These are a few of my favorite things ...

I know some adults who don't really care one way or another if it's their birthday.  What?  Seriously?  I LOVE my birthday.  Call me childish, I don't really care.  I don't even expect loved people to spoil and fete me, though that is always pleasant.  Not strangers.  Please leave me alone, don't look at me, I don't know you.  But people I love.  Celebrate away!!  But I don't need it.  I just like giving myself a day to do whatever I want, within the confines of my job as Mother.  I am nicer to myself and nicer to others.  It is a fabulous day.  SO ... to celebrate one of my favorite days I am going to list some of my favorite things, outside of my husband and children.  And being a Mom.  Because if I include those things this post would be WAY too long.  Warning - this will mostly be a shallow list, I'm not really in the mood for deep.  And it might even be full of consumerism.  And probably a lot of food.  You are hereby warned.

My Favorite Things

-  Chocolate.  I really do love chocolate.  So much so, I've discovered, that's it's one of the main things people remember about me.  Which, if you think about it, is really pathetic.  But I'm okay with it.  As I've aged :-) my chocolate sensibilities have refined - I now prefer high quality DARK chocolate.  A fabulous friend and I taste tested 60% and 70% chocolate of affordable yet decent (ie: can be found at Target) quality.  I know, the things I'll do for science.  The results?  Lindt all the way.  Dove generally came second, Ghirardelli last, with some random brands (Green and Black, can't remember what else) scattered throughout.  Dove was always the smoothest but not the chocolatiest.  And Ghirardelli, when compared with others, always had a strange "note".  Yes, we tasted notes.  And were totally vindicated later when we read this article.  Wine tasters?  Pshaw.  I'm a Chocolate Taster.

-  And on that note, I LOVE my Dad's Chocolate Creme Brulee, minus the Brulee, because I don't have a kitchen torch.  Made with 70% Lindt.  Oh my.  Heaven.

-  I. love. my. Mac. 

- Bread, and by extension, my bread maker.  I LOVE my breadmaker.  It is a Zojirushi.  It is awesome.  I use it everyday.  I've even worn out the kneading blade because I used it so much.  (And a replacement blade cost only $6!  Thrilling!)  I read an article about how useless breadmakers were and how you could buy better tasting bread at the store.  Poor, stupid people.  I make delicious bread.  My french bread is so much yummier than anything I've bought.  My children will balk at "healthy" store bought bread, but will devour almost any bread I make, regardless of how much wheat, or oats, or quinoa, or barley, or graham flour, or whathaveyou I put in it. 

-  I really do like math.  And now that I finally have a 7th grader, I've re-remembered how much I love algebra.  I really do.  Call me strange.  Geometry can go hang itself.  But algebra ...

- My husband's sense of humor.  My favorite thing of all time.  He can make me collapse with giggles.


-  The other thing I am most remembered for seems to be my love of books.  I really do love them, in all shapes and sizes and genres.  I just love to read.  My dream job?  Repairing old books.  If there was a Repairing Old Books School I would go to it.  If I knew a Book Repairer I would apprentice myself.  It would be such a fun craft to learn.  I love devouring new books, savoring old favorites, finding new authors, sharing books I love with people I love.

- And in that vein, I adore libraries.  And bookstores.  But in libraries I can TAKE HOME any book I covet, whereas bookstores I try to exercise some restraint.  I could browse either for hours.  If I was alone.  Which doesn't usually (ever) happen.  So let's just say I can browse until Meltdown is imminent. 

- When my two year old says "Okay".  He says it all the time and in the cutest way. 

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- Panera.  Target.  Trader Joes.  I am so sad I am currently not living by a Trader Joes!  Ack!  Where will I get my supply of Dark Chocolate Covered Peppermint Joe Joe's (think fabulous mint oreos smothered in luscious chocolate sprinkled with peppermint)?  And my Dark Chocolate Covered Pretzel Thins?  Hmm, I'm sensing a theme.  But even non-chocolate edibles are yummy.  Thankfully I have a fabulous sister-in-law who WORKS at this fabulous place.  And also thankfully, when she visits she brings yummy things with her.


- And speaking of Trader Joes, but deserving it's own category, is Sipping Chocolate.  I would call it liquid gold, but liquid gold would certainly not taste as good as this stuff.  You have to make it the "Sipping Chocolate" way, which doesn't require very much milk.  Which is why it is so good.  I also love Hot Chocolate.  But Sipping Chocolate is a step above.



- Thumb Promises, which are reserved for when Pinkie Promises are just not convincing enough.  At least according to my 5 year old.

- My shoes.  I have one pair of summer shoes (mine are NOT bronze) and one pair of winter shoes that I tend to wear every single day.  They are SO comfortable.  I have other shoes, but they just get to hang out with each other in my closet.  I love my favorite shoes.

- I love the color Brown.  I know!  What a drab color!  But it's really not.  It's rich and warm and yummy.  I also love deep reds and deep blues and deep greens.  But brown is probably my favorite color to wear.  I have worn the color brown on my birthday since high school, which I realize is weird and random.  But it's okay to be weird and random.

- I love that my two oldest boys love to read.  What joy to talk books with my boys!  And to see them devouring some of my favorites! 

- I love new recipes.  I just realized I follow over 7 recipe blogs/sites and love them all.  OurBestBites is probably my favorite, but I also love BrownEyedBaker (the name! I love the name!)  I also love my friends' recipe blogs and have even started a recipe blog with my family.  New recipes keep the every day "what's for dinner" question at least sometimes exciting. 

- Being girly with my daughter.  Painting fingernails, doing hair, planning outfits - she is just precious.


- Yosemite is one of my favorite places on earth.

-  I also love Maine - the coasts, the woods, the people, NOT the lobster.  Because seafood is not one of my Favorite Things.  I loved living in Maine.

-  Even though I don't like living there, I love Boston.  What a FUN city to visit!  Fun places to shop, walk, learn about ... eating Italian food in the North End, followed by dessert at Mike's Pastry, is definitely one of my Favorite Things.

-  My brothers are among my Favorite Things.  I am so lucky I am friends with all of my brothers.  I love that they are all a part of my life even though I don't live very close to most of them.  I love their wives, their children, their parents :-), their interests - everything about them.  I also love that I am friends with my parents.  I love my family!

-  My friends are also definitely one of my Favorite Things, which gets me sappier than I meant to get.  But I have great friends.  When my husband was away for months at a time, I had a Friend who would leave her family of many children to hang out at my house twice a week, sometimes leaving in the wee hours of the morning.  We played Super Mario Brothers Wii (and conquered it, thank you very much.)  And watched movies.  And Gilmore Girls.  And ate vast amounts of delicious chocolate.  She also spent her Mother's Day morning making me breakfast.  How many people would do that?  Not many.  I have amazing people in my life.

So there you go.  Some of my favorite things.  I have a good life.

A Rose By Any Other Name ... Revisted

So, you may be wondering, if I've finally moved, what is the status of my first name?  Well.  I was feeling nervous/silly about trying the name change, but knew I would regret it if I didn't at least make an effort.  Since church is my main social outlet, especially in a new place, that was the first place I tried it.  My middle name was about to become my first name.


FIRST WEEK:  After warning my husband and children of the impending change, and having them look at me like I was completely mad, I was determined to try it.  My husband, to show solidarity, said he would introduce himself as Roberto.  Such a funny man.  I replied that if he wanted to use his middle name, or a nickname, or perhaps his initials - which happen to be D.D. - I would be all for it.  Which of course led to completely irreverent giggling in the middle of church at the thought of introducing him as DeeDee.  So funny.   The day went well - I didn't even giggle once.  It was strange but exhilarating.  I mean, it's still my name, just not what people have usually called me.  One lady even commented "What a pretty name!"  which of course led to much internal crowing.  It was fun.

SECOND WEEK:  After a week filled with using my given first name for utilities and school records (I wasn't ready to create any credit problems or snarl up my kids school records, at least not yet), going back to my middle name on Sunday was strange.  I felt like a fraud.  What in the world was I doing?  This must be my mid life crisis or something.  But I soldiered through, and even my husband succeeded in introducing me by my middle name.


AND SO ON:  So here I am, with people calling me by my middle name.  Which still feels strange.  It will be interesting to see if it ever feels comfortable.  I'm glad I tried it, but as of now will probably not continue with it after our next move.  (Next move?  What, you ask?  Come on, be real.  After 17 moves in 14 years do you really expect us to stay put for 20 years?)  I have only once signed an email using the wrong name, and once stumbled a bit at introducing myself.  Which is probably confusing the heck out of people but such is life.  I have definitely come to realize that even though I think my middle name is the prettier name, I am definitely my first name.  It is who I am and will always be. 

A Rose By Any Other Name ...

I am not a huge fan of my first name (love you Mom!  love you Dad!).  It probably started in 4th grade when we learned Spanish for a few weeks and I was assigned the name Juanita.  Juanita?  I'm a Juanita?  That is nothing like my name.  Or is it .. am I really a Juanita?


But I LOVE my middle name (thanks Mom!  thanks Dad!).  From time to time I have flirted with going by my middle name instead of my first name, but what a pain that would be!!  What, would I expect people who already knew me by something else to start calling me by something different?  How annoying and presumptuous of me. 


But now I'm moving.  Here's my chance!  Do I dare introduce myself by my middle name?  Heaven knows I would never expect people who already know me to change how they address me.  But people I've never met ... hmmm.  Thinking about it.


Thoughts?

Cleaning All Day AND Night

I don't like cleaning, as those of you who have ever lived with me can attest to.  I am naturally content with slightly mussy chaos.  In self defense I have been MUCH better in my married years, no longer is my bedroom knee deep in clothes.  But it is still a daily struggle against my slobbish nature and I can honestly grumble with my kids every chore day.  So trying to sell a house, and KEEP IT CLEAN, especially when five children reside in it, is truly exhausting both physically and mentally.


It has even wreaked havoc on my dreams, with the majority centering on showings and panicking and cleaning.  Night before last I dreamed I was trying to get ready for a showing (shocker!) and kept trying to shove more and more things under my bed to the point it was overflowing about a foot on each side.  Then I tried to hide three HUGE wooden cradles in my bedroom - I vividly remember the panic I felt as I tried to find an inconspicuous place for these mammoth things.  There was a fairy in my room (naturally) and I tried to convince her to put a glamour on my house.  Oh the lengths I will go.


Last night I had another vivid dream.  I was back in college with my favorite roommate (Hi Lizzy!  Nice to see you last night!).  There was a competition in a big office building - teams of college students would take turns trying to clean the place and the winning team would win coupons for free food.  Now, in the harsh light of reality, this strikes me as a huge (and rather clever) scam.  But in my dream we suspected nothing and were determined to win.  We scaled up a huge cliff, won our place as first team to try, and started cleaning.  In the course of exploring (cleaning!) this huge place, I found a room full of mini alligators (one tried to escape, but I put him back in his cage), I saw my brother and his wife (who were living in one of the rooms, Hi M and T!  I'm not sure why you lived in an office building but you seemed content!), and picked up an amazing amount of clothes and toys.  Because we all know that clothes and toys are littered all over the average office building.  I don't know if we won or not, but my dream self was pretty convinced we had.


Please oh please, my dear house, sell quickly.  So I can sleep.  And stop cleaning.  But in the meantime, if anyone knows a fairy, please send her my way. 

Plunging

Hmmm. A blog. 18 months ago, when asked if I had a blog, I said no way. I'm not a blog person. I am quiet, private, reserved, and have no interest in letting the world know what I think. Sometimes I don't even let myself know what I think.

Then facebook happened. And status updates. And slowly I realized it's kind of fun to send snippets of thought out into the world. I liked trying to decide "What's on your mind?" and explaining it to my friends in all corners of the world. Could I see myself with a blog? Possibly. Maybe.

Then more of my friends had blogs. Old friends, acquaintances, sisters of friends ... and I loved following them, reading them, lurking. But, if I did a blog, what kind of blog would I do? There are book blogs, journal blogs, recipe blogs, hair blogs, philosophical blogs, so many. Would I be able to untangle my thoughts into proper English? Would my blog be private or public? I don't want the world to see my business, only my friends. But private blogs are so hard to follow - I forget to check up on them when they don't show up in my Blog Dashboard. So could I make my blog public, but use pseudonyms to satisfy my need for some kind of anonymity? To pretend to myself that my family is still private, safe, because I don't use real names? Could I really do that without feeling like a fool, giggling incoherently, feeling ridiculous, or getting completely confused and confusing anyone who for whatever reason decides to read what I wrote?

So many questions, mostly unresolved. So here I plunge, not quite sure where I am headed. I'm going to try public, we'll see how it goes. Please forgive the pseudonyms I choose. Who knows how long they will last. This will probably be a Blog of Many Colors, filled with random thoughts, events, what-have-you. Hopefully most of it will make sense, though I'm sure not all of it will. I have no idea how often I'll update it. I'll try once a month on for size, see how it feels. It will probably sometimes be more, sometimes less.

Lastly, the title. I like the Psalm - "As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them." Why? Because I like kids. Enough to have five of them. And I love archery. I know, strange. I even have my own bow. And my own quiver. They are cool. Too many stories of Robin Hood and Susan Pevensie as a child, probably. Modern Austen adaptations haven't helped. So there you have it. As with this blog, we'll see how long it lasts.