Out of the mouths of babes

Recent conversation with a five year old boy:

Place: his play room
Scenario: I just noticed his finger suspiciously close to his nose

Me: "Are you picking your nose!"
Boy: "Hehehehe!"
Me: "Don't pick your nose. That's gross."
Boy (in all earnest): "But sometimes" *breath* "when my nose gets blocked up," *giggle* "I have to stick my finger up there to get out the snot!" *giggle, giggle, giggle*

I didn't do a very good job keeping a straight face as I informed him that you're supposed to use tissue to do that.
:-)

More silliness

I don't even like Frappuccinos and the only thing I like about Micheal Buble is his voice. But it just made me enjoy this all the more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRlgc6GA924

Priceless advice

Really funny. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out how to just post the video right on the blog. Sorry. :-p

http://www.hulu.com/watch/1389/saturday-night-live-dont-buy-stuff

*Disclaimer: I do not endorse Saturday Night Live as they are known to get nasty fast. This is a totally clean sketch but I can't say the same for the others out there.*

16 Random Things

This went around on facebook as a chain letter type thing (about four friends "requested" that I do it, so I finally did), but for those of you who have better things to do than keep up a facebook page, I decided to post it here as well. It's as it's titled: random. But a quicker read than that 100 Questions post. So, with no further ado, for your amusement and education, here are sixteen completely random things you'll wish you never bothered to take the time to read about me. :-)

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

1. I hate chain letters. :-)

2. I used to be of the opinion that black didn't count as a color and didn't like it. Now probably one third of my wardrobe is black and I think it's classy.

3. My style icons are Jackie Onassis, Audrey Hepburn, and the like.

4. My pets over the years have consisted of a black and white cat (Zeba), a rabbit (Tinkerbell [no, I'm not a fan of Tinkerbell, I was young and don't know what I was thinking]), a goldfish, a beta fish, a dove, and a Shetland Sheepdog (Frisky). In that order. Though, the cat was the first and managed to outlive them all. I currently have no pets of my own.

5. I used to think it was impossible and useless to make shoes "cute". I currently own at least four pairs mainly because they are cute.

6. I am a proud aunt and mother though my niece, nephews, and daughters have no blood relation.

7. I only had to have three wisdom teeth removed. The fourth was simply non-existent. (These are supposed to be random, right?!)

8. I chose to never attend a church high school youth group, though I'm now a leader in one.

9. My hair was practically black as a baby.

10. I hope to play the bass guitar one day.

11. I play violin. Not fiddle.

12. I've never eaten a Twinkie... and hope never to falsify that statement.

13. As a preteen, I wanted to be called by my middle name, Frances (after my grandmother). I'm now quite content with my first name.

14. I prefer my full name, Valerie. Only a few people can get away with calling me Val. Other nicknames include Valerina and/or Ballerina, Valgal, Larry, and Tea Snob. There's more, I just won't bore you with them.

15. My favorite composers are Bach and Mozart.

16. I'm the second born child out of five and am now second to shortest. Only my younger brother with downs syndrome is shorter than me.

Guess I'm too old

What can I say, I just don't get chat and text lingo!!!!!

*To assist any readers that are over the age of 25, I've included the full meanings.
l0l (laughing out loud) - What happened to "haha", "that's funny"..... besides, how many people are actually laughing out loud when they type that. They're usually silently chuckling! Liars!
rofl (rolling on the floor laughing) - Ooooh, let's expound on lol!
brb (be right back) - I was informed that it's practically a common verb!!
nm (never mind) - It probably takes me a full minute to realize it's not a typo.
np (no problem) - I always think it's supposed to be "no".
whatev - So, now we're so lazy we can't even say "er".

There's of course a gazillion more, these are just the most common ones I run into. I just don't understand why it's necessary to shorten our words that much in an effort to speed up our conversations. What happened to good old-fashioned letters! (My sister will be rolling her eyes and groaning at this point.) There is hope for me yet, though. I've slowly been adapting to these rapidly changing times and have actually started recognizing these "words" when the pop up. I've even used a few in their proper context! Now if I could actually write a text in less than five minutes. Oh well, baby steps.

Wise words

I found this little instructional years ago (I've no idea where) and thought this was one of the best things ever. Sarah just now unearthed it while she was digging through piano music that we haven't touched in probably ten years. Reading over it again, I found a few truths missing, but on the whole, it's a pretty cute, accurate little verse.

Preserving A Husband

Be very careful in your selection. Do not choose one too young and take only such varieties as have been raised in a good moral atmosphere. When decided upon and selected, let that part remain forever settled, then give your entire attention to preparation for domestic use. Some wives insist on keeping them in a pickle, while others are constantly getting them in hot water; but this only makes them sour and hard and sometimes bitter. Even poor varieties may be made tender and sweet and good by garnishing them with patience, well sweetened with smiles, and flavored with kisses to taste; then wrap in a mantle of charity, keep warm with a steady fire of domestic devotion and serve with peaches and cream. When they are prepared this way, they will keep for years and improve with age.
Author Unknown

Recent highlights...

So many fun things have occurred within the last week and there's really no way to do them justice in a blog post (you probably wouldn't want to read it all either). So, I will attempt to condense them into a few sentences each and give you a quick overview on the recent happy happenings in my life. :-) (FYI, these are not in chronological order)

~ SNOW!!!!!!!!!! Ice, dangerous roads, school closures, power outages, not enough snow gear, but lots of pretty white fluff!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~ We got our Christmas tree! It triggered many bittersweet memories of similar outings of past years and it was rather rainy which led to having to cover the cameras that were brought along. But, a lovely tree was picked out rather quickly. It was adventurously packed into the back end of the van (we opted to give this method a go before trying to tie it onto the very high roof of afore mentioned vehicle).... fortunately, it was a pretty flexible tree, didn't break, and was only slightly bent when we unloaded it at home. It now stands straight and tall in our living room looking very festive.

~ I learned how to "install" chains! We decided to be adventurous and actually drive in these icy conditions, but I didn't want to drive far without the extra safety of chains. In a very small effort to be a semi-sufficient woman, I opted to go to Les Schwab and have them install them for me. The logic here: a) it would be faster to have an "expert" do it. b) I could look on and learn how it was done. And c) it would relieve my father of one more time-taking, help-your-helpless-daughter task (He takes such good care of me! I often wake up to my car completely scraped off and ready to go on winter days. I really didn't want to ask him to do one more thing.) After pulling up in Les Schwab, waiting in line for ten minutes, only to discover that it would cost $11 and there'd be a 2 1/2 hour wait !!!!! , I decided to try and to it myself. Well, my 15 year old sister had watched a video on how to install them in drivers ed and was willing to help, so it was a joint effort. We found a large, empty spot in the Winco parking lot, fumbled through the tangled mess and not-so-clear directions, and (after miserably getting onto our knees in the snow, covering our mittens in rust, and trying to read the directions through the hair that would never blow away from my face) we got them on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They have now been very securely in place for three days and lent to much safe transportation to and from various events. Sarah and I are two very proud woman. :-)

~ We had a snow day! The entire chain dilemma can be blamed on a few friends that had the gumption to invite us over for snow fun and lunch. ;-) I won't go into all the details, but we decided to brave Highland in order to get to their house (they were really desperate for social interactions, so we risked the treacherous journey for their sake). We got there with no issues (thanks to the chains) and enjoyed several hours of playing in the snow, eating a really yummy, warm lunch, Taboo, and many, many laughs. It was incredibly fun and in an absolutely gorgeous setting (log house in the woods. Oh yeah).

~ We had a power outage! Woohoo! It was just long enough to get us worried and just short enough to be fun (about 1 1/2 to 2 hours). It flicked off in the evening, putting our cheerily lit street into utter darkness. Daniel went around the house trying each light switch saying "Oh no! Won't work!" He was terribly worried. We filled the house with candles, were very relieved that we have a wood stove, took a silly, slippery walk to scope out the extent of the outage, got ready for bed, and it came back on.


Well, that was a lot longer than I intended it to be. So much for condensing. Oh well.
Merry Christmas!

My latest "new thing"

Popcorn Cake!
It sounds bizarre, but after watching it being made by Emeril himself on Good Morning America (who knew it would get such recognition), I realized it was really just a popcorn version of my one of my favorite treats, Rice Crispy Treats. Yum!
Of course, it's probably one of those things that I happen to stumble upon and think is great, novel, and exciting, only to discover everybody knows about it and I must have been in a cave for the last 80 years to not know about it. :-) Either way, I thought it was fun, it's super easy to make, and gets a 9 for display/looks in my book.

Popcorn Cake
Ingredients
2 teaspoons plus 1/4 cup vegetable oil
12 cups popped popcorn (plain, unsalted and unbuttered)
2 cups M & M candies *I used Christmas M&M's to make it more festive. It looked really cute with the white, red, and green*
1 cup lightly salted cocktail peanuts
1 stick unsalted butter
1 pound marshmallows

Directions
Grease a large tube or bundt cake pan with 2 teaspoons of the oil, and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix the popped corn with the M & M candies and the peanuts. *Actually, don't mix in the M&M's yet, first mix the popcorn and the marshallow mixture most of the way, then add the M&Ms and finish combining. Otherwise the chocolate will get soft and they'll break and smear throughout the cake*
In a small saucepan, melt the butter, remaining 1/4 cup of oil, and marshmallows over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. When melted, pour over the popcorn mixture, and stir to combine. Pour into the prepared cake pan, pressing down to fit. Cover with aluminum foil to keep moist and let rest until firm, 3 to 4 hours.
To serve, invert the cake pan onto a large cake plate or platter. Shake gently to release. Serve at room temperature.

Wild thing, nah nah na nah nah!

Yes, that is me. :-) Our church's youth group did a high school girls overnighter and one of the activities was for six of us leaders to put on disguises and "hide" in stores at the Timberhill shopping center and make the girls find us. I'd decided to do a mild, punk rocker look, but when I actually went to Special Occasions to get a wig, I couldn't decide between two. So, I went ahead and bought both (at $15 each, it wasn't a fortune to put down for some fun). My outfit (mostly pictured above) consisted of a "Vote for Pedro" shirt, my sisters black Converse shoes, navy pants -with my key chain hanging off the pocket, large watch and other colorful wrist accessories, teal nail polish, dark eyeliner, and the black wig pulled into a loose side ponytail with a black newsboy cap. I don't actually have a photo of that whole get up. Ah well. But, after the game was over, we returned to the church and I figured there was no reason why we couldn't get use out of both wigs in one night/event. So I switched to the pink one, and my friend, Joni, put on the black wig (that had actually come as an Ugly Betty wig, complete with glasses and fake braces, but the braces were unusable). Some of the girls didn't even recognize Joni with the whole get up. It was incredibly fun and we played it up for the camera and laughs. It was such a hit that a few of the leaders decided we had to wear them again for the whole youth group, with outfits to play them up. :-) So far, it's a go and we're going to do it. Soon. I'm sure I'l be letting you know how it goes.

I'm having second thoughts about my natural hair color now, though. What do you think, should I switch to pink???

\m/ >.< \m/

A not-so-small collection of quotes that, for some reason, I find amusing:

The difference between a violin and a fiddle it that's it's okay to spill beer on a fiddle.
-Unknown

There are only two things that are infinite: the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
-Albert Einstein

Speak the truth, but leave immediately after.
- Slovenian Proverb

Like many intellectuals, he was incapable of saying a simple thing in a simple way.
-Marcel Proust

I would not join any club that would have someone like me as a member.
-Groucho Marx

An intellectual is a man who takes more words than necessary to tell more than he knows.
-Dwight Eisenhower

It's easy to identify those who cannot count to ten. They're in front of you in the express line at the grocery store.

"Washington is a Hollywood for ugly people. Hollywood is a Washington for the simpleminded."
-John McCain

I never forget a face, but in your case, I'd be glad to make an exception.
-Groucho Marx

"Imagination is a quality given a man to compensate him for what he is not, and a sense of humor was provided to console him for what he is."
-Oscar Wilde

"I would like to take you seriously, but to do so would affront your intelligence."
-William F. Buckley

100 Questions About Me-self

1. ONE OF YOUR SCARS, HOW DID YOU GET IT?
My only scar: high on my forehead, hidden in my hair. I fell off a window ledge and hit my head on the handle of a toy shopping cart. I think I was five. There is still slight scaring from the stitches.

2. WHAT DOES YOUR CELL PHONE LOOK LIKE?
A shiny, reflective, silver, rectangular solid. It's an LG Shine.

3. WHAT MUSIC DO YOU LIKE TO LISTEN TO?
Lots of different types. Just not country. Or rap.

4. DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME YOU WERE BORN?
I don't remember. It's written down somewhere around here.....

5. WHAT DO YOU WANT MORE THAN ANYTHING RIGHT NOW?
Right this second... Mother.

6. WHAT DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
My mom.

7. WHAT IS YOUR MOST PRIZED POSSESSION?
My violin. It's about 84 years old and was a gift from my grandparents. I'm also quite fond of my 80G Ipod. It was also a gift.

8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SMELL?
Roses, vanilla, coffee, snow and pine (basically, the air after a good snow). Oh, I was limited to one? Hmmm.....

9. DO YOU GET CLAUSTROPHOBIC?
Yes. More often than I ever thought I would.

10. ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?
Honestly, yes.

11. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE KIND OF HAT/HEADGARB?
Anything vintage/classy or winter/cozy looking. Not that any of it looks good on me, though.

12. WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON FINGERNAILS?
Clean and well kept, please.

13. WHERE CAN YOU SEE YOURSELF BEING PROPOSED TO?
On earth. Hopefully.

14. COFFEE OR ENERGY DRINKS?
Coffee. Preferably espresso.

15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PIZZA TOPPING?
Cheese. With lots of other stuff on top of that.

16. IF YOU COULD EAT ANYTHING RIGHT NOW, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
One mini eclair. Then some fresh sugar snap peas. Odd, I know.

17. WHAT IS THE ONE NUMBER YOU CALL OFTEN?
"Home"

18. DO YOU SPEAK A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE?
Barely.

19. WHAT WAS THE FIRST GIFT SOMEONE EVER GAVE YOU (OF THE OPPOSITE SEX)?
Whatever my dad's first gift to me was.

20. WOULD YOU FALL IN LOVE KNOWING THAT THE PERSON IS LEAVING?
Leaving what, where, when, how long,..... It would depend.
I always think it's stupid when couples say "we'll make it work" in chick flicks, so the answer would probably be no.

21. WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO TELL SOMEONE HOW MUCH THEY MEAN TO YOU?
To tell them. Or, if you really want to score points, use their love language.

22. SAY A NUMBER FROM ONE TO A HUNDRED.
Say or pick. 18. But I didn't say it.

23. WHO IS THE LAST PERSON WHO MADE YOU MAD?
A friend. Unfortunately.

24. WHO IS THE LAST PERSON YOU MADE MAD?
My sister. I think.

25. WHAT ANNOYS YOU MOST?
Human nature.

26. WOULD YOU RATHER BE ROASTING OR FREEZING?
Freezing. With access to a fire and socks.

27. YOUR WEAKNESSES?
Too many to list. And no way I'm putting them online in any way.

28. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB?
Babysitting? Otherwise, Gentle Creations Sticker Shop.

29. EVER DONE A PRANK CALL?
Not really. Have started a few, but only to friends and will confess before I hang up.

30. WHAT WERE YOU DOING BEFORE YOU FILLED OUT THIS SURVEY?
Reading blogs.

31. IF YOU COULD GET PLASTIC SURGERY WHAT WOULD IT BE?
None, thank you very much.

32. WHY DID YOU FILL OUT THIS SURVEY?
Because I found it entertaining and I needed something to put on my blog.

33. WHAT DO YOU GET COMPLIMENTED ABOUT MOST?
Eyes or hair. Conduct (shockingly enough) too, occasionally.

34. WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF ALCOHOL BECAME ILLEGAL?
Ha. Watch the DUI's rise.

35. WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR CHRISTMAS?
A house that cleans itself.

36. HOW MANY KIDS DO YOU WANT?
8. But I'll take whatever God will let me have.

37. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
My middle name: Frances. After my mother's mother.

38. DO YOU WISH ON STARS?
Only for fun or as a joke.

39. WHICH FINGER[S] IS YOUR FAVORITE?
My ring fingers look the best, so I suppose those.

40. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY?
Earlier today. Triggered by planning holidays as the new woman of the house.

41. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
Not lately. It's been rather sloppy. Usually I do.

42. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Beef pastrami.

43. ANY BAD HABITS?
You bet. I'm not admitting them though.

44. WHAT IS THE MOST EMBARRASSING THING YOU'VE EVER DONE?
Too many to list. Though I did back into our pastors wife's car in the church parking lot. It was after a wedding and a friend of the groom was in the parking lot and witnessed the whole thing. That was pretty humiliating, to say the least.

45. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Perhaps. We might be too similar to get along.

46. DO LOOKS MATTER?
To me or the masses? Physical features or how you care for/present yourself?
Yes and no.

47. HOW DO YOU RELEASE ANGER?
Tell my sister all about it.

48. WHERE IS YOUR SECOND HOME?
Wherever I'm housesitting. Or the church.

49. DO YOU TRUST OTHERS EASILY?
Yes. Too much so.

50. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOY AS A CHILD?
Lincoln Logs? Polly Pockets? Don't remember.

51. DO YOU USE SARCASM?
Yup. More often than I'd like to admit.

52. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN A MOSH PIT?
Nope.

53. WHAT'S A GAME YOU REALLY DON'T LIKE?
Seven Minutes in Heaven and Spin the Bottle. I've never played either. I don't like the concepts behind them.

54. WHAT ARE YOUR NICKNAMES?
Valgal, Tea Snob, Larry, Mumsy

55. DO YOU UN-TIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Not always.

56. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR?
French Vanilla.

57. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?
Deep red, white, cream, basil, baby blue, silver,.... to name a few.

58. HOW MANY WISDOM TEETH DO YOU HAVE?
None. The most I've ever had is three.

59. WHO/WHAT DO YOU MISS MOST RIGHT NOW?
My mom.

60. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS?
Not unless they want to.

61. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
The fire place creaking and a clock ticking.

62. LAST THING YOU ATE?
Dark chocolate.

63. LAST PERSON YOU GAVE SOMETHING TO?
My brother and sister.

64. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE IN THE OPPOSITE SEX?
Not really certain. If they have a kind face, I suppose.

65. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Same town I'm in now.

66. SCARIEST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO YOU?
Directly: A lady pulled in front of me, causing a car accident. And realizing Mom's death was a certainty. Indirectly (sort of): watching Mom go through cancer and watching Sarah go through Lymphoma.

67. FAVORITE DRINK?
Perrier with lemon

68. FAVORITE QUOTE?
Depends on the day and my mood. There's many good ones.

69. FAVORITE SPORT?
Volleyball, I guess. And skiing.

70. YOUR HAIR COLOR?
Blonde. Ish. A bit of red, a bit of brown. Depends on the light, as well. I was born with really dark brown hair.

71. YOUR EYE COLOR?
Blue, blue, my world is blue.

72. DO YOU WEAR GLASSES?
I will be soon.

73. SIBLINGS?
Yes. Four.

74. FAVORITE MONTH?
April.

75. YOU LIKE SUSHI?
Is that a statement or a question? I do like it, I'm not a huge fan though.

76. LAST THING YOU WATCHED?
Latest Chuck episode online.

77. FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR?
Really don't know.

78. ARE YOU TOO SHY TO ASK SOMEONE OUT?
Not sure. But I wouldn't. It goes against my principles.

79. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Winter.

80. IF THERE WAS A QUESTION HERE YOU DIDN'T APPROVE OF, WOULD YOU CHANGE IT?
Yup.

81. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE JOKE?
The latest one I hear. One good one: "Knock, knock." "Who's there?" "Control Freak." (before they have a chance to answer) "Now say 'Control freak, who!'"
I thought it was funny.

82. FAVORITE SONG AT THE MOMENT?
Ummm, Kiss Me. You Raise Me Up. I don't know....

83. LAKE OR OCEAN?
Lake.

84. BIGGEST TURNOFF?
Self-centeredness.

85. CAMPING: TORTURE OR ADVENTURE?
Adventure. Can be slightly torturous if not properly prepared.

86. LAST KISS:
Two year old girl I was watching.

87. LAST TEXT YOU RECEIVED:
"I don't think I can make it to the service day."

88. HAVE YOU HAD THE CHICKEN POX?
Twice.

89. DO YOU WISH YOU CAN SEE ANYONE PARTICULAR RIGHT NOW?
God. Or maybe an angel of His.

90. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE NAME?
Boy: Edward (and, btw, I hate Twilight. I've liked that name for years. Way before Twilight was even being thought of.)
Girl: Dominique

91. HIGH SCHOOL YOU ATTENDED:
H-o-m-e (Oh yeah, I can even spell it.)

92. WHERE ARE YOU NOW:
On the couch.

93. ARE YOU SMILING:
Why would I be smiling at my computer screen.

94. WHAT ARE YOU WEARING:
Casual, around-the-house clothes.

96. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE?
Ummm, one of them would be Pride and Prejudice.

97. WHAT IS ONE OF YOUR LEAST FAVORITE MOVIES?
One of them would be Napoleon Dynomite.

98. WHEN WAS YOUR LAST RELATIONSHIP?
I have many current ones. God, all my family members, many friends,....

99. EVER BEEN DRUNK?
Nope. Never want to be, either.

100. INTROVERT OR EXTROVERT?
Bit of both. Mostly extrovert.