Tagged - Books

Megan tagged me on the books. In light of being different, I'll leave The Bible out of my answers, but its definitely the most important book in my life. So, here we go:
1. One book that changed your life: Blue Like Jazz - still working on the life changing part, but it has the power to.
2. One book that you’ve read more than once - Like Megan, I read tons of books over and over again. The one I almost have memorized is "Love Comes Softly."
3. One book you’d want on a desert island - This might be cheating, but I'll say the Lord of the Rings books.
4. One book that made you laugh - "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
5. One book that made you cry - "The Notebook" can't remember the author
6. One book that you wish had been written - Anne of Green Gables - it just evokes such a happy, innocent beauty about life.
7. One book that you wish had never been written - Anything by Steven King
8. One book you’re currently reading - I last read Johnny Cash's autobiography
9. One book you’ve been meaning to read - I'll take recommendations
10. Now tag five people: no thanks! :)

Reunited... and it feels so good!

This past weekend was full of reunions. Friday night I spent several hours with friends from high school. It was our ten year reunion. I haven't seen some of those people since high school; others I haven't seen in a couple years. Lots of people haven't changed at all and lots of people have changed a lot!
Saturday and Sunday I met up with my annual college reunion already in progress. I was bummed out to have missed Friday night with them, but it was good to see everyone. I really can't believe how much the kids change from year to year. It really makes me want to enjoy and remember every day with N. because I know the time will go so fast and before I know it, she'll be a toddler.
One of the great things about getting together with my college friends, most of which have kids of their own, is to see different parenting styles up close. I've admired my friends' parenting styles that I've gotten to witness over the years, and I hope to emulate a lot of them. But what I find most interesting is that despite varying parenting styles, all the kids are pretty darn good. I have some crazy kids in my extended family to compare to, so I do know that these kids are well behaved and respectful. As N. gets older and actually requires parenting as opposed to just care-giving, M. and I need to spend some more time figuring out what approach we're going to take. Spending this weekend with people that I know have similiar beliefs and desires for their children gave us a lot of food for foder. This may sound silly, but I know from reading about training dogs that consistancy is one of the most important aspects of parenting. I think its because a lot of parents are lazy that consistancy is not followed through. So, I hope that when the time comes, I'll be an active parent that follows through, because they will never forget that one time I give in...

About the Links

The links to the right are the blogs that I read daily (and check mulitple times daily). Most of these ladies I followed from the iparenting diaries several years back. I've been reading most of them for about 5 years or so now. However, I never comment on their boards because I'm just sort of shy like that. I have a few more to add. All of them are moms, so if you like the mommy blogs, feel free to read up. There's a lot of good, informative writing there.

So, you think you can dance...

Okay, so I really withstood the temptation to get into reality TV. I've probably seen small portions of Survivor, American Idol, etc at various times, but I've never been the one to walk into work and exclaim, "I can't believe they kicked off _________!!" For the most part, I'd overhear these conversations and roll my eyes. Alas, one bit me. I love "So You Think You Can Dance." And I was bummed out when Benji won. I was all for Travis or Heidi. All three of them were definitely good dancers, but I just found Travis and Heidi a lot more fun to watch. Apparently, America disagreed with me. And, no, I did not vote. I will never vote. That would just be admitting too much interest in a "reality TV show" than I could manage...

Sickness in Summer

Yes, I know... viruses don't know what season it is. However, it just seems so odd to have a "cold" in the middle of summer. My almost 5 month old daugher (N) picked up a cold at day care* and promptly infected the rest of the family. My husband (M) took the worst of it, missing 1 1/2 days of work and coughing his lungs up periodially for 4 days. N had it a stuffy nose and the cutest little baby cough you ever did hear. I felt so bad that she was sick, but that cough was just adorable. I just had a touch of sore throat and runny nose.
On other health news, N. just cut her fourth tooth! I almost cried when I saw those teeth coming in. She's growing so fast. I want to savor these baby days.
I was super excited this morning to put on a pair of dress pants that hadn't fit since pre-pregnancy. They're my favorite pants ever, and I was bummed that at 3 months post partum, a lot of my clothes still didn't fit, despite the fact that I was within 5 pounds of my pre-pregnancy weight. All my friends/family told me it would just take a little more time. I am now a couple pounds under my pre-pregnancy weight (thanks to a nasty intestinal virus a couple weeks back) and more and more of my clothes are fitting. This is definitely a relief to me because I definitely want to get back into good shape. One question though, does the belly button ever look the same again?? :)

*The fact that my daughter is in daycare is a long story. One I hope to get to shortly. A couple days ago I had written a long introductory entry and somehow lost it, since I'm not that familiar with this site yet... we'll get there.

About the name...

Megan asked me how I came up with the name of my blog, and since I'm pretty sure she's the only one reading right now, I'll be sure to explain it right away.
I am a huge fan of Over the Rhine. My husband and I have been to countless shows and we buy every CD as soon as it comes out. I have several favorite songs by them, but this one line always stuck out to me: "It's only me in this flimsy dress." It's from this song:

Show Me
words and music: Bergquist/Detweiler
recording: OHIO

I've lost the words
It ain't my way
Takes some a breath
What takes me twenty-five years to say
Baby you're my favorite rolling stone
Elvis left the building
I have never been so alone

Come on and show me how it feels
Come on and show me how it feels
Can we make it last can we make it real
Come on and show me how it feels

It's only me in this flimsy dress
I could spread this love from the east to the west
The bed is made the world's a mess
Maybe we've got it backwards
Maybe we should just care less

I close my eyes I see your face
Every inch of your skin I begin to retrace
Let me be the voice inside your head
Listen to me whisper
We can sleep when we're dead

We can sleep when we're dead was another phrase I was considering, but I actually really like to sleep, so that wouldn't be exactly fitting. However, I do feel like "It's only me in this flimsy dress" is a little more descriptive of me. I'm a low key, somewhat vulnerable person. I try to be myself and sort of lay it all out there; be transparent. And since the whole idea about writing a blog is to let the world read about your life, it seemed apropos.

By the way, if you're interested in more about Over the Rhine, visit their website: www.overtherhine.com

starters

Well, here I am. Entering the blog world. I've been reading them for years, so I figured I might as well join the fray. So, hello, big world...

Erin