“Who Am I?” or “25 THINGS ABOUT ME YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T KNOW AND MOST LIKELY DIDN’T WANT TO”

Wanna hear me talk about myself??  Well too bad, you’re gonna have to because my friend Melissa over at ADVENTURES OF NINJAMAMA (http://adventuresofninjamama.wordpress.com/) tagged me in a little blogger game about who I am.  So here’s some stuff.  You can read it.  Or don’t, I don’t really care.  I’m off to watch my DVR’d episodes of this weeks’ Days of our Lives episodes anyways…..

1.  Where were you born?

Grand Rapids, MICHIGAN.  I have never lived anywhere else.

2.  Were you named after someone?

No.  But my parents did work VERY hard at making sure I was called by my given name “Elizabeth” by everyone that met me…that all went to shit in high school when people started calling me “Liz” and I just wanted to let them call me whatever they wanted so I didn’t get my butt whooped! 😉

3. How many children do you have?

One.  And done.  My tubes are tied and the baby-makin’ factory is closed for business.  My family is the right size for ME.  My daughter is not bratty or a loner or shy or weird just because she doesn’t have any siblings.  If people feel the need to lecture me on my choice, I usually just put a really sad face on and tell them that I only have HALF of a uterus, so I am unable to carry a whole baby…this shuts people up and gets me a sympathetic pat on the hand about 99% of the time.

4. How many pets do you have?

Two puppies, both rescue pets.  And by puppies, I mean they are 4.  But they will ALWAYS be puppies to me.  Chase is a Boston Terrier/Boxer/Idiot whose given name is Starchaser Red Rose (hey, my daughter was only 5, what do you expect?!) and Nolley is a chihuahua that wears pink hooded parkas and rides everywhere with us. 

5. Your worst injury?

Okay…prepare to be disgusted.  My worst injury HANDS DOWN is the thrombosed hemorrhoid I had for 8 days.  I thought I was going to die.  My broken finger, broken foot, popped kneecap, wisdom teeth removal and c-section COMBINED did not hurt worse than that damn butt bubble!!!!!

6.  Do you have a special talent?

Not unless you count being able to recite movie lines word for word after just two viewings…

7.  Favorite thing you can bake?

That question should say “ONLY thing you can bake?”  I can make cupcakes and that’s about it.

8. Favorite Fast Food?

Ummm, I don’t know if I can pick a favorite.  I love Arby’s and Long John Silver’s and Taco Boy (a local Mexican fast food joint) pretty equally.

9.   Would you bungee jump?

Never.  I am beyond terrified of heights.  Never.  Next question.

10.  What is the first thing you notice about people?

I don’t know for sure, but I know that had to be doing SOMETHING noticeable, or I probably wouldn’t have looked twice at them  😀

11.  When was the last time you cried?

When I watched Intervention.  I am not big on crying, but there is something about those damn interventions that gets me every single episode.

12.  Any current worries?

Not that I can think of at the moment.  But I’m sure I’ll blab it all over Facebook if I do.

13.  Name 3 drinks you drink regularly.

Coke (in a can), Mountain Dew (in a can), and now water (room temp, with a straw) because I am being forced to by my husband, my family doc, and my surgeon.  Gahhhh, I freaking HATE water  😛

14.  What’s your favorite book?
Too many to name!!! I am a book junkie.  How about my favorite book to read to my little girl??  That would be Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day. 

15.  Would you like to be a pirate?

No.  I get sea sick.  And pirates just don’t look menacing with Sea-Bands and TransdermScop patches on.

16.  Favorite Smells?

Lemon anything, but I don’t actually eat lemons.  My daughter’s hair after a bath.  My hubby’s cologne.  Warm brownies.  Toasted marshmallows.  

17.  Why do you blog?

Because it’s my New Year’s resolution.  And for the first time in my life I’m keeping it and following through on something! 

18. What song do you want played at your funeral?
Hangin Tough by New Kids on the Block.  It would be even better if they could just show up and sing it live.  No, I am not even joking.  ❤ Mrs. Jordan Knight 4ever ❤

19.  What is your least favorite thing about yourself?

My nose, my nose, and did I mention MY NOSE??  I hate it.  I’ve always hated it.  I have yet to find a single member of my family with the same nose.  If anyone reading this is a plastic surgeon and wants to provide me with a new one free of charge, please email me at mysuddenattackofconscience@gmail.com 

20.  Favorite hobby?

Doing crossword puzzles.  Nerdy, I know.  But I absolutely love them, and the 200 page puzzle book that my hubby bought me after he got sober was one of the BEST gifts I’ve ever gotten.

21.  Name something you’ve done, you never thought you would do?

Succeed at my charity work and my blog page!  I didn’t think very many people would take me that seriously.

22.  What do you look for in a friend?

Someone who is true to themselves and their values.  Someone with a mind and a sense of humor as filthy as mine. Someone who commits to bringing others up rather than beating them down.  Someone who is loyal. Someone that has fun and loves life and LIVES it in the moment and isn’t afraid to act like a complete idiot right beside me.  

23.  Favorite fun things to do?

Go to Vegas with my Wolfpack.  Go sledding in the dark with my daughter.  Rollerskate.  Dress up in 80’s clothes and go out and dance.  Have girls night out dinners with my best friends from high school.  Hang out with my hubby now that he is sober 🙂
 

24.  Pet peeves?

Horrible, lazy grammar.  Toilet paper that is pulled from “under” rather than “over”.  The overuse or incorrect use of the word “literally”.

25.  What’s the last thing that made you laugh?

Oh jeez.  Like I can remember that!  I laugh probably a MINIMUM of 57 times a day.  It is usally at something rude, inappropriate, vulgar, vain, politically incorrect, snarky or a combination of all of the above.

 

xoxo ❤ ~Liz 

 

Me and my friends at a New Kids on the Block concert in 2010. I may or may not have ironed Jordan Knight’s face onto my little black dress and then bedazzled it with hearts. Don’t judge. They had me at “Hangin Tough” 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~MARCH 2013~ ST. BALDRICK’S FOUNDATION

I’m here to thank God for my girl.

Unconditional love.

Every single morning, the first thing I do is check on my daughter.  She is usually still fast asleep, with her unruly blonde hair, her perfect pouty lips, her unblemished skin.  She is breathing steadily, she is dreaming peacefully, sometimes she’s even smiling.  She has allergies and asthma, but it it well controlled.  She is a good, albeit PICKY eater, and she loves water and plain white milk (gross).  She orders broccoli over french fries at a restaurant every. single. time.  No joke.  Whose kid does something like that?!   She has lots of friends, gets amazing report cards,  and has never had a bad conference from a teacher.  She plays tennis and runs track and takes swim lessons and sculpts at clay class.  She is sassy but sweet, she is outgoing but humble.  And as her mama, I get the to have the amazing privilege of seeing her open her eyes, get ready for the day and take off to explore and live life without a care in the world.  I get the chance to teach her right from wrong.  I get to teach her fact from fiction.  I get to be there to watch her take her own chances and make her own decisions and figure out how to recover from her own mistakes.  I get to watch her grow every day and I don’t ever take it for granted.
THANK GOD.

Because not everyone in this world gets to do that.  I count my blessings all the freaking time.   I, myself, have already attended two funeral visitations for kids.  That’s two too many.  My best friend gave birth to her 31 week old daughter and then lost her after just 16 hours of life due to complications from a detachment of the placenta early on in her pregnancy.  My other friend’s 10 year old daughter died immediately from a brain aneurysm that took her while she was hanging out at an after school program .   Mamas and Daddies around the world have to experience the heart breaking pain of losing a child every day.  I’m not even going to list all of the ways that this could happen.  Hell, if you watch TV or read the news then you’ve already seen the evil that exists in this world.  If you are a parent, then I’m sure you’ve thought of a hundred horrifying scenarios and then immediately pushed them out of your head.  For example, you never imagine that when your child is vomiting and cranky and off-balance and not eating well that a doctor will send you home with a pediatric cancer diagnosis….

Donna Quirke Hornik ~ photo by Joel Wanek.

THIS is Donna.  Daughter of Sheila who writes MARY TYLER MOM, one of the first and best blogs I have ever read.  Donna. Also a daddy’s girl, a typical big sister, an adored granddaughter, niece and cousin.  A dancer.  A thinker.  A free spirit with a great imagination.  A preschooler.  She was not even two years old yet when she got diagnosed with papillary meningioma, an aggressive brain tumor.  If you have not read Donna’s Cancer Story on Mary Tyler Mom’s blog, I encourage you to do so by clicking here: http://www.chicagonow.com/mary-tyler-mom/2011/08/gold-is-the-new-pink/.  My advice?  Keep some tissue near you.  The really soft kind with lotion, because you’ll probably use it A LOT.  Donna and her family fought and triumphed and fought some more through 31 months of treatment.  Donna is only here in spirit today.   Donna died in between her parents when she was only four years, two months, four weeks, and one day old.

And Donna is just one of hundreds of kids that will be diagnosed with cancer in their life.  *Did you know that before the age of 20, 1 in 300 boys and 1 in 333 girls will be diagnosed with cancer???  *Did you know that more US children will die from cancer than any other disease, or many other diseases, combined?  *That 73% of kids who survive their cancer will have chronic health problems as a result of their treatment and 42% will suffer severe or life-threatening conditions like secondary cancers?!?  And here’s the statistic that’s the most mind blowing to me:  *worldwide, a child is diagnosed every three minutes.

In less time than it takes to heat up a cup of Kraft Easy Mac, a child will be diagnosed with cancer 😦

Something needs to be done.  Pediatric cancer research needs more funding.   *All types of childhood cancers combined receive only 4% of U.S. federal funding for cancer research.  So this month, I am going to do my part to get more money to the largest funder for this outside the US government: http://www.stbaldricks.org/.  St. Baldrick’s Foundation was formed in 1999 by a group of insurance executives, and since that time they have granted over $100 million to researchers trying to find a cure for childhood cancer!  They host Shave-A-Thon fundraising events all over the US, and on March 3oth this year I will be traveling to Chicago with my husband, my sister, her boyfriend and a bunch of my other friends to attend one!  I am beyond excited to meet Mary Tyler Mom.  (And also, Katy from I Want A Dumpster Baby who I did my charity in honor of last month!)  And I hope you will help me by contributing $10 to this amazing cause.  If you have an extra ten dollars in your account this minute, this week or this month, P*L*E*A*S*E consider visiting the donation page for Team My Sudden Attack of Shaved Hair at http://www.stbaldricks.org/teams/mypage/80683/2013 and click on the green DONATE button.  *The event goal for last year was $20K and they raised $79K!  This year the goal is set at $30K.  The oldest shavee that will be attending is 89 years old (!) and she is doing it with her daughter, a returning shavee from last year. What a cool old lady! 🙂  Let’s help kick pediatric cancer’s ass.  Let’s do it so that one day there will be no more mommies or daddies receiving a cancer diagnosis for their baby.  So that one day grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins and friends won’t have to have “playdates” on an oncology floor.  So that one day people like Mary Tyler Mom and Mary Tyler Dad won’t have to parent their child by doing good things in their baby’s memory.  LET’S HELP KICK PEDIATRIC CANCER’S ASS.

*All statistics and cancer facts provided by St. Baldrick’s Foundation at http://www.stbaldricks.org