Wednesday, August 27, 2008

The Koug Strikes (raWrrrrrrr!)

Koug has tagged me and instructed me to go onto Google Images and find an image suitable for my response to each question. Take notes and enjoy the ride!


Past Loves: Belge Chocolate! My time in Belgium served me well! I grew up not far from Hershey PA, which seemed fabulous and yes, I swear the whole town smells like flipping chocolatey goodness! However Hershey can hardly hold a candle to the yummy chocolatey goodness that is of the diamond capital of the world! Um hello? Diamonds, chocolate and Mannequin Pis! Does it really get any better than this? Alas I did have to leave Belge chocolate behind to return home but it remains forever etched upon my hips!

My first name: Britta. It's pronounced Brit-ta. Not Breeta. Not Beretta. No Brittany's here. Ain't crazy about being called Bridget (but I'm sure I've been called way worse!) and my name ain't Brenda. It's Britta. Britta and Brit if I like you. Now most unfortunate is the fact that the only association that is made to my name is the Brita Water filter but thank goodness it wasn't like a sewage treatment system or something. Even more unfortunate is the fact that they spelled it wrong. or the love of all that is holy give me two T's please. At any rate, I use to hate it. I'm over it but I forever remain the girl without her name on anything like cute barrettes, or a personalized toothbrush or even a pimpin' key chain!

My Middle Name: Awesomeness you ask? Nope. It's Vaughan. Britta Vaughan. bv. It is the last name of my maternal Grandparents. Unfortunately they have both passed from this life and I do miss them like crazy. I grew up next to them in little ol' Riverside Pennsylvania. My Mommom was my best friend for forever and a day and my Poppop was larger than life. I am beyond honored to carry their name. I posted hydrangeas because they had blue ones that were beautiful outside of their home (and they came up in the search). Mommom loved flowers and Poppop did a great job caring for them. {sigh}

Last Name: Now I know my Dad would tell you "Sweetness" (right, Popsicle?!) but legally it's Stott. Not Stout. Stott. I never wanted to be BS. Previously I was a BS and by 5th grade other kids caught on, brought it to my attention and it pretty much sucked. Now I am a Stott. It rhymes with Dot. I found this image that was something about Andy Stott and his ceramics. While I have no idea who he is the image struck me because I do so love our little blended life that Mark and I have created (despite the stolen cars, stolen checks, car accidents, mortgage fraud, staph infections, pox, the list goes on). Most of all I do LOVE my quirky little Marky Mark! Nothing but good vibrations, can you feel it feel it, baby?

What are you doing now?
So I'm pretty much vying to be the hottest Mom ever! Okay, okay. I've got some work to do and I'm sure you're thinking, how on earth is she going to pull this off? Right here, folks! For me it pretty much has nothing to do with being jaded by romance as I'm way over all that jazz (not this Jazz). For me it's going to be an a-Mayes-zing way to burn my negative energy right out of my system, spend some quality time with my girlies AND get hot! Yes, if you haven't checked it out, please do so as all are welcome! The motto: Don't Get Mad, Get Hot! Yes, JAYDUD. Just About You Don't
Underestimate Determination. In reality today I am just spending time with Adi and Ellie and wishing I didn't feel like a dog turd!

My age: I am 18 forever, baby. Yes, forrrrrrr-evvvvvv-errrrrr! I had way too much fun spending way too much time with the biggest dork of a guy from the branch that lusted after my roommate while I was in college (the first time at PSU but please don't ask me about Joe Pa) who swore that my 2 roommates and myself were 18 forever (and we really were 18 at the time so whatev!) The passage of time may age me physically but in my heart I will always be 18 and will emphatically deny otherwise!

My Favorite Treat: Cheese fondue, hands down! This is yet another love I developed in Europe but I never had to leave this one behind! Special thanks to the Melting Pot for making all of my dreams come true! While traveling after my mish Bad Dad and I developed quite a love for a fine cheese fondue! While he refused to follow local custom and dance upon the table after losing his bread in the pot it still remains a delightful memory and a delicious treat (except for that last batch you made, Popsicle!!!)

Place I would like to Travel: Ohhhh, someday I want to go on a Mediterranean cruise! Just say the word Mediterranean outloud (you know you want to!). Doesn't it just roll off of your tongue? Doesn't it just seem all romantic/dreamy/wonderful? Someday I would love to sail the ocean blue, visit multiple European countries all from the comfort of a big, fat cruise liner! That way I would stil have all the comforts of home (and then some!) but still be able to travel, see the world and enjoy! Mmm Mmm good!

My favorite color: White. White is my favorite color, ladies and gentlemen! White is pure, clean and refreshing. It is symbolic of goodness and peace. It's associated with innocence and cleanliness. It is truly is a color of perfection and has a positive connotation. It looks good, it feels good and it just is good. White light is also made up of all different colors. So when it's bent it actually produces all of the other colors. So next time you see a rainbow remember that it's all because of the wonderful color white! It's a tad technical and too much for my non-scientific/simpleton/impatient mind to type but you can see the light, right?! BWAHAHAAHAAA!

My Hometown: Danville, although I really grew up in Riverside *which is across the river*. Riverside is just a small 'borough' though and not considered a real town. So each day of my life I would travel to Danville to do basically whatever simply because Riverside only had a set of railroad tracks, a post office and a convenience store. Danville is a small town situated along the Susquehanna river, which was really cool to learn based on church history. It's also exit 33 off of route 80. This means I could hop on route 80 East here in SLC and shoot straight home (after a mere 36 hours!). At any rate, I love my little small town (and my borough!) and the life I had there!

My favorite Vacation Spot: Um I'm going to have to go with Munic. For us "Munchen" wasn't necessarily this place of rich history or culture. It stands for the fun memories we made there. The rude natives trying to get in my Dad's pants (I kid not!), the rain, cheating at Uno, knee knocking (this is where it all began), the sardine pizza, the live beer cultures!

My Favorite Food:
So pretty much anything made with Bisquick fits the bill! For years my Dad has made killer pancakes and Chicken and Dumplings to die for with Bisquick! From the wee age that I was in 3rd grade Wendy 'Blackday' (275-4541), Jen Wertz (275-0917)and myself would mix Bisquick with water and a dash of sugar and cinnamon in a cup, nuke it in the mikey for 29 seconds and eat the delicousness that was created! I will admit that I still do this from time to time. When I was on my mish my Dad would send me boxes of Bisquick so I could get my fix, no joke! I always keep a box in our pantry and we go through it rather quickly (and not because I cook!) I have no idea what it is comprised of but dang is it good!

My favorite Animal: Cats. Not just any lame ol' cats but Rubin and the Grateful Ed! Nope, I don't have any pics of them on hand and quite frankly they have been in foster care since the beginning of the year (and no I do not dance with them as said gentleman to the right!). They became part of my life at age 3 in 2000 from a broken family. They are absolutely beautiful! Ed likes to lick people's heads. Don't ask why because I don't know. He actually prefers short hair with gel but he isn't super finicky in his old age. He's a quiet little love bug. Now Rubin is the socialite. He'd sell his soul to sit on your lap for a little lovin'. He likes to sleep on your chest under the covers! One time Mark took them to the shelter and I drove all over the valley until I found them and rescued them once more! They're mine, you hear me!!!

On the B Side: This was a painfully long post! I enjoyed thinking about things and putting it all together. Now I am passing this little baby along and tagging some of the world's coolest bloggers (don't let me down, folks!).
Clancy (because she amazing & a super creative writer)
Kaci (because she is the coolest grown up cheer leader I know)
Micci (because she is the best SIL in the history of the world)
Kristin (because she has the cutest blog ever)
Leah (because her blog is always way entertaining)
Amanda (because she saved my butt many times & she still likes me!)

Serve it up warm, girls!!!!!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Organized Chaos?

This was the image visibile as you came through our front door yesterday. I had to remind myself that the mess below is merely a sign that our house is lived in and loved in but I can't say it made me feel any better. The girls had strategically picked toys, carried them upstairs and created some sort of imaginary life. They had a great time but clean up was no fun for any of us!

Yesterday the girls (ravioli faces and all!) had a blast with an empty box of copy paper! It was some version of Speedracer and kept them occupied for quite a while! Forget all of the expensive toys! This was all they needed...who knew?!
This afternoon Dayton had finished his homework (and quite a bit of it since he missed a few days last week!) and was watching his favorite show; Ben 10. Ellie was 'feeding' her My Little Pony baby and Adi was laying on a blanket on the floor near them. I stepped out of the room for less than 2 minutes and came back to this vision of forbidden giggles...
I love that the kids love the baby but we've had some pretty strict rules about holding her, playing near her and that kind of thing. They know that they are not to pick her up but it was hard to be upset with Dayton and Ellie as they hovered over her and held her close!

On the B Side:
My life feels a lot like that first picture looks. It's kind of organized chaos or something along those lines. My immune system is in overdrive and that pretty much stinks so I am anxiously awaiting results from my Doc given that they took like a gallon of blood out last week! Thank you for the call today Kristin. It was refreshing, welcomed and needed! Sorry I had to run given Adi's cries. We took her to the Doc again last night given her tummy issues. I start back to work on the 8th and hope that our lives have some semblance of structure and organization at that point!!!

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Manic Monday: Club

While I'm not at liberty to write about my time at the club in OC NJ (pre-mish and way cleaner then any cage dancing at the Vortex) it was the first thing that came to my mind.

The next thought seeing the image Mo chose for 'Club' reminds me of my Mom's side of the family; the Shaws. My Grandmother came from a family of 15 as there were 13 kids and she has a twin. Uncle Bob is still alive and just celebrated his 92nd birthday!

The Shaws love to play cards and always play Hi-Lo Jack. I am not much of a card shark myself but always enjoyed watching them play when we gathered together! Every August we would meet at the cottage in Roaring Creek that my Grandfather had built. The original 13 children and their familes would all get together for a weekend of food, fun and lots of cards! I miss home...home home.

On the B Side: My babies are home! We're all excited for a brand new week! This is my last week home with Elles...ever. They are all fast asleep and everything feels complete once more.

Mama I'm Coming Home

My Puumpkin heads are coming home today! YAY! This is DD working on his homework! He's so good about doing it and makes me proud!
Here is Boo Boo cuddling up with Lee Lee!
Deedleton is so good about helping out with our little Adi Cakes!
Betty Beans dressed herself and then parked herself next to Adi and in front of the tv!
On the B Side: I am so excited to have them home again!