The A to Z of Me
26 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
in Fun
I saw this on Allie’s blog and had to play along.
A. Age: 35
B. Bed size: Queen. Bob and I started out in a Full Size bed and did just fine since we snuggle all night but it is nice to have a little more room.
C. Chore that you hate: Most of them…I enjoy doing laundry and the rest I only do because I have to.
D. Dogs: Sadie…our almost 2-year-old golden retriever/yellow lab mix…she is the best 
E. Essential start to your day: Diet Coke
F. Favorite color: Pink…but I rarely wear pink…I tend to choose black clothing…but not in a goth sort of way
G. Gold or silver: I wear both but more silver than gold
H. Height: 5’3″
I. Instrument you play: I played clarinet for about a year in 5th grade…it didn’t stick
J. Job title: Executive Assistant (to the President of the company)
K. Kids: Jackson Edward…my 11 year old son…I also have a 24-year-old step son (Brian) and a 20-year-old step daughter (Heidi)…and no, we’re not having anymore
L. Live: Poolesville, MD…love this little town
M. Mother’s name: Justine…but I call her Mom or Mommy (yes, still)
N. Nicknames: Never really had one…Jackson calls me Mom (sometimes Mommy but that’s becoming more rare)…Bob and I share various pet names…but not really nicknames
O. Overnight hospital stays: My own birth…Partial Thyriodectomy when I was 20…Jackson’s birth…and I stayed with Jackson when he was admitted at 16 days for Beta Strep (I wasn’t actually the patient but I did stay overnight int he hospital for a week)
P. Pet Peeves: I have to agree with Allie on people talking on cell phones in a public restroom…ugh…I hate that!
Q. Quote from a movie: I don’t often quote movies…more often it’s TV shows…Seriously? Seriously! from Grey’s…I can equate a Sex and the City episode to pretty much any real life scenario…so I’m constantly saying “OMG, there was a Sex and the City episode just like this!”
R. Right or Left Handed: right-handed but I am left eye dominant so I shoot left-handed
S. Siblings: I have 2 older brothers. My dad remarried and I gained a younger step sister and 2 younger step brothers (twins)…my dad adopted them so they became my half siblings and they added one of their own which was another half sister…BUT…I didn’t really grow up with my half siblings so I still consider myself the youngest and only girl growing up.
T. Time you wake up: Between 5:30 and 6:00 am on weekdays. On weekends, if I don’t have to set my alarm for anything, then I sleep until whenever but I’m usually up by 8am.
U. Underwear: boy shorts
V. Vegetable you hate: Asparagus
W. What makes you run late: Not being able to decide what to wear. Telling my son to get a move on 1000 times. Playing spider solitaire or words with friends on my phone.
X. X-rays you’ve had: hands and wrists (broken pinky, various sprains, DeQuervain’s), ankles (broken ankle, sprains…I’m a perpetual ankle twister but that doesn’t keep me out of heels), knees (patellar tracking disorder), lungs (pneumonia), tail bone (cracked twice falling down the stairs and falling in Target trying on roller blades), elbow (thought it was broken after hitting the wall snowtubing), nose (3-year-old head slammed back into my face)…my mom thinks I’m clumsy
Y. Yummy Food that you make: Chicken Pot Pie, Chicken and Dumplings, Cupcakes, Cookies, Breads…I’m a baker…and Jackson says my baked goods are better than anyone else’s
Z. Zoo animal: Polar Bear and Komodo Dragon…I like looking at all of the animals at the zoo…but I rarely go to the zoo.
Mishaps with my Mom
10 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in Family
My mom and I have a great time together! We spend hours shopping, laughing, and talking and always yearn for just one more day together.
But we also often find ourselves in mishaps when we’re together. During my last visit with my mom, we reminisced about some of these mishaps and she said I should blog about them…don’t know why I never thought of that before!
So, I’ve dedicated a page to “Mishaps with my Mom” and will be posting funny stories about the special mother/daughter bonding we often find ourselves in.
Coming soon…eyebrow threading, eyelash tinting, elephant charging, dog attacking, and Italy (yeah, we mishapped all over a couple of countries)
We have learned from these mishaps…
1. The only beauty regimen we are allowed to do together is a pedicure…so far those have been safe
2. Although our travels often involve mishaps, we will never stop travelling together because it’s always fun and we bring back some amazing stories
3. My husband and my step dad are two very special men that “get” the relationship my mom and I have
More to come…stay tuned…and make sure you pee before reading any of these posts because Pinkchick cannot be held responsible for ruined upholstery 
Cleaning Out the Insides
10 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
Boy…with a title like that, I bet y’all are worried this is my recount of a colonoscopy prep experience…but nah, that was a couple of years ago and I’ll spare you the fun details
This is actually a food thing I have that I just kind of decided to randomly write about.
So, we got Toaster Strudel (rasberry) the other day. We haven’t had them in years…so it’s a nice treat…and we had a coupon…yay!
I was enjoying one for breakfast…ok two…but I did eat them slowly and one bite at a time…not all one on top of the other style…although the icing would make a nice adhesive and that might be something to keep in mind on those running late kind of mornings…anyway…Jackson walked in and asked what I was doing as I scraped the majority of the fruit filling out of the flaky pastry shells. I explained rather sheepishly that I think there’s too much fruit filling so I scrape some of it out. I gave him a bite and he asked to have them for breakfast the next day.
So it’s the next day and Jackson is enjoying his toaster strudels…fully intact…well cut in half to allow for cooling…those things are like lava encased in pastry…but I didn’t gut his like I did mine. After breakfast, Jackson strolled into the kitchen and said he agreed that there was too much fruit filling and he would prefer his gutted from now on. I smiled and decided that either I wasn’t a weird food freak or that if I was, at least I was in good company with my kid
Then I started thinking about this whole fruit filling thing…did I have this hang up in other areas? Yes, in fact I do. I have been known to eat just the outside crust of a pop-tart because I think there’s too much filling in those too. I also scrape the insides out of egg rolls and just eat the outside shell. I ate a donut this morning and ate the outside and left the apple cinnamon goop center in the trash…I guess that’s what inspired this blog post.
So yeah…I’m a little weird when it comes to filling…or perhaps I’m a pastry purist and just enjoy the foundation more than the fluff.
30 days of blogging…FAIL
28 Jan 2011 Leave a Comment
in News
Well, the 30 days of blogging didn’t motivate me like I had hoped. Mostly because I hate taking pictures of myself. Ah well, perhaps I will revisit with a modified 30 days of blogging sans pictures.
We are a bit snowed in here in the suburbs of DC. Not as much snow as last year (not yet at least) but it sure seemed to knock everyone for a loop. Another storm is headed our way mid-week next week but no details on severity yet. I have been wishing for snow since the first week of December. As they say, be careful what you wish for…but I’m not sorry I wished for it, got it, and can probably expect a lot more before winter bids adieu.
I’m enjoying married life more and more everyday. I still get giddy when Bob refers to me as his wife and when I refer to him as my husband
30 Days of Blogging
09 Dec 2010 Leave a Comment
This is just what I’ve been needing…blog homework! I hope that these 30 ideas will give me the inspiration I need to get back into blogging. The intention is not necessarily 30 days of consecutive blogging but perhaps I will even be motivated to blog about completely random stuff in between these 30 ideas. This will hopefully give me some focus and structure to rediscover my love for blogging.
Day 1 – A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself.
Day 2 - The meaning behind your blog name.
Day 3 - A picture of you and your friends.
Day 4 – A habit that you wish you didn’t have.
Day 5 – A picture of somewhere you’ve been.
Day 6 - Your favorite Superhero and why.
Day 7 – A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you.
Day 8 – Short term goals for this month and why.
Day 9 – Something you’re proud of in the past few days.
Day 10 – Songs you listen to when you are happy, sad, bored, hyper, mad.
Day 11 – Another picture of you and your friends.
Day 12 – How you found out about blogs and why you made one.
Day 13 – A letter to someone who has hurt you recently.
Day 14 – A picture of you and your family.
Day 15 – Put your iPod on shuffle; first 10 songs that play.
Day 16 – Another picture of yourself.
Day 17 – Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why.
Day 18 – Plans/Dreams/Goals you have.
Day 19 – Nicknames you have; why do you have them?
Day 20 – Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future.
Day 21 – A picture of something that makes you happy.
Day 22 – What makes you different from everyone else?
Day 23 – Something you crave a lot.
Day 24 – A letter to your parents.
Day 25 – What I would find in your purse.
Day 26 – What you think about your friends.
Day 27 – Why are you doing this 30 day challenge?
Day 28 – A picture of you in the last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29 – In this past month what have you learned?
Day 30 – Who are you?
Arrrrr…Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day!
19 Sep 2010 1 Comment
in Holidays
You’ve been waiting all year for it…today is Talk Like a Pirate Day!
Read an interesting and fun article here. Basically this holiday was started by two guys that liked to rib each other. But not with the same old standby jabs, oh no, they used pirate lingo in their banter!
And really, we don’t talk like pirates enough these days. So celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day today! Arrrrr, Matey!
Here be some of me favorite pirate phrases:
I’m a love pirate and I’m here for yer booty!
Is that a belayin’ pin in yer britches, or are ye just happy to see me?
And a short list of me favorite pirates:
Me pirate name be Black Charity Flint (get yer own here)
Keep in mind, it’s TALK like a pirate day not DRESS like a pirate day
For more fun on this here Talk Like a Pirate Day, get yer booty over to talklikeapirate.com
2010…so far…an update
10 Sep 2010 Leave a Comment
in News
January 2010…Happy New Year…recovering from the holidays and a lot of visitors…wedding planning begins…Jackson is SGA Representative for his class…Philadelphia and Battleship New Jersey trip with Cub Scouts…incredibly early morning drive from NJ to MD because Jackson got sick on the ship – not seasick, some kind of stomach bug from hell…I got it a few days later and thought I was going to die…the month ended with all of us well, me ten pounds thinner (thanks to the stomach virus), and some snow on the ground
February 2010…preparing for more snow…snow projections say “paralyzing” over our region…bought a treadmill…SnOMG…snowmageddon…over 2 feet of snow and a lot of cabin fever…Cub Scout bake sale was well-timed though…while stuck in the house I baked 4 cakes, 6 loaves of bread, and 26 cupcakes…as long as Selby’s had eggs, I was going to keep baking!…Happy Valentine’s Day!!…bought our wedding rings
March 2010…shopping for a wedding dress with my mom…ended up buying the first one I tried on after an entire day of shopping and telling myself there was no way I could fall in love with the first one…Pinewood Derby and Jackson placed third!…got wedding shoes…fabulous pink Kate Spade strappy heels…wedding plans changed…originally planned for May 22nd in Virginia but changed to April 13th in Maryland with a trip to Disney World with our kids!…Bob ran in the Shamrock Marathon along with his brother Bill and his nephew Greg while my soon-to-be sister-in-law Susan and I cheered them on and got sunburnt…Jackson was George W. Bush in a wax museum project at school
April 2010…Jackson spent a week with his dad in Virginia…Bob spent some time in Virginia while his dad was in the hospital (doing well now)…I became Mrs. Swanson …we went to Disney World for 6 magical days…Heidi was able to join us for 3 of them and Brian for only 2 but it was great for all of us to be together!!…recovering from the trip and beginning our Happily Ever After
May 2010…Bob ran in the Frederick Half Marathon…Happy Mother’s Day!…Work Picnic…our debut as Mr. and Mrs. Swanson…slow month but a happy first month of wedded bliss
June 2010…AC went out 
but it was under a kick ass warranty …yard sale…Jackson spent another week with his dad and saying good-bye isn’t any easier than it was when we started doing this 7 years ago…Topsy Turvy…bell peppers a success…tomatoes were late bloomers…Happy Father’s Day!…I turned 34…my parents visited for a week…Jackson started karate…Jackson attended Cub Scout day camp
July 2010…Induction Day for Bob’s daughter Heidi at the Naval Academy…an emotional day for all…Happy 4th of July…Bob’s brother and his family came for a visit…we had an earthquake, really? an earthquake!!…we were awake and we did feel it and I did drop the F bomb as in WTF was that…I got a potter’s wheel…it’s been a dream of mine for a long time…Cub Scout rocket launch…100 days of marriage…Bob sent me flowers and everyone at worked gagged …severe thunderstorm…biggest understatement since they said we got “some” snow…nearly 7o mph winds and a lot of limbs from our neighbors’ trees in our yard…but we didn’t have any damage and never lost power…some folks had severe damage and were without power for a week
August 2010…Bob and Jackson built me a custom wedging table to go with my potter’s wheel…Plebe Parents Weekend at the Naval Academy…Jackson spent another week with his dad in Virginia…Longaberger Event at Boyd’s with my mom…Jackson started 5th grade and is a Safety Patrol!!
September 2010…9-02-10!…Labor Day with some great friends…back to playing Bunko and a much needed GNO (hope it continues)…Cub Scouts
Well, that covers most of it! This is a very good reason to keep up with blogging…this was exhausting!
Why I’m not blogging like I used to
10 Sep 2010 Leave a Comment
in News
Time
Since Bob and I got together, I seem to have less time for a lot of things I used to do. I don’t talk on the phone as much, I don’t shop as much, and I don’t blog as much as I used to. The weird thing is, I don’t miss a lot of those things. Sure, I still enjoy talking on the phone with friends and family and I still love shopping, but those things are still there, they just don’t take up as much time now.
Readers
I never had that many regular followers. No one subscribed to my blog. In the beginning, blogging was something I did as an outlet and I didn’t think much about whether or not anyone else was reading, enjoying, or hating. Then, I realized that some undesirable people had found my blog and I didn’t like the idea of them following my life.
Bob
I had been blogging about my own life and now I have someone else in my life. If I’m blogging about day-to-day life, talking about Bob and our life would eventually find its way into the blog. I wasn’t really sure how Bob felt about this. This also goes back to those undesirable readers, did I want them following my new life and that of my new family?
But I miss it and I’m doing my best to get back into it
I’m still following Allie and her blog has given me some inspiration. I may use some ideas from her to get back into the habit of blogging regularly.
So, if you are a regular reader, undesirable or not, welcome and I will do my best to give you something new to read every few days and thanks for sticking around!
PondeRINGS
09 Jan 2010 2 Comments
I am newly engaged…yay!!
The ring Bob proposed with was too big (meaning the ring size, the diamond was just perfect). So I took it to the jeweler and had it sized down.
In announcing our engagement and showing off the ring, there were many women that said they hadn’t worn their wedding and/or engagement ring in years because they were too small and they didn’t want to or hadn’t gotten around to getting them sized to fit. This just struck me as very odd.
I understand not getting your rings sized during pregnancy with the hopes that your fingers will return to their pre-pregnancy size and the rings will once again fit…that makes perfect sense.
But…if…let’s say a year or more has passed and the rings still don’t fit…why do women choose not to have their rings sized to fit?
Let’s look at it from the other side…what if you lost weight since getting engaged and/or married and your rings are too big…would you stop wearing them or would you get them sized down to fit?
I completely understand that hope that you will eventually get back to the size you once were but we do have to be realistic. Even losing weight doesn’t mean that your body goes back to the way it was…same shape, same weight distribution.
I think we need to let go of the idea that getting our rings sized up when necessary means that we’ve given up on ever losing weight. If it is a weight thing and you end up losing the weight…then you can always get the rings sized down again. But if it’s a body change thing that no amount of weight loss will change, then why are you depriving yourself of the joy of wearing such a meaningful piece of jewelry?
I love showing off my engagement ring but, I also love looking at it myself. I tilt my hand to watch it sparkle in the light. I love the way it looks and even more, I love what it means. Something else I’ve noticed…Bob notices me staring at my ring and I think…no I know…that he gets a thrill out of seeing me so happy with the ring he gave me.
So…take that beautiful ring out of your jewelry box and go to a jeweler and have it sized so you can get back to wearing it, enjoying it, and showing it off!
Your wedding and/or engagement ring cannot be compared to that pair of skinny jeans you’ve held onto since high school hoping that someday they will fit again.
The beautiful thing…no one has to know that you had it resized!!
Thought I should post a picture of my beautiful ring! This is Jackson holding it before I had it sized down.
and we’re back
29 Dec 2009 Leave a Comment
in News
Wow…I’ve missed this!
So much has happened since I stopped blogging. I’m hoping to start blogging again but I’m not going to make any promises or resolutions just yet.
Here’s a quick update…I’ll break it down by month
May 2009…my last post was about Mother’s Day…after that…Bob and I closed on our first house together
June 2009…Jax finished 3rd grade and we began the process of packing our townhouse and moving into our new house in a new town…we adopted a dog, a husky we named Layla…my mom and step dad came to visit us in the new house…and I celebrated my 33rd birthday
July 2009…We continued packing, unpacking, and settling into the new house…Bob’s daughter (Heidi) came to visit us…and we all got along great…and I turned in the keys to my townhouse and officially moved in with Bob
August 2009…Still unpakcing and settling in…Jax stayed all night at his first overnight b-day sleepover…I met one of Bob’s brothers (Bill) and his dad (Norm) for the first time…my BFF AE came for a visit and got to meet Bob finally…and Mom and I made baskets at the Longaberger/Boyds Bear annual shindig
September 2009…still unpacking and settling in…Jax started 4th grade at his new school…Bob and I saw Jimmy Buffett (my first time)…my mom came for a short visit…Heidi came for a short visit…Poolesville Day…we made it to two Boston vs Orioles games in a row…and I took Bob on his first trip to Busch Gardens
October 2009…still unpacking but pretty much settled…Jax started taking sax lessons…my mom came for a short visit…we all got more involved with Cub Scouts…we all three had dental check-ups in the same week (just a weird coincidence…and no cavities)…Jax and I both battled the flu…and Halloween (didn’t celebrate much since Jax and I were both sick)
November 2009…finished battling the flu…Scouting for food (our town gathered 5,000 pounds of food for WUMCO)…Layla got spayed…Bob and I got engaged (!!!!!!!!!!!)…if possible, Bob and I got even more engrossed in Cub Scout as I became the assistant Den Leader, Bob became the Committee Chair, and we both went for an entire day of training…we had Thanksgiving at Tommy and Don’s house so Bob got to meet some more of my family…and mom and I did the annual Back Friday shopping excursion and it continues to be something I look forward to every year
December 2009…Bob celebrated his birthday…Heidi came for a visit and her boyfriend (Greg) joined us for a couple of days…we were hit with the blizzard of 2009 (20 inches of snow)…Jax got 3 days off from school and thus began his winter break early…Bob’s dad (Norm) celebrated his birthday…Norm came for a visit…Jax celebrated his 10th birthday…Bob’s son (Brian) came to visit…my mom and step dad came for a short visit…and a Merry Christmas was had by all
Phew…that about sums it up!
So…look forward to posts about wedding plans, blending families, and marital bliss in the coming months
I hope you and yours have had a wonderful 2009 and look forward to an even better 2010!!
