Can men have it all?

Why, yes.

Yes they can.

Pattern Stories #1

Look out boys. You are going places!

Happy Wednesday, friends.

-Michele

Secret Subject Swap- June!

Hello, June!! It's time for the SSS!

If you're a regular reader, you know that the Secret Subject Swap is a collaboration between various bloggers. We receive secret topics from a blogger in an e-mail and put our own spin on the subjects. The 11 blogs participating this time are listed at the end of this post. Go have a look and leave a comment. It will make my our day! :)

My Secret Subject this month was:  What makes you quirky? Do you think you're quirky?

It was submitted by Christine @http://mooreorganizedmayhem.blogspot.com/

According to Dictionary.com, the word quirky is described as:

quirk·y

adjective, quirk·i·er, quirk·i·est.

having or full of quirks.

According to UrbanDictionary.com, the word is described as:

1.	quirky	1169 up, 411 down
	something that is strange/not normal but cool Wearing long stripy socks that are odd... Well, I do own, striped socks, but...

My first thought about this topic was, "No. I am not quirky. Now what?" Shortest SSS ever!
I don't think "Quirky" is a negative word; not at all. In my head I think of Zoe Deschanel from 'New Girl". She's quirky. I think of  a seamstress and author named Gertie who wears tattoos with her retro-looking dresses. She's quirky too. There is something "cute" about the word. Yes, they have some different nuances, but they make Quirky look adorable.

There have to be some things that are a bit quirky about me, right? Does that differ from "crazy"? I sure hope so. Hmm...How about that I feel comfortable answering swap subjects in acronym form? What? I haven't done that yet?

Every year, I would have my students describe them selves using their name as an acronym. ALLY, for example, could be Adorable-Listener-Lackadaisical-Yeller... you get the point.

Let's see what I can describe about myself with the word "Quirky"

Q:  Quaint.  Quiet.   Questionable Eating Choices. Mike and Ike's with popcorn for breakfast? Chocolate Peanut Butter with apples minus the apples? Don't mind if I do.

U: Understanding.  United.  Unwilling to wear damp jeans (ever!) or wear socks to bed.

I:  Intense.  Imaginative.  Intuitive. I have a skill of reading people quickly. I'm about 90 percent correct most of the time. Hey, if you are willing to buy a toothpaste recommended by 4 out of 5 dentists, then surely you can trust me when I say I can sense a mean girl a mile away.

R: Resourceful.  Responsible.  Raised by a Village. I owe who I am to so many people. My extended family, my husband, my friends and most recently, my blogger friends. If you were around to read my last post, you'd understand the power of receiving love from people you only know electronically. It was a beautiful thing.

K: Keen. Knowledgeable. Keeper of Ducks-in-a-row.That's what I do for a living now. I'm a mom, wife, teacher and friend, but I am not a superhero. Lessons learned. Keeping those little quackers in line is hard work, peeps. I'm building a village of my own to keep myself and everyone else waddling down the correct path.

Y: Yogi. Yes Girl. Young at heart. Nothing is more calming to me than laughing with my kids, pulling out a box of 64 crayons, some paper and going to town on it. The kids can just watch for all I care. I'm a shower singer who pales to the diva that sings when I'm alone in my car. My dancing skills (which I use often), have people comparing me to either Michael Jackson, or Elaine from Seinfeld. Doesn't matter. My eyes are usually closed the whole time. I don't run with scissors, but have been known to fall on the kitchen floor with a mouthful of candy canes while rocking out to Bruno Mars. I play checkers like I mean it (even if you're 8). I can tell you which episode of The Brady Bunch is on from just looking at the beginning scene. I cry when my feelings get hurt and I laugh with my friends like it's the last chance I'll ever get.

Is some (or most) of that "quirky"? I'm really not sure...I guess I'm still trying to discover who I  am. Aren't we all?

Thank you Christine, for the fun topic!

If you are interested in joining us for the next Subject Swap, you can visit its creator, the wonderful Karen @ Baking in a Tornado. You can also read all about the swap by clicking on the SSS icon on the side of my blog.

Don't forget to check out this month's talented participants!

http://BakingInATornado.com                                 Baking In A Tornado

http://themomisodes.com/                                      The Momisodes

http://dinoheromommy.com/                                   Dinosaur Superhero Mommy

http://www.justalittlenutty.com/                              Just A Little Nutty

http://followmehome.shellybean.com                       Follow me home . . .

http://mooreorganizedmayhem.blogspot.com/           Moore Organized Mayhem

http://hypnoticbard.blogspot.com/                           The Insomniac’s Dream

http://sadderbutwiser.wordpress.com/                     The Sadder But Wiser Girl

http://stacysewsandschools.wordpress.com/             Stacy Sews and Schools

http://menopausalmother.blogspot.com/                  Menopausal Mother

http://www.noteveryonecanbeamermaid.com           Not Everyone Can Be A Mermaid

We really couldn't ask for better weather. It's been sunny and in the low 80s. We are in for a heat wave this week though, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for working air conditioning and large supplies of Popsicles. 

Keep cool, my friends :)

-Michele

An award and an embarrassing apology.

Friends. Are you still out there? Well, for those of you who have me posted on your sidebar, perhaps you saw my name pop to the top of your list. I can't even remember what that's like! For the rest of you, well, you'll either find my new post by stalking the blog or maybe I'll FB it. I haven't been there in awhile either. I do understand that unless you feed something, you can not expect it to grow. I'm pleasantly surprised to see that so many people still stop by the blog. I appreciate that more than you know. Lately, I've just been busy watering and feeding the real me. Yep,  I stopped growing. Literally came to a halt. I'm trying to fix it, and weird as it may seem, I feel more comfortable talking about it right here. For now, there are too many details, but to give you the condensed version, "I made a mistake. A stupid, careless mistake." When drama flows around me, that tends to happen, but this time, I hurt the ones I love the most.

I thought it would be brilliantly helpful (economically, healthy, emotionally, creatively) if I stopped taking my prescribed medications. I'm not talking about slowly weaning off of them. I'm not talking about taking away one med each day. Nope, I was going to be the strong woman I felt I could be and I stopped. Cold Turkey. The man begged me not to. But he's a "Big Pharma" guy; of course he'd say that. My pharmacist bestie said that it was not a smart thing to do. I figured I was helping her out by not having to fill all those scripts! My daughter begged me not to. All I kept thinking was  that I could be that mom who was strong enough without all of the medicines that were clouding up who I really was. I couldn't even remember who I was. I wasn't sure if I even missed her or not. I have an online buddy who also told me to take everything slowly; to make sure I was talking with my doctor before making such a decision. I could talk to the moon and back about who or why I was doing this. The simple and selfish answer? It was for me. I worry that one day we might not have the insurance to cover some of the ridiculously priced drugs. I worry that while taking them, I'm not the mom/wife/friend/superwoman I'm supposed to be. I quit taking them with no regard for anyone but myself. I was going to be my own hero; not leaning on anyone but myself, because that's what strong girls do.

I'm a freaking fool. That's all I can say about that right now. The rest is too painful. And embarrassing. So embarrassing, I was willing to start a sentence with the word, "And".

There's my apology. I'm so sorry to any of the wonderful people I've let down. If you felt like I wasn't listening to your advice, well, get in line. I had my own agenda. Now I have to pick up some pieces and do some serious work.

You're probably thinking, "What the He**? I came here because the woman said she received some awards? I don't need any of this Debbie Downer stuff!" To you, again, I say, "Get in line". 

I actually was  blessed enough to receive 3 awards. I'm spreading them out over the week, so you're not overwhelmed by all this happiness I'm throwing out to you. Calm down, people. Breathe.

Award #1 was given to my by the wonderful Sarah @The Mommy Chronicles. Sarah, if you're saying, "What? When did I give that to her? Well that would be a big, fat, (let me look...) four months ago!! Which blog award did I receive? Oh, that's right:

Bless you, Sarah, I hope you still feel like passing that baby on, because I love it and want to stick it right over there on the side of my blog (Where it looks like I rock as a blogger). My untimely response has in no way diminished my excitement! I absolutely owe you a coffee for this one :)

The Rules for accepting this award are:

1. Accept the award! Thank you, Thank you Sarah!

2. Post the award and link back to the person who gave it to you.

3. Give ten facts about yourself.

4. Award some other bloggers .

My ten facts. (Haven't I spilled enough shame on the world of bloggers already?)

1. I love the show, "Grimm."

2. I love trashy movies like "The Hangover, Bridesmaids, Old School and Hot Tub Time Machine."

2. My daughter is getting ready to fly the coop and I haven't been very nice about it.

3. I have 1000 things to do and an emotional wall I can't seem to knock down in order to complete the tasks.

4. I didn't realize how deep my love was for Mike and Ike's. Ive been eating them as if they were an essential food group.

5. The oscillating fan in my room is my best friend at night. (Hot flashes do not rock.)

6. My favorite thing is laughing. (Do I sound like Buddy the Elf?)

7. In the deepest part of my soul, I do believe I have the capacity to be epically awesome :)

8. I have the best undercover blog friends ever.

9. In case you're wondering, I am back on the "drug wagon".

10. Still don't know what to think about that.

A few bloggers, I think are epically awesome:

1. Dawn @ Words of Deliciousness (yummy recipe genius!)

2.Lilybean @ Needles, Eggshells and Hairspray (hard working, sweet student, sewer and blogger).

3. My friends @ Rock Bottom (Sweet friends who speak the truth)

Stay tuned for my next installment of "Awards and Embarrassment". Oh, Heck yes, there's enough to go around!

Happy, "Be the best YOU you can be today", my friends

-Michele