Answer You Anything! Part Two.

What did I tell ya? I knew better than to declare a date that these would be done!

More questions from Ask Me Anything now answered!

Worker Mommy:

What scares you?
Excellent lead-in Worker Mommy! Aside losing people I love which at one point was a nearly debilitating fear for me – I am also scared of falling, thus I do not like being up high when there is even a remote possibility that I may not stay that high. Bugs also get the best of me. For the most part, I’ve been able to “man-up” and squish my own bugs since I’ve become a mommy. But some bugs I just can’t get over – like ticks. Of all bugs – ones that bury their heads in your skin to suck your blood are the worst. Says me. I have also had very traumatic incidents involving ticks. Okay, probably not traumatic sounding, but they definitely felt traumatic.

What is your most embarrassing moment at work?
Up until a couple weeks ago, I couldn’t think of an answer for this question. Time solves everything, doesn’t it?

So, my gal Patti and I went for our somewhat-weekly walk in the park on lunch. I came back and settled in to my desk when Mike called. I was leaning back in my chair talking on my cell when I felt a stray hair tickling me from inside my shirt. So I discreetly lifted my shirt to find said hair but instead found myself a tiny disgusting wood tick.

I shrieked. Loudly. A high-pitched undecipherable “TIIIIIICK! THERE’SATICKONMEEEEEEE!”
My boss (who now shares a thick fabric wall with me since the flood relocation) asked over the wall, “Amy…is everything alright?” Mike was still on the line asking “What’s going on?!” And I was standing with my shirt half up trying to take the tick off with the same hand that was holding my shirt up. I tried to calm down enough to tell both men that, yes, I was fine. Yes, I am slightly crazy. Yes, I’ll be okay. I let Mike go and went into the bathroom to remove all my clothes and shake them furiously in case Mr. Squished By A Highlighter had any travel companions.

But the really embarrassing part came a bit later. When I realized just how loudly I had screamed. In a large room with hundreds of people quietly working at their desks. Score one for my professionalism, eh?

What makes you roll on the floor laughing?
I have an odd sense of humor. I really appreciate a good "thinking" joke - especially ones that are more funny the next day because you get it more. But the things that get me rolling are simple jokes. Like, "Why does the gorilla have such big nostrils? Because he has big fingers!" Also? Funny animal pictures. LOLCATZ still rock my world.

What do you do when you get really angry?
It depends on why I’m angry and who I am angry AT. I can keep my cool for a while, but once I get to a certain point I am screaming so loud that I almost lose my voice. I have been known to spit when I yell like this. (Not pretty. Especially when my face is all red and I’m all up in the person’s grill.) If I cannot scream or hit something (heh, I’ll face it – or someone), I cry. I cry like a big fat baby. Like the strong emotions have to get out SOMEHOW. Luckily, I don't get that mad very often. :)


Becki:

What was your favorite Halloween costume as a child?
I’m pretty sure I was a “Princess” of some sort almost every year. I was not a very creative child.

Also, can I be a flowergirl?
Becki, I’d be down with this if there weren’t one tiny problem. See, the flower girl dress is a small version of my dress. If you matched the other flower girl, you’d be wearing the same dress as me. And I guess it is typically frowned upon to wear the same dress as a bride to a wedding. (Oh, The Knot teaches me so much!) You are welcome, however, to give me flowers whenever you please.


VirtualSprite:

I want to know more about when you donated your hair two years ago.
At the moment, I was completely horrified. But that was because the stylist was a moron and did everything I asked her not to do. Overall, it was really rewarding. I’m looking forward to doing it again at my normal salon next spring. (Email me if you want pictures.)


Kristina:

Who would win in a fight between a human ninja and a monkey ninja and why?
This is a really tough call. Monkeys are very quick and agile creatures. Train one to be a ninja and they are quite certainly going to be lethal. But I’m going to have to say the human ninja would win because even if the monkey was really badass, the human ninja would probably have a gun, too. I don’t think ninja monkeys carry guns.

Have you bought any clothing items in the past two weeks?
Another question that benefited from my tardiness. Last night I bought a cute dress at Terrgit for seven dollars. And it’s not black! (I don’t know why I felt the need to stock up on black dresses/skirts at the beginning of summer). I’ve also been buying the eco-tees that Wal-Mart has been clearancing out. Organic sustainability + Cheap = So mine.

Would you rather have no elbows or have no knees?
This took a lot of thought. I think I’d rather have no elbows. Because if I couldn’t walk, I may as well just wear a shirt that says, “I can’t believe it’s not butter.” But I would no longer be able to drink wine with you unless you helped me out a little.

If you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Morning View from Incubus. It’s been like six years since I got that album and it’s still one of my favorites.

What do these stand for (best guess):

BHIMBGO – Beat Him If My Bacon Gets Overcooked
WAFB – Women Are Fecking Beautiful
SITD – Sometimes I Think Dirty
ANFSCD – Amy Never Forgets Some Crazy Dreams

Family Vacation

We took the kids to the Wisconsin Dells last week. It was my first time there (even though I grew up in Wisconsin) and now I'm really grateful I went when I did! I know a lot of us have had a lot of rain lately -Lake Delton flooded and reconstructed (and emptied) itself.

Anyway - on to the pictures!

We took the long way there and stopped for a tour at Niagara Cave before visiting with the grandparents for a night.

Once in the Dells, we rode horses at Canyon Creek Stables.

The stables had a cool petting zoo with a llama/alpaca (I can never tell the difference) who hissed a lot.

And a baby goat that loved Alyssa almost as much as she loved it.

We took a ride on the Original Wisconsin Ducks.

And played some mini-golf at Pirate's Cove.

We had a yummy lumberjack breakfast at Paul Bunyan's Cook Shanty.

And toured the Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum.

Our KidCabin Suite at the Great Wolf Lodge was totally worth the money.

Their waterpark was fun, too! The family (mostly Mike) ran to get dumped on by The Giant Bucket every five minutes.

By our second night, the rain had started in so the camera started getting left in the car. Our Lower Dells tour excursion into Witches Gulch was the last time it made it out for a while.

Honeymooning

So it seems that beautiful sandy beaches and vast oceans are not in my near future. Ideally, that would have been what my honeymoon was like. However, even when we thought we might kinda sorta be able to maybe afford such a trip, we realized our prime honeymoon time was also prime hurricane time. No thank you to that.

We then decided that we would cozy up in a nicer-than-usual hotel in Duluth for a long weekend. Until a horde of in-line skating enthusiasts trampled my second-rate-dream honeymoon by stealing all the hotel rooms. (B&B’s are adorable, they are…I just can’t bring myself to stay in one.)

So we were left with about five days to go pretty much wherever we wanted. We wanted a place we’ve never been to but didn’t have to travel a long way to get to. We came up with…Chicago.

This is where you come in, my friends. I need advice. I need places to eat (fun, but not too fancy), places to stay (nice, but not “independently wealthy” nice), things to go see and do. Even a pointer to which area I should stay would help me narrow my search a bit.
I went nuts and almost cancelled our last vacation – which was only to Wisconsin Dells – because I had to figure it all out on my own with no help or input. I don’t want to risk that again.

Empty Handed.

Sometimes writing is my therapy. It helps me get out all my feelings – good and bad. And usually, I’m proud of the feelings I’ve put onto the paper. I’m proud of the way they poured out of me and I’m proud to share them.

But lately, I get something written and even though I feel good to have gotten it out – I don’t feel good about what’s on the paper. I’m not proud of the emotions. I’m not proud of the points I’ve made. I don’t feel like I’d be proud to have my friends share in it with me.

So there I sit: An empty-handed blogger. With nothing of substance to share.

I have a feeling this has more to do with my perspective than my writing skills.

I’m working on my perspective, I promise.

And if you’re missing me, you can bet I’m missing you, too!

Answer You Anything! Part One.

I have to break this little party up into separate posts. I had no idea you (Worker Mommy) would have so many questions for me! You (Worker Mommy) must really miss me. ;)

Questions from Worker Mommy:

Ok...what's your favorite childhood memory?
I’d have to say that it would be collective memories of being on my grandparents’ houseboat on the river. Almost all my great memories are there.

Have you ever been in a fist fight?
……Yes. A few actually. What can I say? I have a big mouth. Sometimes you have to be able to back it up. Haha – the worst fight (with the most punching) I’ve ever been in was with Mike’s older sister, actually (completely unprovoked – I swear!). But the one I was most injured in was when I was fighting with my ex-boyfriend and we ended up at the bar. I spent the night [underage] drinking and the fight escalated. The night ended with me trying to hit him, him ducking into a car and a large Amazonian woman stepping up in his place. Since I was, after all, ten feet tall and bullet proof, I tried to take a swing, but my *dear friend* Eric stepped in and grabbed my arms. So I kicked her. And she punched me in the eye. I kid you not – I STILL see that black eye some days.

What drives you nuts about people?
Arrogance. I’m all for self-empowerment and self-confidence, but there is a line. And one you cross it, you’re pretty much just a d-bag and no longer exist to me. There is actually one person on our guest list that we’re debating over because I don’t want him at our wedding due to his flagrantly arrogant attitude. (That’s my argument line.) (If you watch Hell’s Kitchen – he is a LOT like “Jason” who was fired last night.)

Questions from Kelly (who is rocking some new digs!):

ummmmmm...you're 26? OK That's my first question.
Not yet, actually. I will be on May 6th.

And...where you been?
Well, I went to LaCrosse a couple weeks ago.

And...What's up with the wedding stuff?
Easy: Vendor prices.

And...where you been?
Ooh, I went to IKEA finally, too! (Not as great as I had hoped.)


Questions from Momma’s World:

What are your plans for the summer?
Since my “dear sweet *BFF*” called me on Easter to tell me to find new daycare, our summer plans are a bit up in the air right now. We’ve been busy converting my office into an extra bedroom (leaving one of the three computers/desks in there and moving the other two into my bedroom) so that my teenage brother and sister can take turns staying with us and helping with the kids during the day. (At home, they aren’t allowed outside when they are home alone because my mom fears that they will drown in the lake or be eaten by bears and coyotes. They will freaking LOVE this, trust me.) That leaves a week at the end of the school year that my kids are out and my siblings aren’t yet, so we’re thinking of taking a trip with the kids during that time. Not sure where yet, just somewhere in driving distance. Good recommendations, anyone?

Have you made any decisions on your lists of to do for the Wedding?
Yep! Let’s see if I can remember everything I’ve booked: Church, Hall, Photographer, Florist and Baker. I still have a lot to do – my next thing will be starting my playlists, which I’m actually looking forward to doing. I have some DIY stuff in the works, but I’ll post about that another time.

Has the Man made any requests/demands about anything he wants at the wedding?
No pink. And a top hat. And also that we spend the extra hundred something dollars to get Buttercream cake.

(I'll be back with the rest. I am not going to go promising dates because we all see how great I am at that.)

Ask Me Anything

This is a popular little game on the message boards I've been haunting lately. Trust me, it's a thousand times more interesting than the bulleted list of "What's been going on with me lately" that has taken me almost FIVE WEEKS to write.

So, go ahead. Ask me anything. I'll answer all questions next week.

I'm sittin on mah bed...Postin' on mah blawg.

Finally got myself a laptop.

Finally got caught up on reading blogs.

Finally posted about March for Babies.

Finally posted on the family blizog.

Feels good to be back.

(And bloggin' in bed)