing that again.

8. I actually like Top 10 lists. Once of my friends and I will each write a Top 10 list of whatever strikes our fancy on the back of our envelopes when we write each other. (The old fashioned way… with ink and paper!)  Though since 2009, it's been on a facebook post.

9. I can never live up to my mother’s standards even though I strive to be more like her each and every day I’m alive. That’s actually a compliment to her.

10. My husband is a saint to put up with me. He helps out with the kids so much. Although he probably doesn’t know he has the option. Thankfully he doesn’t have many friends that tell him he’s doing too much around the house for us.

11. I have a rescue kitty, Annie, whom I saved at a day old.  The vet checked her out and somberly told me he'd "take care of her" for me so I wouldn't have to deal with it.  I took her home and loved her.  She's 13 now.  She dislikes my husband very much.  She got even more pissed when I started bringing babies home.

12. I hated all things “princess” until my older girls turned 2 years old and taught me that being a princess is fun.

13. I dress my girls in pink and purple a lot. #1 and #3 are purple Twincess and purple Twinado, respectively. #2 and #4 are their pink counterparts. Everything was color coordinated down to their bottles, pacifiers, blankets, etc. My favorite color is purple. I wear pink shirts a lot to balance it out since I don’t want the 2 pink kids to feel slighted that I prefer purple.

14. I cannot stand doing domestic chores like cleaning the house or doing dishes. I love cooking and baking. The aftermath of said domesticness is the reason I only cook a big family meal a few times a week, if that.

15. My mother taught me fairness and balance in a world where it rarely exists. Yet her favorite phrase was “life isn’t fair.” I do my best to control the balance in my house by giving each child the opportunity to have what the other has, etc.; however I’m not going to give one child a quarter just because the other kid found one in the street. After all, life isn’t fair.

16. My feet, after my pregnancies, are a size 12 wide. Most stores sell a wide variety of women's shoes up to size 10, and a handful of ugly or impractical shoes in 11. The only places that sell 12 wide women’s shoes are the transvestite shops in West Hollywood, and they all have a 5-inch stiletto heel. I’ve settled on wearing size 11 men’s Converse all-stars. They fit perfectly. God help me if I am invited to another wedding though. Maybe Converse sells a sequined version.

17. I didn’t vote for him. Don’t blame me. (Oops, i just lost 5 of my 14 readers....)

18. My kids have been too quiet for too long. I just discovered they have covered their bodies head-to-toe in return address stickers. They were going to start decorating the babies too. Yes, my husband is sitting 4 feet away from them oblivious to the whole thing. [Posted in 2009, and just too funny to take out!]

19. I chew ice. So much in fact that I broke a tooth 2 years ago and now have 4 crowns on my lower back molars. So now I chew on the other side on the one "real"tooth I have left . Chomp chomp.

20. I am stubborn and I will stand on principle. However, if I am wrong, I am usually the first to admit it. That being said, I am never wrong.

21. I watch way too much TV. I love Dexter, Lost, 24, and a ton of other prime time network shows (in 2009). However I think American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, and all those other performance reality shows are ridiculous. Unless they ask me to do a show, that is. Then I will rethink that statement.

22. I have been in 2 rock music videos and my each of my kids were hired for 4 TV shows (and at least one appeared on every show they were hired for, unlike their "back-up" babies in the next trailer).

J.R. Richards

Rodney Browning Cravens (and me)

23. I have seen one rock band / front man perform in person at least 100 times and have traveled at least 700 miles round trip to see them on more than a handful of occasions. The band partied in our hotel room once. I even have pictures to prove it.  Here they are, from a show on the beach near Santa Cruz, CA in October of 2004.

24. My kids were all conceived on weekends where I went to a concert with a bestie of mine. Maybe Deena is their father?

25. My husband thinks I am working right now and is diligently watching the kids as I blog in the next room. D’oh!


photo credits: pics are mine.  the rest I foundand gave propercredit for, then I lost the post and my links to go along with them.  Sorry about that.