My Real Life

Do you have a go to song that always puts you in a good mood?

As a matter of fact, I do.

I have two.

“Tub Thumping” by Chumbawumba.

You know, “I get knocked down, but I get up again, and you’re never gonna keep me down.”

Love it.

The other one is an oldie, but a goodie and it never fails to get me out of a funk.

“Ooh Child” by the Five Stairsteps.

“Ooh, child…things are gonna get easier. Ooh, child, things’ll get brighter…”

Good stuff.

Are you a real Christmas tree kinda person or do you go with a real fake one?

I’m a faker.

A real tree, while nice and yummy smelling, is just one more thing for me to feed and take care of and it doesn’t smile at me and tell me it loves me, so I don’t love it.

We have a fake tree and I love it.

What are you thankful for?
I’m thankful that I was born in 1972 and not 1872 or 1772, etc.

I’d be dead.

I would have been doomed from the get-go.

I was born with a dysplastic hip, I have asthma, terrible allergies, am legally blind in one eye.

There’s no way I would have made it.

So, thank goodness I was born when I was born so I could survive and have all these wonderful babies, for whom I am eternally grateful!

Which fashion fad from the past do you wish you could wear today?
The poodle skirt with a pair of black and white saddle shoes.

Cute. Cute. Cute.

If you want to go in the WAY past, I also really love the dresses women wore in the middle ages.

Like this:

So pretty.

I’ve always wanted to rock one of those.

Do you wait until the “low fuel” light comes on before you fill up the gas tank?
I do.

Usually.

Unless Monkey in the Middle has noticed that I’m getting low.

Then, he hounds me until I fill up because he is terrified we’ll run out of gas in the middle of some field somewhere and be left for dead.

You know, because there are all those fields in the Jersey suburbs.

Do you prefer cotton, silk, or flannel sheets?

Flannel.  I like to be warm and snuggly when I’m sleeping.  Even in the summer, I like being covered up and snuggling in.

We keep our bedroom window cracked in the winter so the air is cold and we can bundle up, and in the summer, we like the air on or a ceiling fan going so we can bundle up.

I think I’d do well in a cabin out in the woods with lots of flannel and a wood stove for warmth.  Sounds divine!

What time zone are you in?

Really?

Kind of a boring question.

Anyway.

Eastern Standard.

What is your favorite part of the holiday season?

The excitement of kids.

It is absolutely contagious and it is just so magical.

Makes you believe again, just a little.

What is your favorite “wintry” drink? (It doesn’t have to be an “alcoholic” drink!)

Dunkin Donuts is completely rockin’ my socks with the hot apple cider.

Although, I’m completely down with a cup of hot cocoa with a bunch of whipped cream on top.

Both of these send my blood sugar through the roof, but I gotta say…I think it’s worth it.

In your opinion, what is the worst job in the world?

A job is a job is a job and anyone is lucky to have a job, so it’s hard to say any job would be the worst.

So, from a personal standpoint, I would think that an awful job for me would be working in a slaughterhouse.

I just couldn’t stomach it.  I would cry every day, vomit every day, and be miserable.

I consider myself lucky that I have other options.

1. Where do you escape to when you’ve had enough?

This is actually the last question that I am answering today.

I started this Five Question Friday this morning, but I was stumped by this question, and so I skipped it and moved to the others.

I’ve been thinking about this question all day.

I don’t really know how to answer it.

I don’t really “escape” to anywhere.

I like to curl up in my “reading room” with a good book while the baby naps, but to be honest, I don’t think I’d call it an “escape” because I feel guilty the whole time that I should be doing laundry or doing dishes or one of the hundreds of other things that don’t go away without getting done.

Also, I’m not sure I ever really feel the need to “escape.”

Do I like to experience moments of peace?  Where no one is asking for something or telling on someone?

Absolutely.

Do I consider it an “escape?”

I’m not so sure.

So, I’ll answer with this…

I really enjoy going to get my hair done.

I sit in the chair and someone says “What can I do for you today?”

I say “Just a trim and even out my roots.”

I sit in that chair for about 30 minutes while she wraps my roots in foil.

I close my eyes and I don’t speak.

(I go to the same woman every time and she knows I’m not a chatter.  We’ve discussed it and she said it’s actually liberating not to have to make small talk.  It works for us.)

Then, she moves me to the dryer and I pull out my book.

I read while the dryer warms my neck and drowns out any sounds.

I am completely in my own world, lost in my book, completely and utterly relaxed.

30 minutes later, she brings me back to the chair where she unwraps the foils and leans back my chair.

She washes my hair and massages my scalp.

She conditions my hair and rinses it with steaming hot water.

I sit up and after she dries it with a towel, she starts to blow dry my hair.

My hair only meets the hair dryer at the hairdressers, as it’s a luxury I don’t have time for in the mornings.

When she’s done, she hands me my glasses, spins me around in the chair and shows me what she’s done.

I’m rarely disappointed, as I have the same thing done every time, and I leave feeling relaxed which is good for my emotional self and I feel good about my physical self and I go home after an hour and a half and am thrilled to see my babies who act like I’ve been gone for eons.

It’s pretty darn good stuff.

2. What shows are you watching this fall?

Oh Lord.

A shorter response would be to the question “What shows are you  NOT watching this fall?”

I’m watching Modern Family, The Middle, House, Gossip Girl, Criminal Minds,  Vampire Diaries, The Mentalist, Revenge, Whitney, Suburgatory, Up All Night, Castle, Prime Suspect, Unforgettable and am ridiculously excited for Once Upon a Time to start on Sunday night.

I’ve been wonderfully surprised by Whitney and horribly disappointed by Glee this season.

I DVR everything and then watch at random times while I fold laundry or do other chores that are made bearable with a good show in the background.

Just realized that’s about 12 and a half hours of tv a week.

Wow.

I gotta quit doing chores.

3. What was the longest road trip you’ve ever taken and where did you go?

The longest road trip I’ve ever taken was the summer after my senior year of high school.

My church handbell choir drove out to Michigan for our summer tour.

We had a blast.

Van broke down and the guy fixing it had a heart attack while under the hood.

He died.

However, dead mechanics aside, it was fantastic.

4. Do you plan on taking your kids to Disney World?

I do.

I really, really do.

When?

I don’t know.

I’m aiming for next October, but we’ll see.

Braces and a basement are a bit draining at the moment.

Trips to Disney should be free.

Like, a right of every American.

Oh well…guess I’ll just have to live with free speech and all that.

5. What is something people would surprised to know about you?

After two years of writing this blog, I’m not entirely sure there is anything that people don’t already know about me.

I think that many of my colleagues would be surprised at what an utter goofball and mush I really am, and many of my closest friends would be surprised at how professional and business-like I can be.

Perspective.

Hi all…

It’s been a long week, full of doctors and viruses and no sleep, and I’ll try to update you on all of that tomorrow.

However, for today…

FIVE QUESTION FRIDAY!!!

So, enjoy!

Do you prefer your ice cream in a bowl or in a cone?

A good, old-fashioned sugar cone.  I love texture in my food, so a sugar cone it is!

What three things do you love the smell of?

A freshly cleaned baby.

Apple cider brewing on a stove.

A kitchen on Thanksgiving.

Giftcards or no? (In regards to gift giving…)

Absolutely.

There’s nothing worse than getting a gift you don’t really want.  So, when gift-giving, I love to give a gift card so people can get exactly what they want.

What sports did you play in high school if any and do you still play them?

Ahahahahahahahahaha!!!

Clearly, you’ve never seen me on the playing field.

Any playing field.

I played rugby in college for a season.

Almost died.

Not literally, but it sure felt like it after playing the Columbus Women’s League.

Sports + Amy = Mayhem

Were you in band in high school? What instrument did you play?

Yes, I was and I loved it.

LOVED it.

I played flute through junior high, and then was asked to switch to French Horn because there weren’t enough French Horn players.

Erin and I switched to French Horn and had an absolute blast.

Our band folder reeked of Reeses Peanut Butter cup wrappers and I think we laughed through most of our music.

Erin was really good.  I was okay.

It was fun.

However, Real Man manages to bring the romance to anyplace we go so that DisneyWorld or Salem or Ohio can become a romantic destination.

He loves me and I love him and we love being together, so taking a walk on Patriot’s Path, behind the kids who are skipping ahead can be romantic and sweet.

Maybe one day we’ll smooch on a gondola in Venice, but for now, we make the most of what we have.

Friday…Tuesday…Whatever

1. If you had a weekly newspaper column, what would you name it?

I think I’d probably go with “…and THAT’S How I Roll.”

2. Who is your mentor/inspiration?

It would depend on of what aspect of my life you are speaking.

In general, though, I am inspired by those who don’t take themselves too seriously and enjoy their lives.  Who embrace their inner awesome at all times.

3. What is your wake up beverage of choice?

Decaf tea.
Doesn’t help you “wake up” but there’s nothing like it in the morning!
4. Would you wear your mom’s clothes?

No.

Sorry, Mom.

She knows we don’t share style sense.

It’s all good.

5. When you were a kid, did you put posters on your wall? If so, what were they of?

My posters were all out of Tiger Beat or Teen Beat or Young Miss, etc.  I devoured those magazines, and seemed to have passed that on to Monkey Girl.

My earliest poster was Shaun Cassidy.  I covered it in kiss marks.  Then the 80’s rolled around…

Jon Bon Jovi

Kirk Cameron

Michael J. Fox

Scott Baio…cuz Chachi really loved me.

A big, huge one of Dolph Lundgren…you know, the Russian who fought Rocky and said “I will break you.”  I thought he was SO hot.  Now I see him and I’m like “Really, Amy?  Really?”

Hindsight.  20/20 and all that.

Ricky Schroeder…sorry, the Ricker…sorry, Rick Schroeder, sorry…the has been.

Rob Lowe…St. Elmo’s Fire, that saxophone…Lord, have mercy!

Corey Haim…RIP…Lost Boys, Goonies…loved him.

Christopher Atkins…the dude from the Blue Lagoon which I was way too young to see, but we had HBO and I was a latchkey kid for awhile and HBO wasn’t always thinking when they put their “R” movies on.

Donnie Wahlberg.  Loved those New Kids…if you know my friend, Kim, ask her to do the New Kids dance for you.  She used to totally rock it in her basement. With regards to Donnie, though, I would soon trade him for his bro, “Marky” Mark Wahlberg, and never look back.

Oh, and the guy from 16 Candles…Jake Ryan…who never really did anything else, but that was fine with me because I was left with the image of him leaning against his car saying “Yeah you.”

Because, he was talking to me…you know that, right?  He was talking directly to me.