The Dilemma

Every time I sit down to blog, I experience a dilemma of sorts: What the heck do I blog about?? There are a number of reasons for this recurrent scenario, and ironically enough one of them is NOT that I can't think of anything to say... it's more a matter of choosing which of my thoughts to publish in cyberspace for the rest of the world to read. Anyone who even remotely knows me can understand that I am never short of deep thoughts or random ponderings. It's just that there are a lot of things I think, feel, and believe that I just don't feel like sharing with the world.

Anyway, blah blah blah, right? So today, to solve my blogging dilemma, I going to do another tag... yet again. :) For some reason it's easier to do those than to decide which of my thoughts to publish for the day. So thanks, Jessica, for doing the tag and subsequently inspiring me to do it too. :)

10 years ago: The summer I turned 13. Oh yes, that was a good summer! I flew out to Arizona all by myself and lived with one of my best friends- Barbara- and her family for a month! We had a blast going to girls camp, going on hikes, watching movies, and doing whatever 13-year old girls do best. Later that summer, I went to a Hanson concert in Milwaukee, WI, with two of my other really good friends- Annie and Sara. I was SO fun, I'm not gonna lie. We were all obsessed with Hanson so it was a dream come true of sorts. And I really wanted to marry Taylor Hanson at the time, so to see him rocking out on his keyboards onstage was about all I could think about for the rest of that summer.

5 years ago: The summer I turned 18. I had just graduated from high school and I was working two jobs... 12 hour shifts at the nursing home on Mon-Wed, then 6 or 8 hour shifts at the waterpark Thu-Sat. I was so busy and I had a wicked awesome tan. I was also involved in an excessive amount of relationship drama with my highschool boyfriend, Matt. This resulted in more crying, DTRs, and lectures from my parents than I EVER care to experience again. Thank goodness I left for college at the end of the summer!

5 months ago: February 2008. Joshua was turning 4 months old. This month was significant because it was the first and only time that Joshua has been sick (so far), and it was also the last time that he woke up during the middle of the night. It's a beautiful thing. I was also insanely busy with my last semester of nursing school, working part time, and being a wife and mother. I am SO glad that's over.

5 things on my "to do" list:
1. Pass the NCLEX next Friday!!!!!
2. Learn more vegetarian recipes
3. Call some friends I haven't talked to in a long time
4. Pay the rest of this month's bills
5. Play with Joshua every day (as in not do ANYthing else at the same time, which I am really good at doing! What mother isn't amazing at multitasking??)

5 of my favorite snacks:
1. smoothies
2. crackers and cheese
3. Tostitos multigrain chips (soooo good)
4. Kashi cereal with Rice Dream milk (delicious)
5. carrots and ranch dip

5 purchases:
1. diapers, wipes, and formula (always)
2. windshield wipers for the car (it cost $450... you heard me right. The motor was shot. It's ridiculous, I know.)
3. rechargeable batteries (it's about time!)
4. family "portrait" at Wal-mart (I do NOT recommend this. haha. Good thing it only cost me $3.99. I refuse to pay a lot of money for pictures I could take better myself with the timer thingie on my digital camera. Now we have a gazillion copies of a "portrait" that looks horrible, with the exception of Joshua, of course. He actually looks really good. It's the ONE redeeming quality of the experience! haha I guess I could blog about hilarious stories like THAT one. Oh wow that was a good one...)
5. New pajamas for Joshua

5 places I've lived:
1. Minnesota
2. Wisconsin
3. Idaho
4. Utah
5. Missouri

5 things you may not know about me: (I might run out of these if I keep doing tags. haha)
1. I have recently become a vegetarian. I am actually really enjoying this. Probably because I will still eat salmon, which I love and crave all the time.
2. I am a fan of Ron Paul. I would vote for him if given the chance. However, this is tragically unlikely.
3. I still use an email address I set up when I was 14.
4. I snuck a boy over to my house when I was 13 while my family was out trick-or-treating on Halloween. We sat on the couch and talked, and then got caught. I know, it was so rebellious.
5. I can't remember the last time I let my toenails go unpainted. It's probably the only part of my "beauty regime" that persists no matter my life circumstance.

5 best friends throughout my life: (well, I have lots of great friends, but I guess "throughout my life" will have to narrow it down a bit.)
1. Jacob. He tops my list because I do believe in "soul mates" in one form or another. I can't really explain why or how I believe it to be true, but I feel like I've known him forever.
2. Gina. My sister and I have been so close growing up together. She is so loyal and unconditionally loving to me. I love this girl!!!
3. Barbara. We've literally known each other since birth, and we wrote letters for years and years since we didn't live near each other. We still don't live close by, but we have a strong friendship and a special bond that has weathered the distance and the years.
4. Annie. We were childhood best friends, growing up a few houses away and doing everything together. We are SO different in so many ways, and yet we've remained close friends.
5. Nicole. We have the "same brain," I swear. We became close friends in elementary school/middle school and when she came to visit me last month, we realized that even after not seeing each other for 7 years we still have an incredible friendship.

(I hate to end this list now because there are so many other friends I have met and grown close to in my life!! Many friends I didn't meet until high school or college and I love them dearly. Oh well, on to the next item!)

5 things I love:
1. My marriage. I am a very, very lucky girl.
2. Joshua! What can I say... being his mommy is the best thing ever. I love love love that little boy.
3. Joshua's sleeping habits. Seriously, I love being well-rested and having plently of time to myself and with my spouse. And I still spend tons of time with Joshua, so I'm pretty content with it all!!
4. Having meaningful conversations with Jacob, my family, or my friends
5. Learning new things, accomplishing things, meeting my goals, challenging myself, and thinking outside the box

Again, this list could go on and on. :) But that's all for now.