Who Am I?

Who Am I?
Aubry and Jen posed the question.
And even though I don't know them, I'm answering.
Because I love the question.
And I want you to answer it as well.

Misty may be the only one who would appreciate this. I thought about just posting a poem I wrote in the fifth grade. It had the same repeating line after every stanza...my line was:
I'm a talkative girl who loves cats...


So...who am I? I like to think that question is best answered here.

But I can give it a shot.

I never follow the crowd.

I have a terrible temper.

But I love just as fiercely.

I have a sharp tongue.
Judgements escape my mouth within moments of hearing something or meeting someone.
I can and I will form an opinion in an instant.
But I can find true and honest compassion even faster.
My compassion is a great strength, it just gets buried sometimes.

I ache. I ache for myself, for someone I'm close to, for a stranger at the store, even for a fictional character in a book.

I'm irrational.
I get my feelings hurt easily.
Because I am sensitive.

If I have an opinion on it, I will get fired up, emotional, or moved by it.
I give speeches on a regular basis.

I am easily disappointed and when I'm disappointed it's ugly, but it's because I so easily believe.

I am a mamma's girl like nobody's business, I talk to my mom usually every day if not multiple times a day. But my dad and I have an unspoken relationship. He held my hand when I got my heart broken for the first time and the day that I walked into my grandma's funeral.

I HATE sports, but I moved heaven and earth to make it to every single basketball game my brother played.

I can stand in front of the mirror and tell you every body part that I love about myself and then I'll forget it in literally seconds.

I am creative but I am not crafty.
I do not desire to be crafty.

I am not patient with things that I want to be perfect. Period.

I love speaking in public, but rarely admit it because I don't want people to think that I desire being the center of attention.

I'm a math nerd. A math nerd who took math 25 more than once. I didn't realize I was a math nerd until I was nearly finished with college. I can't get enough of it.

I can make conversation with anyone. Crowds don't scare me. Strangers are actually fun for me. I will often break the ice at any social event, but I will usually leave feeling like I've talked too much.

I am obsessive, but I'm clean.

I live for the summer. I only need summer and fall seasons.
Everything is better with a tan.
But "the last day of school" is a bad word in my classroom--we don't discuss it--I cry every year.

The year I stop crying is the year I should look for another job.

I'm a good teacher. And my power is in my love of the kids and my respect for the gift they are.

I am extremely forgiving, but I can hold a grudge like nobody's business. If I decide I'm done, I'm done. The end.

Things are black or white in my world. Right or wrong. It doesn't mean I always live in the white, but I do not make excuses or justify my behavior and I cannot stand when others do.
My students will tell you: Laziness and Excuses are a sure fire way to get into trouble in my class!

Moms that complain all of the time drive me crazy. I can't stand it, but I secretly fear that I won't be able to live up to my own high expecations for motherhood. My mom did it amazingly, but can I?

I love kids. They are the best kind of people. So don't you dare complain to me about them, your calling in the primary, or anything of the like. I will judge.

I want to start a family and I would love to stay at home someday, but I want to go to grad school and I still want to take on the world!

My brother makes me laugh like nobody else, but I can let a swear word slip out of my mouth faster than anything when he makes me mad. I can describe him all sorts of ways.

I will leave the house without makeup. I will leave the house without having showered.
But I will not leave the house without earrings on.

If I could sum myself up in one word it would be passionate.

I love and hurt deeply.
I am not afraid to tell you what I think or to stand up for what I believe.
I cannot be pushed around.
Nobody can tell me what to do.
I like to think I'm pretty tough, even with all of the crying.
I yell.
I cry.
I laugh.
All to extreme degrees.

As with everyone, there's a whole lot more to me, but this is a start.
How about you?
Post your own, comment, and link.

Pride

See here for wise words...
and an amazing song.
which happens to remind me of my gram.
It's a good day!

Answer This

What empowers you?
Source

Exercise
Lately I've been working out with a few women from work.
We are working out to the Insanity videos right after work.
It's been a while since I've consistently worked out (ahem..as in since I've been married...)
and I'm just baffled at how much I've missed it. I definitely did myself a great disservice not treating my body right since I wanted to come home and be with Zach. Nothing else mattered. I am dying. The workouts kick my behind. They really do. But I've forgotten how good it feels to sweat and to have a red face even.
I've forgotten how good it feels for a person like me--a list person--mark it off the list. To start a habit of it. Consistent exercise helps me feel tough, strong, and somehow more beautiful. I love it!

Reading
Reading a good book--a book that's somehow more than a story--helps me to feel like I'm using the brain I've been given. I feel more knowledgeable and often times (if the author is amazing) I feel more open-minded, more compassionate, and more aware. I've been made aware of political issues, social issues, history, and relationships in ways that I've never been before.

Self Discipline
Training myself to say no or yes. This goes along with the habit of exercise. It also goes along with my ability to pass up sugar and chocolate for Lent. The time in my life that I was at my thinnest and most confident was a time when I had given up chocolate altogether. It gave me a sense of control that I guess I need. I feel strong.

Getting Ready/Pampering Myself
There are days when being a lady is a pain. I will admit, washing the hair, drying the hair, curling the hair, the makeup, the shaving, etc. I do all of this while Zach sleeps every morning. He gets up, hops in and out of the shower, occasionally shaves, does his hair, and he's out. Twenty minutes max. And sometimes I begrudge him. I want to sleep a few extra minutes, too. But I love being a girl! I love baths, lotion, perfume, makeup, and jewelry. I love heels, skirts, and dressing up. I love making myself look my best. I don't always succeed, but just like exercise and reading, when I put time into myself I feel better and more confident.
Note...there are days that I am equally empowered by going to the store sans makeup. Or feeling comfortable enough in my own skin to attend Young Women's in jeans and a sweatshirt when so many other leaders dress to the 9's. Sometimes that can be just as empowering.

Worshipping
Spending time at any time during my week either attending church or reading the words of the Prophets and Apostles I feel edified. I feel uplifted, capable, and I have a renewed dedication to being better. I know where I come from and I know where I want to go. I know who I want to be in between and I feel that the more I study and spend time serving the Lord, the more tools I have to help me become the person I really want to be.

I've been feeling really great lately with the workouts and treating myself.

So I ask (and I desperately want you to answer),

What empowers you?

Easter Memories

Ok so this weekend is Easter and a bunch of the people I work with were talking about what they do and why.
So I got thinking about why I like Easter so much and I have a lot of really good Easter Memories.
When I was 8 years old my mom took me to the Bon in Ogden and I remember trying on my new dress and then carrying it down on the escalator in the little bag. I was sooooo excited to wear it. This is funny for me because I wasn't ever really into dresses too much but I did love the new one at Easter.
Coloring the eggs with my dad and mom at the table.
The hunts for the eggs outside of ours and Grandma's house.
The year I slept at my Aunt Lorraines and she gave us these hopping windup bunnies
and we ate Ebelskivers that my uncle made for breakfast-I loved those.
Then I remember the baskets outside my room. It is funny but I remember Danny's new truck in one of his but I don't remember the stuff in mine.

Then I got older and I got some really good memories out of the holiday.

1 Sharlee at 7 months having her first chocolate bunny and her cute
little yellow dress
2 Buying a new dress for Sharlee every year was always so fun. She has
always liked dressing up and sometimes I had to buy her two dresses
because they looked so cute that I couldn't just have one.
3. Easter pictures and Easter dinner with my family and sometimes with
Todd's family
4. Shane in his cute little suit and tie.
5. Shane eating his candy. He liked the peanut butter stuff way
more than plain chocolate
6. More pictures because he and Shar were soooo cute on Easter
7. Both of them getting their baskets and just how happy they were
to find them.
8. Hunting eggs with Shar and Shane
9. Black jelly beans.. Chocolate... need I say more than that :)
10. Church and remembering the true spirit and meaning of Easter
and the great gift of our Savior.

I actually still LOVE Easter sooo much because I like the baskets and the dinner and the egg hunts with my niece and nephews and I love the flowers and the sunshine
and the hope and actually still the Chocolate

* Last and best Easter memory .. 30 years ago on Easter Sunday Todd
asked me to marry him. And this was the beginning of many of the
memories above.:)

Have an Eggsellent EASTER ( this is a stupid funny thing which will annoy Shar :) and hey that makes the day complete.

I Think I've Found a New Favorite

Flower.

Today I came home to
these beautiful tulips.
My aunt Cara
(the one with 2 sets of twins, pets, a house to run, a husband to look after, and family to take to doctors appointments and such)
somehow found the time to buy flowers, arrange them, and drop them off on my door step.
Don't they look beautiful.
Made. My. Day.
Seriously.
I need these all the time.
ALL THE TIME!
They look soooo good on our mantel. They fit perfectly.
I can say that since I didn't think of them, make them, or anything of the like.

My aunt Cara has made arrangements for weddings, funerals, every shower I've ever hosted.
Birthdays, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, Easter. Etc.
I think she should start a business.
So if you're interested, let me know. I will act as the middle man here :)
She doesn't know I'm saying this, and that's kind of funny of me.
But she'd do it. And she'll do it cheaper and better than anyone else.
I promise.
Anyway, I thought I'd showcase her talent on here.
Cara did ALL of the flowers for my wedding:
corsages for all of the groomsmen, ring bearers, grandpas, and dads,
all of the bouquets for the bride, bridesmaid, and flower girl,
and all of the flower arrangements on the tables at the reception. Take a peak.
Comment or call if you want some of your own :)

As Promised

Halloween 2009

Best Costumes Ever

Highlights from this Halloween:
*Searching Savers for costumes for two hours. Leaving--deflated. Only to see these brand new BYU jackets hanging on the racks outside. We both looked at each other and said, "Should we?"
I was on a high the whole ride home. I was just thrilled. I kept telling Zach how amazing these costumes were and how funny we were going to be. You see, Misty and Ken were having a costume party that year. I wanted to win best costume. We didn't :( But we sure tried.
Notice the polo shirt I'm wearing with a crew neck tee underneath, my braid, and my expectant bump? Notice Zach's part in his hair and his cheesy grin?

*Telling Misty that Zach and I had the best costumes ever and her response being, "Are you guys going to be Mormon?"

I was sad that she figured it out beforehand, but it just made me laugh that she would even think that.

Going shopping at the grocery store in costume. People were staring, "Are they in costume or are they real?" "Should I laugh?" "Should I be offended?"

My dad not liking the expectant bump at all and being really bothered that we put a picture of Zach rubbing my belly on our wedding slideshow. Hahahaha :)

A little sacralidge? Maybe.
Maybe not, though?
A distaste for BYU helped us connect that first night.

I remember these lines coming out of my mouth:
"You play poker? I play poker!!!"
"You hate BYU? I hate BYU!!"
And my girlfriends watched as I realized I had to marry this guy.

Plus, I've softened a little toward BYU lately. I really have.
It's really miraculous.
I have a student who is a BYU fan.
And every game day she wears these ribbons in her hair.
And her family is awesome.
And it's just too darn cute.
Totally softened me.

Simply Sharlee

Over spring break (shoot, I still need to blog about spring break)

We cleaned some stuff out. I went down memory lane a little as I organized some of my "memorable items' I keep in the garage. I went through a college paper I wrote for
my Cultural Diversity class.
We were to describe ourselves in the paper.

In my paper I addressed some misconceptions that I come in contact with all of the time and the truth about them. Here is a brief synopsis:(LOVE this picture. LOVE it. This was 1 week before my wedding, I am tan, happy, and in THE best Halloween costume EVER! EVER! In fact, I may have to blog our Halloween pictures from '09 sometime)

Fact: I am a teacher.
Misconception: I decided to become a teacher for one of the following(or any combination of the following) reasons: A). I want to "only work" nine months out of the year.
B). I really don't want to work. I'm a Mormon woman after all, so I'm probably waiting until I can stay home with my kids. So I probably wanted a degree that I could "use at home" (heard it a MILLION times).
C). I'm not very smart. Those who can't, teach. Right?
Truth: I love kids! They are the best people in the world. Trust me, you'd rather spend your days with kids than adults. I promise. They rock!
I also believe whole-heartedly that education is the solution to all of the world's problems.
I feel passionately about kids and I want them to get a valuable education. I want them to love learning. I want them to question things and use their resources. I want them to be critical thinkers, problem solvers and avid readers. I thought I could make a difference. That's why I'm a teacher. **Oh, and I am pretty smart. :)

Fact: I will ask people if I look okay, if I look fat, etc.. In an outfit on a fairly regular basis.
Misconception: I'm fishing for compliments. I am completely and totally insecure. I must look fat if I think I do, so why am I asking?
Truth: My mom will be the first to tell you that I have very off perception of my body. So I would seriously never leave the house. 90% of the time I'm unsure of how I actually look because of the way my brain thinks. This did not happen in my teenage years like most people think. I was 30 pounds heavier in high school and I couldn't have cared less. Seriously. See here for photos :) I finally did begin to care during my first semester of college and I lost the weight. I never realized how much people pay attention. I seriously got so many "You look SOOO good!" "How much weight have you lost, my gosh!" "Are you losing weight?" and I often got the 'body scope." I was looked up, down, and all around by many women (and men, too) but women are the worst. Funny, I was just remembering this the other day. When I lost weight, it was over the summer. I started "dieting" and exercising in May. In July, Trevor (a guy I worked with and a friend) commented that I had lost weight. It took his brother (and one of my best friends--also a co-worker), Jonnie, until October to say, "You've lost some weight haven't you?" In a random conversation. He was one of my closest friends. Women do NOT wait that long. I definitely became more aware of how much people pay attention to weight. As a result, I now do the same to myself and honestly, I'm pretty aware of others now, too.

Fact: I hate alcohol.
Misconception: I hate alcohol because I'm Mormon. I also probably hate it because I "can't drink it."
Truth: I can drink it. Nobody is holding a gun to my head watching my every move. I choose not to due to what I've been taught and how I feel about it. That's not the only reason, though. Alcohol serves no positive purpose in the big scheme of things. From what I deem, it's occasionally fun or perhaps relaxing. I get that. However, I don't understand why pay into something that contributes to so much bad? It doesn't make logical sense to me. Also, it's a drug. Drugs gross me out. Period.

Fact: I love country music
Misconception: I am a redneck. I have no depth. I am unintelligent.
Truth: Well, I already told you, I am pretty smart. I also like other kinds of music. When I am hurt I heal myself with the kind of music for the time. Music will often make me ache. Country music does all of it for me, though. Sometimes it makes me want to get up and dance! SOOO bad. Like this song right now...so obsessed. Sometimes it makes me want to cry...and succeeds. Sometimes it makes me feel patriotic. Sometimes it makes me just proud. I have this great respect for true country folk. REAL country folk. I want to be one when I grow up. I want to be tough, hard working, and hospitable. I want an admirable work ethic. I want to look ROCKIN' in a pair of jeans. :) I love everything about it! I think my love of this defines me and I am not ashamed. But so many people dismiss based on that or think that they have a right to use the fact that I love "Watermelon Crawl" as ammunition against me, now that's shallow.

Fact: I am opinionated.
Misconception: I am wrong.
Truth:I am right.

Wonderful World

Sooo.. the weather was kind of crummy gray driving in today but as I hit the connector the sun started to shine out of the clouds and changed the view of the Boise Skyline to this shiny gold looking backdrop against the mountains..I have been making this drive for 25 years and rarely even note how insanely pretty it is .What a wonderful world Heavenly Father has actually created.
I can remember as a kid growing up in Utah I would be outside in the spring and the Wasatch Mountains surrounded us in a huge purple looking mass and I would tell myself "I am never going to leave this place!" I thought it was the best place on the entire earth. To this day those mountains make me instantly happy and reverent at the same time.
But, I did leave and I sure found out that there is certainly an extraordinary plan for all of us wherever we live to have a wonderful world. There are the red clay hills and awesome canyons in southern Utah, the beautiful apple orchards and Smoky Mountains in North Carolina and then on many vacations there is my all time favorite thing in the world the OCEAN.. there is such proof all around us that Heavenly Father wants us to be happy here on the earth and I think we owe it to him sometimes to recognize and tell him we appreciate its beauty. I for one want to say that I am so happy I get to live on this earth.

What A Wonderful World
Songwriters: Thiele, Robert; Weiss, George David;

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom, for me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

I see skies of blue, and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces, of people going by
I see friends shaking hands, sayin', "How do you do?"
They're really sayin', "I love you"

I hear babies cryin', I watch them grow
They'll learn much more, than I'll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

Yes, I think to myself
What a wonderful world
Oh yeah

So Wise...

Being a friend of Misty's has led me to appreciate things that perhaps I may have never known about or understood.
Lent is one of those things.
Even though my church doesn't officially observe Lent, I like the idea of it.
I like the concept. I like the meaning behind it.
And when I choose to observe Lent, I truly do think about Christ more often.

This year, it's been every time I've had the offer of chocolate.
I can say, I've denied myself chocolate for about 30 days now, if my calculations are correct.
I once gave up chocolate for a year and a half...one of my proudest accomplishments and lowest weights at that, but I digress

I have given up chocolate oh yes,
but I've found ways around it.
Like my new love/obsession of praline pecan ice cream and caramel.
Or how I ate Reeses Pieces at the movies on Saturday because they are chocolate-free.
And so I felt like a cheater.
Like I was living the letter of the law but not the spirit of the law? You know?

And so I am giving up sweet things until Hawaii.
I feel like I can make it that long.
And that much time will make up for the cheating I've done during my 30 days.
I know it doesn't work like that, but I want to get something out of this experience.
And no, not just a few fewer pounds.

I told my students about this decision.
To rid sweets from my life until I land in Hawaii.
And they told me they would keep an eye on me.

I need the accountability from the ones who spend most of my day with me!

Yesterday, I came to class after lunch with a drink from the coffee shop across the street.
It's called a grasshopper.
It's a frozen chocolate/mint blended drink. (Don't judge. I asked for skim milk!)
It doesn't quite look as fancy as the one pictured above.

One of my students asked me what I was drinking.
I told her.
She goes, "Mrs. Hatch, you're not supposed to have sweets!"

Another student, listening in, defended me instantly, "It's not a sweet, it's a drink."

A girl after my own heart.
And oh so wise!

Letters-Letter to your Best Girlfriend

Hopefully Misty will forgive some of the pictures and hopefully you'll forgive the abundance...I just couldn't post about this without showing some snapshots of our history.
Dear Misty,
I'll start by telling you that my eyes filled with tears as I looked through all of our pictures.
You are one of the greatest blessings in my life. I look back on our past tenish years together...WOW...and I think how rich it has all been.

How truly full of love and fun my life was. Especially in high school and college.
I would do both of those all over again.
Just because of the beauty of our friendship.
Thank you for being my friend from that first day in Mr. Gross's math class.
Thank you for every single project in English.
Thank you for listening to me ramble on and on...endlessly about Kamron.
More importantly, thank you for supporting it. For keeping my hope alive.
That was a true act of friendship.

I love you and I love us.
I love our history.

Do you remember :
"Penis in the pants?"
Rushmi?
My rated R movie moment?
The girl who was going to bring sodas to the party in British Literature?
Joseph? Did we go to a movie with him after the semester was over...or was that just me?
Biology and the two girls we became friends with?
Playing hangman during biology?
Meta phase 2?
Misty Blake is that you?

Do you remember:
Friday lunches?
Thomas?
"The last thing I want to do tonight is fight with the two of you?"
Sting?
Our confessional?
"Fields of Gold" being the soundtrack to the video from the apartment?
"Maybe that's my problem"...in reference to milk. Angie said it.?
Angie's dishes in the sink?
EATING?!?!?
Reading our high school notes in Rushmi's class?
Writing our papers for Mrs. Rickett's class?

Do you remember:
Best legs and best hair?
Me groping you during our interpretive dance senior year?
Dance party in the parking lot?
The singles dance...when you were Mormon?
Or the singles dance with Dan and that guy that came diagonally (and quickly) across the room to dance with me...just my luck :)
Secret hope?
Scott's going to be a little late to class?

Do you remember:
"I think we need to get a plant"
"I was just getting a drink of water"
"I thought you said we needed to get out of the projects."
Laughing on the kitchen floor?
Punk'd?
The Osbornes?
The Real World?
Real World Road Rules Challenge?
Do you remember every single conversation about every single boy I thought I might end up marrying?

Do you remember:
When I called you at 3 a.m. to tell you that I officially had a boyfriend?
And then you texted me a few days later saying: You are in a relationship with Kamron Eck?
It was really cute of you!
When I told you that I didn't have a boyfriend anymore?
A few dinners at Texas Roadhouse?
You and Ken dancing with me? Without alcohol?
That was also really nice of you.

Do you remember this night with Dan?

Do you remember?
Singing the Rent soundtrack on New Year's Eve and Ken getting annoyed?
Dancing on the bar at Shakers with Tammy?
Naked Chinese Firedrills?
Naked car wash visits?
Naked runs through the high school soft ball field?
The naked summer?
Summer Catch?
Moulin Rouge?
"I'm moving to San Fransisco to work for Uncle Richard?

Do you remember:
How dirty I was?
And how fat I was?
Your fight with Dan?
And you laying in the hallway and kicking Angie's door?
Shari's?
Getting kicked out of Shari's?
Watching the Village?

Do you remember:
The library make up days in high school?
Our spring break trip to Boise?
Me breaking the headboard?
Our impromptu stay at a motel because there weren't any movies playing?
How annoyed your mom was?
How funny you were as you rolled your suitcase down the driveway?

Do you remember:
Laughing really hard at the above picture because we looked like we had been partying?
Every witty walk shirt or walk thought we've come up with?
Every walk period.
Crying when we see people's shirts on the walks?
Our traveling pants?
Floating the river?
Mary and Rhoda?
My child?
Mona?

Do you remember:
Me helping you into your wedding dress?
And you helping me get into mine?
The bridal showers?
The dinner dates?
The funerals we've attended for one another?
Every tear?
Every text?
Every prayer uttered on the other's behalf?
Every I love you?

I do. And I remember so much more.


Our memories bring a smile to my face and often make me laugh.

Our more recent memories are definitely more subdued, but no less amazing.
They include a text message with a picture of your positive pregnancy test.
You don't know this, but I was dancing around the house all morning.
"Misty's pregnant. Oh my gosh, Misty's pregnant. This is huge. This is life changing. This is huge." I seriously probably said, "This is huge." at least 20 times. Which is funny now.

They include getting to feel Grace kick...once.

And laughing with you about playing "Will I Lose My Dignity" during your labor.

Our lives are a little more settled now.
But I have a strong belief that neither one of us would be as settled, as happy, or as ready to face the changes that we've faced or that lie ahead...if it hadn't been for such a free-spirited time in our college days and prior. And for such an abundance of love and acceptance.
We truly lived.

We have laughed together.
We have definitely cried together.
We've hugged one another.
We've fought.
We've been competitive.
We've shared school stories.
And crazy people in our lives stories.
And we tell each other that we are in the right.
Not just because we're friends, but because we really are.

I love us because:
We are not afraid to compliment each other's boobs, butt, or any other body part.
We can often times communicate in one word descriptions
Do I look like "the apartment?"
That was during the "Rent" period.
That was during "Ryan."

We can also send either first or first and last name texts to one another.
That means we just saw that person.
And we know exactly what that means.

We can talk about our fatness in the past and it's not the least bit offensive.

Even though we see each other less we love each other the same.
We love the same, period.

I always want to see mediocre horror movies with you.

Or cheesy teen romance flicks with you.

I always want to make you read the book I just read, regardless of whether or not it was actually good. Just so I can talk to you about it.

I can always tell you when I'm having a bad day.

I love you because you are family to me.

I love you, Misty. Thank you for so many memories!
Thank you for being the friend that you are. I am so blessed.
I know I'm not the best at being around or leaving the house for that matter, but I am always here and I love you SO SO much!

Truth Be Told...

1. My lunches need to be warm. I like warm food. I'm not a huge fan of cereal (as a meal), sandwiches (unless it's a french dip), or salads...usually.
2. Every shirt I wear to work out in came from a 5k Run/Walk that I've participated in with Misty. Every single one of them.
3. I make a contest out of drinking water at a restaurant. I somehow feel the need to have my water gone by the time the server comes around again.
4. I'm very opinionated. And I'm always right. But I don't like contention.
It makes for a difficult dilemma.
5. Sometimes I want to leave Idaho. (Never want to leave my mom or Misty...it's just sometimes I feel suffocated. I can't explain it...at least not on here.)
6. And then I look at the farm land when I'm driving around and I can't ever imagine leaving.
7. The bed has to be made...always.
8. I really really don't like yard work. This is possibly the most difficult thing for me about having a house. I do believe in taking pride of where you live. I just don't even know where to start sometimes.
9. I know some of the best people and I am so honored to call them friends and family.
10. I am so much happier when the sun is out.

Answer This

What are your favorite household cleaners?

I "wasted" a good portion of time today reading blogs about cleaning. Seriously.
I began to feel inadequate somehow. All of these products I don't use or even know about.
And then I decided to clean my house instead.
I instantly felt better.

Lots of girls blog about clothes and makeup.
I buy my makeup at Target. My clothes at JC Penney, Maurices, and..uh..Target.
I don't do designer. And I am definitely okay with that. I'm not passionate about designer. I am also not wealthy.
But I can clean. So I decided I would do an answer this on my favorite cleaning products. I'm hoping some of you will respond with some other products and make me want to try them, tell me a little about them even, so I don't feel so "out of the loop." Here are a few of mine. Nothing too new here:


Clorox Bleach

I use this for just about anything. I will occasionally mop my floors with it. Clean my bathroom/tub/shower with it. Everything. I love how I know it disinfects, I love the clean look, and I love love LOVE the smell. When I was little, my mom often had Fridays off or she worked half days. I would LOVE coming home on Friday afternoon. The house would be clean and it would smell like bleach. LOVE it! And with this stuff...it really needs to be Clorox brand. Just sayin'Clorox Bleach

Clorox Automatic Toilet Bowl Cleaner
Yes, I am blogging about this. These are a tad spendy for my taste.
Really they're not, but I'm kind of a tight wad in a weird way
When we were first married I went on a cleaning supply spending spree. I bought like $50 worth of cleaning supplies when I was just going to pick up bathroom cleaner. I got carried away. I love the cleaning aisle. I picked up these things and I'm addicted.
I remember the moment I felt like I needed to "confess" to Zach all that I spent that day.
"And I bought these toilet bowl cleaner tablets that were like $10 for four of them!"
I felt like I had been so irresponsible.
Leave it to Zach to tell me how much each was costing us per week to help me justify my shopping :)
And now I can't live without these.
They really do keep the toilet bowl clean.
They are not blue...I tried the blue stuff once..it was cheaper...NOT WORTH IT!
And every single time a toilet is flushed, your bathroom smells like bleach. A huge plus!

Clorox Automatic Toilet Bowl Cleaners

Lysol Bathroom Cleaner
I like this stuff. The kind that foams. I use it to clean my bathtub pre bleach.
I don't always bleach, just an FYI. Only sometimes.
But this stuff will clean a tub in seconds.
Spray it on.
Leave it a minute.
Come in with a scrub brush and scrub away.
So clean.

Lysol Bathroom Cleaners

Comet Cleanser
I don't really use this all that often. I clean my sink with it. That and Bar Keeper's Friend. Those are the things I use to clean my sinks. If I'm out of supplies, I will clean the bathroom with it, though. I know all of my products are considered "abrasive" but there's something about the paste it makes, plus the scrubbing, plus the clean smell that I just love.

Comet Cleanser

Microfiber Cloths
Our house needs dusting constantly.
It's gross.
One time it led to a rather embarrassing break down.
We hadn't been married very long.
I clean every Saturday and that week was no exception.
I had dusted the tv stand.
Three days later it looked as if I hadn't touched it in months.
I had a fit. I told Zach our house was "unlivable" and that we could never have a child under these conditions.
I still remember him, not getting angry, but telling me to just listen to myself for a minute.
It makes me laugh now.
I told Grandpa about this "dust" problem.
He brought me a microfiber cloth.
I use it to dust now and I LOVE LOVE it. Seriously. I highly recommend them.
In fact, I love it so much that I bought a microfiber dry/wet mop made by Mr. Clean.
It is the best mop, especially if you have pets that shed.
I love microfiber cloths!
Plus, you can dust the front of your television with one!

Microfiber Cloths
Note: These are not the brand of cloth I use. I don't know my brand. It came from Costco apparently.

Scentsy
No, this is not a cleaning product.
But it certainly helps me feel better about the cleanliness appeal of my home.
It's the way I reward myself.
I know, I'm sick.
If the house is clean, I turn on my Scentsy and it just feels "done."

Ah! Saturday cleaning.
I love a clean house!

What are your favorite household cleaners?

Scentsy

Wish That I Had a Mind and Hands That Work Like That

So last night I came home to the fence in the front part of our yard being framed
and set up. No big deal to some of you but to me it is..
This brings me to the kind of mind that can do this kind of thing and how I wish I had one like it.
Todd(my husband & Shar's dad)does have this kind of mind. It is the kind that can build things, fix things, visualize things, learn from watching something be done and figure out how something works by taking things apart and then putting them back together.
All my life and this is true. I have seen things to make or do in a magazine and early on I used to think I could try that. Well I have tried it and it turns out that my mind works like a preschooler on Orajel and Nyquil when it comes to this type of thing. It just doesn't work that way and no amount of study can fix this.
So for now and I wish I had taken a picture of this and actually of the fence my son in law built last summer to illustrate :)
There is something incredible to this type of brain. During my lifetime I have watched this type of mind work -in the cars my dad fixed, the planes he used to work on for a living, the camper he built and all the things he has done to fix anything that we might bring to him. When I got older I married Todd and in our time together he has fixed VCR's and furnaces, rebuilt engines, painted cars, installed the furnace and airconditioning in the first home we built together, painted, tiled our new house with Carma(another friend of mine with this type of mind)installed a new tub and tiled our bathroom, he installed a new furnace for his mom, sprinkler systems in 2 homes plus his dad's yard and actually put a 1947 Stinson Airplane back together from inside out, in our garage no less, with only the book to follow. It passed inspection and he has also flown this plane.
I know there are a lot of people like this in the world but I am not.
I am a if something looks like crap it is always going to be crap kind of person. I would not be able to decide to pull out the carpet,lay down a different floor and paint and have something that came from Better Homes and Gardens. I do not visualize and my mind does not work as to figure how to make an engine stop clanging.
Needless to say I am in awe of people that can. So for today I will just be proud of the new fence my husband is building and I will bathe in the tub he put in and pay the hangar rental for his plane. I on the other hand will just clean up the mess from the construction (because apparently those minds don't work like that :)) and be happy with that.

Love It

Source

I have a new obsession with Drop Dead Diva
The plot is a little odd, to say the least.
But I stumbled upon it...
and I love it.
It's just the perfect amount of mindlessness (in the sense that it's easy to follow), character development, heart, humor (I do occasionally find myself laughing out loud)and chick flick style that make it perfect for an evening on the couch while Zach is in class.

I love the characters. Almost all of them.
I've had the most difficult time attaching to Kim.
And then she said this tonight:
"You didn't know. You're unsure. You're on the fence. I have no patience for the fence."

And just like that, I love her.
Amen. Amen. Amen.
I love it!