Photo Prompt Challenge, #18: Got Skillz?

A Skill You'd Like To Learn

Ok, this is difficult because there are so many!  I could definitely use more 'skillz' to fall back on.  You know, like nun-chuck skills...  Ok, not really.  And they're all things I could easily learn if I just had the discipline, patience, time, will to learn!  

Image taken from here

One of the biggest is to learn to sew, either by hand or machine.  I have tried both, and well... I ain't quite got it down.  I'd love to be able to fix things, embellish things or just straight up create things.  I spend way too much time at Etsy.com being jealous of and drooling over everyone's level of creative awesomeness.  Why am I lacking in creative awesomeness?  Hmph.  Not fair!

[It's been a while since I did one of these Photo Prompt Challenges, here are some of my previous entries.]

Photo Prompt Challenge, #18: Afraid

Something You Are Afraid Of.

Ewwwww!

I know, it's silly to be afraid of something like that.  But I'm both completely terrified and oddly curious about frogs.  They totally give me the creeps, and yet they're fascinating at the same time.  The picture above is one I took when we were out at our friend's ranch last October.  The boys wanted to swim, and this guy was swimming around in the pool - it seemed like he couldn't get out (he was swimming all around the edges but couldn't get up the wall/stairs).  I scooped him out with the skimmer net.  And when I dumped him out, he just stayed there all nite.  I thought I must have killed him or something.  But... he was fine, moved on eventually.  And later, there were half a dozen more swimming in the pool.  I guess he didn't really need rescuing from me!  They must do that alll the time, duh.

Photo Prompt Challenge, #17: Named

Are you named after anyone?

No.

Wow, that made for a short blog post!

Ok, actually... I had to call my mom to confirm exactly where my name came from.  I knew that she just always like the name "Jade" and was determined to name her daughter that.  It's a good thing I came out a girl! But I wasn't completely sure where the "Marie" came from.  Imagine that!  Thirty-years-old and I didn't even know if there was a story behind my middle name!  Apparently my Grandma Linda (my mom's mom, otherwise known as "GML") picked it... she thought it sounded good with "Jade."  That's actually pretty funny because she always called me "Jade Mary."  Why did she pick "Marie" if she was gonna call me "Mary" anyway.  :::shrug:::  That was just GML, I guess.  Knowing this now, I wish she was around so I could ask her.  =(

Me and GML, 1981-ish

Photo Prompt Challenge, #16: Chores

Your Least Favorite Chore

Not my hands or my tub!*

Can I say "all of 'em?" Please? No?  Dang. Ok. Well, that's fine since I don't really mind laundry or dishes (yay for dishwashers, can I get an "Amen!?").  I guess my answer would be cleaning the bathtub.  I don't know why out of all the bathroom duties (heehee), the bathtub is what I dislike the most.  I can clean the toilet with a little brush, it's really not a big deal.  But cleaning the bathtub usually requires so much more effort and energy... pshh, who has that laying around?!?!

Ok, seriously, though.  It's kinda funny this came up because I received a box from BzzAgent for the SC Johnson campaign (in honor of Spring Cleaning!) a couple of weeks ago, and I shot a video of myself cleaning the bathtub.  Whaaattt?  Yeah, I know.  I'm a BzzAgent and it's my duty (heehee) to try out these products and then tell you about 'em.  And since one of the products was a tub cleaner, well... I had to.  I tried out the Scrubbing Bubbles Extend-A-CleanMega Shower Foamer.**  Here's my video, don't be frightened of the scary image of me:

So, it took me a free box of cleaning supplies to get in there and clean that tub. Bad Jade! I actually cleaned both tubs, to be exact! AND, I tried out the Continuous Clean Toilet Cleaning Gel.  It says it lasts a week, but it's been over two and the little glob is still barely present in both of my toilets.  I like that every time it gets flushed, it continuously cleans (hence the name) and smells fresh!  The bathrooms have never smelled clean for this long from one cleaning or product!  Rather impressive!  Also, the globs (as I call them, they're actually referred to as gel discs, my bad) are stored in the dispenser, so there aren't a lot of loose parts to keep up with or lose.

* I know I've been slacking on using my own photos for these prompts lately.  I'll try to get back to that.

** I laugh at the name of this product because Preston went through a stage where he called nearly everything and everybody "Foamer."  It was like his go-to word for when he couldn't come up with the right word.  Or if he was being silly and making stuff up, "foamer" was definitely involved.  I hadn't thought about that in a while, until I got this product and had to say the name of it out loud.  Then I couldn't help but remember how funny it was! 

Photo Prompt Challenge, #15: Bugged

Something That Bugs You

Michael and I got new phones recently.  I like nearly everything about them, except for two things.

1) The speaker is on the bottom, so if you lay your phone down it's hard to hear the ringer.  If it's on a soft surface, like a couch, it's nearly impossible to hear at all.

2) The battery does not last nearly long enough.  I realize this is because it has lots of bells and whistles, including a nice-sized touch screen, and I probably use it more than my previous phones, but still... shouldn't batteries be able to keep up with the technology it's powering?  I used to go nearly a week without having to charge my phone.  With this one, I have to plug it in after a day and a half.  I'm not using it THAT much.  Seems kinda ridiculous.

But really, if this is what I have to complain about in my life... I'm pretty darn blessed, huh?  Yep.

Photo Prompt Challenge, #14: Before I Die

One Thing You Want To Do Before You Die

This is another one of those questions that I struggle to answer. I suffer from a lack of creativity, I think.  Really embarrassing.  I used to would have said get married or have kids.  Um, check!  So, now what?  Well, besides grow old with my husband, become a grandma and a great grandma...

Someday I'd like to be an "Organized Mom!"  This is the image I found when I googled those exact words:

Yeah, something like that anyway.  I'd like to have an clean house, a meal plan, perfect kids, energy to do it all.  Hey, a girl can dream, right?!?

Photo Prompt Challenge, #13: Relax

How You Relax

Lately, I've been doing as much relaxing on our back deck as I can.  Enjoying the beautiful spring evening weather.  The kids swing on the swingset and I sit on my new patio furniture (thank, Mom!) and just enjoy the outdoors.  Then we go inside and sneeze our heads off and itch from the grass... but those few perfect moments are worth it!  I imagine it won't be long before it won't even be cool enough to sit outside after dark.  It already hit 90 today.  Ughhhh.  Not looking forward to Summer.  Can we skip it and head right into Fall?  Pretty please?

Photo Prompt Challenge, #12: Every Day

Something You Do Every Day

Yes, that is my hand and yes, my fingers are in the wrong place.

Obviously.  The internet runs my life.  I must check my email a dozen times a day.  I must check facebook at least half a dozen times.  Twitter here and there.  Blogs... oh.my.blog.ness., if you only knew how many blogs I'm subscribed to!  I don't sit and surf for hours at a time.  I do it spurts, between chasing the kids, cleaning up after the kids, feeding the kids, sometimes getting myself showered, cleaning the kids, playing with the kids, etc. etc. etc.  But, still.  I do spend WAY too much time online, in the grand scheme of things.  But considering how much I get out of the house these days, it's kind of my little window into the great, big world. What is going on out there?  The internet will tell me!  

Photo Prompt Challenge, #11: Make Me Laugh

A Photo That Makes You Laugh

And, here, you thought it'd be one of the kids, right?  This is what comes up on my phone when my husband calls me, and it never ceases to crack me up.  That's my Mikey!

Photo Prompt Challenge, #10: Favorite Room

Your Favorite Room in Your House

I LOVE this rug!

The toy corner is a bit of a mess.

Changing table & rocking chair.

My favorite room is currently Callen's room.  It's so bright and cheerful, and the boys love going in there and playing in the floor, dragging out everything they can find!  It's the smallest room in the house, and it used to be our office before Callen was born.  Michael pulled out the carpet and replaced it with wood laminate, and that pretty much made it an entirely new and different room completely.  I barely even recognize old pictures of it!

United States Map

World Map

A cool thing about Callen's room is that we left the two large wall maps up to go along with his "travel" theme.  These two maps have an awesome story!  The National Geographic United States map came from my previous job at the call center.  It was up so we could pinpoint where our check cashing machines were because they located all over the country.  It survived the tornado and was put up in the new building for a while.  When we were all laid off and everything was getting moved out, I asked what would become of it and no one cared, so I brought it home with me!  Then, at the station, there was a National Geographic World map in the conference room.  At one point, they repainted and then decided not to put it back up.  I told the owner that if he ever wanted to get rid of it I would gladly take it off his hands, totally not expecting him to let me have it.  But he did!  He was just like "Go ahead and take it!"  So, my two jobs resulted in two matching National Geographic wall maps!  Pretty cool, huh?

Ok, and I also love Callen's room 'cause we have fun times like this:

Photo Prompt Challenge, #9: Treasured Item

Your most treasured item.

What?  Seriously?  Ok, let me explain.

I have never been able to answer this question very well.  It comes in a variety of forms.  "Your most treasured possession?"  "If you're house was burning down, what item would you make it a point to save?"  Besides my family (which doesn't count as an item, obviously), I can never come up with anything.  The items around me are simply that... things.  Things can be replaced.  So, if my house was burning down... I'd get my family and myself out.  Maybe I'd try to grab my bag, ID, phone, etc... but I wouldn't call those my most prized possessions.  And I have some things that I would be sad to be without.  I treasure things like jewelry from my Grandma and Great Grandma who are no longer here.  I treasure sweet mementos from my babies' early days.  Y'know... things like that.  But still... my most treasured item?!?

Last nite I was asking Michael the same question to try to get some inspiration for this prompt.  He, like me, couldn't come up with anything serious.  "Your wedding ring?" he asked.  Well, ok, yeah... I'd be sad if it was gone, but it's a hunk of metal and rock - it's not my marriage, which is far more precious to me than a ring.  Thankfully, he wasn't offended by that! Ha! Anyway, he then quipped, "Well, right now, your treasured item is definitely the DVR!"  Lol.  I had to agree... I have been enjoying the snot out of that thing!  And I'm going to be sad to see it go in a week or so.  I don't think I'd stop to save it in case of a fire, though.

I like "things" just fine... but I can live without things.  And memories can be spurred without mementos. So, prized possessions... meh.  (And just to reiterate, the DVR thing is a joke!)

Photo Prompt Challenge, #8: Birthday Celebration

A Birthday Celebration

Ok, this one is easy seeing as how we just celebrated Callen's First Birthday!

It's funny that I originally set out to do these prompts in order to make my blog less kid-centric.  Well, it's not working.  Haha!  Oh well, it's a good thing they're cute.  Makes it easy to show them off!  =)

Photo Prompt Challenge, #7: Something Useful

Something you use everyday.

I'm thinking something obvious like this laptop, my cell phone, my toothbrush.  Um... the refrigerator, the couch or my own eyeballs?  But, I'll go with this...

Not the baby, the Boppy.  Since he was born, the Boppy has been something we've used every day.  Seriously, new moms... if you don't have one, get one!  Best baby accessory ever.  Even if it's not for nursing/feedings, Callen has always loved playing on, laying on, loving on his Boppy... so, definitely worth it!  Of course, we got this one when Preston was born, so it has been through a lot!  In fact, a few months ago I had to repair the inside seam because it was coming apart and stuffing was starting to come out.  This is one well-loved, well-used Boppy!  Every day!

I haven't really started weaning Callen yet.  I mean, we've cut back on a few feedings because he is getting a lot of table food and snacks and so he doesn't need/want me as often.  But, he still nurses at least four times a day, and sometimes once or twice during the nite too.  I'm ready to wean, but I'm being lazy I guess.  But now that we've finally got Callen's bedtime routine and sleeping figured out (for the most part), it's probably a good time.  Sigh.  I guess that means he really is becoming less of a baby and more of a toddler!  Sad face.

Photo Prompt Challenge, #6: A Favorite Memory

A Favorite Memory.

Wow.  I'm thirty years old, how do I pick a single memory to reflect on?  Hmm.  Instead of picking out a specific memory and finding a picture for it, I'm going to pick a random picture from my Photobucket account and tell you the memory that goes along with it.  Ok?  Ok.  HOPEFULLY it's a good one!

And the winning photo is...

Clarks and Martins

Ha!  That is a good one!  Michael, me, Ronnie Martin, his wife and daughter!  We were at The Door in Dallas for a Joy Electric show.  It was on a dark and stormy night (no, really!) and the weather kept a lot of people away so it was a very small, intimate show.  And right before Ronnie started his set, the electricity went out.  Yeah... at a Joy ELECTRIC show.  Many "Unelectric" jokes were made that evening.  But, it was amazing, so much fun!  During the down time, Ronnie answered questions and told stories.  And I think someone got out an acoustic guitar and did some songs (Ronnie wouldn't though, we asked him too, I remember).  It was really neat.  Michael reminded me it was in 2004, so we searched our Xangas and found the posts from this concert.  Mine is here and Michael's is here.  Ah, yes, the good 'ole Xanga days.  Now THOSE are some sweet memories, right there!  Haha!

Just for the heck of it, here are a few more from that nite...

Yay, the electricity finally came back on!

Pow! Pow! Pow!

Oh yeah!  There was an odd band that opened.  They had balloons all over the stage and as they did one of their songs, the girl went around popping them (No, it's not Children 18:3 "All My Balloons Are Popping").

Photo Prompt Challenge, #5: Your Day

Your day.

My boys never allow for a dull moment!

A quick rundown of my day looks a little something like this:

My phone alarm goes off at 6:15am, I check to see if Michael is up and getting ready for work.  We've had a few scares where he slept through his alarm, so I am the backup... must make sure he gets up and off!  Then, I usually fall back asleep till 7:30 or 8am.  Of course, I've already been up a time or two with Callen, and at this point he is most likely already in bed with me anyway.  If he's not, I get up and take a shower.  If he is, we get up and start getting ready for breakfast, waking Preston up by 8:30 at the latest.  Sometimes we watch cartoons/check email before we have breakfast and do school.  Sometimes we go straight to breakfast and school.  Either way, school is usually finished up by 10:30 or 11am with a few bits and pieces to finish up during the rest of the day.  We chill, watch cartoons, play in the floor, read blogs, facebook, email, etc.  If I'm not already showered, I do that while the boys are playing nicely (or Callen is taking a nap), then get them all dressed and ready for the day.  Preston is a big fan of being in his PJs, so that's why all the pictures of him doing school work usually have him PJ'd.  I figure as long as he cooperates with the lessons, I don't care if he's dressed or not.  At some point around 12:30pm or so, we'll have lunch and attempt to tidy up a little.  There's more playing, hanging out, whatever, and around 2pm, I TRY to get the boys to both take naps.  I usually fail with Preston, and we'll fight for an hour (sadly, I'm serious).  If I get them to nap, I catch up on one of my shows (not my 'stories' now, I'm talking about Chuck or Parenthood here, haha), do some housework, blog, chat with Rosie, whatever.  Then, about the time they're getting up, Michael gets home from work, unless he's working his second job (then he usually doesn't come home until 9pm or so).  I'll scrounge up some dinner, we'll play (inside or out), watch TV, tidy up a little, then start bedtime prep.  Callen's prep starts at 8, with him down around 8:30.  Preston gets to stay up till about 9, then his prep starts, with him in bed by hopefully 9:30pm.  Then I do another round of picking up toys and discarded clothes or what not, see if the kitchen is still in working order, and collapse on the couch, try to do some reading or spend some time talking to my husband.  I am usually worn out by 11pm, but don't usually get to bed till midnite.

So, now you know WAY more about my day than you ever wanted to.  What an exciting life I lead as a SAHM, eh?  =)

Photo Prompt Challenge, #4: An Important Experience

An experience that made you who you are today. 

This was a tough one.  How do you pinpoint just one moment or experience that made the difference?  One that made you who you are?  Pretty impossible, to tell you the truth.  So, I'm going this route:

On March 28th, 2000, this happened...

Tornado hits Downtown Fort Worth

I've posted about it many times, usually around the anniversary (last year was 10 years!).  I was in the Cash America building when this monster hit that very building.  It made for a VERY interesting nite, that's for sure.  But what does it have to do with making me who I am today?  Well, it's more like it has to do with getting me WHERE I am today.  I was working at the call center, making lots of money for a college kid still living at home with mom and dad.  I liked my job and had made my way up through several positions, but I knew it wasn't what I was gonna do for the rest of my life.  I wasn't sure how to go about getting a job in my field.  I hadn't even started my Radio-Television-Film courses at school yet.  So, the tornado hit, and though the company quickly moved into a new building, the business never really fully recovered and we were eventually laid off.  I found myself out of a job after having worked there for four years!  It was at this point I called up the radio station and asked for a job, and to my surprise... got one!  And at that job, I met Michael (and some of my dearest friends!)... and the rest is history!  Michael and I joke about how grateful we are to that tornado for running smack dab into my building!  So, yeah, it definitely helped me get where I am today.  A former radio DJ, and currently a wife and mother!  I wouldn't trade that exciting nite in Downtown Fort Worth for anything!

Photo Prompt Challenge, #3: Favorite TV Show

Your Favorite Show

Currently my two favorite shows are Chuck and Parenthood.

We have loved Chuck since the beginning.  Heck, my husband and I saw the commercial for it before it was even on, and were like "Um, yes please!"  The nerd-isms are right up our alley!  It has yet to disappoint (well, ok, maybe a few story lines were silly/over the top, and maybe there have been a few things I would have changed, but mostly, it's still really, really good!).  And yeah, I've totally developed a celebrity crush on Zachary Levi.  I can't help it, he's adorable!

Parenthood might as well be a reality show in my opinion.  I think they have done such a great job of covering so many different personalities, family situations, attitudes, etc.  It's a quality show.  It's funny, it's true-to-life, it makes me cry nearly every time - but isn't 7th Heaven sappy!  It's a great cast too... I mean, you got Coach, you got Lorelai Gilmore... seriously, they're all great, and you can't help but love 'em!

Those are the only two shows I keep up with.  But of course, it always makes my night when we catch an episode of Wipeout!  Oh man, my gut hurts just from thinking about it.  "Good night, and Big Balls!"

With all that being said, we've had U-Verse for a week now.  I have already discovered a few shows I quite enjoy.  Including:

Man v. Food
Chopped
Cupcake Wars
Cash Cab
Myth Busters
Re-runs of shows like The Wonder Years and Gilmore Girls.

I like having several channels that I can let Preston watch a) without having to worry about what he'll see or hear and b) that has shows he hasn't seen a million times already!

I am also quite enjoying the DVR that records in HD.

I know that to most people having cable is no big deal, have had it forever, already know the wonders of having a DVR.... but hey, it's new to me!  Haha.  And I haven't quite decided if I'll miss it when it's gone or not.  I haven't watched this much TV in a long time, that's for sure!

Photo Prompt Challenge, #2: My People

The People That Make Your World Go Round

October 2010

Ok, yes, this picture is nearly 5-months old now, but it's still one of my favorites of my boys together.  It was taken at our friend's Ranch, when they invited us to vacation there back in October.  Preston still talks about the ranch from time to time, so it made quite an impression on him.  I love that!  Anyway, these are the people that make my world go 'round... no doubt about it.  But of course an honorable mention goes out to my mom and dad and my mother- and father-in law... I really don't know where we'd be without such amazing parents in our lives!

Posting this today is pretty appropriate since today is the 9th Anniversary of the day Michael and I got married.  Wow.  I cannot believe it's been NINE years since we said "I will" (yeah, during our vows we answered "I will" instead of "I do" which totally threw me off, haha!).   I have to admit that I don't remember a whole lot of our wedding.  Sad, I know.  I was kind of in a daze the entire time.  And these past nine years have been a whirlwind.  All of it has been amazing.  Yes, even the bad times ...because those experiences have led us here... and RIGHT HERE, this is greatness.  I love you, Michael.  And I always will.  See?  I will.

Photo Prompt Challenge, #1: Photo of Me & 10 Facts

Sometimes I feel like my blog gets a little overloaded with homeschool stuff and/or kid-centered things.  That IS kinda my life right now, so it's to be expected, right?  But, in honor of trying to make my space (not to be confused with MySpace) a little more well-rounded, I wanted to start something a little different.  I ran across this Photo Prompt Challenge (PPC) on a blog called "it's gravy, baby!" and apparently there's also a popular facebook page on it too (with slightly different prompts).  Anyway, I figured that when things got bogged down, or I needed something to spark some blog inspiration, I'd take a stab at it.  So, it won't be every day for 30-days or anything like that (at least I don't think it will be!), but we'll see how it goes or when I need to implement it.  Should be fun!  I'll start with Day One now...

Photo of Me and 10 Facts...

1) The first fact is ... I almost went ahead and listed 10 well-known facts about general things, just 'cause it didn't say "10 facts about yourself." I was gonna be all smart-alecky and say things like "E=MC2" or "red and blue make purple" or maybe even "Greenland is physiographically part of the continent of North America, although it belongs to The Kingdom of Denmark."  Y'know, something obnoxious like that.

2) I was an only child, and had very little experience with children before having my own.  I never babysat or really spent much time with babies or kids, and I'm still somewhat awkward around kids that aren't the ones I live with.

3) Right before I started 6th grade (middle school), I broke my ankle while roller skating.  Actually, I was just trying to sit down on the floor with roller skates on, and my ankle turned wrong.  Despite the fact that I heard - and FELT - it snap, my Grandma's husband (step-grandpa?) told me and my parents that it wasn't broken and so we didn't go to the doctor till the next day.  It was broken in two places.

4) My first job was as a hostess at a little mom & pop diner.  I was awful at it.  I don't think I ever rung anyone up correctly and I kept hanging up on people when they called in 'to go' orders because I couldn't figure out the phone or how to input their orders.  It was also very smoky all the time and it was making me sick every nite.  I quit after only a few weeks.

5) My second job was at a call center and I stayed there for about four years, working in various positions, until the company laid us all off.  At one point, my Grandma, Aunt, Mom and I were all employees, though working in different departments.

6) I used to travel the DFW Triangle nearly every day.  I'd start in Fort Worth, drive to Denton for school at UNT, to Dallas for work at the station, then back home to Fort Worth.  That's about 100 miles.  And I didn't mind.  I enjoyed the drive, usually with music blaring!

7) I am incredibly indecisive.  So much so that I usually can't pick a favorite color, favorite food or anything like that.  And please don't ask me where I wanna go to eat... (and good, grief, I found it really difficult to decide on what 'facts' to include here).

8) I really enjoy baking, but hate cooking.  I get overwhelmed at having to come up with dinner ideas, having the right ingredients on hand.  I just dislike the whole thing.  But, give me a reason to bake a cake or make up some cookies... I'm all over it!  Can't we just have pie for dinner?!?!  Actually, if I didn't have a family to feed, I'd probably survive on cereal just fine.

9) Along those same lines, I'm absolutely horrible at housework too.  Yep, Domestic Diva I'm not.  I don't mind doing laundry or loading/unloading the dishwasher... I can usually keep up with that no problem.  But dusting, window washing, tub/toilet cleaning, etc... my husband will tell you, I'm the worst!  I used to could blame my lack of homemaking on the fact that I worked... but now... I can't.  I just plain suck at it.

10) This post took me exactly two weeks to complete.  Seriously.