****BYOC****

It’s Friday so that means it’s BYOC day – Bring Your Own Crazy….to five questions we all answer in an effort to get to know each other better and to give our blog brains a break! Copy and paste to your own blog and ENJOY!


1. How and why did you first start blogging? And how long have you been blogging?

My first blog was born in 2008 after trying (and failing!) to get family members on Facebook as a way to look at recent pictures of my son.  I know, I know, Facebook is so hard isn't it?  Apparently, it is for people over the age of 60.  We live in Pennsylvania while most of our family resides in Texas and Colorado.  Not wanting to mass email people photos, I figured a blog was the easiest way to keep everyone in the loop because they could just bookmark it without logging in.  And go figure.  Now that it's 2011, most of my family is finally on FB, so I find myself posting on that blog less often.  It's just a bunch of blah blah SNORE about my kids but here it is if you're interested:  Boys in the 'Burgh.

2. Tell me about your perfect mate – if you could invent him/her?

Well, not to sound sappy but I really think I already have the perfect mate.  He cooks.  He cleans.  He loves playing with our boys.  And did I mention---he doesn't just cook---he LOVES cooking?  Oh you wouldn't believe the recipes that come out of his head---amazing talent and ability in the kitchen.  His name is David.  <3.  He is a male nurse.  Before you go thinking he has a vagina, let me just say, no.  No, he does not.  He's a guy's guy too.  He spent 8 years in the Army Reserves, in a military intelligence unit based out of Austin.  Three weeks after Sept. 11, his unit was activated for 24 months.  We had only been married for 10 months at the time.  I LOVED seeing him decked out in his desert camouflage BDU's, black beret, carrying an M-16.  He loves grilling, drinking beer and playing cards, especially Texas Hold 'Em.  He's funny.  He's a goofball.  He makes me laugh.  He's strong and I mean that literally and figuratively.  He's smart.  Super smart.  I mean, duh---just look, he married me.  

3. Do you wear fake eyelashes? Do you want to? Do you use glue or self-stick ones? Do you like how they look?

I love makeup.  So, yes!  I've tried falsies.  I used glue.  After a little practice, it's really easy.  I used to wear them when I got all dressed up but----hmm, I'm going through the files of my brain and I cannot recall wearing them even once since having children.  

What I like even better than fake eyelashes is having my eyelashes dyed.  My hair is naturally a dark blonde color and my eyelashes are mostly blonde on the tips.  Soooo, I occasionally will have them mix up brown & black dye at the salon and they will dye them for me.  It makes them look so much longer!  This is illegal in some states.  Before I left Denver, Colorado made it ILLEGAL.  WTH???  "You could go blind," the lady told me.  What?  It's vegetable dye---I mean, it was the Aveda salon, HELLO.  One good thing about Pennsylvania is that I can get this done for less than $20 and it lasts 6-8 weeks.  Perfect for summer!

4. Let’s say money was no object and neither was time off to recover – are you an advocate of plastic surgery after weight loss?

Ummm, well I don't advocate anything for anyone but for MYSELF, yes, I'm a huge fan.  My plastic surgeon neighbor told me that the best boob job for me would not be a breast reduction.  He said that I have enough breast tissue to technically qualify for a reduction so insurance will pay for it, but, after losing so much weight, he recommends a fancier surgery where they use breast tissue to build an inner bra.  Not your skin to make a bra (that's now outdated).  But breast tissue.  He explained that skin sags eventually and this new technique makes the results last much longer.  He said that after massive weight loss, the breast is flat at the top and that a breast reduction doesn't address that.  In other words, I need something MORE DRASTIC.  After explaining this to my mom recently, she raised her eyebrows, and whispered with horror, "He saw your boobs?"  

NO, for the record, he has not.  But c'mon, he's a professional and can plainly see I have big boobs and he's lived next door long enough to see me go from 250 pounds pregnant to my current of 178.  He can guess that I have that flattening issue, and you know what?  He's right.

Oh and of course, we all know I want a tummy tuck.

5. Repeat question. Summarize your week in blog land and in real life.

Real life---I've spent the last week planning for our trip to Colorado next week.  We are driving people.  Driving!  With a 1 year old and a 3 year old.  We should have our heads examined.  But for the record---I hate flying.  Let me be more specific.  It's easy when I'm alone but my husband's skin color gets us singled out 100% of the time at airports.  And for some bizarre reason, TSA seems to single ME out, not him.  But only if I'm with HIM.  When I fly alone, it doesn't happen.  They feel me up, open my carry-on luggage, etc.  It's "random" though.  Really?  Plus, flying is a nightmare with children.  Maybe it was easier before 9/11, I don't know.  Driving that far is a nightmare, yes, I'll concede that, but flying is a more expensive nightmare.  

Speaking of flying, when I flew down to Texas last weekend, it was just me and my 1 year old.  The plane hit terrible turbulence.  As I sat there reciting The Lord's Prayer, my son laughed hysterically as if he were on an amusement park ride.  The kid two rows over threw up, poor pumpkin.