Six Random Things About Yours Truly

Alright, things are quiet on the home front for a few minutes--Adam's taking a nap, and Kira's reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. So, I'm going to try to get to this meme dealy-bob that Amber tagged me with. (Better late than never, right?) I looked back a bit, and I've done a similar post before when Sarah tagged me, but this one's a little different and it's been a while. So here goes...six random things about me.

1.) I really love to listen to music...LOUD. This is something that Adam and I have in common, but not something we get to do very often--and admitedly not the smartest thing for someone with tinitis. On the 4th Kira rode to her Great Aunt & Uncle's with her grandparents, so Adam and I got to crank up the stereo in our car on our way to Camas. (We love our Bose system in the car!) There are some bands that just need volume--like the Foo Fighters, The Pixies, and Queens of the Stone Age. I may be a middle aged mama, but I still like to rock! (I tried typing that with a straight face, but no luck.)

2.) I have a pretty good ear for music, and I can actually sing somewhat well. (I'm talking choral music here...not American Idol style stuff.) Music theory, however, has never really stuck in my brain. I sang in choir all through high school, took piano in college, and still sing every week at church--but other than identifying individual notes, I can't really read music. That said-- I still remember, note for note, Alma Dei creatoris by Motzart which I learned almost 20 years ago.

3.) During the school year, I eat probably 75% of my meals in the car. Seriously. I pretty much always eat breakfast while taking Kira to school, and eat my lunch after work on my way to pick her up. If I have an evening meeting (which I do at least twice a month) I usually eat dinner on the road as well. I keep it stocked with hand wipes, napkins, a trash bag--even a salt shaker! Check out these helpful hints. I especially like #3 "Above all things control your liquids." I have to say, I'm remarkably adept at eating/multitasking while driving--but don't worry--I don't do it when other people's kids are in my car. ; ) I'm enjoying eating at our dining room table with Kira (and occasionally Adam) this summer.

4.) I have approximately a thousand unfinished projects. I get excited about something, I collect supplies, I get started...and then I get distracted, or burnt out, or overwhelmed...and the project gets set aside and neglected for who knows how long. I recently reupholstered two bar stools from our breakfast bar...with fabric that I'd bought TWO YEARS AGO. I still haven't done our wedding album, and we'll be celebrating our 15th anniversary next month. For our 10th anniversary I bought an album, purchased the papers and embellishments, and got all the prints made, but that's as far as I got. I should get on that...and about a gazillion other things. This is a major flaw of mine that drives me crazy and others as well, I'm sure. I really struggle with overwhelmedness and getting bogged down in perfection. I could probably use some sort of self help book!

5.) I currently have two dead fish in a jewelry box in my freezer...and not the kind you'd eat. (I certainly wouldn't since I'm a vegetarian.) Daisy, one of Kira's goldfish (in photo at left taken September, 2006) has been interred there for quite some time. Sadly,one of the two guppies that Kira got last month from her teacher died yesterday. She and some of her classmates watched them be born, and so this was particularly traumatic for her. (Even though this fish was almost microscopic.) The plan is to bury them together in the woods behind her grandparent's back yard, so for now they're on ice. She refused to let us flush either of them, and doesn't want them in our back yard for fear of digging them up accidentally. Poor kid. We do have a new addition to our aquatic menagerie though--a leopard frog tadpole. It just arrived in the mail yesterday from Uncle Milton's. Kira's grandma & grandpa J. gave her a Planet Frog kit for her 6th birthday, and we finally got around to sending away for the tadpole. Let's hope she doesn't get too attached in case things don't turn out well....

6.) If I could do anything besides be a preschool teacher, I'd own a toy store/arts & crafts studio. I love all the many amazing toy stores we have in Portland: Finnegan's, Kids At Heart, Child's Play, Grasshopper, and Spielwerk are some of my favorites. We've only been to Thinker Toys once, but it was pretty cool. I'm looking forward to checking out Gossamer with Kira very soon, as well as Green Frog Toys in the Pearl. We also want to visit The 100th Monkey Studio in southeast. We love my friend Maria's store, Collage on Alberta. I'm so excited to check out the new (additional) location on Woodstock. I love the idea of a place where parents and kids can hang out and create together. My dining room table is often totally covered in crafty stuff. It would be so wonderful to have a studio to go to.

Alright, for now I'm going to resist the urge to ramble on about our 4th of July, and our plans for the coming week. Maybe later I'll post a photo of the new skirt I just made for Kira (love this super easy pattern!) I'm going to pick up this pattern this week and try the A-line skirt, just for fun. I've got the sewing bug right now, but the feed dogs on my machine just fell apart (literally--the thing is just slightly older than me) and I need to take it in for repair & a tune up.
Alright, ciao for now.