The Rules:

1. Post these rules on your blog.
2. Tell about your six quirks.
3. Tag six bloggers to do the same.  (Yea, I’m not into tagging anyone.  If you want to participate, please do!  Pop back in and leave me a comment to let me know! I’d love to see your list!)
4.  Leave them a comment to let them know you’ve tagged them so they can participate.

My list of quirkiness:

1.  I have a nightly routine.  If I swerve from that routine in any way at all, then I will not be able to sleep until said routine is completed.  OCD, much?  I take my medicine, brush my teeth, check on the kids, check all the doors, make sure the garage door is closed, my bed blankets have to be juuuuuust right, I read for a bit, then finally turn out my light.  The only time I deviate from this routine is when I have a migraine.

2.  I cannot eat blue food.  Blueberries or anything resembling that is just off-limits.  Blue = bad.  I don’t like or am allergic to nearly all fruit.  Bananas are the exception.  The fruit I actually like, I am allergic to.  No fair.  I hope that quirkiness goes away in Heaven.  I’m so dessert-limited because of this fruit handicap.  I would really love to love fruit.  Thank goodness chocolate is not a fruit.

3.  I freeze when it comes to home-decorating purchases.  Even frames.  Especially furniture or lamps or art or knick-knacks.  I wish I had the money to pay an interior decorator to do it for me.  Not sure why the prospect of decorating my own home freaks me out.  I don’t know where to start, I guess.

4.  Pickles are evil.  Truly.  I don’t even like to smell them.  The crunch when other people eat them even makes me cringe.  And no, I did not eat them when I was pregnant.

5.  I sometimes avoid fiction books because I love them so much.  Makes no sense, I know.  But when I start a fiction book, I HAVE to finish it right away.  As a result, life around the house tends to shut down until I’m finished.  I sometimes prefer non-fiction to fiction because I actually have to read slowly to learn and process it all.  Fiction books – I can easily read one or two in a day.  An expensive habit to avoid, as well.

6.  If something is popular, I tend to avoid it for a very, very long time and at all costs.  Doesn’t matter what it is…books, movies, tv shows, clothes, food, etc..  It takes me awhile to warm up to something that is popular and is truly good.  I hate falling for fads.  Unless it’s Starbucks.

7.  As a performer, I actually do not care for performing solo on stage.  I much prefer being a part of an ensemble whether it be a praise band at church, or a piano duet, or some other arrangement.  I don’t mind standing in front of hundreds of people playing keys, as long as I’m not by myself.

8.  If I get nervous, my hands shake.  Very uncool if you are a pianist which requires, you know, using your hands.

9.  Did you really think I would keep this list to six?  Another quirk…

Look forward to reading yours!

• G, upon picking him up from school on Groundhog Day with a craft of a groundhog coming up out of a styrofoam cup via a popsicle stick:  ”I’m hibernating.”  Me:  ”Oh yea, did you learn about the groundhog today?”  G:  ”Yea.  He has to go back in the cup to get his shadow.”
• S, while playing with G’s knight and horse play set, “Look!  I’m playing with Frodo!”  Huh?!  When did she watch Lord of the Rings??  Where does she get this stuff??
• Trying to get G to blow his nose…  ”No, Mommy.  I’ve FIVE.”  Me:  ”Huh?”  G:  ”I can’t blow my nose because I’m five.”  Apparently, it’s a super power that you get when you turn six.
• I threatened to throw all of S’s toys in the trash if she didn’t clean up her room in five minutes (I had given her several hours and several reminders.)  S:  ”Ok, go ahead.”  The only things in her room now are her bed, dresser, and toy chest.  Never fear, the toys are in the garage but they will probably get weeded out this weekend before returning to her room.
• She still hasn’t asked for her toys.
• G, when I hugged him.  ”Mommy, you’re too squeezy.  I’ll hug big and you hug small.”

I hope you enjoy it, too.

We ate Thanksgiving dinner in our pajamas.

No need to loosen the proverbial belts.  They’re elastic.  Sweet.

This was the first year I have ever prepared the entire Thanksgiving meal by myself.  Chris gets credit though for washing dishes as we went.

The menu included turkey (no picture – it was sad looking coming out of the roasting oven but it was SO yummy, very juicy!)…

…sweet potato stuffing…zucchini au gratin…

…these yummy bacon bundles – a recipe from our worship pastor’s wife, Monica…(I didn’t get the recipe exactly right but even still, they were SO good!)…

…and these are supposed to be cloverleaf rolls but I ran out of muffin pans (must invest in more) so improvised on the pizza stone…then they looked ore like shamrock rolls or something…but even so, yummy!  Making them from scratch wasn’t too terribly hard either.

We also had baked macaroni and cheese, pecan pie and pumpkin pie (store-bought).

My mom and dad and Aunt Judy were in town for the festivities as well!

I highly recommend PJ’s for Thanksgiving Day.

3.  Complete the family video for 2006.  DONE.  Amazing, I know…

4.  Start and complete the family video for 2007.  STARTED.  Hopefully it won’t be 2011 by the time it’s done…

19.  We’ve gone to the zoo a couple more times.  It’s finally great weather for it.  Not too hot, not too cold, juuuuuust right.

23.  Going to have to come up with a new goal for this one since I’ve decided to nix the book project.  Ballroom dancing maybe?  Hmmm….

24.  We do have another trip planned for the spring.  It can’t come soon enough!

30.  Need a new goal for this one, too, since I’m going to nix the cake decorating plans.  Another class idea?  I’d love to take photography class but I’d have to get a decent camera first…

31.  We are almost there with the living room, front room and entertainment center remodels!

36.  Need a new goal since I feel called away from PPD  ministry…

37.  We took the kids for swimming lessons at the local university swim center and they loved, loved, loved it.  We’ll probably do it again either in the spring or summer.

54.  I did attend a Deeper Still conference, but unfortunately had to leave early due to a severe migraine.  *sigh*  Oh, well.

56.  We took the kids to see Dora the Explorer Live!  It’s a musical – so, hey, it qualifies!  :)

78.  We’ve gone on a couple more date nights.  Yea!

Any ideas for those new goals I need?