50 questions about me

Since I can't figure out how to get this on Facebook, I'll post this here. Mom says I need to blog more anyway! lol

50 Questions
1. What color is your toothbrush? Blue and White
2. Name one person who made you smile today: Rara, she's wearing a headscarf like she's Muslim today. You never know what to expect with her!
3. What were you doing at 8 am this morning: Checking Email
4. What were you doing 45 minutes ago? Devotions
5. What is your favorite candy bar? Kit Kat Crunchy (or something like that)
6. Have you ever been to a strip club? Nope.
7. What is the last thing you said aloud? Go eat breakfast
8. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Peanut Butter Perfection at Cold Stone Creamery
9. What was the last thing you had to drink? Limeade (last night)
10. Do you like your wallet? It does it's job. What's not to like
12. Have you bought any new clothing items this week? No. Who buys clothing weekly???
13. The last sporting event you watched? Superbowl? I caught a couple minutes of it.
14. What is your favorite flavor of popcorn? fresh homemade popcorn with salt and butter
15. Who is the last person you sent a text message too? Probably Knight
16. Ever go camping? It's been about 12 years
17. Do you take vitamins daily? No
18. Do you go to church every Sunday? Yep
19. Do you have a tan? No, it's March. My tan died in September when the weather turned
20. Do you prefer Chinese food over pizza? No. Who would? I like Chinese though
21. Do you drink your soda with a straw? No.
22. What did your last text message say? I don't remember. It was over a year ago
23. What are you doing tomorrow? Cleaning, then... I don't know. First Sat off in a long time
25. Look to your left, what do you see? Fish tank, 2008 paperwork needing to be stored
26. What color is your watch? It's a silver razor cell phone. No need of a watch
27. What do you think of when you hear Australia? Kangaroos
28. ????? I guess they missed this one
29. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive thru? I normally go in. Why bring the mess home. Isn't the point of going out to not have to clean up?
30. What is your favorite number? ? I didn't know people were supposed to have one.
31. Who's the last person you talked to on the phone? I think Jodi.
32. Any plans today? School, cleaning, interview with reporter for a magazine (yes I'm serious)
33. How many states have you lived in? 5 I think
34. Biggest annoyance right now? That I'm tired
35. Last song listened to? Haven't turned it on today. I can't remember last one played yesterday
36. Can you say the alphabet backwards? No, and don't care to try
37. Do you have a maid service clean your house? No, unless you count that I "made" the kids clean
38. Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time? Tennis or boots
39. Are you jealous of anyone? Not really. I like my life
40. Is anyone jealous of you? I can't imagine why anyone would be
41. Do you love anyone? yes
42. Do any of your friends have children? Yes, most of them do
43. What do you usually do during the day? School, clean, cook
44. Do you hate anyone that you know right now? No
45. Do you use the word 'hello' daily? yes
46. What color is your car? Green
47. Do you like cats? Yes, but I'm allergic to them
48. Are you thinking about someone right now? Not really. Just my to do list
49. Have you ever been to Six Flags? No. Don't really desire it either
50. How did you get your worst scar? Surgery. Gall bladder. Fun times

There you have it. All the stuff you didn't know about me, and didn't really need to either.

Spouse Meme

I saw this meme on another blog and thought it looked fun. Plus I don't have much else to blog about.

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen? A Wii game. Normally Madden 09. If we had cable it would be the history channel, but we don't have cable. We don't even have one of the digital boxes you need in February. We don't plan to get one either. Anything we could desire to see on the TV, you can get through the Internet so we are just going to use our TVs for movies and video games.

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? Ranch.

3. What's one food he doesn't like? Chocolate. Makes him get headaches. Other than that, he will eat anything.

4. You go out to the bar. What does he order? Pizza. They still have food at bars, right?

5. Where did he go to high school? Menomonie High School. He still loves their football team

6. What size shoe does he wear? 10 1/2. We had to get him shoes a couple weeks ago. He went to the shoe department, I went to pick some other things up. We met at the register paid and went home. The next day I was packing the new shoes and noticed they were 9 1/2. When I asked him if he had tried them on, he said no, but he knew he wore 9 1/2. He tried them on, they didn't fit, we went and exchanged them for 10 1/2.

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? Probably something Packers, or Civil War.

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? Egg salad, or ham, or turkey, or Philly steak, or peanut butter and honey, or.... like I said, he's not picky

9. What would he eat every day if he could? Red meat. Steak, roast, burgers. He likes his meat

10. What is his favorite cereal? Fruity Pebbles, I think. At least it used to be when we first got married.

11. What would he never wear? Women's clothes. He would go naked before he put on a dress or a pair of panties. lol

12. What is his favorite sports team? Packers, Packers, Packers. Yet he rarely watches them

13. Who will he vote for? Anyone who has read this blog knows who he did vote for. Who will he vote for in 2012? We don't know who the candidates are but he's pushing for a Huckabee/Palin ticket.

14. Who is his best friend? Me, or the kids. We have to push him to do things with boys his own age.

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? Get hormonal. I don't cry when I get hormonal, I get short tempered. Crying he could live with. Crabby he could live without

16. How many states has he lived in? 1 unless you consider the state of wedded bliss

17. What is his heritage? He's told me German but I think there may be some more in there. Nothing too exciting. It would be Swedish, Norwegian, or something else pretty white. Reddish hair, blue eyes, freckles.

18. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what would it be? Funfetti. You know, white cake with sprinkles in it. Sprinkles on the frosting. No chocolate at all.

19. Did he play sports in high school? No. He was one of those scrawny red headed kids who always got picked on. The most sports he played was backyard sports with his cousins

20. What could he spend hours doing? Playing the Wii, talking politics, playing with the kids at the park

21. What's something cool about him? He truly enjoys playing with the kids. They will play baseball until it's dark, or play and discuss Wii games until it's time for bed. He's as interested in it as they are.

Scattergories

I got this in an email from my sister, and since I know I have been neglecting my blog lately I thought I would post it instead of forwarding it on.(I RARELY forward anything)

The rules are you have to use the letter of your first name for all the answers, nothing can be made up and the girls or boys name can not be your own. Go ahead and play along.

WHAT IS YOUR NAME? De

FOUR LETTER WORD: Dear

VEHICLE: Durango (that's a vehicle, right?)

TV SHOW: Days of Our Lives (is that still on?)

CITY: Dayton, OH

BOY NAME: David

GIRL NAME: Debbie

OCCUPATION: Dentist

FOOD: Donut

SOMETHING FOUND: Diamond (obviously not found by me)

REASON FOR BEING LATE: Dead Battery (on your car)

Just three words

I stole this from Leeann cause it looked like funI don't know what to blog about!

What I am doing: blogging and email
What I’m proud of today: up on time
What I’m thinking about: the day ahead
Who is home: kids, me, dog
Plans tonight: plans? what's that?
My weekend was: too long ago
What’s for dinner: don't know yet
Feelings about love: comfortable, accepted, complete
Feelings about life: busy, trying, joyful
What I need: have it all
What I want: house on river
What I have: way too much
My pet peeve: tartiness, clutter, fighting
My guilty pleasure: spending on me
What you don’t know about me: shh, don't tell
What I can hear: kids eating cereal
What I can smell: just my candles
My style: jeans, shirt, boring
My hairdo: long and curly
My outfit: same as always
My mood: content and ready
The weather today: I don't know
Thoughts on parenting: hard but great
Thoughts on marriage: hard but great :-)
Thoughts on politics: no one good
Thoughts on celebrity gossip: who really cares
Thoughts on beauty: eye of beholder
Thoughts on sleep: wish I could
Thoughts on writing: great cathartic release
My favorite appliance: pellet stove count?
My favorite car: not realistic, ever
My favorite splurge: out to eat
My favorite beauty secret: gel, then shake
My favorite treat: vanilla ice cream
My favorite everyday pleasure: blogging and email
Ten years ago: only 2 kids
Five years ago: schooling 2 kids
One year ago: nothings really changed
One year from now: expecting the same
Five years from now: working from home
Ten years from now: nearly empty nest :-(
I’m famous for: only imaginary fame
I’ll never be famous for: anything, thank goodness
Who I am: me, myself, I
Who I hope to be: not someone else
What I’m thankful for: my gazillion blessings

Thursday Thirteen--Leeann style

I saw this on Leeann's blog and thought it would be fun to play along.

13 Things I Want To Know About You

1. Would you eat spoiled food from the garbage, or go hungry?
Go hungry as long as I could. Eventually I would probably eat it, but I would have to be starving to death. Literally

2. Would you make one adult film, if it meant that you would never have to work again?
Absolutely not.

3. In your relationship, you find out that a baby has been conceived. One of you wants the baby, the other doesn't. Who has the right to choose?
The one that wants it. But they also have to take care of it in every way

4. You are in a serious accident in the middle of nowhere and you only chance of survival is to cut off your own arm. Would you do it?
I don't know. Because I would probably die anyway

5. Do you think it is important to tell the truth, or spare someones feelings?
I err on the side of grace. I don't necessarily lie, but truth does not always need to be said out loud. It's ok to just shut your trap

6. What is something you find yourself constantly thinking about?
The mess in my house

7. If your house was on fire, what is the one thing you would have to save (of course, I am assuming that all people/pets are safe)?
Car keys, cell phone, insurance papers. (No, not the pictures. That is why I use web albums.)

8. Forgive and forget? Or forget to forgive?
Forgive, but who ever really forgets?

9. Why are you best friends with your best friend?
Because we can be real with each other

10. Name one challenge you are faced with on a regular basis.
Depression

11. Do you think its possible to only love one person for the rest of your life?
In a perfect world, yes.

12. If you had the skills, what is your dream job?
Flipping houses

13. What is your favorite quote/saying/scripture?
“No bastard ever won a war dying for his country. You win a war by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.” — General George Patton I read this in Flags of our Fathers and thought it was great.

2 things...

I saw this on Karen's blog and since my kids are not allowed on electronics because they destroyed the house yet again I thought I would use it. Thanks Karen!

2 things you like: laughter and music
2 things you hate: chaos and filth
2 things you want right now: tiki hut and sand
2 things you want in life: peace and joy
2 things you are doing right now: blogging and munching on gummy bears
2 things you'd rather be doing: flying to the tropics and sitting in a clean house
2 things you hear right now: radio and kids
2 things you smell right now: gummy bears and puppies
2 things that are right in front of you: computer monitor and J-Bells hand stealing gummy bears
2 things that are behind you: books and a window
2 things that make you happy: great humor and kids belly laughing
2 things that make you sad: ignorance and loneliness
2 things you think will happen tomorrow:company coming and cold weather
2 things you know will happen tomorrow: someone will be born and someone will die.
2 people you will tag: anyone and everyone

ATTENTION--Someone actually thinks I'm fabulous!

The fabulous Toni from In the Midst of this Season has so graciously bestowed the I'm Fabulous Award to yours truly. Now, it may not seem like a big deal but I don't get to drink water out of that fancy of a glass everyday! And to bonus there are two of them so I just might get a sip before the kids drink it all, needing some just because it's in a fancy glass. I sure hope that this is faux fancy so when the kids are fighting over the glasses and drops them, they just have that slight sound of plastic bouncing. Don't judge...we are high society here around these parts!

But Toni, being sneaky as she will be has given this award with strings. She also tagged all of her victims friends with the 7 random things meme. But before I get to that, I will pass this award on with the same condition....you have to do the meme too. Hee Hee, us who learn our kids at home have to stick together!

Rules...

1. Link to the person who has tagged you.

2. Tell seven true things about yourself.

3. Tag seven new people (or in my case 2)

4. Leave a message with the person you have tagged so they know about it.

So my choices are...

Leeann from The World:through the eyes of me. She is a neat person, but what I think is really neat is that she is going to to naked for a great cause. Well, only naked at the top of her head, but anyone willing to shave their head for someone else is fabulous in my world.

As the World Scraps (sorry I couldn't find her screen name) I have just recently been introduced to her blog, but let me tell you, this woman is fabulous! I love her creativity, her energy, and her faith, and the fact that she feels comfortable just popping in unannounced and eating all my M&M's!

Onto my 7 random things......

1. I love organizing but hate cleaning. I can find almost anything in my house in a short period of time, but I couldn't tell you the last time I dusted. (my mom is so proud! lol)

2. I am probably an eccentric. I get weird ideas and want to implement them, but Knight tends to be the voice of reason. For example, I have a huge front porch. I have wanted (still do) to fill it with sand, put up some bamboo shades, fake palm trees, some lawn chairs so I can pretend I live at the beach. Is that normal for a 30 year old mother of 4? Do I care if it is?

3. I spend a lot of time on the computer but 99% of my time is at 5 sites. Gmail, Bloglines, finetune, foxnews, MyYahoo (news again)

4. I don't like calling people. I don't want to interrupt their day. I will email, or text all day, but I generally don't call. But I like it if people call me.

5. I consider my genre of music is pretty diversified. It tends to be all Christian, but I like and have found hip hop, country, praise & worship, contemporary, reggae, and classical(ish) all with Christian or clean lyrics. My MP3 will go from Randy Travis, to Casting Crowns, to Jars of Clay to Toby Mac. No one can say my kids only know one type of music.

6. I have been playing with my beads lately making necklaces. This is the one craft I really enjoy that I can afford. I don't wear jewelry. Not even my wedding ring.

7. I think math is fun. I love learning the new ways to do math as I teach my kids. I will buy the penny press puzzle books when they have the Math and Logic ones for sale. Sudoku is relaxing. But don't try to get me to do a crossword. I am horrible at those.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Amy from Laughing through the Tears has tagged me for a fun meme. I thought I'd play along and since I can't think of others that I read regularly to tag under the rules, I will leave it up to whoever wants to play. So here goes...

1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.

2. Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of their middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.

3. When you are tagged you need to write your own blog-post containing your own middle name game facts.

4. At the end of your blog-post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

My whole given name is Deanna Lynn.

L-Lynn was a tool for torturing my mother when I was younger. My mom had a sibling who thought she was adopted because all of my moms siblings' names started with the same letter except for this one. My mom having that fear, named all of our first name ending with an "a". As a child we figured out that my middle name is the only one that doesn't end with an "e". So I asked my mom if I was adopted. So mean.

Y-Year. I was born in the chinese year of the Dragon. Apparently that means...

People born in the Year of the Dragon are healthy, energetic, excitable,
short-tempered, and stubborn. They are also honest, sensitive, brave, and they
inspire confidence and trust. Dragon people are the most eccentric of any in the
eastern zodiac. They neither borrow money nor make flowery speeches, but they
tend to be soft-hearted which sometimes gives others an advantage over them.
They are compatible with Rats, Snakes, Monkeys, and Roosters.

Knight is a monkey. And this means diddly to both of us.

N-Nonconformist. At least that is what I like to think. I do know that pushing me to do something is NOT the way to get me to do it. The more you push, the more I fight it. I don't like to stand out in the crowd, but then again, I don't even like to be in the crowd. Some people call me wild. Some call me free spirited. Most just call me stubborn. But I don't think any would call me a conformist.

N-Nightowl. I do better at night. I think better, have more energy, and I really enjoy evenings to myself. Not that I get any. I used to. But with Knights new schedule he's home and doesn't go to bed unless I'm with him. So I have resigned myself to getting up in the morning to enjoy quiet time. That didn't work so hot either. But that's another story...

I was tagged by Toni at In the Midst of this Season for another meme! She has a great writing style and is one of my daily reads.

Here's how it works, I’ll write 10 facts about me and/or habits of mine.- I’ll tag 10 people.- If you’ve been tagged, you do your own list and tag 10 more people. (”No tag backs.”)

1. If I want to develop a habit in my, I use a reward system. My one right now is "No blogging before Bible". This forces me to get into my Bible and Bible study first thing in the morning. I don't break these rules.

2. I will not leave my house without showering even if I just have to run to the store and pick up something for a project that will make me dirty. I shower, go to the store, get dirty, and take another shower. When I am home all day, I may not take a shower until the afternoon or evening but I get one in.

3. I like people, hate crowds. I love to talk, but only to people I know well. I would rather be in a crowd of strangers than in a crowd of friends. Figure that one out.

4. I don't really think more than 6 months into the future. I don't have long term plans and goals. I do have some thoughts into what I want to do when the kids leave, but I don't think very often of that at all.

5. I can not think of one person that I have a grudge against. There have been people that have hurt me, but I don't spend energy into thinking bad about them. This has taken some time.

6. I love to be involved with things but I hate to be a leader. I would much rather help out and nobody know. I don't even want public credit given, ever. I rarely volunteer, but I love to be asked to help.

7. I was born in Brindisi, Italy and have lived in San Antonio, TX-- Crete, Greece-- Panama City, Florida-- Tacoma, WA-- Las Vegas, NV-- and a couple places in WI. We always came back to WI between places so home is my Grandma and Grampas' house. It has this smell. Not of old people, but this totally unique smell in her garage that all of us cousins know well, but Grandma has no idea what we are talking about.

8. I met my husband at a family get together. We are not related in the least, but we do have mutual first cousins.

9. All of my and 3 of Knights grandparents are still alive. My kids know most of their great grandparents, all of their grandparents, all of their cousins, and all of their aunts, and all but one of their uncles. He is now their uncle (married my sister) but they live far enough away that they have not met him yet. We have been truly blessed. They even know a lot of their 2nd cousins and great aunts and uncles.

10. I listen to the radio in the car, but at home I listen to Fine Tune most of the time. At fine tune you make a play list with the songs you pick (45) and they play them at random.

Now I tag...
1. Molly at Doodles from Dahls because she completely ignored a previous tag
2. Kris at Lessons from Kris because she hasn't been assigned much to blog lately
3. Jen at The Work Site because she hasn't been blogging regularly (again)
4. Melody at Slurping Life because I always love to here what she has to say
5. Amy at Laughing Through the Tears because she loves meme's
6. Laura at Busy Bees because she is a new blogger
7. JoGirl at Can we Build it because I love her
8. Desti at Destiny's Discoveries because she is the one mostly devoted to her blog
9. Keri at Plans and Providence because I don't talk to her enough (I need to see if she is still alive)
10. Karen at For Such a Time as Now because I like her blog

Happy Blogging!

*Updated on 5-9 for Real Mom Truths Mothers Day Contest*

Real moms don't create kids, they steer kids

With children you are dealing with different personalities each with different strengths and weaknesses. Learning to enjoy each child for who they are and how Christ made them is so essential. We all need to steer our children toward Christ, and to help them learn and grow, expanding their horizons. What we need not do is try to change them into someone that they are not created to become. Real moms don't compare their children to each other and expect one to be like the other. Real moms see the differences as a great thing because not everyone is used the same way in the kingdom and we rejoice in that truth.

Enter the Real Mom Truths Mothers Day Contest! The winner will receive this amazing 4G iPod Nano and Chocolate gift set, plus a link to their post on True Mom Confessions on Mother's Day