variation on a theme

Ooh, fun. Jaime tagged me for a neato 'getting to know you' thingy.

10 years ago I was: 13 and just started 8th grade. I'd just spent a few weeks of the summer at the 'Civil War in the Ozarks' AEGIS camp, camping out in the middle of a field and washing clothes in the creek with lye soap we made ourselves. I'd also gone on a wonderful trip to New Mexico, which was cut short because I broke a bracket on my braces and we figured it was an emergency. My stepmom was pregnant with a daughter who would be born at the end of September.

5 years ago I was: 18 and just starting my first year of college at Stephens, a women's college in Columbia, Missouri. I'd gotten moved into Searcy dorm and had figured out my way around campus. I really liked my classes, especially my International Politics course with the rather handsome Alan Singer. Influenced by new friend Julia Schaefermeyer, I also decided that I would go out for the Stephens soccer team, despite never having played soccer in my life.

1 year ago I was: 22 and had just found out that my effort had paid off and we were pregnant with our second child. I'd just started my last semester of college and was looking forward to getting all of that out of the way before the baby's birth. We continued our weekly playdates with my friend Jaime and her two boys, though we weren't always able to make it because of my school commitments, and I was slowly getting to know more of the other KCAP mamas.

Yesterday: I had a great mama's day out! The day started slow and lazy and, after lunch, I went out for a while with Ellie. We went to the local rather high-end toy store that rocks because they sell Brio/Thomas compatible tracks by the piece; we got a switch piece so that Tristan could hook his whole set together. Then, we walked over to the yarn store and did a bit of damage on some sale yarn for holiday gifts; eight skeins for $8. Finally, we drove over to TJMaxx and I got a new shirt and shorts with a merchandise credit my mother-in-law gave me. When we got home, Jon took a looooong bike ride and was gone for three hours. He came home, I made dinner, then got the kids to bed. Then I went out to a movie, as detailed in my last post. Whew! I swear those days are rare, but yesterday rocked.

5 snacks I enjoy: oreos, bananas, breakfast cereal, various chocolate-flavored energy bars, SlimFast (the old type, not the new nasty sucrolose stuff)

5 songs I know all the words to: Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (Beatles), Everybody Knows (Cohen), Until my Head Falls Off (TMBG), Only Happy When it Rains (Garbage), Jay Jay the Jetplane theme song

5 things I would do with 100 million dollars: pay a real estate agent to sell that damn house in Independence, pay off our parents' mortgages, put money aside earmarked for a home when we decide where we want to settle down, live off the interest and give Jon the option of retiring, set up a scholarship fund for low income mothers who would like to go back to college

5 places I would run away to: Bavaria, the Yucatan, Northern California, the Backwoods of Maine, just about anywhere with Jon

5 things I would never wear: a scarf knit with eyelash yarn, anything with sequins, black leather, one-shoulder shirts, stirrup pants

5 favorite tv shows: Going Tribal, Desperate Housewives, the Daily Show, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, I love the (insert decade here)

5 bad habits: eating junk food, driving to go places under a mile away, getting easily frustrated, picking at my face, mindlessly surfing the web when I have nothing to see

5 biggest joys: Tristan, Ellie, Jon, Manhattan (who actually follows us whenever we take a walk), being in the company of friends

5 favorite toys: my computer, Penny the Blythe, my iPod, my Saturn wagon, knitting needles

5 fictional characters I would date: Jakob (Brothers Grimm), Shakespeare (Shakespeare in Love), Wesley (Princess Bride), Spock (Star Trek, original series), Chakotay (Star Trek Voyager

5 people I tag to do this: Roxanne, Julie, Sarah, my dad (if you get that blog rolling), elfinmama