Tag!

I'm it!

I've been tagged in a couple of MeMe's - I know, everyone's probably sick of these by now, but I have a little something extra at the end of this post, so stick with me ;o)

First off, my best bud K~ (Conservative Supermom to you all) tagged me to list "Five classes I wish they would've taught in school" - sorry, no fun pics like she did!

1. A Class of Appreciation - Why the grass isn't always greener, and the laundry's not really cleaner on the other side. My husband is always pointing out which of our neighbors have the best lookin' lawn, and it never ceases to amaze me that other people's laundry always smells better than my own. Is this just all in our heads? And why wasn't there a class teaching about these and other real-life illusions?

2. A Class of Class - How to remain cool, calm, collected, and classy in even the most unnerving of situations. At least in public, anyway! It's bad enough to see a 3 or 4-year-old having a meltdown out & about... But it's even worse when it's an adult! After working in the service & retail industries for many years, I've seen WAY too many 'grown-ups' acting like toddlers. To graduate, I think students should have to pass an etiquette class.

3. A Class of Real-World Training - A class that actually prepares people for what's out there in the big bad world. Guess what, people? It's not all roses & rainbows out there! Yet, there are those who believe that they should receive their every wish & demand on a silver platter, tax free.

4. A Class of Learning - A class that would have taught me that there is SO much more to learning that just facts & figures, memorization. I wish I could have learned things in high school that I didn't find out until fairly recently. But there are lessons in life that really can't even be learned until you experience them for yourself... So how could these be taught? Well, in my magic fantasy world they could be!

5. A Class of Love - A class that (if even possible) could teach me all about love. The 'love' I would someday feel for a crush (oh, Jonathan Taylor Thomas - I'll never forget admiring you from afar on Home Improvement). Even then, it didn't take long to realize the 'love' wasn't at all real love. It's the kind of love you feel when you talk about how much you adore your favorite food or movie.
But the lessons in love would have become quite a bit more useful when I was a teenager... If only I knew back then how much my parents LOVE me. An undying, everlasting, simply pure & innocent love. A love I didn't truly understand until I was blessed with my wonderful little girl.
Another love I wish I would have understood earlier in life is the love of good friends. I don't think I really understood about this love until after I was married, and found out that there are very special people in this world who will still stick by you & love you, even if you're in completely different worlds. The epitome of this love was when my friend Tara came to the hospital to see me after Livia was born. Though we still are in completely different places in life, she & I have never stopped loving each other as friends.
Finally, the most important kind of love (next to parenthood) is the kind I feel for my husband. I am SO stinkin lucky that I was never in love with anyone before Perry. There were those I very much liked and cared for, but never In Love with. With every guy I ever dated & was rejected by though, I cried my eyes out. This absolutely was NOT because I loved them... Though at the time I didn't even know why I was crying. I know now that it was because I was rejected - not because I lost the love of my young life. Now, what's funny is that I still don't think I could describe the love I feel for my husband, though I feel it every day even more every way! The class would be a very complicated class indeed!

Whew! That was long! Sorry ya'll... I just have one more quick one though, and then some fun stuff.

Most recently I've been tagged by the lovely Joy to post "Six uninteresting things about myself" Only six? The list could go on & on here, but I promise I'll stick to the rules.

1. I'm the kind of girl who laughs at a joke 3 times: Once when it's told, once it's explained, and once I finally get it - true story! Along this same line, my husband and I have completely different senses of humor.
2. I've now had my DSLR camera for more than 2 years, and I'm still not exactly comfortable shooting in manual modes. I'm learning & practicing more and more, but 'auto' is still all too often my go-to.
3. I used to hate Fazoli's breadsticks when I was younger. I can't even remember why now, though! Between K~ and my Mom, I'm in love with them. And they're almost as good as Olive Garden's
4. The more awesome tip I ever received as a server was when I worked at Outback Steakhouse, and this sweet older guy was there all by himself - it was kinda late and he was my only table, so I spent quite a bit of time talking with him. He was so interesting, and I really loved keeping him company! And THEN when he was ready to leave... he handed me a $100 bill. I cried my eyes out, and I will never ever forget him. I like to think we'll meet again someday in Heaven :o)
5. I never highlighted my hair until 2 1/2 years ago, and now I'm addicted! I love being a blonde - I used to be very, very naturally blonde but over the years my hair darkened up. Blonde looks better on me - I'm SUPER pasty pale (and proud!) but dark hair makes me look deathly white.
6. When I first got contacts nearly 10 years ago, they were the soft non-disposable kind. I hated them. They were a you-know-what to clean, and if I didn't get all the cleaning stuff of of them, they stung my eyes like crazy. Oh, and I once lost one in my parents' pool... and my Daddy actually FOUND IT! He swam around with that little skimmer-net for hours, and finally came up with the contact lens.

And now for the tagging part. I'm doing a two-fer here! Kindra over at "3 Guys a Girl and a Prim Place", Mah-meee over at "Raising A & C", Dani over at "Give me a sec to think about it...", Nan over at "Nannybird Crafts", Marybeth over at "Four Silly Sisters", and finally My Aunt - "The Dairy Wife"
I would love for you all to do both of these, but if you want to just pick one (or if you're sick of them period) I totally understand, and my feelings won't be at all hurt (*sniff* - kidding!)

And here's the fun part!

To all you ladies I just tagged, plus you two gals who tagged me - Kendra & Joy, I'd also like you to have this:

Because you truly do.

I read each and every one of your blogs every time you post (plus all the others listed in the left-hand column!). This beautiful award was given to me by Elise from 'The Adventures of E & T" (You'll see more about her in the above post!)

And gals & Elise, I want you all to have this as well:
Well, I guess Nan kinda gets left out of this one, cause she's the one who gave it to me! Mmmuah! Thank you SO much again, sweet lady!

Finally, there are a few fairly new blogs I've been reading in the last month or 2, and I want EVERYONE to have this:Some of you may already have it (again, Nan!), but others of you, I hadn't even met when I created this little Blog Bling thing. Every one of you over there on my blogroll (and if you are a faithful reader & I don't read your blog, let me know so I CAN add & get to know you!) I want you all to know how much I love 'knowing' you all! Your blogs, your comments, and all of you absolutely make my day - you make me happy when skies are gray!

Thanks so much for sticking with me though this crazy-long post! Much love to you all and God Bless!