20 Years!

Twenty years ago, I made one of the best decisions I've ever made.  Happy Anniversary, my love!

In case you're looking

Perhaps you've seen this ad on television during one of your favorite Fox reality shows, or elsewhere:

It occurred to me when I saw this ad that there are probably people out there who have tried Amway/Quixtar products in the past and liked them, but don't know an IBO (that's Independent Business Owner) to buy from. And there are probably people who have seen the ad and wanted to try the products, but didn't know where to get them.

So I'm here to tell you that I have been an IBO for 13 years now and if you're looking for the products, I'm happy to direct you to my personal web page. I have used these products since 1995 and they are fantastic.

Here's the best part: 100% money back if you're not happy. They even pay the return shipping! So if you've never tried the products, but are curious, it's a risk-free situation. And to sweeten the deal, now through the end of August any order of $75 or more gets free shipping!

And don't worry - I'm not going to try to make you sign up, see "the plan", or give me a list of people you know. I just figured I'd share the shopping link if anyone was interested! If you have any questions about any of the products, I'd be happy to answer them. Have fun shopping!

Weird

The beautiful Tee has tagged me. Here are the rules:
1. Link to the person’s blog who tagged you. 2. Post these rules on your blog. 3. List seven random and/or weird facts about yourself. 4. Tag seven random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs. 5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by posting a comment on their blog.

I know I've done this before, but there are just so many weird things about me, I don't think I'll have a problem coming up with seven more.

1. My DVD collection is all in alphabetical order. I tried doing that with the boys' DVDs but you can imagine how long that lasted.
2. I love the smell of libraries and bookstores, each very distinctive.
3. I picked my college based on the fact that not only did they have an awesome writing program, but I wasn't required to take any math while there. (There was a math OR science requirement and I love science).
4. My college roommate and I were born at the same hospital three days apart, but we never met before college.
   
5. Kelly Ripa was born four days before me, but I don't think she was born in the same hospital.
6. I took piano lessons for ten years and I still can't just sit down and play something. I have to practice a LOT.
7. I have been online since the 80s, back when we had a chat-room type thing called CB and a service called Compuserve. Yeah, I'm a geek from way back.

I'm not tagging anyone right now, but if you want to do it, grab it and go!

Serve me with lemon and sugar

Someone told me today that I'm like a cup of chamomile tea - it calms her down just being around me. That just seems really bizarre to me. I certainly don't feel like the calm relaxed person who has everything under control! It's always interesting to see how other people perceive you, isn't it?

This was another mom of four boys, by the way. So she needs all the calm she can get.

I answer your questions

On Monday, I asked you to ask me any questions you wanted. And today I shall answer them.

Hubby asked, "Why?" The answer to that is, as always, because I said so.

Cheeky wanted to know, "Is you is or is you ain't gonna be my one state away neighbor?????"
The answer to that is still up in the air. As far as I know, they haven't gotten back to us with an offer. And it would have to be a pretty spectacular one for us to go to all the trouble of moving.

Karmyn had several questions: What is your favorite time of the day and why?
If I'm awake, I love the early morning, when it's cool, a light mist still hangs in the air, and the boys are still asleep. Unfortunately, I'm usually up too late at night to get up early!
What is your favorite subject to teach to your kids?
I really love teaching science, but I hate doing experiments. I have a bad track record with experiments. Apparently, the laws of physics work differently in my house. At least, that's my story.
What is your favorite way to pamper yourself?
I like to curl up with a good book and a hot cup of strong, black coffee. If I'm away from home, going out to eat is my favorite treat, especially if I can get good seafood (and I'm from Maryland, so I mean good seafood).

And finally, Beth asked, "What is your hardest day of the week, and why?"
Monday is usually the hardest, because the boys play all weekend and then we have to get back into the school routine again. There are some Mondays when we don't start school until 10 or 11 because we're all just dragging. But even worse than Mondays are Tuesdays after a 3 or 4 day weekend.

Thanks for all the questions, everyone! That was fun!

800!

I have reached my 800th post! All I can say is, I sure talk a lot. I never did a 100 things about me list, and by the time I got to 400 posts, I knew I'd never be able to think of 400 things about me to write down. Besides, pretty much anything you'd want to know about me is probably in this blog somewhere.

But just in case there's something you're just dying to know, I'm opening the floor to questions. What do you want to ask me? Anything at all, just ask. I will answer questions later this week. Come up with some good ones!

SPF - Stuff

Kristine wants us to gather a pile of stuff that speaks to who we are. I am clearly a mass of confusion, but here we go.
Okay, just the fact that I had to carefully arrange this stuff is very telling. Everything here is representative of many things. First we have my laptop. Obviously for blogging and email, but also for Bible study, writing, digital scrapping, and game playing. Then we have assorted DVDs. The one with the oval things that looks like an old record player is the Monkees Season 1. This represents all the tv I watched as a kid and teenager, not just the Monkees. Then we have The Little Mermaid: I love Disney animation. And of course Pirates and MIB sort of represent my current taste in movies. Oh, and the giant Star Wars across the top - this was taken under our Star Wars foosball table.

Then we have a picture of me with Hubby, representing my marriage of course, but also my kids because they wouldn't be here otherwise! There's a picture of me with Rockapella, because I didn't have any CD cases handy. In the back right is my makeup case. And then the books, just to show that my tastes run from Shakespeare to romance novels and everything in between. I am sure I left something important out, but you get the general idea.

So, did you play?

Visual DNA

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Saw this over on Tee's blog and had to try it out. It seems pretty much 100% accurate for me, too.

Tagged by Cheeky

The lovely Cheeky has tagged me!

First the rules:

The game: Each player of this game starts off with ten weird things or habits or little known facts about themselves. People who get tagged must write in a blog of their own ten weird things or habits or little known facts as well as state this rule clearly. At the end you must choose six people to be tagged and list their names. No tag backs!

I think I've done something similar before, but here goes!

1. I can say the alphabet backwards in less than six seconds.
2. I can sing the alphabet backwards.
3. I stopped listening to the radio in 1985, so I really don't know many popular songs from the last 22 years.
4. I'm a bit of a "star collector;" I own autographs from lots of different people, including all of Rockapella and two of the Monkees.
5. I love acting, but I never got chosen for any school plays.
6. I once rode twelve hours (with Hubby) to go to a Rockapella concert, attended both performances that Sunday afternoon and evening, then rode twelve hours home and went straight to work.
7. I've never been west of the Rockies.
8. I wrote, self-published, and sold 100 copies of a Star Trek/Battlestar Galactica crossover novel when I was 16.
9. I have been online for about 20 years, in one way or another.
10. I once wrote parody lyrics to "Like a Virgin" and called it "Like a Surgeon." A few months later, Weird Al came out with his "Like a Surgeon" and the lyrics were almost identical. Scary.

So. who to tag? I'll tag the first six people on my blogroll. Go!

Silly confessions

I felt like confessing a few things today. So here goes.

• I had only ever read one blog when I signed up for mine. I just clicked the little "get your own blog" button in the Blogger bar. I didn't know I'd have to come up with a name for it. I looked around my desk and saw the AAA members' magazine, called Going Places. And that's where I got the name.
• After watching Dancing With the Stars, I spend the whole next morning prancing around the house. As if I could ever dance like that. Yeah, right. I do the same thing after watching movies like Dirty Dancing or West Side Story.
• Which brings me to my next confession: Every time I watch a tragedy (West Side Story, Romeo and Juliet, Titanic), I am absolutely convinced that this time it could turn out differently. I will literally sit there yelling at the television, "Turn the ship! Turn! Don't hit the iceberg!" I honestly think that maybe this time will be different! Is that called eternal optimism, or just duh?
• Even though I have 4 kids, I have never gotten used to watching kids eat. Until they're 5 or so and can feed themselves without making a huge mess, every mealtime is total stress for me. At least the dog cleans the food off the floor.

Okay, that's all I feel like sharing. Now it's your turn: what's your silly confession? Comments are open to all again!