Everyday Baby Steps

I Am Not Weird

marybabysteps — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:22:15 -0700

I've been tagged by Janina at Bear Bugga for a fun meme. I'm supposed to name 7 weird facts about myself. Sounds like fun, except I'm SURE there's absolutely NOTHING weird about me. So I guess I can't play.

Okay, you know I'm lying. I'm about as weird as they come. So I guess I can probably come up with 7 weird facts about myself to share. And how appropriate that this would come today, as it's Friday Fun. It's also my 50th post, and I was hoping to do something special! So here goes. Let's see...

1. I hate vegetables. I don't think that's weird, but my husband tells me it is. I will eat corn and peas, canned, but that's about it.

2. I don't think I can drive without singing. I know people must look at me like I'm nuts. It's a habit. But I usually do manage to restrain myself when someone, besides the kids, is in the car with me.

3. Speaking of driving. I don't really like to drive all that much. I had a couple accidents when I was seventeen and didn't drive again until I was twenty-one. Then I wouldn't drive on the interstate. I've gotten past that, but I still really hate driving in cities.

4. I fidget. Really bad. One of my legs is always going. It drives my poor husband nuts, but I just can't help it.

5. I don't think this is weird, but you may not have known that I have Attention Deficit Disorder. Lots of people think that only kids have ADD, but it's not something you outgrow. And I've learned that it affects women differently than men. Lots of times women don't really notice it until they have kids, which adds to their responsibilities and stress.

6. I'm allergic to wheat and milk. Yep, both of them. I get cold symptoms, like a stuffy, runny nose and cough. Sometimes if I eat a lot of chocolate or cheese, I'll get a terrible migraine. Now that I'm getting older, I've noticed that I also feel very fatigued if I eat a lot of bad things. I've been terrible about sticking to my diet recently, but I hope to get back to it when the kids are back in school. I feel much better when I cut out the wheat and milk, and I lose weight.

7. I don't watch much TV. Which is weird, because I used to watch a lot. I've never seen Big Brother, Lost, or Survivor. I do watch HGTV, Home and Garden Television. And I guess I watch a lot of Nickelodeon and Disney Channel. Darn it, I just realized I don't watch TV because the kids are always hogging it!

So there you have it, seven weird things about me. Probably more than you ever wanted to know. But I'd like to know more about some of my blogging friends, and the rules here say I have to tag more folks.

* Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
* Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
* Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

I'm tagging:

Angela at Unexpected Art

Nadia at Walking Through

Courtney at The Only Thing I Know

Jennifer at Happily Ever After Land

Amy at MomSpark

Ann at Ann Again...and Again

Jenni at Jiggety Jigg

Thanks for checking out all the weird things about me. I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Weekly Winners August 11 - 16

marybabysteps — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 02:23:05 -0700

This is a meme I've never participated in before. It's hosted by Sarcastic Mom, and I enjoy seeing people's entries each week. It's called "Weekly Winners", and all you do is post your favorite photos from the week with a short caption telling about each one. Sarcastic Mom's got a contest going on for the most entries, but I'll probably just jump in for fun every now and again. Here are my entries for the week. We took Noah's telescope out and spent a nice evening looking at the stars!

[caption id="attachment_303" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Noah was so excited to try out his new telescope!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_304" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Oh, the pain we endure for our kids!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_305" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="I wish I may, I wish I might..."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_306" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Norah stealing the spotlight!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_308" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Even Brady joined in for a little star gazing!"][/caption]

There you have them, my favorite pictures from the week. To see more great photos, from much better photographers than I, visit Sarcastic Mom!

Something New: Vintage Thingies Thursday

marybabysteps — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:14:39 -0700

I found a new meme to take part in called Vintage Thingies Thursday. I first saw it at MommieDaze and thought it looked like fun. You all know I'm usually thankful on Thursday, but I thought I'd mix it up a bit today!

The meme originated at Confessions of An Apron Queen. You can go to her site to see her thingy of the week as well as others who are participating. Let me know if you decide to play, too - I'd love to see what cool treasure you've got!

Here's mine. It's a shaker for mixing alcoholic beverages. I'd say it's probably from the '50's. When I moved out on my own after my ex-husband and I separated, I had to get all new stuff, and I was on a serious budget. I decided that I didn't want to go to Wal-Mart and buy all of the cookie-cutter housewares everyone else has, so I did my shopping at flea markets, thrift shops, and on eBay. I found a woman nearby who sold all kinds of antiques on Ebay, so I bought this fun shaker along with lots of other stuff like china, pitchers, and a lamp, then met up with her to pick up my loot. Here it is. What do you think? It lists recipes for drinks like Dry Martini, Manhattan, and Whiskey Sour. Any idea how old it is?

By the way, the shaker is made of clear glass. I put white tissue paper inside so you could see the printed recipes. Isn't it cool?

Thankful Thursday

marybabysteps — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 08:00:11 -0700

Though it's not an original category, I will be using the Thankful Thursday theme each week because I feel it's quite applicable to the tone of my blog and to the direction in which I am taking my life. I started blogging as a way to live my life intentionally and to make lasting changes. And we all know that the self-help experts (think The Secret) advocate being grateful for what you have as a way to become satisfied and to attain self-fulillment.

Have I mentioned my love of non-fiction books? It's almost as addictive strong as my love of magazines. Almost. Before the phenomenon of The Secret, there was Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach. Does anyone remember that one? I think Oprah featured it as well. This book focused on being grateful for what you have and recommended keeping a gratitude journal each day. My journal helped to get me through a time in my life when money was tight and my support network was far away. I will definitely be reaching for my copy of Simple Abundance as I continue on my journey toward personal discovery, however, now that I have three kids, perhaps I'll use Thankful Thursday as a way to document my appreciation instead of a daily gratitude journal! Feel free to join me! Click the Mister Linky tab to link your Thankful Thursday post, and please leave a comment. Thanks.