Knowing Me, Knowing You - January 2011 Edition

Another month, another "get to know your favorite blogger" interview hosted by Shan at Tales From the Fairy Blogmother.


1.  You have $5 Million to spend in 5 days and you can't spend it on yourself or your family.  What do you spend it on?

I would give $1M to Greg Mortinesen to build schools.  You may remember him from my post on his book Three Cups of Tea.

I would give $1M to the University of Alabama (my alma mater) to set up a scholarship fund to send underprivileged kids to University.  It would NOT be completely based on grades but more based on background and achievement in and out of the classroom.

Hmmm.....for the other $3M I might have a Dragon's Den-esque "contest" for the money.  I think there are soooo many people with wonderful ideas out there who never get the chance to make their dream come true.  It would be awesome to be able to do that.

2.  What's your favorite type of food?


I must admit that I love the food of my youth....Southern food.  Deep fried?  Check! BBQ?  You bet! My favorite thing to eat when I go home is called a piglet at Carlot BBQ (restaurant in my hometown).  It's french fries (crinkle cut!) with pulled pork and grated cheese on top.  You then drown that with bbq sauce.  Yum-O!

It's a really good thing that I don't eat like that more often!


3.  What's the best concert you've ever attended?


Hands down it is the Tom Petty concert I went to 2 or 3 years ago.  The reason I liked it so much is because he sang ALL his hits.  You were singing along with every single song.  It was sooooo much fun.  I have seen other iconic acts where they refuse to sing any of their old stuff & it really leaves a bad taste in your mouth.  Not Tom Petty.  He had the BEST show ever.

4.  What sports do you like?

College football all the way.  I went to the University of Alabama which is one of the THE original football schools.  I still follow the Crimson Tide from Calgary even though they don't show the games on TV up here very often.  Roll Tide!

Any other sports....meh.

5.  Who is your favorite cartoon character of all time?


I have no idea.....  I always liked the Smurfs and Hello Kitty.  Otherwise I am totally drawing a blank!  Edited to add:  I finally remembered!  My favorite cartoon character is Marvin the Martian.  He rocks!

Want to join in the fun?  Just answer the questions above on your blog (or if you don't have a blog, in my comments) and link up over at Tales from the Fairy Blogmother.

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Knowing Me, Knowing You - November 2010 Edition

It's that time again....time to learn a bit about me since I spend most of my time talking about my fam.  Knowing Me, Knowing You is hosted by the lovely Fairy Blogmother.

1.  Last month I asked if you had started your Christmas shopping yet, this month I'm curious as to what's on your Christmas wish list.


Hmmmm.....  What is on my wish list this year?????  Well there are always gift cards.  We're getting an Anthropologie here in Calgary in November so I would love a gift card for there.  It's kind of expensive but I love the clothes.  Here's the dress I bought to wear to the New Year's Eve party we're going to.

Another gift card I would love is Lululemon.  I am usually WAY too cheap to buy anything from there but after sticking with bootcamp for a few months I treated myself to a new workout outfit.  Love it!

I would also like a new iPod Touch 4th Generation.  Who am I kidding....I really want an iPhone but the 4th Gen iPod is as close as it gets without having to sign up for phone service.  Plus it has a sweet built in camera!

2.  Do you have a hand held video game in your house?  

Yep! We have 2 Nintendo DSs, 2 iPod Touches and a Leapster (Evan calls it a Weepster).  The iPods get the most use.  Will and Nicole used to play the Nintendos all the time but they each have iPod Touches now so they don't get much use.  We are such a techie/gadgety household!

3.  Are you going to participate in the 25 Days of Christmas Challenge?

I have forgotten every year until it was too late.  Thanks, Shan, for asking this question and reminding me!!!!  I am going to get to work now on my 25 days of Christmas fun.  Evan will also have a Playmobil  Advent calendar to open.

4.  What is your favorite kind of cookie?

Not sure I've ever met a cookie I didn't like.  I love chocolate chip cookies.  My favorite bar type cookie are magic cookie bars.  YUM!

5.  Coffee or Tea?

Coffee for sure.  I love lattes.  They are the best combination of low calorie and yummy taste.  In a world without calories, I would drink caramel macchiattos and white chocolate mochas.  YUMMY!

I would love for you to play along.  Either in the comments or on your blog.  If you post on your blog, definitely head over to Shan's to sign the Mr. Linky and leave me a comment with the link too.

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Knowing Me, Knowing You - October 2010 Edition

Shan took a break from Knowing Me, Knowing You in September but now it's back! Feel free to play along. Just copy the questions and head over to Tales From the Fairy Blogmother to sign up on the linky.

1. Started your Christmas shopping yet?  Ummmm.....no.  I haven't even started thinking about it yet.  Probably should get on that soon. I have plenty of ideas for Evan, though, since he says "I want that!" after each commercial on TV these days.
2. Fall is here, what is your favorite cold weather comfort food?  Hands down chicken and dumplings. I never get to eat those anymore, though. My grandmother made them and I never really learned how.  Most soups/stews/chili make a decent substitute.
3. Are you watching any new shows?  I've recorded a few but I haven't gotten around to trying many of them.  I am liking "The Defenders".  How could you go wrong with Jim Belushi and Jerry O'Connell????  I tried to like Lone Star but didn't.....it got deleted off the PVR.
4. Have you read Pillars of the Earth by Ken Foilet?  Why yes I have.  I really liked it too.  I love really long books because I have time to get really in to them and then time to savor that I like them. If books are too short I am often disappointed b/c they are already over.
5. Is the top of your desk cluttered or clear?  Definitely cluttered.  I am a firm believer that a clean desk is a sign of a sick mind! I am a pile person.  There are piles all over my office, piles all over my desk at home, piles on the counters....you get the idea.  I would love to be an organized person but it is just not meant to be!

Definitely play along! Leave me a comment b/c I would love to learn more about you!

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Knowing Me, Knowing You - August Edition

It's time for another instalment of the interview meme hosted by The Fairy Blogmother where you get to learn a bit more about moi.

1.  What is your favorite kind of pie?

I would have to say peach though really I don't turn away much when it comes to pie.  I also love blueberry, apple, pecan, pumpkin, banana cream....(are you seeing a pattern...anything pie is YUMMY!)  I must admit, though, that I am not a fan of meringue.  Yuck.

2.  What kind of wedding did you have?

I had a lovely destination wedding on Anna Maria Island in Florida.  We took over an entire hotel on the beach and hosted 70 of our closest family and friends.  There was a ceremony on the beach, sand between our toes, dancing, eating, cupcakes, dolphins, etc.  It was the best wedding EVER (not that I'm biased or anything).  We celebrated our 5 year anniversary this year so I posted some wedding pictures here & wrote about my dress here.  If I were to do it all again I wouldn't change a thing!

3.  Ever been to a 3D movie?

Yep.  A few on various Disney trips, one on a Disney cruise (Bolt) and most recently Toy Story 3.  I liked Toy Story 3 in 3D though I think I would have liked it without too.  I don't really like wearing the glasses.  We bought a new TV for our basement and it has 3D functionality but you have to buy glasses to utilize it.  Oh...and they're not the cheapy glasses from the movie theatre.  Nope these have batteries and cost a big chunk of change.  I'll stick to 2D thanks!

4.  What is the worst movie ever made?

There are so many that I don't even know where to start!  I always have a hard time with best/worst ever because so many are just really bad.  I really hated The Aviator.  I didn't like Wayne's World or any of the Beavis & Butthead movies.  See....there's really too many to list!

5.  Are you ready for back to school?

Evan is starting preschool this year so for us it's more like "to school" instead of "back to school" because he's never been!  We get to meet the teacher in a couple of weeks.  He will be going to preschool for 2 1/2 hours twice a week in the afternoons.  My three big worries are the whole potty situation (he's pretty good unless he's really having fun & then he forgets....oh and he doesn't know how to wipe his butt or pull up his pants), wiping his own nose (he refuses) and snack time (there are all kinds of rules that I lost the sheet about....eeep!).  I'm sure I will figure it out and I won't single handedly get him kicked out of preschool for sending him to school with a contraband snack!

Want to participate?  Head over to the Fairy Blogmother's blog to sign up on Mr. Linky.

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Knowing Me, Knowing You - July 2010 Edition

It's that time again for another episode of the interview game hosted by The Fairy Blogmother!  Feel free to join in the fun.  Just copy the questions to your blog and then sign up over at the Fairy Blogmother's linky.

1.  Do you like to garage sale?

I love to go look around at garage sales.  I think it started when I used to go "yard saling" with my mom when I was little.  We would scour the country side looking for great deals on great stuff.  More often than not we would come home with junk that we didn't need.  These days I don't get out that often because I can't seem to get out of the house that early.  I don't have garage sales very often because our weekends are just too busy and I would rather just get rid of extra stuff as I clean it out.

2.  What do you or would you garage sale for?

I like looking for toys for Evan.  Often toddler toys are used for such a little time they are almost new.  I got him a tricycle this way.  I do make sure that the toys are relatively new and look to be in good shape.  Don't want to bring home a safety risk!

3.  Cloth or paper napkins?

I must admit that though I HAVE cloth napkins we most often use paper towels.  I buy the "pick a size" paper towels and we each get the smallest sheet size.  It's not as green as cloth but much more green than a big multi-ply paper napkin.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

4.  Ever re-gift?

Yes but only to someone who would really, really like it.  I haven't done it very often but I did give a figurine that wasn't really my taste to my grandmother who absolutely loved it.  Win/Win!

5.  Are you watching Big Brother or Last Comic Standing?

Nope.  I am not a big fan of reality TV.  I do watch the odd episode of America's Got Talent if it happens to be on when I turn on the TV.

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Knowing Me, Knowing You - June Edition

It's that time again....the Knowing Me, Knowing You interview meme hosted by The Fairy Blogmother.  Feel free to play along.  All you have to do is answer these questions on your blog & then head over to The Fairy Blogmother's blog & sign up on the Linky.

1.  Do you often have out of town guests?

We have out of town guests a lot.  We are lucky to live in a very busy city for the business we are in.  This means that a lot of our friends that we knew from when we lived in Austin come to visit Calgary.  We love it!  Sometimes they stay at our house and sometimes they stay in a hotel and come over for dinners.  We love entertaining so it's great.  I would say that we have visitors at least once a month.

2.  What kind of an overnight guest setup do you have?

Right now we have NO setup since we are in the midst of a basement reno.  Prior to the reno it was a bit of a sketchy setup.  Our "guest quarters" was a bed set up in our unfinished basement.  After next week, our guests will have a nice new room with their own bathroom in our newly finished basement.  I am VERY excited about having a proper set up for them.  Just in time too since our next house guests are coming in early July!

3.  Cupcake or cake?

I like both but I don't really eat either all that much.  For me the flavor is more of a driver instead of whether it's in cupcake form or not.  My favorites flavors are red velvet, coconut & german chocolate.

4.  Iced Tea or Lemonade?

Okay.....it depends on what you mean by "iced tea".  If you mean that horrible Nestea powder crap....ICK!  If you mean brewed, sweetened iced tea....YUM!  My all time favorite is 1/2 iced tea & 1/2 lemonade.  I grew up drinking that.

5.  When you get into bed for the night do you go right to sleep or do you read, internet or watch TV before lights out?

I love to hangout in our room and watch TV and surf the internet before bed.  I used to read but I haven't been so good about doing that lately.  That reminds me....I better get reading if I want to finish my book before Book Club on Tuesday!!!! Eep!

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Knowing Me, Knowing You - April Edition

It's that time again....time for another interview post hosted by the lovely Fairy Blogmother!  Feel free to play along, just head over to her blog to sign up on the Linky.

1.  Do you have a library card?

I do though I haven't used it in forever.  I got a library card quite a while ago & I used it A LOT when I was on maternity leave.  These days....not so much.  I just can't seem to get the books back on time so it is easier not to go.  I would like to start to go back again so that Evan can learn about the library and maybe go to some reading times.

2.  To carry on with the theme, would you purchase a digital reader like a Kindle?  

Dewey got me a Sony Reader for my birthday last December.  I love it though I don't have as much time to read these days as I used to.  I have read probably 5 or 6 books on it so far.  I know that lots of people question whether reading a book on a reader is the "same" as reading a "real" book.  I find that it works great for me.  I lose myself in books.....the words...not the paper pages.

3.   Which night of the week is fright night (aka your busiest night of the week)? 


I think Thursday night would be my busiest night most often.  Dewey normally has band practice on Thursday nights so it's just me & Evan.  That's not such a big deal but it seems that things seem to need to get done that day too.  Oh and it's also garbage & recycling day on Friday so I have to get everything ready and to the curb as well.


4.  Watching Idol?  Who are you picking to win?


I haven't watched a single episode so I have absolutely no idea!


5.  Do you have a clothesline?


Nope.  I grew up with a clothesline because in Alabama you can hang clothes on the line and they will dry pretty much any time of the year.  In Calgary....not so much.  Most of the year they would just freeze.  I know that people do have them (like Nana) but here in the city it just doesn't seem that practical.  I do have a clothes rack that we set up to hang dry clothes inside the house.

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Knowing Me, Knowing You - March Edition

It's that time again. Time for another round of the Knowing Me, Knowing You interview series brought to us by the lovely Fairy Blogmother!

1. Do you play a musical instrument?

Nope. I took piano lessons when I was young but I refused to practice so not much came of that. I would like to learn to play the guitar but I have a hard time commiting to yet another thing in my already hectic life. Dewey is more than willing to teach me since he is a kick ass guitar player. I do love to sing and I have been known to sing in public occasionally though mainly around the campfire.

2. Do you have a set of every day dishes and a set of "good" dishes?

Nope. I decided not to register for two sets of dishes when Dewey and I got married. Instead I registered for a beautiful set of blue Denby. I have been very happy with my decision so far. We entertain quite a bit but it's usually more of a casual, barbeque type affair where "good" china would end up getting broken in a million pieces.

3. Chocolate Milk or White?

I don't drink a lot of milk either way. I do love chocolate milk but usually I would rather eat something than drink it. My favorite way to ingest milk is as part of a latte or a caramel macchiato. Yum!

4. What time do you usually head up to bed?

I usually try to go upstairs to my bedroom at around 9pm. I don't go to sleep though....there's too much to do! I normally have my laptop on & I'm blogging/tweeting/Facebooking all while catching up on my favorite TV shows on the PVR. I normally try to be asleep by 11:15 at the latest. I am lucky that I get to sleep a little later in the morning (usually aroun 6:45). I can definitely tell a difference when I get more sleep (well....when my husband's snoring or Evan's screaming isn't interrupting my sleep, that is)!

5. Do you hang your toilet paper over or under?

Over. Always over. Since I am the only person in my house who seems to know how to change the toilet paper roll, I always get my way on this one.

Want to play along? Just copy these questions over to your blog & fill them out. Then head over to Shan's blog to sign up on Mr. Linky. Please leave a comment here, too, so that I can check out your answers!

If you like this blog, please follow me using Google (see my left sidebar). If you use Google Reader to follow blogs, the feed for this blog will be automatically added. Neat, huh? Plus it makes me feel loved.....just sayin!

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Knowing Me, Knowing You - February

It's that time again! The Fairy Blogmother has brought us another episode of Knowing Me, Knowing You. Feel free to participate just head on over to The Fairy Blogmother's blog and sign up on Mr. Linky!

1. The Olympics are right around the corner, are you planning on watching?

I dunno. I really don't get into the Olympics that much. We will be in Mexico for part of the Olympic games and I don't see myself tuning in when I could be on the beach sipping margaritas!

2. Which is your favourite Olympic Winter sport?

Definitely figure skating. I used to watch it quite a bit. Now I have to sneak watching it in whenever Dewey isn't around. He hates it. I also like watching bobsled, luge & skeleton b/c those people are CRAZY!

3. Okay you're in the candy store, what's the first thing you grab?

I love Jelly Belly Jelly beans. Yum-O! Pretty much, though, I love just about any kind of candy. Sugar is my friend!

4. What is your favourite John Hughes movie? Not sure what movies he made? Well, first you should be ashamed of yourself and I'm not sure we can be friends anymore. Secondly, click the link and see his impressive list of films, you'll be surprised...... go ahead I'll wait.

Definitely Pretty In Pink! I must admit that I haven't seen a ton of his movies but I loved Pretty In Pink. Molly Ringwald played a great "misunderstood" character. Plus I loved Annie Potts' character.

5. Okay you're going into the witness relocation program and you get to pick your new name, what will it be?

This is such a hard question because I spent so much of my early years disliking my name. Now I've made my peace with it so I can't imagine being called anything else. I would probably end up picking some name off of TV.

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Knowing Me, Knowing You January

It's that time again....time to answer the interview questions brought to us by the lovely Fairy Blogmother!

1. Showers or baths?

Mostly showers. I do love the odd bath when I can take my time and read a good book. Since we have a 2 year old running around those times come few and far between!

2. What's your favourite thing for breakfast?

My favorite thing for brekkie is Eggs Benedict from Chez Francois in Canmore, AB. On most days I eat cottage cheese mixed with pineapple and All Bran. It's more about "healthy" than "tasty". I also really like cranberry muffins.

3. What is your favourite George Clooney movie?

You know....I can't even think of one. I really, really liked him in ER and I never thought it was quite as good after he left.

4. American Idol starts on Tuesday folks, how do you feel about Ellen joining the judge's table?

I don't watch American Idol. I'm not really into reality TV. I really like Ellen. She's super funny!

5. Lets say you've got a gift card to Michaels... what would you spend it on?

Oh there are sooo many things. Yarn, beads (for what...who knows?), cooking stuff, paper that I will never get around to using. Ack! This is why I don't go to Michael's very often! I always bring stuff home that I DON'T need!

Want to participate? Just copy the questions to your blog & go sign up on Mr. Linky over at Shan's!

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Knowing Me, Knowing You - December

It's that time again....Knowing Me, Knowing You hosted by The Fairy Blogmother! Feel free to participate, just head over to The Fairy Blogmother's site & sign up on Mr. Linky.

1. Are you an egg nog fan?

I love egg nog. Unfortunately I look at the nutritional info so I don't buy it very often.


2. What is your favourite at Christmas treat?

Well, since I like to eat I love them all. My favorites are sugar cookies, though. They're yummy!

3. How is your tree decorated? A theme like red and gold? A does it have a more eclectic slant?

I must say that our Christmas tree leaves a bit to be desired this year. The lights are pretty (white) and the top half of the tree looks great. The bottom half....not so much. Between Evan and the cats there aren't many ornaments on the bottom half & the ones that are there are in one big clump. None of our ornaments match & I like it that way!

4. What's youir favourite Christmas movie?

I love How the Grinch Stole Christmas (cartoon) and Rudolf.

5. New jammies on Christmas Eve?

This isn't something that we currently do though I plan to buy everyone jammies this year if I find the time. I don't know if they will be matching, though. I think Dewey & Will would mutiny!

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Knowing Me, Knowing You - November Addition

Yet again, Shan has saved my whiny "but I don't wannnntttt to blog tonight" butt with another installment of Knowing Me, Knowing You!

1. What's your strategy for gift giving this Christmas?

We're definitely down with the "less is more" strategy too. Or at least we are right this minute. Whenever Dewey starts shopping I'm sure that will be right out the window & we'll be buying crazy stuff like always. One thing that might keep us in check is that we are STILL trying to find a house to buy.

2. How do you feel about the holiday newsletter?

I like receiving them as long as people at least try to make it interesting. Ones that read like a resume....not so much. We always send out a Christmas card with a picture. We've never done a newsletter. I did do a "newsy" card from Evan last Valentine's Day that turned out well. Not sure what we'll do this year.

3. What's your favourite board game?

I love board games & card games. We had a great time this summer playing Cranium. Nothing like a boys vs girls game of Cranium to piss everyone off (or at least the girls.....the guys are still gloating!).

4. What's your favourite cold weather comfort dish?

Homemade vegetable soup with cornbread or anything in the crockpot!

5. What is your favourite new show this season?

I really like "The Good Wife". Juliana Margules (sp?) is GREAT!

Want to play along with Knowing Me, Knowing You? Just copy the questions over to your blog and then head over to Shan's to sign in on Mr.Linky! Come on....all the cool kids are doing it!

Oh, and in case you're counting, this is Day 9 of NaBloPoMo....only 21 days left to go!

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Knowing Me, Knowing You - October Edition

It's that time again! Knowing You, Knowing Me brought to us by the lovely Shan over at The Fairy Blogmother. Feel free to play along, just head over to Shan's and leave your info on Mr. Linky.

1. Crunchy peanut butter or smooth? Definitely crunchy! My favorite is Adam's natural crunchy peanut butter. It's a pain in the butt to stir the oil in when you first open it but it's still my fave. Oh, and it has to be the salted kind because unsalted peanut butter is just gross. After trying Adams, I can't go back to Jif/Kraft/etc because it tastes so good that I hate to go back to peanut butter with things like hydrogenated oil and icing sugar in it. I'll save all that bad stuff for yummy things like cookies! :)

2. Do you do any volunteer work? (No judgment, just curious. I'm always on the look out for new ways to get involved.... like I have time for more stuff.) I don't have a volunteer thing I do all the time. I am pretty involved at work. I was the president of our social club for a while but I quit when I got back from mat leave because it was too much. Right now I'm on the United Way team at work. I'm in charge of the bake sale and a few other fund raising things. In the past year I've also helped with a party at a senior's lodge, stuffed envelopes at The Cancer Society, packed "Good Food Boxes" for distribution and served bbq'ed hamburgers to the homeless at the Mustard Seed. Wow....guess I do more than I thought.

3. What's your favourite cold weather drink? I love pretty much all warm drinks. Lattes...check, hot cocoa....check, hot tea.....check, spiced cider....check. Yum!!!!

4. What is your favourite holiday? Christmas is my favorite holiday. I love baking cookies, getting together with friends and seeing everyone open their gifts. It's also right around my birthday. Really...how could I not say Christmas when my name is Merry!!!

5. Okay quick - you gotta hop a plane right now, to anywhere with anyone - where do you go and with who? Okay, I have to pick two. I would either go with Dewey to Fiji and stay in one of those huts over the water or I would go to Paris or London with all my girlfriends. Either way....when can I leave?????

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Knowing Me, Knowing You - September Addition

We're back from a wonderful, wonderful weekend of camping with a huge group of our friends. I am so lucky to have found a great group of friends since I moved to Calgary. Even the guys....who always win at board games and GLOAT WAY TOO MUCH!

Anyhoo... I have lots of pics of this weekend but I am much too tired to upload them tonight. Until then, here's some Knowing Me, Knowing You September edition!

1. What is your favourite smell?

Evan fresh and clean out of the shower! It reminds me of when he was little b/c now he stinks sometimes. Especially his feet in his Striderite sandals. Gross!

2. Did you/would you/are you co-sleep(ing)?

Evan slept with us for most of his first year of life. I knew he would be my only baby and I wanted to experience every second of it. Plus I was a little (okay a lot) neurotic about the fact that he *might* stop breathing and die. I figured if I was right there I could save him if it happened. Thankfully I have gotten less (slightly) neurotic as time has gone by. I miss cuddling up with Evan these days. He would much rather sleep in "Evan's bed" than mine.

3. Fall fair season is upon us, so what's your favourite fair food?

Corndogs. Yum!

4. Thinking about Christmas shopping yet?

I'm starting to think about it but I have not started yet. I have a good idea for a gift for Evan. Everyone else is still pretty much a question mark.

5. What's your favourite colour?

I love the blue of the sky here in Alberta in the fall. It is an amazing color!

Want to participate? Copy the questions onto your blog & then head over to Shan's to put your address into Mr. Linky. It's THAT easy!

Hope you had a wonderful long weekend!

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Knowing Me, Knowing You - August

1. Would you rather swim in a pool or a lake?

Definitely pool! I like the nice clean, crystal clear water. Lakes are silty and have fish that nibble your toes when you aren't paying attention. Having said that...a lake is better than nothing! We will be swimming in Buffalo Lake next week on our week long camping trip. Yea!

2. Where do you do most of your internetting, from a desktop or a laptop?

From a desktop. I have a work laptop but I'm generally too lazy to take it home. Our house has a front room that is supposed to be a dining room but we turned it into the office. The computer there is my "fun" internet machine. Dewey uses it sometimes too when he can pry me away from Facebook. :)

3. What did you do today?

Today's not over yet but I can tell you what I have done so far & what I plan to do. I got up at 4:30am this morning to tell my mom goodbye. Her flight was at 7am today so she had to be at the airport at 5. I love her but that is TOO EARLY so she got to take a cab. I lessened my guilt by paying for it. Then it was back to bed for a few more zzzz's. Dewey was up early heading to Edmonton. Evan woke up while I was getting ready so he hung out on the bed drinking milk, eating Cheerios and watching Treehouse while I finished getting ready. After a very sweet "Bye, Bye Mama", it was off to work. The weather is wet and cool so it wasn't too hard to go in to the office. Tonight I'm going out to Bonterra with girlfriends for a girl's night out.

4. Have you had enough of this cool rainy summer?

Yes! The snow will be flying soon enough and we've had very few nice days this summer. I'm crossing my fingers that next week will be nice while we're camping.

5. Chocolate pudding or butterscotch?

Definitely chocolate though I would never turn down butterscotch.

Wan to play along? Copy the questions above into your blog & then head over to Shan's to sign up on Mr. Linky. Always put the link to your post (not your blog's front page) into Mr. Linky.

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Knowing Me, Knowing You - June

Another installment of Knowing Me, Knowing You brought to us by The Fairy Blogmother

1. Do you have any pets?

We have two cats, Zoe and Abby. We adopted them from the animal shelter a while back (how awful is it that I can't really remember how long ago?). They are nice cats but they have destroyed our furniture. I sometimes threaten to give them away. I know we shouldn't but it's really hard to be okay with destruction of things you worked hard to pay for!

2. What's your favourite dessert?

I like just about anything that is sweet! I love banana pudding, peach cobbler, german chocolate cake....mmmmm!

3. For my fellow bloggers out there - are you a stats checker?

Yep! I check my stats usually a few times per week at sitemeter.com.

4. Do you have a gaming system?

We have an Xbox 360, a Wii and 2 Nintendo DSs. We rarely play any of them. I used to play the Wii quite a bit but we stopped for some reason.

5. What is your beverage of choice?

Coke Zero or red wine!

If you do Knowing Me, Knowing You this month, hop on over to The Fairy BlogMother's site & add your name to Mr. Linky!

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Knowing Me, Knowing You - May Addition

It's time for another monthly installment of Knowing Me, Knowing You as hosted by our favorite Fairy Blogmother, Shan! Feel free to answer these questions on your own blog. Just mosey over to Shan's and put yourself on the roll.

1. Do you and your significant other go to bed at the same time?

Rarely to never. I usually go to bed really early b/c if I go to the gym I have to be up at 5am (Yikes). I do stay up a bit later on the nights I skip gym but I still am in bed an hour or two before Dewey. He is a night owl and would rather go without sleep than go to bed (which I don't understand....I need my sleep!)

2. Do you have any siblings?

I was an only child for 11 years. My parents divorced when I was 8 and then remarried. Soon I had brothers and sisters all over the place. On my mom's side I have Patric who is 22 and Victoria who is 20. On my dad's side I have Maeve who is 24 and Jennifer who is 22.

3. You're spending an evening with friends -- would you rather cook for them in your home or go out to a restaurant?

It's a toss up. I like entertaining here & at restaurants. My house is on the far end of the city and most of my friends live on the other side. It's often easier to meet at a restaurant b/c it's in the middle of everyone.

4. What's your can't miss TV show?

Just one? I have many. I miss them all the time, though b/c my handy dandy PVR records them for my later viewing pleasure. I watch Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Bones, Criminal Minds, Brothers & Sisters & Desparate Housewives. My favorite new show is "Lie to Me". It's awesome!

5. Are you doing any spring cleaning?

I'm avoiding eye contact and hoping it will go away! I don't clean much/at all. What cleaning that gets done is done by our nanny, Cherry. Anything that doesn't get done, I turn a blind eye to. I do have to go through Evan's clothes soon, though b/c some of his pants are beginning to look like capris! I also have to see where we are on the summer clothes situation b/c I don't think we have many/any.

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Knowing Me, Knowing You - April Addition

It's that time again....when I wonder what I would blog about if it weren't for Shan. Here's this month's installment of Knowing Me, Knowing You. Feel free to play along, just go sign the linky over at Shan's.

1. Who does the grocery shopping in your family?

Most of the time....me. Dewey will do the shopping if I make him a list complete with brand names, package colors, sorted by section of the grocery store. He has gotten better, I don't have to have all of that if he's going to our neighborhood Co-Op. If not, it better be detailed. I tend not to be as organized & I've been known to "wing it". This often means that I spend too much. I am constantly amazed at how much we pay for food here in Calgary. It borders on highway robbery!

2. Are you watching American Idol? If so, who are you picking to win it?

Nope. I watched it occasionally the first year & never again since then.

3. What is your favorite type of fruit?

I really like pineapple, bananas, mango & frozen sweet cherries. Yum! I eat one of these with cottage cheese every morning for breakfast.

4. Are you a night owl or a morning person?

I would prefer to be a night owl but it doesn't work into my schedule. I go to bed really early (usually) so that I can get up and go to the gym. On those days I have to get up at 5 am. Yuck! Lately I've been going to bed really early & then changing my alarm when it goes off at 5 am so that I get to sleep until 6.

5. Speaking of bed -- when you're sleeping do you have your socks on or do you take them off?

Always off. Sleeping with them on makes me way, way too hot!

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Knowing Me, Knowing You - March Edition

It's Knowing Me, Knowing You time again over at Shan's. I am asking myself again..."What would I do without Shan to get me out of my blogging funk?". Here's hoping I get back into the groove of blogging most days!

#1 What is your dream life?

I have a pretty great life now but I have to admit that I would love to live somewhere warm....preferably with a beach & no hurricanes (It's a dream life, right?). I would do something fun & exciting for part time work & spend lots of time home with Evan and with friends (who all live in the warm beachy place instead of Calgary/Austin/Alabama).

#2 Do you play games online?

Not very often. I liked playing Scrabble on Facebook for awhile. I don't tend to get enough time on the computer to check Facebook/blog/etc as it is so I don't have time for games.

#3 Seen anything good lately?

Not really. I haven't seen a movie at the theatre in a LOOOONGGG time. We watched Igor last night & I thought it was just okay (at best).

#4 What is your favourite pizza combination?

If we are ordering in, I like veggie. If we are out at a place with schmancy pizza, I order just about anything with goat cheese!

#5 How are you with houseplants?

Terrible! They die quickly if they enter my house. I would love to have nice plants but between having a toddler, cats & my brown thumb...it's never going to happen!

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Knowing You, Knowing Me

What would I do if Shan didn't give me things to blog about? My blog would be much more empty these days as I am always stumped by what to write.


#1 What crafts/hobbies are you into?

Currently I am not being crafty AT ALL. There a few reasons for this: 1) Evan, nuff said, 2) I am too busy because of #1 & because I go to bed ridiculously early so that I can go to the gym, 3) I'm just too lazy. When I am being all crafty, I like to crochet and sew. I've also done scrapbooking (though I'm not very good at it), card making, etc. I really want to learn to quilt but I'm too scared to try it.

I'm starting to do digital scrapbooking (just recently, like last week) so we'll see how that goes.

#2 What is your laundry strategy?

My strategy is to put it in the laundry basket & Cherry (our nanny) does it. Hate me much? :)

#3 You walk into a bank and there are people waiting ahead of you for an open teller. You step into place behind the last person waiting.... here's the question... are you waiting in line or are you waiting on line?

Definitely "in line". Shan said she thought the "on line" thing was an American saying. I'm American and I've NEVER said that. Who knows!

#4 Do you Facebook?

Oh yeah. Hi, my names Merry and I'm addicted to Facebook. I spend a rediculously large amount of time on there & I check it obsessively with my iTouch & my Blackberry.

#5 Where would you like to have a shopping spree and what would you buy?

I would love to have a shopping spree at a clothing store with a personal shopper. I suck at buying clothes for myself. I just wander around until I go all fuzzy eyed & then I leave with nothing.

Want to play? Just copy the questions onto your blog & then leave a link to your post over on Shan's blog. It's that easy!

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