Ten Day Blog Challenge - In one day!

I found this 10-day blog challenge over at Spilled Milkshake and thought it might be fun. But then I remembered both the 30-day Blog Challenge and my attention span these days so I thought, wouldn't it be just as fun to do the challenge all in 1 day!

 

So, here I go ..........

Ten Secrets:

This is a tough one .... the reason things are a secret is because you do not want people to know them. On top of that I am not really a secret keeper ..... I am more of a what you see is what you get kind of gal! But here it goes.

1. I hate to admit it but I love the puppy! I did not want a dog, I always considered myself a cat person. But I love the dog! I love that she follows me around the house and sits at the end of my bed on the floor (she is not allowed on the bed, that is a puppy free zone). My husband on the other hand, who wanted the dog in the first place is no longer so enamored with the dog. Funny how things work out.
2. I also hate to admit that my parents were right ..... about what is not important because there were so many things I did not agree with as a child (a teenager in particular). But looking back they were right about an awful lot.
3. Some days I don't want to be a mom! I think we all go through it, where you think to yourself "if I have to go to one more (PTA meeting, soccer game, parent/teacher meeting .... you fill in the blank) I am going to drive off a bridge." We are not really allowed to talk about the fact that although we love our children, there are just days we don't like them and would rather be on the beach by ourselves reading a good book instead of packing lunches and wiping noses.
4. I can't balance my checkbook. I never have been able to master that art. Online banking is my best friend because I can check it everyday and make sure I haven't screwed it up. I pay a lot fewer overdraft fees now.
5. I am a hoarder. not like the Hoarders on TV. But I collect things ..... glass, craft supplies, holiday decorations, just stuff. What makes me different from the people on TV is eventually I get sick of looking at the piles in the corners of the house and I clean them out.
6. I have a really low self-esteem. On the outside I look like I've got it all together, but in reality I am convinced that people are going to find out that I am a fraud.
7. I am a hopeless romantic. Most people wouldn't think that about me, but I am.
8. I hate dressing up - especially for work. I am a jeans & tee-shirt kind of gal. I hate matching shoes to an outfit and I can't match a shirt color to a skirt unless I have them next to each other. My husband is convinced I have a touch of the color blindness.
9. I am exhausted and can't do it all! This is a tough one to put in writing ..... then it becomes real. But I really can't do it all anymore. I think that is the greatest myths that came out of the women's movement, that we can have it all. Something has got to give .... for me it is usually housework!
10. I like The Fresh Beat Band. Parents of young children will know what I am talking about and probably cringe! But I actually like the show and find myself watching it even in the 5-year-old is not in the room. Scary I know. I am not sure if I will continue to like it because I like the old Marina, we will have to see.

Nine Loves:

I assume this is a combination of people and things I love and not a list of ex-boyfriends. :)

1. My children
2. My husband
3. My parents
4. Autumn weekends - crunchy leaves, pumpkins, Halloween, apples, all of it!
5. Coffee in the morning - when everyone else is still asleep
6. Chocolate fudge
7. Music - see my previous post
8. A white Christmas (followed by a really fast thaw ..... which never happens)
9. The White Mountains

Eight Fears:

I will have to think of this one ..... there are a lot of things that I find disturbing and I would like to avoid, but I am not afraid of much.

1. I have an irrational fear of driving
2. I am afraid of dying a painful slow death. I am not afraid of dying - I would just prefer it happen quietly in my sleep.
3. My children being in pain - especially when I read stories of children who die suddenly playing sports, or when my youngest was born way too early.
4. I guess in a lot of ways I am afraid of losing my lifestyle. We are not wealthy - by any stretch of the imagination - but we are ok. With the economy I get nervous that we won't make ends meet.
5. I am not a fan of heights - not in a building, but looking over the edge of a mountain for instance. My husband was a steeplejack and he brought me to a job sight one day. I climbed about a quarter of the way up the staging on the outside of the church steeple and I had enough. If I had no choice but to climb the rest of the way for some reason I could have - I just don't think it is something I would enjoy.
6. Wow - this is harder than I thought ..... I think I am afraid that I won't be able to finish this one! Ha Ha!
7. Failure - I am really afraid of that.
8. I do worry that I am not a good mother and I have not done well by my kids. But I think this is a fear all moms (who care about their children) have.

Seven Wants:

This one is really hard too. Whenever I start making lists of things I want it almost feels like I am being ungrateful for all the things I have (for which I am eternally grateful). But if I could have anything in the world this is what it would be:

1. A cure for lupus (and every other chronic disease out there).
2. An end to hunger (this one should be easy if people didn't always look out for themselves).
3. For my children to find their place in the world and live a happy life.
4. Financial stability so that I knew when I retire I won't be a burden on either the government or my kids.
5. The ability to travel where ever I want whenever I want (Greece, England, China, Hawaii, Alaska - just to name a few).
6. A huge - foodnet work chef like - kitchen
7. A bathroom with a jacuzzi

Six Places:

This one is easy!!!!!

1. Greece
2. England
3. China
4. Alaska
5. Hawaii
6. Egypt

OK - so maybe this wasn't so easy because I just wanted to keep going .....

Five Foods

Another one that is easy to start .... but difficult to stop, I do love food!

1. Coffee (does caffeine count as a food group?)
2. Chocolate fudge (not with walnuts or other stuff .... just chocolate)
3. Nutella - it is almost like chocolate fudge, but you can convince yourself it is good for you.
4. Pulled pork sandwiches
5. Asparagus

Four Books: 

I covered this one in the 30-day blog as well but now I get to add one!

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. Wild Swans: three daughters of china - Jung Chang
3. Delores Claiborne/Gerald's Game - Stephen King
4. The Alienist - Caleb Carr (I have read other things by him that I did not like as much - but this one is kind of like Sherlock Holmes meets CSI)

Three Movies:

1. Silence of the Lambs
2. Pride and Prejudice (the one with Colin Firth)
3. Love Actually

Two Songs:

NOT POSSIBLE!!!! I wrote a whole blog about that the other day!

If I have to pick two ........

1. I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables (the one from the 10th Anniversary Concert with Ruth Henshall as Fantine)
2. Amazed By You - Lonestar. This was my wedding song. I had no idea what my husband picked for the song until it was time for us to dance ..... it was his one job or the wedding.

One Photo:

This is supposed to be a photo of me. I made a decision when I started this blog that I would still have some anonymity. While I share a lot about myself you will notice I never use my husband's name or my kids and there are no photos of them or me. I am going to stick with that rule! But I have attached a photo of one of my favorite places to be ..... the beach! This is a photo of me .... cool, crazy, complex, hard working, mysterious, complicated, calm, ferocious and with endless depths!