I used to wish I was named "Victoria", because...

...it seemed so exotic. It had so many syllables! So many letters!

Now, I appreciate my given name - Amy - short, sweet and to the point!

Describe a childhood fantasy of yours.

I would give them a case of Nutella to take back with them.

I wouldn't have to explain once they tasted it :)

Aliens have landed! They're friendly, though – they want one idea to take back to their planet.

'The Wizard of Oz' terrified me.

Her green skin made it worse!

I still remember hiding behind the seats in the movie theater and whimpering until she went away...I think I was about four.

Name a movie that frightened you.

I don't get young girls dressed like pop stars.

What are their parents thinking!?!

I just don't understand why parents dress their young daughters in an overtly sexual way, or even why the let their older daughters dress themselves that way. Don't they want them to develop who they are on the inside instead of focusing so much on the outside?

I am trying to teach my daughters that their value lies in their character and intellect, rather than their lust-inducing powers. Every girl has that ability, but it shouldn't be where she gets either attention from others or her own self worth.

I think every time a woman uses her sexuality to get ahead instead of true merit, she objectifies and thus diminishes all women a little bit. And all those little bits add up to a lot.

What's something you can’t understand no matter how hard you try?

Once my powers of invisibility kick in, I'm heading to the beach.

I'd make any beach a nude beach, but only for invisible people...

...because I really hate tugging at swimsuits, but feel too shy to swim in the nude...at least with the possibility of spectators :)

Oh boy, you have invisible powers! Where's the first place you go?

Are you kidding?

A comedy, duh! With seven kids, five chickens (make that six with the one that wandered in from the neighbor's yard), a rabbit, a guinea pig, and a turtle - what else could it be? Although we do have some teen angst inspired drama occasionally...

If your life were made into a movie, what genre would it be?

I wish I could have gone with Thor Heyerdahl on an expedition.

I went to a lecture he a gave a couple years before he died at one of the Smithsonian Museums. I loved seeing one of the heroes of my youth in person!

What famous people have you seen in real life?

Point the getaway car to to Stan!

I'm sad and lonely - my sweetheart is out of town :(

All I'd need to spend it on would be room service!

The getaway car is waiting outside – where is it taking you?

What should I sell - lingerie or beads?

Maybe I'd have both!

I'd love to have a store...

I would either sell beads, because I could buy so many (but would I be able to sell them - that is the question) or lingerie.

I'd love to have a classy lingerie store where a girl would feel comfortable going to shop (it would be tasteful) and where she could take her hubby, too (I wouldn't have huge pictures of scantily clad women). I went to one once (in Las Vegas of all places) and it was so nice. The proprietor of Le Boudoir Boutique told me it was a lingerie shop for women. What a concept!

So, that's what I'd do in my own town. I'd have a lingerie store with class. It would be so fun :)

If you owned a store, what would you sell?

I'd love to hear the Sermon on the Mount.

I would love to see Jesus when He lived on the earth and hear a sermon of His.

I've often wondered what He really looked and sounded like.

You can time travel! What year or era do you visit?

The Staten Island Ferry is the best people-watching spot in the universe.

The ferry is where I met my biggest high school crush,

so maybe I am biased.

It has the perfect combination of seeing the same people every day and having fresh faces to gaze upon.

Romance, drama, sea breezes, foreign tourists, the Statue of Liberty, a snack bar...

the Staten Island Ferry has it all.

What's your favorite place to people-watch?

I can't travel without a good book...hey, even a bad book

Hey, kid, can I borrow that Fablehaven book when you are done?

I can't abide airports without something to read. All the lines, all the waiting...people watching can only take me so for before I am begging for something to read. The only problem with solving my boredom with a book is that it is tempting to get a quick book fix at other times I am bored...like red lights. Honk, honk!

P.S. the Fablehaven books definitely fall in the "good read" category!

What do you have to have with you when you travel?

The reason I NEED so many pairs of shoes...

...is to express complexity.

Today I wore running shoes most of the day while I ran (albeit in the car) kids all over town. As the mother of seven darlings, I do a lot of running.

But then...this evening, I put some heels on and went out on the town with my hubby/boyfriend and was anything but matronly.

Right now, I am winding down, relaxing and...barefoot.

Maybe I don't wear different shoes to exhibit to others as much as I wear shoes to help me keep track of what is going on and where I am supposed to be in all the craziness!

If the shoes make the man (or woman), what do your shoes say about you right now?

Hey, camera, when are you going to pull some weight around here?

My Pentax K1000 is the most useless thing in my house right now. It was my first "big" purchase. I took it to Israel as an exchange student. I took the first pictures of my first few babies with it!

Bu..u..t, ever since I bought a digital camera and gave up those trips to Walmart to pick up my pictures, I haven't looked back. I'll never use it again, but I can't, can't, cannot sell it, give it away, or give it up!

What's the most useless thing in your house right now?

Oh, for three more hours...

...to make strawberry jam! I have eight pounds of ripe strawberries in the fridge calling my name, but the bills (and being distracted by my weekly Plinky, OBVIOUSLY) is more urgent. Bummer.

There's never enough time, is there? What would you do with an extra three hours today?

I dress my feet to impress.

I don't know why (because I am taller? because I feel more polished?) but whenever I want to feel put together and impressive all over, I wear heels...preferably SANDALS with heels to show off my most recent pedicure creation.

Describe (or show) what you wear when you're trying to impress.

The Giant Jam Sandwich is...

...a wonderful book! It has everything - danger, intrigue, strawberry jam!

I used to read this to my eldest daughter so often (we both loved it) that I would start the rhymes on each page and, at age two, she would finish them.

I read it to my seventh child now and still have it almost memorized.

Name a children's book that makes you nostalgic.

I demand a clean and freshly painted house.

I am a simple girl. I don't need gobs or cash or loads of power. I would love to have a spotlessly clean, from top to bottom, house. I would insist that all the papers in my "to figure out what to do with pile" be handled and every speck of dust be excised. I want the kitchen counters redone and the popcorn ceilings removed. Please (or I'll never let the prisoners go) wash, iron, and while you are at it, starch my curtains!

Give us your unreasonable demands.

'The World of Mr. Mulliner' is Wodehouse at his best.

I read these out loud and loved ones laugh so hard they cry.

What's so funny? Everything - snakes snuck into beds, golf matches to NOT win the girl, stuttering bullies and Hollywood starlets gone insane on the Orange Juice Diet.

This was my first of many books by P.G. Wodehouse and will always be my favorite. In the introduction, the author writes, "I must warn my public that in 'The World of Mr. Mulliner' I am writing as funny as I can, and I can only hope that there will be no ill results."

Recommend a book to someone who needs a good laugh.

Tuesday Musings #28

What is your worst public restroom experience?

I KNOW I have a ton of public bathroom post traumatic stress syndrome, but I have been thinking about it for almost a week and couldn't remember any specifics.

Luckily for all my faithful readers, I like to blog about the crazy things that go on around here and I was able to search the archives and find the perfect answer for Tuesday Musings, March 10 edition.

Happy Reading!

I, or in other words...

...Incredibly Optimistic About Finishing Sewing Projects, keep buying fabric and patterns! Why, why, why do I keep piling up more ideas (with supplies to go with them) when I KNOW I never sew unless I have some kind of unavoidable deadline?
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By the way, which Sunday is Easter this year?

If you were named based on your traits, habits, or likes, what would your name be?

Sharkola

When I am near a wild bear, I am slightly nervous. When I encounter a wild shark, I am terrified.

Animal face-off! Who would win in a fight between a bear and a shark?

Tuesday Musings #27

Write about one of your memorable high school teachers.

I had an unmemorable (Mr. Who?) Social Studies teacher in 10th grade with a weirdly memorable habit...well, let me back up. I went to high school in the eighties. BIG hair was in. I didn't have big hair which was one of many reasons I was not Miss Popularity, but my lack of big hair served me well in my 10th grade history class. I sat in the front row, right next to a girl who had big hair, not super big, but she obviously spent some time in the mornings with her can of Aqua Net to get that eighties look. Here, let me show you an example of what I mean by "eighties look". This picture is not from my yearbook since I am too lazy to go downstairs and get it, but it could be.

So anyway, you get the picture, me with my small hair, the aisle between our desks, then her with her big hair. That spot, right between our desks was our teacher's favorite place to stand and talk. We were kind of front and center, so I can see why he chose that spot...but...still to this day I can't understand why he felt compelled to put one of his hands on the top of each our heads during his entire lecture!!! I guess the NYC Dept of Ed was too stretched to buy the guy a lectern, so he made due with two students' poor beleaguered craniums.

The other thing I don't understand is why neither of us ever told him to stop. If I had a psychoanalyst, that would be the first question I'd ask him or her!

I wasn't the only one who was scarred by the experience. When my big haired friend signed my yearbook two years after the class was over, she wrote, "Remember Mr. So and So's class and how we always left with flat hair?"

Tuesday Musings #26

Last week's topic was birthdays. I had a birthday this past week. I turned forty. I thought it was kind of funny because a few people called to wish me a SAD birthday. Not literally. They actually said"Happy Birthday", but then, in a commiserating tone of voice, asked me how I was doing and...if I was okay.

I don't mind turning forty. I think it is kind of cool - the turn of a decade and everything. It does provide for some reflection.

One of the the people I have been reflecting on is Jennifer Aniston.

She turned forty the same week that I did.

I am infinitely more happy to be myself than I would be to be her and I am fairly certain that she wouldn't want to trade places with me, but what about everyone else?

I wonder if you gave women around the planet a chance to choose between her life and mine which they would pick?

Just in case anyone is waffling, here is a run down* of the two choices.

*Disclaimer - most of these (on the JA side) are just wild guesses. The last thing I have time to do is troll the internet gossip world to find alleged facts.

me - seven kids
JA - seven bagillion dollars

me - a four bedroom house
JA - four houses

me - a pile of laundry
JA - a team of stylists

me - a secondhand rodent
JA - purebred dogs

me - a housekeeping list
JA - a housekeeper

me - a gorgeous husband
JA - ?

Tuesday Musings #25

If money were not an issue and you had a full time caretaker, what would be your dream pet?

This is such an easy answer for me - a horse!

I'd LOVE a horse.

Ever since I took that horsebackriding class in college I have loved horses - the way they look, the way they sound, the joy of riding, the pleasure of grooming a horse. I even like the way they smell. The hardest thing would be choosing the color - Buckskin or Dapple Grey? Strawberry Roan or Palomino?

Oh wait, money is no object, right? I guess I'll get them ALL. I think I'd like the Dapple Grey to be an Arabian and I'd also get a rare Palomino Thoroughbred. I'd throw in a draft horse just for fun, how about a Friesian. And Shetland Ponies for each of the kids under ten, Pintos for the older girls. Then, I'd get this mansion to keep them in (the kids and the horses). Wow, that would be fun :)

Tuesday Musings #24

If anyone reads these, maybe you have noticed they have been few and far between. I actually suggested the group take a break (which most of us were doing anyway) until the 1 st of the year, and then, we'll see. This is a picture I sent out as our last topic and I am in a writing mood tonight, so...


..what this makes me think of is riding a horse. Doesn't that look like a lovely place to jump over the fence and ride through the trees, with cool, moist air rushing through your hair?

Is there any other relationship with an animal that is so close as the one you have when you ride a horse? Maybe I just think that because that has been my experience. I have never had a dog or cat, but I have been on a horse all day long rounding up cattle in Wyoming. I have gotten to know a different horse, during a horsebackriding class (PE!) in college. I brought him into the barn every morning we had class, before dawn, brushed him down, saddled him and learned to ride. I got to know Snowshoe well enough to understand his strengths and weaknesses and love him for them.

I am fascinated by the communication you can have with an intelligent animal and the pleasure of accomplishing something together.

Tuesday Musings #23

Post, 1st-a baby picture, 2nd- a junior high or high school picture, 3^rd a picture of you now!

Well, I had these montages already in my photo file, so you get four for the price of one on the first two. The first set is baby to about age four. The second set starts in middle school and goes into high school. The last one is a picture my friend Linda took about 6 years ago - is that close enough to now? As you can see, my goofy smile hasn't changed even though the rest of me has :)

Tuesday Musings #22

We are children of a God of creation and a God of compassion. We are to emulate these traits. What do you create? Or, what would you like to create?

I have always enjoyed creating visually pleasing or interesting things. I especially love working with color. Here is a small gallery of something old (an onion I painted years ago), something new ( a necklace I made last week), something borrowed (I borrowed a picture one of my family members took of my greatest creations) and something blue - hey does that sound familiar?

Tuesday Musings #21

If you were going to live in a third world country for a few years what would you hope to learn or experience?

I would want to learn to cook some local food. Especially bread. I am always fascinated by the huge variety of food people make basically out of ground grain and water (I know that simplifies things, but you get my point).


I would also like to push the boundaries of cuisine by trying something I would never imagine eating at home, but I wonder if I would have the courage?

(Photo from AP)

Tuesday Musings #20

Something nobody* knows about me is…


I wish I could cut my hair in a pixie cut!

This is how I would do it, too, with longish eighties bangs - so cute!!!

At least I think so, but...

Stan would hate it, and I hate growing hair out, so I guess not.

*Sometimes (no comments from siblings on how frequently, please), I am kind of dorky. I thought and thought about something nobody knew about me and finally came up with something and was so excited about the thought that I told a friend Tuesday night at Mutual, so technically, someone knows this, but it is recent knowledge and I have so few secrets (living with six siblings as a child and seven offspring now) that I'm sticking with my semi-secret longing for a pixie cut!

Tuesday Musing #18 and #19

Okay, maybe this is cheesy (chocolatey?), but I am going to combine the last two topics -

What are a few things that you could not live without?

&

Give us your favorite chocolate recipe(s) and tell us why you love it.

Because I really can't live without a few of my favorite chocolate recipes!


First, a recipe from a collection of short stories I checked out of the library once. One of the stories mentioned a cake. Someone (I'm no sure I am remembering the story correctly) asked Ms. Wrede to supply a recipe, which after some trial and error, she did. I don't have the book anymore (that would be some library fine if I did!), but I do have the recipe and it is very good. Here's a link to a copy of her original instructions.

QUICK AFTER-BATTLE TRIPLE CHOCOLATE CAKE

1/2 c butter

1/2 c brown sugar, packed

1/2 c white sugar

2 eggs

2 t vanilla

2 T blackstrap molasses

2/3 c chocolate milk

1/3 c unsweetened cocoa

1 c flour

1/2 t salt

1 t baking soda

3/4 c chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour a 13" by 9" pan. In a large bowl, cream butter or margarine until fluffy. Add brown sugar and white sugar and mix thoroughly. Add eggs, vanilla and molasses, beating well after each addition. In a different bowl, stir flour, cocoa, salt, and soda together. Beat into butter mixture, alternating with milk. Beat for 1 - 2 minutes, then add choc. chips.

Pour batter into pan, bake 35 - 40 min. Cake should be flat and solid, not light and puffy. Let cool before cutting, then sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Next, a recipe I adapted from a candy cookbook I have.

HOT FUDGE

1/4 cup cocoa
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup whole milk, or for extra richness, cream
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Blend cocoa and sugar, add milk (or cream) and butter. Boil until thickened. Remove from heat. Add vanilla.

Now, a recipe my college roommate gave me (thanks Karen!).

BROWNIES WITH A CRUST

1 1/4 c flour
1/4 c sugar
1/2 c butter
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 c cocoa
1/4 c flour
1/2 t baking powder
1 egg
1 t vanilla
1 7 or 8 oz. milk chocolate bar

Mix 1 c of the flour with the sugar and margarine. Press into 13" x 9" pan and bake @ 350 F for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the condensed milk, cocoa, 1/4 c flour, baking powder, egg, and vanilla.

Let crust cool in pan for 3-5 minutes while you break or cut the chocolate bar into chunks. Evenly arrange chocolate chunks on crust. Pour milk mixture over them. Return the pan to the oven for 20 min. or until center has set.

Here's a Hershey's Cocoa recipe from my childhood.

CHEWY CHOCOLATE COOKIES

1 1/4 c butter
2 c sugar
2 eggs
2 t vanilla
2 c unsifted flour
3/4 c cocoa
1t baking soda
1/2 t salt

Optional: nuts or chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla, cream well. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Blend dry mixture into creamed mixture.Add options

Drop onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees 8 - 9 minutes.

Yeilds: 4.5 dozens

And finally, that old standby...

NO BAKE PEANUT BUTTER OATMEAL COOKIES

1 1/2 c sugar
1/4 c cocoa
1/2 c milk
1/4 c butter
3 c rolled oats (or sub. coconut for 1/2 cup)
1/2 c peanut butter
1 t vanilla


Combine sugar, cocoa, milk and butter. Bring to boil. Remove from heat, add vanilla and peanut butter, stir until smooth. Add oats and mix well.

Cool before eating. (HA!!!)

Tuesday Musing #17

Are you addicted to anything? And if so what??

I am addicted to sleep and my kids are putting me through a
Twelve Step Program!

Here's their plan, starting with the evening meal (as close as I can figure it out) -

1. Naomi will make a huge mess at dinner.

2.Michael and Kelly will each eat as slowly as tired sloths.

3.Everyone given a job to help clean up the kitchen should moan and each take at least five minutes kicking against the pricks before they get around to doing it.

4.The three oldest girls will get distracted while brushing and flossing by talking about one of the following subjects - boys, weird teachers, clothes, how much homework they have, or boys (did I mention Boys?).

5.Someone will inform me that they need some vital supply for school from Target tonight.

6. Someone else will meet me at the door when I get home to tell me they just drank the last of the milk.

7.Michael will get into a long philosophical discussion about which pjs he wants to wear and why: preferably the ones he "has" to wear will be dirty in the laundry and he can throw a tantrum to drag the whole process out.

8.Heather and Gwen should each find 58 papers for me to read and sign for school tomorrow.

9.Naomi will get her second wind and decide she doesn't want to go to bed until next Wednesday.

10.Three or four people will announce they all need the internet for their homework right now and will need me to make up a schedule of whose turn is when.

11.Everyone will decide it has been so long since dinner (or their sloth like behavior didn't allow enough calories to be ingested) that they need a snack and then they'll ask for drinks.

12.The snack will give a surge of energy to everyone's brain and Summer will think of two questions, Rachel will come up with one, Heather will voice a couple, Gwen will list at least three or four, Kelly will ask five questions of her own and Michael, just wanting to get in on the action, will holler two or three questions that make absolutely no sense whatsoever, just so that he can have a turn!

P.S. Here's my other addiction - checking out the "free" silver jewelry - Silver Jewelry Club

Tuesday Musing #16

Olympics-

There are many different events at the Olympics.

You must create a new event that you would be the best at so that you could take home the GOLD.

What is your event?

Ok, I was reading the email from Kristin and Summer had a suggestion right away, then when I told Stan about it over the phone, he knew what his answer was immediately, so I am letting my family do the work for me this week.

Here are their (sort of) answers -

Naomi ran away when I tried to ask her.

And Michael had just about the same answer. He said, “I don’t want to tell you.”

Kelly said, “Buying things.” Oh, yeah, I'm good at that!

Gwen said, “Dodgeball.” I played in the parent/child game on the last day of her Recreational Games sports class.

Heather said, “I don’t know.”

Rachel said, “Making brownies.” Here is our family's favorite recipe for brownies.

Summer said, “Finding excuses to not let your teenage daughter go to the mall.” I don't know if I would classify my reasons as excuses.

And finally, Stan's answer. He said, “You can’t blog about that!”

So...I guess that means this post is done!

Tuesday Musing #15

This week's topic is - Ghosts.

I can not ever remember being afraid of ghosts. Maybe it was growing up LDS, but the life beyond and those who occupy it hold no fear or even strange fascination for me. Luckily, Rebecca said - no limit, no suggestions, no restrictions and I think I will be straying far from what anyone else will be writing about.

This is what I thought of when I saw the topic (this is the condensed version) -

Ghosts=dead people=thoughts of death=some of my funeral pet peeves

Yep, are you ready? Here comes my rant and rave about funerals.

First, I DO NOT want to be embalmed! I read recently what they do to you and it really upset me. And really, why is it necessary? Just to give people one more chance to see my face? That is what photographs are for. I think embalming is just temporary taxidermy. Don't you think it would be disrespectful to take your loved one and have them stuffed to keep in your living room for a few years so that you can have "closure"? What is the difference between that and having them embalmed (stuffed for a few days)? I feel that what they do to bodies to embalm them is disrespectful. If people really what to see me they can come visit me before I die.

Which bring me to my next pet peeve. When I die I would like to have it admitted that I DIED, not PASSED, thank you very much. Death is supposed to be painful. My mother went through a lot of pain to bring me into this world, why do we deny the pain the dead person and their loved ones go through? Jesus Christ overcame the pains of death. I think when we minimize with our euphemisms the reality of death, we minimize His sacrifice and triumph. Maybe I am wrong in my take on this. I would love to hear what you think.

Tuesday Musing #14

Rewrite the following classic nursery rhyme as it applies to your life -

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

For example -

For want of a wipe the diaper was lost.
For want of a diaper the errand was lost.
For want of an errand the groceries were lost.
Etc., etc., etc.



Library Animal Show - reality

For want of the keys, we left late.
Because we left late, parking was tight.
For want of a space, we drove and drove.
Because we drove far, we had far to walk.
For want of proximity, we were more late!
For want of punctuality, we missed half the show.
For want of the show, we missed baby hedgehogs : (
And all for the want of the keys!



Almost Everyone is Gone - almost total fiction

For want of a paycheck, the dad left for work.
Because of a big kiss, he was distracted.
Because of distraction, the door was unlocked.
For want of a lock, the door swung open.
For want of a door, the baby was lost.
For want of a baby, the mother went looking.
For want of a mother, the breakfast was lost.
For want of some breakfast, the toddler was hungry.
Because of his hunger, the sisters were cooking.
While they were cooking, a fire was started.
For want of an extinguisher, the kitchen was lost.
For want of a kitchen, the kids were still hungry.
Because of their hunger, they went to buy donuts.
Because of the donuts the kids were all hyper.
Because they were hyper, the tied up the toddler.
While he was tied up, a hot air balloon was fired up.
For want of an sandbag, the toddler was lost.
For want of a toddler, the sisters were crying.
For want of a tissue, mascara was running.
For want of some makeup, the police were not summoned.
For want of police, the family was scattered.
For want of the family, the house got too messy.
For want of some neatness, Kelly was lost.
For want of the Kelly, the Gwen went looking.
While she was looking, the laundry collapsed.
Because of collapse, Gwenie was buried.
For want of a Gwen, Heather went searching.
For want of some root beer, she was distracted.
For want of some pizza, Rachel left walking.
For want of her siblings, Summer was lonely.
And all for the want of the money for donuts!

Tuesday Musing #13

List five things that drive you crazy and make you want to go live in a cabin on a mountainside and never see another human being. Then, list five things that make you smile even on the rainiest of days.

Here's the icky stuff...

People who are manipulative

Ergh!! For example, my health plan insists that I give them my FULL address and phone number EVERY time I call for ANYTHING, "for the security and protection of my account". Ha! They just want to make sure they have my current address. Why can't they just tell the truth about why they ask for it?!? If they REALLY cared about the security of my account, they would ask me the password I had put on the account after my purse was stolen. They remember to do this about 3 % of the times I call.

Women who expose themselves

I am so tired of seeing women's breasts falling out of their shirts (can those really be called articles of clothing?) when I go anywhere! Esp. the mall - I've seen women wearing less to the mall than I wear to the beach - much less. Sometimes I'm tempted to take post-it notes wherever I go and help them out.

People who disregard the flow of traffic

Just yesterday, I almost collided with someone trying to cross my lane, coming out from behind a semi where I couldn't possible see them when they didn't have the right of way. I sympathize with the frustration of having to wait your turn, but it is part of life - adjust!

Authors who write nasty books and market them to children

I spend much more time reading children's books to see if they are OK for my darlings to consume than anything else. You'd be surprised at how many we return to the library unread.

Car manufacturers

OK, so we have a car that seats eight and gets 28 mpg. Why can't they make more like it? Everything has to be so BIG! I dread the wagon dying and having to buy some monstrosity. Ergh and ugh, again!!!


...and now for the good stuff.

My boyfriend

He calls me from work, buys me jewelry and flowers, looks good on the beach, kisses well (that's probably more information than my kids wanted to know) and has put up with being hitched to me for almost 16 years -amazing!

Nature

I would probably get a lot more of this if I lived on that mountainside, but a trip to the beach in Feb. on a weekday morning when it is almost empty or to the desert in the spring to look at flowers or to the mountains in the fall to pick apples always make everything look brighter.

Our seven kids

They are so much fun, from Summer's stories to Michael's jokes, from Gwen's hugs to Naomi's kisses, from Rachel's curiosity to Heather's kindness and Kelly's giggles to top it all off, they make my life so much more rich and wonderful.

Modern conveniences

Not much gives me such a sense of satisfaction as having the dishwasher going full of dishes that I didn't have to scrub by hand simultaneously as the washing machine full of clothes I didn't have to wring by hand. I am so glad I live in the age of microwave popcorn, electric toothbrushes, drive up atms and freezers (love having that ice cream handy).

Our chickens

Sometimes they drive me crazy when they go hormonal, but I love having them in the back yard, laying eggs and clucking expectantly when they see me coming.

Tuesday Musing #10, Part B

I'm not 40 (yet!) and the laundry isn't done...

...but I am admitting it probably never will be until we join a nudist colony, so here I go, trying again...

Do you collect anything? If so, what? If not then, why…or what would you collect if you had to start a collection?

Here is one problem with procrastinating my Tuesday Musing - I have much more time to think of what to say and it is more work to say it. At first, I thought," I don't collect anything" but I've thought of so many odds and ends I collect, I'm starting to wonder if I need to go to Pack Rats Anonymous. Either that or move across the country without a U-haul...

I have my large collection of unfiled, left over from last school year, papers and books.

I have an always growing collection of nail polish which I mostly use on my toes and then blog about. (Speaking of blogs, I have a small collection of them.)

I have a collection of unfinished sewing and beading projects. Another name for these is "unrealized dreams".

I also have plenty of beads that I didn't buy for a specific project, but that I've acquired for the same reason females throughout the ages gathered stuff - because they are shiny and pretty.

Speaking of pretty, I like vases and whenever someone is going somewhere exotic and kindly asks what they can bring me, I'll say "a vase". These are from India, The Philippines and China. Thanks Lorna, Richard and Dad.

Finally, what I wish I could collect an entire collection of first edition books by and about P.G. Wodehouse. I reconcile myself to collecting reprints. On the bright side, I still laugh as hard when I read my copies, and I let myself read them a lot more often than I would if they were actually valuable.