Where I admit my true feelings about Mary Poppins...

Alas, the last day of Questions and Answers. Today is a hard one for me ... I will now commence some embarrassing Mary Poppins facts. *clenching my schwetty fists*

Southern Princess said...

questions...hmmmm...Simon covered the #windinyourhaaaiiirrrr sooo....

Okay -

1. Do you actually like the movie Mary Poppins?

This is the worst question of them all! I now have to make an embarrassing and horrible confession!!!

I have not seen this movie since I was a kid! (GASP!! Oh the horror!)

HOWEVER ... I did enjoy it and I was very impressed by the magic carpet bag. I will not stop searching till I have one of my own!

2. if so, what is your favorite moment in the movie?

The part where they are walking on the ceiling.

3. Have you yet found your Inner Mary Poppins or at least some portion of her?

Sadly the elusive Inner Mary Poppins remains elusive. I'm a creature of imperfection. I have a feeling I will never be "Practically Perfect In Every Way!" but I can't help but keep trying. I'm masochistic like that!

4. If so, how did you discover it & what portion is it?

Well I DID realize I am perfect at loving gnomes. Does that count?

5. Does your significant other call you Mary Poppins?

Nope, he just calls me Marybeth. He's boring!

6. How do your children get along with all the gnomes?

We are one big happy family. They even draw me pictures of the gnomes.

7. Do the gnomes play nice with your kids?

92% of the time. The other 8% they spend trying to bite them. What's up with that!?!

8. Do the gnomes know how to share well with others?

I can't believe you didn't know that gnomes do NOT share. That's why my gardens always die. The gnomes get all upset that I have invaded their territory and they magically make all these weeds. And at the very same time the magically compel me to be too lazy to go remove the weeds. Those gnomes can be pretty evil!

9. If you were a gnome what would you do everyday?

Lie in a hammock!

10. Are your gnomes jealous of the Travelocity Roaming Gnome?

Oh no. They are all friends. The Travelocity Roaming Gnome started my love, so they know if it weren't for him I wouldn't keep them around. If there is animosity they hide it well!

These are the weirdest questions that I have ever asked anyone. ;o)

Oh Southern Princess...I loved your weird questions! They even got a post of their own! I'm pretty nervous about coming out of the Mary Poppins closet though. I hope I don't lose any followers over it! *bites finger nails* I promise I'll go rent it and/or buy it soon!!!

And one embarrassing day leads to two...

Well the embarrassment has started, no reason to stop now!

So....

Simon C. Larter said...

Ask you questions? About yourself? Well I guess those people know who they are that would take advantage of that. Some folk! Sheesh! *rolls eyes*

How about:
Where's your favorite place to have #windinyourhaaaiiirrrr? At the Beach
What's your favorite time of day to have #windinyourhaaaiiirrrr? In the evening
What do you do when you have too much #windinyourhaaaiiirrrr? Throw it in a Pony Tail (Duh!)
Do you own a convertible? That would totally put the #windinyourhaaaiiirrrr. No convertible, but I dated a guy once who owned one and there were definitely some #windinmyhhhaaaiiirrr issues!
Do you have a fan sitting next to your computer so you can have the #windinyourhaaaiiirrrr while you write? No but I have one in my room and sometimes if I'm writing in there I turn it on (more for the white noise, but a little for the #windinmyhhhaaaiiirrr)
How much longer do you think we can milk this whole #windinyourhaaaiiirrrr thing? It will NEVER die!!! There will always be enough #windinmyhhhaaaiiirrr to keep it going!

Janna Qualman said...

If, for two days straight, you could only have one snack and one beverage, what would they be?

Water (Seriously... it is my favorite beverage) and Cheese Fries...ooh or Pizza...could I have pizza from different places for each meal? No? Ok well then Cheese Fries!

CMOM Productions said...

What is your least favorite (aka most annoying) kids' show that your children watch? What show do you actually not mind watching with them?

Most annoying - Hands Down Yo Gabba Gabba. "There's a yummy in my tummy party party YEAAAHHHH!" (Though it IS super fun to go through McDonald's and order a "Cheese burger and fries for they yummy in my tummy party party YEAAAAHHHHH!!!!" Not that I would know or anything...) Most tolerable - Toss up between Fairly Odd Parents and The Penguins of Madagascar. Both very educational shows of course!

Mindy said...

0kay lets say you were stranded on an island named....uh.... Island of the Literate..... for the rest of your life. What ONE writing related thing would you have with you?

Okay lets say you were magically transported to another island called The Island of the Nutty Authors. If you could spend the rest of your life on the island with one author who would it be and why?

Oh and you know in that movie that I cannot think of the name for...with Tom Hanks and the volley ball named Winston..... who would your imaginary creepy friend be on your island?

(can't you tell I want a warm island?? Winters up here in Canada suck)

Stranded on the Island of the Literate I would have to a Library. (What?!?! That's ONE thing!) I considered a pen and paper, but that is clearly two things. And then I thought maybe just a pen, but it would eventually run out. So I'm totally all about the Library!

If I could spend the rest of my life with one author on The Island of Nutty the Authors I would be lame and choose J.K. Rowling. Imagine picking her brain! And hearing about all her original ideas about Harry Potter. And her REAL story behind the book and writing and OMG I could go on for days just picking that woman's brain and listening to her stories.

Just like on the movie (Cast Away) I would have a creepy friend who is a stick figure that I created on my own with a melon for a head. That way I could make it big and we could dance together when I get lonely. It would be way more realistic than a volley ball. And I would name him George.

Krista Phillips said...

This is HARD!

How about...

What is the weirdest piece of trivia you know that NO ONE ELSE reading your blog would be able to answer?

I USED to know the names of all Five of Michael W. Smith's children. I think I can only name three now. But still...how many people can even do THAT! (Is that strange enough?)

ali said...

Oh man, I really should pay you back for your monkey-in-wellies-and-a-pink-floral-hat question. But ... I can't think of anything!

So, I guess I'll ask:

If you woke up with blue hair, would it be a source of embarrassment, or joy to you?

Now this would depend, was this the doing of Papa Smurf? Or was it something magical that comes with magical powers? I like magic powers, whereas I'm not so big on Papa Smurf. I still feel skeptical about one female smurf in a village of all men. I mean really, what kind of "Papa" was Papa Smurf? ... Personally I'm not sure if blue would be my color, though it might bring out the color of my eyes. And it definitely would look better than green, regardless of how much I love green! But IDK...what do you think? (Not what do you think of my poor photo shopping skills...of the blue hair!)


Jessica said...

Don't you have four kids? How did that happen? LOL (not the technicalities, you know what I mean, heeheee)

And...why did you decide to write a book?

Oh dear...four kids. Nope, I only have three. And wow that's a long story. But after the first one we knew we wanted one more so we pretty much got prego right away. Then after they started to get a little older I got baby fever something nasty and begged for one more baby. And thus my youngest. But we both decided no more after three. Three is a handful! I love them all, but some days I'm ready to pull my hair out!

(Did that answer the question?)

As for the book, this sounds really dumb but here I go. I've always been a writer. For as long as I can remember. But after having babies I kinda pushed it to the side. Then I got back into reading again after I learned of Harry Potter and read them each like 4 times. Then a friend introduced my to Twilight, so I read that series about three times. Then I got bored. I have no idea why, but I didn't want to read any other books. So one day I decided, "Hey, I can do this. I can write a good book." And I picked up a notebook and haven't stopped writing since. As much as I'm pretty much past the whole "Twilight Obsession", (cuz dude I'll never get past Harry Potter!) I'm glad I read those books and felt compelled to make a writer out of me! I absolutely adore being a writer!!!

And my last set of questions remain for tomorrow...in which I make some really sad Mary Poppins confessions...

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Ok well not really a chicken dinner. More like a gnome and a book. But that is WAY better than a chicken dinner!

After careful calculation (You know...when you put down the little line marks to count points...super official!) I have determined the two winners! First place was a shoe in, but second place was close!

Drum Roll Please!!!

(Where's my drum roll? Hold on, grabbing the four year old and a pot and a spoon)

(Ahhhh there is my drum roll. You can hear it right? RIGHT!?! I thought so!)

Second Prize runner up goes to none other than Shannon O'Donnell who will be receiving the original version of Mary Poppins!!! (The crowd goes wild!)

Ok ok...hold your applause...

Let's get that Drum Roll again!

dumdumdumdudmdumdumdumdum

And the grand prize winner of the COOLEST prize I have ever given away is...

wait for it....

wait for it....

Oh yeah ... this is the prize again for anyone who forgot ...
OK and the winner is ...


SOUTHERN PRINCESS!!! (Can you hear the screams?!?!)

If you girls could email me (mb(at)marybethsmith(dot)com) with your addresses that would be awesome!

And so this concludes the Poppins Blog Party! Hope you enjoyed Chateau Poppins, but now it's time to go. My self cleaning bathrooms are having a hay day and the kitchen staff needs a nap.

Feel free to leave your favorite part of the party and/or Chateau Poppins in the comments section!

Prize Patrol (Oooh I'm kinda like Ed McMann!)

So here it is kids. The exciting day where I announce WHAT you will win from my Poppins (YAY 200 Followers) Party! I've found the perfect little prizes. I couldn't decide on just one, so BONUS!!! There will now be TWO winners!

(Ok ok...calm down...it's not like I said I'm giving out a million dollars or something!)

The GRAND PRIZE winner (winner with the most points by the end of Friday) will receive this super cool craft! (OMG I am so jealous. I want to win my own prize!!!)

Pay no attention to the "For Kids" Label....this is totally an adult craft too!!!

Any the runner up of my awesome contest will win this super awesome copy of Mary Poppins the book! I'm way in love with this cover!

So if you haven't already started accumulating points for my awesome contest march your butt over to my last two posts and put in your answers! (Head over to the Poppins Blog Party and answer a few questions THEN Leave your favorite 'Almost Kiss' in the comments section of the No Kiss Blog Fest Post!) Every point counts so don't miss your chance!!!

YAY!!! I love parties!!!

Recomendations and Agents

Husband Poppins My dear loyal and absolutely devoted, not to mention handsome husband (Is that better dear?) and I got in a chat about recommendations. He's big into Linked In. I like the site too, though it's not twitter. (Just sayin...)

On Linked In you put your resume up and connect with former/current employers and/or employees and/or co-workers. As you connect you are able to leave each other recommendations (As long as you have worked together in the past) and boost one another's credibility. It's an awesome feature and I don't doubt it helps in the hiring process.

Our conversation began when we started talking about agents I like and how I know some of their clients via blogging/twitter.

He said, "You should get recommendations!"

Now I think this a great idea, but I felt like 'eh'.

I explained that to me it seems like an unspoken rule between writers that we don't cross that boundary. Kinda like the unspoken rule that you never date your best friends ex. Or the one where it is mandatory to tell a good friend that they have food in their teeth.

Nobody flat out makes these rules, they are just kinda there.

OR maybe it's just me. I love my bloggy friends! I would never want them to think I am stalking following them just to earn me some recommendations. That is totally NOT the reason I stalk follow/read my favorite blogs and chat it up with my twitter folk! (Now in twitter language would that be Twolk? I'm totally trade marking that one!)

So what are your thoughts? Would you ask a friend for a recommendation before you queried their agent? If you have an agent, have you ever had anyone/everyone ask for a recommendation?

Please share your feelings. I am incredibly curious! (And I'd love to prove to the man that I am right about my unspoken rule that I may or may not have created all on my own)

What if He was a She? or She was a He?

While lying in bed last night ... (ok I totally just wrote 'I was lying in bed last night' and then deleted it because it was too passive....am I a writer or what!!) ... so while lying in bed last night I was thinking about all my writer friends (it's not what you think, I promise!) and all the blogs I read and thought it was funny how there are two Natalie's.

Then I proceeded to think about how I love the name Natalie, so much in fact that if my son would have been a she instead of a he I would have named him Natalie.

Then I thought about my other two kids and remembered what their names would have been had they been born the opposite sex.

So here is a run down of my kids names had they been born ... well not as the ultrasounds had promised!

Logan would have been Natalie

Preston would have been Annabelle

Mikayla would have been Ethan

Sometime I get sad that I didn't get to use the other names, but at the same time I don't feel like I could have used them on any other children. Am I a strange carrot or what!?!!?

So you tell me, did your children have alternative names? Did YOU have an alternative name?

Oh and Happy Birthday to my little Preston (almost Annabelle) who turns 7 today!!!!

Where you can find me...

HERE on If You Give a Girl a Pen. Check me out. I'm awesome! As are all the writers on this site.

Things of Vast Proportion

Definition: vast
Pronunciation: \ˈvast\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin vastus; akin to Old High German wuosti empty, desolate, Old Irish fás
Date: 1585

: very great in size, amount, degree, intensity, or especially in extent or range
synonyms see enormous

— vast·ly adverb

— vast·ness \ˈvas(t)-nəs\ noun

There is always the big great vast vessel!


Or a vast amount of time
(although I'm more likely to witness a vast vessel before that!)


A Vast Mountain



Vast Wilderness

I think at this point we can all agree that vast is a LARGE amount! Right?!?!

So when I had a Publishing House told me they were vastly interested in reading my work ... I about fell in love with them!

I'm off to make some last minute revisions. Wish me luck!!!

But there are Starving Kids out There!!!

I write one comment on a blog and it totally gets my noodles pumping. Why can't that happen every day!

So my dear writer friend Jill (Check her out ... she Rocks!) is talking about underestimating things ... time being one ... food being another. I mean I'm sure none of you have ever underestimated how much food you intended to eat. I know I do it pretty much every day have never done something like that!

Then I made a comment - trying to come up with a good excuse - that my mother always made to me as a child.

"There are starving kids out there!"

Which was always followed with,

"Do you think they'd want to waste their food. You should be grateful for the food you have."

After which I would think,

"These peas suck, do you want me to put them in a box and ship them to the starving kids? Cuz I'll totally do it. I've got no problem with sharing!"

So after making this 'starving children' comment I started thinking...that is the most horrible comment EVER! I mean think about it. In a matter of words we are saying something insanely inappropriate.

"You have tons of food and these kids have none. So be happy that you aren't a poor starving child with nothing and in remembrance to those children... Eat up!!!"

Seriously?!?!

Now I don't know about you, but in reality this thought makes me completely NOT want to eat. There are starving kids out there. They don't get to eat, but I'm suppose to go shove my face with food (whether I like it or not) and rationalize how this is somehow helping these kids.

Is anyone else bothered by this? Granted when I was 6 or 7 years old I totally understood what my mom was trying to say, but now that I'm an adult ... I find it slightly entertaining that our parents said this to us thinking it would get us to eat our food.

Ahhhh Parenthood. Full of ridiculous threats and irrational comments! Isn't it grand what comes out of our mouths at the spur of the moment?

Now you better comment on this blog or I'll tell your father and you won't see the TV again for at least a year! And during that time you'll be washing the floor with your toothbrush!

Dream Interruption

I am going to interrupt my "Flash Backs" to talk about a dream I had last night. Please forgive the vast craziness of my dream, I tend to have quite an imagination.

I was riding on a bus from my home to my hometown. I had arrived in my hometown and if you know the area, I was riding down Leonard right before Turner and where you get on the expressway. All sorts of things were happening on this road. My old boss from High School who now runs the Haunt was taking down signs that were meant to redirect people to some sort of event (Having nothing to do with my old job OR the Haunt ... weird) Also some sort of festival was taking place it seemed. It was just strange.

I got out of the bus and was trying to chat it up with my old boss and he was telling me how disappointed he was that the signs hadn't worked when all of a sudden a big construction-like dump truck comes barreling down the hill. (Now I am fully aware of the fact that this street is not on a hill of any sort BUT in my dream it was...) The truck is going incredibly fast and the back attachment was swaying back and forth. No breaks were being applied and there was no sign of this truck slowing down. Something was wrong and going down a hill was only increasing the danger.

Now here is where the dream became something for me to remember ...

Going down the hill was obviously not helping with halting this truck, so the truck driver did something interesting. He turned the corner and went UP the on ramp onto the expressway, no doubt thinking it would slow him down. Unfortunately it didn't work. This truck was about to cause massive destruction and all the surrounding cars and people were going to feel its wrath. So instead of fully entering the expressway the trucker gave a sharp turn right and ran straight through the barrier and off the edge of the express way crashing the truck, and most likely ending the driver's life.

All of a sudden I'm a News Helicopter recording the scene. (What? You've never been a Helicopter before?) Nobody else was hurt and the building it slightly hit was in tact. The only person who suffered from the crash was the driver.

All I can remember is feeling so strongly about that driver. He KNEW he couldn't stop the truck and he knew people were going to get hurt because of it, so instead he risked his own life and crashed the truck to save everyone else.

I was touched.

I'm not sure why this dream effected me so strongly this morning. I just couldn't help but think this man was such a hero. I was proud of him.

Then I wondered ... would I have had the strength to make such a scary decision? Would I ever be able to be a hero if the moment presented itself? My instincts tell me that I would without a doubt, but if I really sit back and think about it...I know there would be a doubt...or two.

Would you have had it in you to drive your truck off an expressway to save hundreds of lives?

Just a quiet little reflection for the day...I promise I'll get back to something absurd tomorrow.

Was I a Sports Jock?

And on to the next question.

Sarah Wood said...

What was your favorite childhood sport? Basketball is what comes to mind when I think of you :)

Oh Sarah...you would know! Basket ball was ESPECIALLY my favorite the year I played for your school. What was that? Sixth grade? (Sorry, but you totally asked for it!)

When I was in Grade School I belonged to a Catholic school that didn't have many students. My graduating class in the eighth grade had a whole whopping nine kids. Seven girls and two boys.

When it came time for sports I was limited because no one else in my class was much interested. My parents were immensely supportive of my need to play basket ball, so they enrolled me in teams at the surrounding Catholic schools that would take me.

In sixth grade I ended up at Sarah's school and that was the BEST year for basket ball. Our coach was a drill Sargent, but our team was awesome and if I remember correctly Sarah and I became quite good friends! I can't tell you how grateful I am to facebook for letting me get in touch with her again.

Isn't that the best part about sports though? Meeting new friends that you might not have talked to had you not been the on the same team? The friendship with my BFF in High School was started during my Sophomore year while playing tennis. One conversation about "Stroking Yellow Fuzzy Balls" sparked a long lasting friendship that hopefully will never end.

Whereas Basketball and Tennis were awesome sports and I highly enjoyed playing them, they were also a blessing to my life.

What was your favorite sport as a child? What was the reason? Was it because you had an awesome team or was it for the socialization?

If you haven't had a chance to request your story about my childhood visit THIS post! Leave a comment and I'll quench your thirst for knowledge!

The Enchanted Closet ... in my mothers bedroom

I asked last Thursday if there were any stories or things about me you'd like to hear.

Tabitha Bird said...

What about... "What was you wildest dream as a child that you actually tried to make come true?" any flying off roof tops or trying to ride the family dog like a horse? Or is that just me...

Well as we learned yesterday, I didn't have a dog to ride as a horse, so that was totally just you Tabitha! LOL

This did remind me of a crazy story though...

I wouldn't say it was in my "wildest dreams" to find the magical passage way located in my mother's closet which led to the basement . However, I couldn't help but think it would be the coolest thing in the world at the ripe old age of six.

During a frustrating game of hide and seek with my brother and sister I insisted I KNOW how they got downstairs so quickly without me knowing. That is when they told me about the magical passage way!

Magic ... in my own house ... right under my nose! How could I not have known about this sooner? Imagine all the possibilities! And the smile on my brother and sister's faces ... it was obvious they had been waiting until this very moment to tell me. I was finally ready to be let in on their secret. I was worthy.

I ran to my mothers closet and pushed through all the clothing. I threw aside the old shoe boxes and ignored any Christmas presents that may have been hiding. Christmas presents were nothing compared to this awesome secret.

I slammed on the wall, pushed on the wall, jumped on the floor, tried the other walls, I searched and I searched - for almost an entire hour - for this mystical portal I knew HAD to exist. Had they forgotten to give me the fairy dust?

Now here is the think about being six when your brother is thirteen and your sister is eleven ... they don't want to play hide and seek with you. A six year old will remain completely oblivious to this fact because, um hello, who wouldn't want to play hide and seek!

So my hour spent searching for the magical mystical portal leading to the dark and dreary basement ... was the best pestering sisterless hour of my sister and brothers entire week!

I think my sister and brother suck. Just saying .....



Do you have older siblings? What was the craziest thing they ever convinced you to do? Or are you the older sibling who sent your baby brother plummeting off the top bunk after you convinced him he was a super hero?

If you haven't had a chance to request your story about my childhood visit THIS post! Leave a comment and I'll quench your thirst for knowledge!

No Pets Allowed!

I asked last Thursday if there were any stories or things about me you'd like to hear.

Jessica said...

Hmmmm, did you have a favorite pet?

Actually, I did not have any pets growing up. Before I was born my family had like seven dogs and I think vowed never to own a pet again after that.

I didn't even have a gold fish!

This is how bad it was.

The local grocery store chain in our area, Meijer, used to have "Kids Week". They would have contests and kid related activities all weekend. With one contest you could win a gold fish.

I was ecstatic when I won that beautiful little gold fish, but my parents were dead set about the 'No Pets' rule and I actually had to send it off with my sisters friend!

It was just a gold fish!

Moral to the story ... never own seven dogs ... you're likely to not like pets ever again. Instead, buy your kids a gold fish, they'll be just as happy!

So did anyone have any pet free parents like me? Or did you have seven dogs too?

If you haven't had a chance to request your story about my childhood visit THIS post! Leave a comment and I'll quench your thirst for knowledge!

Toddlers are Trouble

I wanted to start my Flash Back Montage with an old memory, but as I was reading Billy Coffee's Blog this morning I flashed back to a shared memory of me. One I do not recollect, but my father loves to remind me of.

One afternoon my mother was out and about and my dad was home watching me. As with most two/three year olds, afternoon time meant nap time. My father graciously tucked me in, gave me a kiss and headed downstairs to do his own thing.

About ten minutes later there was a knock on the front door. My father walked over, not doubt irritated to be interrupted from his task.

"Hey Bob," the neighbor said politely.

My father smiled at the neighbor and noticed giggling to his right. He reluctantly followed the neighbor's arm down to see me bopping up and down with giggles.

One can only imagine the look on my father's face at that moment in time. I know mine would have been full of guilt and embarrassment. How could he not notice his child leave the house!?!?! (I was pretty darn sneaky!)

But it gets better....

"Thanks for bringing her back," my father thanked the neighbor.

"Yeah it was no problem," he says. "But you better keep a better eye on her. I found her playing in the middle of the road."

GASP! (Apparently I was an adrenaline junky as a young child!)

My father scooped me up, probably yelled at me a bit and put me back in bed. When he came downstairs he locked the front door and went back to his task. (Or TV show...probably a race or football...that is what men do when we're gone isn't it!)

Five minutes later there was another knock on the door.

"Hey Bob," the neighbor said.

"Road?" my dad answered.

"Yep," the neighbor replied.

Needless to say ... nap time was over! Score one for the toddler!

This was the best bike ever. It was my mini Big Wheel! I ROCKED!

Hope over to If You Give a Girl a Pen for my new Post!!!

Flash Backs

While writing my awesome autumn post yesterday - with the super cool flash back pictures of me - I got an entertaining idea!

October has officially turned into the month of Flash Backs! I'm not sure if I'm going to do it once a week or every day, but I'm totally pumped about it!

So here's where you come into play ... I want you to come up with questions about me ... and my childhood. Ask away. I'm going to conjure up the stories and post the pictures to go with them. I can't wait. So bring it ONNNNNNN. Ask away (with in reason of course) The more questions you ask, the more stories I'll share!

Fall Fell Early

Apparently autumn decided to arrive a few months early. Now I know most people would be upset with this new development, but me, not so much. Where as I'm not interested in the snow and the frost, I'm more than happy to throw on my sweatshirt and ... well ... not sweat.

I wasn't too into this summer. I enjoyed the warm weather. I enjoyed my central air a bit more though. It was my first year with central air and I took advantage of it at every moment possible. Because we were so busy there were no trips to the beach (not so happy about that) and most of our swimming was done indoors at the gym.

In essence, it kinda feels like summer didn't really happen. This year has absolutely flown by.

Sill, I can't explain how excited I am for the fall season. I adore the things that come with fall, apples, pumpkins, apple cider, sweaters, colored leaves, etc. I'm interested to see what takes place in the new city I lived in. As a child I can remember going to the same place every year, Robinette's, and standing next to the giant Apple and over grown pumpkins. I hope there is somewhere equally as cool here!

So how do you feel about the early arrival of falling leaves?

La la la la la la la

I wrote about books, and I've written about TV ... So today I decided to write about music.

I adore music. The word adore doesn't even capture the feeling adequately. I am in love with music. (In teenage language that means "I heart music!") I dreamed of being a singer when I was little...and when I was big, but life got in the way of that dream. (and if we are talking about the brief dream of being a famous pianist, talent got in the way there!)

I've sang at graduations, weddings, funerals, karaoke bars (as the DJ nonetheless!), in choirs, in church ... needless to say, I love to sing.

Let's not sell the art of listening to music short though. I could spend all day listening to good music, though it is inevitable I will be singing along with it.

So I thought I'd list a few of my favorite artists to help you get a better (or possibly more confusing) look into who I am.

I love love love The Fray! Everything about them. They have been my favorite band for about three or so years. I just missed their concert recently and my husband had to listen to me grumble about it for about three days straight.

Favorite Song by them is Unsaid.



Other Bands that make me Happy are

Snow Patrol
Thirteen Senses
Jars of Clay

When trying to narrow down a singer ... the task is not as easy. I can name a list of singer that I love ...

KT Tunstall
Anna Nailik
Natasha Bedingfield
Matthew West
Gavin Rossdale

But if I HAD to name my favorite singer I'd probably have to go back to being 13 years old again and admit that I love love love Michael W. Smith. He totally inspired me to love music and in countless ways his songs and lyrics have gotten me through many a rough moment in life. And OMG have you heard his Christmas CDs! If you haven't ... I highly suggest it this holiday season. They are amazing. It is my life long goal to meet this man. I ALMOST got to once. He was signing his Worship II CD at a local book store, but of course I had to go and have a baby that day and be stuck in the hospital! Luckily my mom went and got me the autograph and CD....but it just wasn't the same.

So there you have it. This is Poppins defined by music.

Who is your favorite band/singer?

My Favorite Time of the Year

That's right kids...it's Season Premier Week!!!!

My reading has abruptly been brought to a halt with one of the best weeks of the year ... right next to Season Finale Week of course.

So here is my schedule for the week.

Monday - Last night I took part in the House and Castle season premiers. I've never been much of a House fan...but I needed to pass the time until Castle came on and I must say... it was good. BUT not AS good as Castle. Come on fellow writer friends, admit it, Castle has got to be one of THE BEST shows ever for us novelists. And come on...isn't this boy cuter than all cute!!!!


Moving along....

Tuesday - This is the day I get to read ... the ONLY day

Wednesday - Ok well this night had its premiers a couple nights ago, but you can bet I'll be glued to FOX for a little So You Think You Can Dance and GLEE ... so that I can spend some time looking at...and listening to....



(Are you seeing the pattern here???)

But THEN happiness REALLY happens ... because ...

THURSDAY!!! GREY'S ANATOMY BABY! Ok I know I know ... this one is obvious! Um Hello!


But ACTUALLY I'm really into the show. I've watched it since the first episode. I feel it is my duty to watch ALL the episodes.

Ok so Friday and Saturday...well those days are not for tv or reading (although I'll probably be caught doing one or the other because I'm pretty lame like that, but lets pretend I'm not for a day)

So then we skip to ...

Sunday - a few little treats that night too. Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters!
Where I can see a couple of these.....


So who what will you be watching this week?

Dual Awesomeness!

As if I thought I didn't have enough time in the day before...

I've decided to make a leap dabble a bit in web design. I have to say, I thought I wouldn't find it very entertaining and had a feeling I wouldn't really enjoy it. I was SO wrong!

With my first website almost completed I can confidently say that I am loving it. The design part was a bit more difficult than I had imagined, but at the same time I am much better at it than I thought I would be. And shhhhhhhhhh don't tell my husband, but I find the coding aspect down right interesting. All these formulas and problem solving ... it's like little "I Spy" games ... just with words instead of pictures!

I feel like I have a super heads up in the competition however because I can also write. Writing copy alone can be made into a super successful career ... add web design/development into it. I'll be like a goddess in this world! I'm dually awesome! (ok well I'm WAY more awesome than that ... but we're just talking about in this aspect, no need to go getting all concerned!)

So the challenge is ... how do I balance this new found hobby with my old found love of writing! Well for answers to that question ... you'll have to visit my website!

ALSO!!! Help me celebrate...today is one year since the day I started my book!!!!
(Ok,not so sure I should be celebrating that it's taken me over a year to finish this, but hey ... it's a mile stone!)

Trees ... A Post Created by a 4 Year Old

Out of sheer lack of creativity I caved and asked my four year old what I should blog about this morning. His answer....

Trees

I found this answer to be very insightful and interesting. A lot can be said about trees. They provide oxygen and shade, they are big and beautiful, sometimes they even smell good. Oh and lets not forget that they provide the PERFECT place to build little houses in. Tree houses rock!

My BFF from high school was nick named Tree. (And sadly...12 years later that is still what we call her)

Then we discussed what time of the year trees are our favorite. I threw out fall - when the trees are red and orange, spring - when the trees are bright green, and winter - when the trees are bare.

My favorite is a toss up between fall and spring. I love driving down the road and seeing the lush color coming from all the leaves. When I was young we used to go on "Color Tours" as our Sunday outing. (ya know ... before gas cost a bazillion dollars a gallon) Still, after a LONG winter with absolutely no color to my tress I find myself longing for that bright green foliage. So much so that I was more than happy to travel to NC a few years ago just to see green!

But my awesome four year old said, "I like it in the winter when the trees are covered in snow."

I hadn't even thrown out that gorgeous option!

So now that autumn is falling upon us, what is YOUR favorite time of year when it comes to trees?

(Hey...at least he didn't ask me to post about butter!)