Happy 100th Post!

I just can't let my 100th post slip by without some sort of recognition. I've been wrestling with myself (figuratively, of course), trying to decide what to do here. I wanted to compile a list of 100 somethings, but what things? I had a tough time coming up with 50 facts about myself for my 50th post, so I don't think I could rattle off 100 more things about me. This time, I'm throwing together "100 Random Things". There will naturally be stuff about me, but I'll also add some quotes (by my kids or other famous people), updates, pictures, and any other random thing that comes to mind. Here goes!

1. I was always afraid of the dark until I became a mom. I used to think something was going to grab my legs or that I'd see a ghost or something.

2. I love Doritos (plain nacho cheese flavored) with dill pickles.

3. I can't stand the sound of my kids driving each other to tears.

4. We're in the process of shopping for a vehicle to replace our Clattermobile (minivan). I wanted to find something other than another van, but I think that's just the most practical choice for us. And who the heck am I trying to impress by getting a "cooler" car?

5. If I post something on Facebook and don't get at least one comment, I usually delete it because I'm embarrassed. I don't like crickets!

6. I try to have my kids see me being silly at least as often as they see me being irritated.

7. I'm a hot sleeper. I have to have my feet sticking out of the covers year round.

8. We have a rose bush in our side yard! It's so pretty!
9. I ramble.

10. I saw this on a print at a store recently and liked it: "Reality leaves a lot to the imagination."
-John Lennon

11."Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted." - John Lennon
I don't fully agree with this statement, but I get what he meant, and it does make me feel a little less guilty about my not-so-productive moments!

12. I'm really good at flaring my nostrils. (See previous quote.)

13. I can't wink.

14. I almost always have a bedtime snack.

15. I got my hair cut two weeks ago and I wanted it long again that same day. =/

I do like it this length, but if I do anything other than straighten it, I look like a puppy. I hope it grows fast!

16. My favorite show ever was The Wonder Years.

17. I like Doris Day movies. Well, some of them. =)

18. I've passed my lifelong affinity for Chip and Dale on to my kids. I can't tell you how many hundreds of times this VHS video (shown below onscreen) has been played, but it amazingly still works. Megan and I watched this very movie over, and over, and over again when we were little.


19. I wish I had a cute cruiser bike! I don't have a bike at all. ='(

20. "Instead of a bicycle built for two, what about no kinds of bicycles at all for anybody, anymore? There, are you happy now?" ~Jack Handey

21. Oliver often asks in his sweetest voice, "Can we make cookies and cupcakes today?"

22. I saw this bike rack downtown with a nifty knitted cover. So cute!


23. I can't go anywhere without some lip balm handy.

24. Tra-la-la! (Told you I'd be random!)

25. It's fun to substitute the word "lunch" for "love" in any song where "love" is a noun. For example: "You can't hurry (lunch)/ no you just have to wait/ She said (lunch) don't come easy/It's a game of give and take." Or "All you need is (lunch)." You get the idea! I learned this from a guy I had a crush on when I was 18, so I'm not taking credit. I'm just sharing.

26. Another John Lennon gem: "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

27. I like hearing the cute things kids say when they pray.
28. I like magazines.

29. I'm not much for playing board games that take the entire time I'm playing to figure out how to play. I like faster, more amusing games best.

30. Jane made this cute paper Rapunzel. She taped the different sections of "hair" together.
31. I think I use parentheses too much when I write.

32. Twenty years ago this summer I became friends with Renee Hurst when her family moved into our ward. She and I have laughed so much and had the best times together ever since. I can only remember one time when I was mad at her. It was when we were 15 or 16 and I wanted her to go to the fair with me, but she didn't want to go because she doesn't like going on rides. I don't even want to think about how much less fun I would have had over the past two decades if we'd never met!

33. I'd be quite content if I didn't ever have to cook another meal for the rest of my life.

34. I'm so lucky to have so many funny people in my life.

35. "A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely." ~Roald Dahl

36. My tummy hurts as I type this.

37. I still feel gypped around prom time each year (when I see fancy couples around town) because I never got asked to prom. By the end of both the years I was old enough to go, I'd sufficiently freaked out the boy I wanted to go with.

38. I'd love to have the chance to wear a fancy dress somewhere.

39. A picture I found on my camera of goofy Cora...

40. I feel sad when restaurants or stores go out of business.

41. I think automatic sliding doors on vans are just silly. Sure, people think it's super slick and handy, but I just think it encourages laziness. And the doors open and close so slowly that they probably waste more time than they save. =)

42. I think Dodge Chargers are handsome cars.

43. If I could have all the money back that I've ever spent on candy, I'd probably be able to buy a new car. Or two...

44. Oliver pretending to play the piano...


45. My new least favorite food is tofu! I tried it for the first time recently while downtown with Renee and Maria. I won't be eating it again. I was expecting it to be more firm or something. I absolutely did not like the texture! But I was polite and choked it down without a scene. And I thought mushrooms were bad!

46. Oliver told me I have a crazy tummy (upon seeing my stretch marks and saggy skin). Aaah, kids and their honest, unfiltered observations...

47. These are the yummiest cookies I've ever tasted! I found them in the Walmart bakery section, of all places. They melt in my mouth. Mmmm...

48. Oliver says 'cram crackers' instead of 'graham crackers'.

49. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I love all the voices on Winnie the Pooh. Talk about excellent voice acting!

50. I wish I could be a whiz at socializing. It takes me forever to feel comfortable enough to be myself around people. I think most people who don't know me think I'm boring. And maybe I am! It's all relative.

51. One day the kids and I happened to drive past the Adam&Eve store. Jane thoughtfully said, "I wonder if that place is named after the real people..."

52. Oliver says sunscream instead of sunscreen. =)

53. It bothers me that I rely so heavily on compliments.

54. I make it a point to compliment people often.

55. Compliments from strangers are often the best kind because they aren't given out of obligation.

56. Oliver and cousin Fletcher lounging at the park. They both look so at ease!

57. I diligently cut out and accumulate Box Tops For Education.

58. While driving, the kids and I passed Manville Street. Cora figured aloud, "I bet a lot of men live on that street."

59. Me to Oliver: "Are you my little doll?"
Oliver to me: "No, I live with another family."

60. I think if people would let me, I could sleep indefinitely. No matter what time I go to sleep, I have the worst time making myself get up in the morning. I'm just such a sleepyhead.

61. I love toffee.

62. Here's a fort the kids made one day this summer. Fun times!


63. I love nougat.

64. Oliver was taking longer than he needed to wash his hands. I told him to just wash his dang hands and get down! He retorted, clearly offended, "My hands aren't dang! Don't call my hands dang!"

65. I like pulling weeds.

66. I'd much rather do yard work than inside chores.

67. Rachel and her family moved to Coeur d'alene the first part of June. We've been good friends with them since Jane and Livia were new babies. Here's Lucy, Jane and Livia the day before they moved. We miss them!


68. I was explaining to Cora that I couldn't get her a certain shirt because they didn't have the right size. "They only had extra large and extra small left", I said. She asked, "Why don't they have extra medium?" That was the best question I'd heard in a long time! It only seems logical. She and I had a good laugh over that one. I love the way she thinks.

69. I just learned what that meant two years ago.

70. "The sun shines and warms and lights us and we have no curiosity to know why this is so; but we ask the reason of all evil, of pain, and hunger, and mosquitoes and silly people." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

71. I feel awkward watching other parents disciplining their kids, and I don't like it when people watch me trying to deal with my own kids.

72. Here's a picture of the dainty blossoms on a bush in our front yard. Not much makes me happier than a multitude of beautiful flowers!
73. Recently, we were about to go somewhere for the evening. We were running out of time, so I urged Ryan to go upstairs and get ready. He replied, "I am, Shannon." Oliver, probably thinking his dad was crazy, called out, "You're not Shannon"!

74. I remember taking loose change to church when I was a kid sometimes, hoping I'd find a gumball machine in the hall.

75. I love British accents.

76. My lips are chapped from licking them while I think and type.

77. Oliver often forgets how to say pepperoni, so he requests "macaroni pizza" when he knows we're getting pizza.

78. I still have occasional dreams that I work at DQ.

79. I worked at DQ for three years. I never got sick of the food there!

80. I don't know how to type properly.

81. Here's a picture Oliver took of Jane and me. We were looking at pictures of our trip to Washington. I like the cute face Jane's making. She looks so sweet.
82. I wish car horns could say words.

83. "Consider the daffodil. And while you're doing that, I'll be over here, looking through your stuff." ~ Jack Handey

84. I love cute scrapbook paper, but I've never been interested in scrapbooking.

85. I like to do Karaoke, but I've rarely gotten to.

86. I want to travel.

87. I've always wondered what it's like to live in a different state.

88. I don't think a movie is a movie without a good kissing scene. No matter what the genre.

89. While I'm on the subject, I like my lips. And it's not like I have control over how they look. They're what I was given, and according to me, I lucked out. ;)

90. "One thing kids like is to be tricked. For instance, I was going to take my little nephew to Disneyland, but instead I drove him to an old burned-out warehouse. "Oh, no," I said, "Disneyland burned down." He cried and cried, but I think that deep down he thought it was a pretty good joke. I started to drive over to the real Disneyland, but it was getting pretty late."
~Jack Handey

91. One day I took a grouchy Oliver to the store with me. Later that day, I gave him a big hug. With his arms wrapped around me, he lovingly said, "Mom, I'm sorry if I pushed you at the store." If he pushed me??

92. For as much as I enjoy candy and treats, I can only eat so much before I need something savory.

93. I got hit by a girl on a ten-speed as I was walking to school in the 9th grade. The tire went between my legs, sending me wobbling in slow motion to the pavement. I landed flat on my backpack! My friend had playfully, yet unknowingly, shoved me into the biker's path. It took me a minute of lying on the ground to register what had happened, but when I did, I burst out laughing, thus giving the witnesses permission to have a good chuckle at my expense.

94. No matter what, I think I'll always prefer a paper wall calendar over anything electronic. Not that I've ever relied on a technological calendar, but I just like the convenience and looks of a real live calendar.

95. I'm hungry.

96. My spine must be off-centered because every pair of pants I wear rides slightly to the left of my crack. I know it can't be that the pants are irregular. It's ME who's slightly irregular. I'm not complaining, I'm just informing everyone of my situation.

97. "When this girl at the art museum asked me whom I liked better, Monet or Manet, I said, "I like mayonnaise." She just stared at me, so I said it again, louder. Then she left. I guess she went to try to find some mayonnaise for me." ~Jack Handey

98. I like looking at people.

99. I hope people don't notice me staring at them.

100. I have never been rollerblading. I've always gotten a kick out of rollerskating, though.

I'll be surprised if anyone made it through my entire list! Don't worry, I won't be doing any future milestone posts of this nature. But now I can sleep tonight, knowing I've completed my super special 100th blog post! And to think I was kind of anti-blog up until I gave in and started my own. I've had fun writing so far, and I'll continue to chronicle bits and pieces of the life that is mine. Enjoy (or not)!