James tagged me for this, and I’ve been sitting on it for quite a while. Part of it has been the interruption of the vacation and subsequent blogging, but part has been simply because I had a hard time coming up with a list of eight things you don’t already know about me.
The Rules:
I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
- Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
- People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
- At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
- Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.
Okay, so here’s what I came up with.
One: One of my favourite after-the-kids-are-in-bed treat is a homestyle oatmeal chocolate chip cookie with a glass of skim milk. And it’s only really worth eating if you microwave it for a few seconds to make the chocolate chips all melty. Twelve seconds is not quite long enough and fourteen seconds is a tiny bit too long, but I cannot bring myself to nuke it for 13 seconds.
Two: I’m entomophobic; that is to say, I’m afraid of bugs. Some more than others. I am wickedly freaked out by tent caterpillars, for instance, but not so much by bees and wasps. Earwigs and silverfish make my skin crawl, but I’m not afraid of ants. While I love to putter in my garden, I’m always vaguely revulsed by the critters that live in it. I’ve been trying very hard to not let the boys see how afraid of bugs I am, and have had to breath deeply to avoid shrieking when they have picked up random insects off the ground and brought them (with their HANDS!) to show them to me. *shudder*
Three: I love my barbecue. From early spring through first snowfall, I’ll use the grill three or four times per week. My favourites are (a) peppercorn steak kebabs with cherry tomatoes (is there anything more heavenly than grilled cherry tomatoes?), zucchini, onions and mushrooms; (b) chicken breasts that have been rubbed and left to sit in a sort of dry marinade made of commercial fajita mix and olive oil – makes for lovely spicy chicken fajitas with a cajuny flavour; and (c) plain old hamburgers, which brings me tidily to my next point:
Four: Even though I am the Queen of Convenience Foods, I am a snob about hamburger patties and will never buy the preformed ones. I make mine with extra lean ground beef, a bit of chopped up onion, bread crumbs or wheat germ when I have it, egg (yolk only) and a couple of shakes of worcestershire sauce. The trick is to handle the patties as little as possible, and to flip them only once or twice, not many times.
Five: I went to get some blood work done this week because this pregnancy is seriously knocking me on my ass. I’ve passed beyond chronically tired into barely functional (with a healthy does of apathetic on the side) and it’s far worse than it has been for any previous pregnancy. Does it strike anybody else as absurdly ironic that in testing you for anaemia they take SEVEN vials of blood from you?
Six: Speaking of pregnant, I’m coming up on 11 weeks and have moved once again into the realm of transitional pants. Except they won’t stay on my hips and keep wanting to slide off my ass. So in addition to debilitating fatigue and near-constant stomach upset, I plan to spend the next five or six weeks extremely cranky as I battle gravity for control of my pants.
Seven: My memory is getting worse, and my memories for plot details is abysmal. As I’ve said, I’m re-reading all the Harry Potter books in anticipation of the arrival of Deathly Hallows next week. Next! Week! I’m currently just finishing up Half-Blood Prince, which I consumed rather voraciously when it came out just two years ago, and yet it’s like reading it for the first time. I mean, I’m not overly surprised that some of the details of the books I first read back in 2000 have since escaped me, but it’s rather alarming how much of this reads like I’ve never read it before. And even worse, I’m already having trouble remembering the details of some of the books I just re-read a few short months ago. When Harry and Dumbledore talk about Harry destroying the Horcrux that was was Tom Riddle’s diary from Chamber of Secrets, I can only vaguely remember how Harry destroyed it. The good news is, it will save me a fortune in buying new books over the years; I’ll just start recycling the old ones every couple of years. (Speaking of Harry Potter, if you’re in the mood for some great speculation and a considered, intelligent review of the state of the series to date and the prevalent theories on where it’s all going, Macleans had a great feature last week.)
Eight: The boys are in swimming lessons right now. I lucked into the same time slot for each of them in a different level, so I sit on the pool deck and watch both of them with their respective teachers. It’s Tristan’s third session, but Simon’s first without a parent in the pool. They’re both doing extremely well, and I can’t help but beam proudly at them from my vantage point. Tristan never stops smiling the whole time he’s in the pool, and is so obviously eager to please his teacher that it breaks my heart. He’s just becoming able to dog paddle short distances without a noodle, and he pesters me endlessly through the week with a countdown of how many more sleeps until swim lessons. Simon also seems to be doing well, and I was pleased to see that the teacher knew his name from the very first day. Maybe it’s just me projecting, but she seems to favour him. Can’t say I blame her, he’s awfully cute bobbing around like he was born in the water.
So now, I’m supposed to tag eight other people. Hmmm, just about everyone has done this, and I’m so behind in my blog reading right now that I’m not sure who has and who has not been tagged. Having said that, how about:
1. Not so little sister
2. Sara
3. Liz
4. Suze
5. Alison
6. Barbara
7. Miche
8. You! (Leave a comment if you want to play along and I’ll link back to you.)
Dani-I will do said game and also, you may want to check out bella bands. They should help with the gravitational forces of your pants. I had never heard of them before (for obvious reasons) but I have a girlfriend who is due soon and she used them when she was sort of between maternity pants and her own pants. They might seem a little pricey but probably worth it for relief of aforementioned crankiness.
Dani-I will do said game and also, you may want to check out bella bands. They should help with the gravitational forces of your pants. I had never heard of them before (for obvious reasons) but I have a girlfriend who is due soon and she used them when she was sort of between maternity pants and her own pants. They might seem a little pricey but probably worth it for relief of aforementioned crankiness.
Oh, me too with the gardening and the bugs. I love my little pots of things, but having to deal with the tomato worms this week has made me afraid to go out in the yard! Brrrr.
Oh, me too with the gardening and the bugs. I love my little pots of things, but having to deal with the tomato worms this week has made me afraid to go out in the yard! Brrrr.
Bugs don’t bother me, but spiders, that’s another story. I blogged once about gardening for the arachnophobic. I’m firmly on the HP bandwagon, and finished re-reading the Half-Blood Prince last weekend. I’m stoked for the new one!
What pisses me off about my fading memory is that I’ll pick up a book at the library that I don’t remember reading before, and will be half way through before I get that deja vu feeling and remember parts if not all of it. And since I mostly read mysteries, it totally spoils it when I remember who dun it.
Thanks for the tag, I’ll get to it soonish.
Bugs don’t bother me, but spiders, that’s another story. I blogged once about gardening for the arachnophobic. I’m firmly on the HP bandwagon, and finished re-reading the Half-Blood Prince last weekend. I’m stoked for the new one!
What pisses me off about my fading memory is that I’ll pick up a book at the library that I don’t remember reading before, and will be half way through before I get that deja vu feeling and remember parts if not all of it. And since I mostly read mysteries, it totally spoils it when I remember who dun it.
Thanks for the tag, I’ll get to it soonish.
We have a lot in common, you and I – the 13 thing and the bugs. You didn’t mention if you over- or under-nuked the cookie. I’m betting over – if it were me, I’d go for 14 seconds rather than 12.
We have a lot in common, you and I – the 13 thing and the bugs. You didn’t mention if you over- or under-nuked the cookie. I’m betting over – if it were me, I’d go for 14 seconds rather than 12.
I think I’ll play! And I am right there with with the pants thing. Actually my pants got tight on me the second I took my pregnancy test, it seemed. Now I am in all my mat clothes again. Some are a bit too big, others fit just right, which is kind of worrisome as I am not even 4 months along yet. But apparently you do show and grow faster and more the second (and third, etc.) time around, so it’s all good! 😉
I also hate getting all that blood taken for all the pregancy tests. Blah! I fainted once when I got my blood taken (not when I was pregnant, though).
I think I’ll play! And I am right there with with the pants thing. Actually my pants got tight on me the second I took my pregnancy test, it seemed. Now I am in all my mat clothes again. Some are a bit too big, others fit just right, which is kind of worrisome as I am not even 4 months along yet. But apparently you do show and grow faster and more the second (and third, etc.) time around, so it’s all good! 😉
I also hate getting all that blood taken for all the pregancy tests. Blah! I fainted once when I got my blood taken (not when I was pregnant, though).
I just finished rereading The Half Blood Prince. I read it so fast the first time two years ago that it was like reading a whole new book!
I had to do that with 4 and 5 too. I read the first three all at once while I was pregnant with … well one of them. 😉
I just finished rereading The Half Blood Prince. I read it so fast the first time two years ago that it was like reading a whole new book!
I had to do that with 4 and 5 too. I read the first three all at once while I was pregnant with … well one of them. 😉
Hey, we’re afraid of the same bugs!
Although I remember when I was about four, and the cool thing to do was play with the tent caterpillars we found in the park…I’ve never been able to figure out when I started hating them…
Hey, we’re afraid of the same bugs!
Although I remember when I was about four, and the cool thing to do was play with the tent caterpillars we found in the park…I’ve never been able to figure out when I started hating them…
I ended up wearing suspenders with my maternity pants!
I’ve done the meme.
I ended up wearing suspenders with my maternity pants!
I’ve done the meme.