Friday Fill-Ins

(To play, copy and paste the text. Replace the underlined words with your own fill in the blank information.)


And...here we go!

1. I hold _the awesome power and responsibility of packing up the van for our weekend trip to Canton. In our nearly two decades of marriage, this is a first. Be impressed with my new job title!____.

2. _Sweetling____ is someone I like to travel with because _I think she is just zoned out in her little world, until she calls out "yellow car." Then it is game on, baby :)____.

3. That day, _when the Jedi told me I was one of the sunsets he liked to watch, that was the day I fell in love with him____.

4. _I'm really excited about our new school badges system____ this year.

5. Trust _your animal spirit guide. Mine happens to be a squirrel. I think that explains a lot about me ____.

6. _(Pretty sure I don't want to lose my PG blog rating, so I'll leave this one blank)____ in the dark.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _visiting with my oldest brother in Salineville_OH___, tomorrow my plans include __going to Talbert's ice cream parlor with the Jedi and his two moms___ and Sunday, I want to _stay cool at an outdoor graduation party near Columbus OH. Luckily there will be pontoon boats on the lake and a swimming pool to help with that ____!

Your turn!

Just for Holly

When I'm completely stuck (or completely overwhelmed) on what to write, sometimes I'll do a Friday Fill-In. I don't do them every week, cause I don't do anything that regularly. But they're good for a writing quickie.

But seriously, don't feel bad about not blogging. Or at least, don't feel guilty. The blog is supposed to be, ta da, for *you*. If what you need right now is just to sit and read while you're nursing a little one, then do that. But if you *want* to blog, and just don't have time to write "perfectly", then give yourself permission to write "badly". OR (and this is what I've thought about my blog in the past) if you feel that you have to wait till you can write a long, extensive, explanation about why you haven't been blogging, cut it out.

Your blog. Not ours. You don't owe us anything. In fact, I think you should stick your tongue out at the monitor right now and blow a raspberry at us.

There. Feel better?

So, here's my Friday Fill-In. (The prompts are in regular font and my answers are in bold.)

1. I grew up thinking _I could be anything I wanted to be__.

2. _Facebook_ was the last website I was at before coming here.

3. Why don't you _hmmm...I already suggested blowing a raspberry at the computer...so, why don't you write the last nice thing you did for yourself_?

4. _Hot chocolate_ helps me relax.

5. Thanks for the _clothes and ice cream, Telephone!_.

6. _____ very off-putting.

7. And as for the weekend, Friday I'm NOT looking forward to _gaming. Someone "doesn't know" what she wants to do. (And no, for once I'm NOT that someone._
Saturday my plans included _going clothes shopping (for me! wheee!) and out to Graeter's ice cream with Telephone and Tall Girl._
And Sunday, I want to _make Cincinnati Style Chili_!


If you don't want to do the Fill In, Holly, do number 3 :)

Take Care, Take Care.

I feel like a Munchkin now. "Good bye, good bye...."

Friday Fill Ins

Because I just did math with Honey Bunny.

And...here we go!

(Copy and paste into your own note, then fill in the blanks. My answers are below.)
1. The first rule of working in an office and getting along is _____.
2. _____ clams.
3. When I think of carnivals I think of _____.
4. _____ my favorite spring flower.
5. Things on my desk include _____.
6. _____ makes me wanna _____.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _____, tomorrow my plans include _____ and Sunday, I want to _____!

1. The first rule of working in an office and getting along is _pretending to be normal. (Actually, I've never worked in an office, but if I did, I bet I would have to pretend to be normal.

2. __Among the slimiest things in the universe are___ clams.

3. When I think of carnivals I think of _popcorn, rubber duckie ponds, little goldfish in a bowl, and sticky cotton candy_.

4. _Daffodils are definately__ my favorite spring flower.

5. Things on my desk include _ha ha ha! Are they serious? Serious? Starting from the right edge, on my desk is a red Swingline stapler that was a gift to the Jedi that I confiscated cause I lost mine; my computer, on top of which is my cool flatscreen monitor, a red stone apple with "Miss Xuan engraved on it, a porcelan panda, a jump-roping panda made of blue and yellow model magic, a valentine with a melted crayon heart and the words "you color my world," a third grade school photo of me, a glass slipper with a pearl inside, three cool rocks, two AHG swap pens, a rice filled lizard, a wooden mouse, three erasers, a paper and feather napkin holder from Thanksgiving years ago, a painted glass vase with a pipe cleaner and paper flower. And that's just on the first 15 inches. (Plus my keyboard, a squishy wrist pad, a mouse pad with Monet's water lilies, and my mouse.) Shall I go on? Oh yes, its like a train wreck...its too horrible to look away now. Right up against my computer is a plastic tube of mini M&Ms, a pez dispenser, another plastic glass slipper...this one full of M&Ms and kept neatly tied in a clear plastic bag with a little purple ribbon bow, and a star made from plastic iron beeds. Then a Digital Blue microscope and a red plastic cup full of pens and pencils. That brings us even with the edge of my keyboard. Here's where it gets funny. At the back middle of my desk is a clear plastic desk organizer so crammed full and overflowing of things it is nigh on impossible to discern what i might be holding. In front of that useful feature is a Walgreens receipt that needs saved for the Easy Saver rewards program, a clear plastic ruler with indiscernable markings, a yellow post-it pad, a a metal box which holds one magnetic stress ball...the other one is long lost by Toa of Boy. In what should be a clear work space is a yellow cup half full of cool water--yes, yes, its totally half full; a fushia flushable wipes container which now holds Toa of Boys sight word cards; a pink twelve sided dice; two mechanical pencils, one yellow, one orange; _an index card with a hand-drawn squirrel; Honey Bunny, who is laying down for a nap after her math lesson; an Elmer's glue bottle; and a empty plastic sleeve from a Webkinz tag. In the actual space left for work is Toa of Boy's phonics workbook, open to the page he is working on, a pair of scissors, and a blue tupperware sandwhich container which holds his pens. On the far left corner of the desk...which is as close to no-man's land as one can get...is an Easy button, a mangled foil wrapper holding two petrified Rolos, a blue rubber band, a wooden box with a sunflower on top, an open box of Wanka Fun Dip, a chami cloth, and a stack of April art still waiting to get displayed on the school door (but of course, March's art is still up there). And that, dear reader, is what is on the surface of my desk.

6. _The thought of summer vacation_ makes me wanna _dance for joy_.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _gaming, even though Christopher Robin and the Bear can't make it. Boo hoo. Tomorrow my plans include _a bunny party with Sweetling and then clothes shopping with Sweetling. And Sunday, I want to _either clean out the fridge...there are really nasty science experiments growing in there...OR...declutter some of the hall closet...I'm tired of being attacked everytime I open the door!

Friday on a Saturday morning

Friday Fill-in. (button on the side bar, cause I'm didn't feel like trying to copy and past the html.)

1. Anonymous..._and all I'm coming up with is men in silver body suits with silver masks posing as statues on the sidewalks of San Fransisco.

2. _Compost_ is a _four lettered word. Yes, it is, look at it again_.

3. Let me embrace thee, sour adversity, _for I shall not be defeated by an old roll of chicken wire.

4. _Sunshine, flowers, fresh air, warm weather, the end of school are all_ what I look forward to most about Spring.

5. Who needs therapy when _you have friends _.

6. _Chocolate bunnies_ MUST go into the Easter Basket! Toa of Boy informed me of this in the checkout lane of Walmart. The Easter Bunny had a differing concept for the Easter basket, but the Easter Bunny quickly amended her plans.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _dying our Easter eggs (which of course means my fingers are also an interesting hue of pink)_, tomorrow my plans include _an Easter egg hunt at church followed by more chicken wire wrestling and compost bin making_ and Sunday, I want to _dance and celebrate his resurrection !

ps---If a computer programmer/chemist tells you your clothes clash "a little bit", what you thought was a clever, cutting edge ensemble would probably do a circus clown proud.

ooo! book prompts!

This week, I took the first sentence in 6 of my favorite books...you fill them in...with the right words or even better, ones of your own.

And...here we go!

1. "In a hole in the ground there lived _a family of bunnies of course! (And this family of bunnies was not in danger of the predators that run amok in SimAnimals)."

2. "_I got a bruise on my foot and one on my knee, but that ain't no matter, cause I scored a point during King of the Ring in Tae Kwon Do."

3. "After dark the rain began to fall again, whispering me to sleep with its gentle lullaby."

4. "With shouts of triumph, the cursed treasure was unloaded from the hold of the Spanish galleon."

5. "There was a hand in the darkness, and I screamed like the little girl I am. I so don't do horror movies well."

6. "Accidents ambush the unsuspecting, but comedy ambushes the Xuan."

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to taking Sweetling to a Webkinz sleepover and then hanging out with the Jedi, tomorrow my plans include gardening if the weather is nice or Wii if its cold and rainy. Hey Vaya, are you still coming down in the evening? And Sunday, I want to do lots of nothing followed by watching the recorded episodes of Extreme Makeover Home Edition!

(And just to make the copying and pasting easier, here's the original prompts.)
1. "In a hole in the ground there lived _____."

2. "_____ but that ain't no matter."

3. "After dark the rain began to fall again, _____."

4. "_____ from the hold of the Spanish galleon."

5. "There was a hand in the darkness, and _____."

6. "Accidents ambush the unsuspecting, _____."

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _____, tomorrow my plans include _____ and Sunday, I want to _____!

It's my Birthday and I'll play if I want to.....

The Jedi knows me well.

Every night, after prayers have been said and kisses have been given, each of my children ask, "Mommy, what are we doing tomorrow?" I think it has something to do with being "J"s. Neither of my children can relax and drift off to sleep unless they know what the schedule for tomorrow holds. Being a "P", I don't have this issue, so I'm only speculating.

Last night, Toa of Boy asked "What we doing tomorrow, Mommy?"

And the Jedi, who knows me so well, replied, "Tomorrow is Mommy's birthday, so its probably going to be like an all day party."

Other, responsible adults go to work and do chores and such on their birthday. Either I'm not responsible or I'm not an adult. Or both. It might just be both. Cause its my birthday. That's automatically a day off school, a day off cooking, a day off cleaning, a trip out to lunch, and a trip to the Krohn Conservatory....with sketchbooks and cameras in tow of course.





And...here we go!

1. Why do we have to_go to work on our birthdays? I think a person's birthday should be an automatic holiday.

2. _Sadly, I can think of next to nothing to go in this blank. I throw the covers up over the bed when I get out of it. That's about it, the only behavior that are now habits.

3. I have _a deep fryer and I'm not afraid to use it!

4. I had never heard the phrase "live like you mean it" and it puzzles me. Does it mean play hard or work hard?

5. Still have unrealistic spring garden plans the way I always do.

6. How was I to know rug burns could bleed? I fell trying to execute several reverse side-hooks. My kicking foot skidded across the rough floor. It wasn't really bleeding till I followed it up with a long series of speed round-house kicks into the big pad. Then I looked down and had blood all over my foot. I got home and the Jedi said "that's not a rug burn, that's a rug bleed."

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to dinner from Panda Garden and deep fried twinkies, tomorrow my plans include testing for my green belt in Tae Kwon Do and Sunday, I want to watch more Star Trek:Enterprise!

Friday....still haven't digested Vaya's news

And here we go....

Copy and paste the prompts, and then fill in your own replies.


1. I'm going to be a grandma, I'm going to be a grandma, I am far too young to be a grandma.

2. Why do I have a tube of refrigerated biscuits and not enough sugar and cocoa to make chocolate stuff?

3. How does this stimulus package work, anyway?

4. Every morning, I put an instrument of torture on my top teeth.

5. I consider myself lucky because the Jedi still has a job. Twenty percent of his former co-workers don't.

6. One day we’ll see Jesus face to face.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to talking the Jedi into "renting" Tropic Thunder 'cause he needs a comedy, tomorrow my plans include practicing for and dancing in a neighborhood GospelFest and Sunday, I want to start decluttering either the hall closet or the laundry room!


I was going to explain some of those further, but no. They are better as the stream of consciousness that they are. But, being me, I'd be happy to ramble away should anyone want to ask about any of them.

Friday Fill-in--Marshmallows and Pirates and Toes, oh my!

To play, click on the picture above to go to this week's Friday fill in. Put a link to the Friday fill in in your post. Copy and paste the fill in the blank sentences to your post, and fill in the blanks. Fun and easy :)

1. I'd really like _a good, funny movie_ right now.

2. _"Mmhhhhm"__ is the word you'd most often hear me say if I stubbed my toe. So, I don't really say words when I get hurt. I make sad little squeaky whimpers.

3. Possession is _over-rated_. We have all our needs met. We have a warm house that suits our family. We have electricity (and after the ice storm this week, that's a blessing.) We have plenty of delicious food. We have boots and coats and gloves. We are able to make do on one-income so I can stay home and school the children. We have an awesome church. We have two reliable vehicles, even if one of them is older than our oldest child. I do catch myself wishing for more and comparing my furniture to ikea and thinking that my carpet might easily morph into some creeping horror, and I have to remind myself of all that we DO have.

4. _I'm entertained by_ Captain Jack Sparrow. But I'm still rooting for Will Turner. The sheriff in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was hysterical, but in the end I still wanted Robin Hood to win.

5. Marshmallows and fire go together like _holy communion IF there is chocolate and graham crackers involved_. Otherwise, its like empty legalism. Why bother going through the motions if the key element that would transform the ordinary into the extraordinary is missing?

6. _Winter drags_ on and on. Seriously. We've had snow since Tuesday, and I'm done with it. Before that we had a week or more of sub-zero temperatures. I'm ready for daffodils and sunshine. You who are in the true frozen north who have been buried in snow and ice and cold since November can laugh, but I can only do a few weeks of winter at most.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _a family night. Sweetling was scheduled to have a sleep-over at her Tae Kwon Do school, but their roof gave in under the snow and ice (or at least leaked) and their busy doing water-damage clean-up. So, the Jedi told her she could pick an activity for a family night intead. Tomorrow my plans include _a cleaning day at our local co-op facility. I think I might also be brave and go get my hair trimmed. And Sunday, I want to _get my coupon file and my grocery budget back in-order_!

Because I should throw up something about me

Ewww...did I just say throw up something about me? That's totally not what I meant. See, you didn't even go there till I pointed it out, did you? But now you are there, and you're going "ewwww" right along with me.

Friday Fill-In


1. Enough with the cold!!!!! Seriously, I wore long underwear under my jeans today. You think it was winter or something.

2. Sweetling sparring causes me to be conflicted. Tonight the Jedi came home and said it was a rough night at class. At one point, says the Jedi, at least four different kids were crying. Sweetling, says the Jedi, got kicked in the throat. But, says the Jedi, she did a great job of sucking it up, staying focused, and getting back into the sparring. The Mommy is thinking only one thought...MY BABY!!!! So, the Mommy calls the girl over, gives her a hug and asks calmly if she was alright. Sweetling smiles and says she is. And Mommy says, great job doodle-bug, while ignoring every Mommy instinct that is trying to rev her into over-protective tirade. And then Mommy went and got her own do-book on and grabbed her pads for her own tae kwon do class.

3. I've been craving a house cleaning fairy, a hot tub, a garden that maintains itself, a castle in the forest, a summer home on Christopher Robin's island. But you notice chocolate isn't on the list. Its cause I don't have chocolate cravings, I have chocolate fixes. There's a difference.

4. I make me laugh. Really I do. I think I'm pretty funny. The Jedi doesn't always agree with that, but then he only has to live with me.

5. I wish I could go nowhere next week.
Seriously. I just want to stay home, do school, get on the laptop, and chill out. I'm tired of running around. Though, if someone gave me a free trip to somewhere warm and sunny, I wouldn't turn it down.

6. Routines have been on my mind lately. Its sad but true. I've spent the past week or two thinking about, and lucky for you, blogging about my routines and the way my weeks are organized. (Hey Holly, I didn't get a chance to try doing my errands after co-op today. We wound up going home early cause Sweetling had a tummy ache. She was better in time for Tae Kwon Do, but that was irrelevant as far as my errands went.)

7. And as for the weekend, tomorrow night I'm looking forward to gaming if I can get Aimee's character sheet updated, Saturday my plans include two birthday parties at Mango's house, and Sunday, I want to watch Angel and Extreme Makeover Home Edition!

Now, you might think I did Friday's fill in a day early. No, I did last Friday's fill in a week late. See, the universe has been restored to its proper functioning.

Friday Fill-In

1. October is a perfect fall month.
2. Things with lots of little legs scare me!
3. Leaves are falling all around, it's beautiful to watch and lovely to crunch them under foot.
4. My favorite horror movie is "Aliens" because I managed to watch it almost all the way through...there are still some scenes that I have to close my eyes.
5. Long walks in the woods = good memories.
6. It was a dark and stormy night, so I made a cup of hot chocolate and snuggled up in a blanket to read a good book.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to taking my first belt test for Tae Kwon Do! Tomorrow my plans include kicking through a board (I hope) and Sunday, I want to finally get around to making cupcakes to take to the local fire station!