5 Question Friday, Sponsorship, and Friendly Friday {Linky}

Here's another GREAT Five Question Friday! But before I get started, I just wanted to let you all know that I've got a new blogging buddy! Three Ps in a Pod has featured my blog in a Sponsor Spotlight! I'm really excited about this. Tara has a great blog and her son, Carter, is absolutely precious!

At the end of this post, I'm also hosting the Friendly Friday linky, so if you haven't already linked up on another blog, feel free to link up here! And if you follow my blog, leave me a comment letting me know and I'll follow back!

Finally, make sure you get those entries in for the $45 CSN Stores gift certificate! It's open to residents of US and Canada and ends this coming Monday, 1/31 at 9 PM EST!

On to Five Question Friday!



1. If you had $1,000 to donate to a charity, which would you choose?
I would give it to Standing on the Side of Love. The best description of the organization is from their website's About page: "Standing on the Side of Love is a public advocacy campaign that seeks to harness love’s power to stop oppression. It is sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Association and all are welcomed to join." Those who know me well know that I believe strongly in equal rights for LGBT. I truly believe that I cannot consider myself "free" until everyone in our country shares the same rights that I do, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, or any other factor. Standing on the Side of Love advocates that stance and does a really great job, even though the organization is only just over a year old.

2. Snow days: Do you welcome them happily or are they a pain in your butt?
Snow days? In Florida? Yeah that doesn't happen. Though I have lived through a few hurricane days and those were a royal pain in my butt.

3. What talent did you wish you had and why?
I wish I could draw. I'm a fairly creative person, but my drawing skills are just not that great. I'm not at the level of only being able to draw stick figures, but I couldn't draw a portrait either.

4. Are you a news, politics or celebrity gossip junkie?
As I'm sure you guessed from the answer to the first question, I am a very left leaning liberal democrat and a complete political junkie. While most women I know watched baby shows or soaps or other more light-hearted things on maternity leave, I was glued -- literally, glued -- to MSNBC. If the TV was on, it was on MSNBC. And now that my kid is older, if I ever get a chance to watch TV, a lot of the times it's on MSNBC too. So yeah, I guess you could call me a political junkie.

5. What is your favorite "cocktail"? (Are you a beer person, a kiddie cocktail junkie, or perhaps your more the "Cosmo" kind?! Anything flies...doesn't hafta be alcoholic!)
I'm pretty boring and not much of an alcohol drinker, though when I do drink, it's either vodka and cranberry juice or white wine. I used to love red wine but I started to get red wine headaches so I just don't anymore. Red wine is tasty, and healthy in small portions but not worth the skull-crushing pain.




Other great Friday blog hops!

Five Question Friday: January 21, 2011

Happy Friday! It's 5 Question Friday once again...thanks goes to Five Crooked Halos for hosting this link-up! It's been quite a busy week for us and ultimately is ending with Angelica being sick with a cough and a fever. I was home with her yesterday and even though she was pretty miserable most of the day, I loved being able to hold and comfort her. Scott is taking a turn today so that I can get caught up on what I missed yesterday. Hopefully my poor baby girl gets to feeling better by tomorrow so we can have a fun-filled weekend!

Speaking of fun-filled, make sure you check out my giveaways! I have a Boogie Wipes giveaway ending at 9 PM EST TONIGHT and a $45 Gift Certificate to CSN Stores giveaway ending on the 31st.

Also, if you're running a toy giveaway, it's not too late to add it to my Got Toys giveaway linky! A new one will go up next Wednesday at 9 PM.

Now, on to the Five Question Friday Fun!



1. Where did you meet your spouse and did you instantly know it was love?
We met on the internet back in the days when AOL was all the rage (ten years ago this March)! I don't know that I instantly knew it was "love", but he and I both felt an instant connection with each other, like "soulmates" or kindred spirits, if you believe in that sort of thing. Ten years later we still feel it, so I guess that connection was a true one!

2. What is your favorite room in your house?
This may be a cop-out, but I'm going to say none of the rooms are my favorite. I love our back yard because it's big and fenced in, has a swing set for the kiddo and lots of shade (important in the summer in Florida)! The house itself is a rental, it's very small, and the interior needs some work...the carpet is ancient, the cabinets and tile are about as old as the house is (30 years) and the bathroom is tiny. But, it's affordable and is definitely helping us with our debt snowball!

3. Can you wiggle your ears?
Nope :) And yes, I just tried.

4. What is your evening ritual?
I leave work and pick Angelica up from daycare. We get home and play for about a half an hour, then I put on a movie for her while I cook dinner. Then Scott gets home (and if we've played too long, HE cooks dinner...LOL) and then we eat. Then we alternate nights...one of us will do her bathtime and story while the other washes dishes (no dishwasher for us). Then I tidy up the house, work on the blog for a bit, shower, and eventually we settle in to watch some TV before going to bed. Lately I've been trying to work exercise into the evening ritual as well...

5. How many hours of sleep do you need to function?
This is a dangerous question, my friend. I am one of those people who would sleep forever if I could. I take every opportunity for a nap that presents itself. Yesterday, when Angelica napped, I did too. When I told Scott about this, he laughed and said, "Of course you did!" and called me predictable. Harumph. (LOL) I'd say I need about 10 hours, but I normally get 5-6.

Welcome New Followers! And Five Question Friday, Jan. 14

I noticed that this blog has gained a lot of new followers this week. WELCOME! If I have not yet followed your blog back, please comment on this post and I will! I certainly don't mean to overlook anyone :)

One thing I like to do is the Five Question Friday from My Little Life. Here's this weeks Q&A!

1. What movie could you watch over and over again and not get tired of?
It's a tie: Office Space, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

2. What's your biggest pet peeve right now?
Angelica's temper tantrums!

3. If you had to describe your best friend in five words or less, what would you say?
My husband, my soulmate, awesome.

4. If you did not have to worry about money or go to school what would you do for a living?
Be a stay at home mom :) Honestly, up until recently I thought that I wasn't cut out to be a stay at home mom. That was probably in large part the PPD and dysthymia talking. Now that I've gotten medication and gotten my head on straight, despite the terrible twos I absolutely love spending time with my little girl and having her home over the winter break completely changed my mind. It's not that I don't enjoy working...I definitely do...but I can see how the grass truly might be greener on that other side.

5. What is your one "splurge" item, that you will always buy, no matter the cost?
Aveda hair care products. Until the past year, when I started to get a few gray hairs (Thanks Angelica!) I never worried about hair care products. But then I started getting the grays, and then I started getting my hair colored at the local Aveda school, which is around the corner from where I work so it's super convenient. So I splurge on their Color Conserve. I love it.

Five Question Friday - December 10

It's Friday! This week seems like it's gone by really, really fast and I'm actually finding it hard to believe it's December 10th already. Most of the holiday shopping is done (at least for the kids -- I still have adults to shop for) and I'm really just excited for the holidays. Scott's last day of work before 2011 is today, too, so I am extra excited for him!



1. Do you open presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?
When I was growing up, we always opened up gifts on Christmas Day. With Angelica, though, we usually have 2-3 days of gift opening. About six years ago, I started a tradition of having a huge Christmas Eve meal with all of the family who wants to get together and we open gifts on that day. It works out well now that my sister and I both have kids so that we don't have to travel all around the city on Christmas Day!

2. What is your favorite Christmas cookie (or candy)?
Alton Brown's sugar cookie recipe. I make these every year and dear lord they are amazing.

3. What's the worst Christmas gift you've ever received?
I don't honestly think I've ever gotten a "bad" gift. Aren't all gifts good? Even if it's not something you want or can use, you at least know that person thought of you and cared enough to get you a gift.

4. Christmas song that you love?
I've always loved The Little Drummer Boy. I know it's a very "Christian" song (as most Christmas songs are!) but I just think it's a beautiful song.

Angelica's also obsessed with Frosty the Snowman lately and I think it's adorable to hear her sing it...though if I actually have to watch Frosty again I might claw my eyes out.

5. How many trees do you put up?
Hahaha, in our tiny little house? Just one. It's fake and it's covered in plastic ornaments (with cats and kids, nothing else would survive) but I think it's beautiful. I should take a picture and post it!

5 Question Friday: Nov. 12

It's time to break up the monotony of the thankfulness posts (though I am thoroughly enjoying them) to participate in a Five Question Friday!

1. What is the most physically painful thing that has ever happened to you?
I've been through two kidney stones. One when I was 19 and the other right before my 22nd birthday. That topped unmedicated, induced labor. I would go through labor 100 times before wanting to endure another one of those.

Second to that: In December of last year I had surgery to fix my Dequervain's Tendinitis. Having had a c-section with Angelica, I figured wrist surgery would be no big deal. LIES. That thing hurt WAY worse than my c-section, and it was annoying as hell to have my arm in a cast. Especially with an 18 month old baby, and also especially on Christmas, which was two days after the surgery. The scar is very, very light now...most of the time I even forget it's there. Let me tell you though, to this day Angelica remembers I had surgery. Even this morning, she told me to "roll up my sleeves" and then she rolled hers up and pointed on her wrist where I have the scar on mine and said, "Mommy, this where your boo-boo is!"

2. How much sleep do you get at night?
If you had asked me this question about six months ago, the answer would be "4 hours". I now get about seven.

3. How long did you believe in Santa Claus? How did you find out that he does not exist?
When I was about 8, my mom told me that there was no Santa. The rule in my house, though, is that you have to believe in Santa to get presents. :)

4. What was the last movie you saw in a theater?
Back in July I was on vacation and went to see Eclipse by myself.

5. What do you wear to bed?
Sweatpants and a t-shirt. Usually ones that I have retired from my workout clothes.

5 Question Friday: October 8

Ahh, Friday is finally here! For once, our slate is pretty clean for the weekend so I'm open to the possibility of playdates! (I must be nuts to have a clean slate and then want to fill it up, right?) I don't have a whole lot of news to share, other than this funny tidbit from last night...

Scott and I had put Angelica down to bed for the evening...he left to go running and I was working on a project when all of a sudden I hear her yell, "Raaawwwwwr!!!" Mind you, our house is small but surprisingly soundproof, and we were at opposite ends of the house. So I ran in her room, and she was laying in bed, looking almost asleep. I asked her, "Did you just rawr, Angelica?" She nodded. I asked, "Why did you rawr?" She replied: "I wanted a kiss, Mommy!"

I somehow remember doing stuff like that when I was a kid. It's like her version of the "one more glass of water!" trick. I had to laugh.

Anyway, I'm doing a 5 Question Friday post today just for fun!

1. What do you listen to while driving?

My iPod is always, always, always with me. Lately I've been listening to a lot of motivational speaking, but I took a break yesterday to listen to The Rocket Summer. And then when I picked up Angelica, I got my evening dose of Laurie Berkner. This week's choice is The Farm Song...which is great because I was kind of tired of the two months we spent stuck on Rocketship Run. :)

2. What is your least favorite thing about Fall?

Fall is BY FAR my favorite season, but if I had to pick one? Fall allergies. Also -- I LOVE having all my doors and windows open and I was so looking forward to doing that in the new house we're renting...except that there is a forest behind our house. With raccoons. And I heard a ruckus in my dining room the other night and, lo and behold, there was a raccoon digging into the cat food. So now that door has to stay shut.

3. What does your dream house look like, inside and out?

My dream house would be a house that I own. I'm not too picky about what it would look like, other than that it wouldn't be a fixer-upper. I just want to have a home to call my own! We've been renting and renting our whole adult lives and now we're working on the Dave Ramsey plan to eliminate debt and eventually save up for our down payment. 

4. Would you ever own a minivan?

My first car was a minivan. When I was 16 I was driving around town in one of those huge, extended Dodge Caravans. A 1987 one. It was almost 10 years old at that point...a hand me down from my parents. And I appreciated the heck out of that thing. I would not own another one though. If memory serves me right, my old van got me about 18 miles to the gallon. I'm all about the fuel economy and that just won't cut it for me!

5. Do you wash new clothes before wearing them?

Nope, unless I think it's a dark color that might rub off on me. Otherwise it goes in the closet, tags and all. Unless it's underwear. I know stores don't let you try on underwear but it still skeeves me out to think that they were just sitting out on the shelf.