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Saw this fun new meme at Jean’s blog. Just answer the following twelve random questions to play along. Link your answers up at 2nd Cup of Coffee.

1. Tell me the absolute best way to watch a movie.

Snuggled up on the couch, under a blanket on a cool evening, watching a fantastic movie with my husband while… both kids are asleep… and we’re eating some fantastic snack that we both magically have enough calories left for.

2. Do you ever think about your own funeral? If so, do you have specific ideas about how you would like it to be?

Not in a specific sense, no. I’ve thought about it in passing but I don’t do well with death thoughts so I generally just gloss over the idea and try to think of something else. I have been lucky enough so far that I haven’t had a major death in my life yet though so that’s probably a big part of it.

3. Are you more of a giver or a taker?

I think I’m a healthy mix. In that I occasionally give to an unhealthy level and occasionally take just as much. A healthy mix of two extremes.

4. Vacations: planned activities and schedules, or play it by ear?

I definitely have a tendency to plan anything I can, but I don’t mind playing things by ear once we get there. We can blow off some of the plans or add something in, I just like to have a game plan on the mundanities – like where are we staying, what are we hoping to see, what restaurants are in the area that we might want to check out. Budget. All that boring stuff that for some reason I absolutely looooove to plan out. Like it’s almost as much fun as the vacation.

5. What is one often overlooked item in your home that needs to be cleaned regularly?

the bathroom? I ignore it more than I should for sure. But I think ::knock on wood:: that Dan tends to it more than I’d ever notice because things do get cleaned even if I’m not cleaning them. I’m lucky that he was raised by a clean freak and some of those tendencies have stuck.

6. Name a cause that means a lot to you.

There’s no one big cause that stands out to me. I’m a fairly compassionate person so lots of things tug at my heart strings – if I gave regularly to all of them I’d go broke. I have a cousin who is autistic so I am always listening for news in the autism world although I don’t do very much personally to support the cause, if we were wealthy, I might. I am fairly passionate about the environment and health and also literacy, but I mean… I’m a bit of a bleeding heart like I said, so I just dip my feet into all of it, have a strange probably unnecessary beef against corn and corn by products – oh and the treatment of cows in beef farms… but I mean, it’s really all things that I think about as opposed to do much about on a global level. If that makes any sense at all. Should I just say no? haha

7. Do you eat a regular old peanut butter jelly sandwich, or do you customize it? And by the way, jelly or no jelly?

Both? It depends on my mood and my pantry. I like to mix up what kind of jelly or sometimes use fluff and occasionally I’ve put fresh fruit in the sandwich in addition to or instead of the jelly.

8. If we were having a conversation in person, how would I know if you were nervous?

I might look kinda jumpy or stammer a lot. When I’m nervous I tend to forget to eat enough (like at parties) so you’ll notice when my blood sugar drops.

9. Do you have an elaborate bedtime routine, or just the basics of tooth brushing and jammies?

I do like to read before bed and I tend to clean up the apartment as I walk to the bedroom but other than that, it’s pretty standard – oh I also started journaling before bed in a paper journal right before I read. That’s new though.

10. Have you ever regretted something you wrote on your blog?

Maybe a little bit but I’ve deleted anything I decided later was just dumb.

11. Has anyone ever told you that you look like a famous person or celebrity? Did you agree?

When I was in high school some people said I looked like Katie Holmes. I don’t really agree with them but it was a nice compliment so I’ll take it.

12. If you were going to dedicate a song to a loved one or friend, what would the song be and to whom would it be dedicated?

“You Can Be My Yoko Ono” to my husband because it makes us both smile. I get that kind of love that they were talking about and I like the song and the message. And I love my husband – I will follow him wherever he goes. :OP

…for more wordless fun check out Wordless Wednesday and 5 Minutes For Mom…

I’ve seen the writing on the wall for some time now. I knew something had to be done, I just haven’t been ready. But it’s time. My son watches too much tv. I sit around too much. Even the baby is getting restless. I was able to ignore it for awhile. He was watching PBS mostly – shows like Sesame Street and Word World that were promoting a love of learning and reading and helping him learn new things. But lately he’s been too attached to that darn boob tube – crying when we turn it off. Tantrums. It isn’t healthy.

And this fall PBS changed their line up in Wisconsin, putting on shows during the day that are so boring and above MM’s head, causing me to change the channel to god help me Playhouse Disney or Nick Jr or putting movies on – and I realized today that this must be life’s way of telling me – turn off the tv. There’s nothing worth watching here. So I’ve decided to stop ignoring what’s obvious and make a change.

Tomorrow we are doing something different. After we’ve had breakfast and the baby has had a good feeding, I’m packing some snacks for MM and myself and we’re walking to the park. I’ll get in some exercise, MM will get to run around and play like kids are supposed to do and maybe the baby will enjoy the change of scenery. We’ll come home for lunch and hopefully a nap? God help me if it rains tomorrow.

Grade: B+

Lioness Rampant is the last book in a quartet called Songs of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce. I started reading this series in September of 2008 so it seems very fitting and kismet and all that jazz that I finished the quartet last week, a little over one year later. I began reading the Lioness quartet after reading the books Pierce wrote later about Alanna’s daughter Trickster’s Choice and Trickster’s Queen. It wasn’t until after reading these books that I realized they were not the first in a series, but rather the last. So I tracked down the first book, Alanna: The First Adventure and began reading it.

I have noticed a trend with all of Tamora Pierce’s books – they all take me awhile to get into, despite catching my interest, the first half of the book tends to drag on forever. The last book in particular, I picked up and put down several times before actually reading it. But then, about 1/3 to halfway through, the plot seems to pick up and I cannotputitdown. Every time. So on the one hand, it’s a bit annoying that each book seems to have this problem (for me at least) but I do end up really liking each book, Lioness Rampant being no exception.

The Songs of the Lioness quartet tells the story of the first female knight in Tortall, a land imagined by the author. It was a long road to Alanna finding acceptance in her chosen profession but by book four she is established and renowned. Children in Tortall play Lioness in the streets and in general, everyone loves her. This book was mainly about Alanna learning to love and accept herself, all of her. She has struggled over the years to really accept both the female aspect of her life and the warrior aspect – how to combine the two and find love with someone who will accept her for who she really is – all of her.

Of course, having read the Trickster books I already knew who she would end up with (I won’t spoil it for you) but it was still fun to see that progress and see how she ends up with the future father of her children. She had several prospects and all seemed to have their plusses and minuses. I enjoyed seeing how she made her decision and watching her grow into the woman she is meant to become. And don’t worry – it’s not all romance. There is a lot of excitement and adventure mixed in, probably more so than the romance. In the final book Alanna fights old enemies from her past and conquers some new exciting battles, too, as Prince Jon prepares to take the throne.

I definitely recommend this series to anyone who likes a good fantasy story and enjoys the young adult genre but I will warn you that there is a fair amount of sexuality at least discussed in these books and while it isn’t graphic, I think it worth mentioning in case you have a younger daughter who is interested in reading the series. The first book starts out fairly tame, but it’s definitely a coming of age story with all that that entails.

And now that I’ve finished the Lioness quartet I’ve discovered there are even more books in what is apparently an entire Tortallan series. Next up to conquer (if I dare) will be the Immortals quartet, which starts with Wild Magic.

Have you read any books by Tamora Pierce? What did you think of them?

Just Heather has this cool list of 40 things she wants to accomplish before she turns 40. Like Heather I am prone to making to do lists, mostly mundane things, in an effort to getitdone. But what about those things that might otherwise slip through the cracks of “not important because it’s only for me?” Too often we focus on everyone else, making sure the kids are happy, our husbands are happy, etc. We focus on getting dinner on the table, laundry folded and put away, making sure we get the oil changed in the car and get to miscellaneous meetings on time. But isn’t there more that we want to do, just as soon as we find a spare moment or twelve? That’s what 40 by 40 is about – just coming up with a list of things we’d like to do and hope we’ll find the time to do in the near or not so near future. I’ve got a ways to go before I turn 40 (14 years!) which is good, because that means I have more time to check things off my list and accomplish the things I want to.

Want to join me? It doesn’t have to be 40 by 40 if you’ve already passed that milestone or 40 is so far off you can’t even think about it yet (for any really young readers out there!). Heather got her idea from a blogging friend of hers named Katie who made a 30 before 30 list. The numbers don’t matter -what matters is just taking the time to think about what matters do you, what you want to do with your life and then setting about doing at least some of those things.

So without further adieu, here are the forty things I hope to do before I turn 40.

1. Buy a house – a home I can truly call my own. Preferably with a stellar kitchen and a front porch big enough to sit on in some comfortable bench, swing or lawn chair.
2. Lose the baby weight, the college days weight and any other lingering pounds.
3. Walk, or even better, run in a marathon.
4. Learn a new foreign language.
5. Travel to a new country.
6. Take the kids to Disney World.
7. Learn kick boxing.
8. Take a cruise.
9. Become a “soccer mom.”
10. Visit a casino.
11. Go to a local sporting event.
12. Make my own preserves.
13. See The Ellen Show live!
14. Start my own garden.
15. Plant a tree.
16. Meet my mother.
17. Visit the city where I was born.
18. Join the PTO or PTA or whatever it’s called now.
19. Go camping with the family.
20. Take a big road trip like the Highway 51 trip.
21. Rent an RV for a trip.
22. Read all the books I own.
23. Volunteer for a soup kitchen.
24. Donate generously to a charity.
25. See Mount Rushmore.
26. Go to Hawaii.
27. Visit the Grand Canyon.
28. Stay at one of those luxery hotels, preferably on a sandy beach somewhere.
29. Buy Dan a big screen tv.
30. Get a cell phone that I actually like.
31. Build a tree house in our backyard (once we get a house).
32. Buy a dog (preferably from an animal shelter).
33. Learn sign language.
34. Visit a Smithsonian museum.
35. Become a Den mother.
36. Do 10 real push-ups in a row.
37. Have my own “library” in my home – a room JUST for books and reading.
38. Renew my wedding vows.
39. Try Zumba.
40. Make friends with someone in this state.

Clearly not in order of importance or anything. :OP Well, how about you? What are your life goals?

Today…

Outside my window: It’s another day of blue skies… at the moment. Lately we’ve had a very annoying pattern of weather that changes constantly throughout the day. This morning it was foggy with rain and wind but now it’s gorgeous out – not that that means it will stay that way. It could snow in an hour and I wouldn’t be surprised.

I am hearing: some random show on PBS – the new line up just sucks. I don’t even know what we’re watching but MM hasn’t complained yet so I’m not worried about it. Just annoyed – what happened to all our cute shows? The stuff they have on mostly these days is way over MM’s head. And the school children who might appreciate it? Yeah they’re at SCHOOL. What gives PBS?

I am thinking: it’s so expensive to travel. We’re looking into taking a trip home this May for a family wedding, Dan’s brother’s graduation and his father’s birthday. All are happening on the same weekend so his parents want to fly us home for the occasions which is great. But between rental cars and hotel stay (our preference if we can swing it)? Damn, the money adds up quick. We’ll see how that all works out, though we do know which hotel we’ll stay in if we can swing it – it’s in the same town we honeymooned in which is kind of cool (we only went about 30 minutes from home for our honeymoon).

I am hoping: this week goes better than last. I can’t even recall what specifically sucked so bad but man, it was a long, draining week. I’m thinking the cause was mostly rain, a bored three year old and a baby who is probably having a growth spurt. And strange work hours for Dan. The only thing that is likely to stay the same this week is the three year old part – I’m not giving up hope – we may survive!

I am reading: Queste by Angie Sage – it’s book four in the Septimus Heap series and I finally got around to checking it out from the library. I loved the first three, I’m still only barely into Queste but liking it so far. I read book three so long ago though that some plot points are still hazy to me and I’m trying to get my brain up to speed with what’s going on and who some people are.

I am creating: my menu plan for October. I think I finally finished it last night but my menus are always subject to change and do frequently. Still, it’s ready to publish next week and that’s all that matters!

I am wearing: blue capri pajama pants and a blue tank top – basic bumming around the house, easy to nurse in gear. If I go running tonight after dinner, I’ll be changing into my awesome new workout clothes. I picked up this and this and this and this and this and this at Target. Next month I’m hoping to get some running shoes.

In the kitchen:

• Monday: leftover Shepherds Pie
• Tuesday: Fettucini Alfredo with grilled chicken and spinach
• Wednesday: Taco Salad
• Thursday: Foil Packed Chicken Fajitas
• Friday: Parmesan Baked Salmon

Around the house: Per usual I’m feeling like I’m drowning in laundry. I do laundry just about every day because of the cloth diapers, and I’ve started doing the rest of the laundry throughout the week as well rather than stockpiling it for once weekly. I think it’s a good thing but it does mean that I am always doing laundry. Really that’s about it – unless you want to know that I organized my desk a bit today but that you’d never know it if you looked at it. It’s better, I swear.

Plans for the week: I have another dentist appointment on Friday – yes really. I know, it seems like they never end lately. This one is another cleaning, so it won’t be too bad but it won’t be great either as I know they want to finish doing that gum scraping thing which hurts a good bit. That’s about it – other than that, we just plan to you know, live. We don’t really have the making plans with people thing as we don’t know anyone.

A few of my favorite things: We went to a little street festival yesterday, about 5 minutes away and stopped at a yard sale for a youth theatre company and scored 3 books for 75 cents: She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb; Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and Jamberry by Bruce Degen for the kids. Not bad, huh? We also picked up some fun new things to try at Target – pumpkin pie flavored yogurt by Archer Farms and another Archer Farms goodie, pumpkin pancake mix. Looking forward to trying those!

A picture thought:

One of my favorite bloggers, Jen @ Daily Mish Mash, just started a fun new blogging feature called Monday Mentions which is basically a chance to mention any fun things you’ve discovered recently, online or otherwise. Any blog posts or articles you’ve loved, songs you’ve discovered, books you’ve finished, whatever. For more information read this. This sounded like a great idea to me, so I’m joining in on the fun (you know I love me a good bandwagon). Here are some of the great things I’ve stumbled across in the past week…

• I finally finished using up all the apples from our trip to the local apple orchard. The last thing we made was a small batch of homemade apple sauce using this recipe. It came out terrific and we definitely plan to make more again, the next time we go apple picking. I also loved how the apple sauce looked in the mason jars that we bought a few months ago when we saw them on sale at our grocery store. Mason jars make everything look classier, more delicious and just plain better.
• I’ve been reading about calorie counting everywhere lately. I know sometimes the stuff has already been there and you are just more aware of it when it matters to you (like how many Buicks we see around town now that we own one) but with so many fad diets out there, it’s really great to see mention to the one diet that simply works – the simple mathematical equation of: less calories in, more calories out.
• This morning one of the first things I saw on my RSS feed was a cute recipe at Bakerella for pumpkin pie bites using refrigerated pie dough and pumpkin filling, a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter and some muffin tins. So adorable – I am planning to try this one for sure. Another fall recipe I’m planning that I mostly came up with on my own – cookies made with chocolate cake mix and instead of white chocolate chips like I normally use, I picked up a bag of Reeses Pieces – which gives me the brown, orange and yellow colors of autumn leaves. I’m hoping to avoid bringing too much candy into our apartment this Halloween season but cookies and pie? You can’t have too much of that!
• I don’t think I can squeal about this enough – The Host by Stephenie Meyer is headed for the big screen! It’s a shame the odds of Dan and I going to a movie in the theatre is so slim these days because there are a lot of movies I’d love to see that I’ll have to wait for DVD releases on Netflix. Other movies that I’d love to see: New Moon, The Invention of Lying, Whip It, and Where The Wild Things Are. How about you?
• Hmm speaking of media, how about tv? I finally got around the watching The Forgotten last night and I actually really liked it (hubby is per usual on the fence). I think the whole idea of tracking down John Does and Jane Does is so cool, like In My Imagination Dream Job worthy. The premise alone will have me coming back next week for more. Other new shows I’m loving: Glee, The Good Wife, Modern Family, Eastwick, and god more that I can’t remember now that I’m trying to type this. What new shows are you loving this Fall?

Lastly, I want to mention one blog for shout out purposes – my desert island pick as Jen coined it. This week I choose: Simple Mom – I love so many of her posts and learn from her so often. I consider her an absolute must read and if you haven’t checked out her blog yet, please do yourself a favor and do it now!

Want to play along? If you write up a Monday Mentions post, be sure to link up at Daily Mish Mash!

What do you think of when you see the words or phrases listed below?

1. What pleases you? :: chocolate
2. Whatever :: floats your boat
3. Chime :: wind chimes are pretty
4. Pleading :: begging for mercy!
5. Simulate :: one of Dan’s friends does something where he like shows the effects of any action (economics I think?) and then sometimes simulates those results on his computer. Or else I’m wrong. But that’s what I thought of, so sue me.
6. Flashing :: pop up ads – grrr!
7. Directional :: turn signal
8. Pink :: “Listen up, it’s just not happening, you can say what you want to your boyfriends, just let me have my fun tonight, a’ight?”
9. Access :: Isn’t that one of those Microsoft programs? I use Open Office. :OP
10. Ugly :: Betty – I miss that show!

From Unconscious Mutterings:

“Free association is described as a “psychonanalytic procedure in which a person is encouraged to give free rein to his or her thoughts and feelings, verbalizing whatever comes into the mind without monitoring its content.” Over time, this technique is supposed to help bring forth repressed thoughts and feelings that the person can then work through to gain a better sense of self.

That’s an admirable goal, but for the purposes of this excercise, we’re just hoping to have a little fun with the technique. Each week I’ll post ten words to which you can respond to with the first thing that comes to mind.

“Rules are, there are no rules.” There are no right or wrong answers. Don’t limit yourself to one word responses; just say everything that pops into your head. AND you don’t have to have your words up on Sunday. Take all week if you want! Read the FAQ for more information.”

Another random list of things worth checking out on the ol’ net this week…

• John Mayer’s new single Who Says is just terrific, if a bit heart breaking in my humble opinion.
• Grey’s Anatomy fan questions answered, although some of them are a bit, “Well duh,” if you’ve seen the premier (I’ve only watched half of it, no spoilers please!) there are a few fun tid bits. And when you are done with that, you can check out Krista Vernoff’s post about the premier episodes “Good Mourning” and “Goodbye.”
• Less Calories In, More Calories Out @ Blissfully Domestic – I just love it when people call attention to the very simple math behind losing weight. Anyone else think it’s time to put the fads behind and get back to dieting basics?
• I really loved Dooce’s summer newsletter. I love that we both had babies within a month of each other because I can read her posts and nod along and go, “Me, tooo!!!!!” over and over like a broken record. And is it just me, or are our babies somewhat similar in appearance and laid back-edness? Which is all the more similarly amusing because MM? Not an easy going baby at all. So this quote in particular really had me laughing along. “You are what I call The Ruse. And I am not falling for it, not one bit. No way. I’m guessing your kind is evolution’s way of sustaining our species. Because you and your irresistible cuteness and mood could fool a woman into having lots and lots of babies. BUT I AM NO FOOL. You know why? Because I have already lived through the third year of someone’s life, and I know yours is coming. And when it hits, when you throw your body across the floor in a fit of rage, I’ll be all SEE! I KNEW IT! Behind all those smiles and adorable dimples lies an evil three-year-old!”
• On Simplicity had a beautiful post about staying madly in love after a decade of marriage. Their “tips” on how to do the same made me smile – so true.
• Not so much something to read, so much as take note of – The Host is going to be a movie according to Stephenie Meyer (that high pitched sound from afar is me squealing with glee)!!!
• Also noteworthy of a celeb nature, Ellen Pompeo had her beautiful baby girl, Stella Luna Pompeo Ivery – the literary goober in me approves whole heartedly. Yay for more babies!

Last night we watched the first half of the season premier of Grey’s Anatomy and omg seriously it was McAwesome (and sad and depressing of course but…). Okay, I’ll stop. We also watched Bones which was just too much fun with all that Bond goodness and pipe bursting romantic tension. These are probably my two favorite shows on tv right now but there are so many good ones coming out this season. I am loving Glee, Cougar Town, The Good Wife, Eastwick and others that I’m forgetting at the moment, but seriously, it’s a good year for TV!

So…

What’s your favorite new show on right now? What’s your favorite tv show in general? All time?

Right now my favorite new show is probably Glee. Favorite in general that’s on right now? Huge tie between Bones and Grey’s Anatomy. All Time? Oh god… probably Gilmore Girls. Such a good show.

Happy Friday Everyone!

Kailani @ An Island Life takes it easy on Fridays by posting a simple question for you to answer – and she invites you to do the same. Just post your own question on your blog and leave your link at An Island Life. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!