Comments (6)

By Mom Unplugged, May 30, 2008 8:54 pm

The Meme of Fives

I was recently tagged by Toddler Mom Maureen for the Meme of Fives. Since I am notoriously bad at remembering to respond to tags, I thought I’d better get to this one right away. Plus, I have never done it before and it looked rather fun! Thanks Maureen!

The rules:
1. Post the rules of the game at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags five people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read the player’s blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

What were you doing five years ago?

Running around after a two year-old and a one year-old.

What are five things on your to-do list for today?

1) Put out my hummingbird feeder since the hummers are back.
2) Laundry (ho hum).
3) Give my cockatiels a squirt-bottle bath since the weather is warm.
4) Buy fresh potting soil and fill my outside pots.
5) Did I mention laundry?

What are five snacks you enjoy?

1) Anything chocolate - I find chocolate to be especially necessary around 2PM.
2) Whole wheat pita with hummus (nutritious too!)
3) Doritos (NOT nutritious so I simply can’t have them in the house)
4) Any kind of cheese (I have never met a cheese I didn’t like)
5) Pickled onions (that’s the British in me coming out)

What are five things you would do if you were a billionaire?

Hmm…this one is tough because I don’t think my habits would change much, but I’ll try and answer.

1) Give a donation large enough to expand my children’s small but wonderful Montessori school through high school (it is now only to grade 4).
2) Set up a no-kill shelter for stray cats.
3) Be a space tourist and experience zero-G’s!
4) Buy a house in Hawaii for my sister and visit her often!
5) Spin a globe and go to the spot where my finger lands, no matter how remote (provided it is not in the middle of an ocean of course).

What are five of your bad habits?

I only get to pick five?

1) A constant desire to sleep late (unfortunately unfulfilled now that I have children). I am NOT a morning person.
2) Caffeine, especially in the form of tea.
3) I don’t drink enough water.
4) I hate to exercise.
5) Not putting away the clean laundry often enough. It sits in baskets around my house for days.

What are five places where you have lived?

1) France (Paris and Rouen)
2) Germany (Hamburg)
3) Oswego, NY
4) Albuquerque, NM
5) New Haven, CT

What are five jobs you’ve had?

1) Flight attendant
2) Lear jet pilot
3) Flight instructor
4) Lawyer
5) French tutor

Five people I tag:

1) Heather of Celtic Mommy
2) Michie of Seeking Imperfection
3) Gattina of Writer Cramps and My Cats and Funny Stories
4) Kate of Homeschooling in the Garden State
5) Yarrow of Yarrow of Witchwood

If any of you have done this before or would rather not do it, then please feel free to ignore the tag. My feelings will not be hurt!

7 Random Facts

I was tagged way back in February by Tomtemama for the 7 Random Facts Meme, and then again in April By Michie of Seeking Imperfection. Thank you both for thinking of me, but I am very embarrassed that it has taken me this long to respond. Sorry!

I did do this meme about a year ago (only it was 8 Random Facts back then) and since very few of you who read Unplug Your Kids these days probably knew me back then, I think I’ll just be lazy and republish my “facts” (which should be “random” or “weird” according to the instructions):

1. I have dual US/UK citizenship and am an Aquarius.

2. I have been an exchange student twice: a summer in Oslo, Norway at age 16 and, after having graduated from high school a year early, a year in Rouen, France at age 17. I also spent my junior year of college in Hamburg, Germany, but please don’t write to me in German! My French is good, my German (except for a few choice unpublishable words) has mostly disappeared.

3. I was an Air France flight attendant for two years so I have been to a lot of unusual places. My friend Wishy says that I am the only person she has ever met who can start a sentence with “On my way to Burundi….”

4. As a child I broke both my big toes and received absolutely no sympathy from my doctor-father. My sister thinks she has cuter toes than I do, but I disagree.

5. My car has a license plate frame that says: “A Woman’s Place is in the Cockpit” (I am a pilot).

6. I am “not the cheerleader-type,” as my mother used to say. Nor am I a jock. I guess I am an introverted nerd.

7. My secret favorite movie is “Dirty Dancing” because I wish I could dance with Patrick Swayze (who I actually once saw on a ski slope at Santa Fe, NM!).

8. I hate white walls in my house. All my walls are a color.

I am supposed to tag seven people, but I am not sure who has done this and who has not, so I will simply allow anyone who wants, to tag themselves. Please let me know in the comments if you want to do it, so I can stop by and read all about YOU!

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Photos thanks to morguefile.com and photographers: “5″ - imelenchon, and “7″ - keyseeker.

Comments (4)

By Mom Unplugged, August 29, 2007 8:33 pm

Thank you so much to Jenny of Wildwood Cottage for thinking enough of me and my blog to award me a Nice Matters Award! Jenny said some really sweet things and I am truly flattered!

I am very pleased to have this award because I do genuinely believe that “nice matters” in this life. Some days it seems that there is not nearly enough “nice” in the world today, but other days, “nice” seems to abound.

If you haven’t visited Wildwood Cottage yet, please go there. Since we are on the subject of “nice,” I must tell you all that Jenny is one of the nicest bloggers I have come across in my short blogging career. She is someone that I would really like to meet in person.

Wildwood Cottage always has lots of great book suggestions for both children and adults. I also really enjoy reading what Jenny and her 2 1/2 year-old daughter CJ are up to. Jenny finds all kinds of interesting Montessori-style activities for CJ to try. It is fun to see, plus I am taking notes for when my now 20 month-old daughter is old enough to try some of Jenny’s ideas!

Now I get to pass this along to five other “nice” bloggers. This will be hard, not because so few bloggers are nice, but because so many bloggers are nice that almost everyone I can think of has this one already.

However, there are still several bloggers that I would like to pick who do not seem to have this award yet, so I will list them:

Heather of Celtic Mommy (Ramblings of a SAHM) always has a nice comment and her blog is full of great posts about recycling, reusing, educating, crafting, and any thing else that she feels like writing about.

Jules of Andamom.com writes all sorts of interesting, informative, and insightful posts. I enjoy visiting Jules because she always makes me think, and I never know what she will be talking about next. If anyone has a Thinking Blogger Award to give away, please consider Andamom.com!

I also nominate Whymommy of Toddler Planet. Whymommy has always seemed like such a nice person to me. Her blog is fun to read, and her writing is wonderful. Whymommy has recently been diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer. If you have never heard of it (as I hadn’t), I strongly urge to read this post of hers. Whymommy once said that she never thought her blog would become a cancer blog, but it has to some extent, since Whymommy is now on a mission (and a successful one at that) to inform the world about IBC.

I must include Wishy the Writer since she is one of my very best real-life friends so I know she is a nice and wonderful person! Wishy hates it when I tag her for memes and such (sorry Wishy!), but hopefully this time she will make an exception. Unfortunately Wishy is on a “blog hiatus” at the moment in order to pursue her “real” writing and her dog agility, both of which she is amazing at!

I would also have chosen Meeyauw, Jenny (who gave this to me), and Nina but I was beaten to it. Thank you anyway, for being “nice” bloggers in my mind.

If anyone that I chose does not wish to acknowledge, display, or pass on this award, I completely understand. I just want you all to know that I enjoy your blogs !

Comments (5)

By Mom Unplugged, July 25, 2007 9:25 pm

Wow! First a Rockin’ Girl Blogger Award, then I make the Vegetable A-List, and now I have been awarded the Schmooze Award! What a month! Perhaps I should go away more often.

Meeyauw has kindly bestowed upon me, the Blogging Community Involvement Award, aka. The Power of Schmooze Award. This is what the Schmooze Award means:

“As it goes, schmoozing is the natural ability “to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.” Good schmoozers effortlessly weave their way in and out of the blogosphere, leaving friendly trails and smiles, happily making new friends along the way. They don’t limit their visits to only the rich and successful, but spend some time to say hello to new blogs as well. They are the ones who engage others in meaningful conversations, refusing to let it end at a mere hello - all the while fostering a sense of closeness and friendship.”

Thank you Meeyauw! As a naturally shy person, this is an unlikely real-life award for me. Obviously Meeyauw and I have never met at a cocktail party otherwise she might feel compelled to reconsider her choice of recipient. However, I am grateful and am eager to bestow this honor on other bloggers whom I have come to “know” through mutual schmoozing as defined above.

There are several friendly bloggers out there who I have recently “met” via comments and the occasional email. I always enjoy their thoughtful comments and since they are spending time reading my blog, they obviously are not seeking out the “rich and successful”!

I pass this award on to the following blog friends (take it and put it on your blog (or not if you don’t want), and pass it on to others):

- Jen of Never a Dull Moment

- Gattina of My Cats and Funny Stories and Writer Cramps

- Heather (aka. Celtic Mommy) of Ramblings of a SAHM

- Jules of Andamom.com

-Cheryl of A Day in the Life of our Homeschool Journey

Thanks again to Meeyauw who also would have been on this list had she not been the blogger to award me with this one!

Comments (5)

By Mom Unplugged, July 3, 2007 9:31 pm

Wow! Jen at Never A Dull Moment has awarded me a Rockin’ Girl Blogger award. Thank you!

I am a nerd, and “Rockin’ Girl” is not a term that is ordinarily applied to me. At first I thought that it must have been because of my confession over at Obsidian Kitten’s that I am a closet Lords of Acid listener. That might have misled people into thinking that I am cooler than I really am. Actually, Jen says it is because: “Anyone who not only has no TV, but actively teaches her kids cool stuff instead of tossing them in the basement with the Legos and Hot Wheels (my non-tv activities of choice), is a rockin’ girl blogger in my book.”

I will share with you all my secret for not locking them in the basement: I have no basement.

Seriously though, thanks! I feel so appreciated. Now I am supposed to pass that warm and fuzzy appreciation on to five other bloggers, which I am more than pleased to do.

The first blogger that comes to my mind (and she comes to my mind a lot these days) is Whymommy from Toddler Planet. Although she might not always think so, she is an example of amazing strength and grace in facing breast cancer. Whymommy rocks the universe!

Next, I must choose the very energetic Canape of Don’t Take the Repeats, for all her amazing efforts at organizing bloggers in support of Whymommy. Canape is definitely someone to have on your side when times get tough. Thank you from all of us who wish we could do more for Whymommy! You rock!

I also select Wendy of Mother Rising, a blogger I have only recently discovered. Not only is she is an awesome, involved mother but she is also a wonderfully talented artist. You can see her work here.

I also must choose Jackie Morris of We Three, Ginger Cats Tales. The photographs on her blog of her cats and the dramatic scenery around her Welsh home are breathtaking. I stop by often to look at the lovely photos and read her poetic posts. Jackie is another amazing artist. She illustrates, and even writes, gorgeous children’s books. Her work can be seen at her professional website, here.

Last, but not least, I choose Wishy of Wishy the Writer who is a real-life friend of mine, and I can tell you all that she rocks too. She is a writer and smart and funny and nice and a great mother and a dog agility champion and, as if that wasn’t enough, she is TV-free too! Despite all those positives, any friend that I get to watch win first place on national TV (and her husband won first place in his dog category too!), is, by definition, totally cool.

I don’t want anyone to feel burdened with having to pass this on if they don’t have the time, energy, inclination or whatever. I simply wish to thank you five for being out there “rocking” the blogosphere!

Comments (5)

By Mom Unplugged, June 12, 2007 9:08 pm

I have been tagged by MC Milker of The Not Quite Crunchy Parent for the “Eight Random Things About Me” meme.
It is hard to be random. My first attempt sounded a bit like an employment resume. It is also hard to think of personal things that might be interesting to you all (I don’t do “personal” very well - see #6), but please bear with me as I attempt this!

Here goes:

1. I have dual US/UK citizenship and am an Aquarius.

2. I have been an exchange student twice: a summer in Oslo, Norway at age 16 and, after having graduated from high school a year early, a year in Rouen, France at age 17. I also spent my junior year of college in Hamburg, Germany, but please don’t write to me in German! My French is good, my German (except for a few choice unpublishable words) has mostly disappeared.

3. I was an Air France flight attendant for two years so I have been to a lot of unusual places. My friend says that I am the only person she has ever met who can start a sentence with “On my way to Burundi….”

4. As a child I broke both my big toes and received absolutely no sympathy from my doctor-father. My sister thinks she has cuter big toes than I do, but I disagree.

5. My car has a license plate frame that says: “A Woman’s Place is in the Cockpit” (I am a pilot).

6. I am “not the cheerleader-type,” as my mother used to say. Nor am I a jock. I guess I am an introverted nerd.

7. My secret favorite movie is “Dirty Dancing” because I wish I could dance with Patrick Swayze (who I actually once saw on a ski slope at Santa Fe, NM!).

8. I hate white walls in my house. All my walls are a color.

MC Milker tagged me because my blog is “a relatively new blog” that she has “started to read and enjoy” (thank you!). For this very same reason, I tag Cheryl of A Day in the Life of Our Homeschool Journey.