My good friend, The Fairy Blogmother, has been busy and sick this month so I think she forgot to do her monthly question and answer series. I went over to a few places on the net and grabbed these random questions. It's almost the end of September so I HAVE to get these posted.
Have you ever thought about converting your religion?
Nope. None of the others make sense to me. I like some things in other religions but I'm not 'religious' so I don't do a lot of rituals. I live life and have relationship with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Who do you most look like in your family?
I don't look like anyone. There are 4 of us and we look nothing alike. Different body shapes, face shapes, hair, eye, skin color. Different eyes, nose, cheeks, hands, feet. Nothing alike. We could all be adopted.
Have your parents ever smoked pot?
What?? No. Really, no. Haha. The thought of it makes me laugh hysterically.
Want someone back in your life?
Nope. My life is pretty great right now. I rather like it this way.
What do you order at the bar?
If I'm sitting AT the bar, I ask the bartender to make me something of their choosing. It usually works out to be amazing!!
Ever licked someone’s cheek?
I lick my kids' cheeks. Usually it is after I have pinned them down and been wrestling for awhile. I learned this move from my brother who has 5 children.
If you could go back in time, how far back would you go?
I would go back to the last time I was supposed to go shopping with my grandparents. I changed my mind at the last minute before getting out of the car. I wish I had those hours back to spend with them. My grandfather passed away quickly a few months later. He was my favorite person in the world.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Seat of Our Pants!!
We are redecorating.
In the fine J & S Widney tradition, it is by the seat of our pants!!
It all started when J found this console table on craigslist.
The next thing I know, we are selling our living room and dining room furniture. Lamps, tables, entertainment center, TV, couches, the works!!
I met interesting people. Like the man who took pictures of our dining table and chairs for his girlfriend who lives out-of-state and will be moving to Chicago before they leave to work on a boat for a year. And the really sweet hispanic guy who loves our glass tables with corinthian column bases.
But not as interesting as the woman that looks like a stripper who was moving to California the next day and gave J a great deal on a leather chair. Or the pregnant woman who was going to leave J alone in her home while she went next door to borrow tools from her neighbor. Or the woman that met J in a bathrobe when he went to pick up this wing back chair.
The other day, we walked in to a warehouse and down the stairs to the basement. A buzzer rings and around the corner is this older guy riding a fork lift in a sparse, dusty brick space. We follow him into a room that has furniture stacked wall-to-wall and almost to the ceiling.
We walked out of there with 4 dining chairs (all different by choice) and we proceeded to stuff them in our COROLLA!! Haha!! We got 1 in the trunk and 3 in the back seat with the window open and the back of the chair was sticking out a foot.
We bought a few new items.
Again, they went in our sexy little COROLLA!
On the highway....
Gotta sell a few more items, paint some walls, and then I will show you the final result.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Saturday, September 18, 2010
No one cares about your church
Please head over to my good friend, Tim Schraeder's blog.
Tim did a great job on this topic.
Loved it!! Enjoy!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
iPad vs Kindle
Last Tuesday morning, I thought, "I'd really like an electronic reader, like a Kindle, so I can read my books without bulking up my purse." Out of 'if you think it, it will come' thinking, my husband brought home a Kindle for me.
I've used an iPad and now I've used a Kindle. Which do I prefer?
Well, in my pre-iPhone and iPad days, the Kindle would have been wonderful. I wouldn't have expected to touch the screen and make the pages turn or to be able to touch a book title to have its details magically appear. The Kindle would have been great. And I guess, if I use a Blackberry, the Kindle would be great too.
My dear bloggy friend Lit and Laundry loves her Kindle. It's not that there is anything wrong with the Kindle, but I've experienced the iLife and Kindle feels like I'm going back in time. I find myself getting really frustrated and want to smash the thing. I should give it away.
But the books on Amazon that I can buy are cheaper than on iTunes. I do like that. And I do like the fact that the Kindle is MINE. That means I can use it when I want to and not when my kids let me after they play games on the iPad or when J is done doing what he does on there. iLife is fine but myKindle is, well, mine.
So, there you have it. My opinion of the Kindle. Please be sure to read my disclaimer at the bottom of my site (scroll allllllllll the way down).
I've used an iPad and now I've used a Kindle. Which do I prefer?
Well, in my pre-iPhone and iPad days, the Kindle would have been wonderful. I wouldn't have expected to touch the screen and make the pages turn or to be able to touch a book title to have its details magically appear. The Kindle would have been great. And I guess, if I use a Blackberry, the Kindle would be great too.
My dear bloggy friend Lit and Laundry loves her Kindle. It's not that there is anything wrong with the Kindle, but I've experienced the iLife and Kindle feels like I'm going back in time. I find myself getting really frustrated and want to smash the thing. I should give it away.
But the books on Amazon that I can buy are cheaper than on iTunes. I do like that. And I do like the fact that the Kindle is MINE. That means I can use it when I want to and not when my kids let me after they play games on the iPad or when J is done doing what he does on there. iLife is fine but myKindle is, well, mine.
So, there you have it. My opinion of the Kindle. Please be sure to read my disclaimer at the bottom of my site (scroll allllllllll the way down).
Sunday, September 12, 2010
It's Gotta Be About More
I love money. I need money. I want money. I can spend money easy.
There are things I wold be willing to do for the right amount of money. Like live in the Toronto area again. But there are things I would not do for money. No amount of money would entice me back to living in Oklahoma, for example.
Several opportunities to work at amazing places have come up in the last couple of months. I'm not looking. Things usually fall in your lap when you are not looking. I was told I could make a bunch of money at one place in particular. And I'm sure I could. But it's gotta be about more than money.
Right now, I'm doing marketing and recruiting. It is challenging, a ton of work, and not as much money as I've been paid in the past. I am really happy where I am. Maybe I shouldn't say that because inevitably, some craziness will happen that will piss me off and make me wish I'd never said all that on here. Oh well, it was bound to happen at some point, right?
The thought of leaving for more money and a job I could do in my sleep is not appealing to me. I like what I'm doing and feel like I make a difference. A good difference. Maybe I have a martyr complex. It's not about the money (although I could use more). It's about learning and growing in a position and making the most of what you do. It's about feeling like you make a difference. And that your presence is valued and appreciated.
There are things I wold be willing to do for the right amount of money. Like live in the Toronto area again. But there are things I would not do for money. No amount of money would entice me back to living in Oklahoma, for example.
Several opportunities to work at amazing places have come up in the last couple of months. I'm not looking. Things usually fall in your lap when you are not looking. I was told I could make a bunch of money at one place in particular. And I'm sure I could. But it's gotta be about more than money.
Right now, I'm doing marketing and recruiting. It is challenging, a ton of work, and not as much money as I've been paid in the past. I am really happy where I am. Maybe I shouldn't say that because inevitably, some craziness will happen that will piss me off and make me wish I'd never said all that on here. Oh well, it was bound to happen at some point, right?
The thought of leaving for more money and a job I could do in my sleep is not appealing to me. I like what I'm doing and feel like I make a difference. A good difference. Maybe I have a martyr complex. It's not about the money (although I could use more). It's about learning and growing in a position and making the most of what you do. It's about feeling like you make a difference. And that your presence is valued and appreciated.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
You Can't Always Get What You Don't Want
Yesterday, I blogged about how, in being "forced" by my husband to donate or toss the last remnants of baby gear, I realized I still have this place in me that kinda maybe wishes I could get pregnant. And by getting rid of that stuff, it symbolizes the release of that dream.
See, we adopted our kids because we couldn't have biological children together. If you click on any of 3 tabs up top (Dead Dreams, Our Adoption Story, Adoption Rocks), you can read our adoption journey. I love my kids. I know am on this earth to parent them. But technically, I can still get pregnant and give birth.
A couple of my regular blog friends (and real world friends) were very supportive of me in their comments. In replying to their comments, it became clear that another blog entry was brewing. So here is your response, ladies:
Oh, Ladies, thank you for your kind thoughts, suggestions and instilling a new fear in me - becoming so incredibly old that I will have entered the grandparent phase. Actually, I LOVE not having a baby. I don't feel the baby need. However, I have never gotten pregnant and seen the man that I love excited to be having a child with me. I have never bitched and complained about being fat or retaining water, or not being able to find cute clothes due to pregnancy. I have never screamed and yelled in pain of childbirth. My screaming and yelling is for other reasons - like J not taking out the trash. Because I have never had these things (and childbirth scares the hell out of me, btw), I want them.
J is not only sterile, but he was fixed a few years back so we could never ever have a biological child. I thought it would take away the feelings of failure each month when I got my period. Sadly, not the case. I thought it would take away the desire to see my spawn (quite curious as to what I could procreate). Sadly, not the case. I thought it would make me feel empowered: This is our choice. We chose to stop having children. Sadly, not the case.
I'm 40. I'll be 41 this year (well, 40 again 'cause it's been a great year). My eggs are drying up and what is left may not be the brightest or the best. However, I feel this gong going off in my head. 'Now or never' the gong says. But unless I tramp it up with some stud muffin, sadly, not gonna happen. Well, no, no, not an option.
Yet still, I find myself longing for that which I cannot have (the baby, not the stud muffin). Nor really want (again, the baby...). I think in my perfect world, I would be a surrogate. How perfect would that be? I get to be pregnant and legally required to be fat, have hours of epidural bliss labor then get to see what my eggs can do, hug the baby, hold the baby, give the baby to people who actually want the baby.
I wouldn't have to parent or feed or pay for the child or wake up at crazy hours or drive across town to pick/drop off kids at different schools. I wouldn't be almost 60 and trying to figure out how to retire AND pay for college. And, in helping to create a happy family for someone else, my good deed is done. I could quit volunteering for the rest of my life. Or at least 18 years of pay it forward goodness.
However, along with my decaying eggs is my decaying uterus. Seems I can't sell my eggs or my uterus to the highest bidder as I am a good 5 years past desireability. Yes, I have researched it. Do you realize how much money surrogates can make? How is a girl to help support her family in her 40's? Reeks of discrimination. Where's the civil liberties union when you need them to advocate for the marketability of your incubating parts?
For the most part, I really am happy and content. It's just every now and then, you realize you have some baggage that was packed away without being emptied from your last trip and you really should clean it out.
See, we adopted our kids because we couldn't have biological children together. If you click on any of 3 tabs up top (Dead Dreams, Our Adoption Story, Adoption Rocks), you can read our adoption journey. I love my kids. I know am on this earth to parent them. But technically, I can still get pregnant and give birth.
A couple of my regular blog friends (and real world friends) were very supportive of me in their comments. In replying to their comments, it became clear that another blog entry was brewing. So here is your response, ladies:
Oh, Ladies, thank you for your kind thoughts, suggestions and instilling a new fear in me - becoming so incredibly old that I will have entered the grandparent phase. Actually, I LOVE not having a baby. I don't feel the baby need. However, I have never gotten pregnant and seen the man that I love excited to be having a child with me. I have never bitched and complained about being fat or retaining water, or not being able to find cute clothes due to pregnancy. I have never screamed and yelled in pain of childbirth. My screaming and yelling is for other reasons - like J not taking out the trash. Because I have never had these things (and childbirth scares the hell out of me, btw), I want them.
J is not only sterile, but he was fixed a few years back so we could never ever have a biological child. I thought it would take away the feelings of failure each month when I got my period. Sadly, not the case. I thought it would take away the desire to see my spawn (quite curious as to what I could procreate). Sadly, not the case. I thought it would make me feel empowered: This is our choice. We chose to stop having children. Sadly, not the case.
I'm 40. I'll be 41 this year (well, 40 again 'cause it's been a great year). My eggs are drying up and what is left may not be the brightest or the best. However, I feel this gong going off in my head. 'Now or never' the gong says. But unless I tramp it up with some stud muffin, sadly, not gonna happen. Well, no, no, not an option.
Yet still, I find myself longing for that which I cannot have (the baby, not the stud muffin). Nor really want (again, the baby...). I think in my perfect world, I would be a surrogate. How perfect would that be? I get to be pregnant and legally required to be fat, have hours of epidural bliss labor then get to see what my eggs can do, hug the baby, hold the baby, give the baby to people who actually want the baby.
I wouldn't have to parent or feed or pay for the child or wake up at crazy hours or drive across town to pick/drop off kids at different schools. I wouldn't be almost 60 and trying to figure out how to retire AND pay for college. And, in helping to create a happy family for someone else, my good deed is done. I could quit volunteering for the rest of my life. Or at least 18 years of pay it forward goodness.
However, along with my decaying eggs is my decaying uterus. Seems I can't sell my eggs or my uterus to the highest bidder as I am a good 5 years past desireability. Yes, I have researched it. Do you realize how much money surrogates can make? How is a girl to help support her family in her 40's? Reeks of discrimination. Where's the civil liberties union when you need them to advocate for the marketability of your incubating parts?
For the most part, I really am happy and content. It's just every now and then, you realize you have some baggage that was packed away without being emptied from your last trip and you really should clean it out.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
It's Over. Forever. I think.
I was cleaning out Mini Me's closet. J was sitting on her bed observing the process. He said I needed to toss the diaper changing pad. And the potty/step stool combo. And a couple baby blankets. Mini Me's stroller was in there and it's also where the extra toddler car seat typically lives. He said we need to get rid of it all.
But I use them!! He asked when? When your sister and your sister-in-law came with their babies, this was very handy to have. "Get rid of it," he said. I've babysat kids here and it was very handy to have. "Have you babysat in the last year? Get rid of it." I loan my friends this stuff when they have friends in town. "Give it to them. Get rid of it."
He then told me I was reminding him of those people on Hoarders. Hoarders!! Hoarders!!! That cut me to the core.
I've been thinking about it a fair bit since. You know what it is? It's the fact that I will never have another child. Not that I want the late night feedings or diaper changes, etc. It's that I am forced to come to terms with the fact that I will truly never have another baby. Yes, I would buy all new stuff for a new baby, but letting go of the baby stuff means babydom for me is over. Forever. I think.
But I use them!! He asked when? When your sister and your sister-in-law came with their babies, this was very handy to have. "Get rid of it," he said. I've babysat kids here and it was very handy to have. "Have you babysat in the last year? Get rid of it." I loan my friends this stuff when they have friends in town. "Give it to them. Get rid of it."
He then told me I was reminding him of those people on Hoarders. Hoarders!! Hoarders!!! That cut me to the core.
I've been thinking about it a fair bit since. You know what it is? It's the fact that I will never have another child. Not that I want the late night feedings or diaper changes, etc. It's that I am forced to come to terms with the fact that I will truly never have another baby. Yes, I would buy all new stuff for a new baby, but letting go of the baby stuff means babydom for me is over. Forever. I think.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Meet Herb
This is Herb.
Well, technically, his parents gave him a different name at birth. However, I gave my boy a different name at birth but this man insists on calling my son, "Herbert" or "Herb" for short.
Last week, I took Mini Me to a birthday party while Motor Mouth and J were at the Tall Ships at Navy Pier. Herb was there with his lovely wife and their beautiful daughter.
Herb's conversation with Mini Me went "something" like this:
"I know you." Mini Me
"You do?" Herb
"You call my brother, Turd!"
"No, I don't! I call him 'Herb'."
"Yes, you do!!! You call my brother 'Poop'!"
Friday, September 3, 2010
How do you know they really like it??
Earlier this year, I made this Pond Friends Stacking toy for a friend's baby.
Motor Mouth's school has a silent auction and fund raising banquet each year. I offered to make one for the 2011 silent auction. The development associate said she liked the idea. But you never really know if someone really likes something you made or if they are just being polite.
Well, now I know.
She likes it!! She really likes it!!
Can you believe I was asked to make one for the development associate's friend? And she'll pay me to do it. That means she likes it. She really likes it!!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Widney Wednesday - Chicago Cubs
Today, we went to a Chicago Cubs game with a bunch of staff from J's office.
Took the kids out of school.
It was sooooooo much fun!!!
I got to chat with Rosie, Rachel, Kimberly, Tim, and Kevin.
And, I have scheduled times to get together with Rosie and with Rachel.
Oh, wait!! We were there to see the game...
The Cubs won!!!!!!!
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