It Begins With The Blessed Letter C

(the boys, gettin it done)

Okay.

Once upon a time, I read something in The Omnivore's Dilemma about how it is possible to determine a person's diet by examining the makeup of their cells.

So super fascinating.

(Maybe that would explain the above photographs too...ya know, genetics and all.)

I have decided that mine would definitely have signs of two things I love.

Namely, the passionate love I have for peanut butter.

AND as far as this post will cover today...for that beloved fruit and byproduct of the cocoa bean that begins with the blessed letter C. Chocolate.

(the boys, wearing it well)

It should be said with blessedness.

And I also swear that, once upon a time, I knew how to do simple addition.

It didn't go like this, tho.

I give you the way that math is done these days in these parts.

Me + each additional year of aging = an increasing violent! demand (URGENT!) for chocolate.

Chocolate + caramel.

Chocolate just plain.

Dark.

Milk.

White.

Liquified or Set.

Hot or cold.

Would prefer the European varieties (because I love cream), but I stoop low and partake of (and enjoy) most American renditions, too.

It's pretty much almost essentially a daily requirement (and yes, I did just use all those words together, thank-you-very-much).

It's pathetic that I really can't hardly go a day without it.

And this seems to be the equation of my life.

Oh. Good. Henry.

I don't know whether to cry or celebrate.

(I so understand their joy -- and how it can't seem to stay contained in the mouth...but must spread to hair and hands and arms and clothing too.)

Ah me...I guess I'll have to post about peanut butter another day. Oh. my. yum.

(If you haven't entered the free giveaway yet, go HERE to do so. The winner is drawn on Friday at noon and, well...I'm cheering for all of you.)

Tagged by Elizabeth (La Vie En Rose)

Elizabeth put me up to the challenge. So, here goes:

6 Unusual Things About Me

1. Apparently my nose wiggles and moves when I talk and laugh (so says my sweets). So...for those of you who know me, I want to know. Is it true? Have you noticed it?

2. Everyone knows (at least I think by now) that I have twin boys. But, do you know that I actually think it'd be FUN to have them again? That I'd actually be EXCITED?!

3. I like funerals. I don't enjoy the aspect of grieving, etc., but there is something so sacred about them. I've only ever been to ONE that was the most awkward, to say TASTELESS thing I've been to in my life. But that was rare. I always feel inspired to live my life better, and love to hear about the lives of those who have passed away. So LOVE the perspective they give me of how short life really is.

4. I am ALWAYS mixing up cliche phrases. You'll hear me say stuff like, "Are you pulling my foot?" Or, case in point, just last night I was telling Scott that if we were to run a marathon together and he wanted to "drop the handle" at the end and just go for it, I wouldn't mind at all. Should have been "drop the hammer." Anyway, I do this ALL the time. Constant source of amusement for Scottish.

5. The first thing I said after crossing the finish line of the Park City Marathon (26.2 miles) was, "I gotta do that again!" (See pics from our race here.)

6. And, last but not least, another source of amusement for my husband: I excuse myself when no one else is around. (ie. I will sneeze or cough or whatever, and even when totally alone, I still will say, "Excuse me," outloud.) I also talk to myself all the time. (Should I admit that?)

I hereby tag Scott, Becca, Christa, Casee, Brian, Leah, and Jessica.

100 things you may not know about me...

I had a hard time thinking of 100!! things. But, I loved reading everyone else's that I've read, so here goes:

1. I've ran a marathon (Park City, UT), and I'd like to run another one.
2. I have won writing awards for personal essay, poetry and short story.
3. I received the Hope of America award in 6th grade.
4. I play the piano and guitar.
5. I love to sing.
6. I have written songs that I sing with my guitar, but I'm an amateur at best.
7. I have been a journal writer since I was nine years old.
8. I ran my own preschool at age eleven (I still have the letters I sent out to parents, rolls I kept, etc., but I gave away all of my supplies (ie. flannel board I made, calendars, etc. etc.) to someone else a long time ago).
9. I had the exact same cursive as my fourth grade teacher (so much so that we tested a student one day that was also in my class and he thought her handwriting was mine).
10. I did editing for my favorite high school English teacher.
11. I could listen to Christmas carols any month of the year (carols---as to be distinguished from pop tunes like "Frosty" and "Rudolph" and "Let it Snow", etc. -- although those are fun, too, but my favorites are carols).
12. I love classical music.
13. I have never been stung by a bee.
14. I have never had a bloody nose.
15. When my neighbor Brad and I were about 10 (or so), we married each other on the ping pong table in my garage.
16. I've peed on someone before (my little sister C).
17. I love downhill mountain biking.
18. The first time my husband (then boyfriend) took me riding, we went off Squaw Peak, ended up having to ride down the road due to super muddy conditions on the mountain, and I ran into a car that was driving up and...
19. I have a pretty good scar to prove it.
20. I love Spanish -- took 3 years of it in college, and hope to be able to speak it fluently one day.
21. I am almost seven years younger than my husband, but...
22. it works. He's great.
23. I really like to exercise, and feel sluggish if I don't.
24. I have a love affair with words and language.
25. I love the natural world.
26. I have twin boys.
27. I can talk a lot.
28. My favorite drink is water.
29. I graduated in English from BYU-Provo.
30. I think about going back to school one day.
31. Right now I still suffer heavily from sleep deprivation, etc., and am so in love with my boys and being a part of every minute that I can't imagine doing that anytime soon.
32. I love to read.
33. I love to garden and work in the yard.
34. Hence, one of my favorite smells is fresh cut grass.
35. I love childrens books.
36. I am a daughter of a world renowned organist and professor (father) and a CFO for Children's Miracle Network (mother).
37. I love to do anything with my hands (make cards, handmade books (I took a class in bookbinding)), etc.
38. I love every season.
39. I wear a size 10 shoe.
40. But, unfortunately, a size 12 in running shoes.
41. My girlfriend nicknamed me Plats because of the skis I have for feet.
42. I don't like to be the center of attention, except...
43. I love to teach.
44. I once was left in the middle of a busy intersection at night during a Chinese Fire drill.
45. I sucked my thumb until I was seven.
46. I love taking LONG walks.
47. I would love to be a professional photographer.
48. I love handwritten letters (handwritten anything, really).
49. I think I wrecked my dad's car three times during the time I was learning to drive...and all of them were in our driveway (I ran into the fences that bordered either side). Yikes...watch out!
50. My driving has since improved. :)
51. I first babysat a newborn when I was eight.
52. When my dad served as bishop, someone joked to him that I was a born Relief Society president because I could tell you all the new babies in the ward (and went to visit to hold them), and also visited the widows I knew.
53. I LOVED to play house when I was a little girl, and honed it to an art form. It had to be as realistic as possible. For example...
54. I used to cut up tootsie rolls in my baby's REAL diaper (that I would purchase at the store) so that it would appear that she really had pooped.
55. I kept her bassinet by my bed, and when I would wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, I would come back to my bed and stay awake for a few extra minutes to "nurse" my baby (since REAL babies wake up to nurse at night when they're new). I would literally pull up my shirt.
56. I paid people in the neighborhood REAL money to babysit for me. Yes, it's true.
57. I would mix flour and water for her formula when I gave her bottles, etc. You get the idea.
58. My girlfriend and I (same one referenced above re: Plats) would always argue over which of our babies was the youngest and smallest.
59. Little did I know that not only would I have twins one day, but that I would have preemie babies who were born six weeks early and were so tiny. Maybe I won after all. :)
60. I love to cook.
61. I detest Mormon pop music.
62. The very first night my husband met me he thought, "I could marry a girl like that." Funny thing was, I didn't even really talk to him that night. I was talking to his brother and sister-in-law.
63. I have two nieces with flower names (Tigerlily and Daffodil), and a niece named after a garden (Eden).
64. I could eat ripe garden tomatoes fresh off the vine. Love how warm they are and the minty taste.
65. I have a circle scar on my left knee from a ring of warts that I had when I was younger (got rid of them from liquid nitrogen, but the scar remains).
66. When I was a little girl, my dad always brought treats home on Friday from the BYU Bookstore for me and my little sister. We called them "Friday treats."
67. I tend to prefer things simple.
68. I have a love/hate relationship with technology, and I often wonder about the past.
69. One of my favorite chic flicks is "Return to Me."
70. I love being a mom.
71. Outside of the United States, I have been to Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Holland.
72. I am notorious for being the recipient of gift cards/certificates, and not using them for ages, probably because...
73. I hate shopping. It's only fun if you have money to spend, and even then, I max out at about two hours. Plus, I guess I have a love/hate relationship with accumulating too much and not really needing it, etc. (the whole argument of consumerism---something I've been thinking about a lot as of late). Still, I do love getting new things.
74. I love watching snow fall at night when it's late and quiet and it's falling thick.
75. It's especially fun to walk in it when it's like that.
76. I love being outside.
77. I love my bedroom. For some reason, I seem to prefer my room to any other room in the house, even if I'm not sleeping. I always tend to hang out there.
78. I've always been a home body.
79. I love ice cream.
80. I am a child of the humanities: love anything with arts, culture, literature, etc.
81. My favorite holiday is Christmas, hands down. But, aside from that, I LOVE the 4th of July.
82. I have very fond memories of my childhood, and my home and the neighborhood and the people are very sacred to me.
83. I thrive on long lasting, sincere friendships.
84. Relationships are very important to me.
85. I've never really mastered doing a cartwheel.
86. Or a hand stand, for that matter.
87. I love listening to stories, especially when I'm with my father or grandfather or anyone who's talking about memories, etc.
88. I love folk music.
89. I feel like I have quite a bit of jewelry for someone who doesn't wear it that much.
90. One of my favorite books of scripture in the BOM is Alma. But, 3rd Nephi, Helaman and Moroni (and 1st and 2nd Nephi) are pretty close behind. How do you choose?
91. One of my all time favorite books is Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner.
92. I love looking at family pictures.
93. I SUPER enjoy hanging out with my sisters.
94. I think my parents are wonderful and love every minute I get to spend with them.
95. I'd like to learn to simplify more.
96. I love the "Anne of Green Gables" videos, although the third one doesn't cut it. My advice would be to stick with the first two.
97. The game I associate most with my family is Pinochle.
98. I was raised without a television in the home. We are doing the same with our family, though we have a TV with a VCR/DVD player for that option.
99. The only thing I've ever done to my hair was perm it: once, in fourth grade.
100. I love the smell of woodsmoke, fall (the seasons in general), pine, cedar, good food baking, rain, etc.

Wanna make your own list? I wanna read it.